Val Cortez
@virologistval.bsky.social
Parent-scientist | Chicana |Assistant Professor @UCSC studying astroviruses, mucosal microbiology and immunology
Pinned
Val Cortez
@virologistval.bsky.social
· Nov 23
Hello everyone! I’m slowly making my way to this app so a re-introduction seems to be in order. I’m a new-ish PI @ #UCSC and my lab studies #astroviruses, non-enveloped, +ssRNA viruses that are a major cause of pediatric #diarrhea.
Reposted by Val Cortez
Our institutions should be mounting as strong and as organized a response to the canceling of grants along ideological and partisan lines as they did against the illegal change to F&A costs. And our emails and/or letters to our research administrators and campus counsel should be asking for this.
March 23, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Our institutions should be mounting as strong and as organized a response to the canceling of grants along ideological and partisan lines as they did against the illegal change to F&A costs. And our emails and/or letters to our research administrators and campus counsel should be asking for this.
Reposted by Val Cortez
I think this is a point we need to hammer home: These decisions about which grants are not getting reviewed or funded and which grants are being canceled are being done by an explicitly non-transparent process.
To me, what is also critical, is how this is taking place. If I am not mistaken, these applications are not even administratively withdrawn - the reviewing information is simply "erased" leaving the application in limbo. This means that trainees affected can't even resubmit under parent...
March 21, 2025 at 5:26 PM
I think this is a point we need to hammer home: These decisions about which grants are not getting reviewed or funded and which grants are being canceled are being done by an explicitly non-transparent process.
Reposted by Val Cortez
What would federal funding cuts do to a community's local economy, its people, & the next generation? UC Santa Cruz Science Professors Needhi Bhalla, Susan Carpenter, & Carol Greider state it plainly and painfully in yesterday's Santa Cruz Sentinel article. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/03/20/g...
Guest Commentary | Trump is turning off the lights on biomedical research: Why it matters for Santa Cruz
“These cuts aren’t just about UCSC; they’re about Santa Cruz,” writes Needhi Bhalla, Susan Carpenter and Carol Greider in a Guest Commentary. “This crucial NIH support fuels our l…
www.santacruzsentinel.com
March 21, 2025 at 8:27 PM
What would federal funding cuts do to a community's local economy, its people, & the next generation? UC Santa Cruz Science Professors Needhi Bhalla, Susan Carpenter, & Carol Greider state it plainly and painfully in yesterday's Santa Cruz Sentinel article. www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/03/20/g...
Reposted by Val Cortez
SARS-CoV-2 cellular coinfection is limited by superinfection exclusion journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
SARS-CoV-2 cellular coinfection is limited by superinfection exclusion | Journal of Virology
Since SARS-CoV-2 first emerged in 2019, it has continued to evolve, occasionally generating
variants of concern. One of the ways that SARS-CoV-2 can evolve is through recombination,
where genetic info...
journals.asm.org
March 21, 2025 at 3:38 PM
SARS-CoV-2 cellular coinfection is limited by superinfection exclusion journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Val Cortez
Great opportunities for young virology investigators in Heidelberg. I’m sure there will be lots of adverts like this over the next few months.
To our US colleagues - come to Europe. We will actually value you.
To our US colleagues - come to Europe. We will actually value you.
March 21, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Great opportunities for young virology investigators in Heidelberg. I’m sure there will be lots of adverts like this over the next few months.
To our US colleagues - come to Europe. We will actually value you.
To our US colleagues - come to Europe. We will actually value you.
Reposted by Val Cortez
Eveerybodeeeeeeee wish @needhibhalla.bsky.social the happiest of birthdays in this date and day by posting your favorite jam that's absolute fire
elmo from sesame street is surrounded by flames and says yasssss
Alt: elmo from sesame street is surrounded by flames and says yasssss.
media.tenor.com
March 20, 2025 at 7:39 AM
Eveerybodeeeeeeee wish @needhibhalla.bsky.social the happiest of birthdays in this date and day by posting your favorite jam that's absolute fire
Reposted by Val Cortez
This is the clear reveal. It is about eliminating qualified competition from brown people. If it were about a supposed non-meritorious leg up, they would just prevent programmatic selection from using any measures to enhance diversity.
