iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

NEW: The NIH is quietly restricting funding for research that evaluates how public policy impacts human health. According to internal documents I obtained, the agency no longer considers policymakers "mission relevant" — a massive shift for the biomedical funder. My latest for @nature.com:

nature.com

NIH limits funding for research on the health effects of public policy

US biomedical agency no longer considers policymakers as ‘mission relevant’, leaving dozens of grants in limbo.

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Tim Hsu @timhsu.net · 25/09/2026

This story is amazing, and appalling, and hilarious, and sad - ah, academia

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Kicking science journalists out of MAHA events? Seems to be a familiar playbook. I'm sorry this happened to you @sherylnyt.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/maxk...

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Magdalena Skipper @magdalenaskipper.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

We’ve written about predatory publishers, fake papers, fake peer review and imposter researchers…. Now suspect ‘learned societies’ 🧪 #academicSky Exclusive: Sham scientific societies are misleading star researchers www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

Exclusive: Sham scientific societies are misleading star researchers

A Nature investigation reveals a network of organizations that have been building their ranks through deceptive practices.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

SCOOP: Top researchers at Columbia, Stanford, and others thought they were elected to elite scientific societies alongside Nobel laureates. The catch? The organizations are a sham. I spent the last month diving deep into a massive academic scam spanning continents, for @nature.com

nature.com

Exclusive: Sham scientific societies are misleading star researchers

A Nature investigation reveals a network of organizations that have been building their ranks through deceptive practices.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Yes this was one of the sham societies we investigated as part of the network! The same person uploaded the doctored RASNZ picture to Google Maps also uploaded the doctored European Academy of Engineering one we report on in the story

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

nature.com

Exclusive: Sham scientific societies are misleading star researchers

A Nature investigation reveals a network of organizations that have been building their ranks through deceptive practices.

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Nature @nature.com · 25/09/2026

A Nature investigation reveals a network of organizations that have been building their ranks through deceptive practices go.nature.com/4z2zuKu

go.nature.com

Exclusive: Sham scientific societies are misleading star researchers

A Nature investigation reveals a network of organizations that have been building their ranks through deceptive practices.

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Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Journalists are annoying. Officials get tired of our questions; readers may wish we asked different ones. (Frankly, we annoy each other as we compete for scoops.) But being annoying — pushing our government for answers — is part of the press freedom that makes America great.

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Dan Diamond @ddiamond.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

New: Officials battled over NIH in the Oval Office today, per people familiar. RUSS VOUGHT criticized NIH "woke" spending and floated executive order to review its grants. JAY BHATTACHARYA defended NIH's alignment with Trump. TRUMP appeared to side with Vought. with @rbeggin.bsky.social

washingtonpost.com

Vought pushes for scrutiny of NIH grants in Oval Office clash

A heated debate took place in the Oval Office on Friday, with some Trump officials accusing the National Institutes of Health of funding grants that conflict with the president’s agenda.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

NEW: Yet another group of researchers is suing the NIH and HHS over a massive purge of federal research grants. The class-action suit alleges the Trump admin is violating scientists' first amendment rights by using keyword searches to censor science that doesn't align with its political views.

aclu.org

Researchers Challenge NIH Screening of Grants for Disfavored Viewpoints | American Civil Liberties Union

Class action lawsuit seeks to stop censorship and termination of federally funded scientific research

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Arghavan Salles, MD, PhD @arghavansallesmd.medsky.social · 16/09/2026

Helpful thread here from @maxkozlov.bsky.social on why we’re suing the NIH and on what grounds.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

aclu.org

Researchers Challenge NIH Screening of Grants for Disfavored Viewpoints | American Civil Liberties Union

Class action lawsuit seeks to stop censorship and termination of federally funded scientific research

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Scientists grew human brain cells inside mice born missing a big part of their brains. The human tissue grew to fill 90% of the space and wired into the spine. But no, it didn't create super-smart mice. Here's what actually happened, for @nature.com

nature.com

Human brain cells transplanted into mice in ‘most extensive’ integration ever

Lab-grown organoids wire into mice missing a key part of their brain, offering a new way to test drugs for developmental conditions.

