TK (Takashi DY) Kozai
@bioniclab.bsky.social
Ernest E Roth Professor. Dept Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh.
BionicLab.org
Neural Engineering; Neural Interfaces: Neurostimulation; Neurocomputation
BionicLab.org
Neural Engineering; Neural Interfaces: Neurostimulation; Neurocomputation
Pinned
Excited to be able to share our (Robert Gaunt, Alberto Vazquez, Omar Gharbawie, Mac Hooks, Chengcheng Huang) recent work to the University of Pittsburgh Provost and Vice Chancellor of Research, as well as the Board of Trustees.
news.engineering.pitt.edu/power-moves/
news.engineering.pitt.edu/power-moves/
Neuroscience has a "species problem." 🧠 For too long, animal and human research have operated in separate silos, treating biological differences as inconsistencies rather than informative constraints. Our team at the University of Pittsburgh Neural Engineering Cross-Translation are bridging this gap
February 18, 2026 at 1:11 PM
Neuroscience has a "species problem." 🧠 For too long, animal and human research have operated in separate silos, treating biological differences as inconsistencies rather than informative constraints. Our team at the University of Pittsburgh Neural Engineering Cross-Translation are bridging this gap
New Paper from University of Pittsburgh Neural Engineering Cross-Translation (UP NExT) Initiative! Researchers led by @sarahross1.bsky.social and Ruby A. Holland, alongside UP NExT PI Bryan "Mac" Hooks, have published a major study in the journal Brain.
February 18, 2026 at 3:02 AM
New Paper from University of Pittsburgh Neural Engineering Cross-Translation (UP NExT) Initiative! Researchers led by @sarahross1.bsky.social and Ruby A. Holland, alongside UP NExT PI Bryan "Mac" Hooks, have published a major study in the journal Brain.
New Paper: University of Pittsburgh Neural Engineering Cross-Translation (UP NExT) Initiative! 🧠✨ Lead author Golnaz Haddadshargh and a team of Pitt experts including George Wittenberg, & Jennifer Collinger have mapped how the human brain plans reaching movements. #NeuralEngineering #StrokeRecovery
February 18, 2026 at 2:27 AM
New Paper: University of Pittsburgh Neural Engineering Cross-Translation (UP NExT) Initiative! 🧠✨ Lead author Golnaz Haddadshargh and a team of Pitt experts including George Wittenberg, & Jennifer Collinger have mapped how the human brain plans reaching movements. #NeuralEngineering #StrokeRecovery
🚨 New Paper from UP NExT (Univ. Pitt NeuralEngineering Cross-Translation): We discovered that microglia the brain’s immune cells, aren't just a "cleanup crew". During brain stimulation, they act as hidden neural modulators, actively monitoring and contacting neurons to help manage circuit stability.
February 16, 2026 at 11:22 PM
🚨 New Paper from UP NExT (Univ. Pitt NeuralEngineering Cross-Translation): We discovered that microglia the brain’s immune cells, aren't just a "cleanup crew". During brain stimulation, they act as hidden neural modulators, actively monitoring and contacting neurons to help manage circuit stability.
Reposted by TK (Takashi DY) Kozai
These data show that the NSF terminations targeted STEM Ed and Soc Behav and Econ Sciences almost exclusively with an 11.4% drop in active EDU grants and a 7.4% drop in SPE from FY2024 to FY2025 and most other Directorates essentially unchanged (with an overall drop in the number of active grants)
More on NSF
Here are the number grants that were active in each year (at least part) including the effects of grant terminations (data from grant-witness.us) by directorate from 2021-2025.
The only directorates showing losses are STEM Education and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences.
Here are the number grants that were active in each year (at least part) including the effects of grant terminations (data from grant-witness.us) by directorate from 2021-2025.
The only directorates showing losses are STEM Education and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences.
February 7, 2026 at 12:15 AM
These data show that the NSF terminations targeted STEM Ed and Soc Behav and Econ Sciences almost exclusively with an 11.4% drop in active EDU grants and a 7.4% drop in SPE from FY2024 to FY2025 and most other Directorates essentially unchanged (with an overall drop in the number of active grants)
Reposted by TK (Takashi DY) Kozai
More on NSF funding data
A deeper dive into the numbers of awards by Directorate.
