Jessica Briggs
@jessikator.bsky.social
ID doc at UCSF. One of the many #womeninmalaria.
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
Not just a tragedy for America, but, given the central place the US occupies in the research ecosystem, a tragedy for the world.
“Thousands of very competitive projects in areas like cancer, diabetes, aging, neurological disorders and public health improvements most like went unfunded in 2025.
Similarly, at the National Science Foundation, the roughly 3,000 fewer new grants encompassed reductions to every area of science”
Similarly, at the National Science Foundation, the roughly 3,000 fewer new grants encompassed reductions to every area of science”
The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine
A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.
www.nytimes.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Not just a tragedy for America, but, given the central place the US occupies in the research ecosystem, a tragedy for the world.
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
“The National AIDS Memorial, through a partnership with the AIDS Quilt Touch team, presents all 50,000 panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in an interactive experience so people around the world can experience the beauty of the Quilt and witness the love and stories stitched into each panel.”
Interactive AIDS Quilt
The National AIDS Memorial, through a partnership with the AIDS Quilt Touch team, presents all 48,000 panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in an interactive experience People around the world can experie...
www.aidsmemorial.org
December 1, 2025 at 11:19 PM
“The National AIDS Memorial, through a partnership with the AIDS Quilt Touch team, presents all 50,000 panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in an interactive experience so people around the world can experience the beauty of the Quilt and witness the love and stories stitched into each panel.”
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
I can't read this as anything other than a direct assault on the vaccine industry. Full stop. They are laying the groundwork to prevent all vaccine R&D. Not directly, but by requiring study designs for approval that are scientifically unnecessary and financially inviable.
Here's Prasad's full email, if you'd like to read it for yourself: www.washingtonpost.com/documents/30...
And I jotted down a few thoughts on my substack, including how the strategy of "asking more evidence" — which on the surface, sure, everyone wants more data — can lead to red tape.
And I jotted down a few thoughts on my substack, including how the strategy of "asking more evidence" — which on the surface, sure, everyone wants more data — can lead to red tape.
FDA's big change to how vaccines will get approved
We obtained an internal email laying out the planned shift in strategy.
dandiamond.substack.com
November 29, 2025 at 5:00 PM
I can't read this as anything other than a direct assault on the vaccine industry. Full stop. They are laying the groundwork to prevent all vaccine R&D. Not directly, but by requiring study designs for approval that are scientifically unnecessary and financially inviable.
i deeply enjoy the legal news these days since it's the one place where competence still seems to matter and these bozos get their comeuppance regularly
WASHINGTON (AP) — Judge dismisses cases against James Comey and Letitia James after finding that prosecutor was illegally appointed.
November 24, 2025 at 6:45 PM
i deeply enjoy the legal news these days since it's the one place where competence still seems to matter and these bozos get their comeuppance regularly
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
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 Jessica Briggs
The extent of the damage done to public health, biomedical science, and healthcare in the US in less than a year will take a generation or more to repair. This is the scale of the destruction. Let that sink in. A new president, Congress won't be enough to reverse things fully. It's that bad.
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 21, 2025 at 11:43 PM
The extent of the damage done to public health, biomedical science, and healthcare in the US in less than a year will take a generation or more to repair. This is the scale of the destruction. Let that sink in. A new president, Congress won't be enough to reverse things fully. It's that bad.
no more paylines anymore, just vibes
grants.nih.gov/news-events/...
grants.nih.gov/news-events/...
https://grants.nih.gov/news-events/nih-extramural-nexus-news/2025/11/implementing-a-[…]ding-strategy-to-guide-consistent-and-clearer-award-decisions
November 22, 2025 at 12:33 AM
no more paylines anymore, just vibes
grants.nih.gov/news-events/...
grants.nih.gov/news-events/...
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
Look, I know this weaponization of male academic interest is the oldest story in the book, but it’s just so, so pernicious. It’s awful to the women directly involved, but it’s also awful to *all* women in the academy, who have to live in its shadow all the time.