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Nature @nature.com · 16/09/2026

The experimental strategy overcomes hurdles that have long stymied researchers studying neuropsychiatric illness in lab-grown brain tissue go.nature.com/4ixYQe1

go.nature.com

Human brain cells transplanted into mice in ‘most extensive’ integration ever

Lab-grown organoids wire into mice missing a key part of their brain, offering a new way to test drugs for developmental conditions.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

🚨 The NIH is moving to transfer hundreds of millions of dollars in infectious-disease research projects to the DOD under a secret 10-year pact. Here’s what’s happening inside “Operation Prevailing Edge” 🧵👇 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

Revealed: inside the US military's plan to tap huge sums from the NIH

An agreement paves the way for hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of projects to be transferred from the NIH’s institute for infectious diseases to the Department of Defense.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Under pressure, the DOD just released the text of its secret 10-year agreement with the NIH. Here are the biggest revelations from the document 🧵

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Under pressure, the DOD just released the text of its secret 10-year agreement with the NIH. Here are the biggest revelations from the document 🧵

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

nature.com

Revealed: inside the US military's plan to tap huge sums from the NIH

An agreement paves the way for hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of projects to be transferred from the NIH’s institute for infectious diseases to the Department of Defense.

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Nature @nature.com · 04/09/2026

An agreement paves the way for hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of projects to be transferred from the NIH’s institute for infectious diseases to the Department of Defense. go.nature.com/4ycEbk8

go.nature.com

Revealed: inside the US military's plan to tap huge sums from the NIH

An agreement paves the way for hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of projects to be transferred from the NIH’s institute for infectious diseases to the Department of Defence.

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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Scoop: For nearly a year, NSF has struggled to make new grants. Now we know that it will not catch up. In fact, NSF will award just 6,100 new grants—a 30% y/o/y decline, itself down from a previous avg. of 11,000+. In fact, the last time NSF awarded so few grants was in the early '80s.

nature.com

Exclusive: NSF set to issue lowest number of new grants in four decades

The US science-funding agency is withholding $1 billion of its budget so that the money can go to a special White House project.

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Nature @nature.com · 20/08/2026

The US National Science Foundation will award about 30% fewer new research grants this fiscal year than in the last one, Nature has learnt. go.nature.com/3UcGoNW

go.nature.com

Exclusive: NSF set to issue lowest number of new grants in four decades

The US science-funding agency is withholding $1 billion of its budget so that the money can go to a special White House project.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

The NIH has proposed to scrap sharing specific grant app scores. Proponents argue that the current system creates a false sense of precision. But with the increased influence of political appointees in grantmaking under Trump, some say the proposal could introduce even more political interference.

nature.com

NIH proposes major revamp of how it scores research grant proposals

Proponents argue that the current system creates a false sense of precision, but critics fear that the change could increase political interference.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

New: NIH's ban on funding projects in South Africa has been lifted. The ban was tied to a Feb 7, 2025 executive order directing agencies to halt foreign aid to South Africa. 18 months later, the agency has determined that grants don't constitute aid, so it was never subject to the EO.

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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

This week, @maxkozlov.bsky.social wrote a piece on how the NIH is limiting funding on the health effects of public policies. What is striking is that the current NIH director's career was all about the health effects of policies, social & economic conditions. scholar.google.com/citations?hl...

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Nature @nature.com · 12/08/2026

US President Donald Trump is calling for health officials to split up combo vaccines targeted at multiple diseases into individual jabs spread out over time, starting with the MMR shot. Here's the scientific evidence that explains why it's a bad idea. go.nature.com/4gtWSda

go.nature.com

Trump wants MMR vaccine split up: the science behind why it’s a bad idea

Numerous studies have shown that separating childhood jabs will delay protection and increase costs for families.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Archiving for posterity: The CDC's own website still says that combination vaccines, including the MMR, are safe and effective. All eyes will be on new CDC director Erica Schwartz to see if this page is altered to comply with Trump's order yesterday. www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safe...

