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Michelle Birkett, PhD

@michellebirkett.bsky.social
94 followers 111 following 0 posts

Associate Professor @ Department of Medical Social Sciences | Director @ Center for Computational and Social Sciences in Health (COMPASS) | NIH PI @ Northwestern University | HIV & Networks

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Reposted by Michelle Birkett, PhD
dr. thrasher, an american writer in ex(archia)(xile) @thrasherxy.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
🚨 I was close reading the UCLA deal with Trump & found this gem of a ‘typo’ 😮 about UCLA’s “Feinberg School of Medicine”… THERE IS NO FEINNBERG SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT UCLA, they have the Geffen School of Medicine… But there is a Feinberg School at Northwestern (I worked there!), meaning…(1/3)
”UCLA shall revise all policies, protocols, and public-facing materials at Feinberg School of Medicine and its affiliated hospitals to reflect the prohibition on hormonal interventions and "transgender" surgeries to patients under the age of 18 years old and ensure compliance with federal laws
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Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine @iaim-nu.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
Join us for the 10th annual Data Jam on Oct. 27. @keyboardbiologist.bsky.social and @michellebirkett.bsky.social, Director of the I.AIM Center for Computational and Social Sciences in Health (COMPASS), are Northwestern organizational leads. www.surveymonkey.com/r/datajam2025
flyer for Data Jam. October 27, 8:30am-3pm. Hosted by Endeavor Health at Evanston Hospital, 2650 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201
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Reposted by Michelle Birkett, PhD
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
The practical upshot is that justice delayed is justice denied; or to be more precise, a lab which had to fire all of its researchers and halt work on groundbreaking research isn't going to be able to ever restore itself to the same position it would have been without a multi-year pause in funding.
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Reposted by Michelle Birkett, PhD
Lambda Legal @lambdalegal.org · 01/08/2025
🔬 LAMBDA LEGAL WIN: Today, a preliminary injunction was granted in our lawsuit against the NIH’s termination of 100s of grants that funded critical LGBTQI+ health research. Learn more: tinyurl.com/3u6xcmkh
Purple background with white text that reads, "District Court Blocks NIH Effort to Terminate Critical LGBTQI+ Health Research Grants".Purple background with a quote from Alex Sheldon, GLMA's executive director. The quote reads, "Today’s ruling affirms what health professionals have made clear for decades: LGBTQ+ health research is not optional; it is essential. NIH’s attempt to defund this work was never about science; it was an effort to erase transgender people, LGBTQ+ communities, and the researchers committed to our health. By halting these unlawful terminations, the court has protected both the integrity of public health research and the careers of those advancing it."Purple background with a quote from Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Lambda Legal senior counsel. The quote reads, "With today’s ruling granting a preliminary injunction, our plaintiffs can continue with their critical research while our case challenging these harmful actions proceeds. We will continue our fight not to allow this administration to return us to the dark days when our federal government ignored the health needs of LGBTQI+ people."
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Northwestern's Institute for Public Health and Medicine @ipham.bsky.social · 29/07/2025
“Over the last 20 years, there’s been a real recognition of the importance relationships have in our lives, whether that be in infectious disease, public health, information sharing.” @michellebirkett.bsky.social on the success of Network Canvas www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/sites/ipham/...
feinberg.northwestern.edu
Social network influence in public health and how to map it
Scientists at Northwestern have developed Network Canvas, a free and open-source program to study the complex social drivers of disease.
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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
The full ruling explaining why NIH grant cuts are illegal came out today. It's just as blistering as the judge's oral remarks. And it uncovers fresh details in DOGE's role orchestrating the cuts — and on the cuts at Columbia. Here are my top highlights from the 103-page ruling. 🧵
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Northwestern's Institute for Public Health and Medicine @ipham.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
A huge congrats to the Network Canvas team on receiving the 2025 Richards award 🎉 Their free and open-source program allows researchers to easily design, capture, and export network data. networkcanvas.com (photo by Network Canvas)
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Isabel @isabelott.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
Sometimes you don’t realize the full burden you’ve been carrying –of being implicitly treated as a second-class citizen whose life isn’t worth preserving, of people working to fix health inequalities in this country being persecuted, of the crushing *silence* around it – until someone calls it out.
