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Kate Grabowski

@kategrabowski.bsky.social
335 followers 243 following 57 posts

Originally from Luzerne County, PA now in Baltimore. Infectious diseases epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University with a focus on HIV epidemic dynamics and control in Africa. Mom of two humans and one dog. Penn State grad.

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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Mark A. Hanson @hansonmark.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
In the strain on scientific publishing, we showed that total publications have grown out of control. A huge part of that was guest edited special issues by groups like #MDPI and #Frontiers. This ongoing practice is the largest delegation of editorial power academia has ever seen. 2/n
direct.mit.edu
The strain on scientific publishing
Abstract. Scientists are increasingly overwhelmed by the volume of articles being published. The total number of articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science has grown exponentially in recent years; ...
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Our latest in Lancet Microbe: as #ART coverage and HIV suppression rose, pre-treatment NNRTI-resistant viremia fell—showing strong ART programs can keep transmitted drug resistance in check. Food for thought amid growing uncertainty about global #HIV funding this #WorldAIDSDay tinyurl.com/3ux5uj98
thelancet.com
HIV drug resistance during antiretroviral therapy scale-up in Uganda, 2012–19: a population-based, longitudinal study
Despite rising NNRTI resistance among pretreatment people with HIV, overall population prevalence of pretreatment HIV drug-resistant viraemia decreased due to increasing ART uptake and viral suppressi...
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Alt NIH Bluesky 🧪 @altnih4science.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
Hearing news that Carl Dieffenbach, the Director of the Division of AIDS at #NIH (NIAID), has been removed from his position because he was "not aligned with HHS/OMB." Russell Vought continues to remove great scientists as part of the Project 2025 mission to politicize and destroy NIH. 🧪 1/

Carl W. Dieffenbach, Ph.D., Director of the Division of AIDS

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) (.gov)
https://www.niaid.nih.gov › about › carl-w-dieffenbach-...
Nov 15, 2018 — Carl W. Dieffenbach, Ph.D., serves as Director of the Division of AIDS (DAIDS). Dr. Dieffenbach oversees a global HIV/AIDS research portfolio of more than $1 ...
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
New preprint on #HIV suppression and resistance during DTG transition! Population-level analysis shows improving VL suppression w/minimal DTG resistance. However, we find emergence of S153Y, an integrase mutation linked to reduced DTG efficacy, w/evidence of transmission. tinyurl.com/bu4n6erk
medrxiv.org
Patterns of HIV-1 viral load suppression and drug resistance during the dolutegravir transition: a population-based longitudinal study
Background: Data on the population-scale impact of dolutegravir (DTG)-based HIV regimens in sub-Saharan Africa are extremely limited. We used data from a surveillance cohort in southern Uganda to asse...
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Christophe Fraser's Group @christophraser.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
New paper: we argue that a promising approach for studying mpox vaccine effectiveness in Central Africa to incorporate mpox vaccination + testing data into existing cohort studies, especially those for HIV/STIs. www.thelancet.com/journals/ebi...
thelancet.com
Clade I mpox vaccination: strategies for deployment and evaluation
Clade I mpox continues to spread in Central Africa with no sign of abating,1 however very few doses of vaccine have been deployed. Mpox vaccination strategies using either of the licenced vaccines, MV...
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
New NIH rules on the use of AI in development of research grant. But what exactly defines "AI generated"? Without clearly outlined processes for detecting suspect applications, seems like this could be used arbitrarily. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov
NOT-OD-25-132: Supporting Fairness and Originality in NIH Research Applications
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Supporting Fairness and Originality in NIH Research Applications NOT-OD-25-132. NIH
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Jon Cohen @cohenjon.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Gates Foundation asked me to underscore that its commitment remains steadfast to collaborative effort to make lenacapavir PrEP available to 2 million people in next three years. Question is: Can the collaboration do this without PEPFAR support? www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...
newyorker.com
The Drug That Could Revolutionize the Fight Against H.I.V.
World leaders are dismantling global health programs and cutting back foreign aid. Will an extraordinary new medicine be able to outpace the damage?
