iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Kara Peak

Development @dev-journal.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Mapping embryonic and placental defects in 22 knockout mouse lines This Research Highlight showcases work by Taylor Guertin, Kim Tremblay and colleagues. journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...

A streamlined placental analysis pipeline. (B) Cross sections display the major layers of the E9.5 placenta: AM, allantoic mesenchyme; Dec, maternal decidua; JZ, junctional zone; LZ, labyrinth zone. The allantoic attachment point indicates the placental middle. Yolk sac (YS) remnants are attached to the edge of the chorionic plate. (C) Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E)-stained sections highlight general morphology, allantoic invasion into the LZ, parietal trophoblast giant cells (P-TGC, arrowhead), maternal blood spaces containing smaller enucleated red blood cells (RBCs) and fetal blood spaces containing larger nucleated RBCs.

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Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

Download our database of free database of postdoc fellowships. 276 funding opportunities. For entry, we provide eligibility/requirements, amount, deadline, link, description, etc. Download database here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...

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Kara Peak @karapeak.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Views from my time along the North Shore last week ❄️🌊 I’m grateful for the opportunity to have presented a seminar in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Minnesota Duluth

A picture of Lake Superior taken as the sun rises. The frozen shoreline can be seen in the foreground. The sky is blue with clouds, which partially obscure the sun.

A view of downtown Duluth taken from Lake Superior. Several brick buildings can be seen, with the prominent historic Old Central High School clock tower rising above them in the center of the image. The sky is blue with clouds. Snow can be seen on the ground.

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences @pnas.org · 12/12/2025

A study of 3,537 Brazilian children finds that those born via planned Cesarian section before labor have 6.6% lower cortisol levels at age 4–7 than other children, likely because they bypassed the mechanical forces and hormones of labor. In PNAS: ow.ly/Cq8q50XIxL6

A baby born by Cesarian section in 2017 in Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil.

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Kara Peak @karapeak.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

About a month late on sharing, but I had a great time kicking off the flash talks at the 2nd annual Minnesota Placenta Research Community Symposium! Thanks to our placenta colleagues at Mayo for hosting, especially @enninga.bsky.social and @sgplacenta.bsky.social for organizing an awesome event.

Attendees of the Minnesota Placenta Research Community Symposium smile for a group photo.

Kara stands at a wooden podium presenting her flash talk.

Overview image of attendees seated around tables and watching while Kara presents her flash talk.

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The Loke Centre for Trophoblast Research @loke-ctr.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Fully-funded 4-year PhD studentships for home or overseas students, applications open till 4 November. 🔗 Please like and share to spread the word! www.trophoblast.cam.ac.uk/phd-students... Take a look at projects for 2025/26 www.trophoblast.cam.ac.uk/opportunitie... #PhD, #PhDPosition

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Dave Natale @drcnatale.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

Excited to share the latest work from our lab investigating human placental pericytes!

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Bryony Natale @bnatale.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Checkout our new work demonstrating how TGFb1 impacts placental pericyte secretion of proangiogenic and proinflammatory factors and inhibits pericyte phagocytosis. Out today in Scientific Reports. @drcnatale.bsky.social #pericytes #placenta www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.com

The regulation of placental pericyte function through transforming growth factor β-1 signalling - Scientific Reports

Scientific Reports - The regulation of placental pericyte function through transforming growth factor β-1 signalling

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Kara Peak @karapeak.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

#BMES2025 🥼presented my work & plans for my future lab 🌅 enjoyed beautiful San Diego 🔬spotted my IF image representing the biomechanics section of my doctoral alma mater not pictured: awesome work in women’s health & reproductive science + many great conversations with fellow researchers

Kara stands smiling in front of her research poster. She wears a multicolored floral dress with a white BMES conference name tag on a blue lanyard around her neck.

A view from Torrey Pines Natural Reserve looking from above on some ocean-side cliffs down towards the ocean below.

Kara poses next to a banner at the UT Dallas booth. The banner shows the Department of Bioengineering’s research areas in a column of 6 topics with associated images. Starting from the top and moving downwards, the banner reads in white text “Bioimaging, Biomaterials, Biomechanics, Biosensors, Neural Engineering, Systems Biology.” Kara uses her hands to frame the Biomechanics section. A close up of an immunofluorescent image of an early embryonic chick lung airway shows cell nuclei (blue), epithelial cells (red), and proliferating cells (green).

A view from the entrance of the San Diego convention center of a rainbow arching over Petco Park stadium. Palm trees line the street. A skyscraper is on the left-hand side of the photo.

