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April Houston

@aprilehouston.bsky.social
382 followers 711 following 49 posts

Science/health communicator, traveler, feminist, and human rights advocate. Let's talk gender equality, #globalhealth, implementation science. Or dogs. She/her.

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Reposted by April Houston
Vox @vox.com · 30/01/2026
The expansion of the Mexico City policy means that many of the world’s most vulnerable and marginalized people, particularly mothers and young children, will continue to suffer disproportionately from the consequences of cuts.
vox.com
America’s culture wars are killing people overseas
When “pro-life” foreign aid hurts women and children the most.
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April Houston @aprilehouston.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
I am officially unemployed as of today, thanks to my position being eliminated due to funding constraints. I have mixed feelings. Sad about the loss. Stressed about finding a new job in a terrible global public health job market. Very mad it is somehow still dry January.
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Reposted by April Houston
Asia Russell @asia-ilse.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Watching the general strike in Minnesota and want to show solidarity? Here is a real thing you can do—just *share this post NOW* and you’ll raise funds for the MN Immigrant Law Center #ICEOUT
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Reposted by April Houston
Public Citizen @publiccitizen.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Elon Musk is getting a $1 TRILLION pay package from Tesla. If he worked 40 hr/week, he'd be making $50 million PER HOUR. That is a truly unfathomable amount of money -- it could end hunger, fund life-changing research, & save countless lives. Instead, it's going to Elon Musk.
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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
Come cross the finish line with us this morning in our quest to save AIDS research. We have some terrific speakers to end our marathon! Go to saveaidsresearch.org or join the livestream now on You Tube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3wx....
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Reposted by April Houston
saveaidsresearch.bsky.social @saveaidsresearch.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
24 Hours to Save AIDS Research is happening! Tune in NOW to learn why we should all care about HIV research with Greg Millett, Moses Supercharger, and Shashika Bandara. bit.ly/45Qftts #saveAIDSresearch #HIV #HIVresearch
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April Houston @aprilehouston.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
TODAY TODAY TODAY! Stay up all day and all night with us (or, you know, drop by for a few minutes) as researchers and advocates talk about recent developments in HIV research and what we stand to lose. We won't stop fighting to #SaveAIDSResearch! @saveaidsresearch.bsky.social
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April Houston @aprilehouston.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
ALMOST GO TIME!! A lot of folks have spent a lot of time pulling together a killer lineup for this and we really want a good crowd to be there to appreciate it! Join us on YouTube from 11am Sept 16-11am Sept 17 to join the fight to #saveAIDSresearch.
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Reposted by April Houston
Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
Donald Trump thinks he has found a diabolical loophole through which he can rescind billions in foreign aid without congressional approval, and the chief justice gave us an ominous signal that the Supreme Court will agree. slate.com/news-and-pol...
slate.com
Trump Thinks He’s Found a Way Around a Clear Constitutional Limit. SCOTUS Seems to Agree.
This showdown at SCOTUS marks the administration’s latest effort to seize authority it does not have.
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April Houston @aprilehouston.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Share your story! The @saveaidsresearch.bsky.social team is collecting video testimonials from researchers, advocates, patients, and community members about why #HIV research is crucial. Submit yours ASAP so we can use them in the livestream on Sept. 16-17! saveaidsresearch.org/share-your-s...
saveaidsresearch.org
Share Your Story | 24 Hours to Save AIDS Research
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Reposted by April Houston
Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
"We are gravely concerned that American people will needlessly suffer and die as a result of policies that turn away from sound interventions. After careful consideration, we insist on Kennedy’s resignation to restore the integrity, credibility and science-driven mission of HHS and all its agencies"
idsociety.org
Joint statement calling for Secretary Kennedy resignation
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saveaidsresearch.bsky.social @saveaidsresearch.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
Announcing 24 Hours to Save AIDS Research! Join us September 16 starting at 11am ET as we come together in community, share insights, answer questions, and inspire action! Register bit.ly/45U1keO and join us on YouTube bit.ly/45Qftts #saveAIDSresearch
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Reposted by April Houston
Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
A1 above the fold in the @nytimes.com. The message is getting through. Keep pushing everyone. We can save the #CDC, save the #NIH from the clutches of #RussellVought #StephenMiller and #DonaldTrump. Keep the pressure up on your members of Congress and the media (letters to editors, op-eds).
 A photograph of the front page of The New York Times dated September 2, 2025. The main headline reads: “In Blitz on Science, Experts Warn of an Autocratic Tilt.” Below it are two featured articles. The first, by Apoorva Mandavilli, is titled “C.D.C. Left Battling for Its Survival” and describes turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became health secretary, leading to staff losses, leadership resignations, and questions about the agency’s legitimacy. The second article, by William J. Broad, is titled “Are Research Cuts Fighting Red Tape or Free Inquiry?” and discusses threats to science and research under political pressure.
