Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
@msimanek.bsky.social
Assoc Prof of Epi, Chicago Med School; Director, Center for Health Equity Research, @rfuniversity.bsky.social. Sociostructural drivers of health, social needs in healthcare, and info consumption and health. | Founding member @thosenerdygirls.bsky.social.
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Hello! I am a social epidemiologist, with an appointment in the Chicago Medical School at @rfuniversity.bsky.social, I also direct a center for health equity research on campus and have helped people navigate health misinformation via scicomm with @thosenerdygirls.bsky.social for almost 5 years!
Join me for the ASTHO INSPIRE: Readiness Webinar - Communicating About Data and Surveillance During Infectious Disease Emergencies, where I will share @thosenerdygirls.bsky.social public health comms tips. For more info, check out Public Health Review morning edition: share.google/czPmXOisOITj....
941: Integration of AI, Effective Public Health Comms
Dr. Jay Varma, physician and epidemiologist with the Community Healthcare Network, describes the importance of embracing new AI technologies in public health; Dr. A…
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July 7, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Join me for the ASTHO INSPIRE: Readiness Webinar - Communicating About Data and Surveillance During Infectious Disease Emergencies, where I will share @thosenerdygirls.bsky.social public health comms tips. For more info, check out Public Health Review morning edition: share.google/czPmXOisOITj....
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
Just in: NIH staff have been instructed to REINSTATE these ~900 grants to comply with the court order, per sources. This comes after staff were also directed to cease any further terminations.
You can see the lists grants to be reinstated in my post below.
You can see the lists grants to be reinstated in my post below.
The judge intends to limit his order to universities in the plaintiff states (CA, MD, WA, AZ, CO, DE, HI, MA, MN, NV, NJ, NM, NY, OR, RI, WI), members of the plaintiff orgs (APHA, UAW), and the researchers named directly, he said today.
His written opinion will come in the coming days.
His written opinion will come in the coming days.
🚨 BREAKING: Nearly 4 months the NIH cut its first grants, a judge has ruled that the directives and process that led to cuts are arbitrary and capricious.
"The explanations are bereft of reasoning — virtually in their entirety... unsupported by [facts]."
Each of them are VOID and ILLEGAL, he says.
"The explanations are bereft of reasoning — virtually in their entirety... unsupported by [facts]."
Each of them are VOID and ILLEGAL, he says.
June 25, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Just in: NIH staff have been instructed to REINSTATE these ~900 grants to comply with the court order, per sources. This comes after staff were also directed to cease any further terminations.
You can see the lists grants to be reinstated in my post below.
You can see the lists grants to be reinstated in my post below.
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
A federal judge ruled that some of the grant terminations by the National Institutes of Health on DEI grounds are “void and illegal.”
www.statnews.com/2025/06/16/n...
www.statnews.com/2025/06/16/n...
Hundreds of NIH grant terminations are 'void and illegal,' federal judge rules
A federal judge ruled that some of the grant terminations by the National Institutes of Health on DEI grounds are “void and illegal.”
www.statnews.com
June 16, 2025 at 6:57 PM
A federal judge ruled that some of the grant terminations by the National Institutes of Health on DEI grounds are “void and illegal.”
www.statnews.com/2025/06/16/n...
www.statnews.com/2025/06/16/n...
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
In a swift response to this morning's hearing, District Court Judge William G. Young has just ruled that the directives that led to 100s of grant terminations at the NIH are arbitrary and capricious.
The directives + subsequent terminations are illegal, he said.
"They are of no force and effect."
The directives + subsequent terminations are illegal, he said.
"They are of no force and effect."
Happening this morning: A key hearing in the cases challenging the NIH grant terminations.
Plaintiffs, including multiple state AGs + researchers, are requesting an injunction to reverse the terminations.
Our reporting has tracked what's at stake: projects.propublica.org/nih-cuts-res...
Plaintiffs, including multiple state AGs + researchers, are requesting an injunction to reverse the terminations.
Our reporting has tracked what's at stake: projects.propublica.org/nih-cuts-res...
June 16, 2025 at 6:57 PM
In a swift response to this morning's hearing, District Court Judge William G. Young has just ruled that the directives that led to 100s of grant terminations at the NIH are arbitrary and capricious.
The directives + subsequent terminations are illegal, he said.
"They are of no force and effect."
The directives + subsequent terminations are illegal, he said.
"They are of no force and effect."
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
BREAKING: A federal judge in Massachusetts (the Reagan-appointed William Young) has declared the Trump administration's cuts to NIH grants — ostensibly over Trump's EOs on gender ideology and DEI — are "illegal" and "void." He's ordering many grants restored.
