Catie Oldenburg, ScD
@catieoldenburg.bsky.social
Epidemiologist studying malnutrition and infectious disease. Program Director for PhD in Epidemiology & Translational Science at UCSF. Dog mom.
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
It seems that only the science community is noticing that NIH and NSF budgets are cut 40% and 55% in the budget bill, respectively. If you live in Maine, West Va, Pennsylvania, Alabama, or Louisiana, CALL YOUR SENATOR as they could make a difference. See below.
prospect.org/politics/202...
prospect.org/politics/202...
Will the Senate Save NIH?
Rescuing biomedical research is every bit as important as saving Medicaid.
prospect.org
June 29, 2025 at 3:17 AM
It seems that only the science community is noticing that NIH and NSF budgets are cut 40% and 55% in the budget bill, respectively. If you live in Maine, West Va, Pennsylvania, Alabama, or Louisiana, CALL YOUR SENATOR as they could make a difference. See below.
prospect.org/politics/202...
prospect.org/politics/202...
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
BREAKING: A federal judge reversed National Institutes of Health's terminations of hundreds of critical research grants that were canceled because of their alleged connection to disfavored topics, including diversity, equity, inclusion, and gender identity.
This is a major win for public health.
This is a major win for public health.
June 16, 2025 at 9:46 PM
BREAKING: A federal judge reversed National Institutes of Health's terminations of hundreds of critical research grants that were canceled because of their alleged connection to disfavored topics, including diversity, equity, inclusion, and gender identity.
This is a major win for public health.
This is a major win for public health.
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
📢BREAKING: Just left the courthouse for our NIH grant termination case
Judge ruled terminations are “VOID & ILLEGAL”
As a plaintiff, I felt a wave of relief & hope; he acknowledged the discrimination & harm
Closed by asking, ‘Have we fallen so low? Have we no shame?’
Judge ruled terminations are “VOID & ILLEGAL”
As a plaintiff, I felt a wave of relief & hope; he acknowledged the discrimination & harm
Closed by asking, ‘Have we fallen so low? Have we no shame?’
June 16, 2025 at 9:26 PM
📢BREAKING: Just left the courthouse for our NIH grant termination case
Judge ruled terminations are “VOID & ILLEGAL”
As a plaintiff, I felt a wave of relief & hope; he acknowledged the discrimination & harm
Closed by asking, ‘Have we fallen so low? Have we no shame?’
Judge ruled terminations are “VOID & ILLEGAL”
As a plaintiff, I felt a wave of relief & hope; he acknowledged the discrimination & harm
Closed by asking, ‘Have we fallen so low? Have we no shame?’
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
After issuing his rulings, Judge Young has some absolutely stark words for the Trump administration.
"This represents racial discrimination and discrimination against America's LGBTQ community. That's what this is. I would be blind to not to call it out. My duty is to call it out."
"This represents racial discrimination and discrimination against America's LGBTQ community. That's what this is. I would be blind to not to call it out. My duty is to call it out."
June 16, 2025 at 6:33 PM
After issuing his rulings, Judge Young has some absolutely stark words for the Trump administration.
"This represents racial discrimination and discrimination against America's LGBTQ community. That's what this is. I would be blind to not to call it out. My duty is to call it out."
"This represents racial discrimination and discrimination against America's LGBTQ community. That's what this is. I would be blind to not to call it out. My duty is to call it out."
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
Measles infection during pregnancy is dangerous! It’s linked to early pregnancy loss, preterm labor and other pregnancy complications, increased risk of stillbirth, and neonatal mortality.
In this recent case, a newborn with congenital measles has died.
In this recent case, a newborn with congenital measles has died.
Ontario’s large #measles outbreak claims the life of a child. If you let measles spread, preventable harms will happen. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Infant who contracted measles virus before birth is 1st recorded death in current Ontario outbreak | CBC News
Ontario's Ministry of Health has announced the first recorded death of a measles patient from the outbreak that started in October. The newborn contracted the virus before birth from the mother, the c...
www.cbc.ca
June 6, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Measles infection during pregnancy is dangerous! It’s linked to early pregnancy loss, preterm labor and other pregnancy complications, increased risk of stillbirth, and neonatal mortality.
In this recent case, a newborn with congenital measles has died.
In this recent case, a newborn with congenital measles has died.
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
Who's calling the shots at NIH?
Sworn testimonies and internal e-mails reveal for the first time the breadth of DOGE's control over the world's largest public biomedical funder.
