Not Being Green
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notbeinggreen.com
Not Being Green
@notbeinggreen.com
5 followers 3 following 9 posts
A blog by @michaeldgreen.phd , a Population Health Sciences researcher focusing on social inequities, where he will think about topics that are nuanced. Blog topics primarily surrounding Health Equity, sometimes I will meander.

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Not Being Green @notbeinggreen.com · Jan 25
"Not Being Green" is a Blog by @michaeldgreen.com a researcher who studies the impact of social factors on healthcare.

It is a personal blog, where I will discuss aspects of my research and career that do not make it to peer-review.

The intro Blog is here: open.substack.com/pub/notbeing...
Why am I doing this?
Introduction for "Not Being Green"
open.substack.com
notbeinggreen.com
New blog out now about the controversial topic of hosting your newsletter on Substack.

I understand the critiques, but in an internet built around Section 230, I still think sharing ideas there can be valuable.

open.substack.com/pub/notbeing...
The right platforms for influence?
To Substack or not to Substack is a frequent question. If you do not have a huge following and the resources to manage a newsletter full-time- the answer is clear.
open.substack.com
January 6, 2026 at 1:30 AM
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michaeldgreen.phd
My PhD was conferred today 🥳🎉 so I’m officially “Michael D. Green, Ph.D.”

PhD programs involve massive opportunity cost that many people underestimate. Wrote about making peace with delayed gratification and rejection.

www.notbeinggreen.com/p/the-opport...
The Opportunity Cost of My PhD—And How I Made Peace with It
Delayed gratification, hard lessons, and why I still believe it was worth it
open.substack.com
December 30, 2025 at 9:07 PM
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michaeldgreen.phd
Was very moved by this point, so I made a video about it!

If you want “transparency and innovation” in research, you don’t create an environment full of chaos and dissent. You listen, lead, and provide a clear target for the people who are relying on you!
August 17, 2025 at 8:36 PM
notbeinggreen.com
New blog post out now!

www.notbeinggreen.com/p/diversity-...
Diversity Claims Meet Data
Our analysis of 15 years of data from the largest registry of clinical studies shows that the data lags behind the rhetoric.
www.notbeinggreen.com
August 2, 2025 at 9:14 PM
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michaeldgreen.phd
Wrote a blog post where I overviewed a few thoughts that didn’t make it into the paper but are ESPECIALLY relevant in this current moment. www.notbeinggreen.com/p/diversity-...
August 2, 2025 at 9:10 PM
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michaeldgreen.phd
This story really moved me so I decided to make a TikTok about it.

I am eager to see how this in any way makes it easier to do “innovative science” (I’m highly doubtful!)
July 16, 2025 at 1:12 PM
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michaeldgreen.phd
A lot of our health issues in America take both present-day and future investment. We are seeing a pullback in both which is clearly going to impact our future! Provided some thoughts on this NYT article in this video.

#MedSky #Science
July 1, 2025 at 1:59 PM
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michaeldgreen.phd
One of the scariest questions I get now that I’m at the end of my PhD program (hopefully) is “What’s Next?”

