Zandrea Ambrose, Ph.D.
@zandrea.bsky.social
Virologist & Professor, Pitt Dept. of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics and former Director of @Pitt-PMI.bsky.social
Seattle native living in Pittsburgh.
Website: http://ambrose-lab.com
Seattle native living in Pittsburgh.
Website: http://ambrose-lab.com
Pinned
This is why research funding is important to me.
2025 sucked. My dad passed away in January and my Aunt Kathy passed away in April. Thinking of both of them today on my dad’s birthday and as this crappy year ends. Hoping that 2026 is better for my family & that there will be an end to the destruction of US healthcare & biomedical research for all.
December 30, 2025 at 1:22 PM
2025 sucked. My dad passed away in January and my Aunt Kathy passed away in April. Thinking of both of them today on my dad’s birthday and as this crappy year ends. Hoping that 2026 is better for my family & that there will be an end to the destruction of US healthcare & biomedical research for all.
“But Denmark has created its immunization schedule in a very different context than that of the U.S. It’s like comparing a cruise ship to a kayak.”
The Trump administration wants to revamp U.S. childhood vaccination recommendations to align with some other peer nations, including one tiny country in northern Europe. n.pr/4atOAzx
Should the U.S. model its vaccine policy on Denmark's? Experts say we're nothing alike
The Trump administration wants to revamp U.S. childhood vaccination recommendations to align with some other peer nations, including one tiny country in northern Europe.
n.pr
December 26, 2025 at 5:25 PM
“But Denmark has created its immunization schedule in a very different context than that of the U.S. It’s like comparing a cruise ship to a kayak.”
Reposted by Zandrea Ambrose, Ph.D.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has vowed to end U.S. monkey imports and push for retirement of research primates. His remarks, made Saturday on a Fox News program, have sent shock waves through the biomedical community. https://scim.ag/48Qp5Hp
Kennedy ‘deeply committed to ending animal experimentation’
HHS secretary vows to end U.S. monkey imports, push for retirement of research primates
www.science.org
December 23, 2025 at 1:19 AM
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has vowed to end U.S. monkey imports and push for retirement of research primates. His remarks, made Saturday on a Fox News program, have sent shock waves through the biomedical community. https://scim.ag/48Qp5Hp
Reposted by Zandrea Ambrose, Ph.D.
Two pieces of fun news:
1. We've launched a new website for our lab: www.brysonlab.org
2. With some new funding, we are recruiting for new postdocs and graduate students. The projects build upon our previous studies of antigen presentation and phagosome biology and go into new exciting dimensions!
1. We've launched a new website for our lab: www.brysonlab.org
2. With some new funding, we are recruiting for new postdocs and graduate students. The projects build upon our previous studies of antigen presentation and phagosome biology and go into new exciting dimensions!
The Bryson Lab | Vaccine Development & Research at MIT
Developing effective accessible vaccines to end tuberculosis worldwide. Combining immunoengineering, molecular microbiology & systems biology at MIT.
www.brysonlab.org
December 18, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Two pieces of fun news:
1. We've launched a new website for our lab: www.brysonlab.org
2. With some new funding, we are recruiting for new postdocs and graduate students. The projects build upon our previous studies of antigen presentation and phagosome biology and go into new exciting dimensions!
1. We've launched a new website for our lab: www.brysonlab.org
2. With some new funding, we are recruiting for new postdocs and graduate students. The projects build upon our previous studies of antigen presentation and phagosome biology and go into new exciting dimensions!
I played soccer on a coed rec team in graduate school and I was also known as just Z! One of my old grad school soccer friends forwarded this to me and it made me smile! ⚽
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/n...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/n...
Soon He’ll Be Mayor Mamdani. To His Soccer Teammates, He Was Just Z.
www.nytimes.com
December 16, 2025 at 2:37 AM
I played soccer on a coed rec team in graduate school and I was also known as just Z! One of my old grad school soccer friends forwarded this to me and it made me smile! ⚽
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/n...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/n...
I'm happy to have Rep. Lee representing me and my friends/neighbors. Many people will not survive massive rising health care costs. It will not go away even if you ignore or deny it.
Trump came to Pennsylvania and called affordability a Democratic hoax.
Millions of people are already struggling to afford basic needs—let alone go to a doctor—and millions of Americans stand to be impacted if the ACA subsidies aren't extended. This is a matter of life or death.
Millions of people are already struggling to afford basic needs—let alone go to a doctor—and millions of Americans stand to be impacted if the ACA subsidies aren't extended. This is a matter of life or death.