DOGE has provided lists of hundreds of grants to cut, and DOGE is now reviewing ALL NIH awards before they're released
Sworn testimonies and internal e-mails reveal for the first time the breadth of DOGE's control over the world's largest public biomedical funder.
DOGE has provided lists of hundreds of grants to cut, and DOGE is now reviewing ALL NIH awards before they're released
NIH killed grants on orders from Elon Musk’s DOGE
Court documents and internal correspondence show the cost-cutting force has broad control over the world’s largest public biomedical funder.
www.nature.com
May 21, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Who's calling the shots at NIH?
Sworn testimonies and internal e-mails reveal for the first time the breadth of DOGE's control over the world's largest public biomedical funder.
DOGE has provided lists of hundreds of grants to cut, and DOGE is now reviewing ALL NIH awards before they're released
Sworn testimonies and internal e-mails reveal for the first time the breadth of DOGE's control over the world's largest public biomedical funder.
DOGE has provided lists of hundreds of grants to cut, and DOGE is now reviewing ALL NIH awards before they're released
If by “paying” you mean a $400 honorarium which works out to less than minimum wage but ok - tell me more about how you have no idea how this works 🙄
A White House spokesperson framed DOGE's involvement as a positive: “Paying so-called ‘experts’ to deliberate bad ideas for hundreds of hours is exactly the kind of waste that DOGE is eliminating.”
May 22, 2025 at 1:09 AM
If by “paying” you mean a $400 honorarium which works out to less than minimum wage but ok - tell me more about how you have no idea how this works 🙄
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
The grant that funded a large part of my doctoral work - a 40 year cohort study which has been running successfully and learning all sorts of things about disease and wellbeing - was just terminated. Surreal.
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 5:31 PM
The grant that funded a large part of my doctoral work - a 40 year cohort study which has been running successfully and learning all sorts of things about disease and wellbeing - was just terminated. Surreal.
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
… and Molly is not alone. More than $2.6B of ongoing research has been canceled (with much more this week, at Harvard).
With each cancellation: We are losing so much knowledge. Losing the next generation of scientists. Losing our ability to protect our health, both now & for the future. 🧪🩺😷
With each cancellation: We are losing so much knowledge. Losing the next generation of scientists. Losing our ability to protect our health, both now & for the future. 🧪🩺😷
All 4 of my NIH research grants are terminated. These were grants on MDR-TB treatment & strategies for supporting adolescents living w/ HIV. This is a massive waste of resources. I am heartbroken for my Harvard team, my partners in Peru, the next generation of scientists & our country. Shame.
May 16, 2025 at 12:05 PM
… and Molly is not alone. More than $2.6B of ongoing research has been canceled (with much more this week, at Harvard).
With each cancellation: We are losing so much knowledge. Losing the next generation of scientists. Losing our ability to protect our health, both now & for the future. 🧪🩺😷
With each cancellation: We are losing so much knowledge. Losing the next generation of scientists. Losing our ability to protect our health, both now & for the future. 🧪🩺😷
They told me graduation is a formal event, I’m ready. #vaccinescauseadults
May 16, 2025 at 3:26 PM
They told me graduation is a formal event, I’m ready. #vaccinescauseadults
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
2.7Billion in NIH research funding cuts in the first three months of 2025.
This is not abstract
No NIH funding = fewer new treatments for cancer, fewer new vaccines, fewer discoveries for chronic diseases, lower retention of scientific talent, more brain drain.
www.cnn.com/2025/05/13/h...
This is not abstract
No NIH funding = fewer new treatments for cancer, fewer new vaccines, fewer discoveries for chronic diseases, lower retention of scientific talent, more brain drain.
www.cnn.com/2025/05/13/h...
First on CNN: Trump administration cut $2.7 billion in NIH research funding through March, Senate committee minority report says | CNN
A Senate committee report by minority staff, and obtained by CNN, slams the Trump administration for terminating some funding for research, firing thousands of federal workers and removing certain sci...
www.cnn.com
May 13, 2025 at 2:49 PM
2.7Billion in NIH research funding cuts in the first three months of 2025.
This is not abstract
No NIH funding = fewer new treatments for cancer, fewer new vaccines, fewer discoveries for chronic diseases, lower retention of scientific talent, more brain drain.
www.cnn.com/2025/05/13/h...
This is not abstract
No NIH funding = fewer new treatments for cancer, fewer new vaccines, fewer discoveries for chronic diseases, lower retention of scientific talent, more brain drain.
www.cnn.com/2025/05/13/h...
