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Hailey Robertson

@haileyrobertson.bsky.social

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Hailey Robertson @haileyrobertson.bsky.social · Jun 29

A bit different from my usual writing, but excited (despite the circumstances) to share my op-ed in the Topeka Capital-Journal! I discuss recent NSF funding cuts and what they mean for Kansans, both now and in the future.

🌻 www.cjonline.com/story/opinio...

Topeka scientist says NSF funds critical to infectious disease forecasting | Opinion

Planned budget cuts for 2026 would deepen damage to STEM education, jobs, and public access to taxpayer-funded data.

www.cjonline.com

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The Carlson Lab @ Yale @carlsonlab.bsky.social · 12d

🚨 We're about to start reviewing applications, but there's still time to reach out for our postdoc position on climate change impact attribution! If you have experience with attribution science or climate epidemiology, and want to help us launch the Global Burden of Climate Change Study, reach out!

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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 21d

🚨 NEW: Climate change is already causing 30,000 deaths per year - a global annual economic loss of $100-350B USD - but the true damage is probably 10x higher. Out TODAY in Nature Climate Change: the first systematic look at the science of "health impact attribution" 🔓 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

"Health losses attributed to anthropogenic climate change," a brief communication in the journal Nature Climate Change. There's a map showing regions of the world, and pie charts of relevant studies as they apply to different health impacts like "heat-related deaths" and "maternal and child health"

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Hailey Robertson @haileyrobertson.bsky.social · 20d

Earlier this year, I wrote an op-ed about the importance of NSF/NIH funding for Kansans.

I am THRILLED to see a candidate for my home state who names science cuts for what they are (bad + illegal!) and promises to step up to the plate on that issue, and many others (Medicare/Medicaid, USAID, etc!)

Colin McRoberts @colinmcroberts.bsky.social · 21d

Announcing something exciting!

We can flip the Kansas First, and eliminate the GOP majority in Congress.

Can you imagine a better or more important time to do it?

colinforkansas.com

Home - Colin for Kansas

Colin for The Big First District

colinforkansas.com

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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 28d

New preprint! 🥳🎉 We looked at viral coinfection patterns at the largest scale ever in wildlife. We found a strong association among CoVs, PMVs, and influenza A, and higher coinfection rates in wildlife trade; plus, evidence that bats accumulate persistent infections. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Figure 3 of our paper, which shows viral coinfection networks at the virus level

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Senator Patty Murray @murray.senate.gov · Sep 3

They're right.

RFK Jr. is a serious threat to public health and our lives. He is undermining vaccines, boosting dangerous conspiracy theories, and decimating lifesaving research.

Resign or be fired. He needs to go.

More than 1,000 HHS workers demand RFK Jr. resign in new letter

"Kennedy's actions are compromising the health of this nation," the Wednesday letter reads.

www.axios.com

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Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · Sep 3

How has climate change shaped your lifetime of heat?

Younger people today are experiencing more extremely hot days during their childhood compared to previous generations.

Check out the new interactive tool by @climatecentral.org: climatecentral.observablehq.cloud/generational...

Screenshot for the interactive tool to enter year you were born and where for how has climate change shaped your lifetime of heat? In a warming world, people are experiencing more extremely hot days than they used to.

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Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · Aug 28

“I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.”
That’s from the resignation of CDC’s Demetre Daskalakis @drdemetre.bsky.social (on X)
🧪

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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · Aug 22

I'm delighted today to announce we're launching the Global Burden of Climate Change Study, an international team effort to standardize estimates of present day death, disability, and illness due to climate change. @chelseaeharvey.bsky.social with the scoop: subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eene...

E&E News: People are dying from climate change. But how many?

A team of researchers hopes to provide the long-elusive answer, thanks to the growing field of attribution science.

subscriber.politicopro.com

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Hailey Robertson @haileyrobertson.bsky.social · Aug 21

party parrot timeline cleanse with the best figure you’ll see today

Joanna Bagniewska @joannabagniewska.com · Aug 21

If you ever wondered what the ten most common dance moves are in the world of parrot discos, wonder no more. There's an entire paper devoted to bopping cockatoos, and it's as fabulous as you'd expect. 🪶🦜💃

🚨 News flash, headbanging made the cut!

🧪 🌍

journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Illustration of the 10 most common recorded dance movements - downward, headbang, side to side, semi-circle high, foot lift, sidestep, downward head-foot sync, fluff, sidestep w/ side to side, turn.

Ethogram descriptors based on Keehn et al. [3] and illustrations by Zenna Lugosi.

Reposted by Hailey Robertson

Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · Aug 20

🧪 New study: Learning about economic impact of NIH funding motivates action to oppose funding cuts.

Evidence from two preregistered, randomized experiments with >5,000 U.S. adults.

Similar change for liberals and conservatives. Preprint from @asinclair.bsky.social et al:

osf.io/preprints/ps...

