Jenn Dowd
@drjenndowd.bsky.social
Prof of Demography & Population Health @oxforddemsci.bsky.social | Mortality, Epidemiology, Infections/Immunity, Biosocial science, COVID-19. | Science Communicator 🇺🇸 in 🇬🇧.
Substack: https://jenndowd.substack.com
Substack: https://jenndowd.substack.com
Pinned
Jenn Dowd
@drjenndowd.bsky.social
· Mar 19
Data for Health | Jenn Dowd, PhD | Substack
Demystifying data for a longer, healthier life. Click to read Data for Health, by Jenn Dowd, PhD, a Substack publication.
jenndowd.substack.com
Please subscribe to my Substack for data driven takes on health & science: jenndowd.substack.com
Reposted by Jenn Dowd
I am presenting this at the #ASSA meeting tomorrow -- 15 years after I first presented an earlier version at the same conference.
In between I've had a family and a whole career.
Play the "Top 5" game at your own risk, kids.
In between I've had a family and a whole career.
Play the "Top 5" game at your own risk, kids.
The first antibiotics reduced childhood pneumonia, boosting adult human capital and income. However, discriminatory institutions curtailed long-run gains from a healthy start, from Sonia R. Bhalotra, Damian Clarke, and Atheendar Venkataramani www.nber.org/papers/w34606
January 2, 2026 at 9:45 PM
I am presenting this at the #ASSA meeting tomorrow -- 15 years after I first presented an earlier version at the same conference.
In between I've had a family and a whole career.
Play the "Top 5" game at your own risk, kids.
In between I've had a family and a whole career.
Play the "Top 5" game at your own risk, kids.
Reposted by Jenn Dowd
I think @robertshrimsley.bsky.social has it right here. It’s about ‘demography’ (aka racism).
www.ft.com/content/8d1f...
www.ft.com/content/8d1f...
The plot against London
Distorted attacks by the populist right are really about demography
www.ft.com
January 1, 2026 at 5:10 PM
I think @robertshrimsley.bsky.social has it right here. It’s about ‘demography’ (aka racism).
www.ft.com/content/8d1f...
www.ft.com/content/8d1f...
Reposted by Jenn Dowd
Jenn's posts are super informative and interesting! Highly recommended :)
Hey Blue Sky peeps! Wanna help me close out 2025 w/ a bang? I am *super* close to 4K Substack subscribers.
If you like nerdy but accessible data-driven takes on the latest medical & health news (w/ a dash of #demography from time to time), please consider subscribing. jenndowd.substack.com
If you like nerdy but accessible data-driven takes on the latest medical & health news (w/ a dash of #demography from time to time), please consider subscribing. jenndowd.substack.com
Data for Health | Jenn Dowd, PhD | Substack
Demystifying data for a longer, healthier life. Click to read Data for Health, by Jenn Dowd, PhD, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
jenndowd.substack.com
December 31, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Jenn's posts are super informative and interesting! Highly recommended :)
Reposted by Jenn Dowd
Relistened to this @michaelhobbes.bsky.social gem: “Which scenario makes more sense: 100s of thousands of public health workers around the world recommended a bunch of steps that they know are ineffective, or is it more likely that two people without the relevant expertise are mis-reading a report?”
"In Covid's Wake" Part 1: Lyin… - If Books Could Kill - Apple Podcasts
Podcast Episode · If Books Could Kill · 06/17/2025 · 58m
podcasts.apple.com
December 31, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Relistened to this @michaelhobbes.bsky.social gem: “Which scenario makes more sense: 100s of thousands of public health workers around the world recommended a bunch of steps that they know are ineffective, or is it more likely that two people without the relevant expertise are mis-reading a report?”
Hey Blue Sky peeps! Wanna help me close out 2025 w/ a bang? I am *super* close to 4K Substack subscribers.
If you like nerdy but accessible data-driven takes on the latest medical & health news (w/ a dash of #demography from time to time), please consider subscribing. jenndowd.substack.com
If you like nerdy but accessible data-driven takes on the latest medical & health news (w/ a dash of #demography from time to time), please consider subscribing. jenndowd.substack.com
Data for Health | Jenn Dowd, PhD | Substack
Demystifying data for a longer, healthier life. Click to read Data for Health, by Jenn Dowd, PhD, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.
jenndowd.substack.com
December 31, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Hey Blue Sky peeps! Wanna help me close out 2025 w/ a bang? I am *super* close to 4K Substack subscribers.
