Steve Joffe
@stevejoffe.bsky.social
Professor @ UPenn. Research ethics, pediatric ethics, cancer ethics, genomethics, science policy. Grateful immigrant, he/him. Speak only for myself. Reposts do not imply endorsement.
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0667-7384
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-0667-7384
Reposted by Steve Joffe
Yesterday morning kids were sent running from their bus stop in panic because ICE showed up. This guy at today’s ICE Out of Lindenwold protest is a must watch 😭. @maddow.bsky.social
February 14, 2026 at 2:37 AM
Yesterday morning kids were sent running from their bus stop in panic because ICE showed up. This guy at today’s ICE Out of Lindenwold protest is a must watch 😭. @maddow.bsky.social
February 12, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Reposted by Steve Joffe
Another instance of a center director acting unilaterally to overrule other staff (which here also involved ignoring FDA's previous statements to the company).
As @reshmagar.bsky.social and I have argued, the bar should be much higher for such unilateral action:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
As @reshmagar.bsky.social and I have argued, the bar should be much higher for such unilateral action:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
February 11, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Another instance of a center director acting unilaterally to overrule other staff (which here also involved ignoring FDA's previous statements to the company).
As @reshmagar.bsky.social and I have argued, the bar should be much higher for such unilateral action:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
As @reshmagar.bsky.social and I have argued, the bar should be much higher for such unilateral action:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Worth a read. wapo.st/3ZrXzur
Opinion | Universities are sending Trump a dangerous message
Higher education is under attack. Drop the appeasement.
wapo.st
February 11, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Worth a read. wapo.st/3ZrXzur
Reposted by Steve Joffe
📢Call for Papers: The ELSI of Genetic Selection, a special report of the Hastings Center Report.
We welcome contribution on reproductive technologies, practices, and policies that enable the selection of genetic characteristics.
More info: elsihub.org/news/call-pa...
We welcome contribution on reproductive technologies, practices, and policies that enable the selection of genetic characteristics.
More info: elsihub.org/news/call-pa...
Call for Papers - The ELSI of Genetic Selection: Pronatalism, Eugenics, and Reproductive Justice
The Center for ELSI Resources and Analysis (CERA) is sponsoring a special report of the Hastings Center Report that considers the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) of reproductive technol...
elsihub.org
February 9, 2026 at 8:43 PM
📢Call for Papers: The ELSI of Genetic Selection, a special report of the Hastings Center Report.
We welcome contribution on reproductive technologies, practices, and policies that enable the selection of genetic characteristics.
More info: elsihub.org/news/call-pa...
We welcome contribution on reproductive technologies, practices, and policies that enable the selection of genetic characteristics.
More info: elsihub.org/news/call-pa...
Reposted by Steve Joffe
One of the most important scientific achievements of the last 50 years was making the causal links between prior viral infections (e.g. EBV) and subsequent serious diseases.
My Op Ed in Today's Washington Post: "The long-lasting effects of viruses — and the anti-vaccine movement. For some people, a viral infection can have devastating long-term effects."
wapo.st/4qjFtWk
wapo.st/4qjFtWk
February 6, 2026 at 3:52 PM
One of the most important scientific achievements of the last 50 years was making the causal links between prior viral infections (e.g. EBV) and subsequent serious diseases.
Reposted by Steve Joffe
We would like to recruit a stellar junior faculty member in the Division of Child Health Research and Policy @deptpopmed.bsky.social at Harvard. Please circulate this announcement widely!
www.populationmedicine.org/divisions-ce...
www.populationmedicine.org/divisions-ce...
February 6, 2026 at 5:33 PM
We would like to recruit a stellar junior faculty member in the Division of Child Health Research and Policy @deptpopmed.bsky.social at Harvard. Please circulate this announcement widely!
www.populationmedicine.org/divisions-ce...
www.populationmedicine.org/divisions-ce...