Study 2 Intervention Materials
Base Intervention Text
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) provide funding for scientific research that
leads to major breakthroughs for cancer, diabetes, dementia, heart disease, infectious
diseases, stroke, mental illness, and more.
NIH funding is also an excellent financial investment. For every dollar NIH invests in
research, an average of $2.56 of economic activity is returned–a gain of over 250%.
The White House recently ordered major changes to NIH funding, which would take
back funds already promised to the states. States have sued to challenge the order,
arguing that the changes are unlawful.
[page break]
There are two major sources of cuts to NIH funding, which will result in current and
future losses.
First, many NIH grants for health research have already been cancelled, interrupting
ongoing studies and clinical trials. These cancelled grants are projected to result in
economic losses of $4.9 Billion and over 21,000 jobs.
Second, another change would greatly reduce NIH funding that covers “indirect
costs” of research. These funds help pay for essential facilities, equipment, skilled staff,
and safety checks needed across many research projects. Medical research would not be
possible without funding to cover indirect costs. In the future, this proposed change to
funding for indirect costs of research would reduce the U.S. economy by about $16
Billion and over 68,000 jobs every year.

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John Green @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social · Aug 19

Unsurprising but horrifying. Wherever there are people forced into crowded living conditions, there will be tuberculosis. Wherever people are dehumanized, there will be tuberculosis. prospect.org/health/2025-...

Tuberculosis Spawning in Crowded, Dirty ICE Detention Centers

Doctors and medical researchers expect more outbreaks of infectious disease as the Trump administration crams thousands more people into miserable conditions.

prospect.org

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Hailey Robertson @haileyrobertson.bsky.social · Aug 19

If this sounds like you, come work with us (or send cool people our way!) Can confirm the group and research is cool and fun™️

The Carlson Lab @ Yale @carlsonlab.bsky.social · Aug 19

We may have a one-year postdoctoral position opening! We're looking for someone with experience in attribution science OR very strong skills in climate epidemiology to come help us launch a Global Burden of Climate Change Study. Remote possible for the right person; aim to raise $ for a second year.

The Global Burden of Climate Change Study Working Group

Reposted by Hailey Robertson

Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · Aug 15

NEW 🚨 The violence is the point. Elected Dems must call for widespread resignations (RFK, Bhattacharya, Prasad) in response to the CDC shooting. Public health must demand this of them, and the public must demand that of us. With @publichealthguy1.bsky.social in STAT: www.statnews.com/2025/08/15/c...

The CDC shooting was public health’s Jan. 6

“In RFK Jr.’s America, it will never be safe to practice public health or medicine," write an epidemiologist and a former CDC staffer.

www.statnews.com

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Ricardo Rivero H. 💻🧬 @ricardoriveroh.bsky.social · Aug 13

It’s my pleasure to share our new preprint, which I had the opportunity to lead, and which has been in the making since 2022.

In this work, we used climate data, phylogeography, and antigenic profiling to uncover the dynamics of DENV spread in Colombia.
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

Genomic epidemiology of dengue virus 2 and 3 reveals repeated introductions and exportations of several lineages in Colombia.

Dengue fever, a major mosquito–borne viral disease, is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes and poses a significant global health burden. Despite extensive research, the spatiotemporal dynamics of dengue v...

www.medrxiv.org

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · Aug 12

I'll say it a thousand times -- any account of the past that only celebrates the good parts of a nation without reckoning with the bad is not what we call "history"

It is propaganda, pure and simple.

Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · Aug 12

You can't teach U.S. history without "divisive" narratives. Slavery wasn't "unifying." The Japanese incarceration wasn't "unifying." The anti-immigrant Operation Wetback (real name) wasn't "unifying."
It's history's job to tell the truth, not cover up past racism to pave the way for future racism.

White House Announces Comprehensive Review of Smithsonian Exhibitions

www.nytimes.com

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Anita Devineni @anitadevineni.bsky.social · Aug 11

RFK Jr. needs to resign. On top of endangering millions of lives through his demonization and rollback of vaccines, the hatred he has spread for federal workers in his own agency led to the CDC shooting on Friday and the death of a police officer.

Here's the letter I wrote to my senators:

Content of letter:

Subject: RFK Jr is endangering lives and must resign

Dear Senator,

I am a faculty member who leads a biomedical research lab at Emory University. On Friday evening I was working in the lab with 4 of my students when we received notification about an active shooter at Emory Point. We sheltered in place for two hours, about a block away from the shooting, watching the news and discussing where we would hide if the shooter came to our building. While this was traumatic for us, it does not compare to the trauma that CDC workers just across the street experienced as bullets were shot at their buildings.

We now know that the gunman targeted the CDC due to misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine. This information has been most heavily promoted by the man who oversees the CDC, the HHS secretary RFK Jr. It is unacceptable that government leaders are putting federal workers within their own agencies at risk for their lives. The fact that he has cancelled contracts for developing mRNA vaccines and changed the guidelines for Covid-19 vaccinations also puts millions of Americans at risk. I am asking you to call for the resignation of RFK Jr. because of his dangerous actions that have already killed one person – the police officer who responded to the CDC shooting – and will certainly kill many more.

