Nicole Lieberman, PhD
@nicolelieberman.bsky.social
Acting Assistant Professor of Lab Medicine at UW. Functional genomics and molecular epidemiology to study syphilis. 🇨🇦🇺🇸
Pinned
Disseminated Syphilis Caused by Two Recombining Treponema pallidum Strains | NEJM
A patient with poorly controlled HIV infection was found to have two different strains
of Treponema pallidum. Careful evaluation showed evidence for recombination between
these two organisms.
www.nejm.org
The story of a patient with uncontrolled HIV and widely disseminated syphilis caused by two recombining Treponema pallidum strains. /1
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Nicole Lieberman, PhD
Don't use LLMs for ANYTHING. Not your grants, not your papers. NOTHING.
You were hired because of your mind. Use it for god's sake
You were hired because of your mind. Use it for god's sake
November 30, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Don't use LLMs for ANYTHING. Not your grants, not your papers. NOTHING.
You were hired because of your mind. Use it for god's sake
You were hired because of your mind. Use it for god's sake
In retrospect, rolling over at 5 am without investigation when I heard the 4yo quietly wandering around turns out to have been a mistake 🤦♀️🫠
November 27, 2025 at 4:33 PM
In retrospect, rolling over at 5 am without investigation when I heard the 4yo quietly wandering around turns out to have been a mistake 🤦♀️🫠
Reposted by Nicole Lieberman, PhD
the economic success of the U.S. is significantly built on the land grant universities and in particular their excellent agricultural science tradition.
Really important to stress that the Crown Jewels of the US higher education system were never the Ivies or elite SLACs (other countries have equivalents of these) but the well-funded, large, cheap, and excellently staffed public state university systems bringing high quality education to the masses.
One of the bragging rights that the US ed system had in the 20th century is that we didn't have education tracks. Essentially, any kid could go to a CC or state school & major in whatever they wanted to (obviously an oversimplification). I fear this aspect of the American dream is dying.
November 23, 2025 at 5:26 PM
the economic success of the U.S. is significantly built on the land grant universities and in particular their excellent agricultural science tradition.
I so miss Baltimore and the characters that live there. Buzz is a hero.
I love him. “The first time I caught up to [ICE], I could tell that they already knew who I was. They had seen me before, so they thought they were just going to speed away. I was like, ‘Ha ha, bitches, I got a new scooter!’”
Meet the veteran who chases ICE on a scooter
Clifford “Buzz” Grambo patrols the streets of Baltimore to keep his neighbors safe—and make federal agents uncomfortable.
www.motherjones.com
November 20, 2025 at 5:09 PM
I so miss Baltimore and the characters that live there. Buzz is a hero.
This is so, so cool. Vibrio cholerae reaching out and grabbing environmental DNA.
published in 2018 and meanwhile seven years old(!), but still a highlight: wiggling 𝘝𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘦 competence pilus catching DNA for uptake/transformation. found during the repair of our archive. written by @racheldiner.bsky.social . #MicroSky
Shining a light on Vibrio DNA uptake
by Rachel Diner — Vibrio cholerae is "kind of a big deal" in the bacterial world and a popular topic here on STC. Beyond being the causative agent for the disease cholera, it's a model bacterium f…
smallthingsconsidered.blog
November 20, 2025 at 5:40 AM
This is so, so cool. Vibrio cholerae reaching out and grabbing environmental DNA.
Reposted by Nicole Lieberman, PhD
If the sandwich don’t split, you must acquit
Defense says that the officer's testimony was "very questionable" because he said the sandwich both exploded in spray of mustard and onions and also landed in its wrapper on the ground.
November 5, 2025 at 8:29 PM
If the sandwich don’t split, you must acquit
Reposted by Nicole Lieberman, PhD
Someday I will not have to write about Sarepta Therapeutics and their ineffective drugs that never should have been approved by the FDA in the first place.
This is not that day.
This is not that day.
Sarepta: Enough, For God's Sake
www.science.org
November 5, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Someday I will not have to write about Sarepta Therapeutics and their ineffective drugs that never should have been approved by the FDA in the first place.
This is not that day.
This is not that day.
Reposted by Nicole Lieberman, PhD
Did not expect one of the best paragraphs I’d read about baseball would come from an Irish newspaper
www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...
www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...
November 2, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Did not expect one of the best paragraphs I’d read about baseball would come from an Irish newspaper
www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...
www.irishexaminer.com/sport-column...