November 17, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Look, I know this weaponization of male academic interest is the oldest story in the book, but it’s just so, so pernicious. It’s awful to the women directly involved, but it’s also awful to *all* women in the academy, who have to live in its shadow all the time.
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
My old pal Pete Coviello — one of the best writers and thinkers I've ever known — wrote the piece of the moment
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:17 AM
My old pal Pete Coviello — one of the best writers and thinkers I've ever known — wrote the piece of the moment
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
lithub.com/maybe-dont-t...
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
Today @TheNewYorker released our short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” online.
It traces the ongoing effects of the sudden shutdown of US foreign aid through the story of one mother in Kenya as she seeks to save her daughter from sickness and starvation. 🎥 1/ www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
It traces the ongoing effects of the sudden shutdown of US foreign aid through the story of one mother in Kenya as she seeks to save her daughter from sickness and starvation. 🎥 1/ www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
www.newyorker.com
November 6, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Today @TheNewYorker released our short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” online.
It traces the ongoing effects of the sudden shutdown of US foreign aid through the story of one mother in Kenya as she seeks to save her daughter from sickness and starvation. 🎥 1/ www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
It traces the ongoing effects of the sudden shutdown of US foreign aid through the story of one mother in Kenya as she seeks to save her daughter from sickness and starvation. 🎥 1/ www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
I want the Democrats to stand up to this administration and support the shutdown. But I am still devastated that my study section may not meet on Oct 29th. Already it's been so challenging to have no mechanism to submit grants with our foreign collaborators. Now this. Delays upon delays upon delays.
Just here to remind everyone that while the federal government is shutdown, all study sections at the NIH are currently on hold. Another blow to science and to early career scientists like myself with young labs and research groups. Very hard to remain positive about this career path.
October 14, 2025 at 3:42 PM
I want the Democrats to stand up to this administration and support the shutdown. But I am still devastated that my study section may not meet on Oct 29th. Already it's been so challenging to have no mechanism to submit grants with our foreign collaborators. Now this. Delays upon delays upon delays.
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
The historically volatile Texas grid was entirely stable this summer, despite extreme temperatures. Grid operators never once had to ask Texans to conserve energy or shut off their air conditioners.
Why? Solar & batteries. Want a stable grid? Try solar & batteries.
Why? Solar & batteries. Want a stable grid? Try solar & batteries.
Solar and batteries had a record-setting, grid-stabilizing summer in…
Solar has set 17 power generation records in Texas so far this year, shoring up the grid alongside batteries as some gas plant developers step back.
www.canarymedia.com
October 8, 2025 at 6:46 PM
The historically volatile Texas grid was entirely stable this summer, despite extreme temperatures. Grid operators never once had to ask Texans to conserve energy or shut off their air conditioners.
Why? Solar & batteries. Want a stable grid? Try solar & batteries.
Why? Solar & batteries. Want a stable grid? Try solar & batteries.
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
I can’t say I know exactly how it all would have played out, but I would much rather live in the alternate universe where the leaders of Columbia University had stood up for the institution and all of its faculty and students.
The Act of Capitulation that Trump is demanding that all colleges and universities are to sign surrenders authority over vast areas to Trump, as the Dear Leader. www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/u...
October 2, 2025 at 5:03 PM
I can’t say I know exactly how it all would have played out, but I would much rather live in the alternate universe where the leaders of Columbia University had stood up for the institution and all of its faculty and students.
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
The White House is engaging in direct extortion of local and state governments, attempting to force them to change their policies by stopping funding projects that already have signed grant agreements with the federal government.
New: WH says it has put about $18 billion in infrastructure projects in New York City on hold "to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles." Russ Vought, the budget director, specifically cited the Hudson Tunnel Project and the Second Ave Subway.
October 1, 2025 at 2:23 PM
The White House is engaging in direct extortion of local and state governments, attempting to force them to change their policies by stopping funding projects that already have signed grant agreements with the federal government.
