Sign in

Katy Stephenson

@kstephensonmd.bsky.social
2K followers 1.7K following 287 posts

Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. Infectious diseases doc and scientist at Center for Virology and Vaccine Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. #IDsky

PostsRepliesMedia
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
HIV clinical research funding is in grave danger. Please consider signing this letter to members of Congress to continue to support this vital research.
032
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
The future of four large research networks that test vaccines and treatments for HIV, TB and emerging infectious diseases is in limbo after weeks of delays from the Trump administration in launching the process to renew their funding. 🎁 🔗 www.nytimes.com/2026/10/07/h...
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Delays Threaten Funding for HIV Research (Gift Article)
The networks also develop treatments and preventions for other infectious diseases and were instrumental in testing the Covid vaccine.
48352
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
As usual - Beacon has the best threat assessment you’ll read on the severe pneumonia case in Russia. It doesn’t just dismiss the concerning aspects of the story (there are some), while also acknowledging the reassuring signs of containment.
1178
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
AVAC @avac.org · 03/10/2026
Thanks @jasongale.bsky.social and Steve Deeks for this piece, www.bloomberg.com/news/feature... #HIVcure
bloomberg.com
Scientists Are Learning How to Control HIV Without Drugs
Doctors have shown the immune system can be primed to keep the virus in check — a promising advance just as US funding cuts threaten future research.
195
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I❤️NY abc7ny.com/post/nyc-may...
abc7ny.com
Mayor Mamdani holds hands with onetime rival Curtis Sliwa to get flu shot in Fort Greene
An apparent bromance has continued to blossom for the one-time political rivals.
042
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I can’t tell in this new strategy how they feel about the HIV clinical trial networks. They say a couple of sentences about investing in infrastructure ..
000
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
The Great Pumpkin Papers 🎃🎃🎃 @professormusgrave.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
As a professor, most of what I do is log in to things
471432196
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
!!
000
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Congrats!!
020
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
A+ good story. These young scientists rule www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/s...
nytimes.com
In an $80 Motel Room, a Discovery to Shed Light on the Origins of Life (Gift Article)
A scrappy science project led to a significant discovery: two new species of a rare organism that could elucidate a fundamental transition in the history of life on our planet.
2143
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I’ve been reporting on the CDC for years, and have written about many of its troubles over the past year. I was still shocked by the extent of the staff losses and political interference I found when reporting this one. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/h...
nytimes.com
‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission (Gift Article)
The agency has lost its independence and nearly a third of its staff, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and associates have tightened control.
381377575
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Yonatan Grad @yhgrad.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Postdoc position in infectious disease epi, genomics, applied stats to join our work on sampling strategies for pathogen genomics surveillance. Based in Shirlee Wohl’s group at BWH but to work closely with my team. See ad here: massgeneralbrigham.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/MGBExt...
massgeneralbrigham.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
Postdoctoral Fellow
Site: The Brigham and Women's Hospital, Inc. Mass General Brigham relies on a wide range of professionals, including doctors, nurses, business people, tech experts, researchers, and systems analysts t...
0818
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
The Ferrari Lab @theferrarilab.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
I have quantified measles deaths globally on behalf of the WHO since 2012. We attribute any death within 4 weeks of a measles case to measles. Measles is immunosuppressive and the proximate cause is often a secondary infection that would otherwise not have led to death.
325496
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
A statement from the society that represents all the infectious diseases doctors in America
04511
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
This whole story is nightmare-inducing
0239
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
I feel like the acting and casting is bad for the real world scenes, compared to the Silo people
110
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Jessica Nix @jessicanix.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
The US public health workers sent to staff an Ebola facility in Kenya described a shambolic and hurried effort to stand up an isolation unit, leaving behind state of the art facilities back home. Latest for @bloomberg.com : www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
bloomberg.com
Chaotic Push to Train Staff for US Ebola Outbreak Facility Alarms Health Workers
The three-day session focused more on administrative tasks than spread prevention.
01812
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Clinical Infectious Diseases @cidjournal.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Xpert MTB/RIF Ultra for the Diagnosis of HIV-Associated Tuberculous Meningitis ✅ Just Accepted 🔗 bit.ly/4uZQ1wk
002
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
This is a travesty for many reasons, but one is the continued deterioration of scientific collaboration which will only harm the US in the end. There are no major advances in HIV medicine without South Africa. U.S. Plans to End AIDS Funding for South Africa www.nytimes.com/2026/06/19/w...
nytimes.com
U.S. Plans to End AIDS Funding for South Africa
12711
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Dimitri Drekonja, MD, MS @dimitridrekonja.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Every infectious disease clinician and epidemiologist knew this would happen. Because duh...and because #vaccineswork
nytimes.com
Scores Fall Ill at Air Force Base After Hegseth Makes Flu Vaccine Optional
78316
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
The OMB and the Politicization of Science | New England Journal of Medicine www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
nejm.org
The OMB and the Politicization of Science | NEJM
The Editors highlight three aspects of OMB’s recently proposed rule changes as particularly striking: that decisions on research funding would be made by political appointees, that funding could be...
011
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Even as the world is racing to contain the deadly Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Trump administration is moving ahead with a plan that could decimate support for programs that detect and snuff out exactly such outbreaks. 🎁 🔗 www.nytimes.com/2026/06/17/h...
nytimes.com
New Plan Scales Back C.D.C.’s Work on Diseases Abroad
815784
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Harmit Singh Malik @harmitmalik.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
One of the world's most tightly controlled experimental evolution projects is underway in DC, and I hope someone has had the foresight to collect a time series of algal samples. www.cnn.com/2026/06/16/p...
cnn.com
Reflecting Pool woes: Trump administration turns to hydrogen peroxide in latest bid to beat back algae | CNN Politics
President Donald Trump’s more than $14 million Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation was completed just over a week ago, with its more than 300,000 square feet refilled with 6.5 million gallons ...
1534478
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
But can you hang it upside down
051
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Me too! Or a gas explosion!
030
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Holy shit! That was nuts!
130
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Man, that’s too bad. I took courses with him during graduate school and learned a great deal.
020
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
STAT @statnews.com · 19/05/2026
Sources say USAID cuts damaged epidemic preparedness and hampered the DRC's Ebola response, a perfect storm fueling third-largest outbreak in history. www.statnews.com/2026/05/19/u...
statnews.com
Trump’s cuts to foreign aid are undermining the Ebola response, insiders say
Trump's cuts to foreign aid likely hampered the detection of the Ebola outbreak and the response to it.
5164113
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
We need to call this what it is: Trump is holding vulnerable people to ransom (“give us your minerals & your sensitive health data—or else we shut down your antiretroviral program & people with HIV will get sick or die”) I wrote about this in today’s @bmj.com www.bmj.com/content/393/...
45838
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Important to read the seminal paper on the discovery of the Bundibugyo virus. It is a different species from Zaire Ebola virus, differing in its genome by up to 32%. The vaccines and monoclonal antibodies for Zaire virus are unlikely to be effective here. journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
journals.plos.org
Newly Discovered Ebola Virus Associated with Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreak in Uganda
Author Summary In this report we describe a newly discovered ebolavirus species which caused a large hemorrhagic fever outbreak in western Uganda. The virus is genetically distinct, differing by more ...
510353
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Science Magazine @science.org · 19/05/2026
Confirmation on Friday that a rare Ebola virus was sickening people in the DRC shocked many scientists—mainly because of the outbreak’s sheer size. Since then, researchers and public health experts have been sprinting to make up for lost time. scim.ag/4ftcyx5
scim.ag
Scientists play catch-up to startling Ebola outbreak
Testing, sequencing, and clinical trial efforts spring to life as Bundibugyo virus spreads
26017
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Sorry your town is going through this Kristian
030
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Follow @helenbranswell.bsky.social for the best outbreak coverage btw
000
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Krutika Kuppalli, MD FIDSA @krutikakuppalli.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
As someone who worked on Ebola and was once admitted to be ruled out for Ebola — I can say this is frightening for these Americans in DRC. They deserve support, compassion, and every effort from the to bring them home to receive advanced care if needed. www.statnews.com/2026/05/17/e...
statnews.com
In Ebola outbreak, a number of Americans in the Congo believed to have had exposure to suspected cases
A number of Americans who are in the Congo are believed to have had exposure to suspected cases in the country’s latest Ebola outbreak, sources have told STAT.
15216
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
WHO @who.int · 17/05/2026
Under the IHR (2005), @drtedros.who.int, the Director General of WHO, having consulted the States Parties where the event is occurring, has determined that the Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in DRC & Uganda constitutes a public health emergency of international concern bit.ly/3P4ZDac
Epidemic of Ebola Disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda determined a public health emergency of international concern
8231135
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
All was bad but when she broke out her own forest plot at ACIP I lost it
160
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Oni Blackstock, MD MHS @oniblackstock.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
I was interviewed about what's next for the CDC. My contribution was to remind the public that many staff still remain at the CDC, working hard, doing the often invisible work of public health. A special kudos to the courageous Dr. Robyn Fanfair, who leads the Division of HIV Prevention.
thebodypro.com
CDC Future: Should the Agency Be Rebuilt, Reformed, or Regionalized?
Explore the future of the CDC, including proposals to rebuild, reform, or regionalize the agency for better public health outcomes.
1316
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Still plenty of infection control issues to consider :)
020
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
I mean they did say the machine was disconnected 😬
160
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Ian M. Mackay, PhD (he/him) 🦠🤧🧬📑🦟🧀 @mackayim.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Version 3. I've extended the orange-shaded area to cover the full 45 days (WHO number) and indicated each week since the date post-onset of Case 1's symptoms (dpo). May 10th was a day when 2 people became symptomatic and also tested positive. I've used green
46427
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
1. #CDC issued its 1st alert to health providers & public health depts on the cruise ship #hantavirus outbreak overnight. I got it at 12:45 am ET This should have happened days ago. CDC's communications are tightly controlled by HHS in this administration. This isn't the way CDC normally functions.
5222102
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
For my virology friends, simple but I liked it
1259
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Jon Cohen @cohenjon.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Trump administration cuts CDC’s key role in global program to stop HIV
State Department would send PEPFAR money directly to countries, which could then pay fees to health agency for help
12922
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Fantastic summary assessment
020
Katy Stephenson @kstephensonmd.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
This story is not funny of course, but … it must be shared www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/u...
nytimes.com
Scientist Irritated by Lab Colleague Accused in Poisoning Attempt
010
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Apoorva Mandavilli @apoorvanyt.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Credited with saving 26 million lives, PEPFAR suffered big blows to its impact after the Trump administration’s abrupt stop and restart of its activities last year, according to the first tranche of data from the program since 2024. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/h...
nytimes.com
New PEPFAR Data Show Worrying Declines in Testing and Treatment for H.I.V.
02015
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
The Journal of Infectious Diseases @jidjournal.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
The long-term effect of two and three doses of bivalent HPV vaccination against HPV infections: a comparison between two observational cohort studies ✅ Just Accepted 🔗 bit.ly/4c7zYq2
175
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Dr. Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
NASA just dropped this image of Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch looking back at us. The first woman to ever see our planet in its entirety. I’m not crying you’re crying 🥹🔭🧪 📸: NASA
344362867566
Reposted by Katy Stephenson
Melissa Barber @mbarber.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Today, MSF is going public with something we've been fighting behind closed doors for months: Gilead will not sell us their new HIV drug, lenacapavir. The sticking point isn't even price, they just refuse to sell. Open letter linked + explainer 🧵1/ www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/gilea...
doctorswithoutborders.org
Gilead refuses to sell groundbreaking HIV prevention drug to MSF
Blocking humanitarian organizations from accessing a medical breakthrough puts vulnerable people across the world in danger.
2217121359