Sarah Gullbrand, PhD

NEXT WEEK on #WebinarWednesday: Musculoskeletal Research at the VA. Hear from VA researchers on tech development from bench to bedside, followed by live Q&A. Brought to you by the ORS Innovation Committee. Register: ors.memberclicks.net/vss073025in

STAND UP FOR SCIENCE March 7, 2025. Washington DC and nationwide. Because science is for everyone.

On March 7th, we’re Standing Up for Science—
and against political censorship, autocracy, and fascism.

Science stands at a crossroads. This is a wider fight for truth, for democracy, and for the future.

We hope you join us.

www.standupforscience2025.org

VA Research Funding Slashed Though not as prominent as the NIH, VA researchers play a major role in advancing basic health science. Hundreds of projects have been cut.

NIH cuts are getting the press, but VA research is getting slashed too. What do we lose when VA research goes away? Here's some greatest hits: The nicotine patch, invention of the cardiac pacemaker, first successful liver transplant, development of the CAT/CT scan

prospect.org/health/2025-...

The Mauck Lab is well represented at #ORS2025. We work on such a wide variety of problems, that hopefully there’s a little bit of something for everyone!

Presenters on Bluesky:
@emsharp.bsky.social
@meghankup.bsky.social

Reducing the indirect rate on NIH grants to 15% will kill biomedical and health research in the US. I'm not exaggerating here. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

The Gullbrand Lab is talking science at #ORS2025 this week! Check out our presentations if you’re in Phoenix and interested in intervertebral disc degeneration, cell therapies, and more!

@sgullbrand.bsky.social @emsharp.bsky.social
@orssociety.bsky.social

Please read our public statement issued by @aimbe-official.bsky.social on the recent disruptions to federal science agencies & biomedical research.

Fellow or not, I urge my BME colleagues to fill out a letter (<2 mins) to send to your congressional representatives 👇✉️

aimbe.org/advocate/wri...

The news cycle right now - even just for science & higher ed - is overwhelming. We have to do it, but fortunately, we don’t have to do it alone.

My team is focused on tracking what’s happening to research funding, jobs & salaries, shared datasets, university responses & safety of our communities

SUBJECT: Temporary Pause of Agency Grant, Loan, and Other Financial Assistance Programs 'The American people elected Donald J. Trump to be President of the United States and gave him a mandate to increase the impact of every federal taxpayer dollar. In Fiscal Year 2024. of the nearly $10 trillion that the Federal Government spent, more than $3 trillion was Federal financial assistance, such as grants and loans. Career and political appointees in the Executive Branch have a duty to align Federal spending and action with the will of the American people as expressed through Presidential priorities. Financial assistance should be dedicated to advancing Administration priorities, focusing taxpayer dollars to advance a stronger and safer America, eliminating the financial burden of inflation for citizens, unleashing American energy and manufacturing, ending wokeness" and the weaponization of government, promoting efficiency in government, and Making America Healthy Again. The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve. This memorandum requires Federal agencies to identify and review all Federal financial assistance programs and supporting activities consistent with the President's policies and requirements. For example, during the initial days of his Administration, President Donald J Trump issued a series of executive orders to protect the American people and safeguard valuable taxpayer resources, including Protecting the American People Against Invasion (Jan. 20, 2025). Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid (Jan 20, 2025), Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements (Jan. 20, 2025). Unleashing American Energy (Jan. 20. 2025). Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing (Jan. 20.