1/9
A deeper dive into the numbers of awards by Directorate.
1/9
a picture of a person in the water with the words call of the deep below it
ALT: a picture of a person in the water with the words call of the deep below it
media.tenor.com
February 5, 2026 at 6:05 PM
More on NSF funding data
A deeper dive into the numbers of awards by Directorate.
1/9
A deeper dive into the numbers of awards by Directorate.
1/9
Reposted by TK (Takashi DY) Kozai
Thank you for your courage and leadership @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social
You have been an exemplary government employee, standing up against illegal and immoral actions, but doing so within the constraints of a federal official.
You do honor to your oath and to our country.
Courage is Contagious
You have been an exemplary government employee, standing up against illegal and immoral actions, but doing so within the constraints of a federal official.
You do honor to your oath and to our country.
Courage is Contagious
SCOOP: An outspoken critic of Trump who organized the "Bethesda Declaration" is seeking whistleblower protection. NIH program director @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social says the administration retaliated against her by putting her on paid leave. She wants her job back.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...
N.I.H. Worker Who Criticized Trump Seeks Whistle-Blower Protection
www.nytimes.com
February 2, 2026 at 10:50 PM
Thank you for your courage and leadership @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social
You have been an exemplary government employee, standing up against illegal and immoral actions, but doing so within the constraints of a federal official.
You do honor to your oath and to our country.
Courage is Contagious
You have been an exemplary government employee, standing up against illegal and immoral actions, but doing so within the constraints of a federal official.
You do honor to your oath and to our country.
Courage is Contagious
Reposted by TK (Takashi DY) Kozai
My weekly update
(Grants with Notice of Award dates up to 1/23/26)
All projects
1/3
(Grants with Notice of Award dates up to 1/23/26)
All projects
1/3
January 29, 2026 at 12:11 PM
My weekly update
(Grants with Notice of Award dates up to 1/23/26)
All projects
1/3
(Grants with Notice of Award dates up to 1/23/26)
All projects
1/3
Reposted by TK (Takashi DY) Kozai
The NIH budget bill passed the House. Now, it's bundled w/ DHS funding in the Senate. We are likely to see a fight this week.
New from me: things to know about the budget bill, NIH presidentialization, free speech, why science has been quiet, & more.
At "Can We Still Govern" @donmoyn.bsky.social 🧪
New from me: things to know about the budget bill, NIH presidentialization, free speech, why science has been quiet, & more.
At "Can We Still Govern" @donmoyn.bsky.social 🧪
New at Can We Still Govern: NIH scientist @markhisted.org reviews the damage done to American biomedical science in the last year and looks ahead:
"Scientists should not be political partisans, but they should be partisans for liberal democratic principles."🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/american-b...
"Scientists should not be political partisans, but they should be partisans for liberal democratic principles."🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/american-b...
American biomedical science in 2026
Where we are, how we got here, and what to do next
donmoynihan.substack.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:33 AM
The NIH budget bill passed the House. Now, it's bundled w/ DHS funding in the Senate. We are likely to see a fight this week.
New from me: things to know about the budget bill, NIH presidentialization, free speech, why science has been quiet, & more.
At "Can We Still Govern" @donmoyn.bsky.social 🧪
New from me: things to know about the budget bill, NIH presidentialization, free speech, why science has been quiet, & more.
At "Can We Still Govern" @donmoyn.bsky.social 🧪
Reposted by TK (Takashi DY) Kozai
“The ban on postings to the Fed Register also reflects a new and more ominous trend. For 80 years NIH has been largely independent of presidential control.”
“Congress, not the President, should set scientific priorities”
Key takeaway for 🧪.
1/
“Congress, not the President, should set scientific priorities”
Key takeaway for 🧪.
1/
New at Can We Still Govern: NIH scientist @markhisted.org reviews the damage done to American biomedical science in the last year and looks ahead:
"Scientists should not be political partisans, but they should be partisans for liberal democratic principles."🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/american-b...
"Scientists should not be political partisans, but they should be partisans for liberal democratic principles."🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/american-b...