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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
#NIH is hanging by a thread. The #CDC has been decimated. #RFK Jr. and Russell #Vought are psychopaths--I don't say this frivolously--they are cold, calculating, inflicting violence on millions through public policy. It is where we are right now. These men are not normal. 1/
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April Houston @aprilehouston.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
"The AIDS epidemic taught us that until we are personally touched by the truth, we’re not likely to care; and until we care, we’ll stand by, hands in pockets, looking the other way." time.com/7310516/aids...
time.com
The AIDS Crisis Offers a Warning About Trump's Research Cuts
Trump's “policies are a reflection of a broader belief that some lives are more valuable than others,” writes Fisher.
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Reposted by April Houston
Megan Ranney MD MPH @meganranney.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
A must-read, must-share piece - clearly deconstructing the shoddy science of the Geiers (who are inexplicably in charge of studies at HHS). Consider this an early warning for what lies ahead. 🛟🩺🧪 www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
Opinion | The Playbook Used to ‘Prove’ Vaccines Cause Autism (Gift Article)
Data can easily be manipulated to show a causation that doesn’t exist.
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Midwest D-CFAR @midwestdcfar.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
⁉️How can someone build a solid professional network within the HIV research community? ⁉️ Share your advice - help out your colleagues! ⚡️ Comment your answer, or email us: admin at midwestdcfar.org.
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Reposted by April Houston
Your Local Epidemiologist @ylepidemiologist.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
On Friday, my phone lit up with urgent texts. First: gunshots, lockdown. Then the photos—bullet holes punched through windows, shell casings scattered across the floor, videos echoing with “pop pop pop.” The CDC campus was under attack. Dozens of my friends and colleagues were inside.
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Science and Freedom Alliance - SAFA @safa-science.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
The Supreme Court is reviewing a vitally important NIH case on its shadow docket. It is likely that the Court will back Trump, and say his (illegal) grant terminations are ok. We must speak up now. 1/
scienceandfreedomalliance.substack.com
Tell the Supreme Court: No Stay. Hands off NIH
The Supreme Court is poised to allow Trump to illegally terminate NIH grants. Let's speak out. There is not much time.
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aaronecarroll.bsky.social @aaronecarroll.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Too often, science is presented as if it offers one clear answer. But evidence rarely speaks in absolutes. In my latest piece, I explore how we can communicate science more effectively by being honest, humble, and respectful of complexity. Trust in science depends on it: wapo.st/4orhd4Y
wapo.st
Opinion | This phrase was meant to increase trust in science. It backfired.
Here’s where “follow the science” went wrong.
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The Last Mile with USAID @thelastmilewithusaid.substack.com · 04/08/2025
I saw this ad in today’s NYT and had to share it. The U.S. is spending more to destroy taxpayer-funded contraceptives than it would to deliver them. The result? More unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and preventable deaths. This is cruelty, not savings.
A newspaper ad from MSI United States appears in the July 29, 2025 edition of The New York Times. The ad features a large quote from the White House, dated March 2025: “What kind of a person doesn’t support eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in government spending…?” Below the quote, the ad criticizes the Trump administration for choosing to destroy $9.7 million worth of taxpayer-funded contraceptives instead of allowing them to be distributed to people in need. MSI offered to handle shipment and distribution, but the administration declined. The ad calls this wasteful and harmful, stating it will result in more unintended pregnancies and deaths. It urges readers to donate to help replace the supplies, directing them to msiunitedstates.org/donate. A QR code is included in the lower-left corner.
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Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · 25/07/2025
This is really good!
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Reposted by April Houston
Christie Aschwanden @cragcrest.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
"Institutional science writers are in a unique position to characterize and respond to policies that threaten the public’s interest as it relates to science." must-read from @shiplives.bsky.social and Abigail Eisenstadt. scicomm.plos.org/2025/07/21/r...
scicomm.plos.org
Research Is Being Undermined — What Does That Mean for Science Writers at Research Institutions? - PLOS SciComm
By Abigail Eisenstadt and Matt Shipman The Trump administration has made policy changes and funding decisions that have wide-reaching ramifications for scientific…
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Reposted by April Houston
Emily PhD 🎓 @ejwillingham.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
"How is it possible to feel both unlucky&fortunate at the same time? How can suffering & compassion coexist in the same environment? This narrative of human suffering, set in 2025, is filled with tears and resilience. It is a story of women. It is our story. It could very well be your story too."
