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Vaughn Smider, MD, PhD

@vvsmider.bsky.social
2.9K followers 2K following 598 posts

Biomedical researcher, antibody investigator (especially cow antibodies 🐮, which are the best), drug discoverer, entrepreneur, mediocre swimmer 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 Founder and President at Applied Biomedical Science Institute: absinstitute.org

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Reposted by Vaughn Smider, MD, PhD
JM 📎🟦🪬🥯🥡🥠🦀 @jmdc88.bsky.social · 21h
Henri Kagan, a Jewish French scientist who survived the Holocaust, just won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry at 95 this week. His family hid under assumed names in southern France during the war. #EternalLight 1/10
An older man with white hair and glasses wearing a brown jacket and a blue tie, standing with his arms crossed.

Ecole polytechnique

Journées de Chimie Organique de la Société Chimique de France – JCO 2013 à l’Ecole Polytechnique (Palaiseau, France) en l’honneur du Professeur Henri Kagan
Date	18 February 2014, 02:27
Source	Journées de Chimie Organique de la Société Chimique de France – JCO 2013 à l’Ecole Polytechnique (Palaiseau, France) en l’honneur du Professeur Henri Kagan
Author	Ecole polytechnique from Paris
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Dorit Reiss @doritreiss.bsky.social · 8h
RFK, Jr.’s New Vaccine Injury Research Center: The concern is that it will be used to generate misinformation about vaccines risks, explains @aboutpediatrics.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/stopanti...
open.substack.com
RFK, Jr.’s New Vaccine Injury Research Center
Secretary RFK, Jr has a plan for a vaccine injury research center at NIH. Why would anyone believe any of the biased research they might put out?
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Princess Vimentin PhD | Cancer Biologist @princess-vimentin.bsky.social · 19h
For my fellow NIH funded scientists The NIH announced the Unified Funding Strategy, where it seeks to hide impact scores & percentiles. Funding decisions will not be transparent. We won't know if the decision was based on politics. Comments are due by October 13. 🧪 www.faseb.org/journals-and...
faseb.org
FASEB Responds to NIH Proposed Changes to Reporting Peer Review Outcomes
FASEB submits comments to NIH on proposed changes to how outcomes from NIH peer review are reported.
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Itai Yanai @itaiyanai.bsky.social · 11h
Postdoc opening: My lab at NYU Langone Health is looking for a new postdoctoral fellow with wet-lab experience for an exciting project.
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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · 11h
NYT
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elizabethginexi.bsky.social @elizabethginexi.bsky.social · 13h
"Despite the groundbreaking nature of some of the results obtained, the way at least some of the accompanying papers are written is not comprehensible even to experts." theconversation.com/is-this-the-...
theconversation.com
Is this the ‘mathocalypse’? Why OpenAI’s latest results dump has left mathematicians in shock
OpenAI released 722 new AI-generated mathematical papers at once – three have been retracted, and mathematicians are coming to grips with the rest.
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 13h
Good point on the peer review plan. Read and comment. Two more days. 27unihted.substack.com/p/how-to-com...
27unihted.substack.com
How to comment on a plan that decreases transparency in NIH peer review — listen on WCOM radio
Deadline to respond is Tuesday, October 13th. Research staff or anyone who benefits or hopes to benefit from health research someday can express their opinion about the proposal.
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Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH @gavinyamey.bsky.social · 15h
In case you’re wondering why RFK Jr and his MAHA cronies are peddling raw camel’s milk as a “treatment” for autism…
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 14h
Oct 13 comment deadline for NIH peer review score binning is fast approaching! Please add your voice! Direct link to RFI: rfi.grants.nih.gov?s=6a2b1c22c3... Background on why it matters: 27unihted.substack.com/p/nih-wants-...
27unihted.substack.com
NIH wants to shroud peer review scores. Here’s what you can do about it.
Authored by anonymous current and former NIH workers with experience in peer review
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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · 13h
The NIH proposal to conceal reviewer scores from program officers, investigators, and advisory councils is ill-conceived, introduces disproportionate weight to small percentile differences, diminishes the role of scientific peer review, and should be withdrawn in its entirety. a 🧵
joshuasweitz.substack.com
What is NIH Leadership Trying to Hide from Researchers & the Public?
A NIH proposal to conceal reviewer rankings of investigator-initiated research grants is ripe for misuse & demands a collective response (by October 13).
