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Dr.Dr. Helene Andrews-Polymenis

@hpolymenis.bsky.social
901 followers 621 following 570 posts

Professor, microbiologist, veterinarian, teacher, daughter, wife, mother, fighter for social justice, 6 1/2 year pancreatic cancer thriver, and patient advocate.

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Dr.Dr. Helene Andrews-Polymenis @hpolymenis.bsky.social · 23/11/2025
The day has arrived when I had to make the font on my phone bigger.
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Can confirm. I am okay and more motivated than ever to speak up. Nothing scares this administration more. Their power lies in our silence.
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Dr.Dr. Helene Andrews-Polymenis @hpolymenis.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
Every new ache starts a panic.
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Dr.Dr. Helene Andrews-Polymenis @hpolymenis.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Immunotherapy infusion 3 is complete. Awaiting side effects but feel pretty good at the moment. 👏
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Dr. Jessie Christiansen @aussiastronomer.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Hey, astronomers. Can you imagine astronomy research without ADS?!?!? No? So, have you filled out the ADS survey yet? Help archives help you! (Help archives keep funding!) docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
Astrophysics Data System (ADS) User Feedback Survey
Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback on the Astrophysics Data System (ADS) digital library. Your insights will help us improve the platform and better serve the scientific community. All ...
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Dr.Dr. Helene Andrews-Polymenis @hpolymenis.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
Go vote Peeps!
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Just Jack @just-jack-1.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Walmart, McDonalds and Amazon are the largest employers of people who require SNAP assistance. The CEOs earned between 18-40 million last year, 1000x their median employee income. They took billions in profits, while their workers relied on SNAP to survive. Wanna fix fraud and abuse? Fix that.
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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
RFK Jr unloaded a paper into my hellsite replies to support his teen sperm count claims. I do love a vigorous evidence-driven academic debate, so LFG! Does this paper show teens only have 50% of the sperm counts of dudes his age? SPOILER: No.🧵 rasmussenretorts.substack.com/p/secretary-...
rasmussenretorts.substack.com
Secretary Kennedy Comes to Teen Sperm Journal Club
Please stop making me read academic papers about this
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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
Many thanks @mehdirhasan.bsky.social for hosting us on @zeteo.com re: our new book #ScienceUnderSiege @michaelemann.bsky.social @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social @publicaffairs1796.bsky.social zeteo.com/p/science-un...
zeteo.com
‘Science Under Siege’: Two Experts Sound the Alarm on Trump’s War on Science
Acclaimed scientists Michael E. Mann and Peter Hotez on how the MAGA antiscience movement threatens the entire planet, from the climate to pandemics, and how we fight back.
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Drug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
Christ.
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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
I don’t know who needs to hear this but the CDC is being eviscerated right now. America is not going to have any kind of outbreak response capacity after tonight. Americans’ health data is no longer secure. Say goodbye to federal public health in any capacity. It’s a disaster. We won’t recover.
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NPR @npr.org · 11/10/2025
Pope Leo XIV weighed in on U.S. politics, saying that Catholic politicians must be judged on the full range of their policy positions and suggesting that the country's immigration policy is "inhuman."
n.pr
Pope Leo XIV says 'inhuman treatment of immigrants' in the U.S. isn't 'pro-life'
Pope Leo XIV weighed in on U.S. politics, saying that Catholic politicians must be judged on the full range of their policy positions and suggesting that the country's immigration policy is "inhuman."
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Dr.Dr. Helene Andrews-Polymenis @hpolymenis.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
For those following along at home, immunotherapy and a lot of radiation are kicking my ass this past week. NOT fun. I know it’s going to get easier if I can just wait out the side effects. Send pet pictures please!
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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
I wrote a thing about how this split the MMR up into monovalents is bullshit that Andrew Wakefield cooked up. It will be used to strip access to the MMR. The MAHA movement continues to destroy public health. open.substack.com/pub/rasmusse...
open.substack.com
The Monovalent Mirage
A pretend alternative to the MMR exists, just ask Andrew Wakefield
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Fumiko Ladd Chino, MD FASCO @fumikochino.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
#Priorauthorization #UtilizationManagement for costly 2nd-line 💊 is understandable but nearly one-half of plans have quantity limits for generic ondansetron, a cheap ($16 for 60 8mg tabs) & effective 1st-line drug Make this make sense.   #fixPriorAuth @michaelannica.bsky.social @jamanetworkopen.com
jamanetwork.com
Prior Authorization, Quantity Limits, and Step Therapy for Antiemetics
This cross-sectional study evaluates whether antiemetic drugs for patients with cancer who have Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace or Medicaid plans are subject to utilizatio...
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Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer @letswinpc.org · 07/10/2025
Social worker Lauren Shaffer provides tips and insights into managing scanxiety, the worry that accompanies follow-up scans and tests for cancer patients. bit.ly/3FTbV0J
bit.ly
Scanxiety—A Nearly Universal Experience Among Cancer Patients
Social worker Lauren Shaffer provides tips and insights into managing scanxiety about follow-up scans and tests for patients.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Vaccine disinformation/misinformation is as damaging as banning vaccines because it accomplishes the same thing i.e. fewer people get vaccinated as a result. RFK. Jr's agenda doesn't need to explicitly take vaccines off shelves to meet its goals pseudoscience and misinformation are doing the job.