American biomedical science in 2026
Where we are, how we got here, and what to do next
donmoynihan.substack.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:26 PM
“The ban on postings to the Fed Register also reflects a new and more ominous trend. For 80 years NIH has been largely independent of presidential control.”
“Congress, not the President, should set scientific priorities”
Key takeaway for 🧪.
1/
“Congress, not the President, should set scientific priorities”
Key takeaway for 🧪.
1/
Reposted by TK (Takashi DY) Kozai
The conference (agreement between House and Senate) appropriations bill that includes HHS and NIH was released this morning.
www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majorit...
1/5
www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majorit...
1/5
Committee Releases Conferenced Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Bi...
United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
www.appropriations.senate.gov
January 20, 2026 at 3:55 PM
The conference (agreement between House and Senate) appropriations bill that includes HHS and NIH was released this morning.
www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majorit...
1/5
www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majorit...
1/5
Reposted by TK (Takashi DY) Kozai
NIH budget bill out today.
It’s the result of heavy negotiations in Congress over past month+. 🧪
Big pic: NIH budget now is abt more than funding. It’s abt restraining the technical ways NIH is being broken by Proj 2025. And the restraints in the bill are tepid 🤷♂️
Also: watch ICE/DHS budget.
🧵1/
It’s the result of heavy negotiations in Congress over past month+. 🧪
Big pic: NIH budget now is abt more than funding. It’s abt restraining the technical ways NIH is being broken by Proj 2025. And the restraints in the bill are tepid 🤷♂️
Also: watch ICE/DHS budget.
🧵1/
January 20, 2026 at 6:10 PM
NIH budget bill out today.
It’s the result of heavy negotiations in Congress over past month+. 🧪
Big pic: NIH budget now is abt more than funding. It’s abt restraining the technical ways NIH is being broken by Proj 2025. And the restraints in the bill are tepid 🤷♂️
Also: watch ICE/DHS budget.
🧵1/
It’s the result of heavy negotiations in Congress over past month+. 🧪
Big pic: NIH budget now is abt more than funding. It’s abt restraining the technical ways NIH is being broken by Proj 2025. And the restraints in the bill are tepid 🤷♂️
Also: watch ICE/DHS budget.
🧵1/
The Stockdale Paradox... not be confused with the Stockholm Syndrome.
a leadership principle where you maintain unwavering faith in eventual success ("never lose faith") while simultaneously confronting the brutal, harsh realities of your current situation ("never deny reality").
a leadership principle where you maintain unwavering faith in eventual success ("never lose faith") while simultaneously confronting the brutal, harsh realities of your current situation ("never deny reality").
One of the more common feedback observations I get from trainees subjected to my career presentations is thanks for being “frank” and “honest”. That was in the before times. Apparently everyone only presents trainees a rosy picture at odds with their experiences.
Another thing that I do to support my students is that I acknowledge what’s happening, and I don’t pretend that stuff like this is normal, and that everything’s fine.
I have had students tell me that they feel like they’re going crazy because they see what is happening but no one will speak of it.
I have had students tell me that they feel like they’re going crazy because they see what is happening but no one will speak of it.
January 19, 2026 at 9:55 PM
The Stockdale Paradox... not be confused with the Stockholm Syndrome.
a leadership principle where you maintain unwavering faith in eventual success ("never lose faith") while simultaneously confronting the brutal, harsh realities of your current situation ("never deny reality").
a leadership principle where you maintain unwavering faith in eventual success ("never lose faith") while simultaneously confronting the brutal, harsh realities of your current situation ("never deny reality").
Reposted by TK (Takashi DY) Kozai
The new NIH multi-year funding policy is a scheme to undercut the NIH budget and fund less science. And it’s working (see below). The Senate approps bill has language to limit MYF use, but the House version does not. Call your reps (House and Senate) and insist it’s included in the final bill! 🧪
Glad to see Congress doing some oversight of new NIH policies. www.congress.gov/crs-product/...
Number of new awards is way down since Trump took office, despite NIH spending the same amount of money.
Number of new awards is way down since Trump took office, despite NIH spending the same amount of money.
