Arya Zandvakili
@aryazandvakili.bsky.social
MD PhD. Physician-Scientist. Infectious Diseases Specialist.
In the lab, I use molecular biology and bioinformatics to study cytomegalovirus
In the community, I advocate for Medicare-for-All and Chair the Iowa Chapter of PNHP.org
In the lab, I use molecular biology and bioinformatics to study cytomegalovirus
In the community, I advocate for Medicare-for-All and Chair the Iowa Chapter of PNHP.org
Pinned
Reclaim Medicaid from corporate health insurers
Reclaim Medicaid from corporate health insurers
pnhp.salsalabs.org
Iowa Medicaid is dominated by private insurers (MCOs) that waste taxpayer dollars and delay care—hurting patients, clinicians, and hospitals. MCOs were added by executive action 10 years ago, they can be removed with a new governor in 2027. Join our campaign to build pressure to kick out the MCOs.
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
the way this makes sense for RFK is that "healthy people" and "sick people" are ontological categories.
“This was not a disease that was killing healthy people. It was killing sick people”.
RFK Jr. lying about the COVID19 pandemic.
RFK Jr. lying about the COVID19 pandemic.
April 23, 2026 at 12:25 AM
the way this makes sense for RFK is that "healthy people" and "sick people" are ontological categories.
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
Last month, a hospital in Iowa quietly changed its policies to tell employees to give ICE/CBP agents sensitive patient information without a warrant going against national guidelines. www.patreon.com/posts/155034...
The violence we don't see | Men Yell at Me by Lyz Lenz
Get more from Men Yell at Me by Lyz Lenz on Patreon
www.patreon.com
April 8, 2026 at 12:55 PM
Last month, a hospital in Iowa quietly changed its policies to tell employees to give ICE/CBP agents sensitive patient information without a warrant going against national guidelines. www.patreon.com/posts/155034...
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
Also of note, Iowa paid Chris Rufo—perhaps the leading propagandist for the current assault on higher ed, an unqualified hack and admitted fabulist—$34,000 to speak. It's embarrassing that any higher ed institution would invite him, especially when they are cutting departmental budgets.
The University of Iowa's new Center for Intellectual Freedom appears to be off to a rocky start in terms of enrolling students.
They also went over budget on alcohol and food for their introductory event, which isn't surprising when faculty and legislators get together.
They also went over budget on alcohol and food for their introductory event, which isn't surprising when faculty and legislators get together.
GOP invited to Center for Intellectual Freedom event, Dems weren’t
Before an event debuting the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa - promising “greater viewpoint diversity on campus” - organizers sent email invites to about 100 Republican lawma...
www.thegazette.com
April 8, 2026 at 11:42 AM
Also of note, Iowa paid Chris Rufo—perhaps the leading propagandist for the current assault on higher ed, an unqualified hack and admitted fabulist—$34,000 to speak. It's embarrassing that any higher ed institution would invite him, especially when they are cutting departmental budgets.
Iowa Medicaid is dominated by private insurers (MCOs) that waste taxpayer dollars and delay care—hurting patients, clinicians, and hospitals. MCOs were added by executive action 10 years ago, they can be removed with a new governor in 2027. Join our campaign to build pressure to kick out the MCOs.
Reclaim Medicaid from corporate health insurers
Reclaim Medicaid from corporate health insurers
pnhp.salsalabs.org
April 8, 2026 at 12:53 AM
Iowa Medicaid is dominated by private insurers (MCOs) that waste taxpayer dollars and delay care—hurting patients, clinicians, and hospitals. MCOs were added by executive action 10 years ago, they can be removed with a new governor in 2027. Join our campaign to build pressure to kick out the MCOs.
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
Matt Ridley gave the inaugural "NIH Scientific Freedom Lecture Series" earlier today and I just wanted to run through some of the main claims he made - you'll be unsurprised to learn that almost all of them are false.
Here's his summary slide - let's start there.
🧵👇
Here's his summary slide - let's start there.
🧵👇
March 20, 2026 at 11:41 PM
Matt Ridley gave the inaugural "NIH Scientific Freedom Lecture Series" earlier today and I just wanted to run through some of the main claims he made - you'll be unsurprised to learn that almost all of them are false.
Here's his summary slide - let's start there.
🧵👇
Here's his summary slide - let's start there.
🧵👇
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
Stryker is a huge, international company, >50,000 employees. The group "Handala" claims to have stolen "50 terabytes of data before wiping tens of thousands of systems and servers across the company's network."
