Paul Wicks, PhD.
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drpaulwicks.bsky.social
Paul Wicks, PhD.
@drpaulwicks.bsky.social
Neuropsychologist, patient advocate, and digital health architect specialising in ALS, Parkinson’s, FTD, rare diseases. #patientsincluded
I’m not saying the London City Travelodge was rough, but a fight broke out at breakfast 🍳 😡
November 7, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Making the most of #freeelectricity by charging the EV and Sig house battery 🔋 ⚡️ and losing spectacularly at Battlefield 6
October 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by Paul Wicks, PhD.
A Chicago Pope implies the existence of an MLA Pope and APA Pope
May 8, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Reposted by Paul Wicks, PhD.
We've named and shamed the worst offenders and made some change tack.

But Ministers can do so much more.

They can make industry do the right thing and✂️ sugar.

Sign our message to Government.
👇
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/make-sugar-the-new-tobacco
May 2, 2025 at 7:00 AM
“Participants received a US $20 gift card… There were 2560 submissions, 93.2% (n=2387) of which were determined to be from bots or malicious responders. Of these, 23.9% (n=571) showed evidence of a duplicate IP or email address, 45.9% (n=1095) reported consuming a fictitious drug.”
New in JMIR: Challenging the Continued Usefulness of #SocialMedia #hcsm #SoMe Recruitment for #Surveys of Hidden Populations of People Who Use Opioids
Challenging the Continued Usefulness of #SocialMedia #hcsm #SoMe Recruitment for #Surveys of Hidden Populations of People Who Use Opioids
Historically, recruiting #Research participants through #SocialMedia #hcsm #SoMe facilitated access to people who use opioids, capturing a range of drug use behaviors. The current rapidly changing #Online landscape, however, casts doubt on #SocialMedia #hcsm #SoMe’s continued usefulness for #Study recruitment. In this viewpoint paper, we assessed #SocialMedia #hcsm #SoMe recruitment for people who use opioids and described challenges and potential solutions for effective recruitment. As part of a #Study on barriers to harm reduction health services, we recruited people who use opioids in New York City to complete a REDCap (#Research Electronic Data Capture; Vanderbilt University) internet-based #Survey using Meta (Facebook and Instagram), X (formerly known as #Twitter), Reddit, and Discord. Eligible participants must have reported using opioids (heroin, prescription opioids, or fentanyl) for nonprescription purposes in the past 90 days and live or work in New York City. Data collection took place from August 2023 to November 2023. Including #Study purpose, compensation, and inclusion criteria caused Meta’s #SocialMedia #hcsm #SoMe platforms and X to flag our ads as “discriminatory” and “spreading false information.” Listing incentives increased bot traffic across all platforms despite bot #Prevention activities (eg, reCAPTCHA and counting items in an image). We instituted a rigorous post hoc data cleaning protocol (eg, investigating duplicate IP addresses, participants reporting use of a fictitious drug, invalid ZIP codes, and improbable drug use behaviors) to identify bot submissions and repeat participants. Participants received a US $20 gift card if still deemed eligible after post hoc data inspection. There were 2560 submissions, 93.2% (n=2387) of which were determined to be from bots or malicious responders. Of these, 23.9% (n=571) showed evidence of a duplicate IP or email address, 45.9% (n=1095) reported consuming a fictitious drug, 15.8% (n=378) provided an invalid ZIP code, and 9.4% (n=225) reported improbable drug use behaviors. The majority of responses deemed legitimate (n=173) were collected from Meta (n=79, 45.7%) and Reddit (n=48, 27.8%). X’s ads were the most expensive (US $1.96/click) and yielded the fewest participants (3 completed #Surveys). #SocialMedia #hcsm #SoMe recruitment of hidden populations is challenging but not impossible. Rigorous data collection protocols and post hoc data inspection are necessary to ensure the validity of findings. These methods may counter previous best practices for #Researching stigmatized behaviors.
dlvr.it
April 30, 2025 at 9:49 PM
🌞 A mini burst of summer sun in the UK brings joy to dads everywhere as they can finally crack our their cargo shorts with impunity 😎
April 30, 2025 at 7:44 AM
✈️ 👜 Thanks ChatGPT for answering the Q: “How come Charles de Gaulle airport has so many luxury shops (Chanel, Hermes, Hennessy, caviar) but almost no useful shops, cafes, or restaurants?”

