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Beth Shaaban

@popneurosci.bsky.social
296 followers 438 following 71 posts

Population Neuroscientist | Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias | Assistant Professor | OPINIONS ARE MY OWN

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Beth Shaaban @popneurosci.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Good coverage of Think PHRESH, one of the studies here at Pitt that was terminated by the current administration, and why DEI research is critical to addressing health. From @ylepidemiologist.bsky.social yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/when-dei-r...
yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com
When “DEI” research is cut, what happens to community health?
Health equity is caught in the crossfire
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
What. A. Day. NIH grant-making was paused for several hours today. Not sure who gave the order. But in light of the Friday night Bhattacharya-Vought feud & threatened EO to implement #ScienceDeathPanels, my money is on Russell Vought. I learned of the pause from a colleague around 11:30. 🧵
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Beth Shaaban @popneurosci.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Communities at high risk of Alzheimer’s disease deserve better from the government than killing the research that would advance our knowledge . Find out what the Pittsburgh community thinks in this in depth reporting . www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
‘Clear retribution’: dismay as key Alzheimer’s study cancelled amid Trump attacks on science
Participants in Pittsburgh may never learn the results of their cognitive tests – and funding cuts that target ‘DEI’ have the potential to delay vital diagnoses
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Beth Shaaban @popneurosci.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
An excellent read on the benefits of the US government funded research system & how changes being enacted by the current admin transfer risk typically absorbed over time by institutions onto individuals in ways that will cause the American public to lose out on the benefits of the best science.
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elizabethginexi.bsky.social @elizabethginexi.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
‼️NIH is proposing to change NIH Peer Review outcomes. Instead of impact scores they propose 3 categories: "Most competitive" "Competitive", or "Not discussed" This RFI link will accept your comments/feedback on this proposal until 10/13/26. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov
NOT-OD-26-088: Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review NOT-OD-26-088. NIH
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Beth Shaaban @popneurosci.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
🚨🚨Don’t let it go unnoticed. New grant terminations of Pittsburgh work providing needed science relevant to risk reduction and ADRD disease mechanisms in groups at high risk of the disease.
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Scott Marek @smarek0502.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
What matters most for childhood brain organization? We analyzed 649 variables. The answer: Socioeconomics (SES); with brain patterns pointing at sleep & stress as drivers. Even brain-IQ associations were better explained by SES. In Science today: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Beth Shaaban @popneurosci.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Public health in action!
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Pittsburgh Scanner @pgh-scanner.com · 03/05/2026
North Oakland. Fifth Ave at North Craig Street. Caller said that they are a resident and that they are upset that the band for the Pittsburgh Marathon is too loud.
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
I was saddened to see that Wilbert van Panhuis recently passed away. NIAID posted a tribute to him (which bizarrely does not mention that he died). www.niaid.nih.gov/research/dr-... He had been battling glioblastoma for some time. 1/4
niaid.nih.gov
Dr. Wilbert van Panhuis
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Here's the full Trump-Vought FY27 budget proposal. www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/u... It lists NIH as "-$5 billion" with a top line budget of $41B. The math doesn't math tho bc FY26 budget was $48.7, making $41B a $7.7B (not $5B) cut. Also calls to eliminate NIMHD, FIC & NCCIH.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) (–$5 billion). NIH broke the trust of the American people with wasteful spending, misleading information, risky research, and the promotion of dangerous ideologies that undermine public health. At the program level, the Budget requests $41 billion for NIH research and proposes reforms to NIH, including the elimination of the following Institutes or Centers (IC):
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, which is replete with DEI expenditures, such as research studying how “structural racism” impacts social connectedness among “gender minority people of color” and comparing sexually transmitted infections in “transgender women”
Fogarty International Center (FIC), which has funded Master’s degree programs in foreign countries,
such as Serbia and India, at the expense of Americans. FIC has also wasted money by surveying how Buddhism creates “HIV-stigma” in Thailand and evaluating “Friendship Benches” for women who
use methamphetamine in Vietnam; and
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, which has funded research on “racial and ethnic disparities” in back pain therapies and on “mindfulness-based intervention” on HIV risk and “mental and sexual health” among “young men who have sex with men.”
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
Wondering what happened to NIH’s Sex as a Biological Variable (SABV) policy? This article reveals a lot about where NIH is and how it got there, starting from politicization of NIH, through fear leading to staff over compliance, ending in harm to science. undark.org/2026/03/30/s... Highlights:
undark.org
The Future of Sex as a Biological Variable in Health Research
An executive order upended an NIH policy requiring researchers to account for both sexes in preclinical animal studies.
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Ian L Morgan @ianlmorgan.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
NIH leadership wants to strip worker's rights from the majority of scientists on its campuses. But, the NIH does not get to say whether we are a union or not. We do, and we are no strangers to having to fight for our union. Time for a short history lesson. 1/n Disclaimer: all views are my own.
notus.org
NIH Says It Will No Longer Recognize the Research Fellows’ Union
NIH leadership said the union “should never have been certified,” in an email to the union’s leadership.