Good morning from Seattle, apparently we are already in winter sunrise season.
October 30, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Good morning from Seattle, apparently we are already in winter sunrise season.
Reposted by Nicole Lieberman, PhD
Ohtani killing it and the Dodgers losing is basically a perfect game
October 25, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Ohtani killing it and the Dodgers losing is basically a perfect game
Out at my favorite pub with just my 7yo, watching the World Series (though he’s cheering for the Dodgers… ). Radiohead playing on the stereo, cold sour in hand. This is the parenting I signed up for and a grand evening. Go Jays 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🙌🙌🙌
October 25, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Out at my favorite pub with just my 7yo, watching the World Series (though he’s cheering for the Dodgers… ). Radiohead playing on the stereo, cold sour in hand. This is the parenting I signed up for and a grand evening. Go Jays 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🙌🙌🙌
Reposted by Nicole Lieberman, PhD
The Maldives 🇲🇻 became the first country in the world to eliminate mother to child transmission of:
-HBV
-HIV
-Syphilis
#IDSky
www.who.int/news/item/13...
-HBV
-HIV
-Syphilis
#IDSky
www.who.int/news/item/13...
October 14, 2025 at 1:41 AM
The Maldives 🇲🇻 became the first country in the world to eliminate mother to child transmission of:
-HBV
-HIV
-Syphilis
#IDSky
www.who.int/news/item/13...
-HBV
-HIV
-Syphilis
#IDSky
www.who.int/news/item/13...
Reposted by Nicole Lieberman, PhD
NEW learning module on Syphilis in Pregnancy/Congenital Syphilis from the UW-hosted National STD Curriculum - excellent learning, free CME… #IDSky #MedSky
www.std.uw.edu/go/comprehen...
www.std.uw.edu/go/comprehen...
September 20, 2025 at 1:19 PM
NEW learning module on Syphilis in Pregnancy/Congenital Syphilis from the UW-hosted National STD Curriculum - excellent learning, free CME… #IDSky #MedSky
www.std.uw.edu/go/comprehen...
www.std.uw.edu/go/comprehen...
Reposted by Nicole Lieberman, PhD
I like this. Since under RFK Jr, Covid shots are now for people with underlying conditions that put them at risk, Michigan’s chief medical executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian states that not having the most recent Covid shot constitutes such an underlying condition.
www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside...
www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside...
September 19, 2025 at 6:09 PM
I like this. Since under RFK Jr, Covid shots are now for people with underlying conditions that put them at risk, Michigan’s chief medical executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian states that not having the most recent Covid shot constitutes such an underlying condition.
www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside...
www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside...
It just gets more embarrassing every day.
According to the new War.gov site, we have a lot more military bases in China and Russia than I realized. www.war.gov/About/
September 6, 2025 at 3:07 PM
It just gets more embarrassing every day.
“Treatment with one dose of 2.4 million units of benzathine penicillin G was noninferior to treatment with three doses with regard to serologic response 6 months after treatment.”
NEJM keeping the focus on syphilis.
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
NEJM keeping the focus on syphilis.
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
One Dose versus Three Doses of Benzathine Penicillin G in Early Syphilis | NEJM
Controversy persists regarding the appropriate duration of therapy with benzathine penicillin G in persons with early (i.e., primary, secondary, or early latent) syphilis (Treponema pallidum infect...
www.nejm.org
September 4, 2025 at 1:24 PM
“Treatment with one dose of 2.4 million units of benzathine penicillin G was noninferior to treatment with three doses with regard to serologic response 6 months after treatment.”
NEJM keeping the focus on syphilis.
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
NEJM keeping the focus on syphilis.
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
After 20 years, I’ve never been this ambivalent heading back to America, never been so demoralized or anxious. I’m so grateful to have been able to recenter.
…Think I’ll go out to Alberta/ the weather’s good there in the fall….
…Think I’ll go out to Alberta/ the weather’s good there in the fall….
August 29, 2025 at 1:30 AM
After 20 years, I’ve never been this ambivalent heading back to America, never been so demoralized or anxious. I’m so grateful to have been able to recenter.
…Think I’ll go out to Alberta/ the weather’s good there in the fall….
…Think I’ll go out to Alberta/ the weather’s good there in the fall….
Reposted by Nicole Lieberman, PhD
“You are here to learn to ride a bicycle, not to invent a bicycle.” 🚲🧪
Read my story in Science Magazine on how I dealt with my "Mid-PhD Crisis".
www.science.org/content/arti...
