Just wanted to send up the bat signal that we are hosting an exciting meeting on neurogenomics that will be of interest to folks studying the genetics of psychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases! Sept 16-18, 2026 coursesandconferences.wellcomeconnectingscience.org/event/genomi...

Batman and the Bat-Signal

ALT: Batman and the Bat-Signal

static.klipy.com

Update on funding curves and late non-competitive renewals. First, funding curves for new and competitive renewals. 1/n

Hi y'all, I am on the job hunt due to a recent layoff. I have expertise in virology, neuroimmunology, and drug discovery. I am passionate about performing creative hypothesis-driven research to make discoveries that will benefit human health and quality of life. Pls reach out if you'd like to chat!

Pls sign and share!

Ardem Patapoutian@ardemp.bskyverified.social · 2y ago

Petition to Reverse the NIH Indirect Cost Cap initiated by Tom Maniatis. Please amplify Sign the Petition: chng.it/kK2HMP5pGk "Share with Leadership & Faculty. Reach out to professional societies, biotech and pharma leaders, and philanthropic organizations to raise awareness and mobilize support."

Rightfully, the cuts to Medicaid (over 10M people will lose their health care) and the tax cuts for the rich have been the story of the disastrous Republican budget bill. But I read the whole thing. And there are some hidden rats in there you need to know about. 1/ A quick🧵

Good thread that does not even include the NIH director disbanding the National Cancer Institute’s Board of Scientific Advisors

National Cancer Institute Apparently Shouldn't Bother With All That Pesky Science

Splinter is your home for news and opinions that challenge power in our political and economic system that's becoming more unhinged each and every day.

splinter.com

Carl Zimmer@carlzimmer.com · last yr.

Time to catch up on the past week’s news about science and medicine in the US. Whew. 1/10

Time to catch up on the past week’s news about science and medicine in the US. Whew. 1/10

Hello Community! Are you a postdoc/grad student preparing to launch a faculty search? Do you have a track record of excellence in research, leadership, mentorship & community engagement? Apply to the 2025 Next Generation Faculty Symposium: www.berkeleystanfordnextgensymposium.com! Pls repost! (1/3)

“We speak with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education.” Colleges are finally standing up to Trump, taking their lead and nerve from Harvard, whose sharp response clearly stunned the White House.

At last, college presidents are standing up to Trump

A letter signed by more than 400 university heads offers a sharp rebuke to the bully-in-chief.

motherjones.com

The notice and COMMENT PERIOD OPENED TODAY AND CLOSES MAY 23. Anyone who would like to register an objection or comment should go to this page and click on the green “public comment” button at the top: www.federalregister.gov/documents/20... 6/n

Improving Performance, Accountability and Responsiveness in the Civil Service

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing a rule to increase career employee accountability. Agency supervisors report great difficulty removing employees for poor performance or misconduc...

federalregister.gov

It has taken decades to get to this point, but stem cells for Parkinson's disease showing promise in 2 clinical trials nature.com/articles/d41... nature.com/articles/s41... nature.com/articles/s41...

Clinical trials test the safety of stem-cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease

Transplanting dopamine-releasing neurons into the brain is a promising regenerative therapy for Parkinson’s disease. Two clinical trials show that it is safe, but more evidence is needed to prove its ...

nature.com

I am beyond thrilled to highlight @mbfneuro.bsky.social's thesis work! I've learned so much through his studies and am excited to take this project in new directions!

Michael Fernando, PhD@mbfneuro.bsky.social · 2y ago

I’m so proud and beyond thrilled to share the final product of my thesis work from @sinaibrain.bsky.social , now published in @nature.com! Here, we explored the complex functional impact of rare neurexin-1 deletions across human glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I’m so proud and beyond thrilled to share the final product of my thesis work from @sinaibrain.bsky.social , now published in @nature.com! Here, we explored the complex functional impact of rare neurexin-1 deletions across human glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Phenotypic complexities of rare heterozygous neurexin-1 deletions - Nature

How NRXN1 variants affect multiple neuropsychiatric disorders is explored.

nature.com

Thank you to @booker.senate.gov for standing up and speaking for so many Americans.

