@sharpmelk
#EvidenceSynthesis specialist, epidemiologist. Research Officer, Health Research Board. 🇺🇸 in 🇮🇪 Views=own Postdoc: @rcsi.bsky.social PhDs: @upcite.bsky.social, University of Split MPH: @columbiauniversity.bsky.social BS: @michiganstateu.bsky.social
Ireland has no shortage of strategies, plans or targets for clean air. What it lacks is consistent, coordinated delivery & political courage to enforce standards, phase out high-emission fuels & prioritise equity.
– New Healthscape blog
healthscape-population-health.blogspot.com/2026/03/from...
The American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendations for hepatitis B, influenza and other shots buck changes made by Trump administration
📢HRB's Applied Partnership Awards - Women's Health 2026 call for proposals is now open.
📌Funding for up to 10 #womenshealth research projects at €200,000 each
📌Closing date 27 March 2026
ℹ️Call details including guidance notes, FAQs and more➡️ bit.ly/4jG3OE0
Too many people are scared to act on principle over some fear they will be accused of being "political". As if this commitment to a social media website demonstrates their centrist, reasonable sensibilities; or their ability to avoid overacting to others' "emotional" responses or "virtue signalling"
Internationally renowned and a genius but also just a genuinely nice person and mentor. I didn't know him for long but as an early career researcher, I'll always value the insights and hope that he shared that you could still make it to the top in academia but stay kind and graceful
📣 Call for Speakers – Pint of Science Ireland 2026
We’re looking for researchers to give informal, engaging talks to public during our festival on 18–20 May 2026.
📍 Events across Ireland
⏳ Apply by Jan 30
🔗 Application form: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#STEMIreland #pint26 #research
"The making of a statistician: Doug Altman" - just published in @bmj.com celebrating his 1 million citations and reflecting on his remarkable career and legacy. One of the most influential statisticians in modern medical research.
--> www.bmj.com/content/391/...
#BMJChristmas #methodologymatters
But in #Ireland, the computational hunger for energy has reached levels that are impossible to ignore. #Datacentres guzzle 1/5 of the country’s electricity and are projected to devour nearly 1/5 of it within a few years. #AI
📣Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has announced €2M for women's health research. HRB will launch a new call for up to 10 #womenshealth research projects through its Applied Partnership Awards.
🗓️Call opens 16 Jan
📌Budget €200,000 each
ℹ️Read more▶️ bit.ly/45gtr8l
Measles, which is most common among unvaccinated children, was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, but declining vaccination rates have led to recent outbreaks.
Of the 111 cases, 105 were unvaccinated, the health department said.
eu.usatoday.com/story/life/h...
Synthesis Report 2025 #HealthPolicy Reform Trends in the #EU eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications...
Part 1:
-preventing non-communicable diseases
-accelerating #DigitalHealth transformation
-strengthening #PrimaryCare
-promoting affordable access to pharmaceuticals/innovation
Some key highlights from Ireland's 2025 country health profile
Better than EU average: life expectancy, smoking
Worse: drinking, obesity, health spending per capita, accessibility (unmet need)
eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications...
New country health profiles out from the European Observatory State of #Health in the #EU 2025: Country Health Profiles and Synthesis Report now available eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications...
Interactive dashboard: eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications...
Department of Health Statement of Strategy 2025-2028 published by @roinnslainte.bsky.social yesterday
www.gov.ie/en/departmen...
Pharmacies are starting to roll out a new scheme to allow the public to get medicines for eight common conditions without a GP prescription. An agreement between the Government and the Irish Pharmacy Union will see Boots Ireland starting now, & the McCabes Pharmacy network set to begin within weeks.
Absolutely shocking with the state of legislation around #puppyfarms in Ireland. It's so shameful that we're the 'puppy farm capital of Europe.' We rescued a doggo this past year from one & it's heart-breaking to think of what she went through before she had a loving home
www.rte.ie/news/2025/12...
RFK Jr.'s claim that COVID vaccines are deadly? Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. In this new extraordinarily large study, vaccinated individuals had a 74% lower risk of death from severe COVID-19 and a 25% lower risk of all-cause mortality compared to those unvaccinated. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Comparison between RoB-1 and RoB-2 tool and impact on #NetworkMetaAnalysis results – a case study from a living #Cochrane review on psoriasis #RiskOfBias #EvidenceSynthesis #MetaResearch www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
New study on the reproducibility of meta-analytic results in #SystematicReviews of interventions
Making data files and analytic code publicly available will facilitate future investigations of reproducibility of meta-analyses and allow updates of reviews to be completed more quickly. #OpenScience
#ROBINSI Nov 2025 version
Q2.5 Were further classification errors (not influenced by
knowledge of the outcome or risk of the outcome) likely?
Does it look like the algorithm was not updated from 2024?
if No, further classification errors likely, shouldn't that be less biased not more?
A user-friendly tool for anyone conducting an evidence synthesis project has been launched by Knowledge Translation Program @ktprogram.bsky.social. The Right Review Tool has been updated in collab w/ Dr Barbara Clyne.
rightreview.knowledgetranslation.net
@hiqa.bsky.social @rcsilibrary.bsky.social
The scientific arm of the #EuropeanCommision: the Joint Research Centre.
The best decisions are made from the best available evidence. Science for policy is science for democracy. Policies for the people.
Who does what -- a governmental resource to find who is the best person in the govt to talk to across departments.
www.gov.ie/en/govie-tea...
Ireland's Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill speaks about govt's commitment to supporting scientific research & reflects on the public service of trying to improve the health of ppl you may never meet.
Plant the seed for a tree that will some day give shade to people you may never meet
A good overview of the findings from the #RapidEvidence Support System Assessment (RESSA) which looked into how to stengthen the evidence support system for health in Ireland #policymaking #HRBEvidenceForPolicy
Connecting Ireland to the wider EU policymaking context, two recent landmark agreements support research and innovation in policy making and we're learning from our neighbours through the Twin Transition programme #HRBEvidenceForPolicy
Zooming out, great to see an overview of how research evidence is engaged in policy in #Ireland
Researchers in the government sector have increased over time (but at a much slower pace than other sectors)
The features of an effective evidence ecosystem (presented by John Lavis) #EvidenceSynthesis #HRBEvidenceForPolicy
Evidence-based policy is complex, involving a lot of different actors working in constantly changing environments.
There's the ideal process/cycle and there's the reality...
In times of crises, that's when we need the evidence even more. #HRBEvidenceForPolicy
Approximately 1 in 30 trials & >74 000 trial participants were affected by grant funding disruptions. Affected trials disproportionately studied infectious diseases, prevention, & behavioral interventions, and were based in the Northeastern US or in other countries. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...