Cristina Costales

Dr. Kenechukwu Ojukwu (UCLA) and Dr. Ann Nelson from the Pathologists Overseas leadership team hosted a table at the 4th African Assembly in Kampala, collecting survey responses on anatomic pathology workforce capacity and sharing PO’s programs in EQA, LIS, and PaLMEd.

Rapid Diagnostic Stewardship and Blood Culture Use in a Pediatric Medical Center This cohort study evaluates the association between restrictive blood culture stewardship measures implemented at a pediatric hospital and patient outcomes.

An excellent analysis of the impact of blood culture restrictions implemented at our peds hospital during last year’s bottle shortage by our amazing fellow EV!
#IDsky #clinmicro

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Our team is heading to Dalal Jamm Hospital for the next two weeks! We’ll be on site supporting the installation of a new LIS donated by Comp Pro Med.

Follow our WhatsApp Channel for behind the scenes updates and a sneak peek at the process: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbB7nW9HFxP6Osrs6B2k

I am begging all news reporters who cover the "tylenol and vaccines cause autism" press conference PLEASE lead your reporting and headlines with facts and caveat that these assertions were not backed by any scientific evidence but rather the whims and feelings on unqualified non-scientists

Rift Valley fever epidemiology: shifting the paradigm and rethinking research priorities Rift Valley fever (RVF), a zoonotic mosquito-borne viral disease with erratic occurrence and complex epidemiology, results in substantial costs to veterinary and public health and national economies. Since 1985, RVF virus (RVFV) epidemiology has focused on epidemics triggered by flood-induced emergence of transovarially infected mosquitoes, following an interepidemic period during which RVFV persists primarily in floodwater Aedes spp mosquito eggs, with potential for low-level interepidemic circulation. In this Personal View, we challenge this classic framework of RVFV epidemiology, presenting instead a spectrum of RVFV dynamics ranging from epidemic to hyperendemic. We present the case for RVFV being maintained in a variable reservoir system of livestock, wildlife, and mosquitoes, with or without transovarial transmission. We highlight that sufficient evidence supports a shift in the paradigm of RVF epidemiology to embrace a more nuanced understanding of the spectrum of RVFV dynamics and call for more research into understanding the drivers of RVFV dynamics in hyperendemic areas.

Oh hey it's Friday let's be excited about SCIENCE still happening!

Super pleased to be part of this new synthesis on Rift Valley Fever epidemiology, by a global team led by Melinda Rostal, describing an emerging understanding of the disease's varied regimes across Africa. doi.org/10.1016/j.la...

This really sums it up well.

Loved ones, fellow officers pay tribute to fallen DeKalb Police Officer David Rose Family, friends, and fellow officers gathered at First Baptist Church in Atlanta on Friday morning, honoring Rose, who was killed by the gunman who shot at the CDC.

Today we gathered to honor Officer David Rose. He was a man of quiet integrity. He loved food, motorcycles, and most of all, his family.

He answered the call. Our call. And gave his life to protect the community he served

We will be forever grateful. Rest in peace.

www.11alive.com/article/news...

Episode alert 7 PM EST : Early growth for antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST)?
Traditional methods require 18–24 hours of incubation before testing—but why?
In this episode, Dr. Luke Osborn and Dr. Jenn Dien Bard share their study on early growth isolates.

GREAT piece on the HUGE impact of the NIH's Fogarty International Center (FIC) on both US science & science worldwide

The FIC costs just 0.2% of the total NIH budget; sadly, it's on the chopping block

Madhu Pai, Glenda Gray, Soumya Swaminathan, Patricia Garcia: all were Fogarty-funded trainees

We’re looking for a Part-Time Executive Director to join our team!

This role is perfect for someone with a background in lab medicine or #pathology, in the U.S., willing to travel and has 5 + years of leadership experience managing teams and programs.

Apply here: lnkd.in/edFKmMQ6
#PathSky #Lab

YouTube video by Pathologists Overseas The Story of Pathology Workforce in Sub Saharan Africa

If you are a pathologist or represent a pathology training program in Sub Saharan Africa your input is essential!

Complete the survey by clicking the link below:
redcapsurveys.med.usc.edu/surveys/?s=8...

