Emily Wong
@emilybethwong.bsky.social
Durban-ite, mom of 3, scientist, ID doc, plant lover, trying hard to understand subclinical / asymptomatic TB at AHRI & UAB 🇿🇦 🇺🇸 #TBsky #IDsky
We are hiring! Please circulate in your networks. Join us in beautiful warm and wonderful KZN to answer some important questions about asymptomatic / subclinical TB.
#TBsky #IDsky 🧪
#TBsky #IDsky 🧪
📢 AHRI is #hiring for 2️⃣ key roles for an exciting new study on asymptomatic TB transmission.
Successful candidates will join the leadership of the study, working closely with our director for clinical trials Limakatso Lebina & @emilybethwong.bsky.social
More ➡️ ahri.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/AHRI1
Successful candidates will join the leadership of the study, working closely with our director for clinical trials Limakatso Lebina & @emilybethwong.bsky.social
More ➡️ ahri.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/AHRI1
August 21, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Reposted by Emily Wong
Here is a link you can blast out to all of your networks to ask them to consider signing on in support of our NIH heroes.
actionnetwork.org/forms/add-na...
We are at 5000 folks who have signed on. But we can do better
Only for people who have ever been sick or knows someone who has been.
actionnetwork.org/forms/add-na...
We are at 5000 folks who have signed on. But we can do better
Only for people who have ever been sick or knows someone who has been.
ADD YOUR NAME: Sign the Open Letter in Support of NIH Staff
Join the courageous and committed National Institutes of Health (NIH) public servants by adding your name now.
actionnetwork.org
June 9, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Here is a link you can blast out to all of your networks to ask them to consider signing on in support of our NIH heroes.
actionnetwork.org/forms/add-na...
We are at 5000 folks who have signed on. But we can do better
Only for people who have ever been sick or knows someone who has been.
actionnetwork.org/forms/add-na...
We are at 5000 folks who have signed on. But we can do better
Only for people who have ever been sick or knows someone who has been.
This is a research ethics emergency 🚨 on the scale of those we know from history - the Tuskegee syphilis study, Nazi “scientific”atrocities. The impact on the global clinical research field is immense. Will we (scientists, participants, communities, ethics committees) ever trust funders again?
NIH funding will abruptly cease for dozens, if not hundreds, of ongoing overseas trials of drugs and treatments. Its policy change puts thousands of trial participants in limbo.
https://go.nature.com/3Z8xNM1
https://go.nature.com/3Z8xNM1
NIH grant cuts will axe clinical trials abroad — and could leave thousands without care
US agency’s new policy could abruptly end studies of infectious diseases and cancer, leaving researchers scrambling for funds.
go.nature.com
May 31, 2025 at 7:02 AM
This is a research ethics emergency 🚨 on the scale of those we know from history - the Tuskegee syphilis study, Nazi “scientific”atrocities. The impact on the global clinical research field is immense. Will we (scientists, participants, communities, ethics committees) ever trust funders again?
Reposted by Emily Wong
At the end of this summer, the future of U.S. science and research will be decided.
From weather alerts to cancer breakthroughs, science shapes every part of our lives.
We need everyone in this fight.
The Summer Fight for Science starts now. Are you in?
The fight starts here: bit.ly/4ddiuqU
From weather alerts to cancer breakthroughs, science shapes every part of our lives.
We need everyone in this fight.
The Summer Fight for Science starts now. Are you in?
The fight starts here: bit.ly/4ddiuqU
May 14, 2025 at 7:07 PM
At the end of this summer, the future of U.S. science and research will be decided.
From weather alerts to cancer breakthroughs, science shapes every part of our lives.
We need everyone in this fight.
The Summer Fight for Science starts now. Are you in?
The fight starts here: bit.ly/4ddiuqU
From weather alerts to cancer breakthroughs, science shapes every part of our lives.
We need everyone in this fight.
The Summer Fight for Science starts now. Are you in?
The fight starts here: bit.ly/4ddiuqU
Watching our field get torn apart in a matter of months makes me sick
With nearly all of Harvard Chan School’s direct federal grants terminated, we are relying on philanthropy to power our research and support our educational programs. Every gift, regardless of size, advances our vision of health, dignity, and justice for every human. Support our work: hsph.me/whygive
May 16, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Watching our field get torn apart in a matter of months makes me sick
Reposted by Emily Wong
"TAG, MSF and the SAMRC have appealed for “alternative funds to sustain TB and HIV research in South Africa”. - VITAL VITAL VITAL - the USA failure is happening in the context of global shifts towards arms, away from health/research/etc
May 16, 2025 at 5:39 PM
"TAG, MSF and the SAMRC have appealed for “alternative funds to sustain TB and HIV research in South Africa”. - VITAL VITAL VITAL - the USA failure is happening in the context of global shifts towards arms, away from health/research/etc
Reposted by Emily Wong
This is truly sad
nearly every single federal grant terminated at one of the largest schools of public health
nearly every single federal grant terminated at one of the largest schools of public health
With nearly all of Harvard Chan School’s direct federal grants terminated, we are relying on philanthropy to power our research and support our educational programs. Every gift, regardless of size, advances our vision of health, dignity, and justice for every human. Support our work: hsph.me/whygive
May 16, 2025 at 5:45 PM
This is truly sad
nearly every single federal grant terminated at one of the largest schools of public health
nearly every single federal grant terminated at one of the largest schools of public health
More sad news for 🇺🇸 science. Trying to keep steady in these times, but it’s hard. Difficult to give hope to early career scientists.
May 16, 2025 at 6:05 PM
More sad news for 🇺🇸 science. Trying to keep steady in these times, but it’s hard. Difficult to give hope to early career scientists.
Reposted by Emily Wong
All 4 of my NIH research grants are terminated. These were grants on MDR-TB treatment & strategies for supporting adolescents living w/ HIV. This is a massive waste of resources. I am heartbroken for my Harvard team, my partners in Peru, the next generation of scientists & our country. Shame.
May 15, 2025 at 8:59 PM
All 4 of my NIH research grants are terminated. These were grants on MDR-TB treatment & strategies for supporting adolescents living w/ HIV. This is a massive waste of resources. I am heartbroken for my Harvard team, my partners in Peru, the next generation of scientists & our country. Shame.
Thinking about cool science makes me happy these days. Also art, music and writing (all only if made by humans, not machines). Congrats to @oehlerslab.org and look forward to thinking about the human relevance of this finding.
Why are prior and concurrent #TB such huge risk factors for M. abscessus infection? #zebrafish preprint lead by our research officer Denise Wee discovers tuberculous granulomas (yellow blob) act as a safe haven for opportunistic mycobacterial pathogens (magenta blobs).
May 9, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Thinking about cool science makes me happy these days. Also art, music and writing (all only if made by humans, not machines). Congrats to @oehlerslab.org and look forward to thinking about the human relevance of this finding.
Congratulations @jaynesutherlandtb.bsky.social - very exciting results for Xpert HR and a 3 protein biomarker!!
Very happy to share our latest publication evaluating not 1, but 2 fingerstick blood screening tests for TB: Cepheid 3 gene test and a 3 protein test using lateral flow technology. Coming soon: evaluation in children and household contracts. Stay tuned...
academic.oup.com/cid/advance-...
academic.oup.com/cid/advance-...
Performance of 2 Finger-Stick Blood Tests to Triage Adults With Symptoms of Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Prospective Multisite Diagnostic Accuracy Study
Two finger-stick blood tests to triage people with symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis by measuring 3 host proteins (multibiomarker test) or 3 host RNA tran
academic.oup.com
April 17, 2025 at 3:55 AM
Congratulations @jaynesutherlandtb.bsky.social - very exciting results for Xpert HR and a 3 protein biomarker!!
Being involved in this #TBsky “moonshot” program has been one of the high points of my career. Through the IMPAcTB contracts our 🇿🇦 team has into discovered insights into asymptomatic TB from #Vukuzazi in rural KZN and worked with the best and most fun scientists from around the 🌎. Targeting 🧪 is 💔🤯!
Tuberculosis is not going away. If the cutting edge research goes away, #TB will rage on. Harvard is being targeted including the TB Immunology contract and that trickles down to all of us working on these studies. Progress will be halted. And TB will flourish. www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/08/m...
‘This looks bad.’ A Harvard infectious disease researcher is targeted in Trump’s review. - The Boston Globe
Sarah Fortune’s tuberculosis research was the number one project on a list of threatened funding.
www.bostonglobe.com
April 8, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Being involved in this #TBsky “moonshot” program has been one of the high points of my career. Through the IMPAcTB contracts our 🇿🇦 team has into discovered insights into asymptomatic TB from #Vukuzazi in rural KZN and worked with the best and most fun scientists from around the 🌎. Targeting 🧪 is 💔🤯!
