Nicole Anne Swartwood, MSPH
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nswartwood.bsky.social
Nicole Anne Swartwood, MSPH
@nswartwood.bsky.social
85 followers 80 following 75 posts
infectious disease modeller at the
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
mathematical models 🧮 bayesian statistics 📈 TB 🦠
& a sprinkle of random trivia 📚 and photos 📸
🌺 all opinions are my own 🍅
Posts Replies Media Videos
nswartwood.bsky.social
I'm author on some upcoming systematic review manuscripts. Systematic reviews are often limited by language of the reviewers, but is AI the answer? Is its use going to improve public health? Below, I describe my experience and why I don't think it's the answer. 🛟🧪
AI’s growing thirst for water is becoming a public health risk
AI’s rapid expansion is placing growing pressure on water supplies and public health.
www.aljazeera.com
January 22, 2026 at 4:49 PM
nswartwood.bsky.social
Any BRMS gurus out there that can help me with my covariate analysis using a multivariate model? #stats #stan

discourse.mc-stan.org/t/covariate-...
Covariate impact on the ratio of dependent variables in BRMS multivariate model
I am using a multivariate specification in brms to model two correlated outcomes, (y_1, y_2) jointly. However, the outcome of interest is actually y_1/y_2, which is calculated after model run. I am in...
discourse.mc-stan.org
January 13, 2026 at 5:25 PM
nswartwood.bsky.social
In case anyone needs last minute gift ideas for the public health academic in their life:
cognitive-surplus.com/collections/...
A Prayer for Grant Funding Cocktail Candle
You’ve filled out stacks and stacks of paperwork, you’ve submitted more proposals than you can count. You’ve stayed up into the wee hours of the morning to just revise your submission one last time be...
cognitive-surplus.com
December 14, 2025 at 8:29 PM
nswartwood.bsky.social
Does anyone in US public health🛟 or @iddjobs.org world have any part time work? I'm looking for at least 9 hours of work at a non-profit or university so I don't lose my progress toward Public Student Loan Forgiveness.
December 2, 2025 at 5:38 PM
nswartwood.bsky.social
we have to bring TB into the discussion of climate change and climate change into TB programs. The vulnerabilities are shared. We should be designing interventions that improve resilience to both. A huge thank you to Matthew Saunders for his fantastic presentation at #UnionConf2025
PowerPoint slide illustrating three plots showing the relationship of country-level climate change vulnerability and tb incidence
November 21, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Reposted by Nicole Anne Swartwood, MSPH
gretchenmcculloch.com
Heepity jeepity
Curated poetry
Makes LLMs do what-
Ever you want

Single-turn jailbreaking
Vulnerability
Bypass your guardrails and
Serve us some cunt
cstross.bsky.social Charlie Stross @cstross.bsky.social · Nov 20
Looks like LLMs are *very* vulnerable to attack via poetic allusion: "curated poetic prompts yielded high attack-success rates (ASR), with some providers exceeding 90% ..."

https://arxiv.org/html/2511.15304v1
November 21, 2025 at 3:31 AM
nswartwood.bsky.social
come learn how TB varies across urban and rural areas via estimates based on data across the last three decades! #UnionConf2025
lightontb.bsky.social The LIGHT Consortium @lightontb.bsky.social · Nov 20
Is TB more common in cities or rural areas?

New analysis presented by Seyed Alireza Mortazavi at #WCLH2025 today!

• Urban > Rural in Africa
• Rural > Urban in Western Pacific
• Similar elsewhere

2.3 million participants 26 countries using a Bayesian model fitted to WHO data.

🤝 by @LIGHTonTB
November 20, 2025 at 11:07 AM
nswartwood.bsky.social
“Tuberculosis has become a metaphor for everything wrong with…and everything right about Public Health today.” - @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social #UnionConf2025
November 18, 2025 at 8:38 AM
nswartwood.bsky.social
come stop by my ePoster today at the #UnionConf2025 to find out if men or women experience TB at a higher rate in LMICs. The answer may just surprise you… 🛟
lightontb.bsky.social The LIGHT Consortium @lightontb.bsky.social · Nov 18
🗓️ Happening today at #UnionConf2025!