December 14, 2025 at 3:33 AM
I'm happy to have Rep. Lee representing me and my friends/neighbors. Many people will not survive massive rising health care costs. It will not go away even if you ignore or deny it.
Find a liver doctor now for you and your family, as this isn’t going to end well.
Breaking: After contentious debates and three failed attempts at a vote, a federal vaccine committee decided on Friday to end the decades-long recommendation that all newborns be immunized at birth against hepatitis B.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/h...
An End to Hepatitis B Shots for All Newborns
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Find a liver doctor now for you and your family, as this isn’t going to end well.
Reposted by Zandrea Ambrose, Ph.D.
We are excited to celebrate PMI students’ amazing research at the 4th Annual PMI Day!
December 5, 2025 at 1:58 PM
We are excited to celebrate PMI students’ amazing research at the 4th Annual PMI Day!
Well done, Nanami! 🎉
Congratulations to @nanamikubota.bsky.social in the @vscooper.micropopbio.org lab on her upcoming thesis defense! 👏
December 3, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Well done, Nanami! 🎉
Reposted by Zandrea Ambrose, Ph.D.
Google defaulting all Gmail users to a setting that enables Google to harvest all your emails into chatbot training is straight-up evil and invasive.
www.huffpost.com/entry/opt-ou...
www.huffpost.com/entry/opt-ou...
If You Use Gmail, You're Going To Want To Turn Off This 1 Automatic Setting ASAP
Plus: a quick guide to the two-step process for opting out.
www.huffpost.com
November 22, 2025 at 5:16 AM
Google defaulting all Gmail users to a setting that enables Google to harvest all your emails into chatbot training is straight-up evil and invasive.
www.huffpost.com/entry/opt-ou...
www.huffpost.com/entry/opt-ou...
Reposted by Zandrea Ambrose, Ph.D.
This is bonkers.
Awards will now be made independent of peer review decisions?
Determinations will be made by who precisely? A political commissar (politruk)?
Awards will now be made independent of peer review decisions?
Determinations will be made by who precisely? A political commissar (politruk)?
November 21, 2025 at 8:44 PM
This is bonkers.
Awards will now be made independent of peer review decisions?
Determinations will be made by who precisely? A political commissar (politruk)?
Awards will now be made independent of peer review decisions?
Determinations will be made by who precisely? A political commissar (politruk)?
Reposted by Zandrea Ambrose, Ph.D.
The NIH director told attendees the NIH doesn't do enough innovative research.
“What puts lives at risk is doing research that’s incremental,” Bhattacharya said. “All it does is advance the careers of the researchers that do it. It results in publications that don’t get used and aren’t replicable.”
“What puts lives at risk is doing research that’s incremental,” Bhattacharya said. “All it does is advance the careers of the researchers that do it. It results in publications that don’t get used and aren’t replicable.”
November 21, 2025 at 5:01 PM
The NIH director told attendees the NIH doesn't do enough innovative research.
“What puts lives at risk is doing research that’s incremental,” Bhattacharya said. “All it does is advance the careers of the researchers that do it. It results in publications that don’t get used and aren’t replicable.”
“What puts lives at risk is doing research that’s incremental,” Bhattacharya said. “All it does is advance the careers of the researchers that do it. It results in publications that don’t get used and aren’t replicable.”
Reposted by Zandrea Ambrose, Ph.D.
About that exclusive, "closed-to-press" MAHA summit last week with RFK and JD Vance: I got in.
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
November 21, 2025 at 5:01 PM
About that exclusive, "closed-to-press" MAHA summit last week with RFK and JD Vance: I got in.
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The Director of the Division of AIDS at NIH was removed. 😠
November 21, 2025 at 4:54 PM
The Director of the Division of AIDS at NIH was removed. 😠
Excited to host my friend and colleague, Dr. Amanda Dudek from the University of Iowa, for a seminar today at noon. She is an expert at AAV gene editing, which she has recently been using to understand HIV infection.
November 12, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Excited to host my friend and colleague, Dr. Amanda Dudek from the University of Iowa, for a seminar today at noon. She is an expert at AAV gene editing, which she has recently been using to understand HIV infection.
Yet another mechanism to hurt scientific research progress in the U.S.
The eds-and-meds economy that reshaped Pittsburgh after the collapse of steelmaking relies on skilled H-1B visa holders.
The administration’s disruption of these visas pose challenges for Pitt, the area’s largest employer of H-1B workers, and many others
www.publicsource.org/h1b-visa-app...
The administration’s disruption of these visas pose challenges for Pitt, the area’s largest employer of H-1B workers, and many others
www.publicsource.org/h1b-visa-app...
