Grateful to everyone who joined our Hill visits this week advocating for stronger support of biomedical research. Your efforts to champion increased NIH funding help drive discovery and improve lives. #SITContheHill @immunegirl.bsky.social @cgtgaithersburg.bsky.social @doctweettweet.bsky.social 🧪

Grateful to everyone who joined our Hill visits this week advocating for stronger support of biomedical research. Your efforts to champion increased NIH funding help drive discovery and improve lives. #SITContheHill
@immunegirl.bsky.social @cgtgaithersburg.bsky.social @doctweettweet.bsky.social 🧪

Asmaa Mohamed, PhD, is using engineered T cells to treat ovarian cancers and improve immunotherapies in the @immunegirl.bsky.social Lab. She came to UVA for its collaborative research environment and culture of mentorship. She's also a baker, multi-talented crafter, and history enthusiast!

Heads up to check the new expiration dates on grant opportunities you were planning to write for!

For example, the Katz R01 mechanism for New Investigators now expires tomorrow, four days BEFORE the next possible due date.

Do you know an up-and-coming expert in the field of cancer #immunotherapy? Nominate them today for SITC’s Steven A. Rosenberg Scholars Award, one of the society's most prestigious opportunities for early career scientists. Learn more: sitcancer.org/Rosenberg-scholar #SITCForwardFund

Congratulations Rossy!

'Research Saved My Life' A cancer scientist and a grateful patient are bonded in more ways than one.

Thank you @uvahealth.bsky.social team for the kind writeup about our research and the generous support from the Rodger W. Klein Family Fund at UVA Cancer Center that fuels our forward momentum. Their support has kickstarted our progress to helping patients! giving.uvahealth.com/article/rese...

Rossymar Rivera Colón, a PhD student mentored by @immunegirl.bsky.social, won the 3rd Place and Audience Choice awards at this year's Grad Thesis Slam! Her talk, "Giving T-Cells Their Power Back," used comic book-inspired design to explain how she engineers T cells to fight cancer. Congrats, Ross!

I’m excited to be speaking at #IMMUNOLOGY2025™ on immunotherapy for ovarian cancer & engineered TCR T cells! Join me to explore hurdles facing T cells in solid tumors & the impact on immunotherapy efficacy. Register today! #immunology immunology2025.aai.org/register/ #AAI2025 @sitcancer.bsky.social

Congratulations to all the students who made the finals! Please come and support Rossymar and all the contestants at this year’s grad thesis slam competition!

Join us on 4/22 for our inaugural Paths to Research Advocacy event - the first in a recurring series, where we’ll interviewing experienced research advocates and scientists about their journeys to ovarian cancer research advocacy. Register for this free event through the link in our bio!

Baldwin Leads Forum on Trump and Musk’s Cuts to Cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease Cures YouTube video by Senator Tammy Baldwin

There is a forum on the NIH happening right now at the US Capitol, hosted by Senator Tammy Baldwin. You can listen in here (and rewind to the beginning): www.youtube.com/live/JofqSdW...

Be sure to apply for #SITCWIN by Monday March 24. WIN will feature presentations from experienced female leaders, panel discussions allowing participants to ask questions & interact with these leaders, & networking opportunities. #WomenInSTEM www.sitcancer.org/professional...

Hooray!

NIH Grants Fueled $95 Billion In FY 2024 Economic Activity, Finds New Report National Institutes of Health grants generated almost $95 billion in economic activity nationwide in FY 2024 according to a new report by United for Medical Research.

From Forbes magazine: “NIH Grants Fueled $95 Billion In FY 2024 Economic Activity, Finds New Report“ www.forbes.com/sites/michae...

