Baker Institute Science & Technology Policy at Rice University

Join us on Nov. 4, the Baker Institute welcomes astrophysicist and former NSF director, Dr. France Córdova for the inaugural Joni Sue Lane Lecture Series. Don’t miss this inspiring conversation on women in science & technology.
Register here: bit.ly/46MFxWS

Who Should Be Houstonian of the Year? The finalists are in—from Peter Hotez to Victoria Elizondo. Cast your vote for who deserves the title.

Check out Houstonia Mag Poll for Houstonian of the Year recognizing our senior fellow @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social. Vote for our vaccine hero!
www.houstoniamag.com/news-and-cit...

Make America Healthy Again? RFK Jr. and the Dangerous Vaccine-Autism Myth | Baker Institute Kirstin R.W. Matthews and Rekha Lakshmanan discuss recent policy developments under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., plus the persistent misinformation linking autism with vaccines.

Misinformation about vaccines endangers public health. Our experts, Dr. Kirstin Matthews and Rekha Lakshmanan, unpack RFK Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda and the persistent vaccine-autism myth.

Read more here: bit.ly/46YcmBo

Surgeon General nominee Casey Means discloses financial ties to supplement industry Casey Means, nominated for surgeon general, earned hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting supplements, per new financial disclosure statements.

New financial disclosures from Surgeon General nominee Casey Means show that she’s made hundreds of thousands of dollars promoting supplements and other health and wellness products. www.statnews.com/2025/09/16/c...

Antiscience Is an Existential Threat The ideologically-motivated assault on science threatens us all.

New Time article from @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social & @michaelemann.bsky.social - for more details read their book "Science Under Siege" time.com/7317436/scie...

How did assaults on science become the norm — and what can we do? An insightful book explores attacks on science from a historical and a personal perspective.

"How did assaults on science become the norm — and what can we do? An insightful book explores attacks on science from a historical and a personal perspective." | Great review of #ScienceUnderSiege by @gretchentg.bsky.social for @nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

YouTube video by LastWeekTonight Trump vs. Higher Education: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

📺Great episode of @lastweektonight.com with John Oliver on the negative consequences of defunding research and higher education institutions. And thanks 👏 for the clip of our Feb 2025 event at Rice! www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk94...

Restoring trust in science A pair of authors offer a “battle plan” for combating antiscience sentiment

📃 @science.org provides a review of @bakerinstitute.bsky.social fellow @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social & @michaelemann.bsky.social new book "Science Under Siege" saying "The text is a lovely interplay between history, data, and anecdote." Read more here: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Science Under Siege: A Conversation With Dr. Peter Hotez & Dr. Michael Mann | Baker Institute From pandemics to climate change, the world faces deeply interconnected and critical challenges. Yet efforts to confront these crises are increasingly obstructed by a powerful, organized force: rising...

📣 JOIN US: Today Online @ Noon CT for a discussion with @PeterHotez & @MichaelEMann on their new book "Science Under Siege" (www.bakerinstitute.org/event/scienc...) & Get a Copy: www.amazon.com/Science-Unde...

YouTube video by BakerInstitute Civic Scientist Lecture 2012 -- David Baltimore and Alice Huang

@stpolicy.bsky.social - was fortunate to host Dr. David Baltimore with his wife Dr. Alice Huang in 2012, recognizing them both for their work at #CivicScientists promoting science. He had a long and impactful career that spanned both research and public policy. #RIP
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-r6...

New COVID-19 Vaccine Restrictions and Their Impact | Baker Institute The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently authorized updated COVID-19 vaccines to protect against the latest strain. Unlike earlier rollouts, this authorization comes with added restrictions. In ...

📣FDA announced new COVID-19 vaccines with new restrictions. @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social commentary explains the impact & why evidence-based action is critical for public health. #VaccinePolicy #Sciencehttps://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/new-covid-19-vaccine-restrictions-and-their-impact

TOMORROW 📅 Join us as Dr. Emerson Perin & advocate & medical student, Micaela Alpert, explore regenerative medicine’s immense potential for treating disease and advancing research. Co-hosted with the Texas Heart Institute. Breakfast served @ 7:30am & panel starts @ 8:00am.

Register: bit.ly/4kRyKjx

Join us Sept. 5th as Dr. Emerson Perin and advocate and medical student, Micaela Alpert, explore regenerative medicine’s immense potential for treating disease and advancing research. Co-hosted with the Texas Heart Institute.

Register: bit.ly/4kRyKjx

Join us Sept. 5th as Dr. Emerson Perin and advocate and medical student, Micaela Alpert, explore regenerative medicine’s immense potential for treating disease and advancing research. Co-hosted with the Texas Heart Institute.

Register: bit.ly/4kRyKjx

Join us THIS Wednesday, Aug. 27 @ 3pm. @bakerinstitute.bsky.social with @stpolicy.bsky.social will host U.S. Rep. Dr. Brian Babin (R-TX36). Babin will explore how the US remains at the forefront of space exploration & scientific advancement.

