katie, phd!

if chatgpt has no haters, i have died

chatgpt is what my parents and elementary school teachers *thought* wikipedia was

I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M WRITING MY PHD THESIS!!!!!!! IM DISSERTATING!!!!! AND I'M ALMOST DONE??????

With 23andMe filing for bankruptcy -- reach out to your family members who might have ordered these kits to get them to request deletion of their data. And if you signed-up yourself, you should absolutely do the same!

This is so awesome. I'm glad someone is doing this important work to educate those in power!!! and I'm especially glad it's you audrey :)))

In leu of NIH cuts at Columbia, many folks are asking why aren't universities using endowment funds to support the research mission of their faculty scientists?

Inspired by @jeremymberg.bsky.social bluetorials here are a few of the reasons that is not a sustainable option

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I think it's really important to remember that not all schools where research is done have endowments. So even if the top-tier/wealthy schools could tap into their endowments, this is not an option for some public unis and they will have to drop research missions.

...This piece is really important because we are not allowed to communicate this to grantees, but it could potentially help a lot of people about to submit stuff if they just knew to avoid certain words on their biosketch and other support."

“You never heard of us because we are doing our jobs” UC Davis plant pathology PhD student

I am loving all the protest pictures but please be mindful of sharing photos with others’ faces, given known threats to international students who attend protests.

Close to 600 people for the Trenton Stand Up For Science rally. Great chants, NJ schools out in force, and scientists discovering their inner extrovert. Rush Holt led off, me at end.

Materials produced or authored by NCI staff that address topics that may be controversial, high profile, or sensitive must be sent to the NCI Clearance Team for review prior to publication. Depending on the nature of the information, additional review and clearance by the NCI director, deputy directors, NIH, and HHS may be required. In some cases, the material will not need further review, but the NCI Clearance Team will share it with NCI leadership, NIH, and/or HHS for their awareness. Examples of controversial or high-profile topics include, but are not limited to: Cancer Moonshot NCI budget COVID-19 Vaccines H5N1/bird flu Opioids , Marijuana Dietary guidelines/ultra-processed foods Obesity Stem cell or fetal tissue research Abortion Autism Peanut allergies Fluoride Measles Diversity/equity efforts Gender ideology Environmental justice Discussion of federal policies Topics of federal investigations Issues concerning pending legislation Topics that have received recent attention from Congress Topics that have received widespread or critical media attention

The National Cancer Institute (part of NIH) released new guidelines for "controversial, high-profile or sensitive" keywords that require "review prior to publication" if included in a product or materials.

Keywords include abortion, obesity, and peanut allergies.

“fluoride”

“measles”

“covid-19”

“vaccines”

Holy fuck this is uh quite an overt example of politics actively hamstringing science in ways that will make us all less safe.

Despite the weather the Chicago scientific community (including prospective young PhD students) gathered today to Stand UP for Science and show that science is for everyone and that NIH support is critical to keep labs running.

For state-specific NIH info cards, find your state here: bit.ly/NIH_bystate

make flyers of the first two paragraphs of this just filed lawsuit, and give them to your neighbors, leave them under t*sla wipers, in little free libraries, at the grocery store

(thank you to the plaintiffs)

This thread really goes places.

so special ed programs are getting gutted because their internal documentation used the term "transition" when talking about helping disabled kids enter the working world. they're literally striking at that word wherever they see it.

Letters went out to federal workers this morning stating they were fired due to poor performance. However, all employees had been rated as “exceptional” performers by their supervisors. Please keep these records and pursue wrongful termination claims. Let the lawsuits begin.

i'm nearing the end of my PhD, and will be graduating this summer. I'm starting to write the introduction of my thesis and I'm getting emotional over how much I've learned and grown intellectually over these last 6 years. This type of writing would've been impossible to first-year katie. I'm proud!

The Pennsylvania Attorney General has not joined the lawsuit against the NIH indirect cap, which means Penn and all other universities are suffering a massive funding cut. You can contact our AG here and request he join the suit: www.attorneygeneral.gov/contact/

Many in biotech/private sector are boasting about their ways of funding and doing science

But they are staffed with PhDs and postdocs we train in our NIH and NSF funded labs in universities

With university labs lacking funds to train, the private sector will be profoundly harmed

The NIH’s new imposed standard indirect cost rate threatens life-saving brain & behavior research that benefits millions of Americans. SfN, with other scientific organizations,urge reversal of this policy & implore Congress to protect critical research infrastructure.

Full statement: bit.ly/4jVJnCL

in what meaningful way can we say that the constitution is in effect when an unelected and unaccountable billionaire is wielding state power to unilaterally cancel congressional appropriations?

yes! please share widely!

And in the longer term, people will stop pursuing PhDs and other research-based degrees or positions. Universities research revenue will plummet, which they will have to make up for. This could lead to tuition increases. Education in the US will become increasingly expensive, and therefore increasingly inaccessible. Great scientists will migrate away from the US, which will no longer be the research capital of the world.

NIH funded research makes America great. What action can you take this week to stand up for science? Can you call your representatives? Look then up at reps.fyi Are you part of a union? Can you be? Do you have a contact with local media? Can you educate others? Can you connect with organizers for state capitol or DC-based protests in support of science funding on March 7? (see @cdelawalla.bsky.social) Can you volunteer your graphic design or data analysis skills to those doing outreach? Can you share with your students? Do you know any generous billionaires? This list is taken from Laura White's presentation, The War On Science (@laurakwhite.bsky.social)

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And thanks @laurakwhite.bsky.social for the amazing presentation, and this list of action items.

This change will devastate biomedical research in the United States of America.

Here's what that will look like in the immediate term. Your loved ones enrolled in clinical trials to treat their cancers, mental health crises, and other ailments will lose their treatment. Hundreds of thousands of University employees will lose their jobs. Drug development in the US will slow to a crawl, and currently untreatable diseases will remain that way. University-affiliated hospitals and medical centers will have to significantly reduce capacity, and you may be refused care.

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While it is difficult to quantify exactly who is spending the indirect costs, and how they contribute to research, everyone agrees that they serve an essential purpose: allowing researchers to focus on their research, because the institution will handle the rest. Paying the water bill means I can dilute my samples, AND wash my hands in the bathroom. Paying for electricity means I can power the microscope, AND the kettle in the kitchenette. Paying the custodial staff helps keep everyone's research area clean and safe.

On Friday, February 7th, 2025, the US government capped the indirect cost rate at a maximum of 15% for all institutions receiving NIH funding, effective immediately upon start of business Monday. This equates to a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for most top research institutions in the US.

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