Gigi Gronvall

The point is to destroy the administrative state, centers of knowledge and all civic institutions that stand in the way of Russell Vought’s vision of an authoritarian theocracy. It sounds insane and something out of Atwood. But this is where we are. Under his eye.

The NIH Restructuring Congress Rejected Is Happening Anyway (I used Gemini Nano Banana 2 to create this fictional image.)

This piece by Elizabeth Ginexi is a must read. Trump, Vought, RFK and Bhattacharya are destroying the NIH simply ignoring the law and the US Congress. It’s illegal and immoral. The NIH Restructuring Congress Rejected Is Happening Anyway open.substack.com/pub/elizabet...

Indeed. New grants are not getting funded, already funded grants are not getting paid, and non-competitive renewals are being held up.

Focusing on the top line budget, instead of looking at what is really happening on “the ground” is deeply misguided.

Public investment in NIH research helped turn cystic fibrosis from a childhood killer into a survivable disease. Russ Vought is now withholding funding from the very system that made that made that future possible for his daughter.

Cover of The Lancet:

@thelancet.com
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

But there is a trend. And the therapy for Huntington’s sure looked promising.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Oppose Nomination of Casey Means for Surgeon General The Senate HELP Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the nomination of Casey Means to serve as U.S. Surgeon General on Wednesday, February 25th. While we were hoping this nomination was dead, i...

Help push us over 2500 letters! Still time to write to your Senators (and get your friends to do so too). Casey Means is a charlatan with dangerous views on contraception, raw milk, vaccines and has a whole lot of conflict of interest-she's making money off it all.
actionnetwork.org/letters/oppo...

Patients do not appear to be a priority right now— this is from STAT

If you do not subscribe to the Onion, you are missing out. It really is such a delight to get in the mail.

Oppose Nomination of Casey Means for Surgeon General The Senate HELP Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the nomination of Casey Means to serve as U.S. Surgeon General on Wednesday, February 25th. While we were hoping this nomination was dead, i...

Still time to write to your Senators (and get your friends to do the same). Casey Means is a charlatan with dangerous views on contraception, raw milk, vaccines and has a whole lot of conflict of interest--she's making money off it all. Just say no to the quack. actionnetwork.org/letters/oppo...

Johns Hopkins H5N1 Influenza Preparedness & Response Forum Join us at Johns Hopkins for a hands-on forum on tackling H5N1 flu outbreaks and response strategies!

On March 3 in DC, join us for the Johns Hopkins H5N1 Influenza Preparedness & Response Forum! H5N1 is already threatening livestock and poultry, but if it gains sustained human-to-human transmission, challenges will escalate quickly. We have to plan, now.

www.eventbrite.com/e/johns-hopk...

FDA reverses course, agrees to review Moderna’s flu vaccine The FDA reversed course and told Moderna it would review its application for a new flu vaccine, the company announced Wednesday.

Just a reminder that we are experiencing the worst flu season in two decades partly caused by drops in flu uptake and they tried to thwart the review of flu vaccine developed using the mRNA platform.
Glad to see this proceed but this is far from over.
www.statnews.com/2026/02/18/f...

It’s really hard to write about the strange techno religious beliefs of Silicon Valley— digital uploading, plasma, etc without sounding completely nuts. 😹

“Asked how the cuts have affected science, one Boston Children’s Hospital researcher said, “This is like asking, how do you think dropping an atomic bomb on New York City will affect the future of Broadway musicals?”

The GOF disputes followed. But H5N1 did spread around the world, as Kawaoka and Fouchier warned, costing the ag sector billions. One day it might spread in people. And there are other diseases that could become pandemics. TL;DR the NIH move is shortsighted, and will leave the US less prepared.

It's important to remember Ebright, Hammond, etc. did not advocate for measures to improve biosafety. More resources? No. More biosafety research? No. It's a bit depressing to look at testimony from _2009_ where I advocated for all, plus a no-fault reporting system. www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/...

NIH Response to Open Letter Although we appreciate hearing the views of some of our most respected scientists, the open letter from some of our colleagues in the microbiology community (“An open letter to Elias Zerhouni,” S. Alt...

The NIH responded, disputing the claim that non-biodefense research was being harmed by the biodefense additions. But this was the start of Ebright's anti-Fauci journey. Of course, his research greatly benefited from this $, but that's another story. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Has Biodefense Gone Overboard? The 9/11 terrorist attacks and the anthrax letters triggered a vast program to protect the U.S. from bioterrorism. Three years later, some scientists complain that it is hurting basic microbiology—and...

Ebright worried about increased lab accidents or deliberate use by a “disturbed, disgruntled, or adversarial” scientist. He found common cause with Ed Hammond, who made a career out of harassing biosafety officers before his brief tenure in Bhattacharya's NIH. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

letter that claims that "the diversion of research funds from projects of public health importance ... represents a misdirection of NIH priorities"

But it is also the result of a long-ago dispute over NIH priorities post-9/11 and anthrax letter attacks. NIAID, then led by Tony Fauci, received significant $$$ to respond to biodefense threats. Richard Ebright, now of anti-GOF, Biosafety Now fame, organized a letter to protest the influx.

t is also the realization of Bhattacharya's "new vision" for NIAID, which is disingenuous, rewrites COVID history, and seems to forget that sometimes flu can become a pandemic-- @joshuasweitz.bsky.social breaks it down nicely here. bsky.app/profile/josh...

Thought I would add a little more context/history to NIH's decision to drop pandemic preparedness and biodefense. Yes, of course, this is the result of rewriting COVID history, and a terrible move that will lead to the US being unprepared for disease threats that famously don't care about borders.

Tulips are also my favorite flowers! Sadly, they are slightly poisonous when eaten and one of my cats eats all vegetation, even fake plants.

Good time to remember that most lab accidents affect the researcher doing the important research. If you demonize the researcher or punish them for making a mistake you won’t get reporting, and they won’t seek treatment.

Thought I would head over there to see if he’d commented yet and yes.

This is Richard Ebright’s longstanding dream, to get rid of this within NIH. He hated Fauci and NIH doing biodefense and pandemic preparedness going back nearly 25 years, esp because he worried it would cut into his funding.

The article points out: "The rejection also exemplifies the agency’s increasing unpredictability writ large. ...Industry leaders have said that the lack of clarity threatens drug development, and by extension the availability of safe and effective medicines for patients."

"FDA Commissioner Marty Makary told Fox News ...that Moderna didn’t “follow the recommended guidance by the FDA....Some say the trial they conducted was unethical." I am having a hard time believing this, especially when it is preceded with "some say."

The high stakes for Huntington's patients This week on "The Readout LOUD": an in-depth discussion of UniQure's gene therapy for Huntington's disease and the high stakes for patients.

This was an informative podcast with patient advocate Lauren Holder, describing what's at stake for patients www.statnews.com/2026/01/29/r...

Questionable decision-making was also apparent in reversing course for a Huntington's disease therapy. www.neurologylive.com/view/fda-rev...

Prasad overruled FDA staff to reject Moderna's flu vaccine application The rejection is the latest instance of Vinay Prasad overruling career FDA scientists to place vaccines under harsher scrutiny.

This is outrageous, and (though it was completely obvious he should never have held this spot), Vinay Prasad needs to go. This vaccine candidate deserves review, not ideologically motivated rejection. Lives are at stake. www.statnews.com/2026/02/11/m...