March 11, 2026 at 6:34 PM
Stryker is a huge, international company, >50,000 employees. The group "Handala" claims to have stolen "50 terabytes of data before wiping tens of thousands of systems and servers across the company's network."
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
Reuters Exclusive
"U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school."
"The strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts in the Middle East."
"U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school."
"The strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts in the Middle East."
Exclusive: US investigation points to likely US responsibility in Iran school strike, sources say
Military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school that killed scores of children on Saturday, two U.S. officials told Reu...
www.reuters.com
March 6, 2026 at 2:50 AM
Reuters Exclusive
"U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school."
"The strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts in the Middle East."
"U.S. military investigators believe it is likely that U.S. forces were responsible for an apparent strike on an Iranian girls' school."
"The strike would rank among the worst cases of civilian casualties in decades of U.S. conflicts in the Middle East."
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
I’ll add that it appears real until you use the database links to view the article. The whole thing falls apart and it’s clear that the article doesn’t exist. This happens because AI generated citations cite fake article in real journals, leading to the fleeting impression of credibility here
When viewing the fake article in Google scholar on my university network, there is a link to access the article via my uni's library. That link sends me to a library page that makes fake article appear real... Turns out library page is made programmatically from info on Google scholar 🤦
December 21, 2025 at 5:38 PM
I’ll add that it appears real until you use the database links to view the article. The whole thing falls apart and it’s clear that the article doesn’t exist. This happens because AI generated citations cite fake article in real journals, leading to the fleeting impression of credibility here
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
December 19, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Closing out my year with a journal editor shocker 🧵
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Checking new manuscripts today I reviewed a paper attributing 2 papers to me I did not write. A daft thing for an author to do of course. But intrigued I web searched up one of the titles and that's when it got real weird...
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
"Never spread the lie in the headline" should be a hard rule of 21st century journalism.
Research shows that repeating lies helps to spread them, and people read headlines more than they read stories.
Research shows that repeating lies helps to spread them, and people read headlines more than they read stories.
News media has to do better with headlines that present false and unverified public health claims.
November 30, 2025 at 1:10 AM
"Never spread the lie in the headline" should be a hard rule of 21st century journalism.
Research shows that repeating lies helps to spread them, and people read headlines more than they read stories.
Research shows that repeating lies helps to spread them, and people read headlines more than they read stories.
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
When a travelling doctor questioned why a patient had been receiving dangerous cancer treatments for 11 years, he set off a chain of events that would divide a city and implicate a beloved oncologist in a string of suspicious deaths.
(Published Dec. 2024)
(Published Dec. 2024)
A Hospital Helped a Beloved Doctor’s Practice Flourish Even as It Suspected He Was Hurting Patients
Hailed as a savior upon his arrival in Helena, Dr. Thomas C. Weiner became a favorite of patients and his hospital’s highest earner. As the myth surrounding the high-profile oncologist grew, so did th...
www.propublica.org
November 30, 2025 at 10:00 PM
When a travelling doctor questioned why a patient had been receiving dangerous cancer treatments for 11 years, he set off a chain of events that would divide a city and implicate a beloved oncologist in a string of suspicious deaths.
(Published Dec. 2024)
(Published Dec. 2024)
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
Letters to scientific journals surge as ‘prolific debutante’ authors likely use AI | Science | AAAS - fascinating report by @jeffreybrainard.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...
Letters to scientific journals surge as ‘prolific debutante’ authors likely use AI
New study reinforces worries about “mass production of junk” by unscrupulous scholars aiming to pad their CVs
www.science.org
November 4, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Letters to scientific journals surge as ‘prolific debutante’ authors likely use AI | Science | AAAS - fascinating report by @jeffreybrainard.bsky.social www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
The acting CDC Director has no knowledge, training or experience in science/public health. Trump has no knowledge, training or experience in science/public health.
Both are calling to make the MMR vaccine into 3 separate shots, which makes absolutely no scientific or public health sense.
Both are calling to make the MMR vaccine into 3 separate shots, which makes absolutely no scientific or public health sense.
Acting CDC boss wants to break up MMR vaccine into three shots
Jim O’Neill joins President Donald Trump’s call for three distinct measles, mumps and rubella shots, claiming a separation would ‘reduce the risk of side effects’ and ‘maximize parental choice’
www.independent.co.uk
October 9, 2025 at 1:01 AM
The acting CDC Director has no knowledge, training or experience in science/public health. Trump has no knowledge, training or experience in science/public health.
