anil oza

You can read our coverage here:

bsky.app/profile/anil...

I enjoyed stopping by @wgbh.org this afternoon to talk about this week's study on the effects of removing race from eGFR on transplant rates

White House says it’s ‘done’ with vaccines. MAHA begs to differ As Trump political advisers try to move on from vaccine policy debates, MAHA movement insiders push back, calling RFK Jr. supporters vital to GOP's success.

White House official to @statnews.com: "We’re just kind of done with the vaccine issue."

MAHA: Not that easy.

Smart story from @danielpayne.bsky.social @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social

www.statnews.com/2026/03/13/t...

Scientists/science writers I found in Grammarly's 'expert review' system: David Spiegelhalter, Ivan Oransky, Mary Roach, Rebecca Skloot, Ed Yong, Melinda Wenner Moyer, Deborah Blum, Tom Knight, Michael E Mann, Corinne Le Quere. [pic: results of 5 trials w/ free burner acct]. No doubt many more.

Leucovorin lacks evidence to use as autism treatment, FDA says The FDA approves leucovorin for a rare brain disorder while retreating from top officials’ earlier insistence that it could benefit many children with autism.

News: Federal health officials are retreating from earlier endorsement of leucovorin as a drug that can treat autism.

www.statnews.com/2026/03/10/f...

Removing race from kidney function algorithm helped more Black patients access transplants Removing race from the eGFR had a big impact, resulting in 5.3 more kidney transplants per 1000 Black candidates.

Amazing to see the change that can be possible to reduce longstanding racial health disparities. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽Story by @aniloza.bsky.social Comments from @thenephrologist.bsky.social whttps://www.statnews.com/2026/03/10/kidney-transplants-black-americans-race-based-test-discarded/ via @statnews.com

Removing race from kidney function algorithm helped more Black patients access transplants Removing race from the eGFR had a big impact, resulting in 5.3 more kidney transplants per 1000 Black candidates.

A long-used medical test underestimated the severity of kidney disease in Black patients. New study says with the bias removed, transplant rates are up. www.statnews.com/2026/03/10/k...

Inside the bruising battle to purge race from a kidney disease calculator Kidney specialists now acknowledge millions of Black patients may have been undertreated and even denied transplants because of a race-adjusted test.

and if you haven't read this backstory on the messy, contentious fight to remove race from eGFR by @usha.bsky.social & @katiepalmer.bsky.social, you really should

www.statnews.com/2024/09/05/e...

Removing race from kidney function algorithm helped more Black patients access transplants Removing race from the eGFR had a big impact, resulting in 5.3 more kidney transplants per 1000 Black candidates.

New paper by @rohankhaz.bsky.social and co. shows using race neutral equations — and modifying wait times for Black transplant candidates — had its intended effect

Read more about the paper, and what more could be done here ft. @thenephrologist.bsky.social:

www.statnews.com/2026/03/10/k...

How Congress can restore the independence of US science Members must go beyond reinstating US government research spending and re-establish decentralized governance at the National Institutes of Health and other agencies.

In a new piece in Nature, @markhisted.org and I cut through the chaos at NIH and argue that what is really at issue is a shift in how we govern science—away from power sharing with scientists, Congress, and civil servants and toward presidential consolidation.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

NIH's upcoming webinars on their 2027-2031 strategic plans filled up — so they've increased capacity

Will be interesting to see how much time is allotted to answer questions

A Reporter in Nashville, Detained by ICE Estefany Rodríguez, a journalist for a Spanish-language outlet, was covering immigration raids. The next day, agents arrested her without a warrant.

Estefany Rodríguez, a reporter for a Spanish-language outlet in Nashville, was covering immigration raids. The next day, ICE agents arrested her without a warrant. Read Carolina Abbott Galvão. www.cjr.org/analysis/est...

stand up* for science ... not auto 🤦

Trump's first term birthed the March for Science. Where are the science activists now? Eight years after the first March for Science, there are no plans for another march at the dawn of a second Trump administration

as Colette says in our Q&A, there’s a lot of comparisons drawn with the 2017 March for Science — if you’d like to read more about their trajectory, we wrote about it here:

www.statnews.com/2025/01/31/t...

How Stand Up For Science is trying to 'pull every lever' to win over the public Stand Up For Science has become a formal organization and adopted a new strategy that's more confrontational with grassroots tactics

it feels like decades since the first Stand auto for Science protests

ahead of this year’s protests tomorrow, I caught up with @cdelawalla.bsky.social to talk about what @standupforscience.bsky.social sees as its strategy as a fully formed organization

www.statnews.com/2026/03/06/s...