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 03/06/2025
I've seen folks talk about how "in four years" they'll be able to get back to their planned projects and I really don't think that's going to work out. People & projects losing funding now will not be able to hit pause and come back once funding is restored. Hard-won progress & capacity will be lost
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Science Magazine @science.org · 30/05/2025
A halt to foreign “subawards” disrupts ongoing global studies and has researchers scrambling to fulfill ethical obligations to trial volunteers. scim.ag/4dCzA1G
scim.ag
NIH funding policy deals new blow to HIV-related trial networks
Halt to foreign “subawards” disrupts ongoing global studies and has researchers scrambling to fulfil ethical obligations to trial volunteers
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Difficult read.
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
Very Hard times for our HIV team in Uganda. We’ve reduced incidence of new infections by over 90%. We know how to stop transmission and end AIDS. We were close to zero. What we need now is the will. @rhsp-ug.bsky.social #HIV #GlobalHealth #PublicHealth #Uganda #EndAIDS #PEPFAR
magazine.publichealth.jhu.edu
On the Cusp of Eliminating HIV | Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine
The Rakai Health Sciences Program transformed global AIDS policies and cut new cases by 90%. How will its storied research and clinical legacy continue?
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Marc Lipsitch @mlipsitch.bsky.social · 22/05/2025
Please consider a comment today if you are in the US. See the advice (shared from an email I received) in the follow-up posts below this one. Tomorrow is the deadline. This is an important part of scientific freedom in this country.
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Sam Wang @samwang.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
This is completely false. Even the largest university endowment cannot sustain large-scale scientific research. In my 25 years at my school, the most monumental research fund drive raised $325M in *total*. Federal research here costs $200M per *every year*. This is an extinction-level event.
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Annie Waldman @anniewaldman.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
The NIH has dropped its research funding by $2.7 billion so far this year. Cancer research funding has declined 31%. And new NIH research grants fell to the lowest level in more than a decade. Eye-opening findings in today's HELP committee minority report: www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/u...
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Matthew Hodson @matthewhodson.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Just imagine where Tesla stock would be right now if Elon Musk had used his wealth to end the threat of HIV rather than to elect Trump.
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
John M. Drake @jdrakephd.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Defunding basic research in America may be politically expedient, but its bad for the economy. My thoughts at Forbes.com www.forbes.com/sites/johndr...
forbes.com
Forbes
Forbes is a global media company, focusing on business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, and lifestyle.
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Jeffrey Mervis @policyhound.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Things are going from bad to worse at NSF; www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Exclusive: NSF faces radical shake-up as officials abolish its 37 divisions
Changes seen as a response to presidential directives on what research to fund
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
New NIH updates on foreign sub-contracts. This effectively means that all current grants with foreign sub-contracts are dead in the water. grants.nih.gov/news-events/...
grants.nih.gov
New NIH Foreign Subaward Structure Enhances Integrity, Accountability, Oversight, and National Security of NIH Funded Research | Grants & Funding
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
A really rough morning for those of us working on US funded research abroad. www.nature.com/articles/d41....
nature.com
Exclusive: NIH to suspend funds for research abroad as it overhauls policy
Move by US biomedical agency threatens thousands of projects on infectious diseases, cancer and more.
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Liz Highleyman @lizhighleyman.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
CDC finally updates HIV surveillance. It doesn't look great: ~39,000 diagnoses in 2023 vs ~38,000 in 2022 (higher than the 31,800 estimated new cases because some newly diagnosed people acquired HIV in the past). As expected, it no longer includes data for transgender people.😕
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 28/04/2025
Interested in identifying mixed #virus populations from #NGS data & then using for #epi analyses? See our lates @plos.org paper using #HIV as an example. Big congrats to Mike Martin and Olli Ratmann! Thanks @gatesfoundation.bsky.social for funding. journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
journals.plos.org
Quantifying prevalence and risk factors of HIV multiple infection in Uganda from population-based deep-sequence data
Author summary HIV exists as a population of genetically distinct viral variants among people living with HIV. People living with HIV can be infected with genetically distinct variants. Identification...
