@joshuasweitz
Professor of Biology & Institute for Health Computing, U of Maryland; explores how viruses impact human & environmental health; 'Asymptomatic' (JHU Press - https://bit.ly/asymptomatic_book) & 'Science Matters' (https://substack.com/@joshuasweitz)
The data also reinforce a message that should be clear: American leadership in science and medical research requires far more than getting across the line on top-line budget negotiations and will require continued vigilance to track how HHS treats applications and existing awards.
The plot is only part of the story.
The data do not include lost science via terminations, freezes, stalled payments, and award delays. The collapse in awards rates will lead to job loss, gaps in research programs, and drive scientists to spend more time writing grants rather than doing science.
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.
Update: Prasad out of FDA by end of April.
www.reuters.com/business/hea...
Grant Witness is hiring! We're seeking a full-time data scientist to join our team building data resources to support journalism, litigation, and activism protecting science, public health, and the rule of law. grant-witness.us/apply.html #rstats
The US army corps of engineers is considering, right now, what would be the largest destruction of coral reefs in US history. To make a port slightly bigger.
People know this, right?
www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
🧪🦑🌎
WASHINGTON D.C.!!!
TOMORROW we are rallying on the National Mall to complete three goals: Save Science.
Protect Health.
Defend Democracy.
Learn more by visiting this link! : zurl.co/9Rp7c
#standupforscience
#science
#March7
#savescience
#rally
"It is not a mild infection, it is not a mild virus; it is a severe illness. And they kept on telling me they wish they'd known beforehand how bad measles was, so that they could have protected their family," [Dr. Nolen] said.
Degrading trust in vaccines comes with consequences.
This middle part of the thread points to specific examples of potential/ongoing automation of ideology-driven evaluation, i.e., using tools to screen for alignment with administration priorities. There are significant implications here for oversight of what is unfolding with NIH grants & reviews.
Real change takes a movement that goes into the public square, and as @cdelawalla.bsky.social explains, the public square has expanded & requires moving beyond business-as-usual engagement. More on @standupforscience.bsky.social and its strategic calculus:
www.statnews.com/2026/03/06/s...
Just got off a mass call hosted by @50501movement.bsky.social that included @frankabe.bsky.social, @projectsaltbox.bsky.social, @sussexvb.bsky.social, @tifotter.bsky.social, me, & others. So incredible to hear from speakers unearthing plans and finding ways to fight concentration camps nationwide.
Wait, but RFK Jr & Drs Bhattacharya, Makary, Oz, Prasad, & Høeg kept saying that they would “rebuild trust.”
They won’t like this survey showing that:
“The public is differentiating the trustworthiness of career scientists in the CDC, NIH, and FDA from that of the leaders of those agencies.”
National Day of Action, this Saturday March 7, with dozens of events taking place in communities nationwide.
New reporting via @meghanbartels.bsky.social with key quotes from @cdelawalla.bsky.social & @mtosterholm.bsky.social on the moment we face.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/stan...
Not satisfied with the answer? Then, ask them the next question: why is NIH/HHS squandering the experience of midcareer and experienced researchers and the cumulative investment of American taxpayer $?
www.cnn.com/2026/03/05/h...
The next time someone hosts the NIH Director or HHS leadership on a podcast on trust, funding, or medical research, ask them why they are undermining early career researchers who drive science & discovery at NIH?
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PEPFAR, the program to stop hundreds of thousands of children and adults from dying of HIV/AIDS, was $6.5 billion a year.
Good news: Scientists were wrong about how bad sea level rise is.
Bad news: It’s even worse than we thought.
Poster with text: "Science. Democracy" with an illustration of hands shaking to signify an agreement. Text: "Take Back Our Science Rally! Washington, D.C. March 7, 2026. standupforscience.net/march7."
Facts aren't up for debate, & science isn't a scam. @standupforscience.bsky.social with people across the nation on Saturday, March 7. 📢 Rally to safeguard science, protect health & defend democracy.
More info on the National Day of Action: vist.ly/4trj5
Looking forward to @standupforscience.bsky.social's National Day of Action, taking place on the National Mall in DC and in dozens of cities/communities across the US.
Join in.
The more you speak up, the more space you create for evidence, accountability, and the rule of law.
Loyalty oaths and political litmus tests won't lead to new discoveries, innovations, or breakthroughs. NIH, NSF, and other mission-driven agencies need to get back to their mission, free of political interference. Oversight needed yesterday, the longer this is delayed, the more damage accumulates.
Stand Up for Science rally poster March 7th, 1:00 PM at Allegheny Landing in Pittsburgh.
Very excited to be speaking at the @standupforscience.bsky.social rally in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
I am speaking just prior to Dr. Rachel Levine
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Dr. “Measles outbreaks are the cost of doing business” Ralph Abraham left his role as Deputy anti-vaxxer at the CDC because of “unforeseen family obligations”.
He’s now the campaign manager for a Republican candidate running against Bill Cassidy in the Senate primary in Louisiana.
A governance and rights crisis will get worse... compounded by a public health crisis unfolding in detention camps with inevitable outbreaks of disease in unsanitary, crowded conditions operated by private companies.
Beyond just this tent camp, the system itself is untenable.
RFK Jr's non-expert #ACIP Has Scheduled a Meeting Next Month, looking to misrepresent the data on COVID-19 vaccines risks and ignore the fact that ACIP has already discussed vaccines risks and VAERS reports many times. vaxopedia.org/2026/03/01/r... via @aboutpediatrics.bsky.social
CIDRAP Op-Ed: The COVID vaccine myocarditis signal was real but is now resolved. ACIP's March agenda pretends otherwise, from @jakescottmd.bsky.social.
www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/cid...
WELL, DORKS! @timothysnyder.bsky.social says there is nothing more important than science and no one more important than scientists to establish a decent society and politics...which is why we are STANDING UP FOR SCIENCE on MARCH 7TH across the nation!
JOIN US! www.standupforscience.net/march7
All the more reason to Stand Up For Science, public accountability and evidence-based decision making:
www.standupforscience.net
In reality, HHS issues fewer awards and research $-s to science & imposes more red tape/interference as HHS leadership try to align what should be evidence-based decision making by independent civil servants w/administration *political* priorities.
And, the NIH Director? Off managing the CDC.
"At a recent public meeting, [NCI] Deputy Director Doug Lowy noted the NOFO approval process now requires 16 steps. He joked that it’s now more complex than a 1929 Rube Goldberg design for a can opener."
Remember: Gold Standard Science was meant to increase efficiency & let scientists do the work.
