@catherine-lesko.bsky.social
Reposted
The editors of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) were apparently fired today.
The precursor to MMWR began in 1878 to address emerging public health threats rapidly.
We are not “great” without it. We are vulnerable to threats from sporadic foodborne illness to bioterrorism.
The precursor to MMWR began in 1878 to address emerging public health threats rapidly.
We are not “great” without it. We are vulnerable to threats from sporadic foodborne illness to bioterrorism.
October 11, 2025 at 4:09 AM
The editors of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) were apparently fired today.
The precursor to MMWR began in 1878 to address emerging public health threats rapidly.
We are not “great” without it. We are vulnerable to threats from sporadic foodborne illness to bioterrorism.
The precursor to MMWR began in 1878 to address emerging public health threats rapidly.
We are not “great” without it. We are vulnerable to threats from sporadic foodborne illness to bioterrorism.
Reposted
History shows us the opposite: Undermining and censoring scientists and experts is a central feature of authoritarianism.
RFK Jr: We need to stop trusting the experts... Trusting the experts is not a feature of science or democracy, it's a feature of religion and totalitarianism.
August 30, 2025 at 6:20 AM
History shows us the opposite: Undermining and censoring scientists and experts is a central feature of authoritarianism.
Reposted
Them: “Cities are all rotting hellscapes!”
Cities:
Cities:
August 29, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Them: “Cities are all rotting hellscapes!”
Cities:
Cities:
Reposted
Dr. Dmitri Daskalakis, who resigned from the CDC says that RFKJr said he believes that Avian flu should be allowed to "burn through" the chickens and then children and others, so we can propagate a "stronger species". RFKJr believes in eugenics.
RFKJr needs to resign or be fired.
RFKJr needs to resign or be fired.
August 29, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Dr. Dmitri Daskalakis, who resigned from the CDC says that RFKJr said he believes that Avian flu should be allowed to "burn through" the chickens and then children and others, so we can propagate a "stronger species". RFKJr believes in eugenics.
RFKJr needs to resign or be fired.
RFKJr needs to resign or be fired.
Reposted
Abbe Lowell and I represent CDC Director #SusanMonarez. Contrary to govt statements, Dr. Monarez has neither resigned nor yet been fired. She will not resign. We have issued the following statement:
August 27, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Abbe Lowell and I represent CDC Director #SusanMonarez. Contrary to govt statements, Dr. Monarez has neither resigned nor yet been fired. She will not resign. We have issued the following statement:
Reposted
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), top Dem on the Senate health committee, on this evening's chaos at CDC:
“We cannot let RFK Jr. burn what’s left of the CDC and our other critical health agencies to the ground—he must be fired."
“We cannot let RFK Jr. burn what’s left of the CDC and our other critical health agencies to the ground—he must be fired."
August 28, 2025 at 12:46 AM
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), top Dem on the Senate health committee, on this evening's chaos at CDC:
“We cannot let RFK Jr. burn what’s left of the CDC and our other critical health agencies to the ground—he must be fired."
“We cannot let RFK Jr. burn what’s left of the CDC and our other critical health agencies to the ground—he must be fired."
Reposted
Dr. Demetre, in his resignation from the CDC, said this:
“I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people”.
It is an outrage that RFK Jr. remains as head of HHS.
“I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people”.
It is an outrage that RFK Jr. remains as head of HHS.
August 28, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Dr. Demetre, in his resignation from the CDC, said this:
“I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people”.
It is an outrage that RFK Jr. remains as head of HHS.
“I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people”.
It is an outrage that RFK Jr. remains as head of HHS.
🤞
The NIH budget will INCREASE by $400 million — not slashed by 40%, as Trump proposed — according to a proposal by Senate appropriators, says Sen Murray.
"Some have asked if there will even be an NIH by [2029]. The commmittee's resounding message is yes—Congress has your back", she says.
"Some have asked if there will even be an NIH by [2029]. The commmittee's resounding message is yes—Congress has your back", she says.
July 31, 2025 at 9:51 PM
🤞
Reposted
Have you benefited from a medical treatment or know someone who has? This one man wants to shut it all down. It sounds nonsensical and mad. And it is. But Russell Vought is head of the OMB, wants to and can do it. Call your members of Congress. Get rid of Vought, not medical research.
Russell Vought wanted to shut down all extramural grants from NIH in this current fiscal year, putting stop to ALL research across the US. Someone in the White House had better sense. But Vought is a dangerous man, who will stop at nothing to destroy science in America. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Trump Administration Scraps Effort to Pause Health-Research Funding
The administration halted and then restarted billions in new research grants flowing from the National Institutes of Health.
www.wsj.com
July 30, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Have you benefited from a medical treatment or know someone who has? This one man wants to shut it all down. It sounds nonsensical and mad. And it is. But Russell Vought is head of the OMB, wants to and can do it. Call your members of Congress. Get rid of Vought, not medical research.
Reposted
Outrageous. The White House is sidestepping Congress and halting up to $15 billion in NIH research funding, which would have gone to study diabetes, cancer & more.