Reposted by Emily Wong
My sincere thanks to Jeanne Marrazzo for her service as NIAID director. She delivered the Merigan lecture last year & then kindly met w/our trainees & faculty, listening openly to ideas & suggestions for how to make NIAID stronger. A brilliant yet humble physician-scientist. This is such a loss
April 2, 2025 at 1:08 AM
My sincere thanks to Jeanne Marrazzo for her service as NIAID director. She delivered the Merigan lecture last year & then kindly met w/our trainees & faculty, listening openly to ideas & suggestions for how to make NIAID stronger. A brilliant yet humble physician-scientist. This is such a loss
Wholeheartedly agree
For what it’s worth, Jeanne Marrazzo is a national treasure.
RFK Jr is a national embarrassment.
RFK Jr is a national embarrassment.
April 2, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Wholeheartedly agree
Thank you for giving us a glimmer of hope on this grim day @booker.senate.gov
April 1, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Thank you for giving us a glimmer of hope on this grim day @booker.senate.gov
💔This is a sad & scary day. Jeanne Marrazzo is so smart & such a good leader. With her at the helm our field could sleep a little easier. Losing her leadership is devestating to #IDsky 🧪 & 🌍 health. These ✂️ to NIH workforce put us in grave danger. Now & for a long time.
www.cnn.com/2025/04/01/h...
www.cnn.com/2025/04/01/h...
‘It’s a bloodbath’: Massive wave of job cuts began at US health agencies | CNN
A massive wave of job cuts began at US health agencies early Tuesday, with some employees receiving early morning emails that their jobs were eliminated and some unable to access the building when the...
www.cnn.com
April 1, 2025 at 3:45 PM
💔This is a sad & scary day. Jeanne Marrazzo is so smart & such a good leader. With her at the helm our field could sleep a little easier. Losing her leadership is devestating to #IDsky 🧪 & 🌍 health. These ✂️ to NIH workforce put us in grave danger. Now & for a long time.
www.cnn.com/2025/04/01/h...
www.cnn.com/2025/04/01/h...
Reposted by Emily Wong
March 31, 2025 at 9:01 PM
5 alarm fire 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨
The CDC has been captured.
CDC statement on measles vaccination:
“The decision to vaccinate is a personal one. People should consult with their healthcare provider to understand their options to get a vaccine and should be informed about the potential risks and benefits associated with vaccines.”
CDC statement on measles vaccination:
“The decision to vaccinate is a personal one. People should consult with their healthcare provider to understand their options to get a vaccine and should be informed about the potential risks and benefits associated with vaccines.”
NEW: The move — along with the CDC’s explanation — is a sign that the nation’s top public health agency may be falling in line under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime critic of vaccines.
By @sheinvestigates.bsky.social
By @sheinvestigates.bsky.social
March 29, 2025 at 11:39 AM
5 alarm fire 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨 🚨
Reposted by Emily Wong
Unless the medical research community unites to come to the aid of the NIH staff, who are the only hope for stopping the descent of the whole system, that community itself will be shredded. There is no plan B to defunding NIH. Business cannot go on. Stop normalizing.
Try to imagine a situation where you are not allowed to do your job (e.g. working with applicants to formulate successful proposals), you and and your long-time colleagues are fearful of losing their job, ...
1/n
1/n
Thanks for sharing this. As dire as things are, it’s vital we have some insight on what it’s like for the people working inside the agency.
March 28, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Unless the medical research community unites to come to the aid of the NIH staff, who are the only hope for stopping the descent of the whole system, that community itself will be shredded. There is no plan B to defunding NIH. Business cannot go on. Stop normalizing.
I have been continuously funded by the NIH for HIV/TB research in 🇿🇦 since 2008. Fogarty fellow & mentor x 3, T32, K08, R21, R01 subs, IMPAcTB subcontracts. I am proud of this body of work. My 💔’s for participants, colleagues, the next gen of scientists and my family.
bhekisisa.org/health-news-...
bhekisisa.org/health-news-...
[BREAKING] SA research grants potentially on hold, says leaked memo - Bhekisisa
A leaked memo for grant management staff of the US government’s National Institutes of Health (NIH), dated March 25, instructs officers to hold “all [research] awards to entities located in South Afri...
bhekisisa.org
March 28, 2025 at 2:04 AM
I have been continuously funded by the NIH for HIV/TB research in 🇿🇦 since 2008. Fogarty fellow & mentor x 3, T32, K08, R21, R01 subs, IMPAcTB subcontracts. I am proud of this body of work. My 💔’s for participants, colleagues, the next gen of scientists and my family.
bhekisisa.org/health-news-...
bhekisisa.org/health-news-...
