Megan Culler Freeman MD, PhD

I’m so excited that our collaborative work with @dermodylab.bsky.social and @jgecko77.bsky.social is now published in @jclinical-invest.bsky.social! I’ll plan to do a full unroll soon, but for now, here’s the link: www.jci.org/articles/vie...

Hey #IDSky 👋 - working on growing the network for our BlueSky account after relocating from that other place (🤫)…

Follow us for the best of ID training and #IDSky. Let us hear from you so we can follow you!

UWID Fellowship - your place for ID news, publications and education. #allarewelcomehere

Outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium Infections Linked ... This report describes a Salmonella outbreak linked to ...

1. I am glad CDC scientists are continuing to do important public health and outbreak reporting in very challenging times .
2. Here is the just published MMR report on an outbreak of Salmonella linked to commercial raw milk in CA.
www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...

Come visit us at the ASV table and win some virology swag! We’ll be open this morning 8:30-10:30 AM and this afternoon from 2:00-4:00 PM. #ASV2025 #LoveVirology

An Evidence-Based Approach to Covid-19 Vaccination | NEJM To the Editor: In their Sounding Board article (June 26 issue),1 Prasad and Makary ignore the fact that the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection extend beyond acute outcomes such as hospitalization and de...

Responses to the Sounding Board piece by Prasad and Makary are now posted:
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Had I known that character limits would be so liberal I would have submitted a response, but these replies hit on all the key points.

Looking forward to the @pittpediatrics.bsky.social Grand Rounds tomorrow by @drannieandrews.com about her advocacy efforts. #pediatriciansforsenate

July 1st is my favorite day in the hospital calendar. So many young talented physicians across the US officially start their physician careers today.
Welcome to the new interns. It's a privilege to mentor you and see you blossom into caring doctors. We all were once interns 😊

here’s to doing more good science with good people. 🎉

1/ The first #ACIP meeting with RFK Jr.’s handpicked members wrapped up yesterday. Over 4,000 tuned in—a level of attention we haven’t seen since the pandemic. And for good reason: these meetings shape vaccine policy, coverage, timing, access and availability. Here's what happened 👇

Measles 2025 | NEJM In this article on measles, the authors review the epidemiology, clinical presentation, and associated illnesses as well as treatment and prevention strategies.

Good timing for a stellar review on measles @nejm.org
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.... Only problem is that the people who need to read it won't

The Freeman lab is in search of a full time laboratory technician in Pittsburgh, PA. I particularly enjoy mentoring aspiring MD or PhD student scientists in this role.

The fired CDC ACIP committee members just published this IMPORTANT JAMA Viewpoint Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at a Crossroads Edwin J. Asturias, MD'; Noel T. Brewer, PhD?; Oliver Brooks, MD3; Lin H. Chen, MD4; Helen Y. Chu, MD, MPHS; Sybil Cineas, MD6; Jamie Loehr, MD'; Denise J. Jamieson, MD, MPH®; Mini Kamboj, MD° ; George A. Kuchel, MD, CM'°; Karyn Lyons, MS, RN"; Yvonne A. Maldonado, MD 2; Charlotte A. Moser, M513; Robert Schechter, MD, MSc'4; Albert C. Shaw, MD, PhD'5; Keipp Tal-bot, MD, MPH16, Jane R. Zucker, MD, MScl » Author Affiliations | Article Information JAMA Published Online: June 16, 2025 doi: 10.1001/jama.2025.10776 unambiquous SCIENCE

Wow, this was an incredibly powerful statement put out by the now fired CDC ACIP members, published yesterday in JAMA. Snippets posted below:

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Opinion | It’s Code Red for Vaccines in America How to make sense of all the vaccine policy changes.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/o...

Ousted CDC vaccine adviser says RFK Jr.'s message is clear: ‘Scientific expertise is no longer of use’ Terminated CDC vaccine adviser Helen Chu spoke with STAT about her fears for the future of vaccine policy

Helen Chu is one of the ousted #ACIP members. She spoke to me today about her grave concerns for future vaccination policy and vaccine access in the United States. www.statnews.com/2025/06/10/c...

If you have never stuck a needle in the back of an infant and watched pus drip out please don’t tell me I am overreacting to RFK Jr.’s latest assault on science.

PMI PhD dissertation defense notice for Leigh Moreault Miller titled "The role of memory B cells in influenza associated bacterial super-infection" on June 19, 2025.