If you like nerdy but accessible data-driven takes on the latest medical & health news (w/ a dash of #demography from time to time), please consider subscribing. jenndowd.substack.com
If you like nerdy but accessible data-driven takes on the latest medical & health news (w/ a dash of #demography from time to time), please consider subscribing. jenndowd.substack.com
A good article, but this feels like the type of projection/extrapolation of current trends that isn't really helpful. #demography
December 30, 2025 at 7:59 PM
A good article, but this feels like the type of projection/extrapolation of current trends that isn't really helpful. #demography
Worried about declining birth rates? Read this 🔥 explainer from @karenguzzo.bsky.social #demography
The Trump administration is using declining fertility rates to embrace unabashedly pronatalist rhetoric.
I spoke with sociologist & demographer Karen Guzzo about if we should *actually* be worried about declining birth rates.
I spoke with sociologist & demographer Karen Guzzo about if we should *actually* be worried about declining birth rates.
Trump Wants Women To Have More Babies. Just 1 Problem.
The Trump administration is using declining fertility rates to embrace unabashedly pronatalist rhetoric.
www.huffpost.com
December 30, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Worried about declining birth rates? Read this 🔥 explainer from @karenguzzo.bsky.social #demography
Important to celebrate the good news from this year…. (and thanks to the countless humans who made all of these breakthroughs happen).
New post!
There was a lot of innovation in medicine and biomedical research this year, and I've tried to summarize the biggest ones in this blogpost.
Medical breakthroughs in 2025. Plus a serious note at the end.
www.scientificdiscovery.dev/p/medical-br...
There was a lot of innovation in medicine and biomedical research this year, and I've tried to summarize the biggest ones in this blogpost.
Medical breakthroughs in 2025. Plus a serious note at the end.
www.scientificdiscovery.dev/p/medical-br...
Medical breakthroughs in 2025
... and a happy new year.
www.scientificdiscovery.dev
December 30, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Important to celebrate the good news from this year…. (and thanks to the countless humans who made all of these breakthroughs happen).
Reposted by Jenn Dowd
When authors get something this wrong, really makes you wonder what else they got wrong 🤔
(And as an infectious disease specialist, I can tell you the answer: a lot. They wrote a book about COVID with little knowledge but lots of confidence. A bad combo)
(And as an infectious disease specialist, I can tell you the answer: a lot. They wrote a book about COVID with little knowledge but lots of confidence. A bad combo)
I appreciate the forthright acknowledgement of the mistake from the author, and look forward to decisive action by @princetonupress.bsky.social to correct this error, and any others, that made it past their robust editorial process.
December 29, 2025 at 5:59 PM
When authors get something this wrong, really makes you wonder what else they got wrong 🤔
(And as an infectious disease specialist, I can tell you the answer: a lot. They wrote a book about COVID with little knowledge but lots of confidence. A bad combo)
(And as an infectious disease specialist, I can tell you the answer: a lot. They wrote a book about COVID with little knowledge but lots of confidence. A bad combo)
Reposted by Jenn Dowd
I appreciate the forthright acknowledgement of the mistake from the author, and look forward to decisive action by @princetonupress.bsky.social to correct this error, and any others, that made it past their robust editorial process.
December 29, 2025 at 5:36 PM
I appreciate the forthright acknowledgement of the mistake from the author, and look forward to decisive action by @princetonupress.bsky.social to correct this error, and any others, that made it past their robust editorial process.
Reposted by Jenn Dowd
Everyone involved in the publication and promotion of this book should be embarrassed. It's not a "harsh truth" that COVID mitigation was a mistake, it's ghoulish and false.
"In Covid's Wake" Part 1: Lyin… - If Books Could Kill - Apple Podcasts
Podcast Episode · If Books Could Kill · 06/17/2025 · 58m
podcasts.apple.com
December 24, 2025 at 5:08 AM
Everyone involved in the publication and promotion of this book should be embarrassed. It's not a "harsh truth" that COVID mitigation was a mistake, it's ghoulish and false.
I finally got some time to flesh out my rant about these headlines...
TL;DR: age differences ≠ aging
jenndowd.substack.com/p/does-adole... #demography #episky #medsky #neurosky
TL;DR: age differences ≠ aging
jenndowd.substack.com/p/does-adole... #demography #episky #medsky #neurosky
Does adolescence really last until age 32?