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abdullah @ashihipar.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

this would make it impossible to evaluate any government program that is a proposed *fix* to a health issue. people's big critique of disparities research was that it supposedly wasn't solutions focused enough. well now, you cant study the solutions.

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Ezra Golberstein @egolberstein.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

It seems like landmark studies such as the Oregon Medicaid study would no longer be eligible under these new guidelines?

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

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Micah Berman @micahberman.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

In a rational world, people would want to know whether measures designed to address health problems actually work.

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Lisa Jarvis @lisamjarvis.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Can't prove a policy was harmful if you aren't allowed to measure it's impact. How convenient!

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Cyclospora is officially outbreakS plural: It's not just the lettuce. In a short 4 min video, I break down what this means, how the parasite gets you sick, and how researchers are tracing it. IG: www.instagram.com/p/DbvpXhDnJx-/ FB: www.facebook.com/share/v/1Cxu... TikTok: tinyurl.com/sporatok

tiktok.com

Everything you need to know about the cyclosporiasis outbreak currently affecting several US states. While cases have been reported in 47 states so far, the majority of cases are centered in Michigan....

TikTok video by Nature

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27 UNIHTED @27unihted.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Amongst a number of ICs, we found that many experienced substantially higher declines in success rates than average, including NIMHD (-77%), NCCIH (-53%), NHGRI (-50%), NINR (-47%), NIMH (-47%), NLM (-46%), and NEI (-40%)

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

A severe bout of COVID-19 can wake up an army of dormant viruses hiding inside the body, like Epstein-Barr virus. This reactivation is linked to especially intense bouts of COVID-19 and to the development of long COVID. Published today in @nature.com:

nature.com

COVID can wake up a slew of dormant viruses inside you

Reactivation of typically harmless anelloviruses, in particular, seems to be linked with developing long COVID, study finds.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Even as Cyclospora outbreaks have become more frequent, CDC's parasite surveillance team was slashed from 11 people to 3 last year. Joel Barratt, who ran the team, tells me he worries the agency doesn't have the staffing to stop the current outbreak quickly. My story in @nature.com:

nature.com

‘Explosive diarrhoea’ outbreak grips US: how researchers are hunting its source

Cases have hit record levels, and scientists are racing to pinpoint where the Cyclospora parasite entered the food supply.

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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

New: The National Science Foundation is preparing to claw back some $500 million in funds from some of its core science programs in physics, math, computer science, and engineering in order to fund a project from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

nature.com

NSF plans cuts to core science programmes to fund White House initiative

A proposed clawback of already distributed research funds comes as the US agency’s budget is already squeezed and it struggling to clear a backlog of grant applications.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

NIH grants have been under political scrutiny since early 2025. But what does the screening process actually look like? What is being flagged? I spent a month digging into leaked docs and emails. We've published the 235-word list that are being flagged by an internal AI tool. And so much more. 🧵

nature.com

Inside the new political screening that’s stalling NIH grants

Mandatory reviews by top health officials and checks for 235 disfavoured terms have left hundreds of vetted grant applications in administrative limbo.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

nature.com

Inside the new political screening that’s stalling NIH grants

Mandatory reviews by top health officials and checks for 235 disfavoured terms have left hundreds of vetted grant applications in administrative limbo.

9541384

Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Scientific American was part of Springer Nature, Nature's parent company. It pains me to lose Dan and so many other brilliant science reporters as colleagues — and SciAm as a sister magazine. I stand in solidarity with @sciamunion.bsky.social working to secure better conditions for its employees.

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Dan Vergano @danvergano.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Scientific American is being sold to LabX Media, publisher of Discover: group.springernature.com/gp/group/med... They've fired me and other union staff, ahead of June 26 vote ratification. My rates are suddenly more reasonable, if you need editing or reporting - Argonaut2026@gmail.com

group.springernature.com

Springer Nature to divest its consumer media businesses | Springer Nature Group | Springer Nature

Strategic divestment of consumer media portfolio enables Springer Nature to focus on its core business Transaction supports the long-term development

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

NIAID employees did not receive any communication about these leadership changes until this afternoon, when the institute sent out an unsigned email.