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bmeunite.bsky.social @bmeunite.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

Headed to BMES? Don't miss our stellar 2025 BME UNITE Fellows at the Meet The Faculty Candidate Forum! Visit Drs. @jfrancois-eng.bsky.social, Kara Peak, and Taj Yeruva at their posters on Saturday, Oct 11, from 12-2:30 PM in Exhibit Hall F, G & H. #BMES2025 #BMES #biomedicalengineering

BMES Meet the Faculty Candidate Forum Sat, Oct 11 12 - 2:30 PM Exhibition Hall F, G & H

Joshua François (Harvard): Poster I6
Kara Peak (UMN): Poster I9
Taj Yeruva (UMD): Poster K15

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Kara Peak @karapeak.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

🌴San Diego, here I come! I’ll be presenting twice at #BMES2025 later this week. ☀️ Thursday: finite element model to understand abnormal umbilical coiling ☀️ Saturday: Meet the Faculty - hear about projects I have planned for my future independent lab ⬇️ More info in the flyer below ⬇️

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Kara Peak @karapeak.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

I’m excited to be presenting my work and future research plans next week! 🔗 Link below to register to attend ⬇️

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Kara Peak @karapeak.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

I’m grateful to have been selected by the UMN Postdoctoral Association and Office of Postdoctoral Initiatives to receive the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to our Academic Community Award. #NPAW2025 #PostdocAppreciation #UMNProud

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Ondine Cleaver @ondinecleaver.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

The 2025-2026 BME TT Faculty jobs list has 27 positions. #FacultySearch #BME #BMEJobsList Add a job: forms.gle/bwEzwHAEehBj... Jobs list: ericaprattlab.com/bme_jobs_list/

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bmeunite.bsky.social @bmeunite.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

The third BME UNITE Future Faculty Seminar will be on Monday, September 15th, at 1 pm EST. Come hear from Drs. @jfrancois-eng.bsky.social, Joan Pulupa, and Amy Lee to learn more about their science and future research programs! Register here: tinyurl.com/bmeunite25

Dr. Joshua François (Harvard Medical School): Quantifying Single-Cell Responses to Irradiation in 3D

Dr. Joan Pulupa (Columbia University): Visualizing the 4-D Genome in Living Cells

Dr. Amy Lee (Massachusetts Institute of Technology): Establishing biobanking strategies and formulations for cell therapy scalability

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Madeleine Oudin @madeleineoudin.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

Coming up next week our 3rd BME UNITE seminar series featuring talented BME postdocs on the market - Monday Sept 15th at 1PM EST with @bmeunite.bsky.social Register here: ucla.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

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The Society for Reproductive Investigation @sriwomenshealth.bsky.social · 26/08/2025

The Society for Reproductive Investigations is now accepting abstracts for the 2026 Annual Meeting! Be a part of the SRI 73rd Annual Scientific Meeting and share your research with a global audience. Submit your abstract today! www.sri-online.org/events/2026/...

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Madeleine Oudin @madeleineoudin.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

Coming up next week Monday Aug 25th at 1PM EST our second BME UNITE seminar : with Taj Yeruva, @matteaallert.bsky.social and @saidaral.bsky.social . Register here: ucla.zoom.us/meeting/regi... @bmeunite.bsky.social

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bmeunite.bsky.social @bmeunite.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

The second BME UNITE Future Faculty Seminar will be on Monday, August 25th, at 1 pm EST. Come hear from Drs. Mattea Allert, Taj Yeruva, and Said Arévalo Alquichire, PhD to learn more about their science and future research programs! Register here: tinyurl.com/bmeunite25

Dr. Mattea Allert (University of Minnesota): Perspectives in Multi-Modal Modeling from Birth to Adulthood: A Journey from the Early Microbiome to Neurological Disease Mechanisms

Dr. Taj Yeruva (University of Maryland-College Park): Beyond the Barrier: Rethinking Mucus to Engineer Materials for Drug Delivery

Dr. Said Arevalo-Alquichire (Harvard Medical School): RUNX1-based therapeutics for the treatment of vitreoretrinal diseases

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Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

These are the most challenging times for early-career scientists and engineers. My team is doing its bit to help by maintaining and even expanding our database of funding opportunities for early-career researchers. We found 437 of them. Download it freely here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...

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Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

The updated version of the database of PhD fellowships produced and maintained by my team can be downloaded by anyone here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-... For each of the 187 fellowships, you will find a short description, deadline, $ amount, link, etc. Good luck!

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Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 10/08/2025

My team has updated our free database of POSTDOC fellowships. This database contains 286 entries. For each entry, we provide a link, short description, deadline, amount, and eligibility criteria. Download this updated and expanded database here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...