Those “turning points” in brain aging aren’t quite what you think
jenndowd.substack.com
December 23, 2025 at 4:18 PM
I finally got some time to flesh out my rant about these headlines...
TL;DR: age differences ≠ aging
jenndowd.substack.com/p/does-adole... #demography #episky #medsky #neurosky
TL;DR: age differences ≠ aging
jenndowd.substack.com/p/does-adole... #demography #episky #medsky #neurosky
Associate and Full Professor strategic recruitment at McGill: www.mcgill.ca/research/res... #academicsky
December 22, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Associate and Full Professor strategic recruitment at McGill: www.mcgill.ca/research/res... #academicsky
Reposted by Jenn Dowd
AND WOULD THAT BE IN ANY PARTICULAR ANIMAL MODEL BY ANY CHANCE
IS THERE SOME IMPORTANT CONTEXT MISSING FROM YOUR HEADLINE PERHAPS
SAY IT WITH ME FOLKS
IS THERE SOME IMPORTANT CONTEXT MISSING FROM YOUR HEADLINE PERHAPS
SAY IT WITH ME FOLKS
December 20, 2025 at 1:34 PM
AND WOULD THAT BE IN ANY PARTICULAR ANIMAL MODEL BY ANY CHANCE
IS THERE SOME IMPORTANT CONTEXT MISSING FROM YOUR HEADLINE PERHAPS
SAY IT WITH ME FOLKS
IS THERE SOME IMPORTANT CONTEXT MISSING FROM YOUR HEADLINE PERHAPS
SAY IT WITH ME FOLKS
Fascinating
While stories of singular DNA changes that drove evolution of human brain/behaviour remain seductive, advances across multiple fields of biology cast doubt on such simplistic narratives of our origins. A new paper from my lab shows how biobanks may speak to this fundamental question.🧪
Explainer🧵👇1/n
Explainer🧵👇1/n
Evaluating the effects of archaic protein-altering variants in living human adults
Promise and pitfalls of using large biobanks to study impacts of archaic protein-coding variants in living humans.
www.science.org
December 19, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Fascinating
Reposted by Jenn Dowd
👶Spain’s paediatric wards “fell silent” after offering RSV monoclonal antibodies to every infant. Hospitalisations dropped sharply—and thousands of parents stayed at work.
Prevention isn’t just saving lives; it’s protecting families and economies.
INSIDE VIEW: @chrisnial.com
📖⬇️ & 🙏
Prevention isn’t just saving lives; it’s protecting families and economies.
INSIDE VIEW: @chrisnial.com
📖⬇️ & 🙏
Immunising For Prosperity: Why Europe Must Treat RSV And Pneumococcal Immunisation As An Economic Imperative - Health Policy Watch
After the country introduced monoclonal antibodies against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) for every infant, RSV-related hospitalisations dropped by 83%.
healthpolicy-watch.news
December 17, 2025 at 11:20 AM
👶Spain’s paediatric wards “fell silent” after offering RSV monoclonal antibodies to every infant. Hospitalisations dropped sharply—and thousands of parents stayed at work.
Prevention isn’t just saving lives; it’s protecting families and economies.
INSIDE VIEW: @chrisnial.com
📖⬇️ & 🙏
Prevention isn’t just saving lives; it’s protecting families and economies.
INSIDE VIEW: @chrisnial.com
📖⬇️ & 🙏
Reposted by Jenn Dowd
In my case, this painstaking labor in the process through which the science gets done. Science isn't measuring stuff in a lab. It's thinking deeply, extracting the heart of idea from the soup of thoughts running through my mind, molding it, and finding a way to communicate that idea to others.
December 16, 2025 at 11:46 PM
In my case, this painstaking labor in the process through which the science gets done. Science isn't measuring stuff in a lab. It's thinking deeply, extracting the heart of idea from the soup of thoughts running through my mind, molding it, and finding a way to communicate that idea to others.
A small trial, but interesting negative results for anti-viral treatment of HSV-1 infection in light of recent papers showing protective effect of shingles vaccine and #dementia. #episky #medsky
Valacyclovir was associated with greater cognitive decline and did not improve disease markers in patients with symptomatic #AlzheimerDisease and HSV seropositivity.
ja.ma/4rYMRZe
ja.ma/4rYMRZe
December 17, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Reposted by Jenn Dowd
“The influenza season has begun roughly four weeks earlier than in previous seasons. At least 27 of the 38 countries in the WHO European Region reporting data are now seeing high or very high influenza activity.”
