I Wrote Research Funding Announcements for NIH for 22 Years. This Year They’ve Published 14 How NIH went from 756 funding announcements to 14 in two years — and what it means for every disease that depends on federal research

This is an incredible documentation of the systematic, intentional collapse of American health science, by Elizabeth Ginexi.

open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...

A block of text that says "Scientists at the University of Miami are carrying out a research study on trends in the field of science communication. For this survey we are defining science communication as work that is done: • by a technical subject area expert in some field related to science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, • outside of classroom settings • aimed at the public If you are 18 years of age or older and work or recently worked in this field (full-time, part-time, or as a side project), please click the link below to complete a short survey. If you are interested in learning more about this research study, please e-mail us at Julia.wester@miami.edu. In the body of your email please provide your full name, and if you would prefer to be contacted by phone, your phone number and the best time to reach you. Contacting us for more information does not commit you to participating, and should you decide to participate you may terminate your participation at any time."

Attention Science Communicators!

We are conducting a survey on the landscape of science communication & need your help gathering experiences.

Please send this to #SciComm ppl you know. We want to get as thorough a sense of the state of the field as we can.

umiami.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

RFK Jr. fired all of the legitimate scientific experts on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and replaced them with unqualified political appointees.

A judge just ruled that the new members were not appropriately appointed, so ACIP cannot meet this week to spread more misinformation.

White House stalls release of approved US science budgets The US Congress rejected sweeping cuts to science agencies. But the NIH, the NSF and NASA have had their spending slowed.

Congress rejected massive cuts to US science budgets for 2026, but much of the money still isn’t flowing to researchers.

The culprit? The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is quietly slow-walking the release of funds. 🧵👇

They have bazillions of dollars. We don't. WE NEED YOUR HELP FUEL the FIGHT SAVE SCIENCE PROTECT HEALTH DEFEND DEMOCRACY standupforscience.net/donate

The fight for science is more important now than ever, and we need YOU to help fuel the fight! If you would like to donate, please visit standupforscience.net/donate
Thank you!

#standupforscience
#science
#ImpeachRFKJr
#RemoveRFKJr
#donate

I spoke with @melodyschreiber.com about the deep irony of Bhattacharya serving as Acting Director of CDC & Director of NIH simultaneously.

For years, he has advocated for separation between these role, framing this type of arrangement as a conflict of interest that would have chilling effects.

Here's How Many Jobs HHS Has Lost Since RFK Jr. Took Over See the totals from NIH, FDA, CDC, and CMS, too

Wow

Since RFK Jr took over, there have been 17,406 job losses at HHS

Breakdown by sub-agency:

FDA: 4,332
NIH: 4,049
CDC: 2,889
CMS: 1,051

The speed and scale at which he has dismantled the US public health and health research systems is truly startling 😢

www.medpagetoday.com/washington-w...

Many students said they were careful to avoid "banned words" in their GRFP applications, but in some cases it was unavoidable. Now they're wondering if these words led to their RWR notifications.

“My project is about bears and ‘black’ is a trigger word,” one Redditor wrote. “Insane.”

If you received an NSF GRFP decline without review, there are concrete steps you can take. Don't let this go unnoticed. 👇

And more reporting on a historic program that is increasingly unsettled, with late-breaking changes to criteria, fewer awards, applications returned without review, and more:

via @jonathanwosen.bsky.social for @statnews.com

www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/n...

Graduate Students’ NSF Fellowship Applications Are Being “Returned Without Review” - Eos Graduate students applying for NSF funding have had their applications returned without review—even though their proposed research appears to fall squarely within the fields of study outlined in the p...

Students applying for NSF funding are having their applications “returned without review” for being “ineligible,” despite their proposed research falling squarely within the application guidelines. eos.org/research-and...

Asymptomatic: The Silent Spread of COVID-19 and the Future of Pandemics Asymptomatic: The Silent Spread of COVID-19 and the Future of Pandemics

Today's @nytimes.com dialogue with Ross Douthat & Jay Bhattacharya is tough sledding. I wrote a book on how silent transmission made COVID harder to stop and drove misleading narratives. The interview continues to mislead as a means to seize more power.

a 🧵
www.amazon.com/Asymptomatic...

Controversial US study on hepatitis B vaccines in Africa is cancelled $1.6m project drew outrage over ethical questions about withholding vaccines proven to prevent disease

Great news! The unethical hepatitis B vaccine trial planned for Guinea-Bissau has been cancelled.

Public pressure and insisting that clinical trials pass ethics analysis worked.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

1/2

Increasingly moving science to the footnotes (or eliminating data and evidence entirely) and elevating anti-science, misleading health information, and false claims to the center stage of messaging and practice within HHS & CDC.

Trust, public health reporting and the CDC: Insider perspectives In this webinar, we'll talk with former CDC officials on where to go for reliable reporting resources after the dismantling of the agency.

