Pablo Ortiz
@313kidney.bsky.social
Renal Physiology , the kidney in hypertension, molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular disease, scientist , frustrated musician , happily living in Detroit (a miracle city!)
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
The NIH proposal to conceal reviewer scores from program officers, investigators, and advisory councils is ill-conceived, introduces disproportionate weight to small percentile differences, diminishes the role of scientific peer review, and should be withdrawn in its entirety.
a 🧵
a 🧵
What is NIH Leadership Trying to Hide from Researchers & the Public?
A NIH proposal to conceal reviewer rankings of investigator-initiated research grants is ripe for misuse & demands a collective response (by October 13).
joshuasweitz.substack.com
October 11, 2026 at 10:31 PM
The NIH proposal to conceal reviewer scores from program officers, investigators, and advisory councils is ill-conceived, introduces disproportionate weight to small percentile differences, diminishes the role of scientific peer review, and should be withdrawn in its entirety.
a 🧵
a 🧵
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Argentina is about to be heavily colonized.
“Argentina launches cash-for-citizenship scheme” - soon after the country’s Supreme Court lifted restrictions on selling rural land to foreign investors. 10/2/26 (Gee, I wonder where these ideas came from) … 1/ amp.dw.com/en/argentina...
Argentina launches cash-for-citizenship scheme
Investors seeking the fastest but most costly route to Argentine citizenship can choose between a non-refundable gift of $350,000, or buying a government bond for $800,000, if they think that will pay...
amp.dw.com
October 2, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Argentina is about to be heavily colonized.
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
In October 2020, Jay Bhattacharya looked into a camera and said he wanted to “let people face the risk of the disease.”
Does his pro-virus advocacy merit inclusion amongst the giants of infectious disease prevention?
Does his pro-virus advocacy merit inclusion amongst the giants of infectious disease prevention?
September 29, 2026 at 12:00 PM
In October 2020, Jay Bhattacharya looked into a camera and said he wanted to “let people face the risk of the disease.”
Does his pro-virus advocacy merit inclusion amongst the giants of infectious disease prevention?
Does his pro-virus advocacy merit inclusion amongst the giants of infectious disease prevention?
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Advocacy works! But we must remain vigilant and be ready for more advocacy efforts in the future.
www.semafor.com/article/09/2...
www.semafor.com/article/09/2...
Exclusive: Trump administration backing off NIH grant order amid pushback
The proposal, which would have given President Donald Trump greater influence over health grant decisionmaking, could still advance in a new form.
www.semafor.com
September 23, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Advocacy works! But we must remain vigilant and be ready for more advocacy efforts in the future.
www.semafor.com/article/09/2...
www.semafor.com/article/09/2...
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
NIH funding decisions should be made by scientific experts, not political appointees. Protecting rigorous peer review safeguards public trust, biomedical progress and U.S. scientific leadership.
➡️Learn more: www.asbmb.org/advocacy/pos...
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates
➡️Learn more: www.asbmb.org/advocacy/pos...
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates
September 22, 2026 at 9:58 PM
NIH funding decisions should be made by scientific experts, not political appointees. Protecting rigorous peer review safeguards public trust, biomedical progress and U.S. scientific leadership.
➡️Learn more: www.asbmb.org/advocacy/pos...
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates
➡️Learn more: www.asbmb.org/advocacy/pos...
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
📢 Make your voice heard.
Contact your members of Congress today and urge them to ask the White House to withdraw its proposal for a board of political appointees with authority over NIH grant decisions.
➡️ Take action: asbmb.quorum.us/campaign/169...
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates
Contact your members of Congress today and urge them to ask the White House to withdraw its proposal for a board of political appointees with authority over NIH grant decisions.
➡️ Take action: asbmb.quorum.us/campaign/169...
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates
NIH funding decisions should be made by scientific experts, not political appointees. Protecting rigorous peer review safeguards public trust, biomedical progress and U.S. scientific leadership.
