Rachael Sirianni, PhD
@docsirianni.bsky.social
Biomedical Engineer, Professor & Vice Chair of Research for Neurosurgery, UMass Chan Medical School. Treating pediatric brain tumors and neurodegenerative disease via all things nanomedicine and the subarachnoid space. *opinions are my own
I can’t believe that these two headlines actually co-exist, that we now live in a country where the federal government MAKES PEOPLE GO HUNGRY to score partisan leverage
November 7, 2025 at 11:20 PM
I can’t believe that these two headlines actually co-exist, that we now live in a country where the federal government MAKES PEOPLE GO HUNGRY to score partisan leverage
With a title from w-h dot gov that says “Democrats are to blame for airport chaos”, I guess we just don’t even pretend to care about the Hatch act??
November 7, 2025 at 11:16 PM
With a title from w-h dot gov that says “Democrats are to blame for airport chaos”, I guess we just don’t even pretend to care about the Hatch act??
It's really not the flex he thinks it is
October 20, 2025 at 3:20 PM
It's really not the flex he thinks it is
Might have captured the precise moment I permanently damaged my vocal cords (giving a 10 min speech w laryngitis) 😂 I joke, sort of, am completely miserable + unable to talk today. Buuut WORTH IT. This, the right to stand up and speak, this is what our country is about it. May we always have hope 🙏
October 19, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Might have captured the precise moment I permanently damaged my vocal cords (giving a 10 min speech w laryngitis) 😂 I joke, sort of, am completely miserable + unable to talk today. Buuut WORTH IT. This, the right to stand up and speak, this is what our country is about it. May we always have hope 🙏
Video part 4/4. My speech at the Worcester No Kings rally on 10/18. It was such a hopeful and inspiring event 🚫👑🇺🇸💪
October 19, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Video part 4/4. My speech at the Worcester No Kings rally on 10/18. It was such a hopeful and inspiring event 🚫👑🇺🇸💪
Video part 3/4. My speech at the Worcester No Kings rally on 10/18. It was such a hopeful and inspiring event 🚫👑🇺🇸💪
October 19, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Video part 3/4. My speech at the Worcester No Kings rally on 10/18. It was such a hopeful and inspiring event 🚫👑🇺🇸💪
Video part 2/4. My speech at the Worcester No Kings rally on 10/18. It was such a hopeful and inspiring event 🚫👑🇺🇸💪
October 19, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Video part 2/4. My speech at the Worcester No Kings rally on 10/18. It was such a hopeful and inspiring event 🚫👑🇺🇸💪
Video part 1/4. My speech at the Worcester No Kings rally on 10/18. It was such a hopeful and inspiring event 🚫👑🇺🇸💪
October 19, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Video part 1/4. My speech at the Worcester No Kings rally on 10/18. It was such a hopeful and inspiring event 🚫👑🇺🇸💪
Need some slogans for your No Kings Rally sign? A friend, with assistance from ChatGPT, came up with the following, please share! And see you from the podium (with raging laryngitis, argh) at Institute Park in Worcester, 1pm!
October 18, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Need some slogans for your No Kings Rally sign? A friend, with assistance from ChatGPT, came up with the following, please share! And see you from the podium (with raging laryngitis, argh) at Institute Park in Worcester, 1pm!
CALL TO ACTION. **Accreditation standards for Universities/grad programs are changing**. All references to DEI scrubbed. Universities no longer required to have libraries or to staff them with libraries. 34 pages of standards reduced to 11. We have until 5pm today to comment! Links in the reply 1/3
October 15, 2025 at 5:16 PM
CALL TO ACTION. **Accreditation standards for Universities/grad programs are changing**. All references to DEI scrubbed. Universities no longer required to have libraries or to staff them with libraries. 34 pages of standards reduced to 11. We have until 5pm today to comment! Links in the reply 1/3
Oh look, the president is twisting thumbscrews against American citizens for political gain again. This is normal, right?
October 10, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Oh look, the president is twisting thumbscrews against American citizens for political gain again. This is normal, right?
Pro-tip: "making" the proof is not how science works. Here's the full clip: www.tiktok.com/@couriernews...
October 10, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Pro-tip: "making" the proof is not how science works. Here's the full clip: www.tiktok.com/@couriernews...
