Brandon Hayes
@brandonhayes.bsky.social
Researcher in infectious disease dynamics, somewhere between stats math and epi @INRAE-ENVT || Enthusiast of record shops, bookstores, and cafes, especially if there's a cat || Team oxford comma, even more team em-dash.
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
Happy #SuperbOwl 🦉 Sunday to all who celebrate.
February 8, 2026 at 11:39 AM
Happy #SuperbOwl 🦉 Sunday to all who celebrate.
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
The HPAI Modelling Challenge launches tomorrow! If you haven't received a calendar invite for the kick-off meetings despite submitting a registration, please contact us at hpai-modelling-challenge at wiliman-id.eu
January 28, 2026 at 12:41 PM
The HPAI Modelling Challenge launches tomorrow! If you haven't received a calendar invite for the kick-off meetings despite submitting a registration, please contact us at hpai-modelling-challenge at wiliman-id.eu
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
We've got ISSUES. Literally.
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
January 13, 2026 at 8:27 AM
We've got ISSUES. Literally.
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
We scraped >100k special issues & over 1 million articles to bring you a PISS-poor paper. We quantify just how many excess papers are published by guest editors abusing special issues to boost their CVs. How bad is it & what can we do?
arxiv.org/abs/2601.07563
A 🧵 1/n
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
This OpEd, by the inspirational @drdemetre.bsky.social in today’s @washingtonpost.com, is one of the best pieces of science writing of 2025
I’ll be assigning it to my students next semester in my class on ‘policy writing—turning evidence into public health action’
Thx Ed, for the free access link👇
I’ll be assigning it to my students next semester in my class on ‘policy writing—turning evidence into public health action’
Thx Ed, for the free access link👇
December 29, 2025 at 2:50 PM
This OpEd, by the inspirational @drdemetre.bsky.social in today’s @washingtonpost.com, is one of the best pieces of science writing of 2025
I’ll be assigning it to my students next semester in my class on ‘policy writing—turning evidence into public health action’
Thx Ed, for the free access link👇
I’ll be assigning it to my students next semester in my class on ‘policy writing—turning evidence into public health action’
Thx Ed, for the free access link👇
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
NEW!🦠🌡️ : What makes a "dengue year" like 2023-24? It's hard to pin down an answer unless you can homogenize out all the spatial variation and temporal trends. But once you do, the answer is pretty clean: dengue years are hot years.
Last one of the year (unless...?) 👉 www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Last one of the year (unless...?) 👉 www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 23, 2025 at 2:32 PM
NEW!🦠🌡️ : What makes a "dengue year" like 2023-24? It's hard to pin down an answer unless you can homogenize out all the spatial variation and temporal trends. But once you do, the answer is pretty clean: dengue years are hot years.
Last one of the year (unless...?) 👉 www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Last one of the year (unless...?) 👉 www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
another day, another article with fake or misleading citations and substandard methods being published in a megajournal despite my rejection recommendation 🤷
December 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM
another day, another article with fake or misleading citations and substandard methods being published in a megajournal despite my rejection recommendation 🤷
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
I'm teaching Statistical Rethinking again starting Jan 2026. This time with live lectures, divided into Beginner and Experienced sections. Will be a lot more work for me, but I hope much better for students.
I will record lectures & all will be found at this link: github.com/rmcelreath/s...
I will record lectures & all will be found at this link: github.com/rmcelreath/s...
December 9, 2025 at 1:58 PM
I'm teaching Statistical Rethinking again starting Jan 2026. This time with live lectures, divided into Beginner and Experienced sections. Will be a lot more work for me, but I hope much better for students.
I will record lectures & all will be found at this link: github.com/rmcelreath/s...
I will record lectures & all will be found at this link: github.com/rmcelreath/s...
We did some stats,
stats on cats.
To find FIV rates,
in strays and pets.
With sequenced strains,
evolution was tracked,
Now in Vet Research,
Cat stat map graphs 🥳
🐈⬛ 🧮 🗺️ �
@pierrebessiere.bsky.social @epidesa.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
stats on cats.
To find FIV rates,
in strays and pets.
With sequenced strains,
evolution was tracked,
Now in Vet Research,
Cat stat map graphs 🥳
🐈⬛ 🧮 🗺️ �
@pierrebessiere.bsky.social @epidesa.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Seroprevalence and genetic diversity of feline immunodeficiency virus in outdoor cats in France - Veterinary Research
Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a retrovirus that causes lifelong infections in cats and may lead to immune dysfunction. Despite its importance for feline health, there is limited FIV data from...
link.springer.com
December 9, 2025 at 11:20 AM
We did some stats,
stats on cats.
To find FIV rates,
in strays and pets.
With sequenced strains,
evolution was tracked,
Now in Vet Research,
Cat stat map graphs 🥳
🐈⬛ 🧮 🗺️ �
@pierrebessiere.bsky.social @epidesa.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
stats on cats.
To find FIV rates,
in strays and pets.
With sequenced strains,
evolution was tracked,
Now in Vet Research,
Cat stat map graphs 🥳
🐈⬛ 🧮 🗺️ �
@pierrebessiere.bsky.social @epidesa.bsky.social
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
H3N2 preprint: there are concerns of a severe incoming influenza season due to the drifted H3N2 K clade. We at @psioxford.bsky.social analysed epi data and ran scenario models to see what we could discern about K clade transmission dynamics: zenodo.org/records/1770....
(1/18)
(1/18)
Evaluation of the epidemiological outlook of the influenza A/H3N2 clade K in England during the 2025-26 season
Key findings England is currently experiencing a high growth rate of infections caused by the influenza A/H3N2 K clade. Antigenic change from the previously dominant clade, a rapid selective sweep evi...
zenodo.org
November 25, 2025 at 1:51 PM
H3N2 preprint: there are concerns of a severe incoming influenza season due to the drifted H3N2 K clade. We at @psioxford.bsky.social analysed epi data and ran scenario models to see what we could discern about K clade transmission dynamics: zenodo.org/records/1770....
(1/18)
(1/18)
Fresh start to the day with some Grade-A LinkedIn AI slop
November 19, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Fresh start to the day with some Grade-A LinkedIn AI slop
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
🌈 The website for the inaugural rainbowR conference is now live! 🎉
🗓️ Save the date: Feb 25th-26th, 2026
📣 Call for submissions is open
👯 We're bringing together LGBTQ+ R users to promote our work and foster connections among community members
conference.rainbowr.org
🗓️ Save the date: Feb 25th-26th, 2026
📣 Call for submissions is open
👯 We're bringing together LGBTQ+ R users to promote our work and foster connections among community members
conference.rainbowr.org
– rainbowR conference
conference.rainbowr.org
November 6, 2025 at 3:56 PM
🌈 The website for the inaugural rainbowR conference is now live! 🎉
🗓️ Save the date: Feb 25th-26th, 2026
📣 Call for submissions is open
👯 We're bringing together LGBTQ+ R users to promote our work and foster connections among community members
conference.rainbowr.org
🗓️ Save the date: Feb 25th-26th, 2026
📣 Call for submissions is open
👯 We're bringing together LGBTQ+ R users to promote our work and foster connections among community members
conference.rainbowr.org
Sure academic spam and predatory journal solicitations are unwanted clutter, but starting the day with being called "eminent" and told "your recent publication has been provisionally selected for the "Best Researcher Award."" Why yes go off queen 🥰
November 6, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Sure academic spam and predatory journal solicitations are unwanted clutter, but starting the day with being called "eminent" and told "your recent publication has been provisionally selected for the "Best Researcher Award."" Why yes go off queen 🥰
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
(With apologies to Randall Munroe)
October 15, 2025 at 7:36 AM
(With apologies to Randall Munroe)
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
This is today at 3pm uk time. As a change of pace I think there will be a fairly heavy #julialang component
For this weeks #epinowcast seminar at 3pm UK time online we have Sandra Montes speaking about dynamic survival analysis and optimal control policy for infectious disease modelling.
www.epinowcast.org/seminars/202...
www.epinowcast.org/seminars/202...
Sandra Montes - Optimisation and Dynamic Survival Analysis: Towards a Toolkit for Epidemic Preparedness – Epinowcast
Epinowcast community site
www.epinowcast.org
October 1, 2025 at 8:43 AM
This is today at 3pm uk time. As a change of pace I think there will be a fairly heavy #julialang component
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
I love this. Explainer: There are 100 outcomes (all squares) each equally likely. Wiggly lines event happens 20% of the time; grey event happens 30% of the time. >
This came up in the staff meeting today: how the ordinary English meaning of the word “independent” does not describe at all how a Venn diagram looks, and what to do to fix that. #MathSky www.adelaide.edu.au/mathslearnin...
September 30, 2025 at 9:05 AM
I love this. Explainer: There are 100 outcomes (all squares) each equally likely. Wiggly lines event happens 20% of the time; grey event happens 30% of the time. >
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
yeah we're into LLMs (Large Lamb-bridge Models)
September 26, 2025 at 3:13 PM
yeah we're into LLMs (Large Lamb-bridge Models)
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
Incidentally, in my experience this is the ultimate way to tell an arts nerd from a stem nerd. Arts nerd like the aesthetics of the left side, stem nerds like the logic of the right side. Linguists, being right at the periphery, refuse to choose sides.
Fight.
"," or "",
"," or "",
September 24, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Incidentally, in my experience this is the ultimate way to tell an arts nerd from a stem nerd. Arts nerd like the aesthetics of the left side, stem nerds like the logic of the right side. Linguists, being right at the periphery, refuse to choose sides.
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
a bit delayed, but still hot: A phylodynamic study, conducted in southwestern France, on the importance of farm density when it comes to avian influenza spread: www.nature.com/articles/s42... @claireguinat.bsky.social @epidesa.bsky.social
Poultry farm density and proximity drive highly pathogenic avian influenza spread - Communications Biology
A study using phylodynamics to investigate highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N8 spread in southwestern France in 2020 and 2021 demonstrates that a single introduction led to rapid spread, mainly in duck farms, with farm density driving transmission.
www.nature.com
September 23, 2025 at 1:49 PM
a bit delayed, but still hot: A phylodynamic study, conducted in southwestern France, on the importance of farm density when it comes to avian influenza spread: www.nature.com/articles/s42... @claireguinat.bsky.social @epidesa.bsky.social
Chuffed to announce that registration for the HPAI Modelling Challenge is now open! Interested in testing your modelling team's outbreak response capabilities in a synthetic, peacetime setting? Want to contribute to the improvement of HPAI epidemic preparedness? Check out below:
🚨 Registration is OPEN 🚨
Join the International Mathematical Modelling Challenge on HPAI!
Participate alongside other modelling teams as you:
🌍 simulate outbreaks
🧮 test management strategies
🤝 strengthen epidemic preparedness
#HPAIModChallenge #HPAI #Epidemiology #OneHealth #DiseaseDynamics
Join the International Mathematical Modelling Challenge on HPAI!
Participate alongside other modelling teams as you:
🌍 simulate outbreaks
🧮 test management strategies
🤝 strengthen epidemic preparedness
#HPAIModChallenge #HPAI #Epidemiology #OneHealth #DiseaseDynamics
September 18, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Chuffed to announce that registration for the HPAI Modelling Challenge is now open! Interested in testing your modelling team's outbreak response capabilities in a synthetic, peacetime setting? Want to contribute to the improvement of HPAI epidemic preparedness? Check out below:
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
Recently came across the really useful term 'Moat of Low Status' from Cate Hall. It describes why we find it so difficult to take steps required to fulfil our ambitions - if we're already good at one thing, it's hard to endure being bad at something else.
Learn to love the Moat of Low Status
It hurts, but less than you think
usefulfictions.substack.com
September 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Recently came across the really useful term 'Moat of Low Status' from Cate Hall. It describes why we find it so difficult to take steps required to fulfil our ambitions - if we're already good at one thing, it's hard to endure being bad at something else.
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
Whether it's Democrats making it harder for kids to get cigarettes or Republicans making it harder for kids to get vaccines, both sides have imposed the will of government on America's children.
September 5, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Whether it's Democrats making it harder for kids to get cigarettes or Republicans making it harder for kids to get vaccines, both sides have imposed the will of government on America's children.
When Woody Guthrie proclaimed “This Machine Kills Fascists” this is exactly what he meant 🇺🇸 youtu.be/PL0oB1gbZE4?... #SongoftheYear
The Ballad of Big Balls
YouTube video by Jesse Welles
youtu.be
September 1, 2025 at 7:29 PM
When Woody Guthrie proclaimed “This Machine Kills Fascists” this is exactly what he meant 🇺🇸 youtu.be/PL0oB1gbZE4?... #SongoftheYear
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
Bsky is so disseminated that you never know who is seeing what. So I want to be sure that people see that the foremost public and global health law theorist in the US, Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown Law, is here on Bsky and doesn't have nearly enough followers. Fix that, folks.
So, today I finally got an official letter firing me from the scientific board of NIH's Fogarty International Center. The letter read: You "serve at the pleasure of the Secretary of Health and Human Services. As such, your appointment has been rescinded"
August 29, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Bsky is so disseminated that you never know who is seeing what. So I want to be sure that people see that the foremost public and global health law theorist in the US, Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown Law, is here on Bsky and doesn't have nearly enough followers. Fix that, folks.
Reposted by Brandon Hayes
2 x Postdocs (Berkeley, CA, USA)
Infectious-disease modelling & phylodynamics for pandemic preparedness
with @charleswhittaker.bsky.social
at @petal-team.bsky.social @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social @berkeleypublichlth.bsky.social
More details: http://iddjobs.org/jobs/2351
Infectious-disease modelling & phylodynamics for pandemic preparedness
with @charleswhittaker.bsky.social
at @petal-team.bsky.social @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social @berkeleypublichlth.bsky.social
More details: http://iddjobs.org/jobs/2351
August 26, 2025 at 8:00 PM
2 x Postdocs (Berkeley, CA, USA)
Infectious-disease modelling & phylodynamics for pandemic preparedness
with @charleswhittaker.bsky.social
at @petal-team.bsky.social @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social @berkeleypublichlth.bsky.social
More details: http://iddjobs.org/jobs/2351
Infectious-disease modelling & phylodynamics for pandemic preparedness
with @charleswhittaker.bsky.social
at @petal-team.bsky.social @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social @berkeleypublichlth.bsky.social
More details: http://iddjobs.org/jobs/2351