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Prasad Jallepalli, MD, PhD @prasad.bsky.social · 16h
For those interested in how chemicals become medicines in a medical and legal sense www.fda.gov/drugs/types-...
fda.gov
Investigational New Drug application (IND)
Get to know the investigational new drug application (IND). This includes the types, laws and regulations, and emergency use of INDs.
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I-270, Exit 1 @i270exit1.bsky.social · 20h
The plan to bin review outcomes and hide scores from applicants and program staff is based on half-truths and is bad on so many levels. @27unihted.bsky.social explains and guides you on commenting. The deadline is October 13. 27unihted.substack.com/p/nih-wants-...
27unihted.substack.com
NIH wants to shroud peer review scores. Here’s what you can do about it.
Authored by anonymous current and former NIH workers with experience in peer review
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Prasad Jallepalli, MD, PhD @prasad.bsky.social · 18h
no IRB would approve this protocol, nor should they hint: what precedes a phase III trial?
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Nikolai Slavov @slavov-n.bsky.social · 18h
Glycosylation is among the most important modifications in biology. We know relatively little about glycobiology, because it is hard to study. This Nat Rev Methods primer describes our best tools for analyzing glycosylation 🔽
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TheBossRoss 🧶 @thebossross.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." — Albert Einstein, German Physicist.
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
The most comprehensive data that I know isis from Grant-Witness and States United. www.lostfunds.org
lostfunds.org
Lost Funds — $174 Billion Gone
Track the Trump administration’s federal funding disruptions state by state — what was cut or frozen, who it hurts, and how states are fighting back in court.
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Mike the Mad Biologist and Trump's Press Corps Approver @mikethemadbiol.bsky.social · 21h
>1,100 tortoises per square km. That's a lotta tortoise.
theguardian.com
Scientists discover 180,000 giant tortoises on one Seychelles island
Free-roaming Aldabra population far exceeds human population of Seychelles after decades-long recovery programme
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 21h
Please comment on "Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review" by Tuesday (October 13th, 2026). rfi.grants.nih.gov?s=6a2b1c22c3... Here is my comment: 1/6
rfi.grants.nih.gov
Request For Information
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Itai Yanai @itaiyanai.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
1. CRISPR came from basic research on bacteria. 2. Optogenetics started with a discovery in algae. 3. The GFP protein comes from jellyfish. The biggest breakthroughs all trace to scientists following their curiosity, and this is one huge reason why we must keep funding basic research!
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Drug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
This is a great reminder for people interested in NIH grant selection that there are elements that are codified in the law by Congressional action. ecfr.io/Title-42/Par...
ecfr.io
42 CFR Part 52h | Scientific Peer Review of… | eCFR.io
Browse 42 CFR Part 52h: Scientific Peer Review of Research Grant… in the current eCFR, with source notes and navigation. Updated through Oct. 5, 2026.
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Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD DSc(hon) @peterhotezmdphd.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Tikkun Olam
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Admirable Women @admirablewomen.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Chemist Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi is widely celebrated for founding & pioneering the field of bioorthogonal chemistry. She shared the 2022 #Nobel Prize in Chemistry "for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry." 🧵 She was born #OTD in 1966. #WomenInSTEM #Chemistry 🧪
A portrait of American chemist Dr. Carolyn Bertozzi (born 1966), Nobel laureate celebrated for founding bioorthogonal chemistry. Taken by Christopher Michel in 2022, the composition captures Bertozzi seated behind a polished wood table, leaning her chin thoughtfully on her left palm. She wears a sharp black blazer over a white top, with four visible buttons on her sleeve cuff. Her short, wavy brown hair frames an expression of calm confidence, looking directly at the camera with a gentle, intelligent smile and striking blue eyes. The soft, cinematic side-lighting accentuates the contours of her face and hand against a shallow depth-of-field background, which subtly reveals a modern office or university hallway with neutral gray walls and distant doorway outlines. The mood is dignified, intellectual, and intimate, visually honoring a pioneering scientist whose historic achievements in developing click chemistry have fundamentally revolutionized biological research and targeted cancer medicine.
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
My quote of the day From your parents you learn love and laughter and how to put one foot before the other. But when books are opened you discover that you have wings. Helen Hayes
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
New email to Director Bhattacharya about the unethical hepatitis B study. 1/3
Dear Director Bhattacharya:

According to public reporting, the CDC is preparing to fund the previously blocked study of hepatitis B vaccination on newborns in Guinea-Bissau (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/oct/09/vaccine-trial-guinea-bissau-rfk-jr ). Based on this reporting, the ethics board in Denmark which approved this had never considered medical studies previously, and four members of the board resigned in protest of the approval.