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
PubMed Update (no pun intended) Publications with Pub Date 8/1//24 62209 9/1/24 64765 10/1/24 68211 8/1/25 61610 9/1/25 63719 10/1/25 35936 (as of 10/2/25) 10/1/25 38673 (as of 10/6/25, 8:00 AM) It appears that ~40% of the expected number of publications are missing for 10/1/25 1/2
media.tenor.com
a man in a black vest says no bueno in front of mountains
ALT: a man in a black vest says no bueno in front of mountains
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Ferric Fang, MD @fangferric.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
Fun fact: Peyton Rous discovered the first cancer-causing virus in 1911– but didn’t receive the Nobel Prize until 1966, when he was 87 years old. It can be to be tough to be ahead of your time.
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Ferric Fang, MD @fangferric.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
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Ferric Fang, MD @fangferric.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Great article by a polio survivor. Salk declined to patent the polio vaccine, saying “it belongs to the people.”
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Dr.Dr. Helene Andrews-Polymenis @hpolymenis.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
First evening since my first immunotherapy tx (7 days in) and I’m learning to manage the fever. Tylenol and Advil in my car, in my office and in my nightstand. 😂
media.tenor.com
a man in a yellow suit is making a chemical experiment and the caption says better living through chemistry
ALT: a man in a yellow suit is making a chemical experiment and the caption says better living through chemistry
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Eric Feigl-Ding @drericding.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Shutdown fight—to save the average American family $13k in Obamacare health insurance subsidies. GOP want to dissolve this and then allow rates to rise to any amount.
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Ferric Fang, MD @fangferric.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Very concerned about this... "A shutdown will allow a 'backdoor impoundment'. OMB could gut the government’s capacity to administer programs it opposes. The administration could kill programs unilaterally without the inconvenience of Congress-- all perfectly legal." www.govexec.com/management/2...
govexec.com
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Dr.Dr. Helene Andrews-Polymenis @hpolymenis.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Radiation to eye day 10 today! Last treatment- then we have sbrt to my pelvis and continuing immunotherapy. So far worst side effect is fever and it’s not so bad. Btw our fundraiser for #letswinpc! Had raised $4600!!! You can still donate to help us reach 5k! letswinpc.kindful.com
letswinpc.kindful.com
Let's Win Pancreatic Cancer | Kindful
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Benoit Bruneau @benoitbruneau.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
thank you to all the NIH staff who stand by their duty and put in heroic efforts to get it done. I'll never forget it and will be eternally grateful.
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Ferric Fang, MD @fangferric.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
Today is the 97th anniversary of penicillin's discovery! Many know the story of Fleming's serendipitous find. But fewer know that the antibiotic-producing mold drifted in from a nearby lab where it was being studied during an unusually cool period that allowed it to grow. apnews.com/today-in-his...
apnews.com
Today in History: September 28, Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1924: First round-the-world flight 2020: Global COVID death toll reaches 1 million 2022: Hurricane Ian strikes Florida
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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
Tuesday Sept 30 in Baltimore MD publichealth.jhu.edu/events/2025/...
JHU
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Brendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · 27/09/2025
It is really funny that Jimmy Kimmel Live showed more moral fortitude and adherence to a system of values than Columbia University
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Dr.Dr. Helene Andrews-Polymenis @hpolymenis.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Immunotherapy started yesterday… so far only side effect is a low grade fever.
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Bethany Brookshire @beebrookshire.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
In reporting this piece on the new trial for a Huntington's treatment, I was struck by one thing in particular: The joy. One of my sources wept for joy. He has spent his entire career studying this disease, he said it was the happiest day. www.sciencenews.org/article/hunt...
sciencenews.org
Huntington's progression slowed by experimental gene therapy
An experimental gene therapy slowed Huntington’s by up to 75 percent in a small clinical trial. While not a cure, it may give patients longer lives.
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Ferric Fang, MD @fangferric.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Great article. "We’ve come too far to go back to a time when autism was stigmatized and defined solely in terms of deficits; when mothers were made to feel guilty; when people whose well-being was at stake were excluded from shaping narratives and policies that alter their lives and happiness."
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Ferric Fang, MD @fangferric.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Lifestyles of the small and circular. Researchers at the UK's Sanger Institute reveal how plasmid microevolution and recombination have allowed antibiotic resistance genes to rapidly disseminate on mobile DNA elements. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Pre- and postantibiotic epoch: The historical spread of antimicrobial resistance
Plasmids are now the primary vectors of antimicrobial resistance, but our understanding of how human industrialisation of antibiotics influenced their evolution is limited by a paucity of data predati...