@science.org
@sciencecareers.bsky.social
#ScienceWorkingLife
#AcademicChatter
#AcademicTwitter
#ScienceTwitter
Read my story in Science Magazine on how I dealt with my "Mid-PhD Crisis".
www.science.org/content/arti...
@science.org
@sciencecareers.bsky.social
#ScienceWorkingLife
#AcademicChatter
#AcademicTwitter
#ScienceTwitter
"For half an hour, I vented everything I had been holding in for months … my supervisor … then calmly offered a line I’ll never forget: 'You are here to learn to ride a bicycle, not to invent a bicycle.' That one sentence landed softly, but it cracked something open." https://scim.ag/4lt1Ru0
August 19, 2025 at 1:45 PM
“You are here to learn to ride a bicycle, not to invent a bicycle.” 🚲🧪
Read my story in Science Magazine on how I dealt with my "Mid-PhD Crisis".
www.science.org/content/arti...
@science.org
@sciencecareers.bsky.social
#ScienceWorkingLife
#AcademicChatter
#AcademicTwitter
#ScienceTwitter
Read my story in Science Magazine on how I dealt with my "Mid-PhD Crisis".
www.science.org/content/arti...
@science.org
@sciencecareers.bsky.social
#ScienceWorkingLife
#AcademicChatter
#AcademicTwitter
#ScienceTwitter
Possibility of locally acquired malaria. In the PNW.
I think I’ve hit my infectious disease news limit today already.
I think I’ve hit my infectious disease news limit today already.
Tacoma-Pierce Counties (WA) investigating possibility of *locally*acquired malaria in an individual with no travel 😳
#IDSky
tpchd.org/news/we-are-...
#IDSky
tpchd.org/news/we-are-...
tpchd.org
August 7, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Possibility of locally acquired malaria. In the PNW.
I think I’ve hit my infectious disease news limit today already.
I think I’ve hit my infectious disease news limit today already.
🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ Measles capital of the developed world.
“The percentage of 7-year-olds who had been fully vaccinated against measles in Alberta dropped to 72 percent in 2024 from about 80 percent in 2019.
The province has a distinct culture that emphasizes personal freedom.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/w...
“The percentage of 7-year-olds who had been fully vaccinated against measles in Alberta dropped to 72 percent in 2024 from about 80 percent in 2019.
The province has a distinct culture that emphasizes personal freedom.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/w...
Measles Spreads Quickly in Rural Alberta Areas That Resisted Vaccines
www.nytimes.com
August 7, 2025 at 3:04 PM
🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️ Measles capital of the developed world.
“The percentage of 7-year-olds who had been fully vaccinated against measles in Alberta dropped to 72 percent in 2024 from about 80 percent in 2019.
The province has a distinct culture that emphasizes personal freedom.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/w...
“The percentage of 7-year-olds who had been fully vaccinated against measles in Alberta dropped to 72 percent in 2024 from about 80 percent in 2019.
The province has a distinct culture that emphasizes personal freedom.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/w...
Just stood outside my local bookstore in the rain until it opened so I could get a copy before it even made it onto the shelves. Can’t wait to spend some time reading and bearing witness on this 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.
An excerpt from my new book THE DEVIL REACHED TOWARD THE SKY: amzn.to/3HpQHbg
August 6, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Just stood outside my local bookstore in the rain until it opened so I could get a copy before it even made it onto the shelves. Can’t wait to spend some time reading and bearing witness on this 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.
Reposted by Nicole Lieberman, PhD
Gates Foundation pledges $2.5 billion to women’s health initiatives www.statnews.com/2025/08/04/b...
Gates Foundation pledges $2.5 billion to women’s health initiatives
Breaking: The Gates Foundation said it would commit $2.5 billion through 2030 to support women’s health initiatives, its largest funding commitment ever to the issue.
www.statnews.com
August 5, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Gates Foundation pledges $2.5 billion to women’s health initiatives www.statnews.com/2025/08/04/b...
Reposted by Nicole Lieberman, PhD
Instant classic. Trey Parker and Matt Stone deserve a Pulitzer. www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv...
Yes, 'South Park' Went There -- And It's Glorious
'South Park' Season 27 premiere depicts President Trump as a con man with a micropenis who's in bed with Satan, and takes on parent company Paramount.
www.rollingstone.com
July 24, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Instant classic. Trey Parker and Matt Stone deserve a Pulitzer. www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv...