iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Chris Hourigan

NMDP @nmdp-org.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

🔬 What if diagnosing and tracking AML could be done with one test? At #ASH25, NMDP is sharing new MEASURE study results showing whole genome sequencing (WGS) can identify key AML mutations and offer clearer, more consistent data—moving us closer to modernized diagnosis and monitoring. ⬇️

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 27/10/2025

Logging back into Bluesky to ask for current best practices for presubmission enquiry @natureportfolio.nature.com. We have a massive piece of team science we are turning into important resource paper that will be cited++ @naturemedicine.bsky.social website asking for a form - do it or email editor?

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

Thank you for organizing this Simon. Agree, was a lovely speech from Dr. Lancaster.

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Reposted by Chris Hourigan

Alexander Harris @dralexharris.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

What does a 40% NIH budget cut mean for funding chances (now ~15%)? You might think “60% of the money left = 9% success” ❌ NOPE!!! 1-3% because 80% of the budget is for existing grants New science? Starved Ongoing grants? Slashed 😢 #FundingScienceSavesLives

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Reposted by Chris Hourigan

Andrea Ganna @andganna.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

We have 2-3 group leader positions opening @fimm-uh.bsky.social !! We are looking for outstanding candidates in human genetics and precision medicine. This time we have a focus on population health data science. E.g. AI for EHR/health data Generous starting package 💰 shorturl.at/FAk6n

jobs.helsinki.fi

FIMM-EMBL Group Leaders in Molecular Medicine

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Reposted by Chris Hourigan

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 22/05/2025

Breaking News: The Trump administration halted Harvard’s ability to enroll international students, a major escalation in its battle with the school.

nytimes.com

Trump Administration Halts Harvard’s Ability to Enroll International Students

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

Discussed this at a dinner yesterday with mild surprise that it hasn’t already happened - once in a generation discount on the opportunity to turn capital into legacy.

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Appreciate shoutout to old literature

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Reposted by Chris Hourigan

Alt NIH Bluesky 🧪 @altnih4science.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Check this chart. Purple line: NIH actual budget (as passed by Congress) after 2000. This is in real (inflation-adjusted) dollars. The Trump/Vought proposal for 2026 (yellow) is catastrophic, for US science and medical cures for Americans. That's a massive drop.

NIH Budget (2025 Dollars)
Presidential Proposal
-- Congressional Appropriation
FY2026 Presidential Proposal
Fiscal Year

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

Biotech shares today. What did I miss?

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 02/05/2025

Current administration proposes 18 BILLION dollar cut (~40%) to NIH medical research for FY26 (closer to 45% if new budget 27B not 48.5B+inflation). National Science Foundation cuts of ~56% proposed. whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u.... @altnih4science.bsky.social @davelevitan.bsky.social

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Reposted by Chris Hourigan

Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

NEW: Per multiple sources, the National Cancer Institute’s Board of Scientific Advisors has been entirely disbanded.

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

Any idea on what next? Similar boat.

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Taking from NIH research to create a new MAHA agency? wapo.st/42gLz0Z Summary: Proposal: $47B NIH budget split into $27B for NIH (now only 8 institutes, from 27) and $20B for a new "Administration for a Healthy America" (incl. primary care, childhood chronic disease).

wapo.st

Internal budget document reveals extent of Trump’s proposed health cuts

HHS would be asked to absorb a $40 billion cut, about one-third of its discretionary budget.

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Reposted by Chris Hourigan

David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · 02/04/2025

It’s stunning to me that the New York Times did not put the story on the bloodbath at the NIH, CDC, and FDA on its front page this morning.

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Reposted by Chris Hourigan

Shematologist, MD @shematologist.medsky.social · 02/04/2025

The crazy thing about firing all of these federal employees is that they tend to be underpaid, super hardworking, in it for the right reasons, idealistic people who could’ve worked in industry or pharma and made way more money but they truly believed in the mission and the good they were doing.

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

Incredible story, very well told. At the intersection of purpose-driven scientific research, dedicated federal employees working tirelessly without credit for the public good, rare diseases under radar of the power of the market, and “healthcare” in the US. Sharing as a gift article: wapo.st/3DyAWgz

wapo.st

Opinion | The free-living bureaucrat

Michael Lewis on Heather Stone of the Food and Drug Administration.

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

It is so depressingly pedestrian and shallow. This is how we end up with "centralize functions and merge institutes into 15" as a solution rather then the harder work it would take to maintain the incredible engine that has truly made America great. Federal research investment has phenomenal ROI.