December 23, 2025 at 5:38 PM
The new NIH multi-year funding policy is a scheme to undercut the NIH budget and fund less science. And it’s working (see below). The Senate approps bill has language to limit MYF use, but the House version does not. Call your reps (House and Senate) and insist it’s included in the final bill! 🧪
Just out in @nature.com BME: Our Review unpacks intracortical microstimulation: axons, not somas, drive activation; direct + indirect pathways shape perception; parameters interact with neuron type, layer, and network; long-term use limited by neural depression & tissue response. 🧠⚡
rdcu.be/eZbTz
rdcu.be/eZbTz
Neural mechanisms underlying intracortical microstimulation for sensory restoration
Nature Biomedical Engineering - Intracortical microstimulation can elicit artificial sensations in persons who have lost sensation due to neurological injury or disease. This Review discusses...
rdcu.be
January 15, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Just out in @nature.com BME: Our Review unpacks intracortical microstimulation: axons, not somas, drive activation; direct + indirect pathways shape perception; parameters interact with neuron type, layer, and network; long-term use limited by neural depression & tissue response. 🧠⚡
rdcu.be/eZbTz
rdcu.be/eZbTz
Reposted by TK (Takashi DY) Kozai
A reminder as Congress finalizes NIH appropriations: the bill must limit multiyear funding (MYF), Vought's way of cutting the NIH budget without cutting the budget. MYF will devastate the research workforce.
@safa-science.bsky.social wrote this in July. Still relevant: substack.com/@scienceandf...
@safa-science.bsky.social wrote this in July. Still relevant: substack.com/@scienceandf...
A Quiet Policy Shift That Could Devastate American Science
Why NIH’s sudden move to multi-year grant funding should alarm every principal investigator and university
substack.com
January 14, 2026 at 4:33 AM
A reminder as Congress finalizes NIH appropriations: the bill must limit multiyear funding (MYF), Vought's way of cutting the NIH budget without cutting the budget. MYF will devastate the research workforce.
@safa-science.bsky.social wrote this in July. Still relevant: substack.com/@scienceandf...
@safa-science.bsky.social wrote this in July. Still relevant: substack.com/@scienceandf...
Reposted by TK (Takashi DY) Kozai
The appropriations bill that includes NIH is being finalized.
The Senate bill includes a bipartisan amendment from Senators Capito (WV) and Baldwin (WI) limiting multi-year funding of grants.
The House version does not and OMB has issued a veto threat if the House includes such language.
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The Senate bill includes a bipartisan amendment from Senators Capito (WV) and Baldwin (WI) limiting multi-year funding of grants.
The House version does not and OMB has issued a veto threat if the House includes such language.
1/3
a close up of a brown surface with a few spots
ALT: a close up of a brown surface with a few spots
media.tenor.com
January 14, 2026 at 1:33 PM
The appropriations bill that includes NIH is being finalized.
The Senate bill includes a bipartisan amendment from Senators Capito (WV) and Baldwin (WI) limiting multi-year funding of grants.
The House version does not and OMB has issued a veto threat if the House includes such language.
1/3
The Senate bill includes a bipartisan amendment from Senators Capito (WV) and Baldwin (WI) limiting multi-year funding of grants.
The House version does not and OMB has issued a veto threat if the House includes such language.
1/3
🚨BREAKING ALERT: White House Poised to VETO Any NIH Budget Bill That Doesn't Torpedo U.S. Innovation! 🚨
#NIH #VetoThreat #USInnovation #ScienceFunding
#NIH #VetoThreat #USInnovation #ScienceFunding
January 14, 2026 at 1:29 PM
🚨BREAKING ALERT: White House Poised to VETO Any NIH Budget Bill That Doesn't Torpedo U.S. Innovation! 🚨
#NIH #VetoThreat #USInnovation #ScienceFunding
#NIH #VetoThreat #USInnovation #ScienceFunding
🇺🇸 America First patriots: We're $37T+ in debt & paying ~$970B/year in interest (13% of budget) at ~3.4% rates.NIH? Tiny <0.7% ($47-48B) fuels the innovation that makes foreigners buy our bonds, keeping rates low on US interest payments.
#NIH #TaxpayerValue #AmericanInnovation
#NIH #TaxpayerValue #AmericanInnovation
January 4, 2026 at 2:10 PM
🇺🇸 America First patriots: We're $37T+ in debt & paying ~$970B/year in interest (13% of budget) at ~3.4% rates.NIH? Tiny <0.7% ($47-48B) fuels the innovation that makes foreigners buy our bonds, keeping rates low on US interest payments.
#NIH #TaxpayerValue #AmericanInnovation
#NIH #TaxpayerValue #AmericanInnovation
💫 Apparently for the past 15-20 yrs, I’ve been quietly leveraging a super power: the ability to function on less sleep than most, adding >10,000 hrs, essentially giving several “bonus years” of deep work in my field of specialty: Neural engineering.
www.linkedin.com/posts/tkozai...
www.linkedin.com/posts/tkozai...
💫 I never thought of myself having a super power
🔬 Apparently for the past 15-20 years, I’ve been quietly leveraging a genetic one: the ability to function on less sleep than most people. Those… | TK...
💫 I never thought of myself having a super power
🔬 Apparently for the past 15-20 years, I’ve been quietly leveraging a genetic one: the ability to function on less sleep than most people. Those extra...
www.linkedin.com
January 2, 2026 at 3:05 PM
💫 Apparently for the past 15-20 yrs, I’ve been quietly leveraging a super power: the ability to function on less sleep than most, adding >10,000 hrs, essentially giving several “bonus years” of deep work in my field of specialty: Neural engineering.
www.linkedin.com/posts/tkozai...
www.linkedin.com/posts/tkozai...
DOGE in 2025:
Verified savings=~$10-25B. Taxpayers paid: $135-200B+ in short-term chaos.
Trillions long-term.
Experts: "Chaos to no avail."
Musk: "A little bit successful"... then walked away w/ 'Oops'
Net for taxpayers? Massive loss. www.linkedin.com/posts/tkozai... #Taxpayers #GovernmentWaste
Verified savings=~$10-25B. Taxpayers paid: $135-200B+ in short-term chaos.
Trillions long-term.
Experts: "Chaos to no avail."
Musk: "A little bit successful"... then walked away w/ 'Oops'
Net for taxpayers? Massive loss. www.linkedin.com/posts/tkozai... #Taxpayers #GovernmentWaste
‘They sowed chaos to no avail’: the lasting legacy of Elon Musk’s Doge | TK Kozai
🪚The DOGE Experiment: A costly experiment to taxpayers.
Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) promised bold fix for federal waste, folded in months. Claims started at $2T in savings ...
www.linkedin.com
January 1, 2026 at 5:51 PM
DOGE in 2025:
Verified savings=~$10-25B. Taxpayers paid: $135-200B+ in short-term chaos.
Trillions long-term.
Experts: "Chaos to no avail."
Musk: "A little bit successful"... then walked away w/ 'Oops'
Net for taxpayers? Massive loss. www.linkedin.com/posts/tkozai... #Taxpayers #GovernmentWaste
Verified savings=~$10-25B. Taxpayers paid: $135-200B+ in short-term chaos.
Trillions long-term.
Experts: "Chaos to no avail."
Musk: "A little bit successful"... then walked away w/ 'Oops'
Net for taxpayers? Massive loss. www.linkedin.com/posts/tkozai... #Taxpayers #GovernmentWaste
Reposted by TK (Takashi DY) Kozai
Caleb Watney of IFP talking about why academia and science sucks.
Broken record here, but we can’t have this discussion without talking about agendas and conflicts of interest.
IFP is funded by tech and rightwing billionaires who want to privatize science. 1/
Broken record here, but we can’t have this discussion without talking about agendas and conflicts of interest.
IFP is funded by tech and rightwing billionaires who want to privatize science. 1/
December 15, 2025 at 6:00 AM
Caleb Watney of IFP talking about why academia and science sucks.
Broken record here, but we can’t have this discussion without talking about agendas and conflicts of interest.
IFP is funded by tech and rightwing billionaires who want to privatize science. 1/
Broken record here, but we can’t have this discussion without talking about agendas and conflicts of interest.
IFP is funded by tech and rightwing billionaires who want to privatize science. 1/