Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
@needhibhalla.bsky.social
Cell biologist and geneticist, Professor, mom and consumer of alcohol. Those might all be related. I grind til I own it.
She/her/hers.
ORCID: 0000-0002-6859-0073
personal account
She/her/hers.
ORCID: 0000-0002-6859-0073
personal account
Pinned
Scaling back DEI programmes and the loss of scientific talent
Nature Cell Biology - Programmes that support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in science are under attack in the USA. Data indicate that diversity in the scientific workforce increases...
www.nature.com
@joann-trejo.bsky.social, @marymunson4.bsky.social and I have a commentary in @natcellbio.nature.com on recent attacks on DEI in biomedical research: "If scientific research, especially biomedical research, is meant to serve everyone, then it requires that everyone has an opportunity to participate"
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama, 2008 election night. History watching history made.
February 18, 2026 at 1:29 AM
Jesse Jackson and Barack Obama, 2008 election night. History watching history made.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Reader, I wept.
“This story does not have a happy ending, and I can assure you the villains do not get punished in the end. If that is your motivation, try again, start over.
But you also need to understand — and this is equally important — that we’ve already won. The reward is right now, this minute, this moment”
But you also need to understand — and this is equally important — that we’ve already won. The reward is right now, this minute, this moment”
February 19, 2026 at 12:57 AM
Reader, I wept.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Not normal! Also not entirely explicable as related to the shutdown at this point.
(This is something that will need to be monitored constantly to ensure there's not OMB shenanigans involved.)
(This is something that will need to be monitored constantly to ensure there's not OMB shenanigans involved.)
NSF Update
Funding curve overall. A little bit of progress in the past week, but only a little bit.
Now by Directorate...
1/11
Funding curve overall. A little bit of progress in the past week, but only a little bit.
Now by Directorate...
1/11
February 18, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Not normal! Also not entirely explicable as related to the shutdown at this point.
(This is something that will need to be monitored constantly to ensure there's not OMB shenanigans involved.)
(This is something that will need to be monitored constantly to ensure there's not OMB shenanigans involved.)
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
NSF still doesn't have a director or deputy director. We have no idea who's actually running them. Board members have resigned over this and over the political control of the agency by 20-something political hacks.
Yet people persist in acting like everything is normal.
Yet people persist in acting like everything is normal.
February 18, 2026 at 5:35 PM
NSF still doesn't have a director or deputy director. We have no idea who's actually running them. Board members have resigned over this and over the political control of the agency by 20-something political hacks.
Yet people persist in acting like everything is normal.
Yet people persist in acting like everything is normal.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
I get the strong impression that many of the physical scientists on here are not paying attention to what's happening with their colleagues in the biological sciences.
NIH has some unique problems at the moment, but the broader form of issues does look applicable to NSF, NASA, etc. funding.
NIH has some unique problems at the moment, but the broader form of issues does look applicable to NSF, NASA, etc. funding.
February 18, 2026 at 5:31 PM
I get the strong impression that many of the physical scientists on here are not paying attention to what's happening with their colleagues in the biological sciences.
NIH has some unique problems at the moment, but the broader form of issues does look applicable to NSF, NASA, etc. funding.
NIH has some unique problems at the moment, but the broader form of issues does look applicable to NSF, NASA, etc. funding.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Ramadan Mubarak ✨ it's the end of Day 1/start of Day 2(lunar calendar just rotate with it) and it's time for iftar
Tonight I made a take on Soy Chicken and Rice, only I used soy curls instead of chicken
And to amp the protein, I did a mix of rice, quinoa, and masoor dal #iftarselfie #ramadan
Tonight I made a take on Soy Chicken and Rice, only I used soy curls instead of chicken
And to amp the protein, I did a mix of rice, quinoa, and masoor dal #iftarselfie #ramadan
February 19, 2026 at 12:10 AM
Ramadan Mubarak ✨ it's the end of Day 1/start of Day 2(lunar calendar just rotate with it) and it's time for iftar
Tonight I made a take on Soy Chicken and Rice, only I used soy curls instead of chicken
And to amp the protein, I did a mix of rice, quinoa, and masoor dal #iftarselfie #ramadan
Tonight I made a take on Soy Chicken and Rice, only I used soy curls instead of chicken
And to amp the protein, I did a mix of rice, quinoa, and masoor dal #iftarselfie #ramadan
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Make
Them
Pay
Them
Pay
JUST IN: Judge Provinzino in Minnesota has held a Justice Department attorney in civil contempt for violations of her order requiring the return of a released ICE detainee’s ID documents. He must pay $500 a day until the documents are returned.
February 19, 2026 at 12:02 AM
Make
Them
Pay
Them
Pay
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Ok, then who is directing POs to tell applicants to change certain words in public facing documents (abstracts, narratives)? POs who had never once made such a request before 2025?
NIH director Bhattacharya responds to my article on X, calling it misleading. He denies that there is a "banned words list"
The only problem: My article never asserts there's a banned words list at NIH. I report that NIAID staff have been directed to modify "biodefense" and "pandemic preparedness".
