Maciej F Boni
@maciekboni.bsky.social
Professor of Biology, Temple University's Institute for Genomics and Evolutionary Medicine, Department of Biology, Sunny Philadelphia, USA
Pinned
Maciej F Boni
@maciekboni.bsky.social
· Sep 8
A COVID Pandemic Policy Conversation
YouTube video by Braver Angels
www.youtube.com
Thanks to Braver Angels & David Zweig for engaging in this debate on the primary effects of the first year of the pandemic (540,000 deaths), the secondary effects (one year of learning loss for kids, unemployment, isolation), and things that we did right and wrong 1/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Gg...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Gg...
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
Our lab's paper describing the North American H5N1 epizootic is out now in Nature! So thrilled to have this out, and congratulations to @lambod50.bsky.social for all the fantastic work on this: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Ecology and spread of the North American H5N1 epizootic - Nature
The panzootic of highly pathogenic H5N1 since 2021 was driven by around nine introductions into the Atlantic and Pacific flyways, followed by rapid dissemination through wild migratory birds, primaril...
www.nature.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Our lab's paper describing the North American H5N1 epizootic is out now in Nature! So thrilled to have this out, and congratulations to @lambod50.bsky.social for all the fantastic work on this: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
It’s also a reminder that since then we saw, and continue to see, large amounts of preventable suffering and death pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Estimated preventable COVID-19-associated deaths due to non-vaccination in the United States
While some studies have previously estimated lives saved by COVID-19 vaccination, we estimate how many deaths could have been averted by vaccination in the US but were not because of a failure to vaccinate. We used a simple method based on a ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
November 9, 2025 at 2:55 PM
It’s also a reminder that since then we saw, and continue to see, large amounts of preventable suffering and death pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
This, from @maciekboni.bsky.social, is a sobering reminder of just how bad things were five years ago.
But it’s also five years since we got the trial results which signposted a way out of the nightmare. Warp speed was a huge success and we should not forget
maciekboni.substack.com/p/covids-lea...
But it’s also five years since we got the trial results which signposted a way out of the nightmare. Warp speed was a huge success and we should not forget
maciekboni.substack.com/p/covids-lea...
COVID’s leadership failures
Two moments that were too big for us, and the unfixable chain of mistakes that was set off after November 2020
maciekboni.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:52 PM
This, from @maciekboni.bsky.social, is a sobering reminder of just how bad things were five years ago.
But it’s also five years since we got the trial results which signposted a way out of the nightmare. Warp speed was a huge success and we should not forget
maciekboni.substack.com/p/covids-lea...
But it’s also five years since we got the trial results which signposted a way out of the nightmare. Warp speed was a huge success and we should not forget
maciekboni.substack.com/p/covids-lea...
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
We don’t talk enough about how Operation Warp Speed saved many lives in spite of Trump, nor how many people died because of his failure of leadership. Great piece from my great colleague @maciekboni.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/maciekbo...
open.substack.com/pub/maciekbo...
COVID’s leadership failures
Two moments that were too big for us, and the unfixable chain of mistakes that was set off after November 2020
open.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:34 PM
We don’t talk enough about how Operation Warp Speed saved many lives in spite of Trump, nor how many people died because of his failure of leadership. Great piece from my great colleague @maciekboni.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/maciekbo...
open.substack.com/pub/maciekbo...
What were you doing 5 years ago today ? I think a lot of us forgot the news that was delivered and the failures that followed. Important reminder here:
maciekboni.substack.com/p/covids-lea...
Please click subscribe. It's free.
maciekboni.substack.com/p/covids-lea...
Please click subscribe. It's free.
November 9, 2025 at 12:08 PM
What were you doing 5 years ago today ? I think a lot of us forgot the news that was delivered and the failures that followed. Important reminder here:
maciekboni.substack.com/p/covids-lea...
Please click subscribe. It's free.
maciekboni.substack.com/p/covids-lea...
Please click subscribe. It's free.
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
A bit belated, but happy to have our preprint, “An Ecological Theory of Democracy,” out.
We consider political party competition in light of classic ecological theory. Led by a talented former undergrad, Riley Fotis, in collaboration with Brendan O’Leary (neither on bluesky).
A 🧵 1/
We consider political party competition in light of classic ecological theory. Led by a talented former undergrad, Riley Fotis, in collaboration with Brendan O’Leary (neither on bluesky).
A 🧵 1/
OSF
osf.io
October 29, 2025 at 6:10 PM
A bit belated, but happy to have our preprint, “An Ecological Theory of Democracy,” out.