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
An enslaved man, Onesimus, was very likely the person who introduced the lifesaving procedure of inoculation to the US. www.history.com/articles/sma...
How an Enslaved African Man in Boston Helped Save Generations from Smallpox | HISTORY
In the early 1700s, Onesimus shared a revolutionary way to prevent smallpox.
www.history.com
May 3, 2025 at 9:51 PM
An enslaved man, Onesimus, was very likely the person who introduced the lifesaving procedure of inoculation to the US. www.history.com/articles/sma...
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
Insane is exactly the phrase I would have used!
‘This is insane:’ New NIH policy on funding foreign scientists stirs outrage
www.science.org/content/arti...
‘This is insane:’ New NIH policy on funding foreign scientists stirs outrage
www.science.org/content/arti...
‘This is insane:’ New NIH policy on funding foreign scientists stirs outrage
Agency will make researchers outside United States seek grants of their own rather than “subawards” from U.S. scientists
www.science.org
May 4, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Insane is exactly the phrase I would have used!
‘This is insane:’ New NIH policy on funding foreign scientists stirs outrage
www.science.org/content/arti...
‘This is insane:’ New NIH policy on funding foreign scientists stirs outrage
www.science.org/content/arti...
I have an 8th percentile R01 that cleared council in Sept 2024 in limbo but has a foreign sub so dead in the water now. Not spending seems to be the point.
Bluetorial: Timing of getting grants out the door at NIH
The pauses and low rate of releasing awards may be a problem in terms of getting the NIH appropriation spent by September 30, 2025
The pauses and low rate of releasing awards may be a problem in terms of getting the NIH appropriation spent by September 30, 2025
a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on
ALT: a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on
media.tenor.com
May 2, 2025 at 2:53 PM
I have an 8th percentile R01 that cleared council in Sept 2024 in limbo but has a foreign sub so dead in the water now. Not spending seems to be the point.
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
More insanity.
1. Collaborative research gave us vaccines for Ebola
2. Drugs for HIV
3. Malaria vaccines
4. Researched and enhanced tracking of emerging infectious disease threats.
And much more
This is another damaging own goal.
www.statnews.com/2025/05/01/n...
1. Collaborative research gave us vaccines for Ebola
2. Drugs for HIV
3. Malaria vaccines
4. Researched and enhanced tracking of emerging infectious disease threats.
And much more
This is another damaging own goal.
www.statnews.com/2025/05/01/n...
NIH halts funding for new projects with foreign collaborators, citing national security concerns
NIH announced it will no longer allow subawards to foreign institutions, as part of a national security-minded overhaul to how it manages research funding
www.statnews.com
May 2, 2025 at 11:49 AM
More insanity.
1. Collaborative research gave us vaccines for Ebola
2. Drugs for HIV
3. Malaria vaccines
4. Researched and enhanced tracking of emerging infectious disease threats.
And much more
This is another damaging own goal.
www.statnews.com/2025/05/01/n...
1. Collaborative research gave us vaccines for Ebola
2. Drugs for HIV
3. Malaria vaccines
4. Researched and enhanced tracking of emerging infectious disease threats.
And much more
This is another damaging own goal.
www.statnews.com/2025/05/01/n...
This is a disaster for global public health. I think moving to a model where the IC funds directly could be a not-bad thing, esp if it allows for capacity building re: admin for NIH grants and empowering institutions to lead them, but destroying everything first is not how you achieve that.
May 2, 2025 at 2:48 AM
This is a disaster for global public health. I think moving to a model where the IC funds directly could be a not-bad thing, esp if it allows for capacity building re: admin for NIH grants and empowering institutions to lead them, but destroying everything first is not how you achieve that.
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
🧵1/N New study published in @jama.com on re-emergence of vaccine-eliminated infectious diseases under declining vaccination in the US. We model long-term risk and conditions for return to endemicity for measles, rubella, polio, & diphtheria. Collab w/ @Mathewkiang.com jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
April 24, 2025 at 3:40 PM
🧵1/N New study published in @jama.com on re-emergence of vaccine-eliminated infectious diseases under declining vaccination in the US. We model long-term risk and conditions for return to endemicity for measles, rubella, polio, & diphtheria. Collab w/ @Mathewkiang.com jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
They’re destroying federal science capacity & California needs to step up & expand science capacity at the state level.
I introduced SB 829 to create the California Institute for Scientific Research & authorize the State of California to produce vaccines. It just passed the Senate Health Committee.