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Erica D. Pratt @pratted.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

The BME Faculty Jobs List is back for 2025-2026! Our goal is to support early-career faculty candidates with a centralized & open-access database. Please share & contribute! #FacultySearch #BME #BMEJobsList Add a job: forms.gle/bwEzwHAEehBj... Jobs list: ericaprattlab.com/bme_jobs_list/

Header of Pratt Laboratory website showing a colorful word cloud with terms like "computational," "biomaterials," "medical," and "systems," above the text "Tenure Track Faculty Positions in Biomedical Engineering." *alt-text generated using OpenAI GPT-4.1 mini*

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American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering (AIMBE) @aimbe-official.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

📣 AIMBE has released data surveying >100 biomedical engineering departments on the impact of disruptions to research & training Of respondents: -71% reported grant terminations -45% indicated reduced graduate student enrollment Please share our 1-pager widely with your network 👇 bit.ly/3IXDVRW

aimbe.org

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bmeunite.bsky.social @bmeunite.bsky.social · 05/08/2025

The first BME UNITE seminar will be on Monday, August 11th, at 1 pm EST. Come hear from Drs. Julia Brisbane, Sindhuja Govindarajan, and @prnano9.bsky.social to learn more about their science and future research programs! Register here: tinyurl.com/bmeunite25

Dr. Julia Brisbane (Georgia Institute of Technology): Health Disparities in Biomedical Engineering Courses

Dr. Sindhuja Govindarajan (University of Pennsylvania): Engineering the Next Generation of Neuroimaging Tools

Dr. Patricia Nano (University of California - Los Angeles): Maps to Mechanisms: Probing Cell Fate with Atlases and Pertubation Screens of the Human Brain

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Kara Peak @karapeak.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

I’m grateful & thrilled to have been selected as a Fellow in the BME UNITE Future Faculty program as I head into my first faculty application cycle. I’ll be giving a virtual presentation about my work and ideas for my future lab at 1pm EST/12pm CST on September 29. More info below ⬇️

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bmeunite.bsky.social @bmeunite.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

The 12 trailblazing early-career scientists selected as BME UNITE Fellows are: Mattea Allert, Said Arevalo-Alquichire, Julia Brisbane, @jfrancois-eng.bsky.social , Amy Lee, ‪@prnano9.bsky.social‬, Kara Peak, Joan Pulupa, Tahoura Samad, Sindhuja Tirumalai Govindarajan, Claudia Varela, and Taj Yeruva.

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Madeleine Oudin @madeleineoudin.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

Excited to share our new cohort of 2025 @bmeunite.bsky.social Future Faculty Fellows! These outstanding scientists are all on the job market this year. Register here for upcoming seminars to learn about their amazing work! ucla.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

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Kara Peak @karapeak.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Another year, another great Summer Bioengineering Conference! I especially loved all the sessions focused on women’s health and sex-based differences. Thanks to the #SBC2025 organizers 🔬

Kara smiles in front of her Future Faculty Poster titled “Peak Pregnancy & Developmental Biomechanics Lab”. She wears a navy dress, white floral cardigan, and green lanyard conference badge.

A group of nine people stand around a National Park sign marking the entrance to the Cibola National Forest.

A large group of eighteen conference attendees smile for a photo together.

Kara and her labmate, Paige, stand side by side for a photo together in front of a tan wall. They wear black shirts and skirts with conference badges on green lanyards.

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Kara Peak @karapeak.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

Fellow ✨biomechanics✨ friends, catch me at #SBC2025 this week! I’ll be talking about all things #reproductive solid mechanics on Monday: 🤰🏻co-chairing Reproductive Mechanics I 🤰🏻podium talk in Reproductive Mechanics II 🤰🏻poster in the Future Faculty Session

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Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

Hopkins on the Hill! Johns Hopkins faculty will showcase the value of their federally-funded research on the Hill in Washington DC, talking to US representatives and their staff June 11, 5:30-7:30pm, Rayburn House Office Bldg, DC AI, health care, space exploration, public health, education, etc

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Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

188 PhD/graduate fellowships from private foundations, federal agencies and international organizations. Database can be downloaded here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...

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Craig Bierle @cbierle.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

I'm hiring a postdoctoral fellow. If you're interested in infection biology during pregnancy or reproductive immunology, please reach out. Search for posting ID: 367734 www.myu.umn.edu/employment

myu.umn.edu

Careers

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Jeff Saucerman @jsauce7.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

Undergrads: come to UVA *this summer* for our NSF-funded REU program in multi-scale bioengineering! Apply by 4/30. engineering.virginia.edu/department/b...

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Kara Peak @karapeak.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

#SRI2025 was a success! Such a cool experience to be surrounded by researchers of different backgrounds all focused on reproductive science. And to top it off, I came away with a Best New Investigator Poster Presentation award 🏆 Thanks @sriwomenshealth.bsky.social organizers for a great conference!

Picture of Kara smiling and standing to the right of her poster. Kara is wearing a navy dress, denim jacket, and necklace. The poster is blurred but colors and shapes still appear faintly visible.