We consider political party competition in light of classic ecological theory. Led by a talented former undergrad, Riley Fotis, in collaboration with Brendan O’Leary (neither on bluesky).
A 🧵 1/
We consider political party competition in light of classic ecological theory. Led by a talented former undergrad, Riley Fotis, in collaboration with Brendan O’Leary (neither on bluesky).
A 🧵 1/
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
tinyurl.com/yc5nhcv4
In one of the most irresponsible presidential press conferences in history, Donald Trump declares that Tylenol during pregnancy cause autism. Again, apparently, mothers are to blame.
In one of the most irresponsible presidential press conferences in history, Donald Trump declares that Tylenol during pregnancy cause autism. Again, apparently, mothers are to blame.
Doctors push back on Trump admin’s autism & Tylenol link | CNN
Dr. Paul Offit and Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell joins The Lead
tinyurl.com
September 23, 2025 at 10:32 AM
tinyurl.com/yc5nhcv4
In one of the most irresponsible presidential press conferences in history, Donald Trump declares that Tylenol during pregnancy cause autism. Again, apparently, mothers are to blame.
In one of the most irresponsible presidential press conferences in history, Donald Trump declares that Tylenol during pregnancy cause autism. Again, apparently, mothers are to blame.
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
The point is that many can live quite normally under the thumb of authoritarianism. Yes: many suffer and suffer now but large swaths of the American public chooses to be clueless and it’s not difficult. This is how the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper. www.vox.com/the-big-idea...
Life in authoritarian states is mostly boring and tolerable
Americans have an overly dramatic view what the end of democracy looks like.
www.vox.com
September 17, 2025 at 11:15 PM
The point is that many can live quite normally under the thumb of authoritarianism. Yes: many suffer and suffer now but large swaths of the American public chooses to be clueless and it’s not difficult. This is how the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper. www.vox.com/the-big-idea...
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
Monarez: "Kennedy demanded 2 things of me that were were inconsistent w/ my oath of office. He directed me to commit in advance to approving every ACIP recommendation regardless of the scientific evidence. He also directed me to dismiss career officials responsible for vaccine policy without cause"
September 17, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Monarez: "Kennedy demanded 2 things of me that were were inconsistent w/ my oath of office. He directed me to commit in advance to approving every ACIP recommendation regardless of the scientific evidence. He also directed me to dismiss career officials responsible for vaccine policy without cause"
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
Discussions grounded in science and clear that pandemic response involves hard choices, are a vital part of how we *should* respond to Covid. Even if they are thin on the ground right now
Thanks to Braver Angels & David Zweig for engaging in this debate on the primary effects of the first year of the pandemic (540,000 deaths), the secondary effects (one year of learning loss for kids, unemployment, isolation), and things that we did right and wrong 1/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Gg...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Gg...
A COVID Pandemic Policy Conversation
YouTube video by Braver Angels
www.youtube.com
September 8, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Discussions grounded in science and clear that pandemic response involves hard choices, are a vital part of how we *should* respond to Covid. Even if they are thin on the ground right now
Thanks to Braver Angels & David Zweig for engaging in this debate on the primary effects of the first year of the pandemic (540,000 deaths), the secondary effects (one year of learning loss for kids, unemployment, isolation), and things that we did right and wrong 1/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Gg...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Gg...
A COVID Pandemic Policy Conversation
YouTube video by Braver Angels
www.youtube.com
September 8, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Thanks to Braver Angels & David Zweig for engaging in this debate on the primary effects of the first year of the pandemic (540,000 deaths), the secondary effects (one year of learning loss for kids, unemployment, isolation), and things that we did right and wrong 1/
www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Gg...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Gg...
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
Pushing back works. Stand strong, Chicago.
September 8, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Pushing back works. Stand strong, Chicago.
Please join us in Sunny Philadelphia, Friday evening Sep 5, for a chat about what went wrong and right during the COVID pandemic response. Hosted by Temple University.
Reserve a spot on the Braver Angels website here: www.eventbrite.com/e/a-covid-pa...
Reserve a spot on the Braver Angels website here: www.eventbrite.com/e/a-covid-pa...
August 26, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Please join us in Sunny Philadelphia, Friday evening Sep 5, for a chat about what went wrong and right during the COVID pandemic response. Hosted by Temple University.
Reserve a spot on the Braver Angels website here: www.eventbrite.com/e/a-covid-pa...
Reserve a spot on the Braver Angels website here: www.eventbrite.com/e/a-covid-pa...
