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Alex Sundermann, DrPH

@sundermannaj.bsky.social
5K followers 821 following 495 posts

Assistant Professor in Epidemiology @ Pitt Public Health | Outbreaks, Genomic Epidemiology, Public Health 🕵🏼‍♂️ | DrPH, CIC, FAPIC | Hubs & Dad of 2 www.publichealth.pitt.edu/directory…

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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
If you’re a researcher using LLMs, you should assume it’s using your data to train Fascinating story of the ‘AI’ discovery that was being investigsted by a Copenhagen researcher who was using Claude www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/s...
nytimes.com
Did Anthropic’s A.I. Really Make a Scientific Discovery on Its Own?
An expert at the University of Copenhagen said his team had been sharing its research with the company’s A.I. model, Claude, and that its new finding matched their work.
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
CDC announced outbreak related to injected glutathione from wellness clinics 25+ people sick, 3+ hospitalized, many w/ IV glutathione (not FDA approved) from compounding pharmacies FDA posted a notice 8/27, but interestingly haven't seen an coverage. CDC emailed this AM www.cdc.gov/healthcare-a...
cdc.gov
Adverse Events Linked to Injectable Glutathione Compounded with Dietary Supplement Grade Ingredient: Current Situation
Adverse events linked to compounded injectable glutathione.
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
that bi-modal peak, though 🏔️🏔️
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Are we still sharing this? Today my opening word was the Wordle Wordle 1,889 1/6 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
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Reposted by Alex Sundermann, DrPH
Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
CDC's latest media statement says 2025-26 vaccination rates "remained high." Notable that the statement doesn't say that vaccination coverage among kindergartners has dropped for all vaccines, down to 92% for vaccines agst diphtheria, tetanus & pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella & polio.
static.klipy.com
The Simpsons: Homer Driving with Hostages
ALT: The Simpsons: Homer Driving with Hostages
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
My colleagues in my department here at Pitt had their grant cancelled. They were studying Alzheimer’s disease risk in predominantly African American neighborhoods here in Pittsburgh. Check out the coverage here in the Guardian www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Alzheimer’s research is latest casualty in Trump administration war against ‘DEI’
Grant cancellations at leading research institutions appear to target study of impacts of racism on brain health
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Bruce Y Lee @bruceylee.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
NIH Proposes Big Change In How Grants Applications Evaluated Here's my coverage in @forbes.com of this 🛟 🧪 😷 #AcademicSky #MedSky #episky🩺 #HiSciSky Public Health #science www.forbes.com/sites/brucel...
forbes.com
NIH Proposes Big Change In How Grants Applications Evaluated
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is proposing yet another significant change in its grant review process, moving away from numerical scores for applications.
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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
The NIH just released a proposal that will apparently hide peer reviewers’ impact scores and percentiles from the research team, their institution, and NIH program officers. All the better to obscure how funding decisions will be made primarily via political review, I’m guessing.
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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Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) @sheaepi.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology (ICHE) and Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology (ASHE) are seeking enthusiastic Social Media Editors to join their Editorial Teams! Learn more about the role and how to apply: shea-online.org/social-media...
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
RFK in 2021: The COVID vaccine is the deadliest vaccine ever made Sometimes they forget there are receipts 🙄
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
A year ago a gunman attacked the CDC firing 500+ bullets & the White House never acknowledged it Yesterday, this ChatGPT generated poster board was put up for everyone to see…
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Should patients be told when they’re part of an outbreak in a hospital? Does pathogen genomics change that? I first started this paper in 2020 in my bioethics class, and happy to share it peer reviewed, published now! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Am I hallucinating?
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Supporting a brilliant, life-long public servant from afar Yes, he sits in my desk at all times!
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Biofire cyclospora % positive looks like it has finally peaked 👀 🤞🏻💩
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I talked to @newyorker.com about the cyclospora outbreak, surveillance, and how this makes us think about investment in public health “It’s hard for the public to recognize when public health is working, because when it works, you don’t see it,” Sundermann told me www.newyorker.com/culture/prog...
newyorker.com
Grocery Shopping in the Age of Explosive Diarrhea
The cyclospora outbreak lays bare our underfunded and overwhelmed public-health system.
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
The administration is: “shifting research funding away from universities toward individual researchers” …do they know how research works? …who is doing this by themself?… www.nytimes.com/2026/07/22/u...
nytimes.com
Trump’s Plan for Science: More Money for A.I., Less for Universities (Gift Article)
Michael Kratsios, President Trump’s science adviser, proposed overhauling how the government funds research. Democrats said Mr. Trump’s actions had weakened science.
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
@nathanraabe.bsky.social & I talked to @cidrap.bsky.social on NDM transmission in healthcare - lots of infection prevention implications Unless you are using genomics, you may miss the between-species transmission Thanks @cvdall.bsky.social for the chat! www.cidrap.umn.edu/antimicrobia...
cidrap.umn.edu
The resistance gene that’s causing ‘nightmares’ in US hospitals
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
I’m on the video platforms a lot lately and trying to explain all the ✨outbreaks✨ we’ve had lately!