Both are calling to make the MMR vaccine into 3 separate shots, which makes absolutely no scientific or public health sense.
Both are calling to make the MMR vaccine into 3 separate shots, which makes absolutely no scientific or public health sense.
Me studying for ID boards: rats can give you Hanta, Lassa, Lepto, LCMV, Rat bite fever, Plague.... and can snatch you up!
Talk about an in-flight meal.
For the first time, researchers have captured rats hunting bats by grabbing them from the sky. Learn more: https://scim.ag/3Jqldmn
For the first time, researchers have captured rats hunting bats by grabbing them from the sky. Learn more: https://scim.ag/3Jqldmn
October 28, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Me studying for ID boards: rats can give you Hanta, Lassa, Lepto, LCMV, Rat bite fever, Plague.... and can snatch you up!
October 22, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
The entire "free speech on campus" moral panic was manufactured to blackmail us into making space in intellectual life for bigots and charlatans who couldn't get there on their own merits. Its a DEI scheme for fascism. Congratulations to everyone who took it at face value.
“Following his lecture, Yarvin will debate the legendary British historian David Starkey on history and the future of conservatism.” Everything about this is so cursed. Masks off at the University of Oxford.
October 20, 2025 at 2:13 PM
The entire "free speech on campus" moral panic was manufactured to blackmail us into making space in intellectual life for bigots and charlatans who couldn't get there on their own merits. Its a DEI scheme for fascism. Congratulations to everyone who took it at face value.
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
This is the result of a lot of people pretending racism is one of the greatest taboos in our culture while failing to address racism substantively. People are appalled by the idea of being called racist while being totally committed to upholding racism throughout society.
Every time a Democrat gets caught on tape saying like “Some Trump voters are racist” we have a national scandal and JD Vance demands an entirely new kind of apology and meanwhile every Republican group chat is like “Good morning fellow SS members. Who’s ready to respect Hitler today?”
October 15, 2025 at 2:13 PM
This is the result of a lot of people pretending racism is one of the greatest taboos in our culture while failing to address racism substantively. People are appalled by the idea of being called racist while being totally committed to upholding racism throughout society.
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
None of the 9 campuses the Trump administration has asked to sign a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” have done so, but conservative lawmakers in Iowa are urging the Board of Regents to be the 1st.
“Iowa has a chance to be a leader.”
www.thegazette.com/higher-educa...
“Iowa has a chance to be a leader.”
www.thegazette.com/higher-educa...
Iowa lawmakers urge regent universities to be first to sign Trump's higher ed compact
None of the nine campuses the Trump administration has asked to sign a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education" have done so, but two conservative lawmakers in Iowa are urging the Board o...
www.thegazette.com
October 14, 2025 at 8:22 PM
None of the 9 campuses the Trump administration has asked to sign a “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” have done so, but conservative lawmakers in Iowa are urging the Board of Regents to be the 1st.
“Iowa has a chance to be a leader.”
www.thegazette.com/higher-educa...
“Iowa has a chance to be a leader.”
www.thegazette.com/higher-educa...
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
ICE left David, a 17-year-old boy, stranded on the side of Interstate 20 after pulling over his immigrant father, Hector, in Mississippi.
David began running in the scorching sun after the car and watched as it disappeared from sight—soon headed to a Louisiana ICE prison.
Here's their story.
David began running in the scorching sun after the car and watched as it disappeared from sight—soon headed to a Louisiana ICE prison.
Here's their story.
ICE Stranded a 17-Year-Old on I-20 After Arresting His Father. The Mississippi Dad Now Faces Deportation.
A 17-year-old watched as ICE arrested his immigrant father, Hector, on I-20 in June. The family faces mounting legal fees and the risk of deportation.
www.mississippifreepress.org
October 10, 2025 at 11:58 PM
ICE left David, a 17-year-old boy, stranded on the side of Interstate 20 after pulling over his immigrant father, Hector, in Mississippi.
David began running in the scorching sun after the car and watched as it disappeared from sight—soon headed to a Louisiana ICE prison.
Here's their story.
David began running in the scorching sun after the car and watched as it disappeared from sight—soon headed to a Louisiana ICE prison.
Here's their story.
