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Srinivas Viswanathan MD, PhD

@srviswanathan.bsky.social

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Physician-scientist | GU oncologist @DanaFarber @Harvardmed https://viswanathanlab.dana-farber.org Cancer genomics, functional genetics, RNA Prostate Cancer; translocation RCC. Opinions my own.

viswanathanlab.dana-farber.org

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Reposted by Srinivas Viswanathan MD, PhD

Office of Mayor Michelle Wu 吳弭 @mayorwu.boston.gov · Feb 20

The City of Boston is leading 40+ mayors, cities, and counties in an amicus brief against the Trump Administration's drastic and illegal cuts to federal research funding—cuts that will lead to immediate job losses nationwide.

COALITION OF MAYORS ACROSS U.S. FILE AMICUS BRIEF IN OPPOSITION TO TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S DRASTIC CUTS TO FEDERAL RESEARCH FUNDING
Led by the City of Boston, MA, City of Cleveland, OH, the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, TN, the Mayor of Gainesville, FL, and the Mayor of Salt Lake City, UT, over 40 mayors, cities, and counties argue that NIH cuts will cause job losses, economic disruption, and undermine U.S. competitiveness

BOSTON - Thursday, February 20, 2025 - Late yesterday, Mayor Michelle Wu co-led a coalition of Mayors from across the United States in writing and filing an amicus brief in federal district court in Boston to stop the Trump Administration's drastic and illegal cuts to federal research funding and immediate job losses in cities nationwide. Over 40 mayors, cities, and counties from across the country joined the brief. These cities are home to universities and hospitals that employ hundreds of thousands of Americans in cutting edge medical and scientific research, and the federally-funded research in these communities has made the United States the global leader in scientific discovery. The brief seeks a temporary restraining order against the Trump Administration, alongside the research universities, medical schools, hospitals, and 22 states that are plaintiffs in the three cases filed last week in federal district court.

“For decades, Congress has made a clear choice to use federally-funded research to invest in cities, build a broadly-distributed infrastructure for scientific discovery, create jobs, and drive economic growth in communities across the United States,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “We join with cities across the country – in red states, purple states, and blue states – to stop this illegal action that will cause layoffs, lab closures, and undermine scientific progress in American cities. I thank Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell for her leadership on behalf of the research institutions of Boston.”

This amicus brief is in response to the abrupt February 7, 2025 announcement by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of an immediate reduction in funding for scientific and medical research institutions across the country. Under the NIH’s new policy, which temporarily went into effect on Monday, February 10, payments for indirect costs reimbursed to research universities would be capped at 15%, down from 30-70%. The brief makes clear that NIH funding cuts would devastate research institutions in cities across the county, cause job losses, create severe economic disruption, and undermine a critical pillar of strength and civic pride in cities across the United States. The cuts would also undermine critical medical and scientific research that residents are counting on, including cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, and jeopardize the cities’ and country’s position of global leadership on scientific advancement.
“The Gainesville community depends on this highly efficient, dependable investment of our tax dollars back into our city’s innovation economy,” said Harvey L. Ward, Mayor, City of Gainesville, Florida. “I’m glad to join other mayors in highlighting the vital role NIH funding plays in the lives of everyday hardworking American families.”
“The breadth and diversity of this coalition highlights the devastating and widespread impact of these NIH funding changes, from Alzheimer’s research to cancer clinical trials,” said Jill Habig, Founder and CEO of Public Rights Project. “We’re proud to partner with mayors, cities, and counties in opposing this threat to critical federal funding and the health and vitality of our communities.”
On Monday, February 10th, twenty two states and associations of medical schools, hospitals, and universities, filed three related cases, and secured a temporary restraining order preventing the Trump Administration from slashing the reimbursement rates. That initial order will be revisited this week in a hearing scheduled for Feb. 21.

The Public Rights Project served as amici counsel. The full list of mayors, cities and counties who joined the brief is below.