Are men really more affected by TB?

@nswartwood.bsky.social (Harvard), with support from the LIGHT Consortium, presents new Bayesian insights into TB prevalence by sex across LMICs.

#TB #Epidemiology #GlobalHealth
November 18, 2025 at 7:52 AM
nswartwood.bsky.social
Only I could go chasing hygge in Copenhagen, going so far as picking a cafe that bans laptops, and end up wedged between two groups discussing graduate school aspiration and professional resume building. I hear you universe, I’ll get my act together.
Traditional Danish plate on a cafe table next to a sticker that says, “no fucking laptops”
November 17, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Reposted by Nicole Anne Swartwood, MSPH
doh.wa.gov
Impacts to food access can have severe effects on public health. Find the latest #SNAP updates from DSHS. www.dshs.wa.gov/sites/defaul...
nfographic on the impact of a federal government shutdown on SNAP (food assistance) in Washington State. It states that nearly 1 million Washingtonians are at risk of losing assistance starting November 1. It breaks down the affected population: 930,000 total, 1 in 3 are elderly or disabled, 33% are children, and 30,000 are veterans. The infographic also shows the strain on the emergency food system, noting a record high of 13 million visits to food pantries in Washington in 2024 and that 1 in 4 residents visited a food pantry in the last year. Infographic detailing the negative economic impact of the SNAP cutoff on Washington's economy. It projects a loss of more than $285 million in economic activity, with every $1 of SNAP spending generating $1.54 locally. A map shows the state's most-impacted areas are the deep interior and rural regions. A table lists the Estimated Loss in Economic Activity by Congressional District, with District 4 losing $29,712,000 and District 10 losing $30,655,000. It also notes other impacts, including increased food insecurity, longer wait times for public assistance, and potential staffing issues at DSHS offices starting November 4.
October 29, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by Nicole Anne Swartwood, MSPH
drruth.bsky.social
NEW: Vaccine Preventable Disease Outbreaks, Global Tracker

Shanghai: RSV
Moscow: Chicken pox & Measles
Prague: Hep A
Mexico City: Measles (>5,000 cases)
Southern US: Measles, Pertussis
Alaska: Pertussis
Peru: Pertussis

h/t @angierasmussen.bsky.social @monscience.bsky.social
#medsky #pedsky 🛟😷🧪
Map showing vaccine preventable diseases across the world. See text above for more information.
October 29, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Reposted by Nicole Anne Swartwood, MSPH
mjsaunder.bsky.social
“Wow, I saw in the last GTB report undernutrition is much less important for TB than we previously thought” I hear you say…
Well, no. We think this is an underestimate, & as much as 28% of TB could be attributable to undernutrition – see our latest comment here: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Tuberculosis and undernutrition: improving estimates to reinforce the policy imperative
Undernutrition is a key driver of the global tuberculosis epidemic, increasing the risk of people developing tuberculosis disease and of poor outcomes in those who do.1 Each year, WHO publishes estima...
www.thelancet.com
October 28, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Reposted by Nicole Anne Swartwood, MSPH
samuelanimates.bsky.social
In case any of these are helpful for folks job hunting in the health space,
Reposting for feeds:
#episky #phdsky #publichealth #academicsky
samuelanimates.bsky.social Dr Samuel Animates @samuelanimates.bsky.social · Sep 9
Updated thread with US/Canada job postings in Public Health that might be relevant for folks with research backgrounds

First, an actively updated spreadsheet from the folks at Public Health Hiring Help: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

