lmw96.bsky.social
@lmw96.bsky.social
Research Administrator, Seattle
Reposted
This is apparently a response to dealing with the delays due to the government shutdown.

I hope is is done as thoughtfully as possible to minimize some of the effects I outline below.
Another new policy from the geniuses in NIH leadership.

Apparently, ~70% of grant applications for most mechanisms will not be "triaged", i.e. not discussed at study section.

This is an increase from the ~50% level that has been in place for many years.

I don't know the rationale for this

1/13
a man with a beard is looking at the camera with the words priorities written on the bottom
ALT: a man with a beard is looking at the camera with the words priorities written on the bottom
media.tenor.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Reposted
A bad thing is unfolding at NIH this week: It looks like the Trump administration is trying to replace key civil servant scientific leaders, the Institute Directors, with political hires. These directors control the NIH budget, tens of billions.

A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
November 13, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Reposted
Just got an email from my SRO for the study section that was missed in October. Good news is that they are trying to reschedule ASAP (Dec/Jan). The bad news is that CSR is mandating that only the the top third (not half) of applications will get discussed for the next 2 rounds.
November 13, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Reposted
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Reposted
it's not that i ever doubted that being a barista was a skilled position, but my year-long effort to try to produce a half-decent latte at home has convinced me that a good barista is easily more skilled than virtually every c-suite executive on the planet
November 11, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Reposted
Sigh. NIH normally sends several hundred scientists to the SFN annual meeting to learn, exchange info, come up with new ideas, and advance science. (The exchange of ideas is the very core of the scientific enterprise.)

This year, no one from NIH will attend due to the gov't implosion.
Enjoy a broad range of lectures and network with experts in the field at #SfN25! 🧠

Gain valuable insights and tools to enhance your research and career.

Browse through to lectures and build your itinerary in the 2025 Neuroscience Meeting Planner

🔗 vist.ly/4de72

#neurosky #neuroskyence
November 7, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Reposted
PSA for people with NIH grant periods starting January 1st (including most NIGMS MIRAs): your RPPR is due Saturday, but they haven’t sent out the usual automated reminders, presumably due to the shutdown
November 11, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Reposted
Praising a medical breakthrough originally funded by (now-gutted) NIH funding. 🤡

$LLY $NVO
Dr Oz: "Americans will lose 135 million pounds by the midterms"
November 6, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Reposted
Unbelievable. NIH has posted 6 open NIH directorships in the middle of a shutdown. What a circus. And an opportunity for more cronyism from RFKJr and Bhattacharya. hr.nih.gov/careers/open...
hr.nih.gov
November 8, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Reposted
Some charts for those who don't know the extent of the US public (and private) investment in research (particularly in biomedical research) compared to other countries and institutions. The destruction of the US' scientific institutions has global implications.
November 2, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Reposted
happy halloween to what many people believed was the greatest tweet of all time
October 31, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Reposted
Pitt faculty taking a stand against the higher education "compact"

www.wesa.fm/identity-com...

I know of a few other news stories about similar faculty action.

Please share them here.
University of Pittsburgh professors push back against Trump 'compact' for higher education
University of Pittsburgh professors have asked their school to reject a Trump "compact" that promises more access to federal resources to schools that sign on to his agenda
www.wesa.fm
October 31, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted
“Dozens of scientists are considering leaving the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, where Prasad serves as director, to escape a work environment that eight agency officials described to STAT as rife with mistrust and paranoia. These officials said staffers are terrified of pushing back”
Under Vinay Prasad, employees at a key FDA center fear speaking out, look for the exits
Exclusive: Vinay Prasad has rattled FDA staff by expanding his power and pushing out senior leaders.
www.statnews.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Reposted
FL is moving forward w/ plan to end all childhood vaccine mandates. Starting with hepatitis B, chickenpox, and the bacteria causing meningitis and pneumonia. Then next year GOP FL legislature is expected to revisit 1977 law re: whooping cough, measles, polio, rubella, mumps, diphtheria, and tetanus.
October 30, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Reposted
A poll from the journal Nature found that 75% of researchers in the U.S. are considering leaving the country. That includes a man who’s been dubbed the "Mozart of Math." (This PBS story on the scientific brain drain is heartbreaking & ominous for medicine, imo.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLvO...
Top researchers consider leaving U.S. amid funding cuts: 'The science world is ending'
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
www.youtube.com
October 30, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Reposted
Happy Halloween!🐸
October 31, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Reposted
The Office of Naval Research (for historical and other reasons) has been an important supporter of innovative research (including for me early in my career).

This is deeply worrisome and incredibly stupid.

File under "Shocking but not surprising"
SCOOP: The decorated rear admiral who was heading the critically important Office of Naval Research, and who brought lengthy experience in Navy tech-leadership to the job, "is being replaced by a 33-year-old former DOGE employee with no apparent naval experience."

www.thebulwark.com/p/scoop-trum...
SCOOP: Trump Swaps Decorated Admiral With 33-Year-Old DOGEr
The highly unorthodox personnel change affects a critical government research role.
www.thebulwark.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Reposted
SCOOP: The decorated rear admiral who was heading the critically important Office of Naval Research, and who brought lengthy experience in Navy tech-leadership to the job, "is being replaced by a 33-year-old former DOGE employee with no apparent naval experience."

www.thebulwark.com/p/scoop-trum...
SCOOP: Trump Swaps Decorated Admiral With 33-Year-Old DOGEr
The highly unorthodox personnel change affects a critical government research role.
www.thebulwark.com
October 30, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Reposted
Well reported story on the PBS News Hour about science cuts and the ongoing and potential brain drain.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLvO...

Thanks to Terrance Tao and other scientists at various career stages for having the courage to speak out.

Watch and share!

1/7
Top researchers consider leaving U.S. amid funding cuts: 'The science world is ending'
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
www.youtube.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Reposted
Alzheimer's research funding is back. But far fewer projects are getting funding.

Thanks @jeremymberg.bsky.social for the insights.

beingpatient.com/alzheimers-r...
NIH Alzheimer’s Research Funding Is Back — for 49% Fewer Projects
Though the NIH director is calling for $187 million more in funding for Alzheimer’s, the NIH is funding fewer new projects.
beingpatient.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Reposted
Story in Being Patient about Alzheimer's disease funding noting the decrease in the funding of number of new projects due, in part, to the number of multiyear funded grants from the National Institute on Aging.

beingpatient.com/alzheimers-r...
NIH Alzheimer’s Research Funding Is Back — for 49% Fewer Projects
Though the NIH director is calling for $187 million more in funding for Alzheimer’s, the NIH is funding fewer new projects.
beingpatient.com
October 29, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted
The NIH has insisted there are no banned words

But, an analysis by @jeremymberg.bsky.social found over 700 hundred grants changed their titles from '24 to '25

Some see it as a small price to pay to keep their grant, but others are worried about what comes next

www.statnews.com/2025/10/29/n...
Scientists had to change more than 700 grant titles to receive NIH funding. Health disparities researchers fear what’s next
The titles of more than 700 multi-year NIH grants have been changed this year, according to an analysis by Jeremy Berg, a former agency official
www.statnews.com
October 29, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Reposted
The CDC has lost a third of its work force this year. The Trump administration maintains that the losses are necessary, but critics say that there is no real plan, only animosity.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/h...
Behind the Dismantling of the C.D.C.: Reform or ‘Humiliation’?
www.nytimes.com
October 27, 2025 at 10:25 PM