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Leigh Turner

@leighturner

Professor, Department of Health, Society, & Behavior, School of Population & Public Health & Director, Center for Health Ethics at UCI | bioethics | public health ethics | research ethics

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09.10.2023
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Latest posts by Leigh Turner @leighturner

The former dean is retiring though I suppose he might still land somewhere else. The dept chair will relinquish admin roles while remaining at Columbia (at least for now). Don't know about disciplines and med board. Institutional "culture of silence" probably isn't going anywhere.

10.03.2026 22:10 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

"Two prominent doctors at Columbia University & NY-Presbyterian Hospital stepped down on Tuesday following the release of a report that found that the institutional culture discouraged reporting allegations of sexual abuse against a former physician who sexually assaulted hundreds of patients."

10.03.2026 18:42 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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This is the most bizarre interaction I've ever had with an HHS spokesperson.

From my story on CDC's pivot to "shared-decision making" for vaccines, with insight from @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social and @jakescottmd.bsky.social: www.wired.com/story/why-rf...

09.03.2026 13:19 πŸ‘ 67 πŸ” 27 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 1
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U.S. Tomahawk Hit Naval Base Beside Iranian School, Video Shows The evidence contradicts President Trump’s claim that Iran was responsible for a strike at the school that killed 175 people, most of them children.

Breaking News: New video adds to evidence that a U.S. missile likely hit an Iranian school where 175 people, many of them children, were reportedly killed.

09.03.2026 02:40 πŸ‘ 2560 πŸ” 1150 πŸ’¬ 169 πŸ“Œ 150
Water creates a whirlpool as it swirls down a drain - a metaphor for the accelerating drain of scientific talent from the U.S.

Water creates a whirlpool as it swirls down a drain - a metaphor for the accelerating drain of scientific talent from the U.S.

The third part of my CytoSource series on the effect of Trump administration policies and funding cuts on #cancer research focuses on brain drain: not only the loss of existing talent but also a disruption of the entire talent pipeline. πŸ§ͺ 1/4

acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

08.03.2026 22:11 πŸ‘ 15 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 2
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A wave of quittings reveals the AI industry’s gloom and doom What's behind the existential terror seizing Silicon Valley?

β€œPeople in Silicon Valley are spooked. They know, by their own admissions, that they are toying with an extremely dangerous technology. It’s not a big surprise that conscientious people regularly leave sounding shaken.” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

08.03.2026 04:20 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Not-for-profit Mayo Clinic reports record profit last year Rochester-based health system saw more patient demand and growing philanthropy last year, though it also closed clinics in southern Minnesota.

"Not-for-profit Mayo Clinic reports record profit last year" πŸ€” www.startribune.com/mayo-clinic-...

08.03.2026 02:38 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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Ruben Ray Martinez: Footage shows US citizen shot dead by ICE agent in Texas traffic stop The Department of Homeland Security did not disclose Martinez was shot by one of its agents until almost a year later.

"Martinez is believed to be the first of three US citizens who have been fatally shot by federal immigration agents during President Donald Trump's second term." www.bbc.com/news/article...

08.03.2026 02:24 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Attempted suicides, fights, pain: 911 calls reveal misery at ICE’s largest detention facility The calls to 911 poured in from staff at Camp East Montana, the nation's largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility, in its first months of operation in El Paso, Texas.

"Detainees struggle to obtain medication and health care, lose concerning amounts of weight because of a lack of food, and live in fear of private security guards known to use force to put down disturbances." apnews.com/article/suic...

08.03.2026 02:04 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Six federal scientists run out by Trump talk about the work left undone | CNN Federal data shows the NIH lost about 4,400 people β€” more than 20% of its workforce. Scientists say the departures harm the U.S.’ ability to respond to disease outbreaks, develop treatments for chroni...

The number of people employed at the NIH is at its lowest level in at least two decades.

Hear from six scientists run out by Trump and the work they left behind on cancer research, tick-borne diseases, and more.

Me + @k-hought.bsky.social @kffhealthnews.org for @cnn.com www.cnn.com/2026/03/05/h...