The NIH study section I'm serving on for student/postdoc fellowships has been rescheduled for late April (good). But the diversity fellowship apps have been eliminated from the review list (very bad). Extremely frustrating that they couldn't even be reclassified as standard fellowship apps.
March 21, 2025 at 3:35 PM
This is the clear reveal. It is about eliminating qualified competition from brown people. If it were about a supposed non-meritorious leg up, they would just prevent programmatic selection from using any measures to enhance diversity.
Reposted by Val Cortez
The NIH study section I'm serving on for student/postdoc fellowships has been rescheduled for late April (good). But the diversity fellowship apps have been eliminated from the review list (very bad). Extremely frustrating that they couldn't even be reclassified as standard fellowship apps.
March 17, 2025 at 4:24 PM
The NIH study section I'm serving on for student/postdoc fellowships has been rescheduled for late April (good). But the diversity fellowship apps have been eliminated from the review list (very bad). Extremely frustrating that they couldn't even be reclassified as standard fellowship apps.
Reposted by Val Cortez
Opinion piece in the @scsentinel.bsky.social by me, @carpenterlab.bsky.social and Carol Greider: Trump is turning off the lights on biomedical research: Why it matters for Santa Cruz
www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/03/20/g...
www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/03/20/g...
Guest Commentary | Trump is turning off the lights on biomedical research: Why it matters for Santa Cruz
“These cuts aren’t just about UCSC; they’re about Santa Cruz,” writes Needhi Bhalla, Susan Carpenter and Carol Greider in a Guest Commentary. “This crucial NIH support fuels our l…
www.santacruzsentinel.com
March 21, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Opinion piece in the @scsentinel.bsky.social by me, @carpenterlab.bsky.social and Carol Greider: Trump is turning off the lights on biomedical research: Why it matters for Santa Cruz
www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/03/20/g...
www.santacruzsentinel.com/2025/03/20/g...
Reposted by Val Cortez
Join us for the hybrid launch event of our new menstruation science initiative! Unlocking the secrets of the hormone-immunity nexus! If you've never heard Hilary Critchley speak you are in for such a mind blowing keynote!
cgr.mit.edu/2025/03/17/s...
cgr.mit.edu/2025/03/17/s...
Save the Date: MIT Menstruation Science Launch Event – April 9, 2025 • The MIT Center for Gynepathology Research
cgr.mit.edu
March 18, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Join us for the hybrid launch event of our new menstruation science initiative! Unlocking the secrets of the hormone-immunity nexus! If you've never heard Hilary Critchley speak you are in for such a mind blowing keynote!
cgr.mit.edu/2025/03/17/s...
cgr.mit.edu/2025/03/17/s...
Reposted by Val Cortez
‘NIH programs like PREP provided my first introduction to research,’ Steven Mesquiti, a San Antonio, Texas native writes, “Without these programs, countless students—regardless of race, gender, or political affiliation—will lose their chance to break into fields that shape our nation’s future.” 🧪🏠
As part of @sciencehomecoming.bsky.social, I wrote an opinion piece for San Antonio Express News on the dangers of cuts to federal science funding for today and tomorrow's scientists: www.expressnews.com/opinion/comm...