How Stand Up For Science is trying to 'pull every lever' to win over the public Stand Up For Science has become a formal organization and adopted a new strategy that's more confrontational with grassroots tactics

Thank you, @aniloza.bsky.social for covering @standupforscience.bsky.social since it's inception!

www.statnews.com/2026/03/06/s...

link: www.annenbergpublicpolicycenter.org/stark-divide...

when we wrote about this pew data on trust in science came out, some outside experts wished pew had data on figures in the current admin

this @appc.upenn.edu survey released today has data comparing trust in several professional societies, agencies, and officials

RFK Jr. has wide discretion to choose evidence to support vaccine decisions, DOJ argues A Justice Department lawyer argued that the HHS secretary has broad discretion to issue vaccine guidance and choose what evidence to consider

If he wanted to, could RFK Jr. call on Americans to maximize their exposure to measles in a bid to reach herd immunity? Hypothetically speaking, yes, DOJ attorneys argue.

A federal judge's inquiry gets at an interesting question on public health policy.

www.statnews.com/2026/03/04/k...

you’ve got a lot of anils on staff, huh

RFK Jr. has wide discretion to choose evidence to support vaccine decisions, DOJ argues A Justice Department lawyer argued that the HHS secretary has broad discretion to issue vaccine guidance and choose what evidence to consider

~hypothetically~ if RFK encouraged people to get measles, would that be subject to review from a court?

today a DOJ lawyer argued that it would not be — offering insight into the admin's thinking on its powers to remake public health policy

www.statnews.com/2026/03/04/k...

Slow Release Of Federal Science Funds Holds Up Research Podcast Episode · Science Friday · March 4 · 13m

Thanks @scifri.bsky.social for having me on to talk about federal research budgets. TLDL: Congress voted to reject the president's big science cuts, but the White House is slow to release those approved funds. 🧪

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...

RFK Jr. wants Dunkin’ to prove drinking its iced coffee is safe - The Boston Globe The warning comes as Kennedy is leaning heavily into his agenda to improve American diets.

RFK Jr. says he wants Dunkin’ to prove drinking its iced coffee is safe:
www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/04/n...

UnitedHealth promised transparency. Instead, it’s cutting back key disclosures UnitedHealth used to disclose more than 3,100 subsidiaries. Its latest annual reports shows just 10.

Last year, UnitedHealth Group disclosed 3,100 subsidiaries. This year? Just 10. The health care giant is paring back transparency right as its executives say they are embracing it. www.statnews.com/2026/03/04/u...

How Trump Keeps Withholding Money After Being Sued 198 Times Immigration demands for highway dollars, D.E.I. rules for homeless grants: Trump has tried to wield spending to get his way.

“Anyone in the country who relies on federal dollars is depending on the president to get that money ... And that’s a new thing.”

The times identified 198 cases where the administration's funding disruptions were challenged — and had little effect

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

NEW: The *Independent* Autism Coordinating Committee will hold its first meeting on March 19 — the same day that the newly-reformed federal body, the *Interagency* Autism Coordinating Committee, will meet.

What's this new group's goal? Read on.

www.statnews.com/2026/03/03/a...

2026 STAT Madness 2026 bracket Welcome to STAT Madness, a bracket-style contest to find the best innovation in science and medicine. Explore groundbreaking innovations from

It's time to VOTE!
#STATMadness is back! Our bracket-style contest to find the best innovation in science and medicine.
Help us crown a new champ! Vote now: www.statnews.com/feature/stat...

A titan of vaccine development sees his field’s achievements slip away Stanley Plotkin, the 93-year-old "godfather of vaccines," is watching his field’s achievements slip away.

A doozy of a quote in this profile of the "godfather of vaccines" by @helenbranswell.bsky.social, as he watches his field trend in the wrong direction

“All I can say is that I’m beginning to regret having lived so long — because we’re going downhill,”

www.statnews.com/2026/03/02/s...

White House stalls release of approved US science budgets The US Congress rejected sweeping cuts to science agencies. But the NIH, the NSF and NASA have had their spending slowed.

In our latest coverage of the Trump administration and federal science budgets, @maxkozlov.bsky.social @dangaristo.bsky.social & I wrote about how the White House is stalling the release of monies approved by Congress. TLDR: it's not how things normally work. 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

thank you for flagging — I am in the middle of listening!