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
Let's please keep the remaining staff at NIH, NSF, etc in our thoughts even as you lose sleep over your own lab and scientific career.
They are enduring pure chaos to try to hold the fort.
See snapshot from wapo.st/4feKKuu (gift 🔗) saying they are "barely holding it together"
They are enduring pure chaos to try to hold the fort.
See snapshot from wapo.st/4feKKuu (gift 🔗) saying they are "barely holding it together"
July 30, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Let's please keep the remaining staff at NIH, NSF, etc in our thoughts even as you lose sleep over your own lab and scientific career.
They are enduring pure chaos to try to hold the fort.
See snapshot from wapo.st/4feKKuu (gift 🔗) saying they are "barely holding it together"
They are enduring pure chaos to try to hold the fort.
See snapshot from wapo.st/4feKKuu (gift 🔗) saying they are "barely holding it together"
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
Rewording my earlier post.
RFK Jr will be testifying before Congress.
I am interested in what experts and others think would be the best way to leverage this time and opportunity for the public good.
If you were behind the dais for this hearing, what would you do? What do you want to see asked?
RFK Jr will be testifying before Congress.
I am interested in what experts and others think would be the best way to leverage this time and opportunity for the public good.
If you were behind the dais for this hearing, what would you do? What do you want to see asked?
June 11, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Rewording my earlier post.
RFK Jr will be testifying before Congress.
I am interested in what experts and others think would be the best way to leverage this time and opportunity for the public good.
If you were behind the dais for this hearing, what would you do? What do you want to see asked?
RFK Jr will be testifying before Congress.
I am interested in what experts and others think would be the best way to leverage this time and opportunity for the public good.
If you were behind the dais for this hearing, what would you do? What do you want to see asked?
Hello @episky.bsky.social -- tenth episode of "Why Should I Trust You?" , a podcast on the trust we lost in public health and some routes on how to get it back. Episode 10: censorship. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
Censorship vs. Science: The Fight Over Free Speech That Is Tearing Us Apart
Podcast Episode · Why Should I Trust You? · 03/06/2025 · 1h 23m
podcasts.apple.com
March 6, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Hello @episky.bsky.social -- tenth episode of "Why Should I Trust You?" , a podcast on the trust we lost in public health and some routes on how to get it back. Episode 10: censorship. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
Today, a collaborative grant we submitted to the National Institutes of Health won't be reviewed. No one's will.
Grant reviews have been halted for study section after study section.
Yes, I am mad. But, folks outside science should be even madder.
a 🧵
Grant reviews have been halted for study section after study section.
Yes, I am mad. But, folks outside science should be even madder.
a 🧵
February 26, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Today, a collaborative grant we submitted to the National Institutes of Health won't be reviewed. No one's will.
Grant reviews have been halted for study section after study section.
Yes, I am mad. But, folks outside science should be even madder.
a 🧵
Grant reviews have been halted for study section after study section.
Yes, I am mad. But, folks outside science should be even madder.
a 🧵
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
The taxpayers, through Federal NIH funding, have literally invested tens of millions of dollars in my education & career. This is a privledge, & I have always endevored to give my best back to the taxpayers who put me here
I am just one of many thousands of scientists who can tell the same story
I am just one of many thousands of scientists who can tell the same story
January 28, 2025 at 8:26 PM
The taxpayers, through Federal NIH funding, have literally invested tens of millions of dollars in my education & career. This is a privledge, & I have always endevored to give my best back to the taxpayers who put me here
I am just one of many thousands of scientists who can tell the same story
I am just one of many thousands of scientists who can tell the same story
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
American science and medicine has been thrown into chaos and uncertainty over the past week. Here are some stories to get up to speed. 1/12
January 28, 2025 at 3:58 AM
American science and medicine has been thrown into chaos and uncertainty over the past week. Here are some stories to get up to speed. 1/12
So many important points on public health communication in this episode. Thanks @pauloffit.bsky.social
[Why Should I Trust You?] The Trump and (Likely) RFK Jr. Era is Here. And Paul Offit Won't Back Down. #whyShouldITrustYou
podcastaddict.com/why-should-i... via @PodcastAddict
[Why Should I Trust You?] The Trump and (Likely) RFK Jr. Era is Here. And Paul Offit Won't Back Down. #whyShouldITrustYou
podcastaddict.com/why-should-i... via @PodcastAddict
Why Should I Trust You? - The Trump and (Likely) RFK Jr. Era is Here. And Paul Offit Won't Back Down.