The order was issued through a four-sentence email sent to NIH directors from Office of Management & Budget Director Russell Vought.
The order was issued through a four-sentence email sent to NIH directors from Office of Management & Budget Director Russell Vought.
July 30, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Outrageous. The White House is sidestepping Congress and halting up to $15 billion in NIH research funding, which would have gone to study diabetes, cancer & more.
The order was issued through a four-sentence email sent to NIH directors from Office of Management & Budget Director Russell Vought.
The order was issued through a four-sentence email sent to NIH directors from Office of Management & Budget Director Russell Vought.
Reposted
Russell Vought has unilaterally decided today that he simply won’t allow anyone outside of NIH to receive research funding.
$15 billion in NIH funding is now locked down. If not reversed, it will also take down many Universities in the United States.
Forget new cancer treatments or vaccines.
$15 billion in NIH funding is now locked down. If not reversed, it will also take down many Universities in the United States.
Forget new cancer treatments or vaccines.
July 30, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Russell Vought has unilaterally decided today that he simply won’t allow anyone outside of NIH to receive research funding.
$15 billion in NIH funding is now locked down. If not reversed, it will also take down many Universities in the United States.
Forget new cancer treatments or vaccines.
$15 billion in NIH funding is now locked down. If not reversed, it will also take down many Universities in the United States.
Forget new cancer treatments or vaccines.
Reposted
Reporter: How do you feel about the Columbia settlement?
Dominique: Let me tell you about public universities in Republican-led states...
I appreciate that I get the kicker on a lot of these stories because I'm the most grim
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
Dominique: Let me tell you about public universities in Republican-led states...
I appreciate that I get the kicker on a lot of these stories because I'm the most grim
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
July 25, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Reporter: How do you feel about the Columbia settlement?
Dominique: Let me tell you about public universities in Republican-led states...
I appreciate that I get the kicker on a lot of these stories because I'm the most grim
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
Dominique: Let me tell you about public universities in Republican-led states...
I appreciate that I get the kicker on a lot of these stories because I'm the most grim
www.insidehighered.com/news/governm...
Omg. I’m shocked they finally admitted/acknowledged this impoundment by default but I’m not going to be so petty that i won’t feel grateful/relieved. It’s so nice to just not be gaslit (briefly).
Wait, sometimes there are surprises. Apparently some Republicans have now grasped the immense damage to their communities caused by massive cuts to NIH funding.
We told them this beforehand, yet they still thoroughly enjoyed seeing the massive cuts…until it affected them directly.
We told them this beforehand, yet they still thoroughly enjoyed seeing the massive cuts…until it affected them directly.
14 Republican senators urge White House to release delayed NIH funds
Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) is leading the letter making the ask of OMB director Russ Vought.
www.politico.com
July 26, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Omg. I’m shocked they finally admitted/acknowledged this impoundment by default but I’m not going to be so petty that i won’t feel grateful/relieved. It’s so nice to just not be gaslit (briefly).
Reposted
No, a LOT of them think that. Science may be one of the most social forms of knowledge production we have. Arguably it’s at least as social as creative writing. Actual scientists will tell you this. Yet, millions of people think they can do science alone with an LLM.
I just now realized that some guys think that fancy predictive text can make new scientific discoveries but that doesn’t even make sense.
July 21, 2025 at 3:37 PM
No, a LOT of them think that. Science may be one of the most social forms of knowledge production we have. Arguably it’s at least as social as creative writing. Actual scientists will tell you this. Yet, millions of people think they can do science alone with an LLM.
Reposted
Analysts report that cutting the NIH budget by 10% would prevent 30 additional new medications from coming to market in the next three decades.
Trump is proposing a 40% cut to the NIH budget. We could potentially lose hundreds of life-saving treatments.
Trump is proposing a 40% cut to the NIH budget. We could potentially lose hundreds of life-saving treatments.
July 21, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Analysts report that cutting the NIH budget by 10% would prevent 30 additional new medications from coming to market in the next three decades.
Trump is proposing a 40% cut to the NIH budget. We could potentially lose hundreds of life-saving treatments.
Trump is proposing a 40% cut to the NIH budget. We could potentially lose hundreds of life-saving treatments.
Reposted
When I was little, the U.S. military came to our home at gunpoint and took me and my family away. We were imprisoned for years in barbed wire camps simply because we were Japanese American. I have spent my life telling that story, hoping it would never be repeated.
July 21, 2025 at 5:20 PM
When I was little, the U.S. military came to our home at gunpoint and took me and my family away. We were imprisoned for years in barbed wire camps simply because we were Japanese American. I have spent my life telling that story, hoping it would never be repeated.
Reposted
Considerable coverage of the retaliation against the EPA staffers who signed the Declaration of Dissent yesterday.
www.eenews.net/articles/epa...
www.eenews.net/articles/epa...
