Will Murtaugh
@aliveandwill.bsky.social
Fighting the good fight in Tuberculosis and HIV therapeutics research. Home full of plants and pets, head full of lyrics, and stomach full of pasta. 🏳️🌈
📍Los Angeles; Proudly raised in Upstate NY, came alive in DC
📍Los Angeles; Proudly raised in Upstate NY, came alive in DC
Pinned
“The true scientist is quite imaginative as well as rational.”
-Isaac Asimov
-Isaac Asimov
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
We're tired of the false information and wrote this letter to the NIH director Jay Bhattacharya. FACT: clinical trials have been halted. With real ethical impacts. Is this what Americans want to be known for? Let's see what the director says.
June 24, 2025 at 8:29 PM
We're tired of the false information and wrote this letter to the NIH director Jay Bhattacharya. FACT: clinical trials have been halted. With real ethical impacts. Is this what Americans want to be known for? Let's see what the director says.
The chaos is the point. 😣 It’s not just funding cuts and delays, it’s the nuances of administrative and policy whiplash choking the scientific community to death
Ending U.S.-global health research partnerships will cost America
U.S. research on HIV, tuberculosis, Covid-19, mpox, and other fast-moving epidemics is under threat by a hastily announced NIH policy.
www.statnews.com
June 5, 2025 at 4:16 PM
The chaos is the point. 😣 It’s not just funding cuts and delays, it’s the nuances of administrative and policy whiplash choking the scientific community to death
The Gutting of America’s Medical Research: Here Is Every Canceled or Delayed N.I.H. Grant www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Here Are the Nearly 2,500 Medical Research Grants Canceled or Delayed by Trump
Some cuts have been starkly visible, but the country’s medical grant-making machinery has also radically transformed outside the public eye.
www.nytimes.com
June 4, 2025 at 4:32 PM
The Gutting of America’s Medical Research: Here Is Every Canceled or Delayed N.I.H. Grant www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
1000 paper cuts
In a move that could bring future research on HIV vaccines to a near halt, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases notified researchers today that it will not renew funding next year for two major consortia in the beleaguered field, Science has learned. scim.ag/4jpUm5W
‘Devasting.’ NIH cancels future funding plans for HIV vaccine consortia
Researchers decry agency’s decision just as new leads reinvigorate search for long-sought vaccine
scim.ag
May 31, 2025 at 1:19 AM
1000 paper cuts
These funding policies have been devastating for us, and the disruption to the PHOENIX study is just one piece of a larger mess. Unconscionable actions by the administration and HHS
NIH funding policy deals new blow to HIV-related trial networks
Halt to foreign “subawards” disrupts ongoing global studies and has researchers scrambling to fulfill ethical obligations to trial volunteers
www.science.org
May 30, 2025 at 10:44 PM
These funding policies have been devastating for us, and the disruption to the PHOENIX study is just one piece of a larger mess. Unconscionable actions by the administration and HHS
I support Lab Ops for ACTG, world’s largest HIV drug trials network w/ major TB portfolio. The study referenced and the entire network I’ve supported for nearly a decade is being gutted. It’s an ethical failure. Lives are at risk. Please speak out. Hold the administration and Congress accountable.
NIH grant cuts will axe clinical trials abroad — and could leave thousands without care
US agency’s new policy could abruptly end studies of infectious diseases and cancer, leaving researchers scrambling for funds.
www.nature.com
May 30, 2025 at 8:09 PM
I support Lab Ops for ACTG, world’s largest HIV drug trials network w/ major TB portfolio. The study referenced and the entire network I’ve supported for nearly a decade is being gutted. It’s an ethical failure. Lives are at risk. Please speak out. Hold the administration and Congress accountable.
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
In Lesotho and Eswatini, U.S. budget cuts threaten to wipe out years of progress against HIV. scim.ag/3Fdl6c3
U.S. aid helped two African countries rein in HIV. Then came Trump
In Lesotho and Eswatini, treatment and prevention cutbacks are hitting pregnant women, children, and teens especially hard
scim.ag
May 28, 2025 at 7:31 PM
In Lesotho and Eswatini, U.S. budget cuts threaten to wipe out years of progress against HIV. scim.ag/3Fdl6c3
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
Several academic and scientific conferences in the United States have been postponed, cancelled or moved elsewhere
https://go.nature.com/437v5IW
https://go.nature.com/437v5IW
Scientific conferences are leaving the US amid border fears
Some meetings have been put on hold in response to foreign researchers’ travel concerns.
go.nature.com
May 22, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Several academic and scientific conferences in the United States have been postponed, cancelled or moved elsewhere
https://go.nature.com/437v5IW
https://go.nature.com/437v5IW
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
Anti-equality extremists in the White House & Congress are actively interfering with Americans who are just trying to do their jobs.