The only problem: My article never asserts there's a banned words list at NIH. I report that NIAID staff have been directed to modify "biodefense" and "pandemic preparedness".
February 18, 2026 at 11:55 PM
Ok, then who is directing POs to tell applicants to change certain words in public facing documents (abstracts, narratives)? POs who had never once made such a request before 2025?
“This manuscript is the result of funding in whole or in part by the NIH. It is subject to the NIH Public Access Policy. Through acceptance of this federal funding, NIH has been given a right to make this manuscript publicly available in PubMed Central upon the Official Date of Publication”
From my institution.
The OVCR released guidance today re the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, specifically the applicability of the Government Use License/Federal Purpose License: research.washu.edu/topics/publi...
The OVCR released guidance today re the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, specifically the applicability of the Government Use License/Federal Purpose License: research.washu.edu/topics/publi...
Public Access | Research | WashU
Requirement that investigators submit final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to the digital archive PubMed Central
research.washu.edu
February 19, 2026 at 12:16 AM
“This manuscript is the result of funding in whole or in part by the NIH. It is subject to the NIH Public Access Policy. Through acceptance of this federal funding, NIH has been given a right to make this manuscript publicly available in PubMed Central upon the Official Date of Publication”
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
My department at CSU Northridge is hiring a vertebrate functional morphologist! We've got a great EEB group, and we're looking for someone to carry forward a tradition of enriching organismal courses and community-engaged research. App review starts March 15
csucareers.calstate.edu/mob/cw/en-us...
csucareers.calstate.edu/mob/cw/en-us...
Assistant Professor Vertebrate Functional Morphologist #26-24
The Department of Biology at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is seeking
a tenure-track faculty member in Vertebrate Functional Morphology.
csucareers.calstate.edu
February 18, 2026 at 11:54 PM
My department at CSU Northridge is hiring a vertebrate functional morphologist! We've got a great EEB group, and we're looking for someone to carry forward a tradition of enriching organismal courses and community-engaged research. App review starts March 15
csucareers.calstate.edu/mob/cw/en-us...
csucareers.calstate.edu/mob/cw/en-us...
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
This is really interesting. Anyone else's institution advise the same? We've been told we have to pay the OA fee to post the AAM to PMC. Are we being scammed?
From my institution.
The OVCR released guidance today re the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, specifically the applicability of the Government Use License/Federal Purpose License: research.washu.edu/topics/publi...
The OVCR released guidance today re the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, specifically the applicability of the Government Use License/Federal Purpose License: research.washu.edu/topics/publi...
Public Access | Research | WashU
Requirement that investigators submit final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to the digital archive PubMed Central
research.washu.edu
February 18, 2026 at 11:51 PM
This is really interesting. Anyone else's institution advise the same? We've been told we have to pay the OA fee to post the AAM to PMC. Are we being scammed?
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Under the Government Use License, NIH-funded authors have the right to submit an AAM to PMC without an embargo, contrary to any publisher assertion or requirement that an author publish under an open access license and pay an APC.
February 18, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Under the Government Use License, NIH-funded authors have the right to submit an AAM to PMC without an embargo, contrary to any publisher assertion or requirement that an author publish under an open access license and pay an APC.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
The license provides the necessary permissions for NIH to legally make federally funded AAMs publicly available through PMC without embargo upon the official date of publication, contrary to any publisher assertion or requirement to publish open access.
February 18, 2026 at 7:13 PM
The license provides the necessary permissions for NIH to legally make federally funded AAMs publicly available through PMC without embargo upon the official date of publication, contrary to any publisher assertion or requirement to publish open access.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Submitting the AAM to PMC does not require payment to the publisher or publishing open access. Federal agencies have, by law, certain rights to products resulting from federal funding under the “Government Use License” (or “Federal Purpose License).
February 18, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Submitting the AAM to PMC does not require payment to the publisher or publishing open access. Federal agencies have, by law, certain rights to products resulting from federal funding under the “Government Use License” (or “Federal Purpose License).
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
From my institution.
The OVCR released guidance today re the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, specifically the applicability of the Government Use License/Federal Purpose License: research.washu.edu/topics/publi...
The OVCR released guidance today re the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, specifically the applicability of the Government Use License/Federal Purpose License: research.washu.edu/topics/publi...
Public Access | Research | WashU
Requirement that investigators submit final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from NIH funds to the digital archive PubMed Central
research.washu.edu
February 18, 2026 at 7:13 PM
From my institution.
The OVCR released guidance today re the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, specifically the applicability of the Government Use License/Federal Purpose License: research.washu.edu/topics/publi...
The OVCR released guidance today re the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy, specifically the applicability of the Government Use License/Federal Purpose License: research.washu.edu/topics/publi...
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
I'm just going to submit the manuscript to PMC and let the journal sue me. If they dare.
Does anyone have clarity on whether NIH open access requirements are satisfied by simply posting a paper on bioRxiv? Or are we required to pay the astronomical publication fees to journals?
grants.nih.gov/policy-and-c...
grants.nih.gov/policy-and-c...