June 16, 2025 at 6:23 PM
BREAKING: A federal judge in Massachusetts (the Reagan-appointed William Young) has declared the Trump administration's cuts to NIH grants — ostensibly over Trump's EOs on gender ideology and DEI — are "illegal" and "void." He's ordering many grants restored.
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
Are you a researcher with an AHRQ grant that has been disrupted? This includes terminated grants and grants that have been submitted but not reviewed/scored/funded as would normally be expected.
If so, AcademyHealth is collecting these stories and wants to hear from you. DM me and I’ll connect you.
If so, AcademyHealth is collecting these stories and wants to hear from you. DM me and I’ll connect you.
May 16, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Are you a researcher with an AHRQ grant that has been disrupted? This includes terminated grants and grants that have been submitted but not reviewed/scored/funded as would normally be expected.
If so, AcademyHealth is collecting these stories and wants to hear from you. DM me and I’ll connect you.
If so, AcademyHealth is collecting these stories and wants to hear from you. DM me and I’ll connect you.
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
What do we know about the safety and effectiveness of mRNA vaccines? Lots. @jonathanwosen.bsky.social explains.
www.statnews.com/2025/05/21/m...
www.statnews.com/2025/05/21/m...
How do we know mRNA vaccines are safe and effective? An explainer
This week, mRNA vaccines are set to face intense scrutiny from critics in Congress. Here's an explainer of how we know they are safe and effective.
www.statnews.com
May 21, 2025 at 6:57 PM
What do we know about the safety and effectiveness of mRNA vaccines? Lots. @jonathanwosen.bsky.social explains.
www.statnews.com/2025/05/21/m...
www.statnews.com/2025/05/21/m...
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
#CDC reports that as of 4/24, there have been 884 confirmed measles cases so far this year, up from 800 last week.
That total, accumulated in less than 4 months, is 69% of the total seen in 2019, the worst year since measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000. www.cdc.gov/measles/data...
That total, accumulated in less than 4 months, is 69% of the total seen in 2019, the worst year since measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000. www.cdc.gov/measles/data...
April 25, 2025 at 5:27 PM
#CDC reports that as of 4/24, there have been 884 confirmed measles cases so far this year, up from 800 last week.
That total, accumulated in less than 4 months, is 69% of the total seen in 2019, the worst year since measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000. www.cdc.gov/measles/data...
That total, accumulated in less than 4 months, is 69% of the total seen in 2019, the worst year since measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000. www.cdc.gov/measles/data...
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
Cases of #WhoopingCough are up.
So far in 2025, there have been over 4 times as many cases of whooping cough compared to this time last year. Now is a good time to make sure you are up-to-date on this vaccine.
Read the full post by @msimanek.bsky.social here:
thosenerdygirls.org/whooping-cou...
So far in 2025, there have been over 4 times as many cases of whooping cough compared to this time last year. Now is a good time to make sure you are up-to-date on this vaccine.
Read the full post by @msimanek.bsky.social here:
thosenerdygirls.org/whooping-cou...
April 25, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Cases of #WhoopingCough are up.
So far in 2025, there have been over 4 times as many cases of whooping cough compared to this time last year. Now is a good time to make sure you are up-to-date on this vaccine.
Read the full post by @msimanek.bsky.social here:
thosenerdygirls.org/whooping-cou...
So far in 2025, there have been over 4 times as many cases of whooping cough compared to this time last year. Now is a good time to make sure you are up-to-date on this vaccine.
Read the full post by @msimanek.bsky.social here:
thosenerdygirls.org/whooping-cou...
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
🚨Report your NSF grant terminations! 🚨
We are starting to collect information on NSF grant terminations to create a shared resource as we have for NIH. The more information we collect, the more we can organize, advocate, and fight back! Please share widely!
airtable.com/appGKlSVeXni...
We are starting to collect information on NSF grant terminations to create a shared resource as we have for NIH. The more information we collect, the more we can organize, advocate, and fight back! Please share widely!
airtable.com/appGKlSVeXni...
April 19, 2025 at 12:11 AM
🚨Report your NSF grant terminations! 🚨
We are starting to collect information on NSF grant terminations to create a shared resource as we have for NIH. The more information we collect, the more we can organize, advocate, and fight back! Please share widely!
airtable.com/appGKlSVeXni...
We are starting to collect information on NSF grant terminations to create a shared resource as we have for NIH. The more information we collect, the more we can organize, advocate, and fight back! Please share widely!
airtable.com/appGKlSVeXni...
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
March 26, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
It's only the end of March but already 2025 has logged more #measles cases than all but 2 other years since the US achieved measles elimination status in 2000.