Listen to Why Should I Trust You? - The Trump and (Likely) RFK Jr. Era is Here. And Paul Offit Won't Back Down. by Brinda Adhikari, Tom Johnson, Maggie Bartlett, Dr. Mark Abdelmalek on Podcast Addict....
podcastaddict.com
January 23, 2025 at 3:02 PM
So many important points on public health communication in this episode. Thanks @pauloffit.bsky.social
[Why Should I Trust You?] The Trump and (Likely) RFK Jr. Era is Here. And Paul Offit Won't Back Down. #whyShouldITrustYou
podcastaddict.com/why-should-i... via @PodcastAddict
[Why Should I Trust You?] The Trump and (Likely) RFK Jr. Era is Here. And Paul Offit Won't Back Down. #whyShouldITrustYou
podcastaddict.com/why-should-i... via @PodcastAddict
Hi @episky.bsky.social, public health and public policy friends. 2025 will be full or surprises, please listen to this new podcast (episode 1) "Why Should I Trust You" as we are all going to need to communicate clearly and empathetically for the next 4 years. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
Why Should I Trust You?
News Commentary Podcast · 2 Episodes · Updated Weekly
podcasts.apple.com
January 9, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Hi @episky.bsky.social, public health and public policy friends. 2025 will be full or surprises, please listen to this new podcast (episode 1) "Why Should I Trust You" as we are all going to need to communicate clearly and empathetically for the next 4 years. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
The preliminary sequence from the H5N1 human case in British Columbia has been posted and it is not good news. The virus potentially has a quasispecies at HA residue 226 (H3 numbering). This is bad news because we know that mutations at residue 226 can increase binding to human receptors. 1/
November 16, 2024 at 3:19 PM
The preliminary sequence from the H5N1 human case in British Columbia has been posted and it is not good news. The virus potentially has a quasispecies at HA residue 226 (H3 numbering). This is bad news because we know that mutations at residue 226 can increase binding to human receptors. 1/
Reposted by Maciej F Boni
New paper on #influenza #vaccination in tropical areas! Published in PNAS Nexus. #episky
doi.org/10.1093/pnas...
Without strong flu seasonality in much of the tropics, timing annual vaccination campaigns is challenging. It becomes more important to ask WHO to vaccinate instead of WHEN.
1/4
doi.org/10.1093/pnas...
Without strong flu seasonality in much of the tropics, timing annual vaccination campaigns is challenging. It becomes more important to ask WHO to vaccinate instead of WHEN.
1/4
Influenza vaccine allocation in tropical settings under constrained resources
Abstract. Influenza virus seasonality, synchronicity, and vaccine supply differ substantially between temperate and tropical settings, and optimal vaccinat
doi.org
October 8, 2024 at 3:13 PM
New paper on #influenza #vaccination in tropical areas! Published in PNAS Nexus. #episky
doi.org/10.1093/pnas...
Without strong flu seasonality in much of the tropics, timing annual vaccination campaigns is challenging. It becomes more important to ask WHO to vaccinate instead of WHEN.
1/4
doi.org/10.1093/pnas...
Without strong flu seasonality in much of the tropics, timing annual vaccination campaigns is challenging. It becomes more important to ask WHO to vaccinate instead of WHEN.
1/4
Hi @epidemiology.bsky.social we are #hiring - there is a critical need 4 new global health planning in #malaria specifically to push back the artemisinin resistance identified in East/Central Africa in 2020 #jobs #postdocposition plz contact if interested in job/postdoc/PhD in this area👉 mol.ax/opp/
Opportunities | Boni Lab
mol.ax
August 13, 2024 at 4:09 PM
Hi @epidemiology.bsky.social we are #hiring - there is a critical need 4 new global health planning in #malaria specifically to push back the artemisinin resistance identified in East/Central Africa in 2020 #jobs #postdocposition plz contact if interested in job/postdoc/PhD in this area👉 mol.ax/opp/
Hi @epidemiology.bsky.social we have just wrapped up the 4th year of COVID transmission in the US: Mar 1 2023 to Feb 29 2024. CDC recorded 67.5K deaths during this period. Death counts for previous years were 539K (year 1, almost all pre-vax), 443K (year 2, 3 variant waves), & 137K (year 3) 1/
March 13, 2024 at 8:01 PM
Hi @epidemiology.bsky.social we have just wrapped up the 4th year of COVID transmission in the US: Mar 1 2023 to Feb 29 2024. CDC recorded 67.5K deaths during this period. Death counts for previous years were 539K (year 1, almost all pre-vax), 443K (year 2, 3 variant waves), & 137K (year 3) 1/