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Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
What a damn shame. And let's be clear: this rescissions package was merely a test. A start. 🧪 Science folks: Expect a similar bill coming soon for codifying cuts to this year's budget for NSF, NIH, etc. 🧵 Brief thread 1/3
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 15/07/2025
"Five months into its unprecedented dismantling of foreign-aid programs, the Trump administration has given the order to incinerate food instead of sending it to people who need it" @hana-kiros.bsky.social, on spending $130,000 to burn food worth $800,000 www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
theatlantic.com
The Trump Administration Is About to Incinerate 500 Tons of Emergency Food
Federal workers warned for months that the high-energy biscuits would go to waste.
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Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
This gap in biomedical research funding between FY24 and FY25, it's new therapies that won't see the light of day, researchers moving away from science, and the evisceration of American research universities, which were until recently the envy and a model for the world.
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Reposted by April Houston
The Last Mile with USAID @thelastmilewithusaid.substack.com · 14/07/2025
Trump destroyed 60 years of American generosity— aid that fed families, kept girls in school, saved 26 million from AIDS, and now puts 14 million lives at risk. He wants your tax dollars for raids, cages and terrorizing our communities. If you mean it, don’t just like it. Repost it!
A digital advocacy poster with a dark blue background and bold white and red text. At the top, it reads: “STOP THE RESCISSION” and “Defend American foreign aid.” The poster is divided into three sections. The first section, titled “WHAT’S AT RISK,” lists: “Over $6 billion in cuts,” “USAID dismantled,” and “Programs that prevent child trafficking, hunger, and forced migration.” The second section, titled “WHAT FILLS THE VACUUM,” lists: “DHS enforcement operations,” “Forced removals,” “Surveillance of immigrant communities,” and “Privatized detention systems.” The final section urges: “Call your Senator now – 202-224-3121 – Tell them: Vote NO on the rescission.” The tone is urgent and civic-minded, calling attention to the moral consequences of U.S. foreign aid cuts.
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April Houston @aprilehouston.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
"Attempts to teach my children anything about Donald Trump, including the unfortunate fact that he is president of the United States, place an unconstitutional burden on my First Amendment right to freely exercise my religion." www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
usatoday.com
Thanks, Supreme Court! It's now my right to prevent my kid from learning about Trump. | Opinion
Attempts to teach my children anything about Donald Trump place an unconstitutional burden on my First Amendment right to freely exercise my religion.
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Reposted by April Houston
Science Magazine @science.org · 08/07/2025
“There is a lot of pressure to essentially leave the country or not pursue research.” scim.ag/3Gz4VWW
scim.ag
‘It’s a nightmare.’ U.S. funding cuts threaten academic science jobs at all levels
“There is a lot of pressure to essentially leave the country or not pursue research,” one Ph.D. student says
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Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
"More people need to find their place in the resistance and to foster what Hannah Arendt called “conditions of courage” to allow others to choose defection rather than compliance" @aliciay.bsky.social @gregggonsalves.bsky.social www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
thelancet.com
Building a resistance to US assaults on public health
The administration of US President Donald Trump has launched a full-fledged assault on science and public health;1 its “flood the zone” strategy created chaos and initially overwhelmed potential oppos...
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Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Before states banned abortion, one of the gravest outcomes of early miscarriage could easily be avoided: Doctors could offer a dilation and curettage procedure, which quickly empties the uterus and allows it to close, protecting against a life-threatening hemorrhage.
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April Houston @aprilehouston.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
"The American public was never USAID's primary audience. Instead, a majority of our communication efforts were aimed entirely at Congress and other government insiders. This was our choice. Our flawed logic was that if lawmakers understood the agency’s impact, they’d protect its work." #devcomms
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Reposted by April Houston
Alt USAID/ USAID Forever @altusaid.altgov.info · 27/06/2025
Kristof responds to readers who are "fed up" with him, one argument at a time. "I’ve followed the United States Agency for International Development for decades, and by far the worst dysfunction has been the chaos following U.S.A.I.D.’s dismantling this year."
nytimes.com
Opinion | The U.S. Cannot Solve All the World’s Problems
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Septima P. Snark @drsubini.blacksky.app · 23/06/2025
There are so many chilling lines in this piece but the one I can’t stop thinking about as a Black woman is, “Only after she was legally dead did doctors do everything in their power to keep her body alive”. Thank you @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social for speaking this painful truth.
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April Houston @aprilehouston.bsky.social · 23/06/2025
"The decision to end #USAID brought deadly consequences. But the events leading to that moment can be traced in part to a particularly banal cause: a confusingly worded directive from Mr. Trump." Thanks @nytimes.com for this important story. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/22/u...
nytimes.com
Missteps, Confusion and ‘Viral Waste’: The 14 Days That Doomed U.S.A.I.D.