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Very excited to be speaking at the @standupforscience.bsky.social rally in Pittsburgh on Saturday. I am speaking just prior to Dr. Rachel Levine 1/2
Stand Up for Science rally poster March 7th, 1:00 PM at Allegheny Landing in Pittsburgh.
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
The Senate has (finally) voted to reauthorize the small business SBIR/STTR program. Not reauthorized yet, but this was likely the biggest hurdle.
An announcement that the Senate voted to reauthroize the SBIR/STTR program.
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
The National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) Advisory Council guides research & care on Alzheimer’s. It didn't meet for a full year under Trump. Before it finally met in Feb 2026, its membership was gutted & replaced, just like ACIP & other councils. www.27unihted.org/napa
27unihted.org
Team 1 — 27 UNIHTED
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Orley_travels @orley-travels.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Roseate Spoonbill in #PerfectLighting. This is my #BirdoftheDay. #spoonbill #löffler #bird #birdsky #light #nature #photography #photographersofBlueSky
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Just watched one of my heroes @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social at the People's State of the Union. www.youtube.com/watch?app=de... [Starts around 52:30]
Senator Chris Van Hollen and Dr. Jenna Norton at the People's State of the Union on February 25, 2026.
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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 25/02/2026
“When we speak up together we are powerful.” @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social a guest of @vanhollen.senate.gov . Strong stuff.
STATE -* UNION
MTN
MOVEON
MTN
MEDASTOVCHNETWORK
MOVEON
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
Some good news... www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/h... [Gift link] 1/2
nytimes.com
F.D.A. Reverses Decision and Agrees to Review Moderna’s Flu Vaccine
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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
FDA's decision not to accept Moderna's flu vaccine filing has sent shock waves through pharma. "When there’s uncertainty about the path to approval & the reliability of the process, that really has pretty serious consequences,” one player told @jasonmast.bsky.social. www.statnews.com/2026/02/12/f...
statnews.com
FDA’s rejection of Moderna threatens to stifle broader vaccine industry
Experts say the FDA "moved the goalposts" on Moderna, creating "a destructive precedent that will undermine the future of vaccine development" in the U.S.
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Beth Shaaban @popneurosci.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
New commentary in @jamanetworkopen.com! 🚨 I’m diving into Akıncı et al.’s paper on AD brain changes in dementia-free individuals in their 60s. We must understand sex/gender differences in AD biology—especially as current therapeutics may be less effective for women. 🧵
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Josh Sternberg @joshsternberg.com · 03/02/2026
Roughly half a million women in the US exited the workforce in 2025, and 42% of those who voluntarily left cited their caregiving responsibilities as the main reason, according to a recent survey from Catalyst. www.hr-brew.com/stories/2026...
hr-brew.com
42% of women are leaving the workforce over lack of caregiver support
In a tight employment market, employers that offer less flexibility risk losing working caregivers, according to a Catalyst report.
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Thank you for your courage and leadership @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social You have been an exemplary government employee, standing up against illegal and immoral actions, but doing so within the constraints of a federal official. You do honor to your oath and to our country. Courage is Contagious
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Beth Shaaban @popneurosci.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Pittsburgh Parking Chair, this is your moment to shine.
A camping chair holds the cleaned out street parking space of a neighbor on a snow lined street.Two camping chairs hold the cleaned out street parking space of a neighbor on a snow lined street.
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Beth Shaaban @popneurosci.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Excited to share our perspective in @NatureAging: "The Population Neuroscience-Dementia Syndemics (PNDS) Framework." By 2050, 68% of dementia cases will be in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We need better models to capture the unique risks faced by these populations—especially women. 🧵
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NIHR Policy Research Unit: DeNPRU-QM @denpru-qm.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
The Nottingham Consensus provides a policy roadmap to reduce dementia risk, the UK's leading cause of death. Recommendations include: 📢 Launch a targeted public health campaign to address key modifiable risk factors 💬 Adapt communication strategies to ensure relevance across diverse communities
Graphic reads 'The Nottingham Consensus. Read the publication and policy brief: denpru-qmul.nihr.ac.uk/resources. Image of two speech bubbles and the DeNPRU-QM logo.
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Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
The multi-year NIH funding of grants tagged to 2025 allows Russell Vought to reduce the number of grants funded this year because he insists that a 5 years of $$$ has to be committed. This is bad. We could see a cut in actual grants by 1/3 or more. Spread the word. www.statnews.com/2026/01/16/n...
statnews.com
Limit on multiyear funding of NIH grants is a sticking point in Senate budget talks
A clause limiting the use of multiyear NIH grant funding has become a sticking point as the Senate appropriations panel finalizes the HHS spending bill.
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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 20/01/2026
NIH budget bill out today. It’s the result of heavy negotiations in Congress over past month+. 🧪 Big pic: NIH budget now is abt more than funding. It’s abt restraining the technical ways NIH is being broken by Proj 2025. And the restraints in the bill are tepid 🤷‍♂️ Also: watch ICE/DHS budget. 🧵1/
United States Senate Committee on
APPROPRIATIONS
= MENU
Search
01.20.26
Committee Releases Conferenced Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education,
and Daldad Aaaaains and
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
Powerful piece in STAT this morning from some NIH staff members who have resigned www.statnews.com/2026/01/10/n... 1/3
statnews.com
The NIH has lost its scientific integrity. So we left
“We can no longer lend our credibility to an organization that has lost its integrity,” write four scientists and administrators who recently resigned from the NIH.