#CDC reported there'd been 483 confirmed cases in 19 states as of 3/27. Likely out of date, with TX reporting Friday its count has hit 400
#CDC reported there'd been 483 confirmed cases in 19 states as of 3/27. Likely out of date, with TX reporting Friday its count has hit 400
March 28, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
Learn five key points about the data rescue efforts by ICPSR at myumi.ch/61dRE
#ICPSR #Data #Research
#ICPSR #Data #Research
March 24, 2025 at 2:14 PM
Learn five key points about the data rescue efforts by ICPSR at myumi.ch/61dRE
#ICPSR #Data #Research
#ICPSR #Data #Research
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
1/ We are thrilled to announce that Nerdy Girls Dr. Amanda Simanek @msimanek.bsky.social, Dr. Roopa Seshadri, and Gayle Mendoza, MPH, BSN, RN will be presenting at the national annual meeting of the Association of Public Health Laboratories on March 25!
#publichealth
#publichealth
Get ready for an engaging session at #IDLabCon with Those Nerdy Girls! Join us as they break down the latest in infectious disease communication and combating misinformation. Don’t miss this must-attend session in Pasadena in March!
Register now: buff.ly/4ihy8CX
Register now: buff.ly/4ihy8CX
March 23, 2025 at 8:20 PM
1/ We are thrilled to announce that Nerdy Girls Dr. Amanda Simanek @msimanek.bsky.social, Dr. Roopa Seshadri, and Gayle Mendoza, MPH, BSN, RN will be presenting at the national annual meeting of the Association of Public Health Laboratories on March 25!
#publichealth
#publichealth
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
If you don’t get your child vaccinated against measles, it can put them at a high risk of this serious infection, which can lead to severe complications or even death.
Make sure your child’s measles vaccination is up to date.
Make sure your child’s measles vaccination is up to date.
March 14, 2025 at 12:18 PM
If you don’t get your child vaccinated against measles, it can put them at a high risk of this serious infection, which can lead to severe complications or even death.
Make sure your child’s measles vaccination is up to date.
Make sure your child’s measles vaccination is up to date.
Looking forward to presenting at #IDLabCon with some other @thosenerdygirls.bsky.social in 2 weeks! We will cover:
Why scicomm is necessary
How we became scicommers
Ways you can too
Thanks @aphl.org!
Why scicomm is necessary
How we became scicommers
Ways you can too
Thanks @aphl.org!
Get ready for an engaging session at #IDLabCon with Those Nerdy Girls! Join us as they break down the latest in infectious disease communication and combating misinformation. Don’t miss this must-attend session in Pasadena in March!
Register now: buff.ly/4ihy8CX
Register now: buff.ly/4ihy8CX
March 11, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Looking forward to presenting at #IDLabCon with some other @thosenerdygirls.bsky.social in 2 weeks! We will cover:
Why scicomm is necessary
How we became scicommers
Ways you can too
Thanks @aphl.org!
Why scicomm is necessary
How we became scicommers
Ways you can too
Thanks @aphl.org!
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
Breaking: RFK Jr. moves to quietly eliminate public comment from HHS's decision making: www.statnews.com/2025/02/28/r...
RFK Jr. moves to eliminate public comment in HHS decisions
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moved to rescind the longtime practice of giving the public a chance to comment on the health agency’s plans.
www.statnews.com
February 28, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Breaking: RFK Jr. moves to quietly eliminate public comment from HHS's decision making: www.statnews.com/2025/02/28/r...
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
Measles is serious and extremely contagious. So contagious that if one person has it, up to 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected.
The good news: It's preventable. The MMR shot is safe, effective, and your best protection against measles.
The good news: It's preventable. The MMR shot is safe, effective, and your best protection against measles.
BREAKING: A school-age child has died of measles in West Texas, the first death from the disease in a decade in the United States. nbcnews.app.link/paXT0Dg4iRb
February 27, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Measles is serious and extremely contagious. So contagious that if one person has it, up to 90% of the people close to that person who are not immune will also become infected.
The good news: It's preventable. The MMR shot is safe, effective, and your best protection against measles.
The good news: It's preventable. The MMR shot is safe, effective, and your best protection against measles.
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
BREAKING:
The NIH summer internship program (SIP) has been officially cancelled, across all institutes.
It’s a sad loss for the brightest science students in America, for American science, and for future cures for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s. 🧪 1/
The NIH summer internship program (SIP) has been officially cancelled, across all institutes.
It’s a sad loss for the brightest science students in America, for American science, and for future cures for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s. 🧪 1/
NIDA has announced it, but all the NIH summer internship programs are likely cancelled.