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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 02/05/2025
Donald Trump and Elon Musk are turning our government into their own slush fund. Attempting to cut Medicaid and Social Security, all while chopping up essential departments and agencies — just to make themselves and their friends even richer.
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Impact Institute at Northwestern University @impactinstitute.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
ISGMH Prof. “Michelle Birkett’s $3.8 million grant was ended in the first of its five years. The funding was awarded to understand — and ultimately address — disparities in HIV transmission and substance use among gay men and transgender women,” reports @bloomberg.com.
bloomberg.com
NIH Grant Cuts Aren't Saving Money. They're Wasting It.
The Trump administration says the canceled funding is about cost efficiency, but data shows that the opposite is happening.
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Reposted by Michelle Birkett, PhD
Denise Wheeler @denisedwheeler.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
🧵Trump is Russifying the American presidency and time of the essence. Russia’s system of government is like a “crown-presidential” system, which makes the president a kind of elected king. Two powers are central to this role....
The Russification of America
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Inside Higher Ed @insidehighered.com · 07/04/2025
Congress Targets Northwestern Legal Clinics The university’s legal clinics are under investigation after representing pro-Palestinian Chicago activists. The move raises questions about the fates of other clinical programs. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/4ig3PMQ
bit.ly
Northwestern’s Legal Clinics Draw Scrutiny From Congress
The university’s legal clinics are under investigation after representing pro-Palestinian Chicago activists. The move raises questions about the fates of other clinical programs.
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Brittany Charlton @britshmit.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
🚨 BREAKING: I'm suing #RFKJr @ #HHS & #JayBhattacharya @ #NIH Canceling medical research grants threatens innovations benefiting ALL Americans, no matter your politics! 🇺🇸 Thanks to my lawyers @aclu.org @aclum.bsky.social @protectdemocracy.org & @cspi.bsky.social Long 🧵 on why I'm suing 👇 1/
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Scott Delaney @scott-delaney.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
New this evening (3/28): Major update in NIH grant termination numbers. ❌ 695 NIH grants now terminated (up from 429) ❌ 232 on HIV/AIDS ❌ 44 on cancer ❌ 28 on Alzheimer's ❌ 123 on Covid* *And this doesn't count cancelled non-NIH Covid grants. HUGE THANKS to @noamross.net for pushing the updates!
airtable.com
Airtable | Everyone's app platform
Airtable is a low-code platform for building collaborative apps. Customize your workflow, collaborate, and achieve ambitious outcomes. Get started for free.
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Reposted by Michelle Birkett, PhD
STAT @statnews.com · 25/03/2025
NIH terminated grants for a program studying how to diagnose, treat, and prevent HIV and AIDS in adolescents
buff.ly
NIH cuts halt 24-year program to prevent HIV/AIDS in adolescents and young adults
NIH terminated grants for a program studying how to diagnose, treat, and prevent HIV and AIDS in adolescents and young adults.
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Drug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
The purging of peer review at NIH has begun drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2025/03/25/t...
drugmonkey.wordpress.com
The purging of peer review at NIH has begun
A report in STAT by Molteni and Mast reports that “Prominent outside scientists who help the National Institutes of Health evaluate its internal research programs are being abruptly removed&#…
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Reposted by Michelle Birkett, PhD
Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
This is what breaks my heart. These young people who are so eager and full of promise and who are the next generation of Nobel Prize winners, scientists inventors, teachers. #Trump and #Musk have destroyed it all. www.wired.com/story/the-ch...
wired.com
The Chaos of NIH Cuts Has Left Early-Career Scientists Scrambling
As graduate programs lose spots and labs face shutdowns following Trump administration cuts to science funding, the path to a science career for students and researchers just got a whole lot harder.