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Erin Biba @erinbiba.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
This is a *fantastic* video that explains exactly WTF is going on with Taylor Farms and how tracing works TLDR: - they are responsible - the false positive was only on one of several samples - it’s difficult to test parasites - there may still be other sources - Taylor Farms is being shady AF
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
A cool ‘negative finding’ So much of these supplies are thrown out after discharge. Nice knowing at least they don’t often have pathogens on them
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Ongoing multi-country NDM outbreak in Europe No point source identified, but it’s something being shared given lack of travel among cases Lots of medical devices/medications considered, but nothing common as of yet Super interesting 👀 www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2...
eurosurveillance.org
Eurosurveillance | Ongoing multi-country outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter hormaechei ST1344 carrying bla NDM-5 in the European Union/European Economic Area, March 2025 to April 2026
In seven EU/EEA countries, the emergence of NDM-5-producing Enterobacter hormaechei ST1344 among patients has been detected. In minimum spanning tree analysis of core genome-multilocus sequence-typing (cgMLST) profiles, isolates cluster with ≤ 4 allelic differences. The outbreak includes 57 cases (29 female/28 male; median age: 73 years), which occurred between March 2025 and April 2026. Many were hospitalised (n = 45), some with extensive prior medical treatment, and only three reported travel abroad. A cross-border investigation, including coordinated exposure questionnaires, has not yet identified a source.
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Since when do we compare mortality rates of other viruses when deciding what to do with quarantine measures? CDC says at-home quarantine = OK A non-medical, non-scientific RFK overrules and enforces federal quarantine www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Great interview from @helenbranswell.bsky.social w/ WHO Director When other health issues & armed conflict cause >> deaths than Ebola + mistrust/misinformation = difficulty to get best practices to contain spread But also the perspective that other countries only care now d/t threat to them
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
“The woman said she regretted not getting her kids vaccinated when the outbreak started.” These kinds of stories are helpful for the vaccine hesitant parents The goal isn’t to convince the anti-vax, but out compete the vacuum that they have taken in public communications A great read below ⤵️
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Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
My story on America's regressive, new reality is now up @kffhealthnews.org (without a paywall) kffhealthnews.org/public-healt...
kffhealthnews.org
Anguished Parents. Doctors in Tears. Utah’s Long Measles Outbreak Takes a Toll. - KFF Health News
Measles has been spreading in Utah for nearly a year, straining hospitals, schools, and parents. The state’s outbreak provides a glimpse into a new era in America’s health, in which vaccine-preventabl...
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
“[the editorial has gone] from being completely unknown to, as of last night, the 50th-most cited, most-viewed paper in the entire world among 300,000 papers published in the last month.” True Streisand effect happening
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Absurd in context of 1) dangers it causes to people & children, & 2) the 0 benefits raw milk “I’ve put a couple kids in the hospital ... But here’s the thing: I’m a pioneer. And I’m going against the grain here. I’m climbing a mountain they say you can’t climb” www.propublica.org/article/mark...
propublica.org
He Profits Off Raw Milk That’s Making People Sick. The Government Isn’t Stopping Him.
With Raw Farm, the largest raw-milk dairy in the country, Mark McAfee has capitalized on a once-fringe product that’s been thrust into the mainstream in recent years and backed by Health Secretary Rob...
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
ADA censors scientists at their own conference on Friday 2 (maybe more) board members resign by Monday It shows scientists in solidarity with each other 👏🏻 www.medpagetoday.com/special-repo...
medpagetoday.com
Leaders Resign From ADA After Experts Booted From Meeting
Resignations included the organization's president-elect and scientific sessions chair
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Miranda Yaver @mirandayaver.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
I wouldn't be where I am professionally w/o AHRQ, which funded my postdoc at UCLA, where I began work toward Coverage Denied. In my latest Substack, I wrote on why Republicans' effort to eliminate AHRQ is so dangerous for patients and hobbles health policy training. open.substack.com/pub/miranday...
open.substack.com
Why House Republicans' Plan to Eliminate AHRQ Would Be a Disaster
The House of Representatives is at it again, working to eliminate the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), a proposed cut that is as misguided as it is dangerous.
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
New CDC MMWR on Ebola risk: "To help reduce the risk for continued spread ... ongoing collaboration between CDC and international partners and coordination among U.S. government agencies are essential" Instead 'ongoing' should be 're-established and sustained' www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes...
cdc.gov
Assessment of Risk to the U.S. Population from the ...
This report describes the risk posed by the current Ebola outbreak to the general U.S. population.
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Miranda Yaver @mirandayaver.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
House Appropriations released its FY27 bill, again working to eliminate Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), which it calls "duplicative." My friend/colleague @sundermannaj.bsky.social & I wrote on AHRQ's necessity. thehill.com/opinion/heal... appropriations.house.gov/sites/evo-su...
appropriations.house.gov
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
God forbid we give new mothers paid parental leave /s My (amazing) county exec is proposing 18-weeks paid parental leave 👏🏻 It’s absurd there is pushback on this. We are one of the only countries that doesn’t offer paid leave triblive.com/local/valley...
triblive.com
Allegheny County residents, business owners clash over impact of proposed paid parental leave
An ambitious proposal to require 18 weeks of paid parental leave for workers in Allegheny County drew overwhelming public interest Tuesday as more than 80 people signed up to speak at a public hearing...