Congratulations to Leigh Miller in the Alcorn Lab in @pittpediatrics.bsky.social for her upcoming thesis defense!

When Senator Bill Cassidy announced he would vote to confirm RFK Jr, he included this in his statement:

“If confirmed, he will maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices without changes.”

WITHOUT CHANGES.

How to spot low quality scientific information Polarizing or divisive Is the content intentionally polarizing and playing on belief systems? Fear-mongering Is the content overplaying risks without nuance or explanation? WellnessPositivity Is the content emphasizing wellness with no appropriate caveats? Overly Emotional Is the content negative/angry or playing on emotional reactions? Doubt on institutions Is the content framing all health and medical institutions poorly? Grand Claims Does the content make grand claims with no associated scientific data? Heavy on Anecdotes Is the content based solely on anecdotes or third-party information? False Credentials Does the author have inappropriate or exaggerated credentials? Unambiguous Science

How to spot terrible, no good, very bad information.

NSF, NASA and NIH budgets per year, inflation adjusted from 2000-2025 along with the proposed cuts. NSF includes research component only. Massive cuts across all sectors, well below support spanning 25 years.

How bad will it be? Catastrophic.

Proposed cuts to #NSF, #NIH, and #NASA will set the US R&D landscape back 25 yrs+, cause economic and job loss now, and undermine innovations to come.

But, this is the WH's *proposed* budget.

Speak up now before it is too late.

(inflation adjusted $-s below)

Government | Harvard University Browse the latest Government courses from Harvard University.

Proud of Harvard for pushing back, exercising some creativity, and, maybe, helping folks get some needed education.

Harvard is making many of their online government courses FREE.

I just signed up for "Citizen Politics in America".

They even asked me my Gender.

pll.harvard.edu/subject/gove...

Great title! @pgh-health-science.bsky.social

What it’s like to have measles, mumps, whooping cough, and other vaccine-preventable illnesses STAT readers share what it's link to have measles, mumps, whooping cough, and other vaccine-preventable illnesses. Some stories are from decades past — others are quite recent.

Some parents who never had #measles, never worried about #polio, who don't remember what life was like when kids caught these diseases, fear the vaccines that prevent them instead. @statnews.com's @thekibosch.bsky.social spoke to people who remember these foes. www.statnews.com/2025/05/10/w...

Cartoon At the Sign of THE UNHOLY THRME ELUORIDATED POLIO MONKEY SERUMS MENTAL HYGIENE KTC. UNINFORMED PUBLIC B. SMART Are you willing to PL'T IN PAWN to the UNHOLY THRE.F. all of the material, mental and spiritual resources of this GREAT REPUBLIC:

It’s just history repeating itself. The themes and doubts never change.

I attended a town hall last night for Sen McCormick (PA, R), who said he very much supports basic science funding and thinks the NIH budget should not but cut, but rather increase.

He’d be very open to this argument so give him a call! 202-224-6324
Maybe other representatives feel the same!

CDC Yellow Book 2026 The CDC Yellow Book has been a trusted resource among healthcare professionals for over half a century. It compiles the US government's current travel health guidance, providing travel medicine specia...

The 2026 CDC yellow book on travel medicine is live at this link for those who are interested @davidofreedman.bsky.social books.google.com/books/about/...

Can I unsubscribe? 🤔

Sort of looks like a new season is coming. 🤔

The number of confirmed #measles cases in the US this year — an unknown fraction of the true total — has hit 800, per #CDC, making this the 2nd worst year for measles since the virus was eliminated in 2000. And the year is young.
The count in Texas is just under 600. www.cdc.gov/measles/data...

Wisconsin has seen a 1,450% increase in congenital syphilis cases since 2019, the state's Dept of Health Services reports.
This at a time when the country's premier #STD lab has been shuttered in the devastating cuts at #CDC.
What could possibly go wrong? www.statnews.com/2025/04/05/c...

STI Outbreak in Alaska Alaska is seeing a dangerous gonorrhea outbreak, while the CDC's STD lab and field staff have been cut. What happens to sexual health when states lose their first line of defense?

Alaska has experienced an unusual outbreak of disseminated gonococcal infections. 90% of cases have required hospitalization. This marks a 10 fold increase in cases since 2022. The STI response branch of the CDC was dissolved 2wks ago.
www-psychologytoday-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.psyc...