Here’s the breakdown…
April 17, 2025 at 5:59 AM
❤️‍🩹 Sad to hear that Euphoria star Eric Dane (the original "Dr McSteamy" of Grey's Anatomy) has revealed he's been diagnosed with hashtag#ALS aged just 52 🧑‍🦼‍➡️

When a high profile celebrity is diagnosed we tend to see big spikes in visits to the ALS Wikipedia page (1/2) (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALS)
ALS - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
April 11, 2025 at 5:38 PM
A “Freudian slip” is when you say one thing but mean your mother
April 9, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Thank you Vienna! Came for #adpd2025, want to stay for the scenery and pastries!
April 5, 2025 at 4:14 PM
A novel take on #betterposter at #adpd2025 - turn your preclinical experimentation into an AI generated comic strip! Truly novel scicomms approach from this Croatian team! 🧀
April 2, 2025 at 1:24 PM
My first #patientsincluded shoutout at #adpd2025 goes to UCB for an advanced Parkinson’s trial with a “patient council” that co-creates all study materials and advises on: reducing study visits, implementing a transport service, and encouraging at home PRO completion
April 2, 2025 at 8:00 AM
🤦🤦‍♀️🤦‍♂️🤦🤦‍♀️🤦‍♂️🤦🤦‍♀️🤦‍♂️🤦🤦‍♀️🤦‍♂️🤦🤦‍♀️🤦‍♂️🤦🤦‍♀️🤦‍♂️🤦🤦‍♀️🤦‍♂️🤦🤦‍♀️🤦‍♂️🤦🤦‍♀️🤦‍♂️

This week I'm bullish on plague.
BREAKING: HHS started laying off employees at around 5 am this morning, after some of them had already left to go to work.

Also, two FDA leaders are gone: Peter Stein, director of the office of new drugs, and Brian King, director of the tobacco center.

www.statnews.com/2025/04/01/h...
HHS starts layoffs of thousands of workers across its agencies
Layoff notices began arriving early Tuesday for thousands of employees of HHS and its subsidiary agencies, with as many 10,000 workers potentially expected to be hit by the cuts.
www.statnews.com
April 1, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Reposted by Paul Wicks, PhD.
Le Monde reporting that a French scientist traveling to Houston to attend a conference was denied entry to US after a search of his phone & computer revealed messages critical of Trump's science cuts, "which [says CPB] conveyed hatred of Trump & could be qualified as terrorism". Computer confiscated
March 19, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Not to be a debbie downer but so far at #ADPD2025 I've almost filled my bingo card of euphemisms for non-significant trial findings:
* Nominally significant findings
* Trend towards improvement
* Supplementary post-hoc analysis
* Potential benefit
* Interesting trend overall in a conglomerate
April 1, 2025 at 11:43 AM
Cool slides at #ADPD2025 with credits to BioRender! (www.biorender.com)

(The author asked not to take photos though so I can't show you what I mean but they were great so you just have to take my word for it)
April 1, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Kicking off #ADPD2025 in Vienna this week with the topline readout on Alzheon's APOLLOE4 trials. Unfortunately the trial failed to meet primary endpoint overall, though there are intiguing hints at responder subgroups in early treatment for those with MCI.
April 1, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Reposted by Paul Wicks, PhD.
I’m looking forward to seeing colleagues from around the world at AD/PD. The conference always has a strong program of great talks from innovative Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s labs. If you’re attending, I hope to connect & discuss where Alzheimer’s research needs to go next. #ADPD2025
March 31, 2025 at 7:48 PM
I dream of a future without cookie notices on websites, 2FA for trivial actions, and emails confirming I’ve logged in from a new location
March 28, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Reposted by Paul Wicks, PhD.
Can border agents search your phone? Yes. ⬇️
March 26, 2025 at 10:58 AM
2025 WFH small talk:
“Oh this is a Zoom? We normally use Teams I had to download it”

“Oh this is a Teams? We normally use Hangouts I had to download it”

“Oh this is a Hangout? We use normally use Zoom I had to download it”

At this point I’m willing to bring back discussing the weather ☔️ ☀️ ❄️
March 26, 2025 at 8:13 PM
🚘 Today my 9 year old asked me whether Lightning McQueen would need life insurance or car insurance and I’m stumped. 🤔
March 23, 2025 at 5:25 PM
My most enjoyable video game of 2025 so far has been managing to reconnect the various plugs, wires, and settings to stream Apple TV on the Premier Inn’s TV so I can stream For All Mankind #hacktheplanet
March 18, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Reposted by Paul Wicks, PhD.
How about this. Pick a book I made and I'll tell you some weird thing about making it.
www.vivianeschwarz.co.uk/books/
Books
Books
www.vivianeschwarz.co.uk
March 12, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Have to admire the classics

(Credit: www.instagram.com/nigel.camach...)
March 12, 2025 at 10:59 AM