Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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Juliana Taube @julianataube.bsky.social · Sep 11

Ever read a paper & think, "wow 🤩 that was well written"?

Learn how to write your own *wow* paper with @midas-network.bsky.social trainees on Thurs 9/25 @ noon ET.

We'll hear from @jdrakephd.bsky.social on strategies for crafting & communicating a good story.

🔗 georgetown.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Flyer advertising upcoming MIDAS Trainee Network event on How to Write a Strong Manuscript. The event will take place on Thurs 9/25 at 12pm ET with a presentation from Dr. John Drake from the University of Georgia, followed by Q&A and discussion. Register at: https://georgetown.zoom.us/meeting/register/rTEZP0pSQIqlLv_EyquGgQ

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Yonatan Grad @yhgrad.bsky.social · Jul 10

Now out in NEJM. Kudos to @dhelekal.bsky.social and @tatumdmortimer.bsky.social : www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/...

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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · Jul 3

"Let it rip" is always a bad idea for containing epidemics. It's a REALLY bad idea for containing H5N1 in chickens. Besides the obvious biosafety issues, it has terrible ecological, economic, & food security consequences as well.

Must-read in @science.org today 👇
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The consequences of letting avian influenza run rampant in US poultry

The approach proposed by a high-ranking US government official would be dangerous and unethical

www.science.org

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Madeleine Kline @mckline98.bsky.social · Jul 3

⚠️ New preprint ⚠️: Two new antibiotics are likely coming for gonorrhea 💊. How should we deploy them in the US to minimize drug resistance? @kroster.bsky.social @dhelekal.bsky.social Eva Rumpler @yhgrad.bsky.social [1/10]
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

Comparing Strategies to Introduce Two New Antibiotics for Gonorrhea: A Modeling Study

Introduction Drug resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is an urgent public health threat. The anticipated approval of two new antimicrobials for gonorrhea prompts the need for evidence-based rollout st...

www.medrxiv.org

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Simon Cauchemez @scauchemez.bsky.social · Jun 23

Just few days left to apply to one of these postdoc positions in my infectious disease modelling Unit at @pasteur.fr in Paris!

Simon Cauchemez @scauchemez.bsky.social · Jun 5

New postdoc positions with a number of exciting epidemic modelling projects opening in our Unit at @pasteur.fr in beautiful Paris. Deadline for applications: 26th June.
research.pasteur.fr/en/job/postd...

Postdoctoral positions in epidemic mathematical/statistical modelling - Research

Job description We are recruiting postdocs to contribute to research projects in the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases Unit, at Institut Pasteur in Paris. The candidates will be expected t...

research.pasteur.fr

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AltUSDA🐮🌱 Growing America’s Recalcitrance @altusda.altgov.info · Jun 18

Project 2025 said they’d be doing this and it’s here.

Alt USAID/ USAID Forever @altusaid.altgov.info · Jun 18

@altusda.altgov.info this one's for you. "They called it modernization. Farmers recognized it for what it was: subtraction." 1/2

substack.com/home/post/p-...

They Took the Aid. Then They Took the Land.

What the collapse of public farming says about who this country feeds—and who it leaves behind.

substack.com

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EEID forum @eeidforum.bsky.social · Jun 15

Who is excited about #EEID2025? Huge shout out to the organizers and helpers. If you see one of them, give them a wink, nod, high five, tip of the hat to show your appreciation!

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Bailey Bowcutt @baileybowcutt.bsky.social · May 30

I got the opportunity to speak with Science about my individual research fellowship being terminated. I was awarded the NSF GRFP before I chose Harvard for graduate school, but I still got cut. I study how we can improve treatments for a common antibiotic resistant bacteria, so this is sad to see

Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · May 29

After 73 years, is NSF's graduate research fellowship program circling the drain? www.science.org/content/arti...

Will NSF’s flagship training program survive under Trump?

Despite 50 Nobelists and 75,000 alumni, NSF’s graduate research fellows could be a vanishing breed

www.science.org

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Michael Baym @baym.lol · May 24

I appreciate the offers from other scientists to help Harvard (students, labs, etc) through this attack, but what would be most helpful is for you to use your position to contact your elected representatives and make it clear this fight isn't just Harvard, it will affect you, and their districts too

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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · May 28

Calling medical journals "corrupt," Kennedy says gov't scientists may be barred from publishing in Lancet, NEJM, etc going forward. #NIH may establish its own journals, he said.
Meanwhile #CDC 's Emerging Infectious Diseases journal is on the budget chopping block. www.statnews.com/2025/05/27/r...

‘Corrupt’ medical journals have to change, RFK Jr. says, or the NIH will publish in-house

The criticism of The Lancet, NEJM and JAMA is not new, but the health secretary may use his position to influence research that journals publish.

www.statnews.com

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BWFPATH @bwfpath.bsky.social · May 23

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Burroughs Wellcome Fund @bwfund.bsky.social · May 23

Announcing the 2025 Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease www.bwfund.org/news/announc... #bwfpath

Announcing the 2025 Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease - Burroughs Wellcome Fund

DURHAM, N.C. – The Burroughs Wellcome Fund proudly announces the 2025 Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease (PATH) award recipients. This year’s cohort represents a diverse group of…

www.bwfund.org

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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · May 23

Brief victory celebration and NEW ASSIGNMENT

More than 27,000 comments posted regarding Schedule F implementation!