Reposted by Emily Wong
Yes. The situation at NIH is worse than the public realizes.
The #NIH is on track to be effectively ended as a funder of evidence-based research within a year.
That is not an exaggeration. The firings and consolidation announced today will create a new, MUCH worse NIH.
1/
The #NIH is on track to be effectively ended as a funder of evidence-based research within a year.
That is not an exaggeration. The firings and consolidation announced today will create a new, MUCH worse NIH.
1/
The situation at the NIH and for all biomedical and cancer cure research in the United States is MUCH MUCH WORSE than you realize.
Ruining studies and potentially harming research subjects...
Abruptly terminating clinical trials...
Ignorant and evil
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
Abruptly terminating clinical trials...
Ignorant and evil
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
March 28, 2025 at 1:02 AM
Yes. The situation at NIH is worse than the public realizes.
The #NIH is on track to be effectively ended as a funder of evidence-based research within a year.
That is not an exaggeration. The firings and consolidation announced today will create a new, MUCH worse NIH.
1/
The #NIH is on track to be effectively ended as a funder of evidence-based research within a year.
That is not an exaggeration. The firings and consolidation announced today will create a new, MUCH worse NIH.
1/
Reposted by Emily Wong
This article expresses all of my concerns. The ethical principles of human subjects research were born from the Nuremberg trials. We cannot experiment on people against the terms of their informed consent. And monitoring people’s safety are part of those terms.
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
The NIH’s Most Reckless Cuts Yet
Ending clinical trials with no warning can put patients at risk.
www.theatlantic.com
March 28, 2025 at 1:04 AM
This article expresses all of my concerns. The ethical principles of human subjects research were born from the Nuremberg trials. We cannot experiment on people against the terms of their informed consent. And monitoring people’s safety are part of those terms.
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
We really spoke from our hearts today. It was painful but cathartic to talk with my friends & comrades from UKZN and CAPRISA. We ended up inspired to join together and to fight!
If you want to hear my raw response to the current crisis start at 45 minutes ✊🏽🇿🇦
www.youtube.com/live/5QF7GVu...
If you want to hear my raw response to the current crisis start at 45 minutes ✊🏽🇿🇦
www.youtube.com/live/5QF7GVu...
World Tuberculosis Day 2025
YouTube video by University of KwaZulu-Natal South Africa
www.youtube.com
March 24, 2025 at 8:49 PM
We really spoke from our hearts today. It was painful but cathartic to talk with my friends & comrades from UKZN and CAPRISA. We ended up inspired to join together and to fight!
If you want to hear my raw response to the current crisis start at 45 minutes ✊🏽🇿🇦
www.youtube.com/live/5QF7GVu...
If you want to hear my raw response to the current crisis start at 45 minutes ✊🏽🇿🇦
www.youtube.com/live/5QF7GVu...
World Tuberculosis Day 2025
YouTube video by University of KwaZulu-Natal South Africa
www.youtube.com
March 24, 2025 at 8:40 PM
We really spoke from our hearts today. It was painful but cathartic to talk with my friends & comrades from UKZN and CAPRISA. We ended up inspired to join together and to fight!
If you want to hear my raw response to the current crisis start at 45 minutes ✊🏽🇿🇦
www.youtube.com/live/5QF7GVu...
If you want to hear my raw response to the current crisis start at 45 minutes ✊🏽🇿🇦
www.youtube.com/live/5QF7GVu...
Reposted by Emily Wong
It's world TB day.
The last two months have been a series of attacks on global health, infectious disease science and vulnerable populations. The damage will take decades to undo, and we are heading onto a steep global health disaster.
We can't stay quiet.
#tuberculosis #TB #WTBD2025
The last two months have been a series of attacks on global health, infectious disease science and vulnerable populations. The damage will take decades to undo, and we are heading onto a steep global health disaster.
We can't stay quiet.
#tuberculosis #TB #WTBD2025
March 24, 2025 at 2:43 PM
It's world TB day.
The last two months have been a series of attacks on global health, infectious disease science and vulnerable populations. The damage will take decades to undo, and we are heading onto a steep global health disaster.
We can't stay quiet.
#tuberculosis #TB #WTBD2025
The last two months have been a series of attacks on global health, infectious disease science and vulnerable populations. The damage will take decades to undo, and we are heading onto a steep global health disaster.
We can't stay quiet.
#tuberculosis #TB #WTBD2025