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Erin Rook (he/they) @erinrook.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
And then there were none… My advisor just lost their last remaining federal research grant. All were cancelled for being inclusive of #trans and #nonbinary people. People like us. These grants supported critical research into #LGBTQIA aging, dementia, and caregiving—and funded a staff of 7.
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Sasha Costanza-Chock @schock.cc · 22/03/2025
Information Silos exist for very good reasons. Do you want your medical data, tax data, social media days, etc combined in one place and made available to anyone in the federal government?
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Reposted by Michelle Birkett, PhD
Brittany Charlton @britshmit.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
We've been tracking unlawful NIH grant terminations for 3 weeks. Spread the word👇! Fellow PIs: what can you do upon termination? ✅ Email PO + document questions ✅ Submit FOIA ✅ Advocate to your OCG/OSP for appeal + litigation ✅ Consider outside litigation ✅ Donate to state AGs + legal orgs 1/🧵
docs.google.com
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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Reposted by Michelle Birkett, PhD
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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Reposted by Michelle Birkett, PhD
Sherry Pagoto, PhD @drsherrypagoto.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
The editor of AIDS and Behavior has a message: In a World Gone Mad -- Nothing is Changing at AIDS and Behavior. "We will persist, with elevated scrutiny, filtering, and yes censoring, pseudoscience and denialism." link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com
In a World Gone Mad -- Nothing is Changing at AIDS and Behavior - AIDS and Behavior
AIDS and Behavior -
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Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
If the government can do this to universities, we don't live in a free society. Five alarm fire.
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Reposted by Michelle Birkett, PhD
Denise Wheeler @denisedwheeler.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
A timber industry lobbyist & exec now head of US Forest Service. The privatization/sell public lands thugs found their guy. First time in Forest Service history chief wasn’t a career employee. This thug is about to sell off our public lands to create Trump's sovereign wealth fund.
Timber industry exec US forest service
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Jace D. Flatt, PhD, MPH (They/He) @jaceflatt.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Sharing for visibility www.statnews.com/2025/03/03/n... Thank you @statnews.com
statnews.com
NIH terminates ongoing grants for LGBTQ+ research
Saying that "research programs based on gender identity are often unscientific," the agency wrote to scientists to cancel current grants.
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Reposted by Michelle Birkett, PhD
Alt NIH Bluesky 🧪 @altnih4science.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
Quick request: Please do contact us if you're a scientist at a university or outside NIH, and you serve on an #NIH council or advisory board, including the intramural Board of Scientific Counselor review boards (the reviews that impose high standards on NIH!) We'd love to be in touch.
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Reposted by Michelle Birkett, PhD
Drug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
These grants survived intense scientific competition and scrutiny by expert peer scientists. It’s a sham to suggest they are unworthy. Pure bigotry to revoke them.
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Reposted by Michelle Birkett, PhD
Dr. Becca @docbecca.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
Glad to see this post getting some traction, because the Federal Register is the WHOLE ballgame, folks. To drive this point home, a recent EO declares that all posts to FR now must be approved by the White House. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
whitehouse.gov
Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:
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50501: The People’s Movement ❌👑 @50501movement.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
🚨 We are mobilizing for a NEW national day of protest— March 4th Against Monarchy! Find organizing resources and more at linktr.ee/fiftyfiftyon.... @polrev.bsky.social @altnps.bsky.social #NoKings #50501movement #FiftyFiftyOne
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Governor JB Pritzker @govpritzker.illinois.gov · 20/02/2025
Tyranny requires your fear, your silence, and your compliance. Democracy requires your courage.
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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
This new Administration is a bunch of terrorists blowing up all that is meant to keep us safe and healthy. CDC cuts expected to devastate Epidemic Intelligence Service, a ‘crown jewel’ of public health www.statnews.com/2025/02/14/t... via @statnews.com
statnews.com
CDC cuts expected to devastate Epidemic Intelligence Service, a ‘crown jewel’ of public health
Members of the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service were warned Friday that many of them were about to be fired
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Reposted by Michelle Birkett, PhD
Lewis Kamb @lewiskamb.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
CDC source: “We just had word that all our fellows and post doc staff are laid off effective immediately. The famous Epidemic Intelligence Service, aka the Disease Detectives, is no more. That’s 1260 staff. They are calling this ‘Phase 1’.”
