Kristen Kroll's Avatar

Kristen Kroll

@kkroll.bsky.social

I lead a Washington University lab focused on regulation of brain development and using stem cell, organoid and mouse models to study its disruption in neurodevelopmental disorders. Views are my own. https://sites.wustl.edu/krolllab

2,757 Followers  |  1,609 Following  |  210 Posts  |  Joined: 11.02.2024  |  1.7502

Latest posts by kkroll.bsky.social on Bluesky

Preview
Kristen Kroll (@kristenkroll) In our new Substack series featuring women in STEM, weโ€™ll tell one story at a time, about women whose discoveries changed medicine and science, and what it cost them to be heard. Each week, weโ€™re goi...

๐Ÿงช A new series on women in STEM (introductory essay below), to raise awareness among the public, especially since education, science, and hard won rights gained by the last generation of women are under existential threat in the US. Feel free to share.

substack.com/@kristenkrol...

14.02.2026 22:04 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 7    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Boy, if I were Donald Trump, Iโ€™d be pissed that my supposedly loyal Vice President has gone completely and totally silent on social media since these Epstein emails dropped. Vance always does this when it gets really badโ€”just disappears. Like Homer in the hedges.

13.11.2025 15:33 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 427    ๐Ÿ” 65    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 33    ๐Ÿ“Œ 5
Preview
"That government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth": Heather Cox Richardson explains America's tilts between democracy vs. oligarchy past & present "There is nothing more American than standing against kings...what will make the difference...is remembering that we are we the people. This is our moment. Letโ€™s get out there and do it." HCR-10/14/25

How did we get to the longest oligarchic retrenchment in Americaโ€™s history (e.g. now)? How did โ€˜movement conservatismโ€™sโ€™ rhetoric, ideology, and misinformation campaigns of the past ~45 years bring us to this point? And where do we go from here? Dr. Richardson illuminates our history and future.

09.11.2025 17:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 1    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
Kristen Kroll (@kristenkroll) Republicans are constantly trying to eviscerate Democrat-supported programs that benefited rural states like Medicaid spending, SNAP (the supplementary nutrition program formerly known as food stamps)...

substack.com/@kristenkrol...

23.10.2025 11:24 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Iโ€™m old enough to remember when we had a system of checks & balances that involved Congress, when Congress controlled the purse and legislated, and the president respected the Constitution & rule of law. Iโ€™m old enough to remember when a U.S. president wouldnโ€™t want to be King George or a dictator.

16.10.2025 01:56 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 10417    ๐Ÿ” 2558    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 414    ๐Ÿ“Œ 139
Preview
No Kings 2 - National Protest (West County, STL) ยท No Kings **In America, we donโ€™t put up with would-be kings.** Our peaceful movement is only getting bigger and stronger. โ€œNO KINGSโ€ is more than just a sloganโ€”itโ€™s the foundation our nation was built upon. Bo...

I'm attending No Kings's event, โ€œNo Kings 2 - National Protest (West County, STL)โ€ - sign up now to join me! www.mobilize.us/nokings/even...

13.10.2025 15:06 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
Kristen Kroll (@kristenkroll) Where will you be? Will you be wearing a costume somewhat prematurely re Halloween and the amazing Portland resistance? Find a protest near you-https://www.nokings.org/#map We inhabit the twilight ...

substack.com/@kristenkroll/

Where will you be? Will you be wearing a costume somewhat prematurely re Halloween and the amazing Portland resistance?

Find a protest near you-https://www.nokings.org/#map

We inhabit the twilight preceding the potential loss of democratic governanceโ€ฆ

13.10.2025 09:33 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image Post image

๐Ÿงช Many official government websites now have partisan propaganda about the government shutdown (as below for NIH/HHS)--this is an illegal violation of the Hatch Act. See the instructions below for registering your objection to this illegal use of government webpages for partisan propaganda.

02.10.2025 16:52 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 13    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image

For many years nowโ€”we must stand up for democracy, if we want to continue living in one.

30.09.2025 09:43 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 2    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image

This

30.09.2025 09:38 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
Kristen Kroll (@kristenkroll) What the best evidence actually shows: Large, modern, better-controlled designs The 2024 Swedish population study (nโ‰ˆ2.5M) used sibling analyses to control for shared genetics and environment. Result...

๐ŸงชGuideline convergence across specialties and borders leads to the same recommendation: acetaminophen remains appropriate first-line therapy for fever and pain in pregnancy.

Donโ€™t let disinformation drive clinical care. substack.com/@kristenkrol...

28.09.2025 03:19 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 39    ๐Ÿ” 17    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Iโ€™m guessing those kinds of assertions are coming, never mind that of causes of death to be concerned about include the obsession with guns in America but with no corresponding gun laws whatsoever. You want to prevent unnecessary wrongful death, thatโ€™s where you start.

27.09.2025 10:55 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Speaking diplomatically when the person youโ€™re talking to is not basing anything they โ€˜thinkโ€™ on actual facts and reality IS somewhat crazy-making. I only try so hard, after that you have to call it off and tell them when they want to deal in reality, youโ€™re there for them.