Public Access | Grants & Funding
grants.nih.gov
February 18, 2026 at 11:31 PM
I'm just going to submit the manuscript to PMC and let the journal sue me. If they dare.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
MOOD. "i could anticipate what the critics are saying better than the critics. i could help them say it better"
-tressie mcmillan cottom
-tressie mcmillan cottom
February 18, 2026 at 10:33 PM
MOOD. "i could anticipate what the critics are saying better than the critics. i could help them say it better"
-tressie mcmillan cottom
-tressie mcmillan cottom
"I did not think the destruction would be this stupid. THAT was a surprise." WORD 🫠
Princeton isn't ready for all the bon mots about to be dropped!
lectures.princeton.edu/lectures/202...
lectures.princeton.edu/lectures/202...
Tressie McMillan Cottom and Kate Manne
Join us as Tressie McMillan Cottom and Kate Manne engage in a wide-ranging conversation on feminism, gender, race, culture, education, and current events. Tressie McMillan Cottom is is a sociologist,...
lectures.princeton.edu
February 18, 2026 at 10:50 PM
"I did not think the destruction would be this stupid. THAT was a surprise." WORD 🫠
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Princeton isn't ready for all the bon mots about to be dropped!
lectures.princeton.edu/lectures/202...
lectures.princeton.edu/lectures/202...
Tressie McMillan Cottom and Kate Manne
Join us as Tressie McMillan Cottom and Kate Manne engage in a wide-ranging conversation on feminism, gender, race, culture, education, and current events. Tressie McMillan Cottom is is a sociologist,...
lectures.princeton.edu
February 18, 2026 at 9:39 PM
Princeton isn't ready for all the bon mots about to be dropped!
lectures.princeton.edu/lectures/202...
lectures.princeton.edu/lectures/202...
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
It sounds like a lot of people had to smack some sense into Prasad & RFK Jr. to stop them from upending vaccine approval with NO basis in science.
But serious damage has been done. Who's going to invest in new vaccines if a conspiracy theorist can block even a review on a whim?
But serious damage has been done. Who's going to invest in new vaccines if a conspiracy theorist can block even a review on a whim?
F.D.A. Reverses Decision and Agrees to Review Moderna’s Flu Vaccine
www.nytimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 9:54 PM
It sounds like a lot of people had to smack some sense into Prasad & RFK Jr. to stop them from upending vaccine approval with NO basis in science.
But serious damage has been done. Who's going to invest in new vaccines if a conspiracy theorist can block even a review on a whim?
But serious damage has been done. Who's going to invest in new vaccines if a conspiracy theorist can block even a review on a whim?
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Normalize laughing derisively in men's faces when they deserve it.
February 18, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Normalize laughing derisively in men's faces when they deserve it.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
How long does it take a Happy Meal to start working?
February 18, 2026 at 7:25 PM
How long does it take a Happy Meal to start working?
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
BREAKING: NIH director Jay Bhattacharya will take on the additional role of acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two administration officials told @sherylnyt.bsky.social on Wednesday.
Bhattacharya will also continue to run the NIH, she reports for @nytimes.com.
Bhattacharya will also continue to run the NIH, she reports for @nytimes.com.
N.I.H. Director Will Temporarily Run C.D.C. in Leadership Shake-Up
www.nytimes.com
February 18, 2026 at 6:53 PM
BREAKING: NIH director Jay Bhattacharya will take on the additional role of acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two administration officials told @sherylnyt.bsky.social on Wednesday.
Bhattacharya will also continue to run the NIH, she reports for @nytimes.com.
Bhattacharya will also continue to run the NIH, she reports for @nytimes.com.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
Rev. Jesse Jackson built the Rainbow Coalition as a political home rooted in dignity and solidarity. That struggle continues here in New York City, in every fight for housing, justice, and equality.
Today, we lower our flags in his honor — and recommit to the movement he called us to build.
Today, we lower our flags in his honor — and recommit to the movement he called us to build.
February 18, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Rev. Jesse Jackson built the Rainbow Coalition as a political home rooted in dignity and solidarity. That struggle continues here in New York City, in every fight for housing, justice, and equality.
Today, we lower our flags in his honor — and recommit to the movement he called us to build.
Today, we lower our flags in his honor — and recommit to the movement he called us to build.
Reposted by Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽
This is the kind of thing white supremacists have been doing to Emmett Till’s memorial for decades.
It’s wild to see them do this to a white woman who the entire world saw extrajudicially murdered.
It’s wild to see them do this to a white woman who the entire world saw extrajudicially murdered.
Someone doused Renee Good’s Minneapolis memorial and a nearby pile of wood with gasoline and started a fire at about 9 p.m. Tuesday.
Renee Good memorial site in south Minneapolis doused in gasoline
Damage was minimal but police are investigating.
bit.ly
February 18, 2026 at 5:19 PM
This is the kind of thing white supremacists have been doing to Emmett Till’s memorial for decades.
It’s wild to see them do this to a white woman who the entire world saw extrajudicially murdered.
It’s wild to see them do this to a white woman who the entire world saw extrajudicially murdered.