Sorry college students interested in STEM jobs, sorry high school students looking at science 🧪 careers. Trump and Musk are cancelling your futures.
Sorry college students interested in STEM jobs, sorry high school students looking at science 🧪 careers. Trump and Musk are cancelling your futures.
Another loss for #science & the next generation of researchers. The 28-year running NIDA summer internship program is cancelled for this year.
@altnih4science.bsky.social #SavetheNIH
@altnih4science.bsky.social #SavetheNIH
February 26, 2025 at 10:02 PM
BREAKING:
The NIH summer internship program (SIP) has been officially cancelled, across all institutes.
It’s a sad loss for the brightest science students in America, for American science, and for future cures for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s. 🧪 1/
The NIH summer internship program (SIP) has been officially cancelled, across all institutes.
It’s a sad loss for the brightest science students in America, for American science, and for future cures for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s. 🧪 1/
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
I believe we have breaking news in Inside Medicine.
I spoke to a member of the FDA vaccine committee who confirmed that the meeting to decide the 2025-2026 flu shot composition was abruptly canceled today.
My on-the-record Q&A with the FDA advisor:
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-fda-...
I spoke to a member of the FDA vaccine committee who confirmed that the meeting to decide the 2025-2026 flu shot composition was abruptly canceled today.
My on-the-record Q&A with the FDA advisor:
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-fda-...
Scoop: FDA vaccine meeting abruptly canceled. Meeting was to determine 2025-2026 influenza vaccine composition.
Hi everyone,
open.substack.com
February 26, 2025 at 11:15 PM
I believe we have breaking news in Inside Medicine.
I spoke to a member of the FDA vaccine committee who confirmed that the meeting to decide the 2025-2026 flu shot composition was abruptly canceled today.
My on-the-record Q&A with the FDA advisor:
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-fda-...
I spoke to a member of the FDA vaccine committee who confirmed that the meeting to decide the 2025-2026 flu shot composition was abruptly canceled today.
My on-the-record Q&A with the FDA advisor:
insidemedicine.substack.com/p/scoop-fda-...
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
Just yesterday while on PBS News Hour I said that I will have confidence that federal vaccine policy is uncompromised as long as the external advisory committees continue to meet. Now meetings for both VRBPAC and ACIP have been cancelled. I don't like this.
I joined PBS News Hour to discuss the measles outbreak in Texas and vaccine hesitancy. My comments build on a point I made in a NYT essay: vaccine hesitancy and resulting outbreaks are a serious problem. But we should also remember that vaccines are popular, actually! www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
West Texas measles outbreak spreads amid vaccine hesitancy in some communities
There are now more than 120 confirmed measles cases linked to an outbreak in western Texas, the largest such outbreak the state has seen in over 30 years. It's raising questions about vaccine hesitanc...
www.pbs.org
February 27, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Just yesterday while on PBS News Hour I said that I will have confidence that federal vaccine policy is uncompromised as long as the external advisory committees continue to meet. Now meetings for both VRBPAC and ACIP have been cancelled. I don't like this.
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
Almost all grant-review meetings under Trump 2.0 remain suspended at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), preventing the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research from spending much of its US$47 billion annual budget.
https://go.nature.com/4gM6oW4
https://go.nature.com/4gM6oW4
Revealed: NIH research grants still frozen despite lawsuits challenging Trump order
The Trump administration is exploiting a loophole to keep a funding freeze in place, leaving researchers in limbo.
go.nature.com
February 20, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Almost all grant-review meetings under Trump 2.0 remain suspended at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), preventing the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research from spending much of its US$47 billion annual budget.
https://go.nature.com/4gM6oW4
https://go.nature.com/4gM6oW4
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
If people are interested in learning about the ACIP and its decades of contributions to US vaccine policy successes, here’s a short 2014 piece I wrote in NEJM with Adel Mahmoud (timed with its 50th anniversary) www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
A Half-Century of Prevention — The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices | NEJM
In 1964, after a vaccination program against polio, diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis
began, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was created to advise the
U.S. government on vaccinati...
www.nejm.org
February 20, 2025 at 8:49 PM
If people are interested in learning about the ACIP and its decades of contributions to US vaccine policy successes, here’s a short 2014 piece I wrote in NEJM with Adel Mahmoud (timed with its 50th anniversary) www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Amanda M. Simanek (she/her)
I’m resubmitting a scientific grant where there’s no one permitted to review it, to an institute that probably won’t exist.
February 20, 2025 at 12:45 AM
I’m resubmitting a scientific grant where there’s no one permitted to review it, to an institute that probably won’t exist.