NIAlD announces several important leadership transitions affecting the Institute.

Dr. Daniel Rotrosen, who has served for nearly three decades as a senior scientific leader

and Director of NIAID's Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation, will assume a,new role within the NIH Office of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI). Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Rotrosen has provided exceptional leadership in advancing immunology, transplantation, and infectious disease research while helping shape scientific strategy and foster collaboration across NIH and the broader research community. His steady guidance, scientific expertise, and commitment to public service have had a profound and lasting impact on NIAID and biomedical research worldwide.

In addition, Dr. Kelly Poe, Director of NIAID's Division of Extramural Activities, and Dr. Andrea Wurster, Deputy Director of the Division of Extramural Activities, will assume new assignments at the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). Together, Drs. Poe and Wurster have played critical leadership roles in overseeing NIAID's extramural research portfolio, grants administration, and policy operations. Their dedication to scientific stewardship, operational excellence, and service to the research community has strengthened NIAID's ability to support groundbreaking research while upholding the highest standards of accountability and integrity.

These transitions help address important leadership and operational needs across NIH, where the scientific, administrative, and professional expertise of Drs. Rotrosen, Poe, and Wurster will continue to support critical priorities and strengthen collaboration across the broader NIH enterprise. Their experience and leadership are highly valued and greatly needed in their new organizations.

During times of transition, it is important to acknowledge both the professionalism of those affected and the uncertainty that organizational changes can create for colleagues and teams. NIAID remains deeply appreciative of the dedication, expertise, and public service demonstrated by Drs. Rotrosen, Poe, and Wurster throughout their careers at the Institute.

At the same time, NIAID's mission continues uninterrupted. The Institute remains committed to advancing discovery, supporting the scientific workforce, and improving public health. Leadership is working closely with affected offices to support continuity of operations and ensure that staff, investigators, ar d partners continue to receive the guidance and support they need during this period of transition.

NIAID extends its sincere appreciation to Drs. Rotrosen, Poe, and Wurster for their many years of dedicated service and leadership and

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

NIAID employees did not receive any communication about these leadership changes until this afternoon, when the institute sent out an unsigned email.

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Nature @nature.com · 18/05/2026

Nature has learnt that a clinical trial of two therapies against the rare Ebola Bundibugyo virus spreading in Africa is in the works, pending approval by the governments of DRC and Uganda. go.nature.com/4uNZU0i

go.nature.com

Exclusive: Race begins to trial Ebola drugs amid current outbreak

Clinical trials for treatments against Ebola Bundibugyo virus are ‘in a strong position’ to be launched quickly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

NEW: A serious staffing shortage — of the Trump admin's own making — is delaying the agency's ability to send billions to universities around the country, leaving labs reeling in the meantime. “I thought we were at rock bottom”, a senior NIH official said. “We are below rock bottom now.”

nature.com

NIH staffing shortage could slash number of new grants issued this year

Some units at the US funding giant are so understaffed, they are focusing on mandated grant renewals rather than new awards.

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Scoop: There has been a massive shakeup at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Eight of the top ten officials have now been pushed out since President Donald Trump took office. In @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

Exclusive: NIH ousts infectious-disease leaders as COVID scientists face US charges

Eight of the top ten officials at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have now been pushed out since President Donald Trump took office.

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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

When you survive a global pandemic, you are never quite the same. I wrote a reflection on the Hantavirus outbreak aboard the Hondius, the invisible work of outbreak containment, and how COVID changed the way many of us process fear, trust, and infectious threats. open.substack.com/pub/bktitanj...

open.substack.com

The Things We Carry After a Pandemic

How pandemic trauma reshaped the way we think about infectious threats

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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

nature.com

NIH staffing shortage could slash number of new grants issued this year

Some units at the US funding giant are so understaffed, they are focusing on mandated grant renewals rather than new awards.

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