Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Rachael Sirianni, PhD

@docsirianni.bsky.social

9K followers 490 following 1.2K posts

Biomedical Engineer, Professor & Vice Chair of Research for Neurosurgery, UMass Chan Medical School. Treating pediatric brain tumors and neurodegenerative disease via all things nanomedicine and the subarachnoid space. *opinions are my own

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 25d

I am not a political pawn. I am a living, breathing human being who has dedicated her life to a scientific problem that I believe matters for human health. The article below tells our story; I hope you will read it and share it www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/m...

Trump Is Shutting Down the War On Cancer

www.nytimes.com

13 190 440

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 20m

Pro-tip: "making" the proof is not how science works. Here's the full clip: www.tiktok.com/@couriernews...

5 14

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 30m

Thx to @martymeehan.bsky.social for leadership across the 5-campus UMass system (incl @umasschan.bsky.social) speaking up regarding the value of research. The DRIVE legislation mentioned in this article would be a lifeline for the MA economy. Maura Healey, your state needs this! tinyurl.com/4ex3tttp

Op-ed: Federal cuts jeopardize potential life-changing research at UMass

This year marks 10 years for me as president of the University of Massachusetts and one of the things I am most proud of is the growth of the university’s research enterprise across the five-campus…

tinyurl.com

2 3

Reposted by Rachael Sirianni, PhD

NewsCurrentNow @newscurrentnow.com · 15h

Gavin Newsom: “Masked men. Jumping out of unmarked vehicles. People disappearing. No due process. No oversight. No accountability. People say I’m being hyperbolic. Bullshit. This is happening in America today.”

63 1.5K 4.4K

Reposted by Rachael Sirianni, PhD

Ewan Birney @ewanbirney.bsky.social · 1d

A reminder that the PhD program for EMBL is open for winter recruitment round. If you want to understand life at a molecular level and have a quantitative science (you don't have to have done biology - we love our mathematicians/physcists/chemists!) apply www.embl.org/about/info/e...

Application – EMBL International PhD Programme

www.embl.org

1 43 33

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 1d

“…like Taher’s son, Mohammed Hashim, it is Myanmar’s children who have borne the brunt of the fallout. A study published in The Lancet in June said the US funding cuts could result in more than 14 million deaths, including over 4.5 millions children under age 5, by 2030”
apnews.com/article/myan...

1 4

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 1d

It’s just so catchy

Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 1d

🎵 They did the Monster Slash 😭 @ellecordova.bsky.social

3 9

Reposted by Rachael Sirianni, PhD

Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 1d

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

140 1.8K 4.6K

Reposted by Rachael Sirianni, PhD

Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 1d

I can’t believe I have to say this, but historically, masked men who kidnap families in the middle of the night are usually not the good guys.

890 7.8K 30K

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 1d

IT WAS ACTUALLY POSTED BY DJT 😱 I can't believe this is our reality...

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 1d

Right back at ya 🤣🤣💀

NIH Vigils @nihvigils.bsky.social · 6d

Enjoy!

bsky.app/profile/drra...

Dr. Rabbithole @drrabbithole.bsky.social · 6d

Russell Vought tells Trump we need MORE COWBELL -- with cowbell meaning everything on the Project 2025 agenda! When Vought tells Trump to do something, he delivers. Who is really running the government?

Made with apologies to Saturday Night Live.

#dontfearthereaper

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 1d

Omg, this is amazing!

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 1d

hahaha will farrell is never not funny!! I posted that video and then dropped off of the interwebs to deal with some stuff, came back to a highly entertaining flood of blue oyster cult themed messages 🤣

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 6d

Yes but also amidst this <surreal nightmare that is the collapse of our formerly free society> - and really gimme a break for a bit of humor bc it’s 24/7 misery at the moment - all I can think about this video is “More Cowbell” and I REALLY hope Christopher Walken has something to say about this

George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · 7d

Signs of psychosis. No biggie

2 4

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 6d

“But framing science as a debate to be won makes it easy to paint established scientists as opponents who must be overcome... to suggest scientists are either self-satisfied elites… or, worse, liars who know the truth and are hiding it” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/o...

Opinion | Why Young Men Are Losing Faith in Science

www.nytimes.com

1 2 7

Reposted by Rachael Sirianni, PhD

Anjali Enjeti @anjalienjeti.bsky.social · 8d

My god.

“Watson said she saw agents dragging residents, including kids, out of the building without any clothes on and into U-Haul vans. Kids were separated from their mothers…’It was heartbreaking to watch…seeing kids coming out buck naked and taken from their mothers, it was horrible.’”

Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: 'I feel defeated'

The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents with Border Patrol, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested 37 people in the raid.

chicago.suntimes.com

630 5.4K 8.7K

Reposted by Rachael Sirianni, PhD

Vittoria Elliott @telliotter.bsky.social · 7d

NEW! Dept of Education workers say their OOO replies were forcibly changed to blame Democrats for shutdown. When employees changed their responses back to the more neutral language, it changed yet again to the partisan response.

@wired.com @leahfeiger.bsky.social

www.wired.com/story/govern...

Government Workers Say Their Out-of-Office Replies Were Forcibly Changed to Blame Democrats for Shutdown

Some employees at the Department of Education changed their responses back to the more neutral language, only to have it changed yet again to the partisan response, multiple sources tell WIRED.

www.wired.com

26 420 630

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 7d

❤️ it is such a loss. She was an incredible human being

Corey Pieper @coreypieper.com · 8d

Rest in peace, Jane.

1 5

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 7d

Thank you 😭❤️ we have to persist, you are right…

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 7d

scienceandfreedomalliance.substack.com/p/nearly-imp...

"Nearly impossible for NIH staff to do our jobs": Jenna Norton's speech for the Civil Servants Coalition

At the Capitol, Monday 9/29

scienceandfreedomalliance.substack.com

2 7

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 7d

This just in: shockingly, people with actual experience working inside the systems they lead do a better job leading them than inexperienced and unqualified baffoons who don’t know what they don’t know…

Jonathan Ladd @jonmladd.bsky.social · 7d

Two things can be true: 1) Universities are not perfectly run. There are many problems that we should try to fix. 2) It's actually very hard to run a college or university. It's much much easier to perform worse than the status quo than better. www.insidehighered.com/news/governa...

Reposted by Rachael Sirianni, PhD

Andrew Lawrence @ndrew.bsky.social · 7d

its weird that the president brags about inflicting pain on american citizens and cities right?

500 2.1K 9.8K

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 9d

I stand by federal workers. I stand by senators and reps that defend values + priorities of citizens. I stand by compassion, humility, and our (former?) role as a global leader. Call your legislature. Tell them to fight the good fight + return to what has always made our country great: our democracy

2 13

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 9d

Today, I am mired in the day in day out misery that is my current professional (+ subsequently personal...) existence as a scientist. I am exhausted. I am demoralized. Every single day feels harder than the last. I have been running on empty for months. But I have to believe the fight is worth it

4 2 31

Rachael Sirianni, PhD @docsirianni.bsky.social · 14d

This is brilliantly done

Drug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · 14d

This may be the most important paper ever published about NIH funded research.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

What if NIH had been 40% smaller?

Replaying history with less NIH funding shows widespread impacts on drug-linked research

www.science.org

2 15

Reposted by Rachael Sirianni, PhD

Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · 14d

Wow

Austria has lured 25 American researchers away from U.S. institutions including Harvard, the MIT and Princeton with grants set up in response to the Trump administration's funding cuts

3 16 49