Sincerely,
Anita Devineni
Assistant Professor, Emory University

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🎃 public HELLth guy 🎃 @publichealthguy1.bsky.social · Aug 12

he might as well have said “they deserved it”

In a Monday interview with Scripps News, Kennedy reiterated his concerns about coronavirus vaccine injuries. He also criticized public health messaging about coronavirus vaccines when asked about the plan to quell misinformation to prevent something like the CDC shooting from happening again.
"One of the things that we saw during covid is that the government was overreaching in its efforts to persuade the public to get vaccinated, and they were saying things that were not always true," Kennedy said, later adding, "The public health agencies have not been honest."

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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · Aug 12

Bakeries cannot be forced to sell cakes to gay couples. But farmers market vendors can be forced to sell pierogis to pedophiles.

by Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, John Roberts, and Clarence Thomas

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Lena Sun @lenasun.bsky.social · Aug 9

CDC employees told me the shooting at CDC was much worse than initial police reports suggested. More than 40 bullets hit buildings. “It’s a miracle more people weren’t hit,” said one staffer who was locked down in a building for hours last evening.

Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · Aug 9

Feel like this needs a spotlight: employees were told that the shooting at CDC, which left an officer dead and buildings riddled with bullets, was targeted at agency, @lenasun.bsky.social, @laurenweberhp.bsky.social and @tobiaraji.bsky.social report

Years of anti-CDC rhetoric has consequences

Monarez did not provide any additional information about the suspect's motives during the call. However, a briefing some CDC employees received Saturday from senior agency leaders said the gunman left a note, according to one employee who attended.
"We were told very clearly that this was targeted, directed at CDC," the employee said. "But we were also told that this was an isolated event."
There has been speculation among CDC employees that officials may have known about possible threats. When Monarez was at the CDC this week - her first week on the job - she was accompanied at all times by armed security guards, the employee said.

During Monarez's call with staff Saturday, another CDC senior leader, Daniel Jernigan, who heads the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, or NCEZID, estimated there were about 40 bullet holes in CDC buildings on campus.
He did not mean it as a complete account, but rather an indication that "it will take a bit before the buildings are 'fixed' again," said an employee who listened to the call and, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to share sensitive information.
The shooting was "way worse than what was initially reported," the employee said, adding that gunfire continued for about 15 minutes and that "it's a miracle more people weren't hit."

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Anna C. Fagre @annafagre.bsky.social · Aug 8

New EO mandates *codification* of a process allowing termination of AWARDED grants at any time “for convenience, including when the award no longer advances agency priorities or the national interest.”

I can’t fathom the number of ways this will hurt trainees, ECRs, and TT faculty.💔

Jonathan Wosen @jonathanwosen.bsky.social · Aug 8

A sweeping new executive order seeks to transform how the federal government awards billions of dollars in research grants. Story via @mmolteni.bsky.social, @aniloza.bsky.social, @angusrohan.bsky.social and me for @statnews.com
www.statnews.com/2025/08/08/t...

Trump executive order seeks to centralize control of grantmaking under political appointees

A sweeping new executive order seeks to transform how the federal government awards billions of dollars in research grants

www.statnews.com

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Iron Spike @ironspike.bsky.social · Aug 7

Excellent thread.

If you're American, you are literally safer from violence and theft than your parents or grandparents were. But almost no one realizes that.

Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · Aug 7

1. This week, the FBI released its comprehensive crime report for 2024, which revealed that both VIOLENT CRIME and PROPERTY CRIME reached their LOWEST LEVELS SINCE THE 1960s

This a massive story. But you might not have heard about it, even if you follow the news closely.

Here's why.

Why you might not know that 2024 was America's safest year since the 1960s

An overwhelming majority of Americans, 64 percent, believe that crime increased across the country in 2024, according to a Gallup survey conducted late last year.

popular.info

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Hailey Robertson @haileyrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 31

excellent stuff here

Hailey Robertson @haileyrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 31

if i do not comply within approx, 30 minutes of her starting to whine at the door, she pees in my big leather tote bag or whatever else is near the entryway. please help

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Hailey Robertson @haileyrobertson.bsky.social · Jul 31

taking my cat on her daily walk around the courtyard to the delight of the neighborhood children. you might think this is whimsy and cute, however

a grey cat eagerly walking on a brick path, wearing a bright green harness and blue leash (that has definitely also been used as a toy)

grey cat with beautiful green eyes (it’s true) sitting outdoors on an apartment stoop

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ProPublica @propublica.org · Jul 26

ProPublica spoke to about 150 people who had lived in homeless encampments when cities cleared them out in “sweeps.”

We distributed notecards so people could tell us about the toll in their own words.

➡️ This is what they wrote: projects.propublica.org/impact-of-ho...

Handwritten notecard. Prompt at the top asks: What object was most devastating for you to lose, and how have you been coping? Answer below: Dentures. Were thrown away and coping isn't somthing I can do. It’s made me feel ugly, unworthy, can’t go get a job with no teeth. So how can get off the streets until another pair can be made?

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