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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 10/10/2026
Correct. Vought and Bhattacharya want to do to NIH what they have gotten further with at NSF- turn it into a slush fund for their political preferences. But peer review is popular, and it is required by law. So they are slowly chipping away at peer review process in an effort to break it.
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Vaughn Smider, MD, PhD @vvsmider.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
The major barrier I see is adaptive immunity and MHC T cell presentation. I’m not convinced innate receptors and natural antibodies wouldn’t still be active. At minimum, a “foreign body response” should occur.
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Colin Bredenberg @colin-bredenberg.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Hi all, I'm happy to announce that I have started at the University of Oregon as an assistant professor! My group will use computational methods to study learning and synaptic plasticity. I will be hiring grad students this year--please reach out if you're interested! colinbre@uoregon.edu
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Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 09/10/2026
Glad to share this new Microbial Primer on Mirror Biology written w/ Jolien Sweere. It's free to all in the @microbiologysociety.org journal Microbiology, edited by Steve Diggle. Thanks for this opportunity to outline our scientific knowledge of this significant topic. doi.org/10.1099/mic....
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Vaughn Smider, MD, PhD @vvsmider.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Mirror image antibiotics should work- and some cpds that would normally have tox issues like nucleic acid binders (mirror) may be quite effective. The optimistic view, I guess!
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Carolyn Bertozzi @carolynbertozzi.bskyverified.social · 09/10/2026
This looks like instructions for the info to be presented in a way that an AI bot can readily ingest
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Coalition for Life Sciences @c4lifesciences.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
The deadline is approaching! NIH is proposing changes to how peer review is used in funding decisions and how outcomes are reported and they want to hear from you. Comments are due by October 13! Comment here: grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
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Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
This is a disaster. The ethics committee in Denmark that approved the Guinea-Bissau study which will withhold the birth dose of HepB vaccine “had never considered medical studies before but it changed the rules in order to vote on this one”. Four members of the committee have resigned in protest.
theguardian.com
Controversial vaccine trial touted by RFK Jr gets go-ahead in Guinea-Bissau
Recommended dose of hepatitis B vaccine will be withheld from thousands of newborns by Danish researchers
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Christophe 🔬 Leterrier @christlet.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
nytimes.com
Big Controversy Upends a Contest About Microscopic Videos (Gift Article)
Nikon announced that it had disqualified the winner of its Small World in Motion competition over how A.I. was used in his submission.
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Greg Folkers @gregfolkers.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
NYT: Cancer Vaccines Are the N.I.H’s Next ‘Big Bet’ by Gina Kolata @nytimes.com nyti.ms/4dxBmSZ
nyti.ms
Cancer Vaccines Are the N.I.H’s Next ‘Big Bet’ (Gift Article)
New details have emerged about an initiative that starts in December to fast-track the vaccines, similar to the successful push for the Covid-19 vaccine.
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Regaring this Press Release from yesterday. A 🧵 www.nih.gov/news-events/... I was pleased that NIH has been supporting early career investigators after Director Bhattacharya's rhetoric but lack of action last year. 1/9
nih.gov
NIH announces record number of grants to support early career investigators, launches new recruitment initiative for intramural research
NIH highlights actions to strengthen American biomedical science at White House Science: A New Golden Age Summit.
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Local story about use of J-1 visas at nine universities including Pitt. patch.com/pennsylvania... 1/3
patch.com
Vance: Pitt Under Investigation For Possible Fraud
Vice President JD Vance said the University of Pittsburgh is one of nine elite universities being probed by the federal government.
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chasingmicrobes @chasingmicrobes.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
New payment justification guidelines from HHS: www.hhs.gov/sites/defaul... (Before it was copy and paste the sentence they provided, now it is the more onerous DOGE justifications)
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Harmit Singh Malik @harmitmalik.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Postdoc opening my colleague Akhila Rajan's lab at Fred Hutch: fat-to-brain signals, Atg8 & brain aging. Collaborative fly lab, strong basic-science community, postdocs supported toward independence. Successful candidates could start as early as Jan 2027. careers-fhcrc.icims.com/jobs/31508/p...
careers-fhcrc.icims.com
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Fred Hutch is dedicated to the elimination of cancer and related diseases as causes of human suffering and death.