Stop the censorship. End the attacks. Resume funding.
Let Americans do their jobs—without government interference.
Stop the censorship. End the attacks. Resume funding.
Let Americans do their jobs—without government interference.
May 16, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Anti-equality extremists in the White House & Congress are actively interfering with Americans who are just trying to do their jobs.
Stop the censorship. End the attacks. Resume funding.
Let Americans do their jobs—without government interference.
Stop the censorship. End the attacks. Resume funding.
Let Americans do their jobs—without government interference.
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
This is truly sad
nearly every single federal grant terminated at one of the largest schools of public health
nearly every single federal grant terminated at one of the largest schools of public health
With nearly all of Harvard Chan School’s direct federal grants terminated, we are relying on philanthropy to power our research and support our educational programs. Every gift, regardless of size, advances our vision of health, dignity, and justice for every human. Support our work: hsph.me/whygive
May 16, 2025 at 5:45 PM
This is truly sad
nearly every single federal grant terminated at one of the largest schools of public health
nearly every single federal grant terminated at one of the largest schools of public health
The late Nobel Peace Laureate and Archbishop Desmond Tutu would certainly support 👏
Episcopal Church refuses to resettle white Afrikaners, citing moral opposition
The church said it's terminating a decades-long partnership with the federal government to help refugees arriving in the U.S., citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa.
www.npr.org
May 13, 2025 at 1:16 AM
The late Nobel Peace Laureate and Archbishop Desmond Tutu would certainly support 👏
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
The Republican bill headed for committee markup tomorrow includes significant cuts and structural changes to Medicaid. Here’s a breakdown of what’s in it, plus where the party is (or isn’t) headed on SALT and taxes on the wealthy.
May 13, 2025 at 12:32 AM
The Republican bill headed for committee markup tomorrow includes significant cuts and structural changes to Medicaid. Here’s a breakdown of what’s in it, plus where the party is (or isn’t) headed on SALT and taxes on the wealthy.
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
Had the chance to talk tonight with @andersoncooper360.bsky.social about the significance of the firing of Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden & the ban on books about gay, trans people, and about race and racism from libraries in military academies.
May 10, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Had the chance to talk tonight with @andersoncooper360.bsky.social about the significance of the firing of Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden & the ban on books about gay, trans people, and about race and racism from libraries in military academies.
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
While you highlight it, please note is the product of local journalism, which has been carrying a lot of the burden in an environment where national outlets simply can't cover everything everywhere all at once. Support your local journalists!
Please highlight this story.
ICE stormed into the wrong house, trashed the place, and made women/girls stand outside in the rain in their underwear. ICE also stole phones, laptops, and cash savings from the family, who moved to OKC two weeks ago.
kfor.com/news/local/w...
ICE stormed into the wrong house, trashed the place, and made women/girls stand outside in the rain in their underwear. ICE also stole phones, laptops, and cash savings from the family, who moved to OKC two weeks ago.
kfor.com/news/local/w...
'We're citizens!': Oklahoma City family traumatized after ICE raids home, but they weren't suspects
A woman says her family’s fresh start in Oklahoma turned into a nightmare after federal immigration agents raided their home, taking their phones, laptops, and life savings – even though they were …
kfor.com
April 29, 2025 at 4:26 PM
While you highlight it, please note is the product of local journalism, which has been carrying a lot of the burden in an environment where national outlets simply can't cover everything everywhere all at once. Support your local journalists!
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
Dear senators who think you can’t do anything,
Today, Senator Van Hollen - through diplomatic pressure - got a meeting with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador. So that thing you’re thinking about doing? DO IT.
~ All of Us
Today, Senator Van Hollen - through diplomatic pressure - got a meeting with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador. So that thing you’re thinking about doing? DO IT.
~ All of Us
April 18, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Dear senators who think you can’t do anything,
Today, Senator Van Hollen - through diplomatic pressure - got a meeting with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador. So that thing you’re thinking about doing? DO IT.
~ All of Us
Today, Senator Van Hollen - through diplomatic pressure - got a meeting with Abrego Garcia in El Salvador. So that thing you’re thinking about doing? DO IT.
