Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · 5d

Meredith works on the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a new telescope in Chile that just released its first images. 🔭✨ Soon, Rubin will begin its ten year survey of the southern sky, unlocking new discoveries.

What are you working on? DM us to be featured! 📣📣📣

#UAWWorkersUnited #OurResearchMatters

UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · 12d

In a world debating screen time, we need research on how kids use tech, and how to make it better for all. Emmi designs technology to support children’s play, learning, and growth. 🧸📱

What’s your research story? Comment a pic and short quote to be featured 💓

#UAWWorkersUnited #OurResearchMatters

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · 12d

Luciano develops new ways to measure radioactive decay with extreme precision 🌌☢️ This work helps us answer major questions about the universe, but it is only made possible with federal funding.

What’s your research about? DM us a pic & quote to be featured! 🌟🌠

#UAWWorkersUnited #OurResearchMatters

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · 13d

Meg’s research looks at “science in crisis” -- how federal budget cuts are reshaping research communities, and how we can build resilience for the future. 🙌🌏

What impact have you seen from cuts? Share your story by DM-ing us a short quote & pic.

#UAWWorkersUnited #OurResearchMatters

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · 14d

Forest’s team was building preventative care for syphilis, a disease currently on the rise in the US. That work came to a halt when federal cuts shut the work down for its "DEI themes." 💔

What’s your story? Comment/DM us a pic + short quote to be featured.

#UAWWorkersUnited #OurResearchMatters

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · 18d

Vickie's work tackles zoonotic diseases, protects farmworkers, and even helps unhoused people with pets get care 🐓💙 Yet funding for this vital work hangs by a thread.

What's your research story? Comment or DM us to be featured 🪧🤳

#UAWWorkersUnited #OurResearchMatters

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · 20d

Trauma victims deserve better treatments than saltwater. 🙏❤️ Ethan's creating synthetic blood to save lives, but funding scarcities limit this research.

What's one solution you're currently researching? 🥼 Comment or DM us a quote + photo to be featured.

#UAWWorkersUnited #OurResearchMatters

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · 20d

Kelsey studies how sugars on blood cancer cells can help them grow and resist treatment 🧪🩸 Her work could lead to brand new cancer therapies, but funding cuts put this work on the line.

What research are you working towards? Comment or DM us to be featured ✏️

#UAWWorkersUnited #OurResearchMatters

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · 22d

Tracy studies DNA:RNA hybrid systems that could transform programmable medicine 🧬🔨 Cuts to training funding are limiting this work!

What breakthroughs are you working on? DM or comment a pic and short quote to be highlighted!

#UAWWorkersUnited #OurResearchMatters

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · 28d

Whether it's during wildfires or pandemics, false information puts our communities at risk. Sydney’s research tracks how rumors spread so we can respond faster and save lives. ⚠️🕸️

What’s your research story? 👩‍💻💡Share in comments or DM our account to be featured!

#UAWWorkersUnited #OurResearchMatters

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · Sep 4

By studying data from earlier HIV trials, Elena is improving treatments with insights into how the virus evolves ⚡🦠⚡ This work depends on reliable research funding!!

What's your research story? Share in the comments or DM us to be featured.

#UAWWorkersUnited #OurResearchMatters

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · Sep 2

Bridget’s research in epidemiology helps prevent reproductive health complications by improving STI screening 🩺 🖥️ Cuts to public research funding put this work at risk. What’s your research story?

Comment or DM us a photo + quote to be featured! 💫✍️

#UAWWorkersUnited #OurResearchMatters

UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · Aug 29

Flood maps. Gene therapies. The origins of stars. 🌊🧬💫

Cassandra, Dev, and Tobin are pushing the boundaries of science with their research, but federal funding cuts put this work at risk.

What's your story? Reply or DM with a photo + quote to be featured! 🖼️✍️

#UAWWorkersUnited #OurResearchMatters

UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · Aug 11

Join Kyndra, Mickey, Allison, Brooke, and Joe TODAY (Aug 11) at 5PM for the Kill the Cuts Town Hall with Rep. Pramila Jayapal. Now is the moment to demand our representatives to defend and invest in both science and our futures!!!

🔗 RSVP here: form.jotform.com/251766883613...
Masking encouraged!

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · Aug 11

From the north to south pole, from the air we breathe to the ground below: UW researchers are working to protect people and our planet. When funding for this research is disrupted, we put at risk public safety, national security, and a livable future. 🌎🌊🗻

Kendra Buglione, Academic Student Employee, UW Atmospheric Sciences. “Clouds are one of the biggest sources of uncertainty in climate models. My research examines the microphysical properties of clouds over the remote Southern Ocean, where high concentrations of low clouds play a key role in reflecting sunlight to help cool the Earth. Without research funding, we lose the observations needed to understand how our climate is changing, and discourage the next generation from pursuing climate related research.”

Mickey Cassar, Research Scientist, UW Earth & Space Sciences. “I work in the lab that monitors earthquakes and volcanoes across Washington and Oregon. Our operations were foundational in responding to the earthquake swarm at Mt Rainier in July 2025, and the infrastructure, software, and data we maintain are the backbone of earthquake early warning in our region. Without the federal grants that make our work possible, the reliability of this monitoring in the western U.S. declines, with serious consequences for emergency managers and the public who depend on timely, accurate information.”