Join us Fri, Sept 5, 7:30am @ James A. Baker Hall for “Science at Risk: Funding the Future of Medical Innovation” ft. Dr. Emerson Perin & medical student, Micaela Alpert. Dive into regenerative medicine, funding challenges, & streamlined regulation. Register: www.bakerinstitute.org/event/scienc...

Save the Date! Sept. 9 @ 12pm. @bakerinstitute.bsky.social with @stpolicy.bsky.social will host Drs. @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social & @michaelemann.bsky.social to discuss their new book, "Science Under Seige". Come hungry, lunch will be served!

Register here: www.bakerinstitute.org/event/scienc...

See why Dr. Moshe Vardi believes computer science education must go beyond coding—equipping students to shape technology responsibly—in his latest article, here: www.bakerinstitute.org/research/i-t...

#CS #ScienceAndTechPolicy

Join us Fri, Sept 5, 7:30am @ James A. Baker Hall for “Science at Risk: Funding the Future of Medical Innovation” ft. Dr. Emerson Perin & medical student, Micaela Alpert. Dive into regenerative medicine, funding challenges, & streamlined regulation. Register: www.bakerinstitute.org/event/scienc...

Save the Date! Aug. 27 @ 3pm. @bakerinstitute.bsky.social with @stpolicy.bsky.social will host U.S. Rep. Dr. Brian Babin (R-TX36). Babin will explore how the US remains at the forefront of space exploration & scientific advancement.

Register here: www.bakerinstitute.org/event/future...

NEH Announces $34.79 Million for 97 Humanities Projects Grant awards support Founding Era papers projects, exhibitions and media, professional development opportunities for teachers, and the preservation of important humanities collections

So excited to announce that ST Policy Fellow Kirstin Matthews is a part of a new NEH Rice-BCM center to study AI use in health care with Rice professor Ostherr and BCM faculty Rahimdahez, McGuire and Kostick-Quenet See Announcement here: www.neh.gov/news/neh-ann...

AI in Health Conference | The Ken Kennedy Institute The AI in Health Conference will take place in Houston, home of the largest medical center in the world — the Texas Medical Center. Join us to connect with and learn from researchers, engineers, clini...

How is AI shaping the future of healthcare—and how should policy respond? The S&T program is a proud sponsor of the AI in Health Conference happening on September 22-24, 2025 at Rice University's Bioscience Research Collaborative (BRC).

🔗 Register here: www.aihealthconference.com

This is how to have difficult conversations with vaccine sceptics

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Mission for American Health Misses the Mark | Baker Institute In this commentary, experts Rekha Lakshmanan and Kirstin R.W. Matthews along with coauthor Elizabeth Chen examine the implications of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s replacement of the U.S. vaccine advisory p...

Originally titled "RFK and ACIP: This Ain't Maha" read our latest article written by Dr. Kirstin Matthews & Rekha Lakshmanan of how Robert F. Kennedy dismisses all 17 members of the Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices (ACIP) here: www.bakerinstitute.org/research/rob...

NEW: NSF will be kicked out of their building. Announcement will be made tomorrow by HUD Sec. and Governor of VA. HUD will take over the NSF building over the next two years.

NSF staffer: "There is no planning for NSF, no identified future location, appropriation for a new building or a move."

Opinion | Trump is undermining U.S. science. Here’s why that’s dangerous. Science has played a crucial role in making the United States great and powerful.

S&T Senior Fellow Neal Lane coauthors a @washingtonpost.com op-ed about the future of science Read here: www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Congrats @caulfieldtim.bsky.social - we all look forward to seeing your new research on #stemcells, #wellness #influencers and #scienceplotation. This work is really needed now to determine how to combat the wealth of misinformation we're seeing now.
stemcellnetwork.ca/research/res...

Shattered Science: The Research Lost as Trump Targets NIH Funding The Trump administration cut research funding that sought cures for future pandemics, examined the causes of dementia and tried to prevent HIV transmission. More than 150 researchers shared with ProPu...

Great ProPublica story about the impact of NIH cuts on research, scientists and therapies. projects.propublica.org/nih-cuts-res...

Trends in County-Level MMR Vaccination Coverage in Children in the United States This study examines county-level vaccination rates for children from 2017 to 2024 for all US states.

As vaccine rates go down (due to myths and misinformation), disease incidents go up. But Texas decided to make it easier to avoid MMR vaccines instead of protecting children.🤷‍♀️ jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

‘Corrupt’ medical journals have to change, RFK Jr. says, or the NIH will publish in-house The criticism of The Lancet, NEJM and JAMA is not new, but the health secretary may use his position to influence research that journals publish.

RFK, Jr decides that government journals are better than peer-reviewed journal publications: ‘Corrupt’ medical journals have to change, RFK Jr. says, or the NIH will publish in-house www.statnews.com/2025/05/27/r... via @statnews.com