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Tell me you don't understand the research and innovation process w/o saying it. McKinsey report from DOGE staff now at NIH on "leading through change: preparing for government transition". I went to HBS specifically to think seriously about how federal research agencies could improve - this ain't it

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Johns Hopkins to cut more than 2,000 jobs after $800M in federal cuts

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 13/03/2025

Judge orders Trump officials to offer jobs back to fired probationary workers

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Reposted by Chris Hourigan

Josh Dubnau @joshdubnau.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

HHS is not renewing yearly contracts of researchers at NIH. The 1st cohort will be terminated 3/8. If continued, this will end careers of 1000s of scientists, and will cripple intramural research. email secretary Kennedy and your congressional reps today! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

docs.google.com

Dear [Secretary Kennedy, or insert name of member of congress or senate]

Please send this letter to Secretary Kennedy and to members of congress and the Senate. Secretary Kennedy’s email address is and phone is here. Find your congressional rep here. Many do not have an em...

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Reposted by Chris Hourigan

Alt NIH Bluesky 🧪 @altnih4science.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

More hits to #NIH: "The Trump administration has imposed a new restriction on employment that could push out thousands of NIH’s senior scientists: The agency cannot retain scientists in 1-year to 4-year positions that have long been routinely renewed." 🧪 @jocelynkaiser.bsky.social at @science.org

science.org

NIH ban on renewing senior scientists adds to assaults on its in-house research

Policy follows firings of tenure-track scientists and suspension of training programs

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Reposted by Chris Hourigan

Steve Joffe @stevejoffe.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

These were, hands down, the most rigorous external reviews I've ever done. What the leadership wanted to know was, are these investigators and programs "outstanding?" And they, and our review committee, took that word both literally and seriously.

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

A standing committee, plus a couple of domain-specific ad-hocs, of NIH-funded extramural investigators review a substantial submitted written report and oral presentation on work of an intramural investigator over past 4 yrs - to decide if they keep funding level/privilege of retrospective review.

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Reposted by Chris Hourigan

Jim Acosta @jimacosta.bsky.social · 23/02/2025

Federal workers in limbo. Employees at HHS getting emails telling them to justify their jobs and NIH instructing workers to hold off before responding. Obtained from a source familiar.

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Reposted by Chris Hourigan

Aaron Logan, MD, PhD, MPhil @hemedoc.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

#tandem25 #leusm Chen: MEASURE study will help clarify for pt AML specific markers for blood based MRD monitoring. Other approaches for high sensitivity under investigation.

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Those with probationary status may not just include “first-year hires”. In the dumbest way this could play out it could also include very high-performers who got a recent promotion (postdoc to research fellow, contractor to staff scientist etc)

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Reposted by Chris Hourigan

Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

NEW: approximately 330 National Cancer Institute probationary employees will be fired this afternoon. That’s a bit less than 10% of its entire staff.

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Not necessarily. High performers can be promoted into roles with a probationary period at NIH. This blunt/dumb move may fire some of the best researchers not just those most recently hired. (Source: I used to work there, >12years).

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

So kind of you to say, glad it was useful.

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

#Tandem25 I'll be talking today (10.30am Ballrm B, 4th flr) about Pre-MEASURE use of CIBMTR Clinical Data & Biospecimens. Current issue nature.com/BMT focuses on this, and is dedicated to co-author Dr. Kristin Page www.nature.com/articles/s41... Pls consider donating www.gofundme.com/f/dwkhq-supp...

nature.com

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Great timing for #Tandem25! Dr. Amanda Blackmon and Prof. Mike Grunwald co-editors of nature.com/bmt special issue on Pre-MEASURE

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Our work for next year is going to be laser-focused on the prospective MEASURE protocol (NGS-based AML MRD for those undergoing alloHCT in CR) - but this is well deserved recognition, in difficult times, of prior work from this superstar team. clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT052...

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

Amazing showing from my team (ex-NIH, now VT) at #tandem25 - five presentations over the next two days!! Dr. Gege Gui and I both talk tomorrow, and Rasha Al-Ali, Jesse Tettero, and Laura Dillon all have presentations on Thursday. @astct.bsky.social @cibmtr.bsky.social @fralinbiomed.bsky.social

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Reposted by Chris Hourigan

Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 03/02/2025

My mood…

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

Wonderful, collegial, meeting this morning (6am!) with AML MRD colleagues from around the world. Challenging times for physicians and scientists but this productive, apolitical, thoughtful conversation with true experts working to use NGS to improve things for patients was therapeutic and energizing

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Chris Hourigan @drchrishourigan.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

Would love to read tonight - is there a version not behind a paywall?

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