EPA puts 139 employees on leave who criticized administration
The staff were put on administrative leave after signing a “declaration of dissent.”
www.eenews.net
July 4, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Considerable coverage of the retaliation against the EPA staffers who signed the Declaration of Dissent yesterday.
www.eenews.net/articles/epa...
www.eenews.net/articles/epa...
Reposted
After ruling the NIH grant cuts were illegal yesterday, Judge Young, a Reagan appointee on the bench since 1985, ended the hearing with a blistering 15-minute speech.
I've cleaned up my notes — here are his remarks in full. 🧵
I've cleaned up my notes — here are his remarks in full. 🧵
Judge rules against NIH grant cuts — and calls them discriminatory
The decision means that the US biomedical agency has to restore funding to hundreds of research projects, but the government will likely appeal.
www.nature.com
June 17, 2025 at 1:47 PM
After ruling the NIH grant cuts were illegal yesterday, Judge Young, a Reagan appointee on the bench since 1985, ended the hearing with a blistering 15-minute speech.
I've cleaned up my notes — here are his remarks in full. 🧵
I've cleaned up my notes — here are his remarks in full. 🧵
Reposted
I listened to the hearing this morning in the two cases (now linked) about NIH grant terminations.
These cases are before Judge William Young, a very accomplished judge appointed by Ronald Reagan.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...
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These cases are before Judge William Young, a very accomplished judge appointed by Ronald Reagan.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...
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William G. Young - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
June 16, 2025 at 5:01 PM
I listened to the hearing this morning in the two cases (now linked) about NIH grant terminations.
These cases are before Judge William Young, a very accomplished judge appointed by Ronald Reagan.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...
1/n
These cases are before Judge William Young, a very accomplished judge appointed by Ronald Reagan.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...
1/n
Reposted
I am so effing mad. It's just lies upon lies from these grifting scoundrels.
1/4
1/4
June 10, 2025 at 8:01 PM
I am so effing mad. It's just lies upon lies from these grifting scoundrels.
1/4
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Reposted
#SER2025 attendees you will see these slides advertising our new open access journal AJE Advances: Research in Epidemiology @ajeadvances.bsky.social As an editor, I’m happy to answer questions about why you should publish with us. Come find me!
June 11, 2025 at 2:47 PM
#SER2025 attendees you will see these slides advertising our new open access journal AJE Advances: Research in Epidemiology @ajeadvances.bsky.social As an editor, I’m happy to answer questions about why you should publish with us. Come find me!
Reposted
🚨 NIH director Jayanta Bhattacharya is testifying before the US Senate Appropriations Committee today.
The hearing is bound to be spicy, after more than 300 agency staff wrote him a letter decrying his leadership and actions as director. 🔥
I'll be live-posting the hearing, so follow along here.
The hearing is bound to be spicy, after more than 300 agency staff wrote him a letter decrying his leadership and actions as director. 🔥
I'll be live-posting the hearing, so follow along here.
June 10, 2025 at 1:49 PM
🚨 NIH director Jayanta Bhattacharya is testifying before the US Senate Appropriations Committee today.
The hearing is bound to be spicy, after more than 300 agency staff wrote him a letter decrying his leadership and actions as director. 🔥
I'll be live-posting the hearing, so follow along here.
The hearing is bound to be spicy, after more than 300 agency staff wrote him a letter decrying his leadership and actions as director. 🔥
I'll be live-posting the hearing, so follow along here.
Reposted
RFK Jr.‘s extreme anti-vax views — and his related conflicts of interest — were a huge problem during his confirmation process.
So he promised not to change the vaccine advisory panel.
Today, he fired every single expert on that panel. It's a public health disaster.
So he promised not to change the vaccine advisory panel.
Today, he fired every single expert on that panel. It's a public health disaster.
RFK Jr. ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory committee
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has removed every member of a scientific committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to use vaccines.
apnews.com
June 9, 2025 at 10:34 PM
RFK Jr.‘s extreme anti-vax views — and his related conflicts of interest — were a huge problem during his confirmation process.
So he promised not to change the vaccine advisory panel.
Today, he fired every single expert on that panel. It's a public health disaster.
So he promised not to change the vaccine advisory panel.
Today, he fired every single expert on that panel. It's a public health disaster.
Reposted
If you weren't angry enough already, here are the rates of non-competitive renewals through May.
4008 Non-competitive renewals were due to be funded in May.
The total funded was 99!
Some is due to terminations, but most is due to slow grant making due to DOGE review and other impediments.
1/2
4008 Non-competitive renewals were due to be funded in May.
The total funded was 99!
Some is due to terminations, but most is due to slow grant making due to DOGE review and other impediments.
1/2
June 9, 2025 at 1:22 PM
If you weren't angry enough already, here are the rates of non-competitive renewals through May.
4008 Non-competitive renewals were due to be funded in May.
The total funded was 99!
Some is due to terminations, but most is due to slow grant making due to DOGE review and other impediments.
1/2
4008 Non-competitive renewals were due to be funded in May.
The total funded was 99!
Some is due to terminations, but most is due to slow grant making due to DOGE review and other impediments.
1/2