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
I read @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social #Abundance and he notes operation warp speed as an example of what science can achieve when we dream big. We don't say this enough but US-supported #HIV txt development and expansion is another amazing example of American leadership. Millions of lives saved. #PEPFAR
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 17/04/2025
"The researchers from Oxford University and elsewhere found that half a million additional children will die of AIDS in the next 5 years in sub-Saharan Africa and nearly 3 million more African children will be orphaned by AIDS." www.npr.org/sections/goa...
npr.org
Haunted by hopelessness: 12 Zambians share their stories as HIV drugs run out
Mothers and children, husbands and wives, doctors, truck drivers and religious leaders are all grappling with the fallout from the sudden U.S. cuts in aid.
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Josh Braun @joshbraun.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
I greatly appreciate everything that Christopher Eisgruber says in this interview, but, more than that, it's increasingly a relief to hear someone in a position of authority willing to be sane in public. #academicSky #eduSky www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/p...
nytimes.com
The University President Willing to Fight Trump
Christopher L. Eisgruber of Princeton University talks about the administration’s move to freeze billions of dollars in funding to higher education institutions.
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Crawford Kilian @crof.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
www.cidrap.umn.edu/hivaids/us-c...
cidrap.umn.edu
US cuts to HIV programs in Africa threaten to set progress back to 'dark ages,' experts say
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Katherine Horton @kchorton.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
New pre-print modelling impact of US funding cuts on HIV, #TB, MCH and family planning. We estimate impact of termination of US funding to NTPs via #USAID & The Global Fund may lead to 2.2 (1.5-2.9) million excess TB deaths between 2025 and 2040, reversing over a decade of progress. bit.ly/4lowp18
Line chart showing median number of TB deaths in 79 low- and middle-income countries from 2010 through 2040. A black line shows a decline from 1.25 million deaths in 2010 to just under 1 million deaths in 2024. A blue line shows the number of deaths staying constant through 2040 if 2024 funding and programmes are maintained. A red line shows the number of deaths increasing to 1.2 million in 2040 if US funding to national TB programmes is terminated.
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Atul Gawande @agawande.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
USA led the world in expertise stopping HIV, incl preventing mother to child transmission. But DOGE has now dismissed every global prevention expert at USAID, CDC, & State Dept. The risk is insane: Resurgent HIV & 500K child deaths by 2030. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/h...
nytimes.com
Who Will Care for Infants With H.I.V. Overseas? (Gift Article)
The consequences of mother-to-child transmission can be enormous, a new study suggests. But the U.S. has dismissed experts working to solve the problem.
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Dan Larremore @danlarremore.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | American Science Should Take a Lot More Risks
We need less administrative bloat in science.
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
APHA @apha.org · 03/04/2025
Trump administration cuts will lead to dire consequences for millions of Americans with HIV, public health experts predict. Via The Nation's Health: publichealthnewswire.org?p=hiv-fundin...
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
My beloved cousin died of pancreatic cancer three years ago this month. She went to the ER with stomach pain and left with a stage 4 diagnosis. It's a horrible disease. This is heartbreaking.
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Today, PEPFAR expires. 'if US assistance for HIV is not restored after the pause in April, and it is not replaced by other funding, “there will be an additional 6.3 million AIDS-related deaths in the next four years” healthpolicy-watch.news/pepfar-reaut...
healthpolicy-watch.news
PEPFAR Reauthorisation Expires With No Clarity About Renewed US Funding For HIV - Health Policy Watch
The US Congress's one-year reauthorisation of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) expires on Tuesday (25 March) and there is no clarity
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Our two new population-based studies from #Uganda show EXTREMELY HIGH #HIV burden among female bar & sex workers & their partners w/incidence 3-6x higher than peers. Txt coverage is high, but not enough. Expanding #PrEP is essential. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
medrxiv.org
HIV seroprevalence, incidence, and viral suppression among Ugandan males with bar or sex worker partners: a population-based study
Background: Female bar or sex workers (FBSWs) in Eastern Africa experience a high burden of HIV. However, there is limited population-level data on HIV seroprevalence, incidence, and viral suppression...
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
AVAC @avac.org · 20/03/2025
Our ED notes the irony, “So just as we are poised to deliver the newest innovation [injectable #lenacapavir for PrEP] that could dramatically impact the epidemic & achieve the goal of his first term, the administration is pulling the rug out from under the whole ecosystem...” tinyurl.com/HIVpxpgrm
tinyurl.com
Trump Administration Considering Plan to Eliminate HIV Prevention Program
<p>WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials are considering a plan to eliminate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention division tasked with HIV prevention and potentially moving its respons...
