Nina Friedman

Civil Servants Demand: Impeach Russell Vought The Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought is the central architect driving the destruction of your government. Russell Vought created lawlessness in every part of the Trump administ...

I know, it's across the government. And it's awful.

That's why we need to impeach the mastermind behind much of it! actionnetwork.org/forms/civil-...

Current NIH leadership want you to think they are using rigorous, consistent & scientific processes to screen studies to align them with agency priorities.

But the process that they have put down on paper is a sham.

It’s important to know NIH is not following its own guidance. Here’s why:

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NIH reneges on recognizing union for early career researchers The biomedical research agency says trainees in its labs are not “employees”

NIH sent notice this week that it will no longer recognize a union of early career researchers on the basis that trainees aren't "employees." My latest for @science.org.

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

NIH Says It Will No Longer Recognize the Research Fellows’ Union NIH leadership said the union “should never have been certified,” in an email to the union’s leadership.

NIH leadership wants to strip worker's rights from the majority of scientists on its campuses.

But, the NIH does not get to say whether we are a union or not. We do, and we are no strangers to having to fight for our union. Time for a short history lesson. 1/n

Disclaimer: all views are my own.

Shoutout to @27unihted.bsky.social for all their advocacy on the SBIR/STTR program.

Great news! Congratulations to @27unihted.bsky.social for leading a big push that helped get this done. And to the many others who advocated for this important program.

35! Floor 1, west entrance

NIH Exhibition | Dawn Hunter Art ® Visit the NIH's unique exhibit honoring Cajal. The exhibit juxtaposes Cajal's original scientific drawings with Dawn Hunter's artwork inspired by him.

www.dawnhunterart.com/nih-exhibition

Until now! Thrilled to see we are back in action. Proud to say the 3D printed images are DEIA, after so much campus art celebrating NIH diversity has been removed and altered.

We have a rotating exhibit of Cajal drawings at NIH. Along with the drawings, a 3D printed model of the image is printed to make Cajal’s work accessible.

I was invited to write captions for the images with a group of NIH neuroscientists but our last contribution, from Dec. 2024, never went up.

Wild.

Another thing that stood out to me: Cunhate Na Bangna, the ex-President of the Guinea-Bissau ethics committee, was unaware of documents approving the study that listed his name next to someone else’s signature. He resigned from the committee years ago.

Corruption & fraud across continents.

Its kind of wild to watch academic publishing collapsing in real time and the wheels of the system (journals, tenure & promotion committees, etc) just keep moving as tho publishing more and chasing high impact factor journals is gonna help science and society.

(Below is not an outlier situation)

Hey all! Thanks for the follow and thanks for organizing the starter pack @tyk314.net. I’m not on here much, so I’ll do a summary…

Here is a paper I’m reading:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Here is a policy I care about:
unitedforcures.org/united-for-c...

Here is me and a nice dog I know:

"without fear or favor"
"Public service sometimes requires standing firm in the face of threats".
#standfirm #NIHknows

Thank you to my friend who Door Dashed me the beer.

I know a lot of you on here are hyper motivated. Here is one incredibly lazy, indulgent thing you can do for yourself or someone you love.

Logging back on to Blusky to announce that I found out you can Door Dash beer! A lot of things right now are difficult, but receiving beer to your home is not.

Jay Bhattacharya as the Grinch, in the style of Dr Seuss's Grinch book cover

You’re a mean one, Mr. Jay You’re as honest as a thief You claim that every scientist can say what they believe But when they really do it, BAM—administrative leave!

You’re a monster, Mr. Jay You’re a spineless, shameless creep You claim that there are no banned words, and speech is truly free Except of course for “women,” “racial,” and “minority”

You’re a foul one, Mr. Jay And you’re always MIA While the rest of us are struggling, you go off to romp and play Chatting with Steve Bannon, you’ll go down as “Podcast Jay”

Here's hoping that the hearts of Jay Bhattacharya — and all other members of the Trump Administration — grow three sizes this Christmas.

Merry Christmas 🎄🧪! Here's a video I made of the predicted structure for the protein MERRYCHRISTMAS. I used AlphaFold to predict the structure and then colored the backbone (green), amino acids by index (rainbow), and noncovalent interactions (dotted lines). #sciart #science #MolBio

An 🧪 #NIH peer review scientist was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2009. Stalling of clinical trials slows down the development of new drugs. New patients won't be enrolled. Patients already undergoing treatment are put on hold. The cuts affect future patients.

via @savehealthresearch on IG

Zara Weinberg passed away earlier this week. She joined my lab earlier this year when her postdoc lab formally closed.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.

📣📣📣 CALL TO ACTION - 🚨 🚨🚨

A thread on how you can join a growing chorus of federal workers and members of the public pressuring Congress to embrace its power and end the authoritarian takeover #FightingCR

Took leave this afternoon to deliver a letter from nearly 900 (and growing) current and former Feds asking Congress to pass a continuing resolution that ends executive overreach and protects the American people.

Join us! Feds and fed allies welcomed to sign. actionnetwork.org/forms/civil-...

The open show of resistance from FEMA employees is the latest example of federal employees speaking out against the Trump administration’s actions and policies, in many cases putting their jobs and safety at risk. Described as the “Bethesda Declaration” movement, named for the Maryland city where the National Institutes of Health is headquartered, it began in June when NIH employees issued a letter modeled after Director Jay Bhattacharya’s dissent against the government’s covid policies in 2020. Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA and the National Science Foundation followed suit.

/fin

In letter, FEMA staff warn Trump officials’ actions risk Katrina-level disaster About 150 FEMA employees signed a letter to Congress arguing current agency leadership has eroded and hindered the ability to effectively manage emergencies.

Washington Post story about the Katrina Declaration

[Gift link]

wapo.st/4mu7HfL

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bsky.app/profile/jere... thanks for creating this, @jeremymberg.bsky.social

Word cloud highlighting words found in titles of cancelled MOSAIC NIH grants.

NIH Director (my boss’s, boss’s, boss), Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya has a choice. Support exemplary early-career researchers studying the topics listed in this word cloud. Or not.

Tell the Supreme Court: No Stay. Hands off NIH The Supreme Court is poised to allow Trump to illegally terminate NIH grants. Let's speak out. There is not much time.

The Supreme Court is reviewing a vitally important NIH case on its shadow docket.

It is likely that the Court will back Trump, and say his (illegal) grant terminations are ok.

We must speak up now.
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How Many Times Can Science Funding Be Canceled? Whether or not Congress cuts NIH’s budget, the Trump administration has devastated its ability to operate.

Here's a great piece on how hard NIH extramural staff are working to get grants out to PIs. A huge thank you to all the heroic extramural staff who are working day and night to support great science under awful conditions!

Love the photos from @nihvigils.bsky.social on here. Congrats on the launch!