➡️Learn more: www.asbmb.org/advocacy/pos...
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates
➡️Learn more: www.asbmb.org/advocacy/pos...
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates
September 22, 2026 at 10:04 PM
📢 Make your voice heard.
Contact your members of Congress today and urge them to ask the White House to withdraw its proposal for a board of political appointees with authority over NIH grant decisions.
➡️ Take action: asbmb.quorum.us/campaign/169...
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates
Contact your members of Congress today and urge them to ask the White House to withdraw its proposal for a board of political appointees with authority over NIH grant decisions.
➡️ Take action: asbmb.quorum.us/campaign/169...
#ScienceServesUsAll #ASBMBAdvocates
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
“We should be strengthening our investment in the NIH, not dismantling it,” writes Reed Jobs. www.statnews.com/2026/09/21/n...
The NIH budget should be $100 billion per year
“We should be strengthening our investment in the NIH, not dismantling it,” writes Reed Jobs.
www.statnews.com
September 21, 2026 at 3:11 PM
“We should be strengthening our investment in the NIH, not dismantling it,” writes Reed Jobs. www.statnews.com/2026/09/21/n...
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
New lawsuit accuses Trump administration of blocking NIH grants as form of censorship
New lawsuit accuses Trump administration of blocking NIH grants as form of censorship
The administration has used a list of 235 keywords – such as ‘gender’ and ‘racist’ – to prevent topics from being funded
www.theguardian.com
September 16, 2026 at 9:21 PM
New lawsuit accuses Trump administration of blocking NIH grants as form of censorship
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Take a look a the Commentary highlight by Brandilyn A. Peters: doi.org/10.1172/JCI2...
September 10, 2026 at 3:04 PM
Take a look a the Commentary highlight by Brandilyn A. Peters: doi.org/10.1172/JCI2...
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
#MedNews: Under the updated AHA/ACC blood pressure guideline, nearly 1 in 3 adults with hypertension may be newly eligible for antihypertensive medication.
Find out more about how expanding treatment could reduce mortality.
Find out more about how expanding treatment could reduce mortality.
Hypertension Widely Undertreated, New Study Suggests
This Medical News article discusses the estimated population-level effects of the 2025 blood pressure guideline, which expanded antihypertensive treatment eligibility.
jamanetwork.com
August 28, 2026 at 8:05 PM
#MedNews: Under the updated AHA/ACC blood pressure guideline, nearly 1 in 3 adults with hypertension may be newly eligible for antihypertensive medication.
Find out more about how expanding treatment could reduce mortality.
Find out more about how expanding treatment could reduce mortality.
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
NIH funding equates to $138 per American per year. And the return on investment is millions of lives saved. Read more about the extraordinary medical progress NIH funding supports: https://bit.ly/4i1ewX9
How Biomedical Research Moves From a Lab Into Patient Care
Physicians work on both the research side and at the patient bedside, translating questions raised in clinical practice into rigorous scientific investigations and bringing those discoveries back to p...
www.usatoday.com
August 19, 2026 at 11:52 PM
NIH funding equates to $138 per American per year. And the return on investment is millions of lives saved. Read more about the extraordinary medical progress NIH funding supports: https://bit.ly/4i1ewX9
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
NIH “Director” Jay Bhattacharya keeps talking about how he is going to restore trust in public health.
So what has happened since he began his role on April 1, 2025?
Trust in public health has *plummeted*. The rest of us would be fired for such poor performance.
He is an absolute disgrace.
So what has happened since he began his role on April 1, 2025?
Trust in public health has *plummeted*. The rest of us would be fired for such poor performance.
He is an absolute disgrace.
NIH head quarrels with CBS host over loss in public trust on health issues
Jay Bhattacharya's interview ended up similar in tone to the one with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week on CNN.
www.politico.com
August 10, 2026 at 12:46 AM
NIH “Director” Jay Bhattacharya keeps talking about how he is going to restore trust in public health.