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April Houston @aprilehouston.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Important info, beautifully presented. @propublica.org knocks another one out of the park. "Now, studies can’t be completed. Papers can’t be published. Years of research may be lost and millions of dollars wasted." #sciencesky #savescience #saveNIH #scicomm projects.propublica.org/nih-cuts-res...
projects.propublica.org
Shattered Science: The Research Lost as Trump Targets NIH Funding
The Trump administration cut research funding that sought cures for future pandemics, examined the causes of dementia and tried to prevent HIV transmission. More than 150 researchers shared with ProPu...
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Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 09/06/2025
🚨BREAKING: 300+ NIH employees call out the harm of censorship & politicized science in scathing email to Bhattacharya, demanding an end to political interference, a lift on funding freezes, & rehiring of fired staff whose work saves lives. This is historic - insiders are blowing the whistle. 🧵(1/5)
Front-page-style graphic titled “BREAKING NEWS” with photos of RFK Jr. and Dr. Bhattacharya in front of a government hearing chamber. Text reads: “NIH Scientists Sound the Alarm as Health Research Faces Historic Threat” and “NIH Employees Send Trump Cronies Scathing Wake-Up Call.”
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Partners In Health @pih.org · 04/06/2025
Congress is weighing massive cuts to global health funding—including PEPFAR and UNICEF. These programs save millions of lives. Cutting them now would be catastrophic. Here’s what you need to know—and how to take action. 👇
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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 04/06/2025
“I would like to cure brain cancer. I think that's not particularly controversial.” Be that as it may, the NIH terminated that scientist's grant. Here's a huge survey of the 2,500 grants that NIH has killed or delayed...so far. Gift link: nyti.ms/43Jz1yJ
A chart showing cancelled NIH grants
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D&I at WashU @washu-dandi.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
The dean of the WashU School of Public Health interviewed Elvin Geng @elvingeng.bsky.social about a paper he co-authored, “HIV epidemiology, prevention, treatment, and implementation strategies for public health.” Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtM5... #HIV #implementationscience #impsci #idsky
youtube.com
Public Health Ideas with Elvin Geng
YouTube video by WashU School of Public Health
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April Houston @aprilehouston.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
#ForeignAid cuts have already resulted in about 300,000 deaths, most of them of children, and will most likely lead to significantly more by the end of the year. Thanks @brookeenichols.bsky.social‬ for your role in measuring/documenting the impact of this cruelty! www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Elon Musk’s Legacy Is Disease, Starvation and Death
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Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
🧪 Attention those with terminated grants, including for NSF, NASA, EPA, NIH, etc: Let Congress know about the impact of terminations via this form: democrats-science.house.gov/grantcancela... Only Dem staff on the House Science Committee will have access (unless if you explicitly state otherwise).
How many trainees were supported by your award?
Enter your answer
14.What was the reason given for your grant’s cancelation?
Enter your answer
15.Is there anything else you would like to share with the Committee?
Enter your answer
16.Are you comfortable with the Committee publicly sharing the information you provided? 
If you select “ask me first,” please be sure you have provided an email address or phone number.

Yes

No

Ask me first
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Reposted by April Houston
Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
Science article with perspectives from NIH insiders www.science.org/content/arti... 1/n
science.org
NIH insiders: Trump is ‘dismantling and destroying everything’
After just 100 days, agency scientists say U.S. health institutes are demoralized and have lost essential staff and funding
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Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
Appreciate Science mag calling a spade a spade: "The spending slowdown has sown chaos across the scientific community, as researchers, universities, and private firms have been left wondering whether funding they assumed was coming will ever arrive." www.science.org/content/arti...
New grant spending has plummeted 53% since Trump took office in January, on average, across four science agencies.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
Sobering portraits of some of the people facing the dire consequences of disruptions to HIV treatment as a fall out in cuts to US foreign aid. It's easy to erase dehumanize human lives when framed as "DOGE cuts and reducing the size of government". www.npr.org/sections/goa...
npr.org
Portraits: A 10-year-old, a house painter and a mom who are running out of HIV pills
HIV medications were supposed to be exempt from U.S. aid cuts. In Zambia, for example, those on the ground say otherwise.
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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
For the next 2 weeks, @defendpublichealth.bsky.social is asking for everyone to call their members of Congress about the cuts to and political interference at NIH by the Trump White House. 1/ 5calls.org/issue/nation...
5calls.org
Defend Scientific Progress and Protect the NIH ⭑ 5 Calls
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the largest sponsor of biomedical research in the world, driving essential innovations in disease detection …
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April Houston @aprilehouston.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
I had so much fun supporting this event this week with the @iasociety.bsky.social team! Thanks to all the fellows for your passion, enthusiasm, and commitment to the fight against #HIV in southern US communities. I look forward to keeping in touch!
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