150+ additions in September

#medsky #publichealth #AcademicSky
2025 PH Postings
docs.google.com
September 9, 2025 at 8:43 PM
nswartwood.bsky.social
I wonder if this push will expand to three vaccines over three visits, resulting in two additional revenue generating visits for the same protection…
October 8, 2025 at 6:30 AM
nswartwood.bsky.social
Public health and science professionals in the US - what are some small actions you've taken to feel less hopeless in the current political climate? I've started a few small reoccurring donations, but looking to move beyond monetary contributions. 🛟🧪
October 3, 2025 at 6:18 PM
nswartwood.bsky.social
Hello #IDsky - as PhD application season (in the US) rolls around, I'm asking for any leads for mathematical modeling labs that may be looking for students. I've got 8 years professional experience in transmission modeling and strong Bayesian background. Please let me know if you know of anything! 🛟
September 5, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Reposted by Nicole Anne Swartwood, MSPH
skiles.blue
A terrorist targeted federal workers last week. There wasn’t much reporting on it. But I’m not finished thinking about it! 🧵

An anti-vaxxer fired more than 500 gunshots into CDC Atlanta, shattering 150 “blast-proof” windows on 6 buildings. Employees were pinned down in terror.
August 17, 2025 at 1:35 AM
Reposted by Nicole Anne Swartwood, MSPH
melaniekiechle.bsky.social
While I would prefer that my historical research have less relevance, please read and consider what it was like to fall ill and die before germ theory. #histmed 🗃️ nursingclio.org/2025/07/21/d...
Dying Before Germ Theory
As RFK questions germ theory, and measles ravages unvaccinated children, Americans need to know what is at risk. Americans died at higher rates and younger ages before the introduction of germ theo…
nursingclio.org
July 23, 2025 at 12:49 AM
Reposted by Nicole Anne Swartwood, MSPH
castltrastondrs.bsky.social
#Medsky🧪 #IDsky #Neurosky #Neurocovid #immunology #publichealth @nature.com
A study of nearly 1,000 people revealed that brain ageing was not associated with viral infection status, particularly #SARSCoV2 virus, but cognitive decline was.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
People’s brains aged faster during the COVID pandemic — even the uninfected
Study of nearly 1,000 people showed that brain ageing was not linked to infection status, but cognitive decline was.
www.nature.com
July 22, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Reposted by Nicole Anne Swartwood, MSPH
everythingisph.bsky.social
crime is a public health issue and should be treated as such.

police respond to crime, they do not lower it.
July 22, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Reposted by Nicole Anne Swartwood, MSPH
smcgrath.phd
🧪 New research confirms climate change is a primary driver of worsening forest fires. The likelihood of extreme fire weather has doubled since the preindustrial era, contributing to a dramatic increase in burned forest area globally.
#Climate #Fires
Climate Change Is Making Fire Weather Worse for World’s Forests
www.nytimes.com
July 22, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Reposted by Nicole Anne Swartwood, MSPH
oacarah.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

#papermills #openaccessdata #AI #publichealth
Low-quality papers based on public health data are flooding the scientific literature
The appearance of thousands of formulaic biomedical studies has been linked to the rise of text-generating AI tools.
www.nature.com
July 21, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Reposted by Nicole Anne Swartwood, MSPH
standupforscience.bsky.social
The Trump admin is erasing critical federal data - including climate trends, water quality, wildfire risk, public health stats, and pollution monitoring.

When the data goes dark, the American lives are at risk.

This is how To Sabatoge A Nation👇

zurl.co/slECM
Trump’s Cuts Are Making Federal Data Disappear
Online tools that professionals use for everything from diagnosing diseases to calculating insurance payouts are going dark.
zurl.co
July 18, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Nicole Anne Swartwood, MSPH
jennifernuzzo.bsky.social
There is evidence that 100 year hazards, like floods, are now happening more like every 1 to 30 years. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Climate change exacerbates hurricane flood hazards along US Atlantic and Gulf Coasts in spatially varying patterns - Nature Communications
Tropical cyclone-induced coastal flooding will increase under climate change. Here the authors estimate the effects of sea level rise and tropical cyclone climatology change on late–21st–century flood...
www.nature.com
July 9, 2025 at 6:02 PM