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Reposted by Allie Martin, PhD

Journal of Experimental Biology @jexpbiol.bsky.social · Sep 10

Read the full research @lindseyswierk.bsky.social @alliemartin.bsky.social at journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...

High dissolved oxygen extends dive duration and suggests physical gill use in a vertebrate

Highlighted Article: High levels of dissolved oxygen in water extend dive durations in a semi-aquatic Anolis lizard, suggesting that anoles may rebreathe bubbles to uptake oxygen from stream water.

journals.biologists.com

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Allie Martin, PhD @alliemartin.bsky.social · Jun 10

I have a PhD and can’t afford to pay for my own healthcare.

Since graduating/no longer working as a TA, I have lost my health insurance. Because I made/make/will make so little, I qualify for Medicaid. I’m hoping to be employed again soon but who knows with the current state of federal funding?

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Allie Martin, PhD @alliemartin.bsky.social · May 7

Three weeks after my successful PhD defense and I’m having to seriously consider leaving my dream of being academia and science. You not getting that grant as a tenured prof does not mean you understand what I’m going through.

Reposted by Allie Martin, PhD

Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · Mar 18

If you have a federal grant, I *highly* recommend going to this Friday's webinar on responding to grant terminations.

Lisa Brown, former general counsel at Dept of Ed, will present along with other lawyers.

Friday, March 21, 2-3 pm. More info & register here: www.linkedin.com/pulse/regist...

March 21, 2-3 pm ET: What to do when your federal grant has been stopped or terminated

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Adriana Guatame-García @adrianaguatame.bsky.social · Mar 6

A friend included this anti-acknowledgement section on her PhD thesis. She also added the proposition: “Systematic bullying and undermining of girls and women in STEM starts early on and is the reason why they do not stay in science and related fields.”
Absurd we still need to go through this
🧪👩‍🔬

There have been people less than helpful in my journey here. I wanted to acknowledge those too, bc I know I am not unique in this experience.
No thank you to the physics study assoc that made me sing songs about how women couldn't study physics without sleeping with the professor, the day I stepped into university life. No thank you to the 5th year physics student that decided to assign me a stripper name within the first minute of meeting me in the physics coffee corner in my first year. No thank you to the technician that was responsible for onboarding me on the use of the cluster in my third year who raised his eyebrows and asked me if that meant I was some sort of computer girl. No thank you to the senior researcher that sent me utterly inappropriate texts after a conference, then proceeded to apologise months later by telling me they had not been meant for me anyway so no hard feelings remain hopefully And no thank you to him for attending every conference I've been to since. No thank you to the people who told me that it was surprising that I was doing a PhD since I was a girl. No thank you to the man who mistook me for a coffee lady at a conference, and after having to correct him two times that I did not work there, responded with you should consider it. No thank you to the researcher that asked me what I was wearing underneath my outfit during a conference. No thank you to the physicist who declared to a room full of other physicists that biologists don't know how to design an experiment. No thank you to the people who have called me scary instead of strong and intimidating instead of intelligent.
And finally, no thank you to the exec board of the TU Delft, whose knee-jerk reaction to being held up a mirror about the social safety at the university, was to sue the party holding up the mirror instead of looking at the problems they highlighted.
... You have made me feel like I do not belong in science & I cannot forgive you for that.

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Maggie Tokuda-Hall @maggietokudahall.bsky.social · Mar 5

One thing I'm fucken sick of hearing is that people on the poverty line "don't want handouts."

Well, the rich take hand outs. Maybe they're rich bc they were offered handouts. Maybe they're rich bc they take them.

This "shame in receiving free money" for the poor but not the rich makes me SO MAD

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David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · Mar 5

ICYMI, my analysis of how the Trump administration will contribute to the extinction of beloved endangered marine and coastal animals.

Donald Trump’s Second Term Will Be Bad News for Endangered Ocean and Coastal Animals • The Revelator

The waters around the U.S. are home to threatened species who need conservation policies to save them from extinction. They won’t get that for the next four years.

buff.ly

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Gigi Gronvall @ggronvall.bsky.social · Mar 5

Cancer research is going to disappear in the US because apparently no one in US leadership ever took a biology class. “DOGE found $8 million grant to make mice transgender. This is real.”

