Victor DeFilippis

Pfizer responds to Trump’s call for Covid-19 vaccine data, says Operation Warp Speed deserves Nobel Peace Prize | CNN In response to a call from President Donald Trump to make the positive impact of Covid-19 vaccines public, drug giant Pfizer posted a collection of more than 200 press releases and statements and 27 p...

Pfizer clearly employs an elite PR team.

“In 1900, 30 percent of all deaths in the United States occurred among children younger than 5, mostly because of preventable infectious diseases. By the end of the century, that number was just 1.4 percent.” #VaccinesWork #VaccinesSaveLives #ACIP

Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.  Purpose.

www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Jeffrey Taubenberger is the new head of NIAID and is literally famous for research that violated this executive order.

X coming to Portland in November

‘Vaguely Threatening’: Federal Prosecutor Queries Leading Medical Journal The New England Journal of Medicine received a letter suggesting that it was biased and compromised by external pressure. Other journals have also received the letter.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/h...

Finland invests in research excellence – new funding call by Research Council of Finland to support recruitment of international talents The Research Council of Finland (RCF) has launched a funding call to improve universities’ ability to recruit international experts to Finland. In line with the RCF’s strategy, the call wi...

Are you a professor or assistant professor level researcher in the US or elsewhere outside of Finland? Looking for new opportunities in an inspiring and well-connected research environment? Finland might be just the place for you.

Reach out to Finnish universities to explore what’s possible.

A call for the United States to continue investing in science | Journal of Virology The U.S. life science research mission is critical not only to human health and understanding the natural world but also to agriculture and food production, technological innovations, socioeconomic progress, and our national defense and leadership worldwide. A 2025 Research!America survey reveals that 92% of Americans want government to actively work to promote medical progress, in part by funding infectious and chronic disease research. Why? Because biomedical research saves lives, prevents suffering, and increases quality of life for not only Americans but for people throughout the world. While less well appreciated, science also drives enormous economic growth. Indeed, historically there has been widespread bipartisan support for biomedical funding by the federal government. Below we discuss the U.S. scientific research enterprise and provide evidence and arguments we hope the ASM community can use to advocate for science.

journals.asm.org/doi/full/10....

I have read these e-mail notifications for many years. Horrifying does not even come close to describing the effect of this latest one.

So long, NIH. The place I grew up in and discovered my passion for science communication.

I found a true calling to help take innovative genomics research and make it accessible, interesting and fun for wider audiences.

I'm so devastated that my whole team got laid off today.

Studies terminated at NIH:
-On reducing asthma from mold
-On prenatal risks & screening
-On statins influence on dementia
-On the safety/risk of gender-affirming care
-On how Covid vax outcomes & disparities
-On improving HIV care
-Training programs for the next generation of scientists

From 2010 to 2016 (latest data I have ), NIH research contributed to EVERY drug approved by the FDA

Oregon researchers join nationwide rally against medical research cuts Scientists, researchers and students from several Oregon universities were among the crowd of more than 500 people rallying against federal directives threatening funding for scientific and medical re...

www.opb.org/article/2025...

NIH ban on renewing senior scientists adds to assaults on its in-house research Policy follows firings of tenure-track scientists and suspension of training programs

I have worked with many untenured staff scientists & PIs at NIH. They are incredible colleagues who chose science in public service over more lucrative careers. Devaluing their commitment & professionalism is among the most cruel aspects of the DOGE purge

www.science.org/content/arti...

Come join us! No excuses!!!

As of today, at least 73 study sections have not met. If they review 50 applications, plus 30 triaged, 10% funding rate = 8 grants per SS.

That's 584 fundable grants on hold. Probably 5000 researchers affected in those teams composed of our best and brightest.

SABOTAGE.

Opinion: Science funding cuts are based on flawed logic. Here’s the truth. Earlier this month, the National Institutes of Health issued supplemental guidance indicating it would immediately impose a 15% cap on indirect costs for research grants, an unprecedented and abrup…

OpEd by @scripps.edu Pres. Pete Shultz: "the consequences would extend beyond Scripps Research, threatening the broader San Diego life sciences ecosystem, which contributes over $27 billion to the regional economy and supports tens of thousands of jobs."
www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2025/02/25/o...

Graduate Reductions Across Biomedical Sciences (2025)

I created a brief spreadsheet of reductions I've heard of so far. Any additions you know of (especially if you have the links/receipts) would be great: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

“Many grad programs are pausing and reducing admissions in response to NIH funding pauses and pending EO’s on indirect cost reductions. These workforce reductions have the potential to imminently and irreversibly harm research labs & grad programs”

Excited to announce our next speaker Dr William de Souza who will be presenting work on virus transmission dynamics of #emerging #arboviruses NEXT THURSDAY.
Will be great to get some perspective from an up-and-coming investigator. PLEASE help with a repost for this community driven seminar series.

FDA Approves Journavx Drug to Treat Pain Without Addiction Risk The drug, Journavx by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, blocks pain signals to the brain, making it nonaddictive.

www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/h...

Yet another amazing story of many strands of basic investigation emerging out of our science ecosystem, yielding a new therapeutic class of non opiate analgesics.

I participated in a faculty panel a few weeks ago in which senior (ahem) faculty gave advice on careers in academia by pretending luck had very little to do with our success. One piece of advice riled me up, in which it was argued that a reason for their success was their ability to say no. 1/

Screenshot of X post, which reads: ""In the United States, COVID-19 genetic injections are estimated to have caused more deaths than American casualties in WWI and WWII combined. The death toll even rivals the scale of the Civil War. This is a profound national tragedy, and accountability is urgently warranted. @RobertKennedyJr

The generation of disinformation is easy. You make a graph, type something, and you are done.

Showing how wrong it is takes more time. This is an easy example. The graph is made up, but for some, it will not be clear why this is wrong and is dangerous disinformation.
1/7

40 years ago all of Genbank was published in print form by NAR. The same format today would require over 4 light seconds of shelf space. To a year of progress in 2025.

NIH funded research made important breakthroughs in 2024. Another reminder of why sustained funding for science and research is so vital. Of note 3 NIH funded scientists were recognized with the nobel prize. 5 top health related research highlights here
👇🏾
www.nih.gov/news-events/...