#Africa #Lab #AfricaSky #PathSky #GlobalHealth #Pathology #PublicHealth

youtu.be/xnj0VgYplQc

Silence = Death Is Real Now More Than Ever, but Words Aren’t Enough—Action Is Needed! Joseph Cherabie Clinical Infectious Diseases, ciaf243, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaf243 Published: 03 July 2025 TO THE EDITOR—Thanks to Meyerowitz and Schwartz [1] for their viewpoint article, which highlights all the jarring changes that President Trump and his administration have pushed through since they started dismantling elements of the US Department of Health and Human Services. I agree with the authors that we must “urgently find our voices and gather our strength to defend” the principles we believe in as a field. But there is one major point that the authors neglected to mention: We will get nowhere if our advocacy fails to rise above publishing strongly worded statements in scientific journals. By responding only in this way, we have become an echo chamber of our own creation. To change the hearts and minds of the populace, we need to replace beautiful speeches with meaningful action. That means learning from the group that inspired this article's title―ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power―and showing the true impact of these budget cuts to our field: People will die. So here is what you can do: 1. Determine your risk tolerance and act accordingly. It's important to consider what “fighting back” means for you as an individual. If you have privilege in your position, use it to stand up for those who lack stable funding, such as early career folks and post docs. Speak to local news outlets, local governments, state governments, governors, affinity groups, and congress. Organize advocacy calling hours. Join a local protest. Support local organizations. And if you truly don't have the time or bandwidth to spare, donate money to legal organizations that are fighting for our patients and jobs in court. There are so many ways to help, but do something beyond simply saying that you stand for something. 2. Community disruption as advocacy. We must disrupt busine…

When the Government Attacks Free Expression, the Pen is a Mighty Sword Free Eric A Meyerowitz , Ilan S Schwartz Clinical Infectious Diseases, ciaf244, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaf244 Published: 03 July 2025 TO THE EDITOR—We wholeheartedly agree with Cherabie [1] that in these perilous times, words are not enough: infectious diseases professionals must be prepared to organize and act to defend science, patients, and public health. We hoped that our call to resistance [2] would spur urgent discourse in the face of the Trump administration's draconian attacks on principles, institutions, and people that we hold dear, and we are grateful to Cherabie for proposing actions, which we endorse completely. We continue to emphasize the importance of standing up and speaking out against harmful actions of powerful people and institutions, particularly as the Trump administration wages war on free expression. The attacks surround us [3]. Noncitizen residents and visa holders are being stripped of their legal protections and dignity, detained in deplorable conditions, and/or deported for peacefully protesting government policies [4]. Social media accounts of foreign students and visa applicants are being scoured by the Department of Homeland Security for dissenting views to justify rejections [5], and academics have been reportedly denied entry for unflattering comments about the Trump administration uncovered on their personal electronic devices [6]. Universities are being threatened and billions of dollars in federal grant funding withheld in efforts to control what is taught and by whom [7]. Even the First Amendment rights of medical journals are under direct threat, with several publications, including the New England Journal of Medicine and Chest, receiving letters from a federal prosecutor inquiring about bias in editorial processes in a thinly veiled attempt at intimidation against free discourse [8]. In this context, we believe speech is an essential action in…

Both letters are open access. Full texts are here for your convenience. Both hyper-relevant today

The July issue of ASM Case Reports is here! Congrats to Orbea & colleagues for making the cover, featuring a striking image of Exserohilum cells - the cause of invasive fungal sinusitis in this case. #ASMCaseReports @asm.org @burnhambugdoc.bsky.social

journals.asm.org/toc/asmcr/1/4

In Sudan, where children clung to life, doctors say USAID cuts have been fatal The Trump administration’s cuts to USAID had an immediate and deadly impact in war-ravaged Sudan, according to civilians, doctors and aid officials.

The fatal effect of #USAID cuts: Babies starve quietly as older children die begging for food wapo.st/3GjK8qn

Come to Lounge & Learn #3 for my talk on Clinical Microbiology for Pediatrics at 12:45 today!
#ASMMicrobe

By horrible deaths no less

YouTube video by Pathologists Overseas Dr. Ann Nelson- Pathology in South Africa Post Apartheid

Dr. Ann Nelson from our leadership team lends her insight on #pathology in South #Africa post-apartheid. Keep an eye out for her full interview with Dr. Tim Amukele on Anatomic Capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa!

