Natalie Dean, PhD

Trump to impose $100,000 fee per year for H-1B visas, in blow to tech The Trump administration said on Friday it would ask companies to pay $100,000 per year for H-1B worker visas, prompting some big tech companies to warn visa holders to stay in the U.S. or quickly return.

I have to keep this deliberately vague, but this is a total disaster for academic research.

And imposing it so suddenly is just cruel. I’ve got friends scrambling to get back to the US before midnight tonight. Do you know how hard that is to do on 36 hours of notice?

BEACON Track biological threats, share vital information, and collaborate on solutions for community protection and preparedness.

Democratic Republic of Congo declares Ebola virus disease outbreak in Kasai province with 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths. Ebola zairevirus is confirmed. via @beaconbio.bsky.social - beaconbio.org/en/report/?r...

Will the C.D.C. Survive?

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s assault may have dealt lasting damage to the CDC, experts fear, with harsh consequences for public health.
(Gift article)

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/h...

My heart. Members of the US Public Health Service (the uniformed service branch no one has ever heard of, who serve at the CDC and elsewhere in the US), massed within the CDC property, saluting their departing uniformed leaders who were escorted out by security today after resigning on principle.

Dynamics of endemic virus re-emergence in children in the USA following the COVID-19 pandemic (2022–23): a prospective, multicentre, longitudinal, immunoepidemiological surveillance study In this study, we captured immunological evidence of endemic virus re-emergence in children following lifting of pandemic NPIs, which revealed high rates of exposure to endemic respiratory pathogens i...

You can track the spread of 16 viruses all at once, team at @childrensresearch.bsky.social and elsewhere found, including EV-D68, RSV, metapneumovirus, flu, Covid, rhinovirus. They started out looking for the cause of acute flaccid myelitis - remember that one? www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Screenshot from Whitehouse webpage that says The WHITE HOUSE Going forward, President Trump's appointees will review funding opportunity announcements and grant awards to verify that each grant dollar benefits Americans instead of lining grantees' pocketbooks or furthering causes that damage America.

And they were singing
Bye bye to American Sci

"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the beginning of a coordinated wind-down of its mRNA vaccine development activities...."

cc: Sen. Bill Cassidy

Every reputable expert I know considers mRNA vaccine technology to be one of the most revolutionary advances in medicine in our lifetimes. Its inventors won the Nobel Prize in 2023. Shutting it down now is pointless self-harm to humanity.

Shout out to the WSJ journalists who reported on Vought’s impoundment by footnote, causing the White House to walk it back. Impact journalism!!

Optimising testing and control strategies in the early stages of infectious disease outbreaks Supervisors: Dr Emily Nixon, Professor Christl Donnelly, Dr Richard Vipond, Dr Emily Adams, Dr Chris Overton. Subject area: Mathematics Stipend Amount: Funded studentship Study mode: Full-time Duration: 3.5 years Application deadline: 07 July 2025 Start date: 01 October 2025

Overview Develop models to help make decisions early in a major disease outbreak when availability of new tests is limited, on where and how best to use them for maximum impact in controlling spread, e.g. in low versus high areas of transmission, in hospitals or in the community. These will depend on the pathogen type, its mode of transmission, reproduction number, etc. About this opportunity In the early stages of a major disease outbreak, the availability of suitable diagnostic tests is often limited, however, timely interventions are critical for controlling the spread of disease. In this PhD, you will develop mechanistic and statistical models to investigate the effectiveness of various diagnostic test deployment strategies for emerging and zoonotic diseases which are at risk of causing large outbreaks, such as respiratory viruses (Influenza, SARS-CoV-2, Respiratory syncytial virus), vector-borne diseases (Dengue, Tick-borne encephalitis) or viral haemorrhagic fevers (Nipah, Lassa fever and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever). You will investigate the effectiveness of targeting use of tests in different settings, for example in areas of high versus low transmission, or in hospitals versus the community. The optimum strategy for diagnostic test deployment will vary depending on prevalence of disease, the sensitivity and specificity of the tests and the time it takes to receive and act on results. In addition, variation between pathogens, for example, in their mode of transmission, reproduction number and incubation period, will influence which strategy is the most effective in controlling the impact of the outbreak. These insights will inform stockpiling strategies of medical countermeasures for pandemic preparedness and in the event of a major outbreak, can be used and adapted to help inform decision making.

Who is this for? Applicants must hold, in a relevant STEM subject, either a first-class honours degree, a distinction at master level, or equivalent achievements. A background in programming (such as R, Python, Julia) would be advantageous, along with a keen desire to develop those skills. Prospective applicants are encouraged to contact the primary supervisor, Dr Emily Nixon, emily.nixon@liverpool.ac.uk prior to preparation of an application to discuss the fit of the project with your background and qualifications.

Funding your PhD This PhD opportunity is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health Protection Research Unit (HPRU) in Emerging and Zoonotic Infections (EZI). This studentship will be for a maximum of 3.5 years duration. The studentship includes tuition fees at the UK/home rate, stipend and research-related travel. International students may apply but must be able to themselves cover the additional tuition fee costs as outlined on the University website: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/fees-and-funding/tuition-fees/postgraduate-research/. The supervisory team have no additional funding to support this difference in tuition fee costs for international students. The stipend amount is aligned with UK Research and Innovation rates. For the academic year 2025-2026, the rate of the UKRI Stipend is £20,780 per annum (tax free).