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Dylan Williams @dylwil.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Out now!! www.nature.com/articles/s44... Intro to this paper pictured below Huge thanks to collaborators @neilmdavies.bsky.social, @emmylooroll.bsky.social at @uclbrainscience.bsky.social & Sami Heikkinen and Mikko Hiltunen at @uniuef.bsky.social ... #endalz #episky #medsky
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
NOTE: This news immediately followed a Supreme Court order this morning denying the paper's shadow-docket efforts to block an injunction issued by the Third Circuit that was enforcing an NLRB unfair labor practices order relating to the paper's health insurance plans.
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Dylan Williams @dylwil.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
I'm starting a thread on misunderstandings about the role of APOE in Alzheimer's disease / dementia, from the POV of epidemiology / statistical genetics. I will add to this sporadically over time... #endalz #episky #medsky
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
More news (not good) from NIH The renewal request from National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke Director Walter Koroshetz has been denied. I guess the NIH_leadership™ needed another position to fill with their time-tested recruitment process.
An email to NINDS staff from Walter Koroshetz announcing that his reappointment request has been denied.
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
The Senate version of the NIH appropriations bill has language that limits the use of multiyear/upfront funding. Please call your Senators and Representatives to make sure it is in the final bill. We must stop the brain drain in our research workforce before it's too late.
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
This substantial drop in studies funded is the abrupt transition to multiyear/upfront funding at work. This policy is incredibly damaging to the scientific workforce. It is driving people out of science, especially the next generation of researchers.
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Glad to see Congress doing some oversight of new NIH policies. www.congress.gov/crs-product/... Number of new awards is way down since Trump took office, despite NIH spending the same amount of money.
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Rep. Haley Stevens @rephaleystevens.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Lifesaving research: gutted. Vaccines: restricted. Science: ignored. Enough is enough. RFK Jr. must be removed from office.
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Beth Shaaban @popneurosci.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
SBIR/STTR Program still at a standstill... www.nsbaadvocate.org/post/news-sb...
nsbaadvocate.org
NEWS | SBIR/STTR Programs Still Lapsed as NDAA Week Lands on Capitol, Big Questions for Small Business Remain
NSBA and the Small Business Technology Council urge Congress to act to reinstate SBIR/STTR funds, including options to work in the reauthorizations in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
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Theresa Kim, PhD, MS @tyk314.net · 08/12/2025
A lot of NOFOs at #NIH have expired. If you wish to submit an unsolicited application, do so to the parent #NOFO. Furthermore, unsolicited applications no longer require prior approval for exceeding $500K. Please inform your networks. #geronsky #hspr #hpss #statssky
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Beth Shaaban @popneurosci.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
www.statnews.com/2025/12/08/t...
statnews.com
NIH shut out hundreds of young scientists from funding to start their own labs
Special Report: The NIH has shut out hundreds of young scientists from funding to start their own labs.
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Beth Shaaban @popneurosci.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
nytimes.com
The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine (Gift Article)
A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.
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Alt The National Institute on Aging @altthenia.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
For those of you attending #GSA2025 in Boston, consider this panel of #NIH awardees, Drs. Alden Gross, @mariaglymour.bsky.social , @sfackley.bsky.social , and @bryandjames.bsky.social. Please remember to tag #geronsky and @geronsociety.bsky.social in your posts.
The "biggest baddest" bias in aging research: A spirited GSA debate.
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
Well reported story on the PBS News Hour about science cuts and the ongoing and potential brain drain. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLvO... Thanks to Terrance Tao and other scientists at various career stages for having the courage to speak out. Watch and share! 1/7
youtube.com
Top researchers consider leaving U.S. amid funding cuts: 'The science world is ending'
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
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Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 28/10/2025
Happy Sinkhole Bus day to yinz who celebrate!
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Chris Rowan @allochthonous.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
Lego MRI scanner set (donated to hospitals) a big help for kids who need scans: "more than 1 million children globally have used the sets to help them prepare...96% of healthcare professionals said the model helps to reduce children's anxiety, and 46% reported a lesser need to use sedation"
cnbc.com
How Lego MRI scanner sets are reducing anxiety in children undergoing medical treatment
Lego's MRI scanner play sets, which launched in 2023, are significantly reducing anxiety and the use of sedation in children, according to new research.
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Miranda Yaver @mirandayaver.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
I am here for the region-specific insults. No Kings Pittsburgh.
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Angus Johnston @angus.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
My sign.
“Woody Guthrie’s New Years Resolutions for 1943: Don’t get lonesome. Beat fascism. Love everybody. Wake up and fight.”
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Blue Texas @turntexasblue.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
No Kings-Austin,TX
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Miranda Yaver @mirandayaver.bsky.social · 18/10/2025
Hell yes, Pittsburgh. Love Yinz. No Kings.
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