1/n

a white and orange cat is standing on its hind legs on a tiled floor .

ALT: a white and orange cat is standing on its hind legs on a tiled floor .

media.tenor.com

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Kirstin Oliveira Roster @kroster.bsky.social · May 21

New preprint. After years of increases, gonorrhea diagnosis rates dropped in the US in 2022 and 2023. While the news is promising, understanding WHY is key to sustaining progress.
dash.harvard.edu/handle/1/427...

Why are gonorrhea diagnoses declining in the US?

After a decade of rising cases, the US CDC reported a decline in the rate of gonorrhea diagnoses for two years in a row in 2022 and 2023, especially among young adults. Primary and secondary syphilis ...

dash.harvard.edu

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Jeremy BOO! Yoder 🎃💀🕷️ @jbyoder.org · May 22

These are grant TO THE STUDENTS, not to the institution, so this is just straight-up punishing students for choosing the institution

Dave Baltrus 🦦 @surtlab.bsky.social · May 22

All NSF GRFPs to students choosing to attend Harvard in the Fall were just terminated

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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · May 22

Harvard today, your institution tomorrow.

It's all part of the Project 2025 plan to destroy high education in America.

All leading US universities depend on federal funding and tuition dollars from international students. They severely curtailed the former. Now they're eliminating the latter.

The Trump administration on Thursday halted Harvard University’s ability to enroll international students, taking aim at a crucial funding source for the nation’s oldest and wealthiest college in a major escalation in the administration’s efforts to pressure the elite school to fall in line with the president’s agenda.

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Yonatan Grad @yhgrad.bsky.social · May 22

NSF GRFPs terminated for those in graduate school and already attending Harvard, too.

Dave Baltrus 🦦 @surtlab.bsky.social · May 22

All NSF GRFPs to students choosing to attend Harvard in the Fall were just terminated

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Marc Lipsitch @mlipsitch.bsky.social · May 22

Please consider a comment today if you are in the US. See the advice (shared from an email I received) in the follow-up posts below this one. Tomorrow is the deadline. This is an important part of scientific freedom in this country.

Marc Lipsitch @mlipsitch.bsky.social · May 22

Time Sensitive: Public comment on Schedule F (removing civil service protections for many federal employees INCLUDING THOSE WITH AUTHORITY OVER GRANTS) ends tomorrow. Notice is here: www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/... . Comment here (green button) www.federalregister.gov/documents/20... .

www.govinfo.gov

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Marc Lipsitch @mlipsitch.bsky.social · May 22

An easily overlooked consequence of research funding cancellations: completed research these days requires hundreds to several thousand dollars to be published due to publication fees from journals. Without support for these fees many pieces of scientific work will be near invisible.

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Marc Lipsitch @mlipsitch.bsky.social · May 20

Important public service reporting from @statnews.com on how people are getting their NIH grants reinstated www.statnews.com/2025/05/19/r...

Scientists are pushing to get their grants reinstated — and some are winning

The grant termination letters say there are no appeals. Yet dozens of appeals have succeeded as biomedical researchers lobby and sue to restore funding.

www.statnews.com

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Lynn Jolicoeur @lynnjolicoeur.bsky.social · May 16

"I'm still in shock. I know that there have been political issues around Harvard in recent weeks, but antibiotic resistance isn't one of them." My conversation with Harvard microbiologist @baym.lol, one of many researchers there who just lost millions in fed. grants. www.wbur.org/news/2025/05...

Antibiotic research at Harvard lab threatened by federal funding cuts

Microbiologist Michael Baym studies antibiotic resistance at Harvard Medical School. He lost millions in federal funding this week.

www.wbur.org

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Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health @hsph.harvard.edu · May 16

With nearly all of Harvard Chan School’s direct federal grants terminated, we are relying on philanthropy to power our research and support our educational programs. Every gift, regardless of size, advances our vision of health, dignity, and justice for every human. Support our work: hsph.me/whygive

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Joe Allen @joeallenjoe.bsky.social · May 16

Grants are not gifts; they are work for hire

—> gov sets research priorities
—> puts out RFP
—> everyone around the country competes
—> work is awarded
—> deliverables and reporting requirements

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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · May 15

Abdication of an innovation economy, US 2025 edition.

Scott Delaney @scott-delaney.bsky.social · May 15

All NIH and NSF grants for my entire team--and for all of Harvard, I guess?--have been terminated.

As provocative as that sounds, the practical effect is probably not much. Everything was already frozen. 🤷‍♂️

On the upside, it makes tracking terminated grants easier. No more guesswork at Harvard!

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Jon Levy @jonlevybu.bsky.social · May 15

On a day when all research grants at Harvard were terminated, and in a context where Congress seems to broadly accept the notion that destroying science and health research in the US is fine, it’s worth noting that this is not what the public wants.

Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · May 14

The American public is broadly supportive of maintaining federal science and medical research funding, and against punishing universities by taking their funding away, according to a new poll:

Few support punitive funding cuts to colleges and universities - AP-NORC

Most of the public believes that colleges and universities make significant contributions to scientific and technological advancement and think their federal research funding should be maintained.

apnorc.org

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