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Ashani Weeraratna

@ashi-w.bsky.social
3.9K followers 1.8K following 563 posts

Professor and Chair, cancer biologist. I care about science, equity and cooking. Opinions (lots of them) my own.

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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
A full week (are there other kinds?) including a visit to Capitol Hill with friends and colleagues to talk about the importance of funding medical research. 
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Guyyyyyyyysssss!!!! Today I had the best day ever! First, I got to have breakfast with a friend I haven’t seen in nearly 40 years when we both lived in Lesotho! and THEN!!! I got to go see the Springboks (South African rugby team) devour the New Zealand All Blacks!!! (Sorry Jason!!) 1/
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
So we want to livestream the rally tomorrow from the Save The Academy instagram account, but the accounts needs 1000 followers to allow livestreaming. Please please please can everyone go follow this instagram account? www.instagram.com/savetheacade...
instagram.com
Instagram
Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I saw this somewhere else, but it’s so true. People who think scientist are hiding things from them have never met a real scientist. Ask me about my work and good luck getting me to shut up 😂
static.klipy.com
Bored Emoji: Talk to the Hand
ALT: Bored Emoji: Talk to the Hand
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Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics @bermaninstitute.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
"We're losing science studying what makes our health systems work well or poorly. That's really important work. Everybody cares about making healthcare safer and reducing errors.", Nancy Kass | Funding cuts hit research focused on making US healthcare safer-more efficient hub.jhu.edu/2026/09/02/a...
hub.jhu.edu
Funding cuts hit research focused on making American healthcare safer, more efficient
The cancelled awards supported the work of young researchers, a loss that jeopardizes not only their critical work but also the pipeline of talent interested in pursuing scientific research in the Uni...
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
When my Bug was little I would take her and a friend to dance competitions, where my feminist head would spin for 10 hrs at the sexualization of small girls. On the way back I would deliver them lectures about Gloria Steinem and feminism in general, until they begged me to just shut up. RIP Gloria.
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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 25/08/2026
Before last year, there were no US measles deaths in a decade, and now we have had 5 deaths in two years. Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, but will lose that status this year. This is an abject failure of public health leadership.
Chart: Annual US measles cases
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
You know, I have been watching the sheer joy in the cancer research community over the advancements in cancer research in the past few months. A room full of physicians and scientist brought to their feet in a standing ovation for results from a pancreatic cancer trial.1/
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
This is why we need to keep funding scientific research and why I find misinformation in science so depressing. This new mRNA vaccine, in conjunction with immunotherapy reduces recurrence of melanoma and its metastatic spread. This is huge! m.facebook.com/story.php?st...
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Keb’ Mo’ @kebmo.com · 19/06/2026
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, the day enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were finally informed of their freedom. This monumental news came two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation and effectively marked the end of slavery in the United States. #juneteenth
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Brant Reeves @bireeves95.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
More Ignorance than Political Ideology….
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Johns Hopkins Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology @johnshopkinsbmb.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Have you heard about the sunscreen ingredient that was recently approved by the FDA, and wondered what it means for you? Our chair, @ashi-w.bsky.social, spoke with @theaacr.bsky.social about how it works and what it means for sun protection
aacr.org
What to Know About the New FDA-approved Sunscreen Ingredient Bemotrizinol
Melanoma expert Ashani T. Weeraratna explains how the new FDA-approved sunscreen ingredient—bemotrizinol—compares to other ingredients.
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Powerful. “I hope you’ll fight.”
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Colette Delawalla, PhD @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
ALRIGHT EVERYONE HERE IS THE OFFICIAL SUFS GUIDE TO LEAVING PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE OMB-2026-0034 PROPOSED RULE: www.standupforscience.foundation/policy-and-advocacy/the-sufs-guide-to-writing-public-comments (share with all your friends!)
standupforscience.foundation
The SUFS Guide to Writing Public Comments — Your Site Title
Written by: Cole Donovan, Director of Policy and Advocacy and Colette Delawalla, PhD, CEO
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Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer @letswinpc.org · 03/06/2026
Daraxonrasib, the first KRAS drug for pancreatic cancer, is now available through an expanded access program, but your physician must apply for you. bit.ly/4uWZ9C5 #OncSky
bit.ly
Accessing Daraxonrasib: A Quick Primer
Daraxonrasib, the first KRAS drug for pancreatic cancer, is now available through an expanded access program.
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
This is what happens when we fund science.
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Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics @bermaninstitute.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Science Media Amplifies Male Scientists’ Voices Over Female Ones: Analysis of more than 2,500 science stories revealed that men were quoted more often than women, highlighting systemic gender bias in science communication. | The Scientist www.the-scientist.com/science-medi...
the-scientist.com
Science Media Amplifies Male Scientists’ Voices Over Female Ones | The Scientist
Analysis of more than 2,500 science stories revealed that men were quoted more often than women, highlighting systemic gender bias in science communication.
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
Sunday lunch. Tabouli salad, harissa carrots, pita, squid ink pasta w tomato sauce, ribs, grilled balsamic chicken.
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
I lived in Zambia and Lesotho in the 80s, and saw the beginnings of the devastation that AIDS wreaked in the countries. By the 90s they had wings of hospitals they called “waiting rooms”- rooms where people lay dying, waiting for the end. This article devastates me. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/25/h...
nytimes.com
AIDS Creeps Back in Parts of Zambia, a Year After U.S. Cuts to H.I.V. Assistance
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Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
CODA mapping reveals that 100% of fallopian tubes of healthy women contain precancers! The standard SEE-FIM protocol misses most of them due to undersampling. But our exhaustive assessment reveals that both pre- and postmenopausal women have them. Here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
The CODA workflow works for: - any tissue type (eye, kidney, pancreas, brain,...) - any disease (cancer, fibrosis, diabetes,...) - any species (human, mouse, rhesus macaque, ...) It can be integrated with any spatial omic technique (CODEX, Visium, IF, IHC,..) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