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Princess Vimentin PhD | Cancer Biologist @princess-vimentin.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Science doesn’t belong to the WH, it belongs to the people whose $ fund it. Seventeen scientists filed a class action lawsuit against the NIH for unlawful termination of grants that include cancer, Alzheimer’s disease. More scientists join. We can’t let fascism win! 🧪 pittnews.com/article/2034...
pittnews.com
Pitt professors join class-action lawsuit against NIH, alleging it censored scientific research - The Pitt News
The lawsuit, filed on Sept.16, alleges that NIH, the world’s largest public funder of biomedical research, is unconstitutionally censoring scientific research in relation to requiring a list of keywor...
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Kristian G. Andersen @kgandersen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
San Diego County continues to build its leadership for infectious disease monitoring and forecasting. Great to see and this really serves as a template for the rest of the country 👏. www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2026/10/09/c...
sandiegouniontribune.com
County to use new forecasting tool to measure flu, COVID-19 in region
It will predict whether hospitalizations will increase, decrease or remain flat in the coming two weeks.
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BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
This study was unethical when it was announced last year and it remains unethical today. The birth dose of the hepatitis b vaccine prevents perinatal acquisition of the infection. You cannot randomize a group of newborns to not receive it while giving it to others. www.linkedin.com/safety/go/?u...
linkedin.com
Hepatitis B vaccine study condemned as unethical wins approval from Danish university
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Colette Delawalla, PhD @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
It’s notable to me that TWO of the most recent women who have won a NoBel Prize were denied tenure from their institutions: Anne Carson and Katalin Karikó
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Owen From Ohio @owenfromohio.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
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Princess Vimentin PhD | Cancer Biologist @princess-vimentin.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Recall that RFK Jr cancelled $500M in funding for cutting edge mRNA research & decided to fund an unethical vaccine study in Bissau New Guinea earlier this year. It was halted. Now it’s on again. Erika Schwartz is doing Kennedy’s bidding. We have measles to contend with. 🧪 archive.today/0sSUu
rollingstone.com
CDC Is Moving Forward With a Previously Shelved Controversial Hepatitis B Vaccine Study
“It’s a wholly unethical trial, and it shouldn’t be allowed,” says Dr. Paul Offit of Guinea-Bissau study
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Ragothaman Yennamalli @structbioinfo.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
🚨🚨🚨The Yennamalli Lab is hiring!!!!🚨🚨🚨 Want to research computational biology with a focus on understanding how biomolecular structure and dynamics shape biological function? Research Details: yennamalli-lab.in Admission Details: www.jnu.ac.in/sites/defaul...
yennamalli-lab.in
Yennamalli Lab
JNU
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Thomas [DARK MODE], DO @tom.medsky.social · 08/10/2026
In 18 years of general pediatrics which includes ordering thousands of vaccines there has only been one time where I filed a VAERS report. An infant had a 3mm grey dot on their thigh from where they received their hib vaccine.
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
4 reasons the Trump administration is attacking science. 🧵 This is still one of the most common questions I hear from people - but why!? Isn't science good for everyone?! So, here is my current thinking on why...
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Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
New @science.org A breakthrough in understanding why do we get fever and an inflammation response to vaccines. The gut microbiome chronic production of flagellin Paves the way to potentially prevent these acute phase side-effects in the future www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
The human gut microbiome primes fever after vaccination
Fever is a common adverse reaction to vaccination, contributing to vaccine hesitancy and reduced uptake. To understand variation in fever risk, we longitudinally profiled fecal microbiota, oral temper...
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Brian “Enemy of Civilization” Alexander @brianralexander.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I’m sitting in a dermatology office. They have asked me to fill out tons of information and a very long privacy form that’s awfully permissive including “business partners.” Private equity owned? I ask. Yep! Walking out now.
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elizabethginexi.bsky.social @elizabethginexi.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Submit comments to the Request for Information (RFI) NOT-OD-26-088 by OCTOBER 13th. 27unihted.substack.com/p/how-to-com...
27unihted.substack.com
How to comment on a plan that decreases transparency in NIH peer review — listen on WCOM radio
Deadline to respond is Tuesday, October 13th. Research staff or anyone who benefits or hopes to benefit from health research someday can express their opinion about the proposal.
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