“…like Taher’s son, Mohammed Hashim, it is Myanmar’s children who have borne the brunt of the fallout. A study published in The Lancet in June said the US funding cuts could result in more than 14 million deaths, including over 4.5 millions children under age 5, by 2030”
apnews.com/article/myan...
apnews.com/article/myan...
October 9, 2025 at 2:12 AM
“…like Taher’s son, Mohammed Hashim, it is Myanmar’s children who have borne the brunt of the fallout. A study published in The Lancet in June said the US funding cuts could result in more than 14 million deaths, including over 4.5 millions children under age 5, by 2030”
apnews.com/article/myan...
apnews.com/article/myan...
I'm not sure I've *actually* slept since January...
September 25, 2025 at 7:03 PM
I'm not sure I've *actually* slept since January...
RFK when asked what successes N.I.H. has had stated: “I don't think there have been successes”. The reason he says things like that is because he literally doesn’t understand a single thing about human health or the history of NIH/biomedical research in this country 3/3
September 17, 2025 at 11:32 AM
RFK when asked what successes N.I.H. has had stated: “I don't think there have been successes”. The reason he says things like that is because he literally doesn’t understand a single thing about human health or the history of NIH/biomedical research in this country 3/3
I think the patients with AML who went from 0% survival in 1940 to 80% survival in 2015 would beg to differ. Take a look yourself and see if you think the field of cancer research as made progress or not 2/3
September 17, 2025 at 11:32 AM
I think the patients with AML who went from 0% survival in 1940 to 80% survival in 2015 would beg to differ. Take a look yourself and see if you think the field of cancer research as made progress or not 2/3
Watching Neurosurgery Grand Rounds by UMass Chan’s very own Matthew Hemming, a hem-onc clinician-scientist whose research lab directly drives clinical care. Below: survival rates have improved since the 40s. I don’t want to hear that we “haven’t made progress in the war on cancer” 1/3
September 17, 2025 at 11:32 AM
Watching Neurosurgery Grand Rounds by UMass Chan’s very own Matthew Hemming, a hem-onc clinician-scientist whose research lab directly drives clinical care. Below: survival rates have improved since the 40s. I don’t want to hear that we “haven’t made progress in the war on cancer” 1/3
Some thoughts. I’ll keep sharing this powerful expose, which provides a completely accounting of the actions our federal government is taking against cancer research. I’m living it, but reading this article and seeing it from an outsiders perspective is something else www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/m...
September 17, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Some thoughts. I’ll keep sharing this powerful expose, which provides a completely accounting of the actions our federal government is taking against cancer research. I’m living it, but reading this article and seeing it from an outsiders perspective is something else www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/m...
They’re not wrong about AALAC…
September 9, 2025 at 12:44 AM
They’re not wrong about AALAC…
The gov't attacking research is the definition of "cutting off ones to nose to spite the face". The current admin is *destroying* one of the most important resources ever built in our country: our strength in STEM. We are on the way to making that strength... history.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/o...
September 8, 2025 at 3:19 PM
The gov't attacking research is the definition of "cutting off ones to nose to spite the face". The current admin is *destroying* one of the most important resources ever built in our country: our strength in STEM. We are on the way to making that strength... history.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/o...
Couldn’t take enough screenshots of this one. Honestly this is so accurate to what it feels like, it was a hard read
www.statnews.com/2025/08/26/f...
www.statnews.com/2025/08/26/f...
August 27, 2025 at 1:12 AM
Couldn’t take enough screenshots of this one. Honestly this is so accurate to what it feels like, it was a hard read
www.statnews.com/2025/08/26/f...
www.statnews.com/2025/08/26/f...
"Still, the overall funding picture means that some damage cannot be contained. As Washington debates the cuts to science funding, Columbia and other research universities have instituted hiring freezes, cut expenses and reduced the number of students they will educate" archive.ph/a7gB7#select...
August 25, 2025 at 8:08 PM
"Still, the overall funding picture means that some damage cannot be contained. As Washington debates the cuts to science funding, Columbia and other research universities have instituted hiring freezes, cut expenses and reduced the number of students they will educate" archive.ph/a7gB7#select...