05.03.2026 13:06 πŸ‘ 57 πŸ” 46 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 6

"Prasad is only the latest in a series of dramatic departures by top officials at the Trump administration’s FDA."

07.03.2026 07:06 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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RIP to Jesse Jackson. His funeral is today. I wanted to share this clip from his appearance on Sesame Street in 1971. His important words ring just as true today as they did back then.

06.03.2026 19:01 πŸ‘ 8409 πŸ” 2264 πŸ’¬ 138 πŸ“Œ 126
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FDA’s controversial vaccine chief will exit agency next month | CNN The US Food and Drug Administration’s head of vaccines and biologic medicines will leave the agency at the end of April, a spokesperson confirmed to CNN on Friday.

UC takes one for the team as Vinay Prasad leaves FDA and returns to UCSF. www.cnn.com/2026/03/06/h...

07.03.2026 06:49 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Divisive F.D.A. Vaccine Regulator Is Resigning

"The official, who spoke on the condition that his name not be used, called it a 'failed therapy'.... Dr. Prasad is an oncologist on leave from U.C.S.F." 🀷 www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/h...

07.03.2026 06:33 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Irvine teen breaks silence after at-home science lab sparks FBI hazmat investigation A 17-year-old just months away from earning his degree from UC Irvine is speaking out after his at-home science lab led to a weeklong investigation. He believes it's all a big misunderstanding.

"It was a small chemistry setup. I wouldn't describe it as anything more complex than a sixth-grade science lab." abc7.com/post/irvine-...

04.03.2026 21:27 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Excited Delirium, Policing, and the Law of Evidence - Harvard Law Review Police use of force continues to be a significant problem in American law and society. Recent discussions have focused on doctrinal issues such as what type of force is considered β€œreasonable” under t...

"The findings show that excited delirium often enters evidentiary proceedings as a contested medical concept. Yet, through the machinations of the law of evidence, these claims exit courtroom proceedings as legally relevant facts." harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-13...

03.03.2026 20:26 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Trump pursues Iranian decapitation without a plan for what comes next The U.S. has a fraught track record of toppling autocratic regimes and securing peaceful democracies β€” even when it has vision for the day after.

"Security officials in the Middle East and in Europe have raised concerns that the U.S. is unleashing forces that could spill across borders, disrupt global trade and lead to asymmetric terrorist attack reprisals..." www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

03.03.2026 04:01 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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King County jury awards $24M in Seattle stem cell wrongful death case The man was diagnosed with ALS in 2017, and he underwent stem cell treatment for the illness in Seattle where he later died.

"Trujillo was diagnosed with ALS in 2017, and his family later discovered the Seattle clinic through its online marketing, which promoted stem cell treatments for a range of serious medical conditions, including ALS." www.king5.com/article/news...

01.03.2026 19:03 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
A screenshot of a large group of people facing a heavily damaged building. A few of them are scaling the rubble. A headline reads: "Iran Says Dozens Are Killed in Strike on School" Photo by IRIB TV, via Agence France-Presse

A screenshot of a large group of people facing a heavily damaged building. A few of them are scaling the rubble. A headline reads: "Iran Says Dozens Are Killed in Strike on School" Photo by IRIB TV, via Agence France-Presse

During the U.S.-Israeli attack in Iran on Saturday, dozens of people, most of them likely children, were killed when a strike hit a girls’ elementary school in Minab and a high school in Tehran, according to Iranian health officials, state media and a human rights group. trib.al/y3MsQLC

28.02.2026 23:35 πŸ‘ 810 πŸ” 367 πŸ’¬ 89 πŸ“Œ 47
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Iran Says Dozens Are Killed in Strike on School

"Dozens of people, probably most of them children, were killed in a strike that hit a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran, according to Iranian health officials and state media." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/28/w...

28.02.2026 22:24 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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US-Israeli strike on girls' school kills at least 85 students, Iran's judiciary says At least 85 students have been killed in US-Israeli strikes that hit an Iranian girls' school in Hormozgan province, Iran's judiciary said on Saturday. Washington has not commented on the reported str...

"US-Israeli air strikes killed at least 85 people at a girls’ school in southern Iran, Iran's judiciary said." www.france24.com/en/asia-paci...