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
American academic research is the envy of the world. Its system of grant making, which is ultra competitive and rigorous, has been emulated by many countries. And now, as US competitors were doubling down in their STEM investments, we decided that self-inflicted harm was the way forward.
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Sourya Shrestha @souryashrestha.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
My home institution is reeling. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/u...
nytimes.com
Federal Cuts Prompt Johns Hopkins to Cut More Than 2,000 Workers
The university, a leader in scientific research, has been hard hit by the Trump administration’s cuts, which will slash at least $800 million from its budget.
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Senator Bernie Sanders @sanders.senate.gov · 04/03/2025
Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s dismantling of USAID will lead to millions of preventable deaths. The decision of the richest person in the world to destroy an agency that delivers life-saving aid to the poorest people on the planet is unconscionable.
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AVAC @avac.org · 02/03/2025
"Eliminating PEPFAR would lead to 601,000 HIV-related deaths and 565,000 new HIV infections in South Africa alone over 10 years. It would also increase population-level health care expenditure by $1.7 billion..." @linda-gailb.bsky.social writes in @statnews.com. www.statnews.com/2025/03/01/p...
statnews.com
We tried to quantify the impact of abrupt PEPFAR cuts. The results startled even us
A peer reviewer questioned the premise of our study into the potential impact of abruptly ending PEPFAR funding. Then it happened.
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
npr.org
Trump pauses funding for anti-HIV program that prevented 26 million AIDS deaths
On Friday, a memorandum signed by Marco Rubio called for a 90-day cessation of foreign aid. That would likely put on hold the work of PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
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Atul Gawande @agawande.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Rubio terminated 5800 USAID contracts – more than 90% of its foreign aid programs – in defiance of the courts. Here’s a list of just some of the lifesaving awards that were terminated. Nearly all were Congressionally mandated. They’ve saved millions of lives. 🧵
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
A 90 day pause in #PEPFAR will to lead to ~100,000 #HIV related deaths in one year. This is not considering any extension of the pause or future disruptions which we know is likely. For reference, this is DOUBLE as many people that have died in #Gaza. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
By executive order: The likely deadly consequences associated with a 90‐day pause in PEPFAR funding
You have to enable JavaScript in your browser's settings in order to use the eReader.
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Edward Wong @ewong.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
NEW: Trump appointees running USAID have just fired about 400 employees who help deliver urgent humanitarian aid in disaster and war zones around the world. This raises more doubts about whether Rubio supports lifesaving aid. Our @nytimes.com story: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/u...
nytimes.com
U.S.A.I.D. Appointees Fire Hundreds Working on Urgent Humanitarian Aid
The firings added to doubts about whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the agency’s acting head, supports lifesaving humanitarian assistance, as he has said he does.
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Andy Pekosz @andrewpekosz.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Everyone who ever got funding through NIAID should be aware of this bill and start sending messages to their US legislators. The bill intends to dissolve NIAID. This is Project 2025 www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...
congress.gov
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
Huge impacts of #PEPFAR stop-work order on global #HIV programs. Grateful to @amfarofficial.bsky.social for documenting. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/cms/asset/9f...
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | I Used to Run the N.I.H. Here’s What Worries Me.
The Trump administration hobbles research and endangers the public health.
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Kate Grabowski @kategrabowski.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Medical male circumcision (MMC) reduces male #HIV acquisition risk by 60% FOR LIFE. This is proven in 3 large randomized trials published in NEJM/LANCET and numerous phase 4 observational studies. Its the closest thing we have to an HIV vaccine, a core #PEPFAR service, and extremely cost-effective.
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Reposted by Kate Grabowski
AVAC @avac.org · 13/02/2025
"On Tuesday, Elon Musk.. told reporters in the Oval Office that the administration had 'turned on funding for Ebola prevention and for H.I.V. prevention.' But in reality, the Ebola funding and virtually all of the H.I.V. prevention funding remains frozen..." www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/u...
nytimes.com
USAID Lifesaving Aid Remains Halted Despite Rubio’s Promise (Gift Article)
A new directive puts further exemptions on hold. Aid workers also say the U.S. government has made it impossible to pay partners around the world.
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