Michael Cappello
@cappmic.bsky.social
Professor and Chair, Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases Dept, Yale School of Public Health
"...all USAID partners in Africa that supported ministries of health to work on neglected tropical diseases have fired staff and closed offices. The Trump administration’s new global health strategy does not mention these diseases. Yet these programs meet many criteria highlighted in that strategy."
‘Biblical Diseases’ Could Resurge in Africa, Health Officials Fear
www.nytimes.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:06 AM
"...all USAID partners in Africa that supported ministries of health to work on neglected tropical diseases have fired staff and closed offices. The Trump administration’s new global health strategy does not mention these diseases. Yet these programs meet many criteria highlighted in that strategy."
Reposted by Michael Cappello
My department at Washington State University is recruiting an Assistant or Associate Professor in vector-borne disease 🕷️🦟🦠
Full job description is linked below.
Come join us on the Palouse!
Full job description is linked below.
Come join us on the Palouse!
February 2, 2026 at 9:02 PM
My department at Washington State University is recruiting an Assistant or Associate Professor in vector-borne disease 🕷️🦟🦠
Full job description is linked below.
Come join us on the Palouse!
Full job description is linked below.
Come join us on the Palouse!
Reposted by Michael Cappello
If I were a blue state governor, I’d be looking into adding a bunch of tenure lines at my state schools.
I know that seems like “kick ‘em when they’re down,” but it’s more like “let academics who can escape to where they can do real work.”
Builds up your own schools AND protect US academic output.
I know that seems like “kick ‘em when they’re down,” but it’s more like “let academics who can escape to where they can do real work.”
Builds up your own schools AND protect US academic output.
The governor of Texas is rapidly turning world-class universities into minor regional ones. Example:
Greg Abbott halts H-1B visas at Texas universities, agencies
The governor said public universities and state agencies may not seek new visas without permission through the end of the 2027 legislative session.
www.texastribune.org
January 30, 2026 at 11:15 PM
If I were a blue state governor, I’d be looking into adding a bunch of tenure lines at my state schools.
I know that seems like “kick ‘em when they’re down,” but it’s more like “let academics who can escape to where they can do real work.”
Builds up your own schools AND protect US academic output.
I know that seems like “kick ‘em when they’re down,” but it’s more like “let academics who can escape to where they can do real work.”
Builds up your own schools AND protect US academic output.
Reposted by Michael Cappello
Biochemist/molecular biologist Joan Steitz was born #OTD in 1941.
She (& team) figured out how our cells read/use genetic instructions to make proteins. A key person who helped crack the code on RNA—the molecule that acts like a messenger between DNA & and the proteins our bodies need. #WomenInSTEM
She (& team) figured out how our cells read/use genetic instructions to make proteins. A key person who helped crack the code on RNA—the molecule that acts like a messenger between DNA & and the proteins our bodies need. #WomenInSTEM
January 26, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Biochemist/molecular biologist Joan Steitz was born #OTD in 1941.
She (& team) figured out how our cells read/use genetic instructions to make proteins. A key person who helped crack the code on RNA—the molecule that acts like a messenger between DNA & and the proteins our bodies need. #WomenInSTEM
She (& team) figured out how our cells read/use genetic instructions to make proteins. A key person who helped crack the code on RNA—the molecule that acts like a messenger between DNA & and the proteins our bodies need. #WomenInSTEM
That exodus…represents 14% of the total number of Ph.D.s in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) or health fields employed at the end of 2024 as then-President Joe Biden prepared to leave office.
U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office
A Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies
www.science.org
January 27, 2026 at 1:34 PM
That exodus…represents 14% of the total number of Ph.D.s in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) or health fields employed at the end of 2024 as then-President Joe Biden prepared to leave office.
Reposted by Michael Cappello
They could have gone after guns
They chose to go after vaccines
One kills children while the other saves them
They chose to go after vaccines
One kills children while the other saves them
January 24, 2026 at 7:29 PM
They could have gone after guns
They chose to go after vaccines
One kills children while the other saves them
They chose to go after vaccines
One kills children while the other saves them
Reposted by Michael Cappello
Alex Pretti - who DHS labeled a domestic terrorist - honoring a veteran that passed away in the ICU.
January 25, 2026 at 12:54 AM
Alex Pretti - who DHS labeled a domestic terrorist - honoring a veteran that passed away in the ICU.
Reposted by Michael Cappello
This disqualifies you from anything related to the notion of peace.
Report links USAID shutdown to hundreds of thousands of deaths
A new report by Belgian aid group 11.11.11 claims that the dismantling of the United States development agency USAID has already contributed to...
www.belganewsagency.eu
January 22, 2026 at 10:42 AM
This disqualifies you from anything related to the notion of peace.
Reposted by Michael Cappello
Those cuts to science, culture, medicine? They aren't just about research, they are about power.