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
“‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ will be preempted indefinitely,” an ABC spokeswoman said Wednesday, as Disney leans into an authoritarian future.
www.wsj.com/business/med...
www.wsj.com/business/med...
Disney to Pull Jimmy Kimmel’s Show After Kirk Remarks
Disney said it is pulling ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s show in the wake of remarks he made about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
www.wsj.com
September 17, 2025 at 11:08 PM
“‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ will be preempted indefinitely,” an ABC spokeswoman said Wednesday, as Disney leans into an authoritarian future.
www.wsj.com/business/med...
www.wsj.com/business/med...
I have the same questions. Is anyone submitting a R01 for the 10/5 deadline with a foreign institution as prime with a sub to a US institution?
This still reads like intentions and best laid plans, because NOT-OD-25-104 said there would be a new system implemented by 9/30/25 prior to FY26. Resources being developed and FAQs to be released. 2 main questions: Can LMICs still be primes under certain FOAs? What are plans for the 10/5 deadline?
September 12, 2025 at 11:13 PM
I have the same questions. Is anyone submitting a R01 for the 10/5 deadline with a foreign institution as prime with a sub to a US institution?
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
rightwing media ecosystem operates by stoking hatred and anger and divisions every single day, they want people to constantly be afraid and want people to hate eachother, everything we are seeing is a result of the destablization the right has profited off of
September 10, 2025 at 9:24 PM
rightwing media ecosystem operates by stoking hatred and anger and divisions every single day, they want people to constantly be afraid and want people to hate eachother, everything we are seeing is a result of the destablization the right has profited off of
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
Anyway Senator/Dr. Bill Cassidy could have kept RFK out of government entirely if he had actually cared
September 4, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Anyway Senator/Dr. Bill Cassidy could have kept RFK out of government entirely if he had actually cared
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
The thing about living in a human society is you either decide that everyone (except those for whom it would be medically dangerous) has to take VACCINES into their bodies or everyone (with no exceptions at all) has to take VIRULENT PATHOGENS in from those around them and, look, the first is better.
September 3, 2025 at 9:49 PM
The thing about living in a human society is you either decide that everyone (except those for whom it would be medically dangerous) has to take VACCINES into their bodies or everyone (with no exceptions at all) has to take VIRULENT PATHOGENS in from those around them and, look, the first is better.
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
9 CDC Directors going back to 1977 speak out. What RFK Jr has done to our nation’s public health system "should alarm every American."
It "is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
It "is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
Opinion | We Ran the C.D.C.: Kennedy Is Endangering Every American’s Health
www.nytimes.com
September 1, 2025 at 11:23 AM
9 CDC Directors going back to 1977 speak out. What RFK Jr has done to our nation’s public health system "should alarm every American."
It "is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
It "is unlike anything we have ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country has ever experienced." www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
there is no question in my mind that rfk jr is the most dangerous person in this administration and that his eugenicist ideology threatens the lives of millions of people www.advocate.com/politics/dem...
RFK Jr.’s damage to the CDC is ‘past the point of no return,’ Dr. Demetre Daskalakis warns
“The CDC you knew is over,” the infectious diseases doctor told The Advocate. “Unless someone takes radical action, there is nothing there that can be salvaged.”
www.advocate.com
August 29, 2025 at 8:53 PM
there is no question in my mind that rfk jr is the most dangerous person in this administration and that his eugenicist ideology threatens the lives of millions of people www.advocate.com/politics/dem...
Reposted by Jessica Briggs
BREAKING: Social Security Administration chief data officer and whistle-blower Charles Borges has resigned after bombshell report that SSA put highly-sensitive data at risk. He sent out an email to colleagues moments ago.
Here is the text of his email shared with me:
Here is the text of his email shared with me:
August 29, 2025 at 7:26 PM
BREAKING: Social Security Administration chief data officer and whistle-blower Charles Borges has resigned after bombshell report that SSA put highly-sensitive data at risk. He sent out an email to colleagues moments ago.
Here is the text of his email shared with me:
Here is the text of his email shared with me: