Maria Mora Pinzon, MD, MS, FACPM

Graph of award probability of R35 and R01 from NIH factbook as a function of review rank percentile. As is apparent, 2025 is a significant departure, with lower award probabilities at all scores <40 and significant departures from norm, where even being in the top 10% is no longer a nearly certain indicator of success. Data source: https://report.nih.gov/nihdatabook/report/302

The data is in: the NIH goalposts have shifted.

What were once almost certain fundable scores have become coin flips and what used to be likely grants have become aspirational, leading to fewer awards.

Another manifestation of how HHS policies have led to fewer awards and less science.

Next week! Join global experts like Lucía Crivelli at AAIC Neuroscience Next, Feb. 23–26. This hybrid event from the @alzassociation.bsky.social is a fantastic opportunity to connect with dementia researchers from around the world! Register at alz.org/NeuroscienceNext #AAICNeuro

Public health leaders: Join us and @asthonews.bsky.social for a special two-day virtual training focused on applying Boundary Spanning Leadership principles to address dementia risk reduction. Apply by 2/20 to claim your spot! More information below ⬇️

Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.

No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.

Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

I was just denied entry to the Dilley detention facility while my constituent, seven-year-old Diana, remains inside.

What kind of sick, horrific conditions are children being forced to endure in there?

I will be back tomorrow. Accountability can’t wait.

Person on a webinar waving at the camera

What began as a resource for Wisconsinites is now reaching people across the country and around the world. Visit adrc.wisc.edu/hlwmci-program-empowers to learn more and join us for the first installment of the 2026 Healthy Living with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) educational series on March 6.

Advertisement for JAMA Network Open's Editorial Fellowship. Text reads, "Call for Applications: Editorial Fellowship. Due February 15, 2026. Learn more >"

Applications are open for the JAMA Network Open Editorial Fellowship. From April 2026 to October 2027, Fellows will experience the publishing process firsthand, team up with experienced editors, & coauthor commentary.

⏰ Apply before Feb 15
🔗 Learn more: ja.ma/3Z6cRVa

If you're a US citizen pursuing a science degree, consider this paid internship program. PIs, let your students know about this opportunity with #NIH.

Maduro was a brutal repressive dictator who destroyed Venezuela. Trump did not have congressional or UN approval to engage in unilateral regime change. Trump's actions were illegal. All of those things can be true at the same time. Don't let them make this about Maduro.

I hope some of you #NIA researchers present and attend. @bryandjames.bsky.social , @sdukehan.bsky.social , @leadcoalition.bsky.social , @mariaglymour.bsky.social , @cgster.bsky.social , and anyone else interested? #geronsky

Graphic of people talking with the text: How we talk with research participants: The art of communication, over them.

The Recruitment & Retention Resource Center recently wrapped up its workshop series titled "How we talk with research participants: The art of communication." If you missed a session or want a refresher, you can watch the recordings on the ICTR YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

A graphic promoting the latest episode of "Dementia Matters". On the right are headshots of guest Dr. Deling He. On the left is text reading "New Podcast Episode" alongside the podcast logo. Underneath the logo is the episode title, "Talking TBI: The Impact of Traumatic Brain Injuries on Cognitive Decline"

🧠 Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) affect roughly 1 in 8 older adults in the U.S., impacting both short-term and long-term brain function. Dr. Deling He joins #DementiaMatters to discuss what TBIs are and the connections between TBI, speech pathology and cognition. Listen 🎧 go.wisc.edu/481khw

graphic announcing the next implementation science seminar

Join the D&I Launchpad tomorrow for the next Implementation Science Seminar! Presenters will share an overview of what it means to bring an Learning Health System approach to a health care improvement project. 👉 Register today: ictr.wisc.edu/event/the-uw...

Our next webinar is tomorrow.
Last chance to register. Sign up closes at midnight tonight.

