Dr Alexis B Webb
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lexbwebb.bsky.social
Dr Alexis B Webb
@lexbwebb.bsky.social
640 followers 1.5K following 36 posts
American in Scotland. Schnauzer mum. Neuroscience PhD delivering the Big Data for Complex Disease programme at Health Data Research UK. Talks science, politics, music, food.
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lexbwebb.bsky.social
Dr Alexis B Webb @lexbwebb.bsky.social · Oct 18
👋🏻 Hello to everyone who’s moved over from the other place in the past few days. I’m a research professional with programme management experience in neuroscience, early cancer detection, and large scale health data.

I also like music and food and dogs and progressive politics.
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
joanala.bsky.social
“The country singer was an advocate for vaccines, public health, literacy and marginalized communities.” Thank you,
Dolly Parton.

(How cool, to have a singer and actress celebrated in Nature? Uber cool). www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Dolly Parton dies aged 80 — researchers celebrate her contributions to science
The country singer was an advocate for vaccines, public health, literacy and marginalized communities.
www.nature.com
August 27, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
chrischirp.bsky.social
It's a strong public health system and preventative care and considering health impacts across all policies.

UK should be proud of our world-class biomedical research but it's not a failure of translation of that research that is behind our ill-health. 4/4
July 14, 2026 at 10:24 AM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
hetanshah.bsky.social
Good data is essential for policy. Today it’s been a year since we had a permanent National Statistician. No news on what is happening with the current recruitment which began Oct 2025.

This is an under the bonnet issue that points to state failure 🧵
uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/news/stateme...
Statement: Sir Ian Diamond steps down as National Statistician
Today the UK Statistics Authority has announced the resignation of Sir Ian Diamond as the UK’s National Statistician. Since joining the organisation more than five and a half years ago, Sir Ian has l...
uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk
May 9, 2026 at 10:38 AM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
bistline.bsky.social
This is my favorite climate change chart. Japanese monks, aristocrats, and emperors kept meticulous records of cherry blossom festivals for 1,200 years and accidentally built the world's longest climate dataset.
April 1, 2026 at 2:23 PM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
earthowned.bsky.social
Cancer Research UK is fed up of paying too much for open access publishing so they are completely stopping funding this activity:
news.cancerresearchuk.org/2026/04/01/w...
Why we won’t be funding open access publishing any more - Cancer Research UK - Cancer News
The open access movement was bold and promising, but ultimately disappointing. Now is the time to stop and call for a new way to make publishing work…
news.cancerresearchuk.org
April 1, 2026 at 10:36 AM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
jonathanwosen.bsky.social
Thanks to these researchers and 25 others for trusting us with their stories. We've published two initial pieces on the survey, with more coverage in the works. Links to our stories below.

(Main story) www.statnews.com/2026/03/19/n...

(Accompanying piece) www.statnews.com/2026/03/19/n...
National survey of NIH-funded researchers shows precarious state of U.S. science — ‘This is like the Titanic’
A nationwide STAT survey of NIH-funded researchers reveals that, a year after Donald Trump's return to the White House, many scientists are reeling
www.statnews.com
March 19, 2026 at 10:51 PM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
nature.com
The makers of cancer blood tests claim the tests can detect dozens of cancer types - but some scientists say they could be missing many cancers or delivering the wrong diagnosis