~ All of Us
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
Final_Version_of_Tarrifs_actualFINALcopy_version7_USETHISONE.docx
April 9, 2025 at 6:39 PM
Final_Version_of_Tarrifs_actualFINALcopy_version7_USETHISONE.docx
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
Elder millennials watching traders freak out about a global economic collapse that will wreck tens of millions of lives and livelihoods, possibly irreparably
April 7, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Elder millennials watching traders freak out about a global economic collapse that will wreck tens of millions of lives and livelihoods, possibly irreparably
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
“Measles is a ‘canary in the coalmine’ for under-vaccination, be it due to vaccine misinformation, lack of access to vaccination, or conflict”
@thelancetinfdis.bsky.social
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
@thelancetinfdis.bsky.social
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Facts and myths about measles
It seems ironic that Robert F Kennedy Jr, one of the most prominent antivaccine activists,
has been made Secretary of Health and Human Services in the USA while one of the largest
recent measles outbr...
www.thelancet.com
April 6, 2025 at 12:37 PM
“Measles is a ‘canary in the coalmine’ for under-vaccination, be it due to vaccine misinformation, lack of access to vaccination, or conflict”
@thelancetinfdis.bsky.social
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
@thelancetinfdis.bsky.social
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
You must listen to Derek Thompson push back against gullible CNBC anchors @dkthomp.bsky.social
www.cnbc.com/video/2025/0...
www.cnbc.com/video/2025/0...
The Atlantic's Derek Thompson: 'Completely reject' the idea that tariffs will lead to abundance
Derek Thompson, The Atlantic staff writer, joins CNBC's 'Power Lunch' to discuss newly announced tariffs, how the American public feels about them, and more.
www.cnbc.com
April 4, 2025 at 10:27 PM
You must listen to Derek Thompson push back against gullible CNBC anchors @dkthomp.bsky.social
www.cnbc.com/video/2025/0...
www.cnbc.com/video/2025/0...
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
Our original “Cheat Sheets for Tuberculosis Activists” are so popular we split one of them into two separate pieces. Download the “TB Treatment Regimen Cheat Sheet” and the “TB Preventive Treatment (TPT) Regimen Cheat Sheet” now. www.treatmentactiongroup.org/publication/...
April 4, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Our original “Cheat Sheets for Tuberculosis Activists” are so popular we split one of them into two separate pieces. Download the “TB Treatment Regimen Cheat Sheet” and the “TB Preventive Treatment (TPT) Regimen Cheat Sheet” now. www.treatmentactiongroup.org/publication/...
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
I've created a shareable document with a list of the HHS offices gutted today that I'll be updating as often as possible. Have something to add? Message marisakabas.04 on Signal or email MKwrites4000@proton.me
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
April 1, 2025 at 4:12 PM
I've created a shareable document with a list of the HHS offices gutted today that I'll be updating as often as possible. Have something to add? Message marisakabas.04 on Signal or email MKwrites4000@proton.me
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
A lot of great people doing important work just lost their jobs because the most destructive, bigoted, willfully ignorant people in the world have targeted them. Here's what you can do to support yourself or anyone you know who lost a job. Please add your own advice at the end of the thread <1/n>
April 3, 2025 at 7:11 PM
A lot of great people doing important work just lost their jobs because the most destructive, bigoted, willfully ignorant people in the world have targeted them. Here's what you can do to support yourself or anyone you know who lost a job. Please add your own advice at the end of the thread <1/n>
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A “TRADE DEFICIT”—IT’S JUST CALLED “BUYING THINGS.” YOU DO NOT HAVE A TRADE DEFICIT WITH YOUR DENTIST JUST BECAUSE HE NEVER BUYS ANYTHING FROM YOU.
April 2, 2025 at 10:58 PM
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A “TRADE DEFICIT”—IT’S JUST CALLED “BUYING THINGS.” YOU DO NOT HAVE A TRADE DEFICIT WITH YOUR DENTIST JUST BECAUSE HE NEVER BUYS ANYTHING FROM YOU.
Reposted by Will Murtaugh
"Nothing is so privileged as thinking history belongs to the past" - John Green, Everything Is Tuberculosis. #Tuberculosis killed 1.25 million people in 2024, & will kill even more this year if we don't immediately reinstate USAID programs. Call your reps: tbfighters.org/action
April 3, 2025 at 3:18 PM
"Nothing is so privileged as thinking history belongs to the past" - John Green, Everything Is Tuberculosis. #Tuberculosis killed 1.25 million people in 2024, & will kill even more this year if we don't immediately reinstate USAID programs. Call your reps: tbfighters.org/action