🚨 New from me: Grant review at more than half of NIH's institutes could be frozen by the end of the year. That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027. A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications. A short 🧵

Exclusive: key NIH review panels due to lose all members by the end of 2026

Thirteen of the agency’s advisory councils, which must review grant applications before funding is awarded, are on track to have no voting members.

nature.com

Dr. Mott is very good at her job, amazing work ethic, and thoughtfully protective of Congressional and scientific interests. A real hero, in my view... For background see www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/...

Meet Meghan Mott

She’s living proof that policy fellowships are worthy of consideration.

asbmb.org

The conference (agreement between House and Senate) appropriations bill that includes HHS and NIH was released this morning. www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majorit... 1/5

Committee Releases Conferenced Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Bi...

United States Senate Committee on Appropriations

appropriations.senate.gov

This is an outstanding essay describing some of the important roles and influences of NIH program officers (from an insider perspective). Read! elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/the-quiet-...

The Quiet Power of Program Officers

How invisible decisions shape what science gets done—and whether it matters

elizabethginexi.substack.com

Organelles do NOT have a single uniform pH. And if you think they must, because “protons diffuse fast,” this paper is for you. A thread on why that assumption is wrong; and what we found instead. 🧵 1/n

bioRxivpreprint@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Organelles harbour pH gradients https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.12.694065v1

There is apparently no point in checking out the "preview" to get ahead of the Biosketch game because it warns you that everything you fill in will be lost and you will have to start over when the real thing is rolled out. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Confirmation of the new triage line at 65-70% of proposals. Introduction of a new “competitive but ND” class to permit exception pay pickups.

Drug Monkey@drugmonkey.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Here we go. Its ALL #NIHGrant applications. Dec 8 is the new deadline. And a one page prelim data update will be accepted for all May Council submissions. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

“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

science.org

Gut microbiota protect against hepatic steatosis by degrading sorbitol derived from dietary glucose @gjpattij.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

6/ So what can you do? ✔️ Choose supplements that are third-party tested for heavy metals (USP, NSF, or Informed Sport). ✔️ Prioritize whole-food protein sources when possible. ✔️ Advocate for stronger supplement regulation as the industry has little oversight.

Excited to share our work on discovery of SLC25A45 as a mediator of mitochondrial methylated amino acid import and carnitine biosynthesis. @cp-cellmetabolism.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell-metabol...

Machine-learning-guided discovery of SLC25A45 as a mediator of mitochondrial methylated amino acid import and carnitine synthesis

Khan et al. apply machine learning to identify substrates of UNC93A, SLC45A4, and SLC25A45. Biochemical assays and in vivo metabolite tracing establish SLC25A45 as a key mediator of mitochondrial impo...

cell.com

1/ RFK Jr.’s promised autism “report” landed this week. Instead of new science, we got headlines, a press conference, and far-reaching claims drawn from decades of existing research. Parents and pregnant people were left with overwhelming anxiety. Here’s what the evidence actually says 👇

The Washington Post did a great job of summarizing a complex topic. There is still so much to learn about the connections between the exposome and cancer. Thanks for including me.

Eileen Clancy 🧿@clancyny.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Gift link! Toxins, Tech and Tumors: Is Modern Life Fueling the Rise of Cancer in Millennials? By Ariana Eunjung Cha, Álvaro Valiño and Dan Keating @arianaec.bsky.social @alvarovalino.bsky.social and @dtkeating.bsky.social

Research in Scientific Reports suggests that blue-throated macaws can learn new actions by watching other macaws interact. The study indicates that this approach to learning is not exclusive to humans. go.nature.com/4g8p43m 🧪

defunding children's brain cancer research. @endpts.com

I have a first serious attempt to estimate the consequences of multi-year funding for July. For new R01s, the amount of additional expenditure was $135 M The number of additional R01s that could have been funded is 182 1/9

a man in a shirt and tie is touching his forehead

ALT: a man in a shirt and tie is touching his forehead

media.tenor.com

Here are some of the highlights of the appropriations bill that the Senate appropriations committee just approved: $48.7 billion for NIH, an increase of $400 million Rejects the proposal to cap indirect cost rates at 15% Includes a provision to prevent MYF that would reduce the number of grants

Even with flat funding for the NIH, under the current FY26 plan, there will be 60% less cancer research and much less research funded overall. We need to make sure Congress understands these tricks and protects against them in their budget plan.

Odds of winning NIH grants plummet as new funding policy and spending delays bite

Funding multiyear grants up front will sharply cut number of investigators receiving awards

science.org

1/ Since January, over 5,500 NIH-funded projects have been paused. That includes cancer trials, Alzheimer’s research, maternal health studies. This is work that directly impacts our lives. And people aren't talking about it enough. Let’s fix that 🧵

RIP Alan Marshall, one of the greatest mass spectrometrists ever, and a great human to boot. nationalmaglab.org/careers/meet...

Alan Marshall: A scientist and a Gentleman - MagLab

Meet one of the greatest innovators in the history of mass spectrometry, hard at work.

nationalmaglab.org

Join ‪‪@drwendieberg.bsky.social‬ for this half hour of discussion of supplemental breast cancer screening for women with dense breast tissue.

@drwendieberg.bsky.social · last yr.

Join me on Sirius XM Doctor Radio (Channel 110) Monday 6/2/25 at 1:00-1:30 pm ET with Dr. Miriam Greene @nyulangone.bsky.social discussing @densebreastinfo.bsky.social and supplemental screening for women with dense breasts. Thank you @bcrfcure.bsky.social for supporting our research on CEM.

"Gold standard science"

Mass Spec xkcd.com/3094/

Here’s what we have going on at #ASMS2025

A strong statement about the importance of NIH on @cbsnews.com.web.brid.gy Sunday Morning (Part 1)

"Protein may be hot, but it’s fiber that Americans need to eat a lot more of." "To get the full health benefits of fiber, it’s important to eat a variety of naturally fiber-rich foods and not rely on supplements...could actually lead to health problems..." gift link www.wsj.com/health/welln...

Americans Don’t Eat Enough Fiber. Here’s Why That Worries Nutrition Experts

The latest science suggests our fiber-poor diets trigger inflammation and contribute to a range of related diseases.

wsj.com

Video from the hearing yesterday www.youtube.com/live/_Szx0jJ...

Senate Democrats Host Forum on HHS: Day 2

YouTube video by Senator Peter Welch

youtube.com

Another good use of 5 minutes of your time.

NIH Fellows United@nihfellowsunited.bsky.social · last yr.

Academic workers across the country are calling 📞 Legislators to ask them to sign on to bipartisan letters ✉️ in support of robust NIH funding and opposing the 15% indirect cost caps. Take 5 minutes to call your legislators today. Deadline is May 19th. docs.google.com/document/d/1...

I have previously posted about the slow issuance of NIH award in fiscal year 2025 compared to fiscal year 2024. jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g... These data were across all of the institutes and centers at NIH. The results can be examined for each institute and center. 1/n