go.nature.com/4rZFJeA
Cancer blood tests are everywhere. Do they really work?
Their makers claim they can detect dozens of cancer types — but some scientists say they could be missing many cancers or delivering the wrong diagnosis.
go.nature.com
March 4, 2026 at 12:06 PM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
profrachelgan.bsky.social
Following coverage over the weekend of Sir Paul Nurse's comments that suggested that the only reason that a Fellow should be expelled from @royalsociety.org is scientific misconduct, I have written to him to explain the risks such an attitude poses of increasing sexual harassment in STEM.
Dear Sir Paul, Re: Royal Society Code of Conduct I am sure that many scientists have written to you about the specific question of Elon Musk’s Fellowship and whether, under the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct, his retaining that Fellowship is appropriate. I will not rehash these issues. Instead, as a female scientist with extensive experience of activities aiming to increase equality, diversity and inclusion in the engineering and physical sciences sector, I am writing to you (in a personal capacity) to ask you to reconsider the statements you have recently made in this context to the UK press about the Royal Society’s Code of Conduct and how it is applied. A 2018 report from the joint National Academies of the United States of America, concluded that “sexual harassment is common in academic science, engineering, and medicine” and that “greater than 50 percent of women faculty and staff and 20–50 percent of women students encounter or experience sexually harassing conduct in academia”. This report described codes of conduct that make clear that sexual harassment is unethical and will not be tolerated as a “powerful incentive for change”. The authors also noted that sexual harassment can have significant and damaging effects on the integrity of research. In my own praxis, I have found that clear and consistently-implemented codes of conduct that address these issues make female scientists and engineers safer, and allow them to focus more effectively on their research. For codes of conduct to have such a positive effect, it is vital that sanctions for actions which transgress the code are meaningful and substantial. I was hence aghast to realise that in an interview with the Financial Times published on 9/1/26, you appear to have suggested that the Royal Society “should only expel fellows if their science proved “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective””. Moreover, in a further interview with the Guardian on 11/1/26 you suggested that the code “may need to be looked at again”, with the implication that your aim would be to remove the option of sanctions on Fellows for reasons not strictly related to faults or defects in their research. I suggest that changing the Royal Society’s code of conduct so that the likelihood of serious sanctions for sexual harassment is reduced, would directly endanger women who interact with the Royal Society at events or otherwise, and would provide a licence to harass to the already powerful people on whom the Society bestows fellowship. The implications of your words - that under your leadership the only infringements of the code which are likely to receive the sanction of the Fellowship being removed are those related to research misconduct - already risk empowering harassers. You stated, in the Financial Times interview, that “there’s many bad people around, but they have made scientific advances”. Given this awareness of the possibility of bad actors in our scientific community, it is wholly irresponsible to suggest that the Royal Society would not act to sanction these people if they harass more vulnerable scientists. I am hence writing to request that you retract any suggestion that the Society’s Code of Conduct should be changed so that the only reason a Fellow might be sanctioned by the removal of their Fellowship is “faulty or fraudulent or highly defective” research. This action is necessary to safeguard female scientists, a requirement placed on the Society by safeguarding legislation and UK statutory guidance. Yours sincerely, Professor Rachel A. Oliver.
January 12, 2026 at 8:59 AM
lexbwebb.bsky.social
My Watson memory: I was interviewing for a postdoc at the LMB in the late 00s, arriving in Cambridge from the US to find that JW was also giving a talk that day.

The other students and postdocs had an over/under of 5 on how many racist or sexist comments might be littered in his talk. The overs won
jennyrohn.bsky.social Prof Jenny Rohn @jennyrohn.bsky.social · Nov 9
My Watson memory: wine & cheese party on his lawn at Cold Spring Harbor during the Retrovirus meeting, early ‘90s. He zeroed in solely on groups of young women (eventually the one I was standing in), saying inappropriate things about our summer attire. No filter whatsoever. Deeply uncomfortable.
November 9, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
ox.ac.uk
NEW: Oxford-led researchers have delivered the most comprehensive analysis yet of cancer diagnosis in patients with vague symptoms (like fatigue or weight loss) - tackling one of primary care’s biggest challenges.

Find out more ⬇️
New study evaluates effectiveness of cancer diagnosis pathway for
A major UK study, led by researchers at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the National Institute for
www.ox.ac.uk
September 11, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
hirosh7.bsky.social
The paper:

A survey of over 800 scientists, educators, and communicators reveals a clear shift: for networking, public engagement, and staying informed, they now find Bluesky more effective than X—marking a significant platform change for the science community.
Scientists no Longer Find Twitter Professionally Useful, and have Switched to Bluesky
Synopsis. Social media has become widely used by the scientific community for a variety of professional uses, including networking and public outreach. For
academic.oup.com
August 30, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
rygraham.bsky.social
The pro-pediatric brain cancer administration.
amockingbird.bsky.social Mockingbird, MPH, CHES @amockingbird.bsky.social · Aug 29
Four million dollars. They’re cutting a program to test treatments for children with brain cancer to save four million dollars a year.
Pediatric Brain Cancer Trial Group to Be Phased Out
www.nytimes.com
August 29, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
whysharksmatter.bsky.social
Here is a press release/ summary blog post about our new paper.