Allison Moon, Academic Student Employee, UW Atmospheric Sciences. “Atmospheric chemistry research is at risk for federal funding cuts. From pristine to polluted environments and from the surface to the stratosphere, atmospheric chemistry research helps us understand air quality and climate issues. This is crucial for protecting human health, food security (e.g. from atmosphere- plant interactions), and energy resilience (e.g. from impacts on solar radiation). Without federal funding, our modeling capabilities, data-collection, lab and field experiments, and satellite systems will all be severely compromised.”

Brooke Carruthers, Academic Student Employee, UW Oceanography. “Sea ice algae are the unsung heroes of the polar oceans, forming the base of the Artic and Antarctic food chains. Our lab investigates how these hardy microbes thrive in extreme cold, how changing sea ice conditions will affect them, and what that means for the planet. The poles are one of the most rapidly changing environments on the planet, yet we understand little of their complex interations with the rest of the globe. Consistent funding for field and lab work, along with international collaboration, is vital to unravelling the mysteries of the poles.”

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · Aug 6

NOW is the time to keep up the pressure on our representatives to continue to prioritize funding our research work!

🔗 RSVP to the Kill the Cuts Town Hall here or using the link in bio: form.jotform.com/251766883613...

Masks strongly encouraged!

UAW 4121 Kill the Cuts Town Hall RSVP

Please click the link to complete this form.

form.jotform.com

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · Aug 6

🗓️ Join Lucas, Tess, Sharon, and Vaughan THIS MONDAY (Aug 11) at the Kill the Cuts Town Hall with Rep. Pramila Jayapal. The US Senate Appropriations Committee has just approved a $400 million INCREASE to the NIH for 2026! This is a huge win—but it now has to be approved by the Senate and the House.

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · Aug 6

➡️ Funding disruptions are threatening lifesaving improvements and innovations in behavioral and mental healthcare. These cuts are already forcing researchers to pause or leave projects that directly save lives.

Tess Grover. Research Coordinator, UW Psychiatry & Behavioral Science.
“One of my siblings died by suicide in 2020. To address the inescapable question, “What could we have done better?” I’ve focused on suicide prevention research. Unfortunately, UW’s Suicide Care Research Center is going on six months without NIH funding. While none of our projects are considered “controversial”, we haven’t received any of the expected money needed for us to improve our outpatient services for young individuals with acute suicide risk. The federal government needs to fund us, we who work to improve the lives of people living in the US. Let us work! Let us help people!”

Lucas O’Bryan. Research Scientist, UW Psychiatry & Behavioral Science. “I’m a UW research scientist focused on improving suicide care for adolescents and young adults. This critical NIH-funded work has been disrupted by federal funding delays, forcing UW to furlough researchers like me. These cuts, and the furloughs they cause, are stalling vital improvements to our mental health care systems.”

Sharon Garrett. Research Scientist, UW Psychiatry & Behavioral Science. “I work on projects that develop treatments for substance use disorders. Some of my work is funded by NIH, and we worry every day that our studies will be halted and that innovations that could improve the lives of people affected by substance use will be slowed or stopped altogether.”

Vaughan Collins. Research Coordinator, UW Psychiatry & Behavioral Science. “More than 2 out of 3 youth in the U.S. experience trauma. Yet, their ability to access and receive impactful evidence-based treatment is at risk with NIH funding cuts. I work on the R34 grant with the UW ALACRITY Center. We strive to design and promote a treatment called Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy [TF-CBT], which has the strongest evidence of any clinical intervention for youth with trauma. Without funding, our vital work won't be possible.”

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · Aug 1

As August 5 approaches, UAW 4121 members are out knocking doors for our endorsed candidates- come meet community and help get out the vote before the primaries close on Tuesday!
No prior canvassing experience needed to join.

RSVP for any upcoming canvassing shift here: tinyurl.com/4121-canvass

UAW 4121 members at canvassing events for Katie Wilson, Edwin Obras, and Girmay Zahilay.

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · Jul 31

Show up with Valerie, Jenna, and Ian on August 11, 5-6:30PM to the Kill the Cuts Town Hall with our WA Rep. Pramila Jayapal, where we'll highlight all the amazing science being done by workers at UW and why it deserves funding. 🔬🔥🌱

RSVP here or at the link in bio: form.jotform.com/251766883613...

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · Jul 31

UW research saves lives, protects our communities, and builds a path towards climate solutions. Federal funding cuts put all of this work at risk. Meet some of our members who drive this fascinating research at UW!

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · Jul 29

Major cuts to research funding are on the table, but if we raise our voices together, we can stop them ‼️🔊‼️

Join your UW community Aug 11 for a Town Hall with Rep. Pramila Jayapal, where we’ll demand that Congress fully fund science in the 2026 federal budget.

RSVP: form.jotform.com/251766883613...

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · Jul 16

Want to help build a more affordable, accessible Seattle too? Join us this Sunday 7/20 from 11am–2pm at the Capitol Hill Farmers Market to canvass with the Wilson for Seattle crew! No experience needed, just bring your voice and democracy vouchers 💌

RSVP here: www.mobilize.us/wilsonforsea...

UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · Jul 16

Happy belated birthday to Katie Wilson- a champion of labor and public transit, and the future mayor Seattle needs! 🥳🧁🎉

We had a great time celebrating Katie’s vision this last weekend and showing up as 4121 members to support her people-powered campaign.

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UAW Local 4121 @uaw4121.bsky.social · Jul 10

New contract ratified! UW Postdocs secured key protections for international scholars and new rights for accessible workplaces, all while positioning to fight again soon alongside their Research Scientist & Engineer union siblings in 2026. Read more at tinyurl.com/2025-PD-TA

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