27.09.2025 10:51 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Thereโ€™s a choice of whether or not to learn scienceโ€”if they donโ€™t want to learn, theyโ€™ll have to know that their opinion means nothing because they are willfully ignorant

27.09.2025 05:21 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image 27.09.2025 05:20 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 4    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image 27.09.2025 05:19 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

I think we have to address the misinformation coming from this admin in particular and referring to the actual science, of the kind explained reasonably here. And I have worked with many brilliant scientists on the spectrum, and often appreciate their unique approach and perspective on our research.

27.09.2025 04:45 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
Kristen Kroll (@kristenkroll) For those who have asked me about recent assertions by RFK Jr. regarding Tylenol and autism, please see this article and the NYT deep dive penned by Sam Wang, who has also studied this topic in depth....

๐Ÿงชon recent assertions by RFK Jr. regarding autism and Tylenol: You may wish to pass this along to others who need to separate facts and data from the unsupported or falsifiable assertions made by those with much less knowledge leading our HHS.

substack.com/@kristenkrol...

27.09.2025 04:12 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 35    ๐Ÿ” 12    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 3    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
Kristen Kroll (@kristenkroll) Anyone who watched the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner got a glimpse of how much Trump hates being mocked. President Obama and Seth Meyers spent nearly five minutes roasting Trump over his pro...

So important
substack.com/@kristenkrol...

19.09.2025 10:15 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
Kristen Kroll (@kristenkroll) https://youtu.be/HMGD1KCYFOw Stephen and Jimmy go online to create their own showโ€ฆand warn that our mainstream media and the current regime would like for them to โ€˜shut their trapsโ€™โ€”amazing!

Stephen and Jimmy go online to create their own showโ€ฆand warn that our mainstream media and the current regime would like for them to โ€˜shut their trapsโ€™:

substack.com/@kristenkrol...

19.09.2025 09:46 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 2    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Stephenโ€™s conservative cousin returns to have โ€œa wordโ€ with us ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚

Please stay, satirical Colbert, as reality truly has that โ€œwell known liberal biasโ€ you once called out, regarding democracy and the common good.

Now more than ever, we need you: other Stephen Colbert!

fb.watch/CcSqeXuH_4/?...

19.09.2025 09:35 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
Kristen Kroll (@kristenkroll) https://fb.watch/C8WkS8BNio/?fs=e Love both of these guysโ€”sane, humane, thoughtful voices in a world that increasingly seems utterly unhinged. Thank you Stephen and Prof. Reich

Love both of these guysโ€”sane, humane, thoughtful voices in a world that increasingly seems utterly unhinged. Thank you Stephen and Prof. Reich

substack.com/profile/6958...

16.09.2025 09:42 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Happy to speak with you further, as a prof in the life sciences at Washington U. My email is kkroll@wustl.edu and I can also reach out to youโ€ฆalthough Iโ€™m currently working on many grant applications and manuscript submissions so Iโ€™m more than a little over-committed at this fraught political time.

16.09.2025 09:03 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Weโ€™re still holding on for now, in part due to philanthropic support stepping in where the NIH is beyond sluggish. I think anyone wholly depending on federal funds will have problems these days, because the system is broken.

16.09.2025 09:03 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

One can only hope, as we now need a prescription to qualify for a COVID booster, and likely the new variants will be worse than ever given declining herd immunity/vaccination.

15.09.2025 15:17 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image

Congratulations, Stephen! You saved our sanity for decades with incisive satire, brilliant commentary, kindness and humanity.

Will miss you dearly. And yes, reality DOES stillโ€”perhaps now more than everโ€”have a โ€œwell known liberal biasโ€.

Please donโ€™t be a stranger in our living rooms and lives

15.09.2025 12:00 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

Indeed

14.09.2025 23:08 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 0    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

And then we brought them to the US to work for us

14.09.2025 23:07 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 1    ๐Ÿ” 0    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0    ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image

๐ŸงชAUTHORITARIANISM IN ACTION RFK Jr. has banned government scientists from publishing in the worldโ€™s top medical journals.
This will isolate U.S. science from the global community โ€” and people WILL DIE as a result.
Now would be a great time to contact your Congressperson!

14.09.2025 20:04 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 369    ๐Ÿ” 172    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 36    ๐Ÿ“Œ 19
Dark blue poster with text in white, saying, โ€œitโ€™s the damn gunsโ€ 
Text in red says, Again

Dark blue poster with text in white, saying, โ€œitโ€™s the damn gunsโ€ Text in red says, Again

RIP, Charlie Kirk.
Your motto was โ€œProve Me Wrongโ€

Especially on guns, I think you were proved wrong, unless your grieving wife and children still believe that the cost of 2nd A in America is gun death.
And, now you arenโ€™t here to Prove me wrong.
Iโ€™m sorry.

#DemVoice1
#Voices4Victory
#Pinks

11.09.2025 03:11 โ€” ๐Ÿ‘ 329    ๐Ÿ” 94    ๐Ÿ’ฌ 5    ๐Ÿ“Œ 2

@kkroll is following 19 prominent accounts