ent these orders, each agency must complete a comprehensive analysis of all jal assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that any of the President's executive orders. In the interian, to the extent applicable law, Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency nay be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial surice tot foreign nongovernmental organizations, DEL woke gender ideology, and the pause will provide the Administration time to review agency programs of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the he temporary pause will become effective on January 28, 2025, at 5:00 rehensive analysis. Federal agencies must immediately deadlines for assistance programs arising while the les must report this information to OMB along with an directs Federal agencies to pause all activities associated conducting merit review panels No later than Febrar - 10. 2025, agencies shail submit to OMB detailed information on any programs projects or activities subject to this pause. Each agency must pause. (i) issuance of disbursement of Federal funds under all open awards, and (il) other relevant has reviewed provided guidance to your agency with respect to the information act recordin grant and ptions allowing Federal agencies to issue new awards or take other case basis. To the extent required by law, Federal agencies may continue nistrative actions. such as closeout of Federal awards (2 CFR 200.344), or expressly required by law

NEW — OMB temporarily pauses all agency grants and loans programs.

Per copy of memo: "The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve."

‘Never seen anything like this’: Trump’s team halts NIH meetings and travel In an unprecedented move, research-grant reviews have been suspended indefinitely at the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research.

Sad to see webpages of NIH diversity supplements taken down. I know this was suspected to happen, but it’s heartbreaking to see.

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

Eg., NIMH
www.nimh.nih.gov/about/organi...

Trump hits NIH with ‘devastating’ freezes on meetings, travel, communications, and hiring Researchers facing

Trump hits NIH with ‘devastating’ freezes on meetings, travel, communications, and hiring. Researchers facing "a lot uncertainty, fear and panic," by @meredithwadman.bsky.social, Jocelyn Kaiser www.science.org/content/arti... via @science.org @monscience.bsky.social

NIH In Your State - United For Medical Research Select a state on the map to see the impact of NIH funding across America.

I just reached out to my senators about the NIH situation. If you need to find out how much impact NIH has in your state in terms of dollars in and their economic impact here's a link: www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/nih-in-your-...

📢🧪For your holiday travel reading, check out our new pre-print! Using a new joint resection injury model, we describe an innate regeneration program in adult #zebrafish that reestablishes all major synovial joint cell types, including lubricated articular cartilage. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Restoration of physiologic loading after engineered disc implantation mitigates immobilization-induced facet joint and paraspinal muscle degeneration Intervertebral disc degeneration is commonly associated with back and neck pain, and standard surgical treatments do not restore spine function. Repla…

Excited to share our spine research team's newest paper out in Acta Biomaterialia! If you're interested in whole disc tissue engineering, large animal and finite element models, the facet joints and paraspinal muscles - check it out!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

🎉 Congrats to Emily Sharp, #ORS2025 Dr. Peter Roughley Award recipient! A 4th-year PhD candidate at @Penn, Emily is recognized for her work in spine, disc, & cartilage biology. This award supports mentor-trainee research collaboration. Learn more: bit.ly/3BlyCrW

The Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS) has officially joined BlueSky! 🦋

We are here to connect, share, and inspire through cutting-edge #orthopaedic research and innovations. Follow us to stay updated on events, deadlines, and insights from your global #orthocommunity.

Fruit flies will produce the next groundbreaking medical therapy And, according to a new life cycle assessment, will significantly reduce biotech's environmental footprint

You're telling me the next generation of medical therapies will be made INSIDE fruit flies? But how? And why?

fleshyfutures.substack.com/p/fruit-flie...

Good things come to those who wait (for 4 years 😅) - our new research MRI is finally installed and operational!! So excited for all the cool imaging we’ll be able to do!

🎨 In case anyone need…

The NIH BioArt Source is an awesome library of *free* professionally drawn illustrations for scientific presentations or figures. Downloadable in HD. Thank you NIH for this invaluable tool 🙏!

Check it out 👇
bioart.niaid.nih.gov

We are 70+ and growing! Feel free to recommend friends, or self-nominate. It is exciting to see the growing orthopaedics community on this platform.

#ORSSMC

I can’t think of a better way to christen my shiny new @bsky.app account than celebrating this paper! So thrilled to see this published - all aboard the BLST hype train! 🚂

Let's see if we can make @bsky.app the home of the spine research community go.bsky.app/DBKUvJq