Shruti Naik

Scientists’ role in defending democracy The United States’ democratic leadership, commitment to freedom of expression, and investment in the pursuit of knowledge have long enabled its preeminence in science and technology. Yet today we are ...

My new @science.org editorial on the role of scientists in defending democracy is out today. As authoritarianism takes hold in the US, we must fight for the democratic principles that enable a free society and scientists have a key role. I hope you'll join us.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The books arrived!

The new books arrived, looking great! @michaelemann.bsky.social @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social @publicaffairs1796.bsky.social

Gorgeous study exploring the rules of Trm formation and maintenance from @anandasabapathylab.bsky.social . Glad our lab could be part on this important effort!

Primate retroelement exonization and sexually dimorphic IL13RA1 transcription tune type 2 immune responses Co-option of primate-specific retroelements creates an alternative IL-13Rα1 subunit that tunes type 2 immune responses.

Amazing paper. The under appreciated influence of retroelements on immune function. www.science.org/doi/full/10....

Congrats, very cool

Asma Farhat Asma Farhat on Simons Foundation

Congrats to superstar @asmafarhat.bsky.social for being selected as a Simons Postdoctoral fellow to study how inflammation impacts sensory development and function in the Naik lab and Allen Discovery Center. @simonsfoundation.org @sinaiimmuno.bsky.social
www.simonsfoundation.org/people/asma-...

Pillars @jimmunol.bsky.social
Gene-specific regulation of inflammation via TLR-induced chromatin modifications @drshrutinaik.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/jimmunol/adv...
highlighting @rmedzhitov.bsky.social @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/nat...

“Pretty much wherever you are, you’re probably less than 30 minutes away from your closest No Kings event.” - @leahgreenberg.bsky.social with @democracynow.org

We hope to see you at your local #NoKings Day mobilization on Saturday: www.nokings.org?SQF_SOURCE=i...

Very proud of Kate Gaines, Filadelfia Tadjibaeva and Jack Major for their fantastic presentations at the @sinaiimmuno.bsky.social IBD retreat and Neuroimmune ADC Trainee retreat #superstars #Naiklab

A Decade-Long Search for a Battery That Can End the Gasoline Era

The administration’s attacks on universities will kill precisely this kind of innovation. The kind that comes from talented people coming to study in the US and building a life and contributing to the economy here. In the future these discoveries will happen elsewhere
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/b...

Beyond the lab: trust, storytelling and the fight for America’s attention - Nature Reviews Immunology Shruti Naik, an immunologist and a strong advocate for diversity in science, has joined forces with Aaron Mertz, who leads programmes that help to explain, connect and maximize the benefits of science...

Beyond the lab: trust, storytelling and the fight for America’s attention

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

@drshrutinaik.bsky.social and Aaron Mertz

Thank you sir!

Beyond the lab: trust, storytelling and the fight for America's attention- by Aaron Mertz and yours truly.

Only 23% of Americans now say they trust scientists a lot.
This isn’t just a PR problem — it’s a national crisis.
Lives, cures, and the future of science are at stake.
We need real stories. Real people. Real connection. Every scientist is an ambassador now.

Beyond the lab: trust, storytelling and the fight for America’s attention - Nature Reviews Immunology Shruti Naik, an immunologist and a strong advocate for diversity in science, has joined forces with Aaron Mertz, who leads programmes that help to explain, connect and maximize the benefits of science...

Misinformation is winning not because it's true, but because it’s loud, emotional, and everywhere.
It’s time for science to fight back. Aaron Mertz and I dissect the issue and offer solutions 👇
📖 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#SciComm @sinaiimmuno.bsky.social @aspeninstitute.bsky.social

HAPPENING TODAY AT 10:30 EST!!! United States Senate Committee on Appropriations discussion on biomedical research #stayinformed

25 million deaths: what could happen if the US ends global health funding Models estimate the ginormous potential impact of foreign-aid cuts.

~25 million lost lives, 2025-2040
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Biomedical Research: Keeping America’s Edge in Innovation | United States Senate Committee on Appropriations United States Senate Committee on Appropriations

APRIL 30th Senate session to discuss NIH funding cuts and biomedical research in America. Mark your calendars and call your senetors!!! www.appropriations.senate.gov/hearings/bio...

Congrats to superstar Joe Daccache on his NIH F31 NOA! He aims to define tissue-wide disease memory in inflammatory conditions to develop next-generation therapies. #Naiklab #Ruggleslab @sinaiimmuno.bsky.social

Election Preview: Wisconsin and Florida Edition Elon Musk is trying to buy a state Supreme Court seat and prevent a Democratic House upset

Tomorrow, April 1, is Election Day in Wisconsin and Florida, and don’t be fooled: the stakes could not be higher. Luckily, Team Big Picture is here with all you need to stay informed.

Just in NIH grants, It looks like beautiful Iowa City, home of the U of Iowa, will lose $71m in funding. That's almost $1k per resident. And that's before all the other cuts to SSA, FDA, etc.

Anyone in Iowa City that can offer more insight?
scienceimpacts.org
H/T to Prathima !

Today was yet another sad day for science. All U-RISE training programs, including the one at SJSU, got stop work orders. We've had a version of this program at SJSU for 30+ yrs. Devastating for the students who got their stipends & tuition pulled w no notice & for the future of science 🧪 1/

This is an understatement. We have already lost our scientific edge. Mass personnel cuts, lost grant support, gutting of pipeline programs, and the uncertainty about the future has already impacted our competitiveness and future generations of scientists. We just don’t see it yet. But we will.

This discovery work done by university scientists NOT pharma. No NIH=No new therapies.

Taking away NIH funding when so many breakthroughs are with our reach, is short cited and will diminish America’s global lead in biomedicine!

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

GM-CSF–mediated epithelial-immune cell cross-talk orchestrates pulmonary immunity to Aspergillus fumigatus During mold infection, epithelial-derived GM-CSF licenses neutrophil killing of fungal cells, leading to improved survival.

So happy to see this story come together. Check it out! Kathleen Mills and many collaborators - GM-CSF–mediated epithelial-immune cell cross-talk orchestrates pulmonary immunity to Aspergillus fumigatus | Science Immunology www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

NEW: Baldwin, Welch Announce Forum on Devastating Trump Cuts at NIH Jeopardizing Cures for Alzheimer’s Disease, Cancers | U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Peter Welch (D-VT) announced that...

www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-r...

Trump is seeking to deport another graduate student who is legally in the country, lawsuit says Badar Khan Suri, a fellow at Georgetown, says he is being punished because of the suspected views of his wife, a U.S. citizen with Palestinian heritage.

SCOOP: Hooded ICE agents snatched Indian-born Georgetown postdoc Badar Suri from Rosslyn street Monday, per court filing. Like Khalil, linked to pro-Palestinian views & Rubio 'foreign policy' power, lawyer says. Then whisked to Louisiana. w/ @kyledcheney www.politico.com/news/2025/03...

At NIH, ‘everyone is on edge’ as they brace for deep cuts and more centralized control As the NIH braces for cuts of up to 5,000 of its 20,000 positions, “people are scrambling and freaking out,” a researcher said.

NIH “is expected to cut between 3,400 and 5,000 positions from its workforce of 20,000 in coming days.” Story by @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2025/03/14/n...

Incredible science possibilities why I became a biologist

biologylife.substack.com/p/incredible...