Going to a conference in Toronto in November so going to see if I can get the updated Covid shot then.
ID doctor mom and researcher; passionate about #NTDs, especially #leprosy, climate change, and neglected populations. Associate professor at Emory, opinions are my own. #Medsky #IDsky
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Going to a conference in Toronto in November so going to see if I can get the updated Covid shot then.
They recovered over 180 bullet shells at the CDC. Debris from shattered glass is still being cleaned up. I am completely stunned at how quickly the news cycle has moved on. This was an act of terrorism targeting public health experts, and the response seems to be a collective shrug.
This was an attack on a federal institution. An attack BECAUSE it is Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This was domestic terrorism. Why isn’t it getting more press coverage? Some coverage, not enough. Domestic. Terrorism.
Not enough media attention. This was so unbelievably scary. The fact that more people were not killed is really incredible. I drive through that intersection multiple times a week. There’s always cars and pedestrians especially around 5. And this photo is terrifying.
That is truly horrific.
Literally thought the same thing moments ago. I have most of both the pediatric and adult memorized anyways, but definitely need to save a copy.
My then toddler was the most non-plussed about wearing a mask compared to my other kids and adults I knew. She would forget she had it on long after we were home, back in the car, etc… and she totally understood the assignment - protect ourselves and protect others.
Horrifying
Agree! I was totally shocked in a good way.
I hope you’re right
And if you want a shirt like mine buy it at Mahogany Mommies, a small Black woman- owned business that has amazing tshirts.
Big crowd earlier today in the home of MLK, CDC, and John Lewis. #Handsoff Atlanta, @indivisible.org @meiselasb.bsky.social
99.4% of new drugs approved by the FDA are the product of NIH funded research. Remember this every time you see another headline on the NIH funding cuts. It will directly impact YOU. #ScienceNOTSilence
Options… hubby has EU citizenship and kids eligible for that as well.
I also recently realized that I’m eligible through my dad, who passed away when we were young. My brother was the guinea pig and applied for citizenship about a year ago and he just got official word last month that it went through. Now the rest of us are applying.
Philanthropies and sensible billionaires need to step up and fund these students and researchers. Not to let NIH and the government off the hook but to at least bridge the gap.
Several of my boomer aunts / uncles have gone from pretty conservative republican to progressive democrats. And my liberal mom has gone even further left. I’m about as progressive as I was 30 years ago, so stayed about the same. But not much farther left to go.
Stand up for science! Atlanta is standing up! #standupforscience2025
Atlanta @standupforscience.bsky.social #standupforscience
Come on down to the Georgia state capital and stand up for science!!
Costco for the win!
Totally. A neighbor and friend of my daughter’s invited her to go feed / see some chickens in another neighbor’s backyard a few days ago. Hard pass, no thank you!
My mom, who is blind with a guide dog, has had Ubers just drive right by and cancel when they see her. Awful thing is that she doesn’t always know right away, although she can usually tell.
MORE LOCATIONS BEING ADDED BY THE DAY! Want to plan a local event or be included on the map of events? Visit standupforscience2025.org/local-event-information for more information & to be added to the map!
Rubio terminated 5800 USAID contracts – more than 90% of its foreign aid programs – in defiance of the courts. Here’s a list of just some of the lifesaving awards that were terminated. Nearly all were Congressionally mandated. They’ve saved millions of lives. 🧵
NIH is the reason that kids today don’t have to lose their dad or favorite uncle from those diseases. Which deadly disease now won’t get that cure? Will it be your parent, partner, child? The elite universities will survive. The lost science will be devastating. #NIH @altnih4science.bsky.social
31 years ago today my father died from metastatic melanoma, leaving 5 kids ages 5-22. Today he would have likely been cured. 36 years ago my uncle died of AIDS. A few years later and he may be still alive. I’m older now than both of them were when they died. 1/2
Thank you to everyone who stands with USAID. Share far and wide. Unfortunately we don’t have $40 million to buy up ads during the Super Bowl. Even if we did, we’d use it to support the U.S. economy while feeding kids around the globe. #StandWithUSAID #SaveForeignAid m.youtube.com/watch?v=PqUE...
This is what amounts to an ILLEGAL & indiscriminate funding cut for research centers everywhere. It will mean shuttering labs across the country, layoffs in red & blue states, and derailing lifesaving research on everything from cancer to opioid addiction. We all need to speak out to save lives.
On changes to #NIH indirect rates, there is a law in place that prohibits NIH from making such changes without the approval of Congress. See Division D, Title II Section 224 of The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law No: 118-47) grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
I don’t get the listserv emails so I’ll look into it. It’s very possible that I let my membership lapse. Reminds me that I need to see what ASTMH is doing too… that’s more of my home society.
I sent an email to IDSA about RFK jr and got a very wishy washy reply that they can’t comment on specific nominees. Only that they can recommend that the nominee be pro-vaccine, etc. Like, what??
