The Ragusa Laboratory

Structure and activation of the human autophagy-initiating ULK1C:PI3KC3-C1 supercomplex Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Published online: 29 May 2025; doi:10.1038/s41594-025-01557-xAutophagy is initiated by the Unc-51-like kinase protein kinase complex (ULK1C) and class III phosphatidylinositol 3-OH kinase complex I (PI3KC3-C1). Here, the authors reveal the structure of the 2:1:1 core of ULK1C and its complex with PI3KC3-C1. ULK1C transitions to a 2:2:2 complex in the presence of PI3KC3-C1, suggesting a mechanism for autophagy induction.

ICYMI: New online: Structure and activation of the human autophagy-initiating ULK1C:PI3KC3-C1 supercomplex

Northwestern has not received any NIH funds since March. No written communication about why or what can be done. Thank you Ben Singer for raising awareness at #ATS2025

My ongoing request:

If your NSF or NIH grant was terminated--whether at Harvard or elsewhere--please report it here.

NSF: grant-watch.us/submit-nsf.h...

NIH: grant-watch.us/submit-nih.h...

Our trackers are actively used in lawsuits and are often the only record that terminations ever occurred.

As anticipated, the White House has officially requested an $18 billion cut to the FY2026 #NIH budget (among lots of other cuts). The full guidance from the White House to the appropriations committee is linked. NIH is on page 12. #braindrain #sciencexit

www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u...

In 100 days in office, US President Donald Trump has destabilized eight decades of government support for science.

This has included terminating more than 1,000 grants in areas such as climate change, cancer, and HIV prevention.

Will US science survive Trump 2.0?

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

Congratulations!!

Pallavi holding an award certificate.

Many congratulations to @pallavisgadgil.bsky.social for being awarded the Lucille Smith award for excellence in Biochemistry. This award is in honor of the memory of Dr. Lucille Smith. The first woman at Dartmouth to attain the rank of full professor!

the word alert is in a purple circle ALT: the word alert is in a purple circle

ACTION ITEM-----ACTION ITEM

Implementation of Schedule F

This is what a lot of us have been worried about.

This allows for many civil service positions to replaced with political appointees. This could include NIH institute directors and even POs.

BUT THERE IS A COMMENT PERIOD...

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UMass Chan Medical School lays off or furloughs about 200 employees after NIH funding shortfall - The Boston Globe The cuts come after the school saw a $30 million funding shortfall from long delays in funding new research grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Over 200 people laid off or furloughed on my campus due to ongoing uncertainty surrounding NIH funding. We can expect this number to grow. I warned people of this in an op-ed in February, but was told I was being alarmist.

www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/16/b...

NIH freezes all research grants to Columbia University Amid negotiations with Trump, the university could risk losing nearly $700 million

Exclusive: Weeks after President Donald Trump’s administration ordered NIH to pull $250 million in biomedical research grants to Columbia University, the agency is freezing all remaining grant money owed to the university until further notice. scim.ag/4if5Rg1

I have learned that the directors of ALL: PREP, IMSD, and IRACDA programs across the country have received similar cancelation notices. This follows previous cancellations of MARC and URISE programs. This further dismantles the mechanisms that enable scientific training opportunities for SO MANY.

Today I received notice that our IMSD T32 has been terminated. This program was the culmination of ~10 years of work we put into building our community. I don’t quite have the words. 💔

Dr. Richard Youle was fired today. He is an eminent scientist who has done important work on brain diseases like dementia and Parkinson’s.

Musk and Trump are stopping NIH research into cures, for diseases from cancer to Alzheimer’s. Americans did not vote for this.

In situ cryo-ET visualization of mitochondrial depolarization and mitophagic engulfment https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.24.645001v1

We just had our first grant terminated. This was a U19 AViDD grant (grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...). It was set to end next month, although many in the consortia were hoping for NCEs.

NEW: Baldwin, Welch Announce Former NIH Director, Researchers, Clinical Trial Patients as Witnesses for Forum on Trump’s NIH Cuts | U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Peter Welch (D-VT) announced the...

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

To stop intimidation, Eisgruber needs your help When targeting one institution is a bald attempt to divide and conquer, as is the case with Columbia, it is essential for a coalition or group of institutions and individuals to stand up together.&nbs...

All institutions across the U.S. should band together now to protect freedom of speech and scientific integrity. We can not wait any longer we have already lost so much.
www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025...

To stop intimidation, Eisgruber needs your help When targeting one institution is a bald attempt to divide and conquer, as is the case with Columbia, it is essential for a coalition or group of institutions and individuals to stand up together.&nbs...

Here at Princeton, we’re amplifying our university president’s leadership. It’s time for everyone - faculty, students, staff - to speak out.

tl;dr: rights can’t be blackmailed.

From me and science colleagues:
www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025...

Rescinded NIH Grants

Major update over the weekend to our spreadsheet tracking terminated NIH grants. 👇

Improvements include:
- more grant metadata, including Congressional reps and their phone numbers
- data from more sources to complement PI-submitted information
- better data integrity and reproducibility

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Opinion | Universities Gave Us the iPhone, the Jet Engine and Gatorade. We’re Tossing That Away. (Gift Article) The postwar compact on research that powered America’s economic and military dominance is under threat.

Columbia’s Capitulation Will Hurt Us All

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/24/o...

a woman says " it 's a start " while looking at the camera ALT: a woman says " it 's a start " while looking at the camera

Bare bones dashboard is up...

(Including the first Advisory Council meeting posted in the Federal Register)

jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g...

I just heard that a Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) grant from the NIH, with several years still remaining on the project, was terminated. PREP has existed for 25 years and trained thousands of scientists. The potential loss of PREP is a huge loss for the scientific community.

Last week @standupforscience.bsky.social rally at Dartmouth I spoke with a colleague about the deletion of critical training programs from the NIH's website including the PREP program. PREP has been around since 2000 and has trained thousands of scientists but now its gone from the NIH's website.

This is a helpful set of actions to take from someone who seems to be on the inside.

www.reddit.com/r/academia/c...

From my fabulous colleague:
"Worst of all, patients and their families who rely on UMass Chan scientists to develop new therapies will be left with no options, no hope and nowhere to go."

Very important to get this word out!

I’m a standing member on the Chemical Biology and Probes (CBP) NIH study section that was supposed to meet tomorrow. It just got postponed this afternoon with a date yet to be determined….