Delirium & Dementia: Recognising, Responding, and Supporting Together
Monday, 8 December, 2 to 3pm (UK time)
Speaker: Alison Keizer

Register:
buff.ly/V0LlEej

Follow us on Eventbrite:
buff.ly/QIDwALo

Stressful life events can impact brain health. In this #ISTAART Voices episode, Dr. Avinash Chandra explores how divorce and widowhood may contribute to amyloid pathology and memory decline, offering new insights into dementia risk.

Listen now: open.spotify.com/episode/1ciN...

🩺 #ACPM offers a 10-module certification course in #AI in #PreventiveMedicine and #PublicHealth — designed to help clinicians responsibly integrate AI into practice across health settings, offering up to 11.5 #CME credits.

🔷 Members: $545
🔷 Non-members: $715

💻 Learn more: https://bit.ly/47C1PLz

New Research: Culturally Tailored Intervention Improves Dialysis Care for Hispanic and Latino Patients A decade of work led by CU Anschutz professor Lilia Cervantes, MD, and her colleagues reveal specially trained community health workers can improve dialysis adherence.

Grateful to see the Navigate-Kidney, a community health worker-led intervention highlighted! This work was the culmination of 10 years of community-partnered research with individuals with kidney disease! In this RCT we reduced IDWG and improved patient activation
news.cuanschutz.edu/medicine/nav...

Quiet part, meet out loud.

UW Department of Medicine Grand Rounds flyer. Follow link in post’s text for more details.

Tomorrow's Grand Rounds features our own Drs. Shellie Ellis and Maria Mora Pinzon, MD, MS, FACPM‬, presenting “Dissemination and Implementation with the UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research” over Zoom. Join us!

Details: https://www.medicine.wisc.edu/grand-rounds

Take a look back at this #ISTAART Voices episode! Dr. Gregory Jicha and Dr. Peter Nelson discuss emerging anti-amyloid treatments and why treatment access is so important for individuals living with Alzheimer’s.

Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/3asm...

Listen closely to this #ISTAART Voices episode! 👂 Dr. Joshua Stevenson-Hoare and Dr. Kouki Tomida dive into how early hearing changes might be an overlooked sign of future cognitive decline.

Check it out: open.spotify.com/episode/4N2q...

Northern Lights seen over the Memorial Union Terrace.

Northern Lights seen over Lake Mendota with the Well Red Bucky statue in the foreground.

The Northern Lights seen over the Carillon bell tower and Social Sciences building.

The Northern Lights seen over Bascom Hall.

Last night, the Northern Lights showed their true colors over campus and bathed the sky in Badger red. We’re still in awe.

Photos by Paige Valley and Xiaomeng Shen | UW–Madison

Huh well it turns out I heard from a few federal workers about this and well

"We civil servants organized to help our colleagues face the hardship of the shutdown, we put up with the pain and our only request was to not be betrayed like this. Trade our pain, make it count."

In response to this claim that the "strategy didn't work."

The people were on our side. We were building momentum to help save our democracy. We could have won - the premium increase notices were just starting.

And giving in now will embolden him. Things will likely get worse.

Americans deserved a better deal than this one.

Fight don’t fold.

How about we shut down the government for this very popular and specific goal and then, hear me out, we hold out for like a month and a half and then, ok this part is important, after a watershed election where we ran the table, ONLY THEN, fold and don't get the one thing we said we wanted.

a cartoon girl in a blue dress is kneeling in a field holding a bag ALT: a cartoon girl in a blue dress is kneeling in a field holding a bag

A reminder - last March, republicans promised to restore $1.1B in funding to DC in exchange for funding the government, and Mike Johnson never took it up in the House.

The average SNAP benefit per month is $177 a person.

The average ACA benefit per month is up to $550 a person.

People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives.

And working people want leaders whose word means something to them.

So Democrats get:

1. A CR that will prevent the GOP from facing the wrath of Americans for a shutdown over the holidays

2. A coupon for one (1) meaningless ACA vote that will fail

3. An end to the illegal RIF/SNAP moves that are already before the courts

Those all seem like wins for the GOP.