USAID funded projects in 120 countries - fighting epidemics, educating children, providing clean water, supporting life saving work. Now nurses laid off, clinics closed in 25 countries where 2/3 of all child deaths occur
The Nazis burned books they considered subversive. The #Trump administration is conducting a "digital book burning" according to researchers--destroying information from federal agencies on the web on topics they consider subversive but are essential for public health. www.npr.org/2025/02/05/n...
Dear Democratic Leaders: here’s a free idea, send members of congress into the buildings where Elons people are and see what they’re doing. Dare them to stop you. Do something
Where.are.our.Democratic. leaders …remember when John Lewis led a protest on the House floor for gun control? They should be sitting in and chaining themselves to the congressional floors. The inaction is deafening @schiff.senate.gov @schumer.senate.gov @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social @aoc.bsky.social
You say: they shutdown USAID. You mean: they illegally broke in to a secure facility over a weekend, hijacked sensitive data on vulnerable people and US businesses, destroyed property Americans paid for, cut off resources for sick and hungry families, and fired Americans across the country.
It’s official: Elon Musk’s staffers have now illegally obtained classified information from the USAID office. Here’s a recap of what’s happening:
"To condone policies that the profession knows will compromise health—or to remain silent and look away—is to be complicit in putting population health at risk" To every university, every public hospital, every academic society: SILENCE IS NOT AN OPTION. #medsky
Good morning. RFK Jr would be an absolute disaster for NIH. The HHS Secretary has enormous power over NIH. Enormous. He could effectively end the agency as a science funder. Please organize to stop RFK Jr. Students, you can help: use all the channels you have to get the word out.
You are smarter and more qualified than almost anyone I know in our field, and belong here more than many, many white scientists who rode the coattails of privilege and opportunity. I’ll be here reminding people of that fact and supporting you and other Black and Brown colleagues at every chance.
A lot to process indeed 😢
Sen Chris Murphy (D-CT) just now: “You could literally walk down the street and the first 100 people you’d find would be less dangerous as the head of HHS than Robert F Kennedy Jr. He will get people killed”
Please. please. Please. Contact your Senators about RFK Jr. Keep calling and get everyone you know to do the same.
Thank you for your leadership in this! I just sent a bunch of emails off and will be doing calls later.
Can you guess what infectious disease I study? Amazing handmade mug from a former student.
Why should the public care about the freeze on the NIH? Aside from the need for scientific pursuits to make our society better… -For every dollar we invest in NIH research, there is a $2.5 return. -Research dollars help fund universities that employ non-academics. (1/)
#RFKJr is a menace to society. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/17/h...
New in @leprosyreview.bsky.social (Vol 95/4) Challenges of delay in diagnosis and high disability rate among newly diagnosed leprosy patients in Karachi, Pakistan by Murtaza et al leprosyreview.org/article/95/4... #Leprosy #Disability #Epidemology #IDsky #Health #Research #GlobalHealth #Pakistan
As someone whose family is affected by this devastating disease, this is exciting. Too late for my mom but may help a future afflicted member of my family.
Walter Orenstein on miracles: www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/mira... "I was 7 years old in 1955 when the Salk polio vaccine became available. I was a real anti-vaxxer, not wanting a shot for something I knew nothing about. My mother said to me, 'Better you should cry, than I should cry.'"
@defendpublichealth.bsky.social is composed of some of the leading scientists, public health experts, clinicians and patient advocates in the US. Our press release, see first comment, gives you a sense of the breadth of expertise of our membership. All of us are opposed to the RFK Jr. nomination. 1/
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/13/o... “…Given the lack of appropriate guardrails that would normally prevent an anti-vaccine activist, science denialist and conspiracy theorist from heading the country’s most important public health agency, it’s a dangerous time to be a child in the United States.”
If RFK Jr. is confirmed. @donttreadonkids.bsky.social
Ok that’s reassuring that Wilson is a 3-banded armadillo. There was a case report or lay press article about leprosy and a petting zoo in Florida several years ago… I can’t remember the details (I’m a leprosy researcher in armadillo country…)
Oh Texas… 🤦🏼♀️
Curious where is this said zoo that has armadillos for petting?
Honored to pay my respects to one of the biggest champions of the forgotten. President Carter’s commitment to eradicating Guinea worm and other #NTDs continues to inspire me. Moving experience, no wait here at the Carter Center. We will miss you! @cartercenter.bsky.social @emoryrollins.bsky.social
The Dems who are allegedly open to confirming RFK Jr—a man who pushes grotesque, dangerous lies about HPV & Covid vaccines, & who says he’ll support Trump’s anti-abortion agenda—should be deeply ashamed of themselves
Way to pass on humanism to your trainees, it’s no coincidence
Great article! Missing is Travel Medicine, both pre and post, which I would argue adds significant ID value to both institutions and patient care, especially in an ever increasingly connected world. And it’s fun! Trainees enjoy it and opens clinical, public health, and research doors. #IDsky
Came across this quote today: “…mercy is no substitute for justice”, Sr Catherine Sullivan, nurse at the former leprosarium, Carville, LA, 1920s. I know the same sentiment has been expressed by many in history. A good reminder for global health, especially when “charity” does not advance justice.
