Jordan McCall

Graph of award probability of R35 and R01 from NIH factbook as a function of review rank percentile. As is apparent, 2025 is a significant departure, with lower award probabilities at all scores <40 and significant departures from norm, where even being in the top 10% is no longer a nearly certain indicator of success. Data source: https://report.nih.gov/nihdatabook/report/302

The data is in: the NIH goalposts have shifted.

What were once almost certain fundable scores have become coin flips and what used to be likely grants have become aspirational, leading to fewer awards.

Another manifestation of how HHS policies have led to fewer awards and less science.

$300 Million in jet planes lost to a fuckup.

That’s 83 five year NIH R01 grants burned in minutes due to error, aka poor execution of this unnecessary war which serves only to make the world more dangerous.

A video of Alex Pretti reading out the final salute of an unnamed veteran he cared for until the end of his life in the ICU, posted to Facebook by his son.

Mapping the dance of circadian synchrony Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have found a way to better track circadian brain signals that synchronize the body clocks.

Here's one I wrote: @washuartsci.bsky.social biologists mapped the "master clock" of our body. 80% sure Professor Erik Herzog and Nikhil are Timelords. 🧠🧪 source.washu.edu/2025/12/mapp...

Nothing like a good cry over my morning coffee as Wei heads out 💔. The US is crazy to not do everything possible to keep and treasure people like her. I know she will do wonderful things where ever she lands - this is our loss

How do you measure brain arousal? In a new study, #ShanahanFellow Ryan Raut uses dynamical systems theory to offer a fresh lens on how physical signs (like pupil dilation), behavior, and brain-wide activity are coordinated.

🧠📈 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Do you know @sarahross1.bsky.social?

Epigenetic regulation of brain development, plasticity, and response to early-life stress Neuropsychopharmacology - Epigenetic regulation of brain development, plasticity, and response to early-life stress

A comprehensive new 🔁 Rreview 🔁 from Dr. Peña explores postnatal maturation of the 🧠 epigenome, the relationship between the epigenome & postnatal sensitive periods & plasticity, and the impact of early-life stress on epigenetic development

شكرا لك يا أخي

Happy to chat about trials and tribulations if you would like!

Always more to understand! Thank you!

Thank you David!

Happy to share our recent work attempting to better understand the impact of early life maternal separation on locus coeruleus function. Super proud of first author (the now Dr.) Chayla Vazquez. She brought this idea when she joined in… March 2020… and she carried it through these rough few years!

Some good news. Big congrats to @drbhooma.bsky.social, she is going to do amazing things with this new funding! 🎉

Some good news on a Friday for once, introducing Dr. Chayla Vazquez!

Well, maybe the children will have to live with two cures instead of 30 cures.

Graphic of Washington Post poll from April 18-22, 2025, showing "Majorities of Americans oppose various Trump proposals" highlighting two lines in particular: "Increasing the Federal Government's role in how private universities operate" - 28 percent support, 70 percent oppose "Reducing federal funding for medical research" - 21 percent support, 77 percent oppose

University leaders need to understand: they are holding INCREDIBLY good cards.

It is so rare in today's polarized era to have the support of 70+ percent of the public against the Trump admiministration on anything. Universities have that—AND winning legal arguments.

PhD Timeline xkcd.com/3081

I totally agree with your main point, but is "cite" vs. "not cite" the most valuable approach? Seems like citation with sufficient context is better than no citation in many cases? (i.e., [Paper] suggested [finding], but this work had [major limitation] so [idea/mechanism/topic] not understood yet.)

Bad news for all of us: champion for inclusion & excellence @ NIH/NINDS Dr. Michelle Jones-London is leaving NINDS.💔
She helped launch the career of countless cutting-edge neuroscientists & set the standard for training. Great news of course for where ever she goes next. 🧪🧠@jeremymberg.bsky.social

Leaving behind a generation of biomedical researchers will not MAG nor H.

🚨 New paper out!
👉A #systematicreview and #metaanalysis on the impact of neuropathic #pain models on anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors in rodents.
#CIBER_SAM #univcadiz #INiBICA_IIS

#OpenAccess Read more here ⬇️
doi.org/10.1016/j.bp...

Science Under Threat in the United States: The NIH is a sound investment for the US taxpayer Research funded by the National Institutes of Health is essential for improving the health of Americans and developing new drugs and treatments for a wide range of diseases.

Science Under Threat in the United States

The NIH is a sound investment for the US taxpayer

By my colleague Nicholas W Gilpin from Louisiana who has written this piece in his personal capacity due to the current institutional situation.

elifesciences.org/articles/106...

It feels like the resumption of study section posting on the federal registrar, while continuing to block advisory council, was an attempt to quell the news cycle while still keeping funds frozen.

These terminations are a disgusting abuse of power that threatens the future of American science. 💔

Estradiol protects against pain-facilitated fentanyl use via suppression of opioid-evoked dopamine activity in males Higginbotham et al. show that inflammatory pain increases opioid-evoked dopamine neuron activity to promote fentanyl use selectively in males. Ovarian hormones offer females protection, but estradiol’...

New work from the lab published at @cp-neuron.bsky.social. In this study we dissect the role of hormonal regulation in pain-induced enhanced opioid intake in males.
Work conducted by the super talented @jessinbotham

www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...

And from the other side of Forest Park!

We are currently working on the experiments to address this idea, more to come!

Thanks to @danai-lama.bsky.social for covering our preprint. I missed this when she posted it and now this place seems mostly for doomscrolling, so it’s nice to have our science highlighted to at least momentarily disrupt the gloom 💙

More of this please.