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Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
I often emphasize that there are rarely "silver bullets" that magically solve problems but vaccines are one of the closest things we have and it's mind-boggling and enraging to watch this "debate" unfold during my lifetime
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Dr.Dr. Helene Andrews-Polymenis @hpolymenis.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
Shifting from excitement about immunotherapy to being a little bit frightened of the unknown. what are the side effects going to be- how do I plan for that....
media.tenor.com
a cartoon of winnie the pooh wearing a purple hat
ALT: a cartoon of winnie the pooh wearing a purple hat
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Dr.Dr. Helene Andrews-Polymenis @hpolymenis.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Immunotherapy drugs I’ve been stressing over were approved by insurance!
media.tenor.com
a man and a woman are jumping in the air in a living room .
ALT: a man and a woman are jumping in the air in a living room .
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Here is a plot in terms of PROJECTS rather than dollars. I am using projects rather than awards so that projects that received supplements do not get double-counted. While the FY25 curve is improving, it seems that the number of funded projects will drop by 3000-4000 compared with FY24.
A graph showing the number of projects funded per year by NIH for fiscal years 2021-2025. Fiscal year 2025 shows a reduction in the number of projects of approximately 3000-4000.
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Boston Tom Levenson @tomlevenson.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
In civil society, if you feel the need to keep what you're doing secret you very well shouldn't be doing that thing. I'm thinking that this is what the lawyer types mean when they say an action reveals "consciousness of guilt."
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Dr.Dr. Helene Andrews-Polymenis @hpolymenis.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Birthday flowers done by our youngest. ❤️ Thank you all so much for your donations to #letswinpc - we raised over $2500! Also thank you for the wonderful birthday wishes.❤️❤️❤️
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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
NEW: Hours before a new entry ban is supposed to go into effect, the federal government officially acknowledges for the first time that the restrictions do NOT apply to people who currently have H-1B visas. Link: www.uscis.gov/sites/defaul...
J.S. Citizenshit and Immigratior
Services
September 20, 2025
Memorandum
TO:
Associate Directors,
Deputy Associate Directors, Program Office Chiefs
FROM:
JOSEPH B
Digitaly signed by
JOSEPH B EDLOW
Joseph B. Edlow
EDLOW
Date: 2025.09.20
Director, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services **00
SUBJECT: Proclamation, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, H-IB
On September 19, 2025, the President issued a Proclamation, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, to address systemic abuse of H-1B nonimmigrant visas. Pursuant to sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), the entry into the United States of aliens as nonimmigrants to perform services in a specialty occupation under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the INA, 8 U.S.C.
1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), is restricted, except for those aliens whose petitions are accompanied or supplemented by a payment of $100,000. This guidance applies to H-IB employment-based petitions filed after 12:01 AM ET on September 21, 2025.|
This proclamation only applies prospectively to petitions that have not yet been filed. The proclamation does not apply to aliens who: are the beneficiaries of petitions that were filed prior to the effective date of the proclamation, are the beneficiaries of currently approved petitions, or are in possession of validly issued H-1B non-immigrant visas. All officers of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services shall ensure that their decisions are consistent with this guidance. The proclamation does not impact the ability of any current visa holder to travel to or rom the United States.
cc: David V. Roy, Chief Counsel (A)
FOUO, For Official Use Only
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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
This is a really serious situation for people holding a H-1B visa.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
Living a moral life in an age of bullies requires collective action; it cannot be done alone. Each of us must organize and participate in a vast network of moral resistance. From this solidarity we will grow stronger. This is what our current moment requires.
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
This is a GREAT interview. Definitely worth a listen.
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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
Excellent summary of the chaotic and imcompetent mess that is the ACCIP (Advisory Clown Car on Immunization Practices)
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Arghavan Salles, MD, PhD @arghavansallesmd.medsky.social · 20/09/2025
“Wellness influencers” try to convince us we can control our health if we just follow their advice and buy their products and services. Just bc someone delivers a message with conviction and dramatic music doesn’t mean it’s true, tho. Colonoscopies are actually good!
m.youtube.com
Doctor reacts to false claims about colonoscopies
YouTube video by Dr. Arghavan Salles, MD, PhD
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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
ACIP is an absolute joke. I was actually delighted by the fact that they don’t know what words mean, because it really showcased their lack of qualification and the copious bad faith they operate in. They are too incompetent to even take away vaccines effectively & that is literally their one job
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Barack Obama @barackobama.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
This commentary offers a clear, powerful statement of why freedom of speech is at the heart of democracy and must be defended, whether the speaker is Charlie Kirk or Jimmy Kimmel, MAGA supporters or MAGA opponents.
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Veena Menon @venmeno.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Global mortality associated with 33 bacterial pathogens in 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 - The Lancet www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
thelancet.com
Global mortality associated with 33 bacterial pathogens in 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019
The 33 bacterial pathogens that we investigated in this study are a substantial source of health loss globally, with considerable variation in their distribution across infectious syndromes and locati...
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
David Letterman is right: you can't appease a tyrant.
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Dr.Dr. Helene Andrews-Polymenis @hpolymenis.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Politicians have no place interfering with academics. No place.
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