@whoeurope.bsky.social warning of an intense, early flu season
#IDsky 🧪
@whoeurope.bsky.social warning of an intense, early flu season
#IDsky 🧪
More than half of the WHO European Region experiencing intense, early influenza season driven by new strain
Copenhagen, 17 December 2025
Influenza is sweeping across the European Region earlier than
news.cision.com
December 17, 2025 at 9:01 AM
“The influenza season has begun roughly four weeks earlier than in previous seasons. At least 27 of the 38 countries in the WHO European Region reporting data are now seeing high or very high influenza activity.”
@whoeurope.bsky.social warning of an intense, early flu season
#IDsky 🧪
@whoeurope.bsky.social warning of an intense, early flu season
#IDsky 🧪
Reposted by Jenn Dowd
Some potentially groundbreaking and life changing medicines and vaccines are on the horizon, including for major public health threats (Lassa fever, rabies) and respiratory disease (the most promising Tuberculosis vaccine in a century). 🧪
Eleven clinical trials that will shape medicine in 2026 - Nature Medicine
Nature Medicine asks leading researchers to name their top clinical trial for 2026, from long-awaited vaccines for infectious diseases to new treatments for advanced cancers and long COVID.
www.nature.com
December 17, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Some potentially groundbreaking and life changing medicines and vaccines are on the horizon, including for major public health threats (Lassa fever, rabies) and respiratory disease (the most promising Tuberculosis vaccine in a century). 🧪
Reposted by Jenn Dowd
Really looking for to the evolutionary demography conference in Fort Collins in June! Includes lots of human evolutionary demography interest (and not far from Yellowstone...)
evodemos11.weebly.com/program.html
evodemos11.weebly.com/program.html
Program
The meeting will start on Tuesday morning and will end on Thursday evening, June 16-18th 2026 . All sessions will take place at the Lory Student Center at Colorado State University in Fort Collins,.....
evodemos11.weebly.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Really looking for to the evolutionary demography conference in Fort Collins in June! Includes lots of human evolutionary demography interest (and not far from Yellowstone...)
evodemos11.weebly.com/program.html
evodemos11.weebly.com/program.html
Reposted by Jenn Dowd
We gave Jay Bhattacharya an opportunity to clarify his vaccine stance: does he REALLY believe that the vaccine is worse than the disease? Instead, he launched into a defense of MAHA as the future of scientific inquiry, and never really gave us a straight answer...
@repauchincloss.bsky.social
@repauchincloss.bsky.social
December 16, 2025 at 2:55 PM
We gave Jay Bhattacharya an opportunity to clarify his vaccine stance: does he REALLY believe that the vaccine is worse than the disease? Instead, he launched into a defense of MAHA as the future of scientific inquiry, and never really gave us a straight answer...
@repauchincloss.bsky.social
@repauchincloss.bsky.social
Looking good nuffieldcollege.bsky.social!
December 11, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Looking good nuffieldcollege.bsky.social!
Reposted by Jenn Dowd
Five years ago (Dec. 10, 2020) the NEJM published the results of the Pfizer mRNA Covid vaccine trial.
Science and evidence in the service of human well being.
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
Science and evidence in the service of human well being.
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
December 10, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Five years ago (Dec. 10, 2020) the NEJM published the results of the Pfizer mRNA Covid vaccine trial.
Science and evidence in the service of human well being.
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
Science and evidence in the service of human well being.
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
The winning streak for the shingles vaccine continues...I'm starting to get optimistic on this one 🤞🙏:
jenndowd.substack.com/p/more-good-... #episky #medsky #idsky #econsky #publichealth #dementia
jenndowd.substack.com/p/more-good-... #episky #medsky #idsky #econsky #publichealth #dementia
More Good News on the Shingles Vaccine and Dementia
Two new studies add more evidence of a protective effect
jenndowd.substack.com
December 10, 2025 at 12:05 PM
The winning streak for the shingles vaccine continues...I'm starting to get optimistic on this one 🤞🙏:
jenndowd.substack.com/p/more-good-... #episky #medsky #idsky #econsky #publichealth #dementia
jenndowd.substack.com/p/more-good-... #episky #medsky #idsky #econsky #publichealth #dementia