Sen. Cory Booker@booker.senate.gov · 2y ago

I’ve taken the Senate floor and will speak for as long as I’m physically able to lift the voices of Americans who are being harmed and not being heard in this moment of crisis. Watch here:

I’ve taken the Senate floor and will speak for as long as I’m physically able to lift the voices of Americans who are being harmed and not being heard in this moment of crisis. Watch here:

Live: Speaking on Trump, Musk, and America’s Moral Moment on the Senate Floor | Senator Cory Booker

YouTube video by Senator Cory Booker

youtube.com

A picture is worth a thousand words. The administration says they're cutting a trillion in government spending. So far, 2025 spending is $1.89 trillion. It was $1.76 trillion at the same time last year. Spending is on pace to increase by 7.4% from last year. www.marketwatch.com/story/despit...

🚨 Over 70 graduate programs in the biological and biomedical sciences have frozen or slashed admissions. The consequences are profound—how many brilliant minds are being shut out of research entirely? How much future discovery is being lost before it even begins? docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Graduate Reductions Across Biomedical Sciences (2025)

docs.google.com

The NIH plans to resume posting notices of new solicitations for grant proposals. But there’s a catch: The HHS and DOGE will review each draft notice to ensure the research that will be funded aligns with the priorities of President Trump’s administration, Science has learned. scim.ag/3DJsafL

Trump officials will screen NIH funding opportunities

Staff at biomedical agency worry about political interference in setting priorities

scim.ag

A pie graph worth keeping in mind as the NIH budget plummets jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... for 356 new FDA drugs approved

The crush of new grant cancellations hasn't let up. If your grant was terminated (or your app was pulled) please use this Google Form👇 to submit details for tracking purposes. Multiple advocacy efforts are moving forward, but we must must must know more about what grants were cancelled and why.

Cancelled NIH grant information submission form

Please use this form to submit information identifying specific NIH grants that have been cancelled for any reason after January 20, 2025. Data from this form will be used to update the Rescinded NIH...

forms.gle

MIT offering travel advice (or rather do not travel advice) for international visitors and green card holders. If folks at other institutions are receiving similar guidance, please consider sharing here. Please be as safe as you can.

Free Mahmoud Khalil. It's important to protect speech, even, perhaps especially, when we don't agree what's being said. If we don't support other people's First Amendment rights, then who will protect ours? We have to all be in this together.

Senate Judiciary Democrats 🇺🇸@judiciarydems.senate.gov · 2y ago

Free Mahmoud Khalil.

Bluetorial: Women, courage, and leadership What follows will include some generalizations based on population averages of what I have experienced over the course of my career. There are, of course, exceptions in every group who are substantially more to one extreme or the other.

a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on

ALT: a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on

media.tenor.com

NIH just posted this news announcement. "Today the National Institutes of Health is announcing plans to centralize peer review of all applications for grants, cooperative agreements and research and development contracts within the agency’s Center for Scientific Review (CSR)"

NIH centralizes peer review to improve efficiency and strengthen integrity

The proposed approach is expected to save more than $65 million annually.

nih.gov

BREAKING: Federal judge issues a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking NIH from implementing its "Rate Change Notice" that would dramatically cut payments under grants. Judge Angel Kelley had previously issued a TRO blocking the change. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

I'm pleased to share the first paper I've worked on during my PhD in @kristenbrennand.bsky.social's lab led by the amazing Carina Seah with @laurahuckins.bsky.social on the implications of gene x environment interactions for PTSD @wutsaiyale.bsky.social @yaleschoolofmed.bsky.social

Journal of Clinical Investigation@jci.org · 2y ago

Who is at risk for PTSD? Large-scale clinical data reveal that environmental factors like sex, gender, & race interact with genetic susceptibility. Seah et al. suggest that these insights could be leveraged to personalize care after trauma. buff.ly/eqxVa9J

I am not going to call this a Bluetorial, because I do not want to sully that term (which, at least I, find joyful). Let’s call it a Orwellial.

a cartoon of homer simpson holding a card

ALT: a cartoon of homer simpson holding a card

media.tenor.com

Wondering if your study section cancelled? I update this sheet daily. As of today, 56/124 study sections that should have met since Jan 2, 2025 have "not met as scheduled." docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

2025 Study section tracking

docs.google.com

I completely missed that Republicans introduced a bill to increase the endowment tax from 1.4% to 21%. If passed, Harvard would go from paying ~$35m to $525m/yr in federal taxes (that’s 8.2% of its current operating expenses)

Nice to see New Haven on this list!

Office of Mayor Michelle Wu 吳弭@mayorwu.boston.gov · 2y ago

The City of Boston is leading 40+ mayors, cities, and counties in an amicus brief against the Trump Administration's drastic and illegal cuts to federal research funding—cuts that will lead to immediate job losses nationwide.