@cantlonlab.bsky.social
@spiantado.bsky.social
@cantlonlab.bsky.social
@spiantado.bsky.social
Cuts to federal research funding will hurt future Texas science students
Cutting funding from anything perceived as “DEI-adjacent” harms us all. It freezes life-changing research, and shuts the door on talented, hardworking students.
www.expressnews.com
March 17, 2025 at 10:10 PM
‘NIH programs like PREP provided my first introduction to research,’ Steven Mesquiti, a San Antonio, Texas native writes, “Without these programs, countless students—regardless of race, gender, or political affiliation—will lose their chance to break into fields that shape our nation’s future.” 🧪🏠
Reposted by Val Cortez
ICYMI by First release - now in print @science.org
Identification of APCs in the gut that promote Treg differentiation and how tolerance to food antigens is influenced by helminth infection.
buff.ly/3DjNQ1e
By @cicacanesso.bsky.social @danmucida.bsky.social @victora.bsky.social et al
Identification of APCs in the gut that promote Treg differentiation and how tolerance to food antigens is influenced by helminth infection.
buff.ly/3DjNQ1e
By @cicacanesso.bsky.social @danmucida.bsky.social @victora.bsky.social et al
March 14, 2025 at 3:25 PM
ICYMI by First release - now in print @science.org
Identification of APCs in the gut that promote Treg differentiation and how tolerance to food antigens is influenced by helminth infection.
buff.ly/3DjNQ1e
By @cicacanesso.bsky.social @danmucida.bsky.social @victora.bsky.social et al
Identification of APCs in the gut that promote Treg differentiation and how tolerance to food antigens is influenced by helminth infection.
buff.ly/3DjNQ1e
By @cicacanesso.bsky.social @danmucida.bsky.social @victora.bsky.social et al
Reposted by Val Cortez
Meet Gracie Himes, age 20.
Her goal: Fight cancer by developing new medicines.
On March 3, her dreams were shattered when Trump admin cuts hit West Virginia University, which rescinded her PhD program offer.
www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...
Her goal: Fight cancer by developing new medicines.
On March 3, her dreams were shattered when Trump admin cuts hit West Virginia University, which rescinded her PhD program offer.
www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...
March 14, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Meet Gracie Himes, age 20.
Her goal: Fight cancer by developing new medicines.
On March 3, her dreams were shattered when Trump admin cuts hit West Virginia University, which rescinded her PhD program offer.
www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...
Her goal: Fight cancer by developing new medicines.
On March 3, her dreams were shattered when Trump admin cuts hit West Virginia University, which rescinded her PhD program offer.
www.wsj.com/us-news/educ...
Reposted by Val Cortez
I was in Beijing last summer talking science; imho they are already there. It's good for science and good for humanity. Not good for America. Truly a very bad time to cripple American science.
‘With the current turmoil, China could surpass the U.S. in the near future,’ Nobel Prize winner David Baker warns
www.wsj.com/articles/bio...
www.wsj.com/articles/bio...
Bioscience Funding Confusion Threatens U.S. Innovation
‘With the current turmoil, China could surpass the U.S. in the near future,’ Nobel Prize winner David Baker warns.
www.wsj.com
March 14, 2025 at 2:32 AM
I was in Beijing last summer talking science; imho they are already there. It's good for science and good for humanity. Not good for America. Truly a very bad time to cripple American science.
Reposted by Val Cortez
Yay! @needhibhalla.bsky.social is coming to visit us at UCLA soon!!! One good thing to look forward to, so well needed at this time :)
March 14, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Yay! @needhibhalla.bsky.social is coming to visit us at UCLA soon!!! One good thing to look forward to, so well needed at this time :)
Reposted by Val Cortez
Grants that people spent enormous effort writing and were already submitted are being politically withdrawn because of who they are. This is wrong.
My grant got yanked from study section.... again. Yeah. I'm so fucking tired of this yo-yo (you can fill in the blank on who/what, as each equally apply).
March 14, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Grants that people spent enormous effort writing and were already submitted are being politically withdrawn because of who they are. This is wrong.
Reposted by Val Cortez
If your grant is "reassigned" or removed this week before the study section review. This may be due to a new round of review on NIH research priorities under NIH's statutory and regulatory authorities. Hang in there.
March 13, 2025 at 6:56 PM
If your grant is "reassigned" or removed this week before the study section review. This may be due to a new round of review on NIH research priorities under NIH's statutory and regulatory authorities. Hang in there.