Local Governments and Mayors

City of Boston, Massachusetts
City of Cleveland, Ohio
Harvey L. Ward, Mayor, City of Gainesville, Florida
Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee
Erin Mendenhall, Mayor, City of Salt Lake City, Utah
City of Alameda, California
City of Albuquerque, New Mexico
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
City of Baltimore, Maryland
Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, Mayor, City of Burlington, Vermont
Township of Canton, Michigan
Town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina
City of Chicago, Illinois
Sandra Welch, Mayor, City of Coconut Creek, Florida
City of Columbus, Ohio
City of Easthampton, Massachusetts
Daniel Biss, Mayor, City of Evanston, Illinois
City of Fairfax, Virginia
Harris County, Texas
Ravinder S. Bhalla, Mayor, City of Hoboken, New Jersey
Quinton Lucas, Mayor, Kansas City, Missouri
Indya Kincannon, Mayor, City of Knoxville, Tennessee
City of Madison, Wisconsin
Jeff Silvestrini, Mayor, City of Millcreek, Utah
Anissa Welch, Mayor, City of Milton, Wisconsin
Montgomery County, Maryland
City of New Haven, Connecticut
Dontae Payne, Mayor, City of Olympia, Washington
Adrian O. Mapp, Mayor, City of Plainfield, New Jersey
Sue Noack, Mayor, City of Pleasant Hill, California
City of Pittsburgh and Ed Gainey, Mayor, City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
City of Providence, Rhode Island
John Clark, Mayor, Town of Ridgway, Colorado
City of Rochester, New York
City of Sacramento, California
City and County of San Francisco, California
City of Santa Monica, California
Constantine H. Kutteh, Mayor, City of Statesville, North Carolina
Lisa Brown, Mayor, City of Spokane, Washington
Tishaura O. Jones, Mayor, City of St. Louis, Missouri
City of St. Paul, Minnesota
Dennis R. McBride, Mayor, City of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

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Srinivas Viswanathan MD, PhD @srviswanathan.bsky.social · Feb 6

Thanks to postdoctoral fellow Dr. Jiao Li who led this study, contributions of all coauthors, our editor and reviewers whose feedback strengthened our manuscript and to funding sources who supported this work. /end

Srinivas Viswanathan MD, PhD @srviswanathan.bsky.social · Feb 6

Our study provides further mechanistic evidence that tRCC is genetically and transcriptionally distinct from other kidney cancers. We hope this will be another step forward towards developing the first therapies specifically targeting the unique biology of tRCC. #rarecancer 4/

Srinivas Viswanathan MD, PhD @srviswanathan.bsky.social · Feb 6

This profile confers selective dependencies in OXPHOS-dep. tRCC cells. e.g tRCCs show selective dep on EGLN1. Inhibiting EGLN1 stabilizes HIF-1α, leading to glycolytic reprogramming. EGLN inhibitors, approved for anemia treatment, could perhaps be explored for tRCC & other OXPHOS-high cancers 💊. 3/

Srinivas Viswanathan MD, PhD @srviswanathan.bsky.social · Feb 6

Unexpectedly, unlike ccRCC (most common kidney cancer) and other RCCs that are highly glycolytic, we show that tRCC prefers mitochondrial respiration. 2/

Srinivas Viswanathan MD, PhD @srviswanathan.bsky.social · Feb 6

Excited to share our new study on translocation RCC (tRCC) in collaboration with @liron1bar-peled.bsky.social. We reveal how the TFE3 fusion drives a key oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) metabolic program in this rare kidney cancer. trebuchet.public.springernature.app/get_content/... 1/

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Reposted by Srinivas Viswanathan MD, PhD

Toni Choueiri, MD @drchoueiri.bsky.social · Feb 5

Our paper in @nature.com is finally published: a prospective trial of a personalized Neoantigen Vaccine in Kidney Cancer

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This is teamwork with @danafarber.bsky.social @yalecancer.bsky.social @harvardmed.bsky.social + Wu lab

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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