Reposted by Steve Joffe
In response my colleague @jimswift.bsky.social had chatgpt create new scenes for Coalie. I just spit out my tea
February 6, 2026 at 2:14 AM
In response my colleague @jimswift.bsky.social had chatgpt create new scenes for Coalie. I just spit out my tea
Reposted by Steve Joffe
In this week's Receipts, I wrote about "Coalie," the Trump admin's anime-like new mascot for coal; and other failing efforts to revive manly sectors like mining and manufacturing. www.thebulwark.com/p/donald-tru...
February 6, 2026 at 2:12 AM
In this week's Receipts, I wrote about "Coalie," the Trump admin's anime-like new mascot for coal; and other failing efforts to revive manly sectors like mining and manufacturing. www.thebulwark.com/p/donald-tru...
Reposted by Steve Joffe
Can venture philanthropy replicate its cystic fibrosis success for other diseases?
The CF Foundation’s early bet on Vertex generated billions for reinvestment—but LDI Fellow Matt McCoy finds those “home runs” remain rare. Read more:
https://bit.ly/4kisaEh
The CF Foundation’s early bet on Vertex generated billions for reinvestment—but LDI Fellow Matt McCoy finds those “home runs” remain rare. Read more:
https://bit.ly/4kisaEh
Venture Philanthropy Transformed Cystic Fibrosis. Can It Deliver for Other Diseases?
LDI Fellows recently analyzed the self-reported profiles of 130 patient groups in an affinity network promoting venture philanthropy.
ldi.upenn.edu
February 5, 2026 at 8:51 PM
Can venture philanthropy replicate its cystic fibrosis success for other diseases?
The CF Foundation’s early bet on Vertex generated billions for reinvestment—but LDI Fellow Matt McCoy finds those “home runs” remain rare. Read more:
https://bit.ly/4kisaEh
The CF Foundation’s early bet on Vertex generated billions for reinvestment—but LDI Fellow Matt McCoy finds those “home runs” remain rare. Read more:
https://bit.ly/4kisaEh
This is a painful but necessary read. Guts me what we are doing to our kids.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/u...
What the Crackdown Has Done to Minneapolis Children
www.nytimes.com
February 4, 2026 at 11:15 PM
This is a painful but necessary read. Guts me what we are doing to our kids.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/u...
Recently out from pedi oncology colleagues, about "cancer exceptionalism."
tl;dr: We accept therapy-induced malignancies as part of the benefit-risk calculus when treating cancer, but are unwilling to weigh them in the balance when treating nonmalignant disease. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
tl;dr: We accept therapy-induced malignancies as part of the benefit-risk calculus when treating cancer, but are unwilling to weigh them in the balance when treating nonmalignant disease. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
January 28, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Recently out from pedi oncology colleagues, about "cancer exceptionalism."
tl;dr: We accept therapy-induced malignancies as part of the benefit-risk calculus when treating cancer, but are unwilling to weigh them in the balance when treating nonmalignant disease. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
tl;dr: We accept therapy-induced malignancies as part of the benefit-risk calculus when treating cancer, but are unwilling to weigh them in the balance when treating nonmalignant disease. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Reposted by Steve Joffe
Stop what you’re doing and read this piece, which is as powerful as you’d expect from @adamserwer.bsky.social witnessing the events of last week on the ground in Minnesota. “The secret fear of the morally depraved is that virtue is actually common, and that they’re the ones who are alone.”
Minnesota Proved MAGA Wrong
The pushback against ICE exposed a series of mistaken assumptions.
www.theatlantic.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Stop what you’re doing and read this piece, which is as powerful as you’d expect from @adamserwer.bsky.social witnessing the events of last week on the ground in Minnesota. “The secret fear of the morally depraved is that virtue is actually common, and that they’re the ones who are alone.”
What an astounding, maddening story.
terrific new Ben Taub piece — it cracks a long-cold case of infanticide; it's a bombshell for maternal health, child protection & opiate toxicology protocols; it exposes the Lancet’s scandalous indifference to validity of what it publishes — it should make noise
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Did a Celebrated Researcher Obscure a Baby’s Poisoning?
