Katie Wilkinson
@drkwilkinson.bsky.social
Neurophysiologist | http://wilkinsonneuro.com | Past Chair of the American Physiological Society's Science Policy Committee | she/hers
Pinned
Katie Wilkinson
@drkwilkinson.bsky.social
· Mar 20
a man says call your senators with his hands folded
ALT: a man says call your senators with his hands folded
media.tenor.com
Heading back from #FASEBOnTheHill and want to share what I learned and why I think all scientists need to be setting up meetings w their reps to talk about the impacts on science of the current chaos. #AcademicSky #NeuroSky @faseborg.bsky.social @apsphysiology.bsky.social 🧪
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
While RFK Jr spreads conspiracies, California will stick to science.
Breaking News: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he personally instructed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism. The move underscores his determination to challenge scientific orthodoxy — in this case, that vaccines save lives — and bend the health department to his will.
RFK Jr. Says He Instructed CDC to Change Vaccines and Autism Language on Website
In an interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited gaps in vaccine safety research. His critics say he is ignoring a larger point: Vaccines save lives.
nyti.ms
November 25, 2025 at 5:24 PM
While RFK Jr spreads conspiracies, California will stick to science.
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
I have a story today about interoception--a kind of sixth sense that delivers information from within our bodies to our brains. nyti.ms/4rfTDtn
nyti.ms
November 25, 2025 at 12:49 PM
I have a story today about interoception--a kind of sixth sense that delivers information from within our bodies to our brains. nyti.ms/4rfTDtn
One of my favorite days in Intro Bio is the respiratory physiology day where I get the excuse to show this amazing video about bird lungs. It was made by 4 students from my SJSU Cardiorespiratory Phys class and won an @apsphysiology.bsky.social video award🫁 youtu.be/4QURSkPystI
Avian Surgery!
YouTube video by Peter Luu
youtu.be
November 25, 2025 at 4:31 AM
One of my favorite days in Intro Bio is the respiratory physiology day where I get the excuse to show this amazing video about bird lungs. It was made by 4 students from my SJSU Cardiorespiratory Phys class and won an @apsphysiology.bsky.social video award🫁 youtu.be/4QURSkPystI
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
Setting aside the question of whether or not we are ready to phase out the use of animals in research (spoiler: we are not), there is an ethical way to do this. Abruptly shutting down research programs means that many animals are going to be euthanized! www.science.org/content/arti...
Exclusive: CDC to end all monkey research
Studies related to HIV and other infectious diseases will be phased out, sources say; fate of the agency's animals remains unclear
www.science.org
November 24, 2025 at 1:01 AM
Setting aside the question of whether or not we are ready to phase out the use of animals in research (spoiler: we are not), there is an ethical way to do this. Abruptly shutting down research programs means that many animals are going to be euthanized! www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
November 23, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
Just an absolutely gutting essay by Tatiana Schlossberg, a writer, mother of two young children, and cousin of RFK Jr who is dying of leukemia.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
November 22, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Just an absolutely gutting essay by Tatiana Schlossberg, a writer, mother of two young children, and cousin of RFK Jr who is dying of leukemia.
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 12:49 PM
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
Proud papa moment: my son J published a letter in the @nytimes.com today (in print tomorrow) on the need to think our definitions of autism.
October 18, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Proud papa moment: my son J published a letter in the @nytimes.com today (in print tomorrow) on the need to think our definitions of autism.
Full circle moment: former undergrad research student is now teaching another section of Intro Bio. I used some of her data from the lab as an exam question asking students to identify the dependent variable & whether the hypothesis was supported. 🧪
November 18, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Full circle moment: former undergrad research student is now teaching another section of Intro Bio. I used some of her data from the lab as an exam question asking students to identify the dependent variable & whether the hypothesis was supported. 🧪
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
The fight has come to NC, and it just hit close to home. Our daughter teaches in Durham public schools and she said almost all of the Latinx kids are not in school today. ICE is targeting everyone who "looks Hispanic", citizen or not. I am even more angry today-kids need to go to school!
November 18, 2025 at 4:34 PM
The fight has come to NC, and it just hit close to home. Our daughter teaches in Durham public schools and she said almost all of the Latinx kids are not in school today. ICE is targeting everyone who "looks Hispanic", citizen or not. I am even more angry today-kids need to go to school!
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
More than 73,000 people were in Clinical Trials Affected by Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Clinical Trials Affected by Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health
This cross-sectional study summarizes the number of trials with terminated grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and calculates the proportion of affected trials among those with previou...
jamanetwork.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:00 PM
More than 73,000 people were in Clinical Trials Affected by Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
Probably fewer women in economics because they’re just not as smart, right, Larry?
The emails have Summers reporting to Epstein about his attempts to date a Harvard economics student & to hit on her during a seminar she was giving.
November 16, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Probably fewer women in economics because they’re just not as smart, right, Larry?
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
I give Catholic bishops a hard time often for all the obvious reasons, but this is beautiful and loving, and I'm deeply grateful to hear it. This can change hearts and save lives.
Good statement from the US conference of Catholic Bishops
November 14, 2025 at 3:49 AM
I give Catholic bishops a hard time often for all the obvious reasons, but this is beautiful and loving, and I'm deeply grateful to hear it. This can change hearts and save lives.
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
November 11, 2025 at 1:50 AM
In the century leading up to 1975, nearly 6000 freighters went down in the Great Lakes.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was the last.
The last. In 50 years, not a single commercial freighter has been lost in the Great Lakes.
Why?
It's NOAA. Of course it's NOAA.
