Jason Mast

Early-career trans researchers reconsider their futures amid lost funding and fear The chaos created by the freezing and termination of billions of dollars of research grants has left trans academics especially vulnerable.

Early-career trans researchers reconsider their futures amid lost funding and fear

Part 6 in STAT's American Science, Shattered series, looking at what the Trump Administration has done to science and health in 11 months
www.statnews.com/2025/12/09/h...

Dyne Therapeutics plans to file for approval for next-generation Duchenne drug Dyne Therapeutics plans to submit its next-gen Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug to the FDA after a successful trial.

Dyne $DYN plans to file for approval for next-generation Duchenne drug

Infusion could be a more effective version of controversial Sarepta drug Exondys

www.statnews.com/2025/12/08/d...

Trump has ‘shaken the hell’ out of the 80-year research pact between the government and universities. What now? Trump has "shaken the hell" out of the 80-year research pact between the government and universities. What now?

"Trump has ‘shaken the hell’ out of the 80-year research pact between the government and universities. What now?"

The first in a remarkable series looking at what the Trump Administration has done to American science and health over 11 months

www.statnews.com/2025/12/04/a...

Top drug regulator Richard Pazdur set to leave FDA Top drug regulator Richard Pazdur filed papers to retire from the Food and Drug Administration at the end of this month, but could withdraw them.

Top drug regulator Richard Pazdur set to leave FDA www.statnews.com/2025/12/02/r... via @statnews.com

CDC staff with disabilities feel stranded as HHS implements new policy CDC is asking employees seeking telework as a reasonable accommodation to return to the office until their requests can be processed under a new HHS policy.

The latest chapter in the ongoing saga around reasonable accommodations at the CDC: HHS has a new policy that permits telework for people with disabilities — but CDC officials still plan to cancel existing agreements and force people back into the office

www.statnews.com/2025/12/02/c...

The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine (Gift Article) A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.

New York Times article on science funding with some depressing but familiar curves with interactive graphics.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Experts say top FDA official’s claim that Covid vaccines caused kids’ deaths requires more evidence The FDA’s top vaccine regulator asserted in a staff email that the Covid vaccine caused at least 10 kids' deaths, but experts told STAT they are skeptical of the “extraordinary” claim because it was n...

W/o showing his work, Prasad blames at least 10 pediatric deaths on the COVID vax.

Meanwhile, a "2023 JAMA paper said that during the 12 months ending in July 2022, 821 people aged 19 and under died of Covid." The authors also indicated that was an underestimate.

www.statnews.com/2025/11/29/c...

"The US government will not be commemorating World AIDS day this year".
Silence = Death
There are 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States, 40 million globally

The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika, an emblem of fascism and white supremacy inextricably linked to the murder of millions of Jews and that more than 400,000 U.S. troops died fighting against in World War II, as a hate symbol, according to a new policy that takes effect next month.

Now that’s a lede.

Story by @taracopp.bsky.social and @michelleboorstein.bsky.social.

Read here: www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Trump and RFK Jr. are mulling their most disruptive vaccine policies yet — alarming manufacturers Trump and Kennedy are considering removing aluminum from vaccines and breaking up shots that protect against multiple diseases.

The day before the CDC webpage on vaccines and autism was overhauled, @danielpayne.bsky.social wrote this piece on vaccine manufacturers anxious about the next shoe to drop for them. It has now dropped, and it will not help their cause or, they note, public health.

www.statnews.com/2025/11/18/t...

Olivia Nuzzi Addresses The Worm | Defector On Monday, Vanity Fair published the first excerpt of Olivia Nuzzi’s monograph to sexting with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a book titled American Canto. The book, as Nuzzi claimed in a glamorized profile p...

I wrote about it lol
defector.com/olivia-nuzzi...

How RFK Jr., America's celebrity health secretary, is steamrolling science RFK Jr. is plowing ahead with sweeping changes to U.S. health care that have thrilled supporters, purged opponents, and horrified critics.

How RFK Jr., America’s celebrity health secretary, is steamrolling science

A remarkable profile from @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social @caseyross.bsky.social and @sarah-todd.bsky.social

www.statnews.com/2025/11/18/r...

Alice Wong, disability activist and luminary, dies at 51 - The Sick Times Alice Wong platformed and uplifted people with Long COVID in her final chapter as a lifelong disability advocate and storyteller.

"Alice supported and took many people with Long COVID under her wing — I was honored to call her a colleague and friend."

@mileswgriffis.bsky.social in @thesicktimes.org's obituary for the great Alice Wong: thesicktimes.org/2025/11/15/a...

Black text on a yellow background - This is Alice's friend Sandy Ho, posting. Per Alice's wishes, this message is being shared at the time of her passing. Hi everyone, it looks like I ran out of time. I have so many dreams that I wanted to fulfill and plans to create new stories for you. There are a few in progress that might come to fruition in a few years if things work out. I did not ever imagine I would live to this age and end up a writer, editor, activist, and more. As a kid riddled with insecurity and internalized ableism, I could not see a path forward. It was thanks to friendships and some great teachers who believed in me that I was able to fight my way out of miserable situations into a place where I finally felt comfortable in my skin. We need more stories about us and our culture. You all, we all, deserve the everything and more in such a hostile, ableist environment. Our wisdom is incisive and unflinching. I'm honored to be your ancestor and believe disabled oracles like us will light the way to the future. Don't let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.