Remember when several high-ranking #CDC officials resigned after #RFKJr refused to follow scientific evidence & federal procedures in #vaccines & #publichealth policy? Here's a chance to hear from three of them on Nov 19 w @healthjournalism.org
Register here!
healthjournalism.org/event/trust-...

I saved this slide from a ACIP presentation by Dr. Shimabukuro. He showed it every time he talked about VAERS.

Flyer advertising upcoming MIDAS Trainee Network event on How to Write a Strong Manuscript. The event will take place on Thurs 9/25 at 12pm ET with a presentation from Dr. John Drake from the University of Georgia, followed by Q&A and discussion. Register at: https://georgetown.zoom.us/meeting/register/rTEZP0pSQIqlLv_EyquGgQ

Ever read a paper & think, "wow 🤩 that was well written"?

Learn how to write your own *wow* paper with @midas-network.bsky.social trainees on Thurs 9/25 @ noon ET.

We'll hear from @jdrakephd.bsky.social on strategies for crafting & communicating a good story.

🔗 georgetown.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Critical point: all of this has been well-documented, for years.

This study on reemergence of vaccine-eliminated diseases was published in JAMA in April. Ample time for the Florida surgeon general to take stock of the consequences and avoid an avoidable mistake.

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

From Data to Decisions: The Evidence Base for 2025 Fall/Winter Immunizations Join the Vaccine Integrity Project for an expert presentation on the latest publicly available data regarding the safety and efficacy of flu, COVID-19, and RSV vaccines. In this recorded live stream, the scientific research team will highlight key findings on the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19

📢 Important update! Join the Vaccine Integrity Project live stream TOMORROW 8/19 at 2pm ET.

We'll review flu, COVID & RSV vaccine data—focused on safety & efficacy during pregnancy, and for kids & the immunocompromised.

Watch here:

RFK Jr. sued by pediatricians, other medical groups over Covid vaccines Kennedy's track record of undermining vaccine safety and effectiveness prompted the lawsuit. "We've had enough," one public health expert said.

I am so pleased to see that numerous medical and public health organizations are suing RFK Jr. and his minions for the latter’s grotesque actions to undermine vaccination programs in the U.S.

Will it work? I don’t know.

But we need to do everything in our power to defend public health.

Saying an AI is ‘lying’ is a bit like saying a virus ‘wants’ to infect people. In both cases, it can be tempting to project human-like intent onto an outcome - but ultimately these are just probabilistic or algorithmic processes interacting with their environments.

Important modification... from the FAQ, it seems that students who are beginning their PhDs in Fall 2025 can apply (as long as matriculation date is August 1, 2025 or after). Awards start in Fall 2026.

www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...

Please consider a comment today if you are in the US. See the advice (shared from an email I received) in the follow-up posts below this one. Tomorrow is the deadline. This is an important part of scientific freedom in this country.

An Evidence-Based Approach to Covid-19 Vaccination | NEJM This article from the FDA compares broad U.S. recommendations on Covid vaccination with those from other countries and announces the adoption of an evidence-based approach to such recommendations.

What the hell is wrong with @nejm.org? Do they think this is sound public policy? It's not just letting Prasad and Makary speak because they are now federal officials. It's giving them the cover of publication in one of our nation's oldest medical journals. www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Random thread: In middle school, I met a UCSD PhD student at a family friend's dinner party—very smart, super nice, and I asked him where I could learn more about biology. He suggested reading Scientific American and I was like "I'm too poor for that" so he gave me an old issue he had lying around.

My ongoing request:

If your NSF or NIH grant was terminated--whether at Harvard or elsewhere--please report it here.

NSF: grant-watch.us/submit-nsf.h...

NIH: grant-watch.us/submit-nih.h...

Our trackers are actively used in lawsuits and are often the only record that terminations ever occurred.

Republicans have just proposed defunding Planned Parenthood nationwide.

In doing so, they are telling women and people across the country that our healthcare doesn’t matter and that we are undeserving of care.

It’s time to stop this bill in its tracks.

Screen grab of hearing livestream that shows Senator Alsobrooks. She is wearing a cream colored blazer, a black shirt, she looks *immaculate*. The caption says “sir you are the wrong person for this job”.

RFK Jr.’s hearing has ended, so I’ll leave you with Senator Alsobrook’s statement to him, delivered in a calm and steady voice:

“Sir, you are the wrong person for this job”. 🔥

RFK Jr. said multiple times during his house and senate hearings today that no scientists have been fired from federal agencies. Our reporting has shown that hundreds, if not thousands, of scientists have been let go from NIH/CDC/FDA

🧵1/N New study published in @jama.com on re-emergence of vaccine-eliminated infectious diseases under declining vaccination in the US. We model long-term risk and conditions for return to endemicity for measles, rubella, polio, & diphtheria. Collab w/ @Mathewkiang.com jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...