Christos Constantinidis

Trump freezes $200 million in UCLA science and medical research funding, citing antisemitism The Trump administration has frozen roughly $200 million in National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and other federal agency-funded research at UCLA, citing allegations the school d...

Suspension of all grants to UCLA www.latimes.com/california/s...

Christos lab, summer 2025 edition. Wonderful group to work with.

a bald man is sitting in a chair and pointing at the camera ALT: a bald man is sitting in a chair and pointing at the camera

I'm curious if any senior nonhuman primate Neuro-AI researchers would be interested in joining Queen's University if we were to obtain a research chair position (full professor level)?

Could you please send me a confidential message to indicate your interest? Gunnar.blohm@queensu.ca

But, importantly, it concludes with

While traditional animal models continue to be important to advancing scientific knowledge, NIH recognizes that prioritizing new and emerging human-based technologies can offer unique strengths...

2/3

1. NIH won't review proposals "substantially developed" by AI
2. Max of 6 submissions/year as PI

This person is my hero:

"however, there is evidence that the use of AI tools has enabled Principal Investigators to submit more than 40 distinct applications in a single application submission round"

grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

YouTube video by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Desk: The Future of Animal Models in Research | NIH’s Dr. Nicole Kleinstreuer

A discussion of the use of animals in research.

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

1/n

(Warning: Rant coming)

The NIH grant funding mechanism is a total mess right now

If all new R grants are converted to RF1's, then NIH will fund one fifth as many groups from the pool of pending grants...

Making the payline something like 2-3%.

NIH must spend their appropriation or they will violate the Impoundment Control Act and get criticized broadly by Congress and others.

I have some data that NIH will be converting the vast majority of grants from one year awards with noncomp renewals to five year awards.
1/

🚨 Neuro postdocs & grad students: Have a story to tell? Want to practice a talk before a conference or interview? Join our new seminar series on the Isthmus! All are welcome (from around the 🌎). Submit by Aug 20. Share your story (and this ad)!
(Ping me for Qs)
forms.gle/zpSTGWczxjqJ...

Scientists hide messages in papers to game AI peer review Some studies containing instructions in white text or small font — visible only to machines — will be withdrawn from preprint servers.

Great idea!

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Please comment on this! The complexity of living systems cannot be fully recapitulated by in vitro or computational approaches alone. While advances in non-animal model technologies offer complementary tools, they lack the full physiological and developmental context of a living organism.

The University of Sydney is recruiting senior and mid-career academics "within the top 5–10% of academics in their field, with a strong track record and availability to relocate to Australia within 6-months".
If you're a psychologist/neuroscientist and are interested, get in touch with me soon.

I will speak about this today in the #CNS2025 workshop on "Cross-species modeling of brain structure and dynamics" in Florence.

NIH announces end to funding for animal-only studies - Drug Discovery and Development Drug Discovery and Development covers strategies and technologies related to pharmaceutical research and development and drug formulation.

I still don't know if this is at the NOFO level (somewhat problematic) or the study level (catastrophic) but there are SO MANY good reasons to continue using animals for research. Non-animal methods have their places and their development should be encouraged but animals are essential in science.

I took over new administrative responsibilities as Associate Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute and I am starting a 4-year stint at an NIH study section. It was time for a new Associate Editor that could devote more time to the journal.

That's all from me. Now on to new adventures in Study Section. (10/10)

For anybody interested, a new Editor in Chief of the journal is also being recruited, to start next year (9/10)
journals.physiology.org/call-for-edi...

Errors happen in the review process. Reviewers may hold biases and skewed opinions. It is the Editor’s job to recognize that, take ownership of decisions, and rectify errors when they are noted. (8/10)

Improving the standing of a journal is a bit like trying to steer an aircraft carrier. It’s a slow process and sudden changes in course are likely to be counterproductive. (7/10)

Journals published by Scientific Associations are unglamorous but perform a highly valuable role. I am more committed than ever to their mission. (6/10)

It is for this reason that I have even less patience with journals with extremely long review times – which shall remain anonymous in this thread. (5/10)

Finding referees and keeping the review process timely is difficult – but not impossible. Treating people with respect and recognizing that referees are human beings trying to balance lots of pressures is half the game. (4/10)

Most scientists treated their referee role with almost religious commitment. They did their best to evaluate the work objectively – and to improve it. (3/10)

Serving as an associate editor renewed my faith in scientists. People I had never met before apologized profusely and offered helpful suggestions for alternatives when they were unable to review an article I sent them. (2/10)

Journal of Neurophysiology <p>The <em>Journal of Neurophysiology</em> publishes original articles on the function of the nervous system. All levels of function are included, from the membrane and cell to systems and behavior. E...

After 11 years as Associate Editor at the Journal of Neurophysiology, I asked my term not be renewed and stepped down today. A brief thread with some thoughts. 1/10

journals.physiology.org/journal/jn

Out today in @nature.com: we show that individual neurons have diverse tuning to a decision variable computed by the entire population, revealing a unifying geometric principle for the encoding of sensory and dynamic cognitive variables.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A HISTORIC MILESTONE: For the first time, solar power generated more electricity globally than nuclear, making it the world’s 4th largest power source.

In just 5 years, solar output nearly tripled—from 79 TWh (Apr 2020) to 233 TWh (Apr 2025). The energy transition is speeding up.

@ember-energy.org

The NIH has not issued a single new call for proposals since the end of January.