“Don’t let the bastards grind you down. I love you all.”

AbbVie cuts ties with Google-backed longevity company, lays off scientists AbbVie is ending a decade-long partnership with Calico Life Sciences, an Alphabet-funded biotech company focused on aging research, and laying off scientists.

AbbVie executives no longer wants to live forever

www.statnews.com/2025/11/12/a...

It's a terrible idea to hire Captain Ahab! He's clearly nuts!

Genetically Engineered Babies Are Banned. Tech Titans Are Trying to Make One Anyway. Silicon Valley startups are pushing the boundaries of reproductive genetics, hoping to prevent diseases as well as improve chances for a high IQ and other traits.

www.wsj.com/tech/biotech...

Arena BioWorks, an ambitious biomedical institute backed by billionaires, abruptly shuts down Exclusive: Arena Bioworks, the buzzy research institute that launched with $500 million to support a decade of scientific R&D, is abruptly shutting down, STAT has learned.

OMG.

Arena BioWorks, an ambitious biomedical institute backed by billionaires, abruptly shuts down www.statnews.com/2025/11/04/a... via @statnews.com

Microdosing aims to extend the lifespan of the GLP-1 compounding market Despite no strong evidence of clinical benefit, microdosing GLP-1s will likely continue as a strategy for some to profit off of the popular drug class.

Microdosing GLP-1 drugs? Right now, there's no robust clinical evidence doing so provides benefits.

Benefits for the companies *selling* the treatments, however, are definitely confirmed.

Via @katiepalmer.bsky.social

www.statnews.com/2025/11/04/m...

FDA’s top drug regulator placed on leave amid investigation George Tidmarsh, the FDA's top drug regulator, has been placed on leave after being accused of abusing his regulatory authority, STAT has learned.

FDA’s top drug regulator placed on leave amid investigation

CDER Director George Tidmarsh is accused of seeking to use authority to inflict financial harm on former associate

www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f...

FDA’s top drug regulator placed on leave amid investigation George Tidmarsh, the FDA's top drug regulator, has been placed on leave after being accused of abusing his regulatory authority, STAT has learned.

FDA’s top drug regulator placed on leave amid investigation

CDER Director George Tidmarsh is accused of seeking to use authority to inflict financial harm on former associate

www.statnews.com/2025/11/02/f...

Under Vinay Prasad, employees at a key FDA center fear speaking out, look for the exits Exclusive: Vinay Prasad has rattled FDA staff by expanding his power and pushing out senior leaders.

2. Also please read @lizzylawrence.bsky.social's piece on the impact Vinay Prasad is having on #FDA's vaccines division, where between Prasad pushing leaders out and people heading for the exits, there are concerns about #CBER's capacity to function. www.statnews.com/2025/10/31/v...

How Moderna, the company that helped save the world, unraveled Exclusive: The inside story of why Moderna now faces a crisis unlike any in its 15-year-history.

1. Looking for weekend reads? Can't do better than these by my uber-talented @statnews.com colleagues @jasonmast.bsky.social & @lizzylawrence.bsky.social.
First, Jason's indepth look at #Moderna's transition from pandemic savior to company with significant problems. www.statnews.com/2025/10/30/m...

How Moderna, the company that helped save the world, unraveled Exclusive: The inside story of why Moderna now faces a crisis unlike any in its 15-year-history.

Yesterday, we published a lengthy look at Moderna's post-Covid fall, from one of the most valued companies in the world to to a biotech facing serious questions about its longterm future

It's a story of hubris, the limits of mRNA technology, and, of course, RFK Jr

www.statnews.com/2025/10/30/m...

How Moderna, the company that helped save the world, unraveled Exclusive: The inside story of why Moderna now faces a crisis unlike any in its 15-year-history.

How Moderna, the company that helped save the world, unraveled

www.statnews.com/2025/10/30/m...

Five people sitting on the summit stage

Our first session of the day: A Milestone for Gene Editing

@jasonmast.bsky.social talks with Kyle and Nicole Muldoon, Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas, and Kiran Musunuru about how CRISPR was used to correct a misspelling in KJ Muldoon genes when he was just 6 months old.

#STATSummit

CRISPR is used in landmark treatment to correct genetic misspelling of a single patient In a world first, scientists used CRISPR to fix a baby's unique genetic mutation. The report offers hope for personalized treatments of rare diseases.

If you want to understand why he is a celebrity, read this piece by @jasonmast.bsky.social

www.statnews.com/2025/05/15/c...

Parents of children with rare diseases ask: How long until our CRISPR miracle? How to better manage expectations around gene editing drugs for families of children with rare diseases.

Parents of children with rare diseases ask: How long until our CRISPR miracle?

www.statnews.com/2025/10/09/c...

HHS abruptly cancels CDC meeting with RFK Jr., anti-vaccine activist as scrutiny mounts HHS abruptly canceled a CDC meeting between RFK Jr. and anti-vaccine activist David Geier just hours before they were set to gather.

HHS abruptly cancels CDC meeting with RFK Jr., anti-vaccine activist as scrutiny mounts www.statnews.com/2025/09/17/r... via @statnews.com

A hopeful thread! Some of my favs:
HIV treatment is better by leaps and bounds, and now 2x year injections can prevent people from contracting it! www.npr.org/sections/goa...

CRISPR has cured, CURED, sickle cell anemia in patients for at least a year! www.scientificamerican.com/article/fda-...