CIC Research Teams Receive UVA Cancer Center Funding Three teams of CIC researchers recently received pilot funding from the UVA Comprehensive Cancer Center (UVA CCC). CIC Resident Members Justin Taylor, PhD, and Kristin Anderson, PhD, received fundi…

Oncoimmunology is one of our strengths, reflected by the membership overlap between our Center and the UVA Cancer Center. Three of our members were recently awarded funds by the Cancer Center. Read about the projects here:

@justintaylorlab.bsky.social @immunegirl.bsky.social
#Immunology #ImmunoSky

From an NIH source re. grant terminations

"These searches are pulling in things based on 'other support' sections and biosketches, so science may be held up just because someone mentions that they serve on a DEIA committee, or has a completely different grant that uses a 'problematic' word.

(cont)

As Cervical Cancer Deaths Plummet, Experts Credit HPV Vaccine HPV can cause a variety of cancers, including cervical. New mortality data for women under 25 point to the success of the HPV vaccine.

A recent study found that cervical cancer deaths in young women have plummeted since the introduction of the human papillomavirus vaccine.

For those who don't know the alphabet soup of NIH research grants:

T32s, F30s, and F31s are training grants. They support the salary (and tuition, and research expenses) of people who are still completing their training to become researchers. Grad students. Postdocs. Clinical fellows.

This is why all NIH-funded scientists simultaneously trying to diversify their science funding portfolios is not a real solution.

Wow. "NIH" canceled my co-mentored (with Dave Sulzer) PhD student's F31 funding. His work is on understanding the genetics and neuroscience of language learning disorders. F31 provides no indirect $ to Columbia, just pays his salary. Not that it should matter, but he's an American citizen. W.T.F.

A vote for this legislation is a vote to cut federally funded cancer research. Please take action today to ask Congress to vote no on the CR and instead approve a full-year FY25 Defense Appropriations Act that fully funds the OCRP and CDMRP.

www.votervoice.net/Shares/B0Y6T...

The House will vote soon on a continuing resolution to fund government programs through fiscal year 2025 that proposes a 57% funding cut to the CDMRP! The Ovarian Cancer Research Program is housed within the CDMRP. This cut would significantly disrupt research for ovarian cancer & other diseases.

Flyer for stand up for science--more information available at www.standupforscience2025.org

TODAY IS THE DAY! 🧪☀️⬇️

Join us at the Lincoln Memorial or your local site to Stand Up for Science!

#SITC #WIN 2025 features presentations by experienced female leaders from the #IO field. The program includes panel discussions to ask questions and interact with these leaders and networking opportunities. Apply by March 24, 2025. www.sitcancer.org/professional...

Postdocs and PhD students hit hard by Trump’s crackdown on science As US federal grants remain frozen and budget cuts loom, anxiety and fear grip early-career researchers.

The Trump administration's efforts to slash research funding have US graduate students, postdocs and other early-career scientists fearing for their careers. Some might leave the country -- or abandon research altogether.

https://go.nature.com/43ao2zq

Here are some data documenting the funding "pause" pulled from NIH Reporter. Current results (FY25) (Red) are compared with results from FY21 (first year of Biden Administration) and FY24.

Note that data from Reporter lag behind release of NoAs by ~1 week.

I will be tracking this going forward.

Annual @sitcancer.bsky.social crew picture at #TRCCC 2025

@immunegirl.bsky.social
@ Michelle Williams and Sarah Gitto

I’m a very #ProudPI this week. Watching Dr. Asmaa Mohamed, Rossymar Rivera, and Yaning Li present updates on their research projects has been a bright spot in the darkness of the past few weeks. Thank you #TRCCC for continuing to highlight trainee voices at the podium!

SITC's FREE virtual Neuro Immuno-Oncology Summit will be an impactful event. Dive into important discussions and learn from an expert lineup of speakers! Thank you Dr. Gartrell and the amazing team behind this program🎉🎉🎉

#medSky #OncSky #neuro

Are you affected by firings at federal health agencies? Have you been affected by firings at federal health agencies? @statnews would like to hear from you.

If you are one of the #CDC #HHS #FDA #NIH employees who have learned today that your employment is being abruptly ended, we want to hear from you. @altcdc.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/02/14/f...