📣 Funded 3.5yr PhD opportunity (UK tuition fee rate) in @hpruezi.bsky.social @liverpooluni.bsky.social. #PhDSky

🧪 On "Optimising testing & control strategies in the early stages of infectious disease outbreaks" #IDSky #EpiSky

⏳ Deadline to apply: 07 Jul 2025

🔗: www.liverpool.ac.uk/courses/opti...

17 dedicated doctors, pediatricians, scientists, and parents who served on the Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices (ACIP) were just fired by Secretary Kennedy based on false claims of conflicts of interest – a dangerous and unprecedented action that makes our families less safe.

A Half-Century of Prevention — The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices | NEJM In 1964, after a vaccination program against polio, diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis began, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was created to advise the U.S. government on vaccinati...

If people are interested in learning about the ACIP and its decades of contributions to US vaccine policy successes, here’s a short 2014 piece I wrote in NEJM with Adel Mahmoud (timed with its 50th anniversary) www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Kennedy guts CDC's vaccine panel of independent experts The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices helps the agency make recommendations on who should get certain vaccines.

Kennedy does the thing he said for years he wanted to www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

RFK Jr has worked for more than a decade to sow distrust in vaccines. Despite his efforts, the vast majority of Americans still support vaccines and follow federal guidance. Secretary Kennedy’s decision to remove ACIP members is another act in his crusade to prevent Americans from getting vaccines.

"Per the June 9, 2025 directive from the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this email serves as formal notice of your immediate termination as a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). We appreciate your prior service and commitment," read an email to one committee member from the CDC. "This is horrifying," a CDC official said of Kennedy's move.

This evening, a member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices told us they received "formal notice of your immediate termination"

"This is horrifying," a CDC official said of Secy Kennedy's move

www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-...

What are we doing here?

Here Are the Nearly 2,500 Medical Research Grants Canceled or Delayed by Trump (Gift Article) Some cuts have been starkly visible, but the country’s medical grant-making machinery has also radically transformed outside the public eye.

New powerful article up in the New York Times on cancelled and delayed grants

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Rolling clinical and epi updates for #mpox data from #SierraLeone. Watch for updated versions as additional data becomes available. Heartfelt thanks to our local colleagues in-country led by Dr. Jia Kangbai

t.co/D9QosVP1Bq

NIH grant cuts will axe clinical trials abroad — and could leave thousands without care US agency’s new policy could abruptly end studies of infectious diseases and cancer, leaving researchers scrambling for funds.

Researcher Amita Gupta has spent more than a decade planning and running a $70-million trial to study a new tuberculosis drug, enrolling ~6,000 participants in 13 countries. It might all have been for nothing.

That's because a new NIH policy has abruptly cut off billions to trials abroad. 🧪

I’m sure it will be rolled out perfectly and error free

/s #MedSky

"'It’s a total shit show,' one agency staffer told Important Context, explaining that Bhattacharya seemed unaware of how NIH operated when he arrived. They said he had been promising reforms that were already part of the agency’s work."

Here's the NIH's proposed budget - from $48 billion to $27 billion. NIAID, current ~$7 billion cut to ~$4.2 billion.

The proposed 15% cap on indirect costs remains.

Again, these budgets are passed, and our leadership in science, technology, and innovation is gone.

www.hhs.gov/sites/defaul...

In 1 month, BEACON has already reported 181 disease events & 381 individual reports.

We're excited to announce that starting June 2nd, BEACON will be sending a free Weekly Disease Event Digest on Mondays to help you stay informed about emerging threats globally. Sign up below!

Medical Research Funding — Unbreaking How the administration is breaking the government, and what that means for all of us.

I urge everyone to read Unbreaking’s new page on everything the govt is doing to destroy & diminish medical research funding.

It’s the best thing I’ve read on this topic: @lizneeley.bsky.social & co have such done an incredible job.

unbreaking.org/issues/medic...

White House Health Report Included Fake Citations

Gold standard science

Cutting the NIH—The $8 Trillion Health Care Catastrophe This JAMA Forum discusses the recent budget cuts to National Institutes of Health (NIH), the effects of these cuts on scientific research and health of individuals in the US, and the prospects for cha...

"Our calculations suggest that the proposed budgetary cuts to the NIH will create a social cost that is 16 times greater than the savings that the administration is attempting to achieve."
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Who knew that “Do your own research” meant “Have ChatGPT hallucinate references”

Got an idea for a short course you'd like to see at the #ENAR2026 meeting? Submit your proposal by June 6! 📚

And here’s the write-up with early findings and conclusions.

Phenomenal work!

(Note, all sequencing, analyses, response, etc. done locally!)

virological.org/t/genomic-ep...

A Harvard scientist built a database of 2,100 NIH grant terminations. Then his own funding was cut Harvard's Scott Delaney helped build a database of NIH grant terminations that is being used in litigation against the Trump administration.

$9.5 billion of biomedical research support, 2,100 grants, have already been terminated at NIH
www.statnews.com/2025/05/27/n...