📌 THREAD: I’m taking Health & Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. to court ⚖️ Not for me — but to defend science 🧬, LGBTQ health 🏳️🌈 & the future of public research 🏥 Here’s why 🧵 🔗 Full story via my op-ed in @statnews.com #DefendScience #LGBTQHealth #RFKJr #NIH #PublicHealth #AcademicFreedom
2/ I’m a Harvard-trained epidemiologist. In the past decade: ✔️ Mentored 75+ rising health leaders ✔️ Published 100+ peer-reviewed papers ✔️ Ranked top 10% in NIH funding across Harvard ✔️ Built one of the largest LGBTQ health research programs in the world 🏥 I don't say this to brag...
3/ I share this because my work was rigorous & earned the respect of experienced scientists Now, it’s all been erased — because it’s no longer “aligned with agency priorities.”
4/ That’s what makes what happened next so dangerous ⚠️ Dangerous for every American who relies on evidence-based health care
5/ The government destroyed $16 million in taxpayer-funded science that I was leading 💰 But that’s not what hurts most What hurts is this: vital, life-saving LGBTQ research is now in the trash — defunded, silenced, erased
6/ One canceled study found lesbians are 3x as likely to experience stillbirth 🫄 Another studied suicide risk in queer youth under anti-LGBTQ laws 🧒
7/ This is not just about me It’s about whether truth 🧬 will survive in a democracy 🗳️ — or if science will be rewritten by ideology 📉 That’s why I'm filing a federal lawsuit ⚖️ against RFK Jr. & the NIH
8/ I’m not alone ✊ Leading researchers, the American Public Health Association 🏥 & others joined our suit — to stop unlawful grant terminations & protect science 🔬📚
9/ I’ve faced hate mail 💌 Disturbing threats 🚫 I've increased security around my office & family 🛑🏠. But the greater danger is silence 😶 We either defend science now — or we watch it vanish 🫥
10/ I’m proud to be a Harvard faculty member 🎓 — & proud Harvard is also suing to defend academic freedom 📢🧠. More universities 🏛️ & institutions must join now This is DEFCON 1 🚨
11/ Philanthropy 💸 must step up Congress 🏛️ must act And the public 👥 must understand: this isn’t niche The research you rely on — cancer 🧬, HIV 🦠, vaccines 💉, mental health 🧠 — is next 🔥
Please link to the lawsuit, and if you or anyone will explain why you/others have standing to sue, and how strong your case is based on legal precedent, I’d appreciate it. Scientific research is in the public interest, but im unclear on the legal args n evidence.
Oh heck ya!! Go go go! 💙🤘