I introduced SB 829 to create the California Institute for Scientific Research & authorize the State of California to produce vaccines. It just passed the Senate Health Committee.
April 10, 2025 at 1:31 AM
They’re destroying federal science capacity & California needs to step up & expand science capacity at the state level.
I introduced SB 829 to create the California Institute for Scientific Research & authorize the State of California to produce vaccines. It just passed the Senate Health Committee.
I introduced SB 829 to create the California Institute for Scientific Research & authorize the State of California to produce vaccines. It just passed the Senate Health Committee.
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
Vaccines save lives by the millions, this is not a point of debate.
April 8, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Vaccines save lives by the millions, this is not a point of debate.
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
Do not normalize children dying from measles. Measles was previously eliminated in the US, thanks to vaccines.
When children die from measles, it means that adults have catastrophically failed to protect them because they have rejected basic science.
When children die from measles, it means that adults have catastrophically failed to protect them because they have rejected basic science.
April 7, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Do not normalize children dying from measles. Measles was previously eliminated in the US, thanks to vaccines.
When children die from measles, it means that adults have catastrophically failed to protect them because they have rejected basic science.
When children die from measles, it means that adults have catastrophically failed to protect them because they have rejected basic science.
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
Today I lost an NIH grant training clinicians to do research about intimate partner violence with perinatal women.
More women are murdered in the perinatal period than die of obstetric complications.
I didn't just lose a grant. We lost an entire cohort of people building careers to prevent that.
More women are murdered in the perinatal period than die of obstetric complications.
I didn't just lose a grant. We lost an entire cohort of people building careers to prevent that.
March 22, 2025 at 12:19 AM
Today I lost an NIH grant training clinicians to do research about intimate partner violence with perinatal women.
More women are murdered in the perinatal period than die of obstetric complications.
I didn't just lose a grant. We lost an entire cohort of people building careers to prevent that.
More women are murdered in the perinatal period than die of obstetric complications.
I didn't just lose a grant. We lost an entire cohort of people building careers to prevent that.
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
We've been tracking unlawful NIH grant terminations for 3 weeks. Spread the word👇!
Fellow PIs: what can you do upon termination?
✅ Email PO + document questions
✅ Submit FOIA
✅ Advocate to your OCG/OSP for appeal + litigation
✅ Consider outside litigation
✅ Donate to state AGs + legal orgs
1/🧵
Fellow PIs: what can you do upon termination?
✅ Email PO + document questions
✅ Submit FOIA
✅ Advocate to your OCG/OSP for appeal + litigation
✅ Consider outside litigation
✅ Donate to state AGs + legal orgs
1/🧵
Cancelled NIH grant information submission form
Please use this form to submit information identifying specific NIH grants that have been cancelled for any reason after January 20, 2025.
Data from this form will be used to update the Rescinded NIH...
docs.google.com
March 21, 2025 at 10:38 AM
We've been tracking unlawful NIH grant terminations for 3 weeks. Spread the word👇!
Fellow PIs: what can you do upon termination?
✅ Email PO + document questions
✅ Submit FOIA
✅ Advocate to your OCG/OSP for appeal + litigation
✅ Consider outside litigation
✅ Donate to state AGs + legal orgs
1/🧵
Fellow PIs: what can you do upon termination?
✅ Email PO + document questions
✅ Submit FOIA
✅ Advocate to your OCG/OSP for appeal + litigation
✅ Consider outside litigation
✅ Donate to state AGs + legal orgs
1/🧵
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
13. And anyone who has been part of this grand humanist tradition is someone who will not lie down and cower before these sad bullies.
I don't know what happens to science in the US over the next four years, but I have no doubt as to where the arc of history bends.
We aren't going anywhere.
fin
I don't know what happens to science in the US over the next four years, but I have no doubt as to where the arc of history bends.
We aren't going anywhere.
fin
March 19, 2025 at 7:40 PM
13. And anyone who has been part of this grand humanist tradition is someone who will not lie down and cower before these sad bullies.
I don't know what happens to science in the US over the next four years, but I have no doubt as to where the arc of history bends.
We aren't going anywhere.
fin
I don't know what happens to science in the US over the next four years, but I have no doubt as to where the arc of history bends.
We aren't going anywhere.
fin
Reposted by Catie Oldenburg, ScD
I just want to do my work, man. That’s all any of us want to do.
March 19, 2025 at 9:04 PM
I just want to do my work, man. That’s all any of us want to do.