Candice Johnson
@cyjohnson.bsky.social
She/Her • Assistant Professor, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Michigan State University • Former CDC/NIOSH Employee • Work, Pregnancy, Multiracial Populations • Personal Account
Reposted by Candice Johnson
POs are being told to limit pushback because the back and forth on trying to justify the use of these words takes more time than just removing them. So thinking program staff are in a position to influence what grants we pick up is just wild to me in this moment.
January 30, 2026 at 6:27 AM
POs are being told to limit pushback because the back and forth on trying to justify the use of these words takes more time than just removing them. So thinking program staff are in a position to influence what grants we pick up is just wild to me in this moment.
Reposted by Candice Johnson
Okay so here’s the thing about Program right now. This admin has turned us into an apparatus of censorship. The job of a PO right now is to get PIs to “renegotiate” words like “racial minority,” “black American,” and “health disparities” out of their research.
January 30, 2026 at 6:27 AM
Okay so here’s the thing about Program right now. This admin has turned us into an apparatus of censorship. The job of a PO right now is to get PIs to “renegotiate” words like “racial minority,” “black American,” and “health disparities” out of their research.
Reposted by Candice Johnson
New and Competitive renewals
These are still be made VERY slowly. Only 75 awards have been made through 1/23/26.
These are now from 7 institutes and centers (NIA (45), NINDS (16), NIDDK (5), NIDCR (4), NIDCD (2), NHLBI (1), and NCATS (1)).
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These are still be made VERY slowly. Only 75 awards have been made through 1/23/26.
These are now from 7 institutes and centers (NIA (45), NINDS (16), NIDDK (5), NIDCR (4), NIDCD (2), NHLBI (1), and NCATS (1)).
3/3
January 29, 2026 at 12:11 PM
New and Competitive renewals
These are still be made VERY slowly. Only 75 awards have been made through 1/23/26.
These are now from 7 institutes and centers (NIA (45), NINDS (16), NIDDK (5), NIDCR (4), NIDCD (2), NHLBI (1), and NCATS (1)).
3/3
These are still be made VERY slowly. Only 75 awards have been made through 1/23/26.
These are now from 7 institutes and centers (NIA (45), NINDS (16), NIDDK (5), NIDCR (4), NIDCD (2), NHLBI (1), and NCATS (1)).
3/3
The special issue isn't out yet but I've been preparing to be angry about it since the call for papers. I hope I'm pleasantly surprised instead.
January 29, 2026 at 11:23 AM
The special issue isn't out yet but I've been preparing to be angry about it since the call for papers. I hope I'm pleasantly surprised instead.
Would you believe there's a paper pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Simulation of Mendelism revisited: the recessive gene for attending medical school
Much of the recent confusion concerning studies of complex phenotypes such as neuropsychiatric disorders may derive from the inappropriate assumption of simple Mendelian transmission. This has sometimes led to unrealistic expectations regarding the ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
January 28, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Would you believe there's a paper pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
In that case, there's a role for researchers to call out journals and put pressure on them to maintain their reputation, which likely results in them coming up with creative solutions sooner than later. I'd be interested to hear from editors about this.
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January 27, 2026 at 5:02 PM
In that case, there's a role for researchers to call out journals and put pressure on them to maintain their reputation, which likely results in them coming up with creative solutions sooner than later. I'd be interested to hear from editors about this.
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Editors probably don't want to spend their time on retractions or corrections and that could motivate change once it reaches an unsustainable level. Reputation is valuable and journals getting a reputation for being unresponsive to bad research could be a strong motivator.
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January 27, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Editors probably don't want to spend their time on retractions or corrections and that could motivate change once it reaches an unsustainable level. Reputation is valuable and journals getting a reputation for being unresponsive to bad research could be a strong motivator.
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This I'm not so sure about, but the pressures might be similar in the absence of regulation. Some employers care and want to do the right thing, same with journals. Some recognize that an unsafe workplace is expensive and annoying and affects their reputation.
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January 27, 2026 at 5:02 PM
This I'm not so sure about, but the pressures might be similar in the absence of regulation. Some employers care and want to do the right thing, same with journals. Some recognize that an unsafe workplace is expensive and annoying and affects their reputation.
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We use the hierarchy of controls to recommend steps that institutions should take, in order, to improve safety. Think about how our institutions could use this framework to improve publication quality.
www.cdc.gov/niosh/hierar...
www.cdc.gov/niosh/hierar...
About Hierarchy of Controls
The hierarchy of controls presents five levels of actions to reduce or remove hazards in workplaces.
www.cdc.gov
January 27, 2026 at 12:35 PM
We use the hierarchy of controls to recommend steps that institutions should take, in order, to improve safety. Think about how our institutions could use this framework to improve publication quality.
www.cdc.gov/niosh/hierar...
www.cdc.gov/niosh/hierar...