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, former Director of NIAID, is Fired by Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy in Retaliation for Filing Whistleblower Complaint with the Office of Special Counsel
bit.ly/4gRA3yx
bit.ly/4gRA3yx
October 2, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, former Director of NIAID, is Fired by Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy in Retaliation for Filing Whistleblower Complaint with the Office of Special Counsel
bit.ly/4gRA3yx
bit.ly/4gRA3yx
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
🚨 New directive NSPM-7 targets "anti-capitalism," “anti-Christian,” and “anti-American" opinions as indicators of extremist violence, authorizing an army of 4,000 counter-terrorism officers to prevent crimes that haven't happened:
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trumps-nsp...
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trumps-nsp...
Trump’s NSPM-7 Labels Common Beliefs As Terrorism “Indicators”
New order targets “anti-Christian,” “anti-American,” and “anti-capitalism” opinions
www.kenklippenstein.com
September 27, 2025 at 7:14 PM
🚨 New directive NSPM-7 targets "anti-capitalism," “anti-Christian,” and “anti-American" opinions as indicators of extremist violence, authorizing an army of 4,000 counter-terrorism officers to prevent crimes that haven't happened:
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trumps-nsp...
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/trumps-nsp...
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
More than 25% of farmers and ranchers rely on the ACA marketplace for their health insurance coverage. With insurance premiums expected to rise, more people may choose to drop health insurance coverage, especially as the cost-of-living has increased.
#montana #healthcare
www.kff.org/affordable-c...
#montana #healthcare
www.kff.org/affordable-c...
Occupations with Large Shares of Workers Who Rely on Individual Market Coverage | KFF
This analysis examines the share of adult workers in occupations that rely more heavily on individual market coverage for health insurance, which is largely made up by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Ma...
www.kff.org
September 26, 2025 at 6:15 PM
More than 25% of farmers and ranchers rely on the ACA marketplace for their health insurance coverage. With insurance premiums expected to rise, more people may choose to drop health insurance coverage, especially as the cost-of-living has increased.
#montana #healthcare
www.kff.org/affordable-c...
#montana #healthcare
www.kff.org/affordable-c...
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
This is the biggest attack on free speech since the McCarthy era but it also has significantly less popular consensus behind it than the second Red Scare. It's being done on behalf of a minority faction led by the most unpopular president in modern history. Organizing against this can win.
September 18, 2025 at 2:21 PM
This is the biggest attack on free speech since the McCarthy era but it also has significantly less popular consensus behind it than the second Red Scare. It's being done on behalf of a minority faction led by the most unpopular president in modern history. Organizing against this can win.
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
If it’s run for profit, then it’s profiting off of … us.
When I hear that the post office lost money, I think this: Good. We already paid for it. Why on earth should it make even more money from us? Who would keep the money? Would we see it?
When I hear that the post office lost money, I think this: Good. We already paid for it. Why on earth should it make even more money from us? Who would keep the money? Would we see it?
I don't want to start a thing so I'll just say that there will never be a good argument for privatizing USPS. That would be like privatizing libraries. The aim of services isn't to be run for profit, they are for serving the greater good, which USPS has been extremely successful at.
September 8, 2025 at 1:55 AM
If it’s run for profit, then it’s profiting off of … us.
When I hear that the post office lost money, I think this: Good. We already paid for it. Why on earth should it make even more money from us? Who would keep the money? Would we see it?
When I hear that the post office lost money, I think this: Good. We already paid for it. Why on earth should it make even more money from us? Who would keep the money? Would we see it?
Reposted by Arya Zandvakili
woah this is genuinely, utterly WILD
Ant queens of one species produce males of another species, so she can then mate with them and produce hybrid workers!
This is so gloriously weird I can't quite compute it 🤯🧪🐜
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Ant queens of one species produce males of another species, so she can then mate with them and produce hybrid workers!
This is so gloriously weird I can't quite compute it 🤯🧪🐜
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
‘Almost unimaginable’: these ants are different species but share a mother
Ant queens of one species clone ants of another to create hybrid workers that do their bidding.
www.nature.com
September 3, 2025 at 10:09 PM
woah this is genuinely, utterly WILD
Ant queens of one species produce males of another species, so she can then mate with them and produce hybrid workers!
This is so gloriously weird I can't quite compute it 🤯🧪🐜
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Ant queens of one species produce males of another species, so she can then mate with them and produce hybrid workers!
This is so gloriously weird I can't quite compute it 🤯🧪🐜
www.nature.com/articles/d41...