Reposted by Val Cortez
Prof. Lauren Haack writes to her Wisconsin hometown 🧀 that science funding ‘matters for every student with a passion for science, every family with a loved one in a medical trial, and every young professional entering health care.’ 🧪🏠
@laurenmhaackphd.bsky.social
www.gmtoday.com/daily_news/c...
@laurenmhaackphd.bsky.social
www.gmtoday.com/daily_news/c...
Government must protect health research funding
It’s hard to stand out when you’re one of nine “new kids” in a class of 26, and that’s who I was after moving to Hartland during the mid-’90s subdivision
www.gmtoday.com
March 13, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Prof. Lauren Haack writes to her Wisconsin hometown 🧀 that science funding ‘matters for every student with a passion for science, every family with a loved one in a medical trial, and every young professional entering health care.’ 🧪🏠
@laurenmhaackphd.bsky.social
www.gmtoday.com/daily_news/c...
@laurenmhaackphd.bsky.social
www.gmtoday.com/daily_news/c...
Reposted by Val Cortez
Let's not forget that apart from science advocacy the Rauch lab also does kick-ass science!
Together with the @psmitchej.bsky.social and Tait Wojno labs, we show that #tuftcells can induce specific protective signaling after recognition of intracellular bacterial infection via the #inflammasome!
Together with the @psmitchej.bsky.social and Tait Wojno labs, we show that #tuftcells can induce specific protective signaling after recognition of intracellular bacterial infection via the #inflammasome!
First authors Madeline Churchill and Ankit Pandeya @nkeet50.bsky.social from @rauchlab.bsky.social show that tuft cells, known for their role in anti-parasite defenses, can also contribute to anti-bacterial responses in the small intestine. rupress.org/jem/article/...
#InfectiousDisease
#InfectiousDisease
March 13, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Let's not forget that apart from science advocacy the Rauch lab also does kick-ass science!
Together with the @psmitchej.bsky.social and Tait Wojno labs, we show that #tuftcells can induce specific protective signaling after recognition of intracellular bacterial infection via the #inflammasome!
Together with the @psmitchej.bsky.social and Tait Wojno labs, we show that #tuftcells can induce specific protective signaling after recognition of intracellular bacterial infection via the #inflammasome!
Reposted by Val Cortez
First authors Madeline Churchill and Ankit Pandeya @nkeet50.bsky.social from @rauchlab.bsky.social show that tuft cells, known for their role in anti-parasite defenses, can also contribute to anti-bacterial responses in the small intestine. rupress.org/jem/article/...
#InfectiousDisease
#InfectiousDisease
March 13, 2025 at 4:18 PM
First authors Madeline Churchill and Ankit Pandeya @nkeet50.bsky.social from @rauchlab.bsky.social show that tuft cells, known for their role in anti-parasite defenses, can also contribute to anti-bacterial responses in the small intestine. rupress.org/jem/article/...
#InfectiousDisease
#InfectiousDisease
Reposted by Val Cortez
Reposted by Val Cortez
🧪 The attack on science could have a generational effect. We risk losing a wave of early-career researchers to these cuts. And biomedical science in the US will be less ambitious, less competitive & lead to fewer breakthroughs. So much is at stake. My latest for @opinion.bloomberg.com (🎁 link):
NIH Cuts Create a Lost Generation of Scientists
Trump administration attacks on the National Institutes of Health mean biomedical research will become less ambitious, less competitive and result in fewer breakthroughs.
www.bloomberg.com
March 12, 2025 at 1:28 PM
🧪 The attack on science could have a generational effect. We risk losing a wave of early-career researchers to these cuts. And biomedical science in the US will be less ambitious, less competitive & lead to fewer breakthroughs. So much is at stake. My latest for @opinion.bloomberg.com (🎁 link):
Some bright light during an absolute 💩 time— big thanks to the faculty @ UGA for hosting me this week! #IDSky @ceirrnetwork.bsky.social
March 12, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Some bright light during an absolute 💩 time— big thanks to the faculty @ UGA for hosting me this week! #IDSky @ceirrnetwork.bsky.social