Cynthia Wei
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cawei.bsky.social
Cynthia Wei
@cawei.bsky.social
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cawei.bsky.social
Thanks to Scott Glaberman for taking the lead on this. We know first hand how valuable the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship program is, and I'm sure alums of other programs likely can say the same of theirs.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Risks of ending US science-policy training
Training scientists to engage with policy-makers and pursue careers in public service is among the most effective ways to turn research strength into real-world impact. However, in February, the Trump...
www.science.org
August 22, 2025 at 2:09 PM
cawei.bsky.social
Important message from my friend, Scott Glaberman
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Dismantling EPA’s research office jeopardizes environmental safety, public health, and US competitiveness | PNAS
Dismantling EPA’s research office jeopardizes environmental safety, public health, and US competitiveness
www.pnas.org
June 16, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Reposted by Cynthia Wei
viralemergence.org
An update from the team on the uncertain future of our program and the impact of NSF budget cuts. Please share and reach out 🦠
Some difficult news from the team: In NSF's FY25-26 Budget Request to Congress, we learned that our program will take a whopping 50% cut - meaning that in September, we'll be $1.25m short of an operating budget that currently supports a cohort of seven PhD students, four postdocs, and three full-time staff. Verena is one of the largest and last pandemic prevention-focused programs in the United States: since 2020, we've supported the training of over 60 postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates. Our researchers have established unique laboratory resources for studying animal immune systems, and discovered new antiviral immune adaptations in bats; developed risk assessment algorithms for wildlife and livestock viruses, and diagnostic algorithms for viruses like dengue, Ebola, and Zika; and quantified the effects of climate change, deforestation, and factory farming on spillover risk. Everything we develop is 100% open source, and our data has supported the research of nearly 150 external researchers in 21 countries to date. We have three months to make up our budget shortfall. Every dollar spent on Verena supports not just our team, but the community of researchers who use our data, code, and resources. You can help us by sharing this post, and reaching out if you're able to support a unique and vulnerable program. Or just head over to viralemergence.org, and take a look at what we do. 🦟 🦇 🦠
June 2, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Reposted by Cynthia Wei
colincarlson.bsky.social
I talked to Nature about the latest development at NSF, which is a five-alarm fire for American science. The scale of immediate impact is massive. We narrowly escaped this affecting @viralemergence.org for now, but will have to shut down in a few months if this stays.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones
US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.
www.nature.com
May 1, 2025 at 11:06 PM