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
New paper from Pitt colleagues: medical cannabis use & risk for infections ➡️ Limited case reports (they highlight theirs linking using WGS crypto [super interesting]) ➡️ no uniform standards ➡️ need for ANY research, testing criteria, data on infection risk #IDSky academic.oup.com/cid/advance-...
academic.oup.com
Current state of knowledge on medical cannabis use and risk for infections: A practical guide for clinicians
Abstract. Patients and clinicians broadly support medical cannabis, but acknowledge limited understanding of products, efficacy, and safety. Here, we revie
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Also notable in this new rule: conference attendance has to be explicitly stated WHICH conferences you plan on attending and approved That alone will disrupt scientific conference attendance
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
New pre-print from our group: NDM transmission over 5-years at our hospital ➡️ 6 clusters NDM transmission (2-28 plasmids) ➡️ *Multi-species* transmission seen (up to 9 in 1 cluster) ➡️ Strong unit-level exposures Shows us what current IP practice misses! #IDSky 📃: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
2nd attack on Ebola center where people demanded bodies back I haven’t seen news reports cover the need for safe/dignified burials in these incidents The practice which needs close, trusted community contacts www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/0...
washingtonpost.com
Young men storm a Congo hospital treating Ebola patients to demand bodies of their kin
A local hospital official says that angry young men stormed a hospital treating Ebola patients at the heart of an outbreak in eastern Congo, demanding the bodies of their relatives
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
WHO press briefing just now reports another hantavirus case in Netherlands from a crew member Still no secondary transmission outside the cruise ship which is good news
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Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
"The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is spreading rapidly", says @drtedros.who.int at @who.int presser. 82 cases and 7 deaths have been confirmed in DRC. "But we know the epidemic in DRC is much larger. There are now almost 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths."
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Amy Maxmen, PhD @amymaxmen.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Young men torched an Ebola center bc they were mad they couldn't retrieve their friend's body for burial, AP reports. People get mad when their loved ones are disappeared. If that's not taken seriously, the whole response will go south. My piece from 2015 www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/ar...
nationalgeographic.com
How the Fight Against Ebola Tested a Culture’s Traditions
West Africans altered cherished burial traditions after anthropologists enlisted pastors, imams, and chiefs to allow safer rituals.
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
“[Trump said] People who volunteer to help in Ebola outbreaks “must suffer the consequences”” Complete lack of compassion
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Dr. Tom Frieden @drtomfrieden.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
The early trajectory of the Ebola outbreak in DRC is alarming. Spread of the disease likely went undetected for months. Fast detection and response are crucial to stop outbreaks.
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Marco Rubio criticizes the WHO response in detecting the Ebola outbreak “Why didn’t the thing I completely destroyed work?” 🙄 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Rubio criticizes WHO’s Ebola response as US continues sweeping public health cuts
US secretary of state says WHO was ‘a little late’ in identifying deadly Ebola outbreak in the DRC and Uganda
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Great visual that public health can’t just go in an ‘stop transmission’. There’s a reason long term, sustainable programs with relationships in these regions is important for outbreak detection
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
CDC now enforcing quarantine orders for a passenger who wants to self quarantine at home … a bit of inconsistent messaging here www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/u...
nytimes.com
American Passenger Blocked From Leaving Federal Hantavirus Quarantine
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Travel bans of non-US citizens is never an effective public health measure to stop outbreaks What is, is a large public health investment of infrastructure and personnel sustained over multiple years to ensure proper testing and resources in areas where Ebola outbreaks may be prone....
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Kristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Amazing speed from the teams in Uganda and the DRC - impressive! Three genomes released so far - a few quick takes: 1️⃣ New genomes ~equidistant from 2007 and 2012 outbreaks. 2️⃣ Represents new spillover from reservoir. 3️⃣ Limited diversity, so too early to speculate on timing. Great work ⭐!
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
STAT finds through confidential sources that high-risk exposed Americans in Ebola outbreak / coordinating extraction HHS / State dept: 🤐 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.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
The Ebola outbreak in the DRC has now been confirmed as the Bundibugyo strain. This is not good news, there are no licensed or candidate vaccines for this strain. No monoclonal antibodies. I am sure experimental antivirals will be tried. www.afro.who.int/countries/de...
afro.who.int
Democratic Republic of the Congo confirms new Ebola outbreak, WHO scales up support
The World Health Organization (WHO) is rapidly scaling up support to the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo following confirmation of an outbreak of Ebola Bundibugyo in the country’s n...
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Alex Sundermann, DrPH @sundermannaj.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Re: the “super spreader” paper & the claim that someone got hantavirus JUST by passing by and saying hello- They were also seated ~8 ft apart for awhile So many unknowns here but to claim ‘all it takes’ is to pass by someone is misleading from the evidence it is based upon
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