Trump change in visa fee could curb hiring by Pitt, BNY, UPMC and others
A new $100,000 fee on H-1B visa applications may deter hires of international talent, and could discourage skilled foreign workers from staying here.
www.publicsource.org
November 12, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Yet another mechanism to hurt scientific research progress in the U.S.
It’s cheaper to buy a house in Pittsburgh than most U.S. cities.
How this major city became one of America’s most affordable for home buyers
While there are many yardsticks for calculating housing affordability, the western Pennsylvania city stands out as uniquely livable.
wapo.st
November 12, 2025 at 1:45 AM
It’s cheaper to buy a house in Pittsburgh than most U.S. cities.
Reposted by Zandrea Ambrose, Ph.D.
Applications are open for the NIH-sponsored undergraduate Research Opportunities HIV RNA (ROHR) program for Summer 2026. Successful applicants will get to carry out a research project at a major university and attend a conference at the NIH. Please spread the word!
sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/...
sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/...
November 10, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Applications are open for the NIH-sponsored undergraduate Research Opportunities HIV RNA (ROHR) program for Summer 2026. Successful applicants will get to carry out a research project at a major university and attend a conference at the NIH. Please spread the word!
sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/...
sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/...
I appreciate this @npr.org piece that doesn't sugarcoat Watson's racism and misogyny. "But Watson was never one to give into critics and doubters, which may have made it hard for him to see when he was wrong. Holding on to his convictions, come what may, seemed to be part of his own DNA."
James Watson, who co-discovered the structure of DNA, has died at age 97
James Watson, who co-discovered the structure of DNA has died at age 97. He was a scientific superstar until he made racist remarks that made him an outcast.
www.npr.org
November 8, 2025 at 3:38 PM
I appreciate this @npr.org piece that doesn't sugarcoat Watson's racism and misogyny. "But Watson was never one to give into critics and doubters, which may have made it hard for him to see when he was wrong. Holding on to his convictions, come what may, seemed to be part of his own DNA."
Reposted by Zandrea Ambrose, Ph.D.
I guess not being allowed to sexually harass people at work really killed the vibe.
November 8, 2025 at 3:26 PM
I guess not being allowed to sexually harass people at work really killed the vibe.
Reposted by Zandrea Ambrose, Ph.D.
Mamdani: Whether you are an immigrant, a member of the trans community, one of the many black women that Donald Trump has fired from a federal job, a single mom still waiting for the cost of groceries to go down, or anyone else with their back against the wall—your struggle is ours too
November 5, 2025 at 4:35 AM
Mamdani: Whether you are an immigrant, a member of the trans community, one of the many black women that Donald Trump has fired from a federal job, a single mom still waiting for the cost of groceries to go down, or anyone else with their back against the wall—your struggle is ours too
😂
November 5, 2025 at 3:44 AM
😂
These seem like boring votes, but this is a huge deal for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. 🙌🏼
All three justices up for a 10-year retention vote easily won in what became a high-stakes and expensive battle for the future of the court.
“I’m very grateful to the voters of Pennsylvania for their confidence in my work,” Wecht said.
triblive.com/news/pennsyl...
“I’m very grateful to the voters of Pennsylvania for their confidence in my work,” Wecht said.
triblive.com/news/pennsyl...
Pa. Supreme Court retention race called in favor of 3 Democratic justices
Voters overwhelmingly chose to retain three Democratic justices on Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, according to results posted just an hour after polls closed. Both the Democratic Natio...
triblive.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:19 AM
These seem like boring votes, but this is a huge deal for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. 🙌🏼
Reposted by Zandrea Ambrose, Ph.D.
With SNAP/EBT cuts looming I highly recommend downloading this app! Basically restaurants and other food businesses will have available bags of random food they don’t wanna waste for ppl to buy for hella cheap! This has saved me sooooo many times when I only have $5 and need some food.
October 28, 2025 at 9:31 PM
With SNAP/EBT cuts looming I highly recommend downloading this app! Basically restaurants and other food businesses will have available bags of random food they don’t wanna waste for ppl to buy for hella cheap! This has saved me sooooo many times when I only have $5 and need some food.
For #WorldPolioDay, @asm.org named the University of Pittsburgh a Milestones in Microbiology site to honor Dr. Jonas Salk for developing the world’s first polio vaccine. After use in the early 1950s, it reduced paralytic polio in the U.S. by 96% in only a few years.
October 25, 2025 at 12:20 AM
For #WorldPolioDay, @asm.org named the University of Pittsburgh a Milestones in Microbiology site to honor Dr. Jonas Salk for developing the world’s first polio vaccine. After use in the early 1950s, it reduced paralytic polio in the U.S. by 96% in only a few years.