Roby Bhattacharyya

Anyway, recovering from the latest grant submission, off to edit a couple papers my own self 🫠

I'm a slowish grant-writer (laudatory, I hope?), & an LLM skeptic / late adopter. 6.5 yrs as a PI, each grant remains a struggle, but in that struggle I sharpen my thinking. I don't want to outsource that. But with funding levels <10%, and randomness inevitable in review, is my process sustainable?

Interested in learning outbreak analytics and modelling, with a focus on real-life case studies and tools actively used in responses?

Apply for the popular @lshtm.bsky.social R shortcourse, led by @jwlambert.bsky.social & @andreevallecam.bsky.social

More: www.lshtm.ac.uk/study/course...

Fig 2 from the linked study (Mina et al, Science vol 366, p599-606, 1 Nov 2019)

Abstract: "We studied 77 unvaccinated children before & 2 months after natural measles virus infection. Measles caused elimination of 11 to 73% of the antibody repertoire across individuals." The effect was NOT seen after MMR vaccination, but was seen in infected macaques.

Here's a key figure:

The last part abt how measles disrupts immunity vs other infections is, imo, underappreciated (& mechanism was recently clarified). It's part of why measles vaccination was seen to help beyond just reducing measles complications - not getting measles reduces severity of subsequent infections too.

A line graph shown the number of NIH new and competitive awards funded for fiscal year 2026 (through 2/13/26) compared with fiscal years 2021-2025. The fiscal year 2026 is lagging well behind with only 569 awards made through 2/13/26 compared to >2000 for previous fiscal years.

New and competitive renewal awards.

The number of awards is 569 compared with more than 2200 through the same date in earlier fiscal years.

All ICs have now made awards except for NIAAA, NCCIH, NLM, FIC, and OD. NEI (Eye Institute) made its first award during the new period.

3/4

A very eloquent distillation of the problem we face.

a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on ALT: a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on

A brief Bluetorial about analyzing federal grant funding.

Both NIH and NSF make data available about funded grants, but each has its quirks and the data structures are VERY different.

1/11

Haha, somehow neither? She’s not even 8 lbs, not yet full grown. Perspective (somehow), and also maybe a MacBook Air?

(a few details in alt text)

Was yours to house a surprisingly large number of stuffies too?

Our new cat perched on a laptop, demanding attention. (We used to be a dog family, lost our 17.5 yo dog a few months ago, and just adopted a cat with a surprisingly dog-like personality)

How your email finds me

Underrated song! I’m a huge Dylan fan and this is in my top 5 easy

FDA refuses to consider Moderna flu shot in move experts claim is part of ‘anti-vaccine agenda’ Agency says application rejected due to lack of ‘adequate and well controlled’ trial, but experts say ‘they’re just coming up with reasons’

The FDA refused to consider a new, possibly better flu vaccine, sending shockwaves through the industry and leading to the cancellation of vaccines against mono/MS, shingles, and more.

I asked: Did FDA approve the study design, as Moderna told me?
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Two clarifications:

1. Past drug use should not disqualify most folks from most things, but something about this quote stood out; forgive me

2. Secretary, not Director

Done with references, with more than a few catastrophic line wrapping mishaps. Still feeling this way.

Most of the time things make more sense when I think of this administration by their names rather than their titles, but I think this quote captures the zeitgeist better when attributed to the Director of Health and Human Services.

(say hi to David Weiss for me... any molecular assays back? NDM? plus others for sure, but I'd bet on that as the MBL)

😬

literally never in my life. Boston has less AMR than Hot-lanta, anecdotally

Most of the time I prefer to refer to this administration by their names rather than their titles, but I think this quote captures the zeitgeist better when attributed to the Director of Health and Human Services.

Wow, that's on extended testing? (I didn't see it in your rather terrifying antibiogram)

wtf is the mechanism? that's usually >99% even for CRE... is it PBP mutation + MBL + porins?

>explain how?

>money can be exchanged for goods and services

>woo-hoo!

😬

aztr/avi?

You did that, I added references to the first half page of my Research Strategy, so we, ah, both did things.

Charles Darwin quote, excerpted from a letter to Thomas Huxley dated 10 Sep 1860: "I am very poorly today & very stupid & hate everybody & everything."

This is definitely my favorite of them, especially now as I try to cram references into an R21 due (internally) tmrw at 9a without blowing up a tenuous, overly-wordsmithed Word doc:

Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin

This week marks a year since 10% of the CDC work force was fired. We are more vulnerable to the next pandemic,outbreak monitoring is crumbling, measles is basically endemic again,vaccine guidelines are now RFK Jr fan fiction.
All it took was one year.

“…23% of the zoliflodacin microbiological failures and the single ceftriaxone and azithromycin microbiological failure had different gonococcal strains at TOC versus baseline, which suggests reinfections and not treatment failures.”

six years ago, today:

1/7 🇨🇦 🦠 ALBERTA DELAYED INFANT'S DEATH REPORT 🦠 🇨🇦

A premature baby died from measles in July—the province's first death of this outbreak.

The public didn't know until October.

Alanna Smith on the internal debate keeping tragedy under wraps.
#AbHealth #Measles #PublicHealth #IDSky #AbPoli #MedSky