- Donald Trump, talking about transgenic mice to the world

www.irishstar.com/news/us-news...

Trump baffles with bizarre comment about 'transgender mice' in Congress speech

Donald Trump baffled viewers of his congressional address when he discussed the $8 million he said he and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had found for "making mice transgender"

www.irishstar.com

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Allie Martin, PhD @alliemartin.bsky.social · Mar 5

Doing an active shooter training module for my yearly university training, feeling like a red blooded American 🇺🇸🦅

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Reposted by Allie Martin, PhD

The Onion @theonion.com · Feb 24

Democratic Leaders Stand Real Still In Hopes No One Notices Them

WASHINGTON—With the elected officials trying their hardest not to move a muscle, reports confirmed Monday that top Democratic leaders in Congress were standing real still in hopes that the American pe...

theonion.com

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Margaret Mitchell @mmitchell.bsky.social · Feb 24

Data itself neither lies nor tells the truth.
Here is some data:
!#)(JE@()#@(*)🤬😱🎇
Actually, everything you see right now on your computer is "data".
Is it lying? Is it telling the truth? Neither.
Data instead is raw stuff. It provides *meaning* when it is PROCESSED by something. 2/

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Allie Martin, PhD @alliemartin.bsky.social · Feb 25

I’m defending my dissertation in less than two months and have few prospects for postdocs or other jobs because of the current funding situation. I’m not sure people outside of our field have any idea what a disaster this is.

Lydia Jennings, PhD @1nativesoilnerd.bsky.social · Feb 24

Graduating during the pandemic slowed down my process and is part of why I did two postdocs. Now as a first year faculty, all the federal grants are frozen. I love the work I do but this has all of us questioning how much www.science.org/content/arti...

U.S. early-career researchers struggling amid chaos

Uncertain funding, government firings, and distressed universities hit vulnerable groups especially hard

www.science.org

Reposted by Allie Martin, PhD

Catherine Breslin @catherinebreslin.bsky.social · Feb 21

“The very fact that I am having to publish this anonymously in a country that has the right to free speech written into our Constitution is an indictment of what is happening” www.bmj.com/content/388/...

Anger, despair, and defiance from a voice within the US federal research system

People around the world are watching with disbelief as the new US government closes down its aid programme, withdraws from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris agreement on climate change...

www.bmj.com

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Allie Martin, PhD @alliemartin.bsky.social · Feb 19

I just called my reps with @5calls.org, you should too: 5calls.org

5 Calls

Spend 5 minutes. Make 5 calls. Make your voice heard.

5calls.org

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Reposted by Allie Martin, PhD

Katie Sandlin @kmsandlin.bsky.social · Feb 14

I maxed out my credit card, emptied my savings account, and took out a loan to move from Alabama to Bethesda, MD. I don’t even qualify for unemployment since I’ve only worked at NIH for a month. I will be financially and medically devastated.

Seeking suggestions for anywhere that’s hiring!!

Katie Sandlin @kmsandlin.bsky.social · Feb 14

Today, along with 2,000 other NIH employees, I had to clear out my office 😭

It was truly the honor of my life to work with such incredibly passionate people focused on improving human health. I’ve never experienced a more positive culture where *everyone* cared about their job and serving others.

Office desk without any personal items or decor

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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · Feb 11

Penn State has halted submission and *acceptance* of NIH grants pending the resolution of the overhead rate cut.

This lost time will never be recovered. The economic cost to Pennsylvania is enormous and the cost to humanity immeasurable.

Dave Vanness @djvanness.bsky.social · Feb 11

Text of email I received:

To HHD Research Community:

As you have no doubt heard, NIH issued NOT-OD-25-068 Friday evening (2/7/2025). This notice reduces the F&A rate that NIH is willing to pay to 15%, effective today (2/10/2025). The rate reduction applies to both new and existing NIH awards.

The University remains fully committed to research excellence across the enterprise, including biomedical research. Penn State believes that this rate change could be inconsistent with the annual federal appropriations bill and is aware of, and engaged with some of the groups that are considering legal challenges against this.

With this in mind, the University is taking the following temporary actions:

• Pausing NIH proposal submissions. While our advice is that you should continue to work on preparing NIH proposals, for the next two days the University will not submit new proposals, including new subawards. When preparing NIH proposals for later submission, we will continue to use Penn State’s negotiated F&A rates until directed otherwise by OSVPR. (Non-standard proposals such as fellowship grants can continue to be submitted in accordance with previously existing guidance.)
• Pausing Acceptance of New NIH Awards. If we receive new awards that reference the 15% F&A rate, those awards will be placed on hold until such time as this issue is resolved. The same is true of any new NIH flow-through awards we receive from other institutions that reference the 15% rate. This pause is also expected to be in effect for at least the next two days.
Work on any NIH projects initiated prior to today should continue, and investigators should at this point take no actions that alter their scientific or resource-allocation strategies on these projects in the wake of this latest action.

We ask for your patience while the University assesses this situation – one that is very labile and could change anytime. We expect modifications to the above guidance in the coming days as we learn more and we will do our best…

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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · Feb 6

The almost explicit position of these groups is that anything more than a token number of black and Hispanic students in an elite institution is de facto evidence of anti-white racial discrimination.

The University of California Increased Diversity. Now It’s Being Sued.

The state’s elite campuses, prohibited from using race-based admissions for decades, are now admitting more Black and Hispanic students. A new group is suing, arguing the university system is cheating...

www.nytimes.com

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Allie Martin, PhD @alliemartin.bsky.social · Jan 28

I sure hope my postdoc dreams aren't thwarted by this federal funding freeze and review 🙃

My heart goes out to those that are going to be even more severely affected by this--people that rely on healthcare research & supply, educational programs, disaster relief, etc. Call your reps.

Call script for members of Congress on the Trump Administration freezing all federal aid

YOU: Hi, my name is [NAME]. I’m calling from [ZIP CODE].

YOU: I am calling on [HOUSE MEMBER/SENATOR] to speak out against President Trump’s actions on Monday in freezing all federal aid. This is blatantly illegal; the Executive Branch can’t unilaterally decide to ignore laws that were passed by Congress, especially when it comes to financial aid.

YOU: Members of Congress must take action, and clarify how they will stop the freeze and ensure that the millions who are directly impacted by financial aid will not be harmed.

YOU: [OPTIONAL COMMENT]
E.g. your status as a researcher relying on these funds

Adapted from @CelestePewter
Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121

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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · Jan 13

When I was a young man there were whispered rumors among the elders that they could remember their own elders talking about a time when getting grants had been a means for doing science, rather than vice versa.

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Johanna Joyce @johannajoyce.bsky.social · Jan 10

Disappointing new study showing - once again - that women are leaving research careers at far higher levels than men

If you're interested to read about strategies to reverse these types of curves, check out our recent #Cell perspective- link below ⤵️

#WomeninSTEM 👩‍🔬👩🏾‍🔬🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Among nearly 35,000 biological scientists who authored their first paper in 2000, women were more likely than men to have stopped publishing after 5, 10 or 20 years. The size of this gender gap varies between disciplines.

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Morgan Tingley @mwtingley.bsky.social · Jan 8

The insanity of being a fire ecologist in the epicenter of a major fire event, bags packed and ready to evacuate, watching active fire from my window, while taking media requests and explaining to the public, for the 100,000th time how climate change is largely responsible for this

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Julia Métraux @juliametraux.bsky.social · Jan 8

If you're in an evacuation zone in SoCal, please check in with any disabled/aging neighbors you have to see if they need help evacuating.

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Allie Martin, PhD @alliemartin.bsky.social · Jan 8

I’ll be using this instead of soulless AI generated images in my presentations (but that’s just me)

The Public Domain Review @publicdomainrev.bsky.social · Jan 8

🥁 Announcing the Public Domain Image Archive! 🥁

We are v excited to share our new sister-project, the Public Domain Image Archive (PDIA), a curated collection of 10k+ out-of-copyright historical images, all free to explore and reuse: pdimagearchive.org @pdimagearchive

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Allie Martin, PhD @alliemartin.bsky.social · Jan 6

I’m on the hunt for post docs during #SICB2025! I’d love the opportunity to bring my own expertise to and learn new skills from a lab doing research on #behavior (with a sprinkle of physiology perhaps!). Let me know if you or someone you know is looking to fill a position!

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Allie Martin, PhD @alliemartin.bsky.social · Jan 5

Thank you for the kind words, Emily!

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