Episode Three of Autocracy in America:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
Episode Three of Autocracy in America:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
Defund Science, Distort Culture, Mock Education
It’s not just about cuts to research. It’s about power.
www.theatlantic.com
January 23, 2026 at 1:41 PM
Those cuts to science, culture, medicine? They aren't just about research, they are about power.
Episode Three of Autocracy in America:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
Episode Three of Autocracy in America:
www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/202...
Reposted by Michael Cappello
"We can cheer for these bright spots, while still being realistic... We can’t pretend this is perfect, and we can’t ignore the real risks that could await us in 2026."
@sciencewhizliz.bsky.social on the NIH funding bill.
fromthescienceclass.substack.com/p/why-better...
@sciencewhizliz.bsky.social on the NIH funding bill.
fromthescienceclass.substack.com/p/why-better...
Why “Better Than It Could Have Been” Isn’t Good Enough
Updates to NIH funding and a reminder of complexity.
fromthescienceclass.substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 6:21 PM
"We can cheer for these bright spots, while still being realistic... We can’t pretend this is perfect, and we can’t ignore the real risks that could await us in 2026."
@sciencewhizliz.bsky.social on the NIH funding bill.
fromthescienceclass.substack.com/p/why-better...
@sciencewhizliz.bsky.social on the NIH funding bill.
fromthescienceclass.substack.com/p/why-better...
Reposted by Michael Cappello
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
January 20, 2026 at 10:53 PM
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
Reposted by Michael Cappello
The Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has asked Pope Leo “to intercede for all Venezuelans who remain kidnapped and disappeared”.
The Pope met Machado on Monday, offering support to the woman who has been ruled out as Venezuela’s next leader by President Trump
The Pope met Machado on Monday, offering support to the woman who has been ruled out as Venezuela’s next leader by President Trump
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado asks Pope to ‘intercede’
www.thetimes.com
January 12, 2026 at 9:03 PM
The Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has asked Pope Leo “to intercede for all Venezuelans who remain kidnapped and disappeared”.
The Pope met Machado on Monday, offering support to the woman who has been ruled out as Venezuela’s next leader by President Trump
The Pope met Machado on Monday, offering support to the woman who has been ruled out as Venezuela’s next leader by President Trump
Our friend John Grosso spitting fire: “Vance knows. He doesn't care. Vance’s twisted and wrongheaded view of Christianity has been repudiated by two popes. His Catholicism seems to be little more than a political prop, a tool only for his career ambitions and desire for power.”
Catholic Vice President Vance takes to social media to justify killing of Renee Good
After the tragic shooting of Renee Good at the hands of ICE, the Catholic vice president of the United States took to social media to justify the killing.
www.ncronline.org
January 9, 2026 at 12:59 AM
Our friend John Grosso spitting fire: “Vance knows. He doesn't care. Vance’s twisted and wrongheaded view of Christianity has been repudiated by two popes. His Catholicism seems to be little more than a political prop, a tool only for his career ambitions and desire for power.”
Reposted by Michael Cappello
The district court injunction that prevented NIH from capping indirects at 15% was upheld today on appeal!
www.reuters.com/world/trump-...
www.reuters.com/world/trump-...
Trump administration cannot slash NIH research funding, court rules
District Judge Angel Kelley last year blocked the cuts, and on Monday the appeals court agreed.
www.reuters.com
January 6, 2026 at 1:09 AM
The district court injunction that prevented NIH from capping indirects at 15% was upheld today on appeal!
www.reuters.com/world/trump-...
www.reuters.com/world/trump-...
True
Non-scientists truly do not know - I've been told that "the government throws money at scientists" and they still think Elon did something to help us (had to correct someone about this just today). It's exasperating
I don't think you non-science people realize what it takes to get a grant funded by NIH. Started experiments in Sept 2021 to generate 3 new mouse mutants to model human disease. Prelim dara shows they have relevant disease phenotypes worthy of study. Need a small grant first to characterize /1
January 3, 2026 at 3:44 AM
True
Reposted by Michael Cappello
Operation Babylift was an earnest attempt to save children during the fall of Saigon in 1975. Fifty years later, a generation of adoptees wrestle with Vietnam’s legacy of transnational adoption.
Read more from @chameauleon.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/cs/features/...
Read more from @chameauleon.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/cs/features/...
December 28, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Operation Babylift was an earnest attempt to save children during the fall of Saigon in 1975. Fifty years later, a generation of adoptees wrestle with Vietnam’s legacy of transnational adoption.
Read more from @chameauleon.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/cs/features/...
Read more from @chameauleon.bsky.social: www.theverge.com/cs/features/...
Reposted by Michael Cappello
The group serves about 300,000 people annually, providing care for older Philadelphians, supporting at-risk youth, helping with food and shelter, and assisting those with developmental disabilities.
Catholic Charities helps those in need both surmount life’s hardships and celebrate its many little joys | Philly Gives
www.inquirer.com
December 28, 2025 at 8:36 PM
The group serves about 300,000 people annually, providing care for older Philadelphians, supporting at-risk youth, helping with food and shelter, and assisting those with developmental disabilities.