28.02.2026 22:23 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Family of Colorado man who died after stem cell injection in Seattle awarded $24M A jury awarded $24 million to a Colorado family after a man's death from a stem cell injection at a Seattle clinic in 2019.

"A King County jury on Thursday awarded $24 million to the family of a Colorado man who died after receiving a stem cell injection at a Seattle clinic in 2019." The same business was sued by the WA AG for deceptive marketing of unproven stem cell interventions. mynorthwest.com/local/colora...

28.02.2026 19:32 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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ICE releases Columbia student after Mamdani asks Trump for help Federal agents said they were looking for a missing person to gain entry to university housing, according to a lawsuit filed by the student’s lawyer. Homeland Security deny agents hid their identities...

β€œOnce inside the apartment, it became clear they had misrepresented themselves. A public safety officer arrived, asked multiple times for a warrant, which was not produced, and asked for time to call his boss, which was not given. The agents took our student.” www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

27.02.2026 19:41 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Lost 19th century film by Méliès discovered at the Library | Timeless Library conservators recently made a startling discovery in a batch of decaying film reels -- a long-lost 1897 film by early cinema icon George Méliès. The French magician-turned-filmmaker's

"It took a bit, but then the gasp of realization: They were looking at 'Gugusse and the Automaton,' a long-lost film by the iconic French filmmaker George Méliès at his Star Film company." blogs.loc.gov/loc/2026/02/...

27.02.2026 19:36 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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On immigration: "I often am asked to speak as an economist. And what we should never lose sight of is that each of us is a moral being. And you, as I, have to decide how we feel about this form of rhetoric."

26.02.2026 23:29 πŸ‘ 1090 πŸ” 380 πŸ’¬ 40 πŸ“Œ 39
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Novartis settles with Henrietta Lacks' estate over use of her 'stolen' cells to advance medicine Novartis has settled a lawsuit by the estate of Henrietta Lacks that alleged the pharmaceutical giant unjustly profited off her cells, which were taken from her tumor without her knowledge in 1951 and...

"It’s the second settlement in lawsuits filed by the estate that accused biomedical businesses of reaping rewards from a racist medical system that took advantage of Black patients like Lacks." apnews.com/article/henr...

27.02.2026 07:02 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Doctors were complicit in Epstein’s abuseβ€”survivors must now be our priority A spectacle around Jeffrey Epstein’s depravity is overshadowing rights and justice for the survivors of the sex offender and his network, which included doctors, writes Jocalyn Clark The theme for I...

Two things are being overlooked in the #EpsteinFiles

The complicity of doctors

The extent of violence

My new piece @bmj.com #IWD #Epstein #Healthwashing #VAW

23.02.2026 15:36 πŸ‘ 75 πŸ” 43 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 2
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Jeffrey Epstein’s tissue samples ignited a furor in the Harvard lab of George Church Exclusive: Harvard geneticist George Church knew more about Jeffrey Epstein's activities than he has previously said, before accepting new donations from the sex offender.

"Jeantine Lunshof, a philosopher who served as the PGP’s ethicist from the project’s beginning until 2020, declined to comment, citing confidentiality agreements." www.statnews.com/2026/02/24/e...

25.02.2026 20:02 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Dynamic Stem Cell Therapy - 712579 - 02/11/2026 Unapproved New Drugs/Unlicensed Biological Product Violations

FDA issues warning letter to Dynamic Stem Cell Therapy in Henderson, Nevada. The business markets unapproved umbilical cord derived stem cell products for such indications as knee, shoulder, ankle, and hip injuries, muscle strains and tears, and "anti-aging."
www.fda.gov/inspections-...

25.02.2026 16:16 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Leah Stavenhagen, Advocate for Young Women With A.L.S., Dies at 33 Ms. Stavenhagen started a group intended to counter the notion that A.L.S. was an β€œolder white man’s disease.”

Leah Stavenhagen, whose diagnosis with the terminal neurodegenerative disease ALS while in her 20s inspired her to start a support group for other young women, has died at 33.

24.02.2026 03:00 πŸ‘ 151 πŸ” 24 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 2