Email screenshot of notice of award sent on behalf of the Society for Reproductive Investigation.

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Kara Peak @karapeak.bsky.social · 27/03/2025

I’m excited to be in Charlotte for my first time at #SRI2025 🤩 I’m presenting my work investigating how gestational diabetes impacts the mechanical properties and ECM of umbilical vasculature on Saturday - swing by poster S110 during poster session 3 to learn more! @sriwomenshealth.bsky.social

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Scott Delaney @scott-delaney.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

The crush of new grant cancellations hasn't let up. If your grant was terminated (or your app was pulled) please use this Google Form👇 to submit details for tracking purposes. Multiple advocacy efforts are moving forward, but we must must must know more about what grants were cancelled and why.

forms.gle

Cancelled NIH grant information submission form

Please use this form to submit information identifying specific NIH grants that have been cancelled for any reason after January 20, 2025. Data from this form will be used to update the Rescinded NIH...

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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Circulate this widely! We need to know which NIH grants have been terminated. It goes beyond the list that HHS has released. Send to every scientist you know. @scott-delaney.bsky.social @noamross.net

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Science Magazine @science.org · 11/03/2025

A special issue on #WomensHealth in #ScienceAdvances highlights a growing wave of research focusing on women’s unique biological and psychological experiences. Learn more: scim.ag/3R59fPe (THREAD 🧵)

Science Advances’ special issue on women’s health highlights a growing wave of research focusing on women’s unique biological and psychological experiences. Articles cover a range of studies from the interplay between menopause and Alzheimer’s risk to the menstrual cycle’s influence on the brain-heart connection. It also describes the opportunities pregnancy provides to research aspects of both physical and mental health. By prioritizing women’s unique physiological and psychological experiences, research can expand the frontiers of knowledge in ways that benefit everyone.

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Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

As federal funding for research is uncertain, we need to diversify funding sources for our PhD students. Here is a comprehensive list of >160 PhD fellowships and funding opportunities, mostly from private foundations and scientific societies. Download it here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...

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Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

Make use of our public database of Postdoc fellowships (private foundations, federal agencies). It's downloadable and free. We list 290 different fellowships and funding opportunities, along with description, deadline, amount, and eligibility criteria Download here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...

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Kara Peak @karapeak.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Y’all check out this amazing work by my former Varner Lab lung buddy, Shelby! 🫁 She investigated the role of fluid pressure in early lung branching morphogenesis. She even microinjected oil droplets by hand into the airway lumen (diameter ~200 microns)! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

sciencedirect.com

Fluid secretion and luminal pressure control lateral branching morphogenesis in the embryonic avian lung

During lung development, the embryonic airway originates as a wishbone-shaped epithelial tube, which undergoes a series of branching events to build t…

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Michelle Oyen @michelleoyen.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

We are seeking an Asst. Prof. in biomedical imaging at my fantastic new location (Wayne State University) in rejuvenating urban Detroit: waynetalent.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...

waynetalent.csod.com

Assistant Professor- Biomedical Engineering

Wayne State University's Department of Biomedical Engineering has an opportunity for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position for a candidate with ...

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Craig Bierle @cbierle.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

We would ❤️LOVE🩷 to have you join us in St. Paul for the 2025 American Society for Reproductive Immunology. Abstracts due TOMORROW (Feb. 15th)! theasri.org/Abstracts-Po...

theasri.org

The American Society for Reproductive Immunology - Abstracts / Posters

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Craig Bierle @cbierle.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Five days left to submit your abstracts to #ASRI2025! Feb. 15 is the deadline! Looking forward to seeing you all in St. Paul in May! theasri.org/Abstracts-Po...

theasri.org

The American Society for Reproductive Immunology - Abstracts / Posters

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ACOG @acog.org · 06/02/2025

Restoring access to CDC and NIH datasets and guidance is a public health imperative. ACOG and leading physician groups urge Congress to ensure that CDC, NIH, and public health agencies have the resources and ability to provide physicians and the public with the information they need. bit.ly/4hPJjCR

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ACOG @acog.org · 03/02/2025

Scientific data isn’t political—it’s essential. ACOG calls on policymakers to protect scientific integrity: make research freely available, safeguard expertise, invest in medical innovation, and expand access to evidence-based care. Read our full statement: bit.ly/40FIk13

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Kara Peak @karapeak.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

In a time that feels scary, confusing, and perhaps hopeless, I hope we, as a scientific community, can take action. • write to your representatives (download the 5 Calls app) • spread the word within your community • check in with others & yourself • don’t give up open.substack.com/pub/insideme...

open.substack.com

BREAKING NEWS: CDC orders mass retraction and revision of submitted research across all science and medicine journals. Banned terms must be scrubbed.

Any unpublished manuscript mentioning certain topics, including gender and "LGBT," must be pulled or revised.

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