So what has happened since he began his role on April 1, 2025?
Trust in public health has *plummeted*. The rest of us would be fired for such poor performance.
He is an absolute disgrace.
So what has happened since he began his role on April 1, 2025?
Trust in public health has *plummeted*. The rest of us would be fired for such poor performance.
He is an absolute disgrace.
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
RFK jr overrode the NIH recommendation for NIAID Director to appoint his own preferred candidate (who applied, but NIH declined to interview), per @politico.com.
Institute directors have final say on funding decisions and are critical to the integrity of NIH. 🧵
www.politico.com/news/2026/08...
Institute directors have final say on funding decisions and are critical to the integrity of NIH. 🧵
www.politico.com/news/2026/08...
A lab-leak proponent is in line for Fauci’s old job
Steven Quay is in final vetting to run the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
www.politico.com
August 4, 2026 at 9:48 PM
RFK jr overrode the NIH recommendation for NIAID Director to appoint his own preferred candidate (who applied, but NIH declined to interview), per @politico.com.
Institute directors have final say on funding decisions and are critical to the integrity of NIH. 🧵
www.politico.com/news/2026/08...
Institute directors have final say on funding decisions and are critical to the integrity of NIH. 🧵
www.politico.com/news/2026/08...
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Our Graduate School Mentorship Initiative (GSMI) started in 2019 when three graduate students had a vision to make graduate school entry accessible for students from low-income, first-generation and underserved communities.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s88T...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s88T...
Científico Latino: Graduate School Mentorship Initiative (GSMI)
YouTube video by Científico Latino
www.youtube.com
August 3, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Our Graduate School Mentorship Initiative (GSMI) started in 2019 when three graduate students had a vision to make graduate school entry accessible for students from low-income, first-generation and underserved communities.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s88T...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s88T...
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Oh hello, I wrote a gazillion words about Trump's proposed new golden age of science and how it is anything but.
The new "science golden age" looks suspiciously like a grift
Trump wants to run scientific research like his family business.
open.substack.com
July 30, 2026 at 2:19 PM
Oh hello, I wrote a gazillion words about Trump's proposed new golden age of science and how it is anything but.
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Our own @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social in @sciam.bsky.social
Scientists overwhelmingly against rule change that would give political appointees say over science grants
Hundreds of thousands of scientists, including Nobel laureates, warn that changes to the way federal grants are approved would greatly damage American science
www.scientificamerican.com
July 13, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Our own @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social in @sciam.bsky.social
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Using an open-source pipeline to read every comment on OMB's proposed grants rule that could have significant impact on science and technology research funding, Christopher Steven Marcum and Abigail Haddad find the verdict "clear and lopsided": ~94% oppose it.
The Public Rejects OMB's Federal Financial Assistance Rule
Tens of thousands of scientists, clinicians, and ordinary citizens warned OMB about putting political appointees in charge of which research gets funded.
buff.ly
July 13, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Using an open-source pipeline to read every comment on OMB's proposed grants rule that could have significant impact on science and technology research funding, Christopher Steven Marcum and Abigail Haddad find the verdict "clear and lopsided": ~94% oppose it.
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Public conversation about the OMB proposal has focused on science, but make no mistake: this is about ALL research and humanities are just as vulnerable. I'm back @scholarlykitchen.bsky.social w historian & @historians.org exec director Sarah Weicksel.
scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2026/07/10/t...
scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2026/07/10/t...
The OMB Guidance Revision Threatens All Research - The Scholarly Kitchen
The OMB proposed revision is about all research — and humanities research is just as vulnerable as STEM.
scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org
July 10, 2026 at 11:31 AM
Public conversation about the OMB proposal has focused on science, but make no mistake: this is about ALL research and humanities are just as vulnerable. I'm back @scholarlykitchen.bsky.social w historian & @historians.org exec director Sarah Weicksel.
scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2026/07/10/t...
scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2026/07/10/t...