After a newborn died of opioid poisoning, a new branch of pediatrics came into being. But the evidence doesn’t add up.
www.newyorker.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:36 PM
What an astounding, maddening story.
Reposted by Steve Joffe
Great piece. It resonates with mine on CGT "flexibilities" from last week www.statnews.com/2026/01/20/f... The FDA is kind of doing its new science policy by press release on these related fronts.
January 26, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Great piece. It resonates with mine on CGT "flexibilities" from last week www.statnews.com/2026/01/20/f... The FDA is kind of doing its new science policy by press release on these related fronts.
Excellent piece about why race is not a biological category and how medical education needs to respond. www.bmj.com/content/392/...
Race is not a biological category: challenging this misconception will help tackle racism in healthcare
Healthcare professionals must reject flawed racial generalisations, writes Jasmeen Kanwal
Institutional racism in healthcare has received increased coverage in recent years, including in The BMJ ’s ...
www.bmj.com
January 26, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Excellent piece about why race is not a biological category and how medical education needs to respond. www.bmj.com/content/392/...
Reposted by Steve Joffe
I'm perturbed by the HHS response.
Yes, of course we have to speculate when govt regulators fail to follow proper procedures for changing FDA policy.
And no, "an open door posture" isn't the same as formal opportunities for public comment/response. Keep your podcasts, give us regs+formal guidance.
Yes, of course we have to speculate when govt regulators fail to follow proper procedures for changing FDA policy.
And no, "an open door posture" isn't the same as formal opportunities for public comment/response. Keep your podcasts, give us regs+formal guidance.
January 26, 2026 at 2:33 PM
I'm perturbed by the HHS response.
Yes, of course we have to speculate when govt regulators fail to follow proper procedures for changing FDA policy.
And no, "an open door posture" isn't the same as formal opportunities for public comment/response. Keep your podcasts, give us regs+formal guidance.
Yes, of course we have to speculate when govt regulators fail to follow proper procedures for changing FDA policy.
And no, "an open door posture" isn't the same as formal opportunities for public comment/response. Keep your podcasts, give us regs+formal guidance.
Reposted by Steve Joffe
Thanks to @jasonmast.bsky.social for highlighting our analysis of FDA's new plausible mechanism pathway in @statnews.com.
Key pts:
- Plausible mech is a great idea for n of 1/few
- FDA needs to stop advancing policy via journal article
- Impt open Qs on scope
www.statnews.com/2026/01/26/f...
Key pts:
- Plausible mech is a great idea for n of 1/few
- FDA needs to stop advancing policy via journal article
- Impt open Qs on scope
www.statnews.com/2026/01/26/f...
FDA’s new ‘plausible mechanism pathway’ for personalized gene editing raises concerns
A new FDA pathway meant to enable one-time gene-editing cures could, ethicists warn, become a Pandora's box.
www.statnews.com
January 26, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Thanks to @jasonmast.bsky.social for highlighting our analysis of FDA's new plausible mechanism pathway in @statnews.com.
Key pts:
- Plausible mech is a great idea for n of 1/few
- FDA needs to stop advancing policy via journal article
- Impt open Qs on scope
www.statnews.com/2026/01/26/f...
Key pts:
- Plausible mech is a great idea for n of 1/few
- FDA needs to stop advancing policy via journal article
- Impt open Qs on scope
www.statnews.com/2026/01/26/f...
Reposted by Steve Joffe
On NPR on Friday, there was a story of a 4-year-old--an American citizen--who hasn't left her house since early December, not even to play in the yard. And her 8-year-old brother recently stopped going to school, too. Their father is undocumented, and the family doesn't want to risk him being taken.
January 26, 2026 at 3:47 AM
On NPR on Friday, there was a story of a 4-year-old--an American citizen--who hasn't left her house since early December, not even to play in the yard. And her 8-year-old brother recently stopped going to school, too. Their father is undocumented, and the family doesn't want to risk him being taken.