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
November 9, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
I show this every year in Intro Bio after showing this video of how fast antibiotic resistance can evolve in a huge Petri dish with increasing concentrations of antibiotics news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor... 🧪
November 8, 2025 at 4:24 PM
I show this every year in Intro Bio after showing this video of how fast antibiotic resistance can evolve in a huge Petri dish with increasing concentrations of antibiotics news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor... 🧪
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
We're disappointed to see Ben Barres's powerful book "The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" among the ~400 titles removed from the Naval Academy Library. Needless to say, we're proud to have published his book and will keep it — and his memory — alive.
The Coming Out of a Transgender Scientist
"I know that I am making the right decision because whenever I think about changing my gender role, I am flooded with feelings of relief."
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
April 8, 2025 at 8:24 PM
We're disappointed to see Ben Barres's powerful book "The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" among the ~400 titles removed from the Naval Academy Library. Needless to say, we're proud to have published his book and will keep it — and his memory — alive.
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
To put this in scale, Elon Musk's salary from Tesla alone could fund the SNAP program for the entire country into 2034.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk scored a resounding victory on Thursday as shareholders approved a pay package of as much as $878 billion over the next decade, endorsing his vision of morphing the EV maker into an AI and robotics juggernaut.
Tesla shareholders approve $878 billion pay plan for Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk scored a resounding victory on Thursday as shareholders approved a pay package of as much as $878 billion over the next decade, endorsing his vision of morphing the EV maker into an AI and robotics juggernaut.
reut.rs
November 6, 2025 at 10:19 PM
To put this in scale, Elon Musk's salary from Tesla alone could fund the SNAP program for the entire country into 2034.
Very cool finding by SJSU prof @cassandrapaul.bsky.social & @djphysicswebb.bsky.social that higher stakes exams can explain the gender gap in physics. More evidence for changing the course structure instead of blaming student prep. 🧪
Our new research indicates that the gender gap in intro physics is an artifact correlated with the “stakes” associated with physics exams and is therefore NOT due to differences in preparation or understanding. 🧪🧵 #acadmicsky #HigherEd #EduSky #STEMed link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/...
High-stakes exams inflate a gender gap and contribute to systematic grading errors in one introductory physics series
A study in introductory physics suggests high-stakes exams are causing a gender gap, rather than measuring it.
link.aps.org
November 6, 2025 at 3:29 AM
Very cool finding by SJSU prof @cassandrapaul.bsky.social & @djphysicswebb.bsky.social that higher stakes exams can explain the gender gap in physics. More evidence for changing the course structure instead of blaming student prep. 🧪
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
Warning. ⚠️ If you are writing an NSF GRFP, new this year, you need official transcripts to apply. Beware. They will not review applications without official transcripts. ‼️
November 4, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Warning. ⚠️ If you are writing an NSF GRFP, new this year, you need official transcripts to apply. Beware. They will not review applications without official transcripts. ‼️
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
This is devastating, and it is also the society we have allowed a broken government to create for our kids. So many kids are getting exposed to this terror. They deserve a childhood of joy and it’s been taken from them.
newrepublic.com/article/2023...
newrepublic.com/article/2023...
November 4, 2025 at 2:04 PM
This is devastating, and it is also the society we have allowed a broken government to create for our kids. So many kids are getting exposed to this terror. They deserve a childhood of joy and it’s been taken from them.
newrepublic.com/article/2023...
newrepublic.com/article/2023...
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
The whole state of Idaho banning all vaccine mandates should be bigger news! If you want your grandmother's nursing home or your daughter's day care to require nurses and teachers to vaccinate, you literally can't! None of them are allowed to require that.
November 4, 2025 at 1:31 PM
The whole state of Idaho banning all vaccine mandates should be bigger news! If you want your grandmother's nursing home or your daughter's day care to require nurses and teachers to vaccinate, you literally can't! None of them are allowed to require that.
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
Scaling back DEI isn’t just a moral setback—it’s a loss of innovation.
Bhalla, Trejo & @marymunson4.bsky.social in Nature Cell Biology: limiting who can participate in science “weakens research capacity and stifles discovery.”
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Bhalla, Trejo & @marymunson4.bsky.social in Nature Cell Biology: limiting who can participate in science “weakens research capacity and stifles discovery.”
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
November 3, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Scaling back DEI isn’t just a moral setback—it’s a loss of innovation.
Bhalla, Trejo & @marymunson4.bsky.social in Nature Cell Biology: limiting who can participate in science “weakens research capacity and stifles discovery.”
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Bhalla, Trejo & @marymunson4.bsky.social in Nature Cell Biology: limiting who can participate in science “weakens research capacity and stifles discovery.”
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
Reposted by Katie Wilkinson
Fun fact!
Daylight Saving Time was introduced specifically so there was more light entering the windows of factories and office buildings ... so businesses wouldn't have to spend so much money on electricity.
It's not about us individual people or our wellness at all.
Standard time FTW!
Daylight Saving Time was introduced specifically so there was more light entering the windows of factories and office buildings ... so businesses wouldn't have to spend so much money on electricity.
It's not about us individual people or our wellness at all.
Standard time FTW!
“Permanent Standard Time gives your body a healthier rhythm. Energy, metabolism, and immune system stay more synchronized, lowering risks of chronic conditions.”
November 3, 2025 at 5:11 AM
Fun fact!
Daylight Saving Time was introduced specifically so there was more light entering the windows of factories and office buildings ... so businesses wouldn't have to spend so much money on electricity.
It's not about us individual people or our wellness at all.
Standard time FTW!
Daylight Saving Time was introduced specifically so there was more light entering the windows of factories and office buildings ... so businesses wouldn't have to spend so much money on electricity.
It's not about us individual people or our wellness at all.
Standard time FTW!