Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · Jul 30

A painful and essential read.

“The PEPFAR Program Impact Tracker, created by a mathematical modeler and a product management leader in the wake of Trump’s PEPFAR freeze, found 56,329 adult and 5,995 child HIV-related deaths between January 24 and June 1, 2025”.

“History Will Judge Us Harshly”: Gutting Global HIV Programs

Emily K. Abel

jackiewolf1.substack.com

4 20 50

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Harold Tobin @haroldtobin.bsky.social · Jul 30

This is a VERY large earthquake, possibly/probably among the 10 largest ever recorded. A clear subduction zone megathrust event. And it is another M>8.5 event with a notable foreshock (the recent M7.4 in same location), like Tohoku in 2011.

15 280 760

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · Jul 30

The NIH can’t award ANY grants to outside researchers under new WH restriction, reports @wsj.com.

The pause came in the form of a footnote from OMB Director Vought, in a document that doles out federal funds to the NIH.

Prelude to rescissions, especially after his comments over the weekend?

Trump Administration Puts New Chokehold on Billions in Health-Research Funding

The National Institutes of Health can’t award grants to outside researchers under a new White House restriction.

www.wsj.com

4 120 160

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Theresa O @theresalouiseo.bsky.social · Jul 16

📣 Looking for a postdoc? Is Interdisciplinary Population Health Research your jam?

Apply NOW to the Population Health Postdoc at U of Minnesota!!

Recruiting scholars from various disciplinary social science & public health doctorates. OH Yah. Fall '25 start. Apps due July 21st lnkd.in/gUeEqEDB

The University of Minnesota Training Program in Population Health Science produces scientists who understand that complex health problems result from multiple interacting layers of influence that unfold over chronological, biological, & historical time. We offer cross-training in the biology and etiology of disease as well as in the social sciences, including engaging in independent and collaborative population health research supervised by interdisciplinary teams of faculty; training in a large, vibrant interdisciplinary research center; and intensive mentoring and professional socialization designed to integrate trainees from various disciplinary backgrounds to prepare them for outstanding careers as population health scientists. We elicit postdoctoral fellowship applications from scholars with doctorates in health and social science disciplines to study population health research topics aligned with the priorities of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, Population Dynamics Branch. Examples of target recruitment disciplines include: sociology, developmental science, public health, epidemiology, demography, geography, economics, health policy, public policy, environmental health, psychology, geography, health behavior, anthropology, history, or related disciplines. Multiple positions available. Applications due Monday July 21. https://pop.umn.edu/training/postdoctoral

2 1

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · Jul 1

Republicans want to rip healthcare away from 17 million Americans with Trump’s Tax Scam.

HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL LOSE HEALTH CARE IN YOUR STATE?

THAT’S 17 MILLION LIVES REPUBLICANS ARE PUTTING AT RISK

@warren.senate.gov

30 320 590

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Andrew O'Neill ❌👑 @andrew-oneill.bsky.social · Jun 30

The GOP bill would take healthcare from 17 million people. Big numbers can be hard to understand - 17 million is the same as the *entire* population of:

Wyoming
Vermont
Alaska
North Dakota
South Dakota
Delaware
Rhode Island
Montana
Maine
New Hampshire
Hawaii
West Virginia
Idaho
Nebraska

COMBINED

Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · Jun 30

Trump's Tax Scam is a disaster.

We need GOP senators’ phones to be ringing off the hooks: indivisible.org/reso...

And when their voicemails fill up, use this tool to send an email: act.indivisible.org/...

15 340 640

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Doug Lindner @douglindner.bsky.social · Jul 1

46 states have fewer people than the number who will die because Trump, Elon, and Rubio illegally destroyed USAID.

Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · Jun 30

I really don’t understand how anyone in this administration, or anyone who supports them, sleep at night.

USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths over the next five years, researchers say

An analysis published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet projects that cuts to the agency will lead to more deaths from diseases like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

www.nbcnews.com

1 23 36

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Ezra Levin ❌👑 @ezralevin.bsky.social · Jun 22

An act of war weeks in planning but unauthorized by Congress against a country that Trump's own director of intelligence testified under oath was not close to getting a nuclear weapon.

Axios @axios.com · Jun 21

BREAKING: U.S. strikes Iran's nuclear facilities

U.S. strikes Iran's nuclear facilities

Trump's direct intervention marks a historic escalation in the Middle East.

www.axios.com

86 950 3.1K

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Sean Casten @seancasten.bsky.social · Jun 22

This is not about the merits of Iran’s nuclear program. No president has the authority to bomb another country that does not pose an imminent threat to the US without the approval of Congress. This is an unambiguous impeachable offense.

1.1K 9K 35K

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · May 31

I don't think anyone outside of universities, pharma and biotech, independent research institutions have any idea of what is happening right now. If you haven't sounded the alarm among your friends, family and colleagues, now is the time to do it.

63 1.5K 2.9K

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · May 21

13588 comments yesterday...now 14393. Let's get this over 15000 today!

3 8 17

Tamara Dubowitz @tamaradubowitz.bsky.social · May 19

Definitely Pgh people who will make this happen!! Follow @pgh-health-science.bsky.social to start connecting!!!