CODA: quantitative 3D reconstruction of large tissues at cellular resolution - Nature Methods
CODA: a method for 3D reconstruction of large serially sectioned tissues.
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Dinner for an old friend last night! Chicken Marbella, spicy carrots with leeks on a bed of maple ricotta, roasted eggplant with a paprika tomato sauce, and salad with a homemade vinaigrette! Not pictured: balsamic fig shrimp, spanakopita, couscous.
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James Goodwin @jamesgoodwin.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
I wish to emphasize "Then, do this every day!"
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Honored to serve our cancer research community with Bob, John, Ross, Sheila, Chris and all existing @theaacr.bsky.social board members!
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Have not had the chance to cook for friends for a while- busy with work, travel and the general state of the world 😳 this weekend afforded me that luxury.
Seafood fra diavolo w papardelleRoast potatoes with peppersZucchini w lemon, basil and Parmesan Braised fennel with balsamic cherry tomatoes
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Baltimore, you have my heart ❤️ #notabluesky
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Super appreciate the SPF30 one!! 👏🏾👏🏾
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Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics @bermaninstitute.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Six Federal Scientists Run Out by Trump Talk About the Work Left Undone. “There’s been a fundamental destruction,” one researcher said. It’s going to “take a very, very long time to rebuild.” | KFF Health News kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
kffhealthnews.org
Six Federal Scientists Run Out by Trump Talk About the Work Left Undone - KFF Health News
Cancer treatments, disease outbreaks, addiction science: Scientists say an exodus from the National Institutes of Health will harm the nation's ability to respond to illness.
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Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Check out our new paper! iCLAP: an innovative method for integrable codetection of low-abundance antigens with highplex immunostaining Read more about iCLAP here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
I know it’s a pain, but it’s sooo beautiful and I genuinely love snow ❄️ #whitesky
View of snow at my front doorHouse covered in snow
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
If you are there go check this out. Really cool work and great guy (but I’m biased) @deniswirtz.bsky.social
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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Yes it’s Valentine’s Day. But it’s also the chosen birthday of Frederick Douglass who was born in 1818 on a plantation in Talbot County, Maryland. He escaped from slavery & rose to become the most eloquent and forceful voice for the abolition of slavery & for Black voting rights in the U.S.
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
🤦🏾‍♀️
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Spending way too much time advocating for cancer research these days but this time it was fun to do it with a friend! @johnshopkinsbmb.bsky.social
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
How fortunate I get to be on Capitol Hill tomorrow when they arrive!!
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American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) @theaacr.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
As Elizabeth M. Jaffee and Antoni Ribas take over as the new editors-in-chief of Cancer Immunology Research, they share how they got started in immunotherapy research, their vision for the AACR journal, and what excites them about #AACRIO26 on the #AACRBlog: buff.ly/2QY3kFY
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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 09/02/2026
“If I’m here at Super Bowl LX, it’s because I never stopped believing in myself. You should never stop believing in yourself either. It’s worth more than you think.” —Bad Bunny
Still image from the Super Bowl halftime show of Bad Bunny looking serious, talking directly to the camera, pointing at us.
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
Bad Bunny and good food. Super Bowl LX
Cheesesteak slidersTurkey chiliPigs in a blanketWiiiiiings!
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Stress cooking again. Salmon with coconut cashew sauce, curried chicken pastries, garlic mango shrimp, coconut turmeric cabbage.
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
I have, to put it mildly, been so deeply disturbed by all of this- not only because of the perpetrators, but the sheer volume of people who just looked the other way and didn’t report. 💔
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Colette Delawalla, PhD @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Things are dark and hard right now for many. I found this really wonderful website and I wanted to share. People write beautiful letters for others who need some TLC and to be reminded why the world needs them. Enjoy and please share widely. www.reasonstostay.co.uk
reasonstostay.co.uk
Reasons to Stay - Mental Health
Reasons to Stay is a suicide prevention project reaching people at difficult moments through anonymous letters written by volunteers. Each letter on this site was written by a real person and delivere...
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Mike was more than my colleague, he was my friend and confidant. He was beloved by so many from students to staff and faculty. We will miss him more than I can express. Rest in peace Mike, your memory will always be a blessing.
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
She’s incredible. But the rhetoric that has gotten us to this place in American politics is reprehensible to say the very, very least.
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
We are no longer in a time of complacency. Listed here are action items. I add, join advocacy calls when asked. Too many times organizations are hurting for scientists to join them on the Hill. timmermanreport.com/2026/01/scie...
timmermanreport.com
Science and Industry Need to Push Back Hard - TimmermanReport.com
The days of strongly worded letters, statements to the press, white papers, and op-eds are over. The people dismantling science are coming at all we care about with a pliers and a blowtorch. If I have...
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Escapism.
Roasted Cornish game hens with couscous and butternut squash Chocolate date cake w chocolate covered strawberries
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Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Please share. 💔
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
I cannot believe this is America today.
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
This sushi would only have been better if @barackobama.bsky.social was actually here to share it with me!! #Mitch’s #Hawaii
A plate of delectable sushiMe wishfully posing with a pic of Barack Obama
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
This is something I cannot state enough: “since 1870, incarceration rates of immigrants are actually slightly lower than U.S.-born people and that gap widens in recent years with immigrants 60 percent less likely to be incarcerated than U.S.-born citizens.”
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Ashani Weeraratna @ashi-w.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Largely good news today. Thanks to all who worked so hard on this, and to the organizations that got people out onto Capitol Hill to speak to senators and Congress reps.
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