Key conclusion: For every single professional use that scientists used to use Twitter for, Twitter is much worse now than it used to be, and Bluesky is better that Twitter currently is.

www.southernfriedscience.com/twitter-suck...
“Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky:” Our new survey shows that scientists no longer find Twitter professionally useful or pleasant
My colleague Dr. Julia Wester and I have a new paper out in the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology reporting on the results of a survey distributed to over 800 scientists, science educator…
www.southernfriedscience.com
August 19, 2025 at 2:34 PM
lexbwebb.bsky.social
Slightly diminish a band: Minivan Halen
mthrjo.bsky.social Dr Jo Kershaw @mthrjo.bsky.social · Aug 13
Slightly Diminish a Band: Thrupenny Bit None The Richer
August 13, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
jwoodgett.bsky.social
Good grief, the US National Cancer Institute projects it will fund only one in 25 RO1 grant applications in 2026. This is massively defunding cancer research. Despicable vandalism. www.cancer.gov/grants-train...
National Cancer Institute projection of a 4% pay line in FY2026.
July 24, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
atrupar.com
Durbin to Bhattacharya: "I can't understand it. I disagree w/ this admin on so many things. But this is the one that really gets to me personally. To think this nation would walk away from medical research. For God's sake...cancer, your budget requests a 38% cut to the National Cancer Institute"
June 10, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
chanda.blacksky.app
Just gonna re-up these slides about how the Nazis destroyed German physics 🧪
chanda.blacksky.app Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · Jan 31
In light of this deeply illegal activity at NSF and the ongoing attack on American science, I'm posting the slides from my 2017 talk at the American Physical Society about the Nazi take over of German physics/why German is no longer science's lingua franca 🧪

🧵 1/26
drive.google.com/file/d/1_MCm...
May 31, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
petergleick.bsky.social
There are 2 previous historical cases of countries destroying their science and universities, crippling them for decades: Lysenkoism in the USSR and Nazi Germany. The Trump administration will be the 3rd.
It's not just budgets but research, institutions, expertise, and training the next generation.
Graphs showing 25 years of budgets for the National Institute of Health, NASA, and the NSF. In all cases, the proposed budget for next year is far, far below any year of the previous quarter century.
May 31, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Here's the letter Noem sent Harvard, as posted on X. Nothing alleges ANY specific violation of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program. Nothing. She cites no law violated, no regulation broken, no policy ignored.

I don't care what you think of Harvard; this is clear weaponization of government.
Secretary Kristi Noem @Sec_Noem This administration is holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus. It is a privilege, not a right, for universities to enroll foreign students and benefit from their higher tuition payments to help pad their multibillion-dollar endowments. Harvard had plenty of opportunity to do the right thing. It refused. They have lost their Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification as a result of their failure to adhere to the law. Let this serve as a warning to all universities and academic institutions across the country. Harvard's Student and Exchange Visitor Program Decertification I am writing to inform you that effective immediately, Harvard University's Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification is revoked. As I explained to you in my April letter, it is a privilege to enroll foreign students, and it is also a privilege to employ aliens on campus. All universities must comply with Department of Homeland Security requirements, including reporting requirements under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program regulations, to maintain this privilege. As a result of your refusal to comply with multiple requests to provide the Department of Homeland Security pertinent information while perpetuating an unsafe campus environment that is hostile to Jewish students, promotes pro-Hamas sympathies, and employs racist "diversity, equity, and inclusion" policies, you have lost this privilege. The revocation of your Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification means that Harvard is prohibited from having any aliens on F- or J- nonimmigrant status for the 2025-2026 academic school year. This decertification also means that existing aliens on F- or J- nonimmigrant status must transfer to another university in order to maintain their nonimmigrant status. This action should not surprise you and is the unfortunate result of Harvard's failure to comply with simple reporting requirements. On April 16, 2025, I requested records pertaining to nonimmigrant students enrolled at Harvard University, including information regarding misconduct and other offenses that would render foreign students inadmissible or removable. On April 30, 2025, Harvard's counsel provided information that he represented as responsive to my request. It was not. As a courtesy that Harvard was not legally entitled to, the Acting DHS General Counsel responded on my behalf and afforded Harvard another opportunity to comply. Harvard again provided an insufficient response. Consequences must follow to send a clear signal to… If Harvard would like the opportunity of regaining Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification before the upcoming academic school year, you must provide all of the information requested below within 72 hours. Please be advised that providing materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent information may subject you to criminal prosecution under 18 U.S.C. § 1001. Other criminal and civil sanctions may also apply. I expect full and complete responses to the following requests: 1. Any and all records, whether official or informal, in the possession of