3

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

RNS @rns.org · Apr 29

"We cannot allow the fight against antisemitism to be twisted into a wedge issue, used to justify policies that target immigrants and other minorities, suppress free speech, or erode democratic norms," the letter read.
religionnews.com/2025/04/28/5...

550 US rabbis sign letter condemning Trump's antisemitism policy

(RNS) — The letter comes after a poll found that most American Jews oppose the way President Donald Trump is handling antisemitism.

religionnews.com

7 120 390

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Jay D. Aronson @jaydaronson.bsky.social · Apr 29

🇨🇦

1 1

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · Apr 27

I really wish reporters would stop saying that there is an effort by the Trump administration to combat antisemitism. It is quite the opposite. There is an effort to foment antisemitism.
forward.com/fast-forward...

Columbia staff receive texts asking if they're Jewish, as government hunts antisemitic harassment on campus

Barnard employees received the text as Columbia University students plan a new tent encampment to protest the Israel-Hamas war.

forward.com

120 1.4K 4.5K

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · Apr 26

🧪 UPDATE: NSF just opened itself even further to lawsuit.

Yesterday, it doubled down on the false claim that its 1,000+ grant terminations are "not subject to appeal."

See question 16 here, published Friday afternoon: www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...

A brief thread... 🧵

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

🧪 Tip: You have the right to contest a grant termination, even though NSF says you don't. 🧵

On Friday, NSF terminated 402 grants (per Musk's DOGE).

The notification letters had one of the most egregious violations of fed regulations I've seen so far in these cases:

"not subject to appeal"

Megan Zahneis @mzahneis.bsky.social · Apr 18

Here's a copy of an NSF grant termination notice that went out today. "NSF is issuing this termination to protect the interests of the government pursuant...on the basis that they no longer effectuate the program goals or agency priorities." Not subject to appeal. #HigherEd #AcademicSky

1 24 47

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · Apr 24

ATTENTION: NSF GRANT RECIPIENTS

We received a heads up from a trusted source that you should proactively download/print/screen shot any documentation on research.gov pertaining to your NSF awards, both those that are current and any that have closed in the last 5-6 years.

1/n

a cartoon of a man holding a frying pan and a spoon with red alert written above him

ALT: a cartoon of a man holding a frying pan and a spoon with red alert written above him

media.tenor.com

25 930 1K

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Norm Eisen @normeisen.bsky.social · Apr 22

BREAKING: we won! A federal judge has enjoined the administration's shut down of Voice of America

Another success for the Constitution and for us @sddaction.bsky.social & our many wonderful partners & clients

More details to follow--stay tuned!

630 6.9K 35K

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · Apr 18

Per source, NIH has been instructed to hold off from issuing ALL awards to Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, Brown, and Northwestern (including med schools)

Agency staff have also been instructed to not speak about this funding freeze to grantees and applicants

76 950 1.8K

Tamara Dubowitz @tamaradubowitz.bsky.social · Apr 16

This is a profound loss to science and to anyone who cares about our food system.

Kevin Hall @kevinh-phd.bsky.social · Apr 16

After 21 years at my dream job, I’m very sad to announce my early retirement from the National Institutes of Health. My life’s work has been to scientifically study how our food environment affects what we eat, and how what we eat affects our physiology.

1 2

Tamara Dubowitz @tamaradubowitz.bsky.social · Apr 16

Read this.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/o...

Opinion | It’s Time to Protect America From America’s President (Gift Article)

Trump’s authoritarian actions are vandalizing the American project.

www.nytimes.com

Tamara Dubowitz @tamaradubowitz.bsky.social · Apr 15

"Participate in protests to find and share solidarity, but above all, remember: your work is an act of resistance. Every experiment, every line of code, every collaboration defies those who would silence science. Keep going."

Alexandra Witze @alexwitze.bsky.social · Apr 14

Hey, US scientists: break the outrage addiction, says this Brazilian researcher. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Dear US researchers: break the outrage addiction. I survived the besieging of science. So can you

As I watch US researchers respond to threats against science, I’m reminded of when scientists in Brazil navigated a similar storm.

www.nature.com

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · Apr 14

This video shows the fire damage inside the Pennsylvania Governor’s mansion.

Governor Shapiro’s reaction to the arson attack is on my timeline.

290 1.7K 4.1K

Reposted by Tamara Dubowitz

PGHS - Pittsburgh Healthcare Workers and Scientists @pgh-health-science.bsky.social · Apr 13

Faculty, staff, students, trainees, alumni of #Pittsburgh:

We’ve written a letter calling on #Pitt leadership to protect academic freedom, research, and inclusion.

This is our moment to stand together.

Sign here: tinyurl.com/PittLetter

Defend intellectual freedom, scientific discovery, and community safety at the University of Pittsburgh

An open letter from University of Pittsburgh faculty, students, and staff mobilizing in response to threats to intellectual freedom, research funding, and democracy, calling upon Pitt leadership to st...

tinyurl.com

1 1

Tamara Dubowitz @tamaradubowitz.bsky.social · Apr 11

Happy Birthday!!! And enjoy the happy celebrations! Thank you for all you have been doing!!