No one can predict the future, but here are a few things I’m thinking about as principles I value!
June 28, 2025 at 8:41 PM
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michaeldgreen.phd
I have a lot of issues with people getting information solely through short-form video content (cue the Gen-Z hate), but it doesn’t seem like that trend is stopping anytime soon. I am going to try to reach people over on TikTok. Here are the first 3 minutes of one I just made. 🧪 #MedSky #BlackMedSky
June 27, 2025 at 1:35 PM
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michaeldgreen.phd
Researchers are facing new, challenging circumstances that make our efforts to improve population health harder.
The current environment makes conducting research to achieve more equity unstable at best. Thanks @milbankfund.bsky.social @iaphs.bsky.social for giving me and others a space to share!
I am a rising fifth year PhD candidate in Population Health Sciences. When I applied to graduate schools in 2020 as an undergraduate senior, equity was deemed a priority in health research, and the many socio-demographic inequities (race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, etc.) that have been at the forefront of population health sciences for years were getting a national spotlight. I was cautiously hopeful to enter this environment, seeing institutions of higher education claim an interest in understanding health inequities and training and advancing scholars to uplift groups suffering unequally. Now, in 2025, the topics that I was told were a long-term institutional priority are divisive ones that I am told we must not only reframe how we speak about but also pivot away from the funding opportunities which are key to our advancement.. Current leadership at these institutions do not appear to be socio-demographically different than 2020, but the opportunities which were generated to promote people to leadership positions (e.g., Diversity Supplements, funding announcements for specific populations) are being terminated mid-project. Formerly, federal funding was a huge way to support a health equity research portfolio but now this is not an option and there is no comparable alternative. As a PhD student who has been in his program the longest amongst his peers, I am asked by my colleagues whether it is even worth pursuing a PhD at all nearly every week. Prospective students also reac out with more frequency, whether it be because of lost job opportunities or other programs that are shrinking their incoming class sizes. None of us know the future, but the burden of answering these questions remains. Trainees and early career researchers are often the easiest to reach in the population health research landscape. We are at a stage of our careers where we are trying to establish ourselves, build our networks, and develop credibility. We have more time to focus o…
June 24, 2025 at 8:37 PM
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michaeldgreen.phd
Turned 26 today and recently finished my 4th year of my PhD program, so I wrote a new blog where I did some reflecting on the moment we are in.

Compared to when I applied to grad school in 2020, this is nowhere near what I would’ve predicted. Read here:

open.substack.com/pub/notbeing...
In this moment, we have an unraveling of biomedical research infrastructure that not only is impacting my own training and research ability, but the future of scientific research. Many of the conversations I've had recently are about pivoting research focus. If I could go back into the future to newly admitted Ph.D. student Michael Green, the most straight forward advice would be to pursue something "non-controversial' so he could position himself for a career to pursue science that the current administration deems "non-controversial'. Avoiding controversy is not why I decided to pursue a Ph.D. in Population Health Sciences focusing on how people are socially treated in health systems. The definition of controversy is also constantly changing, so if avoiding controversy is your guiding framework, your target will be very unstable. I am pursuing this path because I have lived experience where my family members suffered because they feel like they were mistreated and/or unwelcome in healthcare spaces. In this moment, their experiences and trust in health systems are even more fractured than before. Simply pivoting from that work would not help them, so I cannot pivot from the greater mission, given that mission is core to my identity. Science is centered on controversy, we ask questions, run experiments, and make claims based on those experiments. Despite the pivot in how we support (or choose not to support) healthcare research, since I believe the new chaos will not work, we still need people in place to propose new solutions. I am concerned about people who hap-hazardously pivot from their alleged principles. At the same time I understand that the compensation you get in academia is well under corresponding positions in industry or another field. If the mission driven nature of academia is lost, and your ability to choose what you pursue based on your principles is lost, weathering the storm is a lot easier in places where you will make far more money or have less …
May 20, 2025 at 1:29 PM
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michaeldgreen.phd
I don’t read many books (insert joke about Gen-Z having shorter attention spans) but @chrislhayes.bsky.social new book “The Sirens’ Call” has captured my attention! Just put out a new blog post and connected the message to why attention matters for healthcare!

open.substack.com/pub/notbeing...
“The Sirens’ Call” is a great synopsis of how we got to this moment
Chris Hayes did a great job exploring how capturing attention shapes society
open.substack.com
April 2, 2025 at 2:37 PM
notbeinggreen.com
New Blog post out now! A review and commentary on @chrislhayes.bsky.social new book “The Sirens’ Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource”