Reposted by Michael Cappello
Freaking love this city and all the people in it so much….a bunch of people went and turned the 4 train into the Polar Express giving out toys to kids along the way from the Bronx to Brooklyn….shoutout to the @newyorkers.live account on IG for doing this 🙏 www.instagram.com/reel/DSnsvWS...
December 26, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Freaking love this city and all the people in it so much….a bunch of people went and turned the 4 train into the Polar Express giving out toys to kids along the way from the Bronx to Brooklyn….shoutout to the @newyorkers.live account on IG for doing this 🙏 www.instagram.com/reel/DSnsvWS...
Reposted by Michael Cappello
The NIH has funded research underlying about 99% of newly approved medicines while saving the pharmaceutical industry nearly $3 billion per drug in development costs. A proposed 40% budget cut threatens this engine of American innovation and economic growth. buff.ly/jWhsPXt
How the NIH became the backbone of American medical research and a major driver of innovation and economic growth
The agency’s budget has grown steadily since the 1960s, fueling an industry that creates lifesaving medicines and attracts billions of dollars in investment.
theconversation.com
December 16, 2025 at 12:48 PM
The NIH has funded research underlying about 99% of newly approved medicines while saving the pharmaceutical industry nearly $3 billion per drug in development costs. A proposed 40% budget cut threatens this engine of American innovation and economic growth. buff.ly/jWhsPXt
Reposted by Michael Cappello
The NYT wants you to think universities became dependent on government. This is false.
The government invested in the national research infrastructure by competitive grants to universities. The taxpayers built this. It got us to the moon. Won the Cold War. Created Silicon Valley. Made the McRib.
The government invested in the national research infrastructure by competitive grants to universities. The taxpayers built this. It got us to the moon. Won the Cold War. Created Silicon Valley. Made the McRib.
April 19, 2025 at 11:20 PM
The NYT wants you to think universities became dependent on government. This is false.
The government invested in the national research infrastructure by competitive grants to universities. The taxpayers built this. It got us to the moon. Won the Cold War. Created Silicon Valley. Made the McRib.
The government invested in the national research infrastructure by competitive grants to universities. The taxpayers built this. It got us to the moon. Won the Cold War. Created Silicon Valley. Made the McRib.
Reposted by Michael Cappello
Today we remember the victims of the Sandy Hook Shooting, 20 innocent students and 6 educators that we lost 13 years ago.
Enough is enough. We must work together to #EndGunViolence.
Enough is enough. We must work together to #EndGunViolence.
December 11, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Today we remember the victims of the Sandy Hook Shooting, 20 innocent students and 6 educators that we lost 13 years ago.
Enough is enough. We must work together to #EndGunViolence.
Enough is enough. We must work together to #EndGunViolence.
Reposted by Michael Cappello
The measles outbreak in South Carolina is “accelerating” with no end in sight following Thanksgiving and other large gatherings, state health officials say.
South Carolina measles outbreak is 'accelerating,' driving hundreds into quarantine
Some students who remain unvaccinated are now in a second 21-day quarantine since the beginning of the school year.
nbcnews.to
December 10, 2025 at 10:20 PM
The measles outbreak in South Carolina is “accelerating” with no end in sight following Thanksgiving and other large gatherings, state health officials say.
"In public health, the reigning trope is that over the past five years, we have lost the trust of ordinary Americans, largely coinciding with the response to the Covid pandemic. It’s an uncritical analysis that we eat up like candy..."
December 9, 2025 at 1:57 PM
"In public health, the reigning trope is that over the past five years, we have lost the trust of ordinary Americans, largely coinciding with the response to the Covid pandemic. It’s an uncritical analysis that we eat up like candy..."
Reposted by Michael Cappello
A study on 1.7 million people in Hong Kong shows superior hybrid immunity to Covid in people who got vaccinated before infection vs. people who got infected first. "Our findings are a direct rebuttal to arguments for natural immunity," the authors write. doi.org/10.1016/j.va...
Redirecting
doi.org
December 6, 2025 at 5:02 PM
A study on 1.7 million people in Hong Kong shows superior hybrid immunity to Covid in people who got vaccinated before infection vs. people who got infected first. "Our findings are a direct rebuttal to arguments for natural immunity," the authors write. doi.org/10.1016/j.va...
Reposted by Michael Cappello
"During the meetings, committee members and presenters made at least 60 false, misleading or unsupported claims about vaccine safety, disease spread and rationale for childhood vaccination, according to the Evidence Collective, a coalition of science and medicine researchers."
Under RFK Jr., the CDC provides a megaphone to the anti-vaccine movement
Common anti-vaccine talking points were on display as the CDC’s immunization advisers repealed a hepatitis B birth vaccine recommendation and scrutinized the childhood schedule.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 6, 2025 at 9:44 PM
"During the meetings, committee members and presenters made at least 60 false, misleading or unsupported claims about vaccine safety, disease spread and rationale for childhood vaccination, according to the Evidence Collective, a coalition of science and medicine researchers."