Helen Piontkivska

A quick update re NIH and NSF terminated grant tracking:

Grant Watch has a new name!

We're now called **Grant Witness**

You can find us at grant-witness.us

Please update your bookmarks and spread the word! 🙏

(And no, this wasn't our preference, but trademarks are a thing. 🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️)

Recycling an old twitter thread for #ASV2025:

Heading to #ASV2023. One of my favorite meetings in virology.

My new students asked me for some tips on how to approach the meeting, so I thought I’d share some thoughts on scientific networking

@saramostafavi.bsky.social (@Genentech) & I (@Stanford) r excited to announce co-advised postdoc positions for candidates with deep expertise in ML for bio (especially sequence to function models, causal perturbational models & single cell models). See details below. Pls RT 1/

🚨 New paper 🚨 RNA modeling just got its own Gym! 🏋️ Introducing RNAGym, large-scale benchmarks for RNA fitness and structure prediction.
🧵 1/9

My office and government relations co-organized "Hopkins on the Hill", which allowed our researchers to present their federally funded programs to lawmakers, staffers, and agencies...and hopefully figure scientists and engineers.

Huge success!

More here: hub.jhu.edu/gallery/2025...

I got the opportunity to speak with Science about my individual research fellowship being terminated. I was awarded the NSF GRFP before I chose Harvard for graduate school, but I still got cut. I study how we can improve treatments for a common antibiotic resistant bacteria, so this is sad to see

Home | House Committee on Science, Space and Technology The House Committee on Science, Space and Technology

Great question! Indeed, this has the link to the form at the top, democrats-science.house.gov

The Mesquite icon shown, as a Mesquite leaf against a black background, and as a leave against the sun and a blue sky.

Mesquite 4 beta released! Many new features, esp. phylogenomic. Check out the trailer and longer video on the home page: www.mesquiteproject.org, and use the download link there to get a copy.

Feedback welcome! Ask and discuss on our new Google Group (groups.google.com/g/mesquite-p...).

SaveNSF is a coalition of concerned scientists and allies who are working to save funding for scientific grants through the NSF.

The mission is to support and advocate for the continuation of vital research and innovation.

Join: www.savensf.com

Join the conversation with incoming SSE President! Have thoughts about the future of evolutionary biology? Want to provide feedback on how the Society for the Study of Evolution can best serve its members? Join one of our guided chats with SSE President-Elect Regina Baucom! Upcoming Sessions: 4/4, 4/11, 4/25, 5/2, 5/23, 5/30 Where: Zoom (link provided upon RSVP) Who: SSE members of all career stages Topics include: Vision for SSE's future How SSE can best advocate for evolutionary biologists Ways to get involved in SSE, build community, & network! RSPV Now! https://forms.gle/ef6adb9rtUTHVoPv8

Are you a member of the Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE)? I'm holding zoom chats during which I will get your feedback and thoughts about what the society can do for you and for the field! Everyone is welcome to join -- sign up for a time and pls RT this!!

US map via scienceimpacts.org visualization of economic loss due to IDC cuts to 15% as part of Feb 7, 2025 executive order, with shading denoting intensity of cuts.

Working with an interdisciplinary team, we have developed a website to communicate how the White House's proposed cuts to health research would cause losses of $16B and 68,500 jobs.

Find out how your community may be impacted.

Explore more at SCIMaP: scienceimpacts.org

a 🧵

📣 Across the U.S., cuts to federal funding for health research are projected to cause losses of $16B and 68,500 jobs. How will YOUR area be impacted?

Excited to share SCIMaP, a website that our team has created to communicate the impact of funding cuts. #PsychSciSky #MedicalSky

scienceimpacts.org

Web.archive version web.archive.org/web/20250303...

YouTube video by Senator Marco Rubio Rubio Delivers Senate Floor Speech On The Crisis in Ukraine

Full speech www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFqv...
CC: @tderyugina.bsky.social

The Marco Rubio of 2025 seems to have amnesia about who is at fault here. Perhaps he should listen to his past self.

NSF fact sheet

The National Science Foundation benefits communities in every state.

Screen shot of the article

YouTube video by Association of American Universities Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs Explainer

Make sure you, your trainees, and anyone else who might listen to you understands what "indirects" actually are, how they are established, and what Universities contribute. H/T @rodallab.bsky.social

Please share widely!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxTD...

🧪 A $4B cut to to NIH funding will have a seismic impact on science & medicine in the US. What's at stake? Our competitive edge in biomedical innovation, access to high quality health care (including for kids w/cancer), local economies...It's a big deal. My latest
@opinion.bloomberg.com (🎁 link):

How are NIH dollars at work locally? Last week, President Donald Trump's administration Trump announced a federal grants and loans freeze, which his administration reversed less than 24 hours later.

Ashland Source ran a great piece this weekend on the importance of NIH funding in our area and for our undergraduate students #R15 #PUI www.ashlandsource.com/2025/02/02/t...

Hey @cleveland.com, want to highlight how important NIH funding is to northeast Ohio? I run an NIH funded lab at CWRU and would be happy to chat and connect you with folks who can speak to how NIH funds deliver vital health and economic benefits for our area

If you have been affected by the fires in LA, or are concerned about your ability to keep precious Drosophila strains going during the latest funding crisis, we will host your strains as a backup. Please email me.

Please amplify. If you are also able to host fly strains, add your name as well.

GLBIO 2025 deadlines coming up #ISCB #bioinformatics #genomics

Oh, @hormiga.bsky.social Am thinking of you all ❤️🤞 stay safe!

Genome Biology and Evolution is excited to now be on Bluesky. Please help us by recommending accounts and feeds for us to follow!

Ecology-Evolution scientific societies on Bluesky:

ESEB: @eseb.bsky.social
SSE: @sse-evolution.bsky.social
ASN: @asn-amnat.bsky.social
SMBE: @official-smbe.bsky.social
BES: @britishecolsoc.bsky.social
CSEE-SCEE: @csee-scee.bsky.social
and joining us today, welcome!:
SFE2: @sfecologie.bsky.social

@urnov.bsky.social DOi link doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...

We are delighted to announce that Québec City (Canada) has been selected to host our annual conference in 2027. The meeting will be held from June 20 to 24, 2027, at the Québec City Convention Centre. We are looking forward to hosting you in 2027.

See smbe/org news items for details

#smbe2027

Not sure which of the 60+ data, stats, and ml starter packs to start with?

I combined them all and ranked people by how many packs and how many distinct topics they appeared in.

These are the 149 people on Bluesky with the broadest importance across quant communities in November, 2024.