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Yes, these discoveries were subsequently used to develop drugs by private industry.
That is how the biomedical research ecosystem almost always works.
Discovery to Expansion/Refinement to Development
6/7
That is how the biomedical research ecosystem almost always works.
Discovery to Expansion/Refinement to Development
6/7
July 2, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Yes, these discoveries were subsequently used to develop drugs by private industry.
That is how the biomedical research ecosystem almost always works.
Discovery to Expansion/Refinement to Development
6/7
That is how the biomedical research ecosystem almost always works.
Discovery to Expansion/Refinement to Development
6/7
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Famously, a related peptide with a much longer biological half-life was discovered in gila monsters, in work first initiated in the intramural program at NIH.
5/7
5/7
July 2, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Famously, a related peptide with a much longer biological half-life was discovered in gila monsters, in work first initiated in the intramural program at NIH.
5/7
5/7
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
GLP-1 was discovered as a glucagon-like peptide encoded by preproglucagon in 1987 in research funded by NIH (NIDDK).
Subsequent academic studies demonstrated that GLP-1 acts in an opposite manner than does glucagon, promoting lowering blood glucose level.
4/7
Subsequent academic studies demonstrated that GLP-1 acts in an opposite manner than does glucagon, promoting lowering blood glucose level.
4/7
July 2, 2026 at 1:56 PM
GLP-1 was discovered as a glucagon-like peptide encoded by preproglucagon in 1987 in research funded by NIH (NIDDK).
Subsequent academic studies demonstrated that GLP-1 acts in an opposite manner than does glucagon, promoting lowering blood glucose level.
4/7
Subsequent academic studies demonstrated that GLP-1 acts in an opposite manner than does glucagon, promoting lowering blood glucose level.
4/7
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Where does Atlas think information about the key molecules that led to checkpoint inhibitors can from?
These molecules such as CTLA-4 were discovered from studies of basic immunology funded by NIH (NCI)
3/7
These molecules such as CTLA-4 were discovered from studies of basic immunology funded by NIH (NCI)
3/7
July 2, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Where does Atlas think information about the key molecules that led to checkpoint inhibitors can from?
These molecules such as CTLA-4 were discovered from studies of basic immunology funded by NIH (NCI)
3/7
These molecules such as CTLA-4 were discovered from studies of basic immunology funded by NIH (NCI)
3/7
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
Scott Atlas, the champion of herd immunity as an Fox News commenter and the Trump Advisor during COVID, weighs in with a DEEPLY MININFORMED op-ed in the WaPo.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
1/7
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
1/7
Opinion | Abolish the NIH
A $48 billion government monopoly should give way to the market.
www.washingtonpost.com
July 2, 2026 at 1:56 PM
Scott Atlas, the champion of herd immunity as an Fox News commenter and the Trump Advisor during COVID, weighs in with a DEEPLY MININFORMED op-ed in the WaPo.
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
1/7
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
1/7
Reposted by Pablo Ortiz
NIH grants have been under political scrutiny since early 2025. But what does the screening process actually look like? What is being flagged?
I spent a month digging into leaked docs and emails. We've published the 235-word list that are being flagged by an internal AI tool. And so much more.
🧵
I spent a month digging into leaked docs and emails. We've published the 235-word list that are being flagged by an internal AI tool. And so much more.
🧵
Inside the new political screening that’s stalling NIH grants
Mandatory reviews by top health officials and checks for 235 disfavoured terms have left hundreds of vetted grant applications in administrative limbo.
www.nature.com
June 27, 2026 at 2:37 PM
NIH grants have been under political scrutiny since early 2025. But what does the screening process actually look like? What is being flagged?
I spent a month digging into leaked docs and emails. We've published the 235-word list that are being flagged by an internal AI tool. And so much more.
🧵
I spent a month digging into leaked docs and emails. We've published the 235-word list that are being flagged by an internal AI tool. And so much more.
🧵