Studying comparative genomics & evolution of neurotropic viruses & chronic infections, @CIDDPSU and @PSUScience. We value diversity in STEM & beyond. she/her
Showing the data is the first rule of figures. So it's good news that biologists increasingly show the data in their figures--but there is still room for improvement. https://t.co/ciTUlbNpQX #mBio
NIH slowdown hit women hardest.
Five years of gain erased in ~1.5 cycles.
Female PI-led R01 grants ⇣938 with $444M gone.
This chart is the cleanest capture of this loss.
Cuts landed where women lead: breast, ovarian, and gynecologic cancers.
Dig deeper & the gap keeps widening:
▫️ women start small: $0.94M vs $1.4M for men
▫️ larger losses: 57.9% vs 48.2% for men
▪️ early-career hit hardest: 59.8% of affected assistant professor grants are women led
This is how you reset a generation:
↳ cut funding → fewer labs
↳ fewer labs → fewer leaders
↳ fewer leaders → fewer women at the top
Pipelines don't bounce back, they just thin out silently.
If you are a woman in science,
now is the time to pay attention
Read more about this in first comment below
= = = = =
Source: NIH RePORTER via Jori (@jori_health)
Method: PI gender-inference is non-trivial. Jori classified 91% algorithmically, then we manually reviewed profiles to classify another 6% (ie, ~ 3% remain unclassified).
This chart reflects the 97% classified names with high confidence.
= = = = =
Very sad to hear about the passing of Bernard Roizman. A real powerhouse in virology whose trainees are numerous and many have also had a profound impact on virology: https://t.co/f5GO1B5hCd
Pro tip for PSU students looking for a spring general-education class: Viruses in our World (SC 130) starts anew in January! Check out Katie Herron's Daily Collegian article about the new class: https://t.co/J698bv88ZD
One last reminder -- tomorrow is the last day to submit an abstract for ASV's annual meeting! We have a new, shorter schedule of just 4 awesome days -- July 14-17, 2025, in Montréal 🇨🇦. The ASV Program Committee is eagerly awaiting your excellent abstracts! ✍️
The 2025 American Society for Virology meeting will be hosted by McGill University and held at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada from July 14 - 17, 2025. Abstract submission, travel award apps, and registration are now open! https://t.co/EigsASFr46
Those individuals based at government agencies such as NIH, CDC, FDA who are planning to submit abstracts for ASV 2025 should contact the ASV office ([email protected]) if current restrictions impact their on-time abstract submission.
Heads up, virologists! ASV's annual meeting is going to Montréal 🇨🇦 in July 2025, and abstract submission closes in <3 weeks -- Monday Feb. 3rd!!! 🔬 🧬 The ASV Program Committee is eagerly awaiting your excellent abstracts! ✍️
The 2025 American Society for Virology meeting will be hosted by McGill University and held at the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada from July 14 - 17, 2025. Abstract submission, travel award apps, and registration are now open! https://t.co/EigsASFr46
My favourite discovery ever has just come online. Can I please tell you about some seriously wacky molecular biology? The story starts with a reverse transcriptase that SOMEHOW defends bacteria from viruses.
(👇 I recommend sound ON for the video 🎹)
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One of the reasons I've been quiet on Twitter for a few months is because I've been working on something big - something I'm really happy to share now!
https://t.co/m7KHsR3H8c
A new, open-source database for pathogen sequence sharing. 👐🧬🌎
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Excited to start classes next at #PennState, welcoming one & all to a new gen-ed (SC297G) where we look at #viruses in art, science, society, & more. Last year's class looked for viruses in music, & came up with gems like this one: https://t.co/KO1a5lup63
They enjoyed dissecting the science & #scicomm of #viruses in popular movies like Contagion & Outbreak, and real-world films like "Virus", about a Nipah outbreak in India. #lovevirology
Calling all #virology and #microbiology friends who are on the faculty job market: @PennStateBio department & @BMB_PSU have multiple faculty openings with ads up now! Link #1 of 4 here -- this one's theme is Evolutionary Genomics (open topic):
https://t.co/ePL93ptaKS
Here is #4 of the new tenure-track faculty jobs @PSUScience and @PSUresearch. This one is in @BMB_PSU. Its theme is Genetics and Cellular & Developmental Biology. #Virology ties into all of these, so please apply!
https://t.co/WPGie22K0b