Veronika Kondev

‼️National Postdoc Appreciation Week‼️ ✨A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to @veronikakondev.bsky.social on being named a 2025 #LeonLevyScholars! An AMAZING HONOR! Thank you @nyasciences.bsky.social & Leon Levy Foundation for recognizing Dr Kondev & her research! #NPAW2025 Learn More 👉 nyas.org/press-releas...

Congratulations!(:

Former NIH chief calls research cuts “careless” and “heartless” Francis Collins, MD, PhD, lauds lifesaving research supported by the National Institutes of Health, explains why he left, and warns of scientific brain drain.

"We’re all in favor of a gold standard for science. But it’s misleading, & even a little insulting, to say that somehow NIH didn’t already support that. Everything that NIH stands for is rigor in sci...There’s some implication here that NIH has been systematically sloppy. I reject that conclusion."🛟

& special shout out to @davidjmarcus.bsky.social for our 8-0 cornhole win streak 😂

Had so much fun at the eCB GRC; I love our nerdy community 🫶

Had a great time at #cannabinoidgrc2025 !! Top notch science, great people, and I’m already looking forward to 2027.

we have a new manuscript out! 🧵Lead by @sarayconley.bsky.social with significant contributions by @sarahsizer.bsky.social @madiganbedard.bsky.social and Sara Faccidomo and Clyde Hodge. We describe a tonic excitatory conductance in the BNST! link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007...

There are few reasons to miss the start of classes but making sure I get to attend #cannabinoidgrc2025 is one of the few VERY GOOD reasons! #blackincannabinoids

Endocannabinoids facilitate transitory reward engagement through retrograde gain-control Neuromodulatory signaling is poised to serve as a neural mechanism for gain control, acting as a crucial tuning factor to influence neuronal activity by dynamically shaping excitatory and inhibitory f...

I’m excited to share the most recent study from the Bruchas
lab, which represents the culmination of my postdoctoral work, and serves as the platform for my future research programs investigating the in vivo role of the endocannabinoid signaling system!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Opening keynote of the 2025 Gordon Research Conference on Cannabinoids in the CNS about to kick off with @sjo09.bsky.social, Harriet De Wit and @cannabrain.bsky.social!

Hiring: Research Technician and Postdoctoral opportunities!
My lab is looking for candidates to join or research in systems neuroscience at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Chicago @uofilsystem.bsky.social. See details below. Please share! lujanlabuic.squarespace.com/joinus

Fulbright board resigns over alleged Trump administration interference The 12-person board that oversees the Fulbright Program accused the White House of denying a “substantial” number of scholarship recipients.

#ResignationInProtest, State Department Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board edition

FRIDAY, May 23, 3pm, JOIN #MSNseminars when hosts Drs. @mrbetocorona.bsky.social & @veronikakondev.bsky.social welcome @uwmedicine.bsky.social 's Dr @davidjmarcus.bsky.social who will present “Endocannabinoids facilitate transitory reward engagement via retrograde gain control". Location: Hess 5-101

On Fri, May 23, 3pm, JOIN #MSNseminars when hosts Drs. @mrbetocorona.bsky.social & @veronikakondev.bsky.social welcome @uwmedicine.bsky.social's Dr. @davidjmarcus.bsky.social who will present “Endocannabinoids facilitate transitory reward engagement via retrograde gain control". Location: Hess 5-101

Bernie Sanders' office has put out a report this morning on Trump's NIH cuts: "Trump officials effectively cut $2.7 billion in [NIH] funding in the first three months of 2025 – including a 31 percent cut to cancer research through March, compared to the same timeframe last year."

Trump officials take steps toward a radically different NSF Efforts to shrink staff, budget, and focus have alarmed members of Congress

Another scoop from Jeff Mervis (@policyhound.bsky.social): NSF's ~1400 grant terminations have disproportionately affected PIs from groups underrepresented in science: women, racial & ethnic minorities, & those with disabilities. 1/3
www.science.org/content/arti...

Racist and sexist roots in the cancellation of NSF grants under Trump:

Grants with female PIs canceled 2x more than men
Grants with Black PIs canceled 4x over White PIs
Grants with Hispanic PIs canceled 2x over White PIs
Grants with PIs with disabilities canceled 2x more than without

NIH Grants Fueled $95 Billion In FY 2024 Economic Activity, Finds New Report National Institutes of Health grants generated almost $95 billion in economic activity nationwide in FY 2024 according to a new report by United for Medical Research.

www.forbes.com/sites/michae...

Trump administration accused of ‘blatant foreign interference’ in Australian universities over questionnaire on DEI and gender Researchers told to respond within 48 hours to more than 30 questions, including on DEI, gender and climate

I’m so sorry, Australia.

Fiasco for Musk as He Craters in New Polls and DOGE Cuts Lose in Court As a judge blocks the Trump-Musk effort to fire thousands of federal workers, a close chronicler of Musk’s follies explains why the public backlash against him and Tesla matters so much—and what’s com...

Extraordinary stuff in new Quinnipiac/CNN polls:

60% disapprove of Musk/DOGE handling of federal workers

54% say Musk/DOGE hurting the country

62% say cuts going too far

On the pod, @paulwaldman.bsky.social is good on how Musk is getting voters to like govt again:
newrepublic.com/article/1927...

If the government can do this to universities, we don't live in a free society. Five alarm fire.

While we are all dealing with the Great Destruction — of NIH and US science and the US economy — we have been hearing from NIH people who want to write things for the outside world.

If you are an NIH person that wants to share a blog post with the world anonymously, please let us know.

This is why you fight these cowards.

The moment you stand up to them, they crumble.

Homan has nothing. The Fourth Amendment is clear and I am well within my duties to educate people of their rights.

He can threaten me with jail and call names all he wants. He’s got nothing else.

If you want to check if your study section posted in time, go to www.federalregister.gov and search for your SRO’s last name or an identifying keyword from the panel’s name, then sort by “newest.” Would absolutely love to hear from folks whose panels are *not* there but proceed this week anyway.

Here is the ad the Washington Post accepted and then rejected:

Trump-Musk Threats Darken as Their Anger at Enemies Takes Ominous Turn As Trump and Elon Musk signal menacing new intentions on numerous fronts, a scholar of democratic breakdown explains how we’re now seeing textbook signs of a country’s slide into authoritarian rule.

"We need to take a step back and realize that the GOP has become an authoritarian political party. It's either on board with authoritarianism or completely willing to tolerate it."

On the pod, Steve Levitsky is highly Illuminating on our slide into autocracy:
newrepublic.com/article/1915...

Trump Cuts Target Next Generation of Scientists and Public Health Leaders A core group of so-called disease detectives, who track outbreaks, was apparently spared. But other young researchers are out of jobs.

@sherylnyt.bsky.social Do you have a link to the joint statement from

"eight officials ...including the heads of the C.D.C., the N.I.H. and the F.D.A. — issued a joint statement denouncing the cuts."

cited in your article?

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/18/u...

Emergence of punishment-resistant cocaine seeking occurs in parallel with stabilization of escalated cocaine intake

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Also, scientists, what can you do about all this?
One thing is to get your colleagues on Bluesky - get others on Bluesky. This is one good place to get info about our new politics.

here’s a starter pack — just send people this link.
go.bsky.app/2K6jTi5

Excited to JOIN the HUNGER GAMES? On Friday, Feb 21, 3pm, join hosts Drs. Teesta Naskar & @veronikakondev.bsky.social in welcoming @rockefelleruniv.bsky.social's Dr. Han Tan to #MSNSeminars when he presents "The Hunger Games: Decoding Neural & Molecular Networks for Appetite Control". NOT TO MISS!