open.substack.com/pub/notbeing...
“The Sirens’ Call” is a great synopsis of how we got to this moment
Chris Hayes did a great job exploring how capturing attention shapes society
open.substack.com
April 2, 2025 at 2:40 PM
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michaeldgreen.phd
A central point from the post: NIH reform (and government reform broadly) is something that conceptually makes a lot of sense! A wrecking ball does not lead to innovation, and right now we are facing a wrecking ball.
Excerpt from the post: NIH has often been criticized for being slow, favoring well-resourced institutions and high-profile investigators, and accommodating those with the time or support to submit multiple proposals. Although institutional change and thoughtful disruption might be reasonable, the current state of cancellations does not reflect that. It instead is the dismantling of an established system-driven by cultural or political disagreements-threatening the stability on which scientific research depends on for future innovation. I have witnessed friends and colleagues lose funding under circumstances that are arbitrary, despite the substantial effort required to secure those awards. Many were locked into well-thought training plans, expecting long-term advantages, only to find themselves vulnerable now. Historically, NIH grants were terminated only for serious infractions like plagiarism or data falsification, yet hundreds of grants have been canceled in recent months because the administration no longer prioritizes those scientific areas. The grants were reviewed by subject experts who volunteered their time, and identified priorities for their space. The terminations were issued by individuals who had no expertise, and did not understand the NIH process.
March 28, 2025 at 4:19 PM
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michaeldgreen.phd
Wrote a blog about how timing plays a critical role in NIH training grants—and why we need to think carefully when rebuilding these pathways for early-career folks. We need to think about what brought us to this vulnerable point, and how to create better solutions
open.substack.com/pub/notbeing...
When the Funding Floor Collapses
Cutting NIH Training Grants Dismantles Early-Career Research Paths
open.substack.com
March 28, 2025 at 2:46 PM
notbeinggreen.com
New blog out, another essay trying to make sense of uncertainty.
Picture in front of a white flag with the title of a blog and the first couple sentences from the blog.
March 12, 2025 at 1:06 AM
notbeinggreen.com
Blog post on current thoughts amidst a lot of uncertainty in biomedical research

open.substack.com/pub/notbeing...
Handling Chaos and Uncertainty
Some thoughts on the unsettling actions and vibes that early career researchers in the scientific community are experiencing.
open.substack.com
February 14, 2025 at 6:22 PM
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michaeldgreen.phd
Shared some Friday AM thoughts on what the whirlwind past week has been like from my early career perspective. So many friends and colleagues feel frozen in place.

What are the odds of getting a break on Valentine’s Day??

open.substack.com/pub/notbeing...
February 14, 2025 at 3:28 PM
notbeinggreen.com
Blog post on a troubling new journal, a predatory journal but not in the form of the traditional cash grab.

open.substack.com/pub/notbeing...
Publish to Make Science Perish
In science, we have our own version of the attention economy.
open.substack.com
February 7, 2025 at 1:19 PM
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michaeldgreen.phd
Felt compelled to write a blog post about this new journal.

open.substack.com/pub/notbeing...
Screenshot from the linked article “This new journal, featuring some controversial health scientists, including a few appointees in the new Trump administration who faced significant backlash due to their questionable scientific opinions in response to COVID-19, presents a troubling new perspective. While scientists are not immune to errors, the way they respond to them often reveals their motivations and character. Instead of embracing an open-access model that compensates reviewers for their time and expertise and acknowledges their contributions amidst the vast scientific community, this group chose to establish an exclusive club. By controlling who is invited as reviewers and who can publish, they further narrow the scope of ideas and work shared within their platform.”
February 7, 2025 at 1:10 PM
notbeinggreen.com
An essay on the backlash against DEI and Diversity. Was hoping to release this next week but felt the impulse to let it loose now.

open.substack.com/pub/notbeing...
Defining Diversity
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is getting a lot of backlash and an attempt to redefine it as the anthesis of merit. This is a gross mistake.
open.substack.com
January 31, 2025 at 1:35 AM
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michaeldgreen.phd
Said piece is now live.

open.substack.com/pub/notbeing...

Another 1 of my New Year’s resolutions was to start a blog. I am now 2 posts deep on Substack @notbeinggreen.substack.com.

Really hope to work on my independent writing voice over there and share some behind-the-scenes research insights.
January 31, 2025 at 1:32 AM
notbeinggreen.com
"Not Being Green" is a Blog by @michaeldgreen.com a researcher who studies the impact of social factors on healthcare.

It is a personal blog, where I will discuss aspects of my research and career that do not make it to peer-review.

The intro Blog is here: open.substack.com/pub/notbeing...
Why am I doing this?
Introduction for "Not Being Green"
open.substack.com
January 25, 2025 at 2:21 PM