#GlobalHealth #EpiNerd #Blacksky #Pathsky #historyofafrica
#science
youtu.be/hhQNckcxdZY

Few go into pediatrics because it’s hard & pays < other specialties

International trainees fill spots but w immigration changes that’s going to get much harder.

BUB (Big Ugly Bill) eliminates CHGME which pays for >50% of pediatric trainees.

Not sure who is going to take care of our kids.

The termination of CDC’s HIV prevention program is part of a budget proposal that slashes the overall CDC budget by more than 50% and infectious diseases research at the National Institutes of Health by nearly 40%.
Read HIVMA’s full statement here: bit.ly/4mLU0JJ

YouTube video by Doctor Mike I'm Calling On RFK Jr. To Step Down

www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0q_...
A brilliant, thoughtful takedown of RFK Jr. by Dr. Mike Varshavski.

The ‘let them eat cake’ vibes are strong with this one.

Diagnosis of cystic echinococcosis within a pediatric hospital setting | ASM Case Reports Echinococcosis is a zoonotic parasitic infection caused by cestode (tapeworm) larval stages, which form visceral hydatid cysts primarily in the liver. Most human cases are caused by Echinococcus granu...

Check out our case report of an unexpected finding in the liver in a young patient! @samuelgoodfellow.bsky.social

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

What a fantastic meeting!

Where's Plumpy'Nut? A lifesaving food for malnourished kids is caught up in U.S. cuts It's a "ready-to-use therapeutic food" that's had remarkable success in treating malnourished kids. The State Department says it's still available. Factories and field workers have a different view.

It's a "ready-to-use therapeutic food" that's had remarkable success in treating malnourished kids. The State Department says it's still available. Factories and field workers have a different view.

Until now. For instance, the cancer scientist Kseniia Petrova, a Russian immigrant who worked at Harvard’s renowned Kirschner Lab, has been in a Louisiana ICE prison for two months now, and is facing deportation to Russia because she allegedly lied to a border control officer about carrying frog embryos for research purposes. Not only is this likely false—she told NBC News that she did tell the officers the truth—but the usual penalty for such a piddling violation is a $500 fine, knocked down to $50 for a first offense. Instead, ICE revoked her J-1 visa and threw her in prison pending a hearing to deport her back to Russia, where she might easily end up in prison or dead for criticizing the Putin regime. Petrova is not just any cancer scientist—she is perhaps the world’s top expert on analyzing the images produced by a new cutting-edge, ultra-specialized microscope that is being developed to diagnose cancer cases. Leon Peshkin, Petrova’s manager, told NBC that the task “requires a unique set of skills because you have to both be able to work as an embryologist and do applied math, modeling, data analysis and bioinformatics—all in one package.” Nobody else in the lab could do what she does, he added.

one of the world's top cancer scientists, who works for Harvard, is at risk of deportation to Russia where she might be killed for criticizing Putin, because she allegedly failed to disclose carrying frog embryos at the border. it's upending American medical research: prospect.org/health/2025-...

This is such a clear, concise, and blunt statement of stakes when the government censors health research.

It's also how scientists and universities need to talk much more often.

From Harvard President Garber's email to staff announcing the lawsuit:

RFK has so little relevant knowledge & speaks so confidently & incorrectly on so many important topics. He is destroying US science & healthcare, undermining public health & is directly responsible for so many coming preventable deaths

Every day he remains in his post is a scandal

MMR vaccine can be administered for up to three days after a measles exposure to reduce the risk of severe disease and hospitalization. Immunoglobulin can have a similar effect up to 6 days post-exposure. I’ve seen nothing from RFK Jr. about these key strategies.

Seems like there is a real effort here to destroy everything that makes America great

Trump administration orders half of national forests open for logging An emergency order removes protections covering over half the land managed by the U.S. Forest Service as the president aims to boost timber production.

The Trump administration has removed environmental protections covering more than half of the land managed by the U.S. Forest Service as part of the president’s aim to significantly bolster the U.S. logging industry.