‘Twas the night before Christmas And all through the land The people were wishing Things had gone to plan An election so horrid Can hardly believe A country so broken We see no reprieve Yet still we persisted To fight for what’s right This Christmas our wish list Is to lift up the light 💫
Neglect, it is. WHO finds that the direct cause of "the mystery disease" in Congo is malaria, exacerbated by malnutrition. Malaria can be *cured* by a few cheap pills, as long as it's caught early. So these are deaths of neglect. www.reuters.com/world/africa...
Ha ha, my introduction to sweet cereals was Frosted Flakes at friends’ houses and I loved eating skippy peanut butter and jelly on white bread sandwiches at their houses. And Kraft Mac n cheese!
Never tried them! Those were definitely not in my house growing up
🤣 I also love shredded wheat and All Bran. Blame my parents for growing up in a hippie no sugar environment.
I love grape nuts!
Hi #IDSky - Tulane ID has unfilled fellowship spots. We're looking for applicants to join starting 7/2025 We offer: -Diverse training across 3 hospital sites -Broad clinical exposure, including HIV, tropical diseases, and transplant (1/2)
It's good day to remind everyone that RFK Jr doesn't believe that HIV causes AIDS. This conspiracy makes him an unfit choice to lead the department of health and human services. He also believes vaccines cause autism. Call/email your senator and oppose his confirmation. #WorldAIDSDay2024
Also thinking about my uncle, Bob, who died in 1988. One of the reasons I went into ID. #IDSky
I wish I had you or one of these supportive physicians when I was an intern in the PICU. Instead I got a poor evaluation from the attending for crying near the nurse’s station in site of a patient’s family. 😢
If you’re still around on this last day of #TropMed24 and looking for a a great session on this fine morning, come to room 357! Important session on integrated control skin NTDs @drmichaelmarks.bsky.social speaking!
A must read op-ed in @nytimes.com by @zey.bsky.social about the real danger of RFK Jr at HHS. Gift link below. Please share widely #MedSky www.nytimes.com/2024/11/16/o...
If you missed out on our posters yesterday, we have more exciting ones today (7367, 7473, 7475) at #TropMed24 on spatial epidemiology of M. leprae seropositivity, more immunology highlighting potential signatures of latent disease, and schisto coinfection / micronutrients. #IDsky #ASTMH #emory
Are you at #TropMed24 and dying to know what’s new and exciting in #leprosy? Then stop by the following posters of some of my stellar trainees. Posters 6575, 6634, 6686 on immunology, epidemiology, and nutritional aspects. #IDSky #MedSky #GlobalHealthSky #ASTMH
Was already on my list of posters to check out!
Soooo excited
Are you at #TropMed24 and dying to know what’s new and exciting in #leprosy? Then stop by the following posters of some of my stellar trainees. Posters 6575, 6634, 6686 on immunology, epidemiology, and nutritional aspects. #IDSky #MedSky #GlobalHealthSky #ASTMH
Great Opening Keynote by Monique Wasunna at #TropMed2024 taking us through a history from colonialism to today on NTDs & how the African continent is fighting #NTDs
Forgot to tag! #IDSky #MedSky
So excited to be on my way to #Tropmed #ASTMH conference. Need a dose of hope and connection, which this conference always provides. Feels eerily similar to 8 years ago when the meeting was within a week of the election. I know ASTMH is not on this app yet so I’ll try to cross post!
Thank you!
Can you add me to the TB one? I’m a leprosy researcher and love to get ideas from the TB world ( can add myself? If so, I haven’t figured that out yet)
Let’s make Bluesky a safe heaven for ALL communities. No haters allowed here !
Call for Expressions of Interest - Are you passionate about advancing #globalhealth research? TDR, WHO Special Programme for #Research & Training in #TropicalDiseases, is seeking new members of its Scientific & Technical Advisory Committee: bit.ly/3zA28tf 📅 Deadline: 15 November 2024 #BeatNTDs
Yup! Will be there for sure
Yes if I can technically handle it I will cross post 😆
Was thinking the same thing! Planning on using the old site for the meeting but will encourage migration over here.
Great idea! I think COR-NTD has an account.
Following the trend I have created a starter pack of and for people working on Neglected Tropical Diseases. Please let me know who else to add! go.bsky.app/KEwytqr
Can you add me? Not sure how to add myself. Thanks!
ID, global health, Epi faculty at Emory; med-peds residency; expert in all things leprosy; passionate about #planetaryhealth ; and we overlapped at Brown for residency. Glad to be here!
Thank you for bottling that dread ever so perfectly
Can anyone name the mountain in my banner pic?
Excited to be over here at Bluesky! Passionate about infectious diseases and planetary health. And love using cutting edge technology to reduce the burden of neglected tropical diseases.