Reposted by Steve Joffe
Wife and I in tears reading this…
January 26, 2026 at 4:30 AM
Wife and I in tears reading this…
Reposted by Steve Joffe
Thank you to my alma mater’s president for writing this. Will other higher education leaders follow his lead?
"We should bear witness to the brutality and demand that our government protect our freedoms—not crush them with armed, masked men who think they can act with impunity. As people who have chosen learning, it’s the least we can do." —Wesleyan University President @msroth.bsky.social on Minneapolis
Minneapolis is Now Ground Zero for Our Democracy
www.wesleyan.edu
January 25, 2026 at 3:30 PM
Thank you to my alma mater’s president for writing this. Will other higher education leaders follow his lead?
Reposted by Steve Joffe
ICE detain yet another minor child—chase him down his own street and tackle him to pavement.
"I am legal! I am legal!" he cries over and over in Spanish.
Agent pins the boy down in snow—he desperately tries to keep his exposed hands from freezing at -25°F wind chill temperature.
Minneapolis, MN
"I am legal! I am legal!" he cries over and over in Spanish.
Agent pins the boy down in snow—he desperately tries to keep his exposed hands from freezing at -25°F wind chill temperature.
Minneapolis, MN
January 23, 2026 at 4:45 PM
ICE detain yet another minor child—chase him down his own street and tackle him to pavement.
"I am legal! I am legal!" he cries over and over in Spanish.
Agent pins the boy down in snow—he desperately tries to keep his exposed hands from freezing at -25°F wind chill temperature.
Minneapolis, MN
"I am legal! I am legal!" he cries over and over in Spanish.
Agent pins the boy down in snow—he desperately tries to keep his exposed hands from freezing at -25°F wind chill temperature.
Minneapolis, MN
Reposted by Steve Joffe
"There’s good historical reason to worry that an authoritarian govt leader collecting a registry of Jews, under the pretext of protecting Jews, while that leader has referred to Jews as “disloyal,” & [his] coalition has many outspoken Jew haters & Holocaust deniers, may not end up so well for Jews."
Trump’s Chilling Weaponization of Confidential Government Records
Remind me—who else in history made lists of Jewish intellectuals and people with disabilities?
www.thebulwark.com
January 23, 2026 at 2:01 AM
"There’s good historical reason to worry that an authoritarian govt leader collecting a registry of Jews, under the pretext of protecting Jews, while that leader has referred to Jews as “disloyal,” & [his] coalition has many outspoken Jew haters & Holocaust deniers, may not end up so well for Jews."
Reposted by Steve Joffe
So much going on right now but for those of you who care about FDA, @pzettler.bsky.social, @stevejoffe.bsky.social, @rachelsachs.bsky.social, @reshmagar.bsky.social + I have a 2 part commentary in @healthaffairs.bsky.social Forefront on the new plausible mechanism pathway. Link to Part 1 below.
The Promise And Perils Of FDA’s New ‘Plausible Mechanism’ Pathway (Part 1) | Health Affairs Forefront
In part 1 of this article, we describe FDA’s broadly flexible approach to meeting challenges in rare disease drug development and summarize FDA’s initial, limited policy efforts to address them. We th...
www.healthaffairs.org
January 22, 2026 at 5:57 PM
So much going on right now but for those of you who care about FDA, @pzettler.bsky.social, @stevejoffe.bsky.social, @rachelsachs.bsky.social, @reshmagar.bsky.social + I have a 2 part commentary in @healthaffairs.bsky.social Forefront on the new plausible mechanism pathway. Link to Part 1 below.
Reposted by Steve Joffe
Everyone in America should have to see these cases and think about what they mean for the kind of society we are becoming. They killed a mom in her minivan. And now they have grabbed this poor sweet kid, used him as bait to grab his dad, and sent him to a detention center in Texas.
January 22, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Everyone in America should have to see these cases and think about what they mean for the kind of society we are becoming. They killed a mom in her minivan. And now they have grabbed this poor sweet kid, used him as bait to grab his dad, and sent him to a detention center in Texas.