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 08/02/2025
1. Today the NIH director issued a new directive slashing overhead rates to 15%. I want to provide some context on what that means and why it matters. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov
NOT-OD-25-068: Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates NOT-OD-25-068. OD
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Neighbors For Environmental Justice (N4EJ) @n4ej.org · 05/02/2025
Today we're excited to announce a new tool: ChicagoAQI.com It's for two things: suggesting locations for city air monitors, and exploring data from Chicago's cumulative impacts assessment. Spanish: es.chicagoaqi.com Chinese: cn.chicagoaqi.com
Screenshot of ChicagoAQI in EnglishScreenshot of ChicagoAQI in ChineseScreenshot of ChicagoAQI in Spanish
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Derek Lowe @dereklowe.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
I’ve unfortunately needed to add more material to my post from yesterday. The re-election of Donald Trump is looking like the biggest act of American self-destruction since the Civil War. Same link, new title and some updates.
science.org
Revised and Extended: What's Happening Inside the NIH and NSF
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Miriam Goldstein @miriamgoldstein.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Just in case you thought that removing DEI criteria would mean that everyone is competing equally: NIH is removing grad students from underrepresented backgrounds from the applicant pool altogether. Their applications will not be considered. Other students, not from these backgrounds, will be.
Update: They were removed from our reviewer assignments completely. I'm so sorry to all those graduate students. 

Anonymous to protect the identity of the NIH employee I spoke to...I am on study section next month to discuss F awards. We were just instructed to put the F31-Diversity applications on the bottom of our priority list for review because there is a chance we may not be able to review them. My heart is breaking for the grad students and their mentors that put so much work into these just for them to be disqualified and thrown out.
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Josh Lee @josh-lee.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
I received an email from NIH stating that applications are being removed from an upcoming study section. I am dismayed that NIH is folding.
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Cooper Battle @chbattle.com · 05/02/2025
Extremely disappointed to see HHMI decide to kill their Inclusive Excellence program, including terminating the current IE3 awards to over a hundred institutions effective this year in the middle of a 6-year grant. I was hoping HHMI (and other private funders) would continue to lead the way.
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Amy Fried @asfried.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Thuggery:
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Pisco @piscolitty.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
Joanna’s video DARK GOTHIC MAGA has now reached over 200k views, youtu.be/5RpPTRcz1no?... please watch and support!
youtu.be
DARK GOTHIC MAGA: How Tech Billionaires Plan to Destroy America
YouTube video by Blonde Politics | The Silly Serious
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 31/01/2025
In my years of reporting on LGBTQ news this was by far the hardest. But we are still here. You made it to Friday. You lived. Good job. That wasn’t easy. Through a diversity of tactics, we will continue to live. Rest up, drink water, find community, so that we can all be here tomorrow too.
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Joel Mittleman @joeljm.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
I’ve now posted the National YRBS data, 2015-2023, here. I’ll add the state and district data soon. www.datalumos.org/datalumos/pr...
datalumos.org
CDC National Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2015-2023
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 31/01/2025
NEW: Organizations that provide vital, lifesaving care for desperate and vulnerable people around the world have been forced to halt operations, turn away patients and lay off staff. “I’ve never seen anything that scares me as much as this,” one doctor said.
propublica.org
“People Will Die”: The Trump Administration Said It Lifted Its Ban on Lifesaving Humanitarian Aid. That’s Not True.
Organizations that provide vital care for desperate and vulnerable people around the world have been forced to halt operations, turn away patients and lay off staff. “I’ve never seen anything that sca...
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Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 31/01/2025
CDC pages relating to LGBTQ+ queer health are being removed from the CDC website. Staff are not involved in this censorship. We will follow up with external resources for our communities.
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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 31/01/2025
When you can only win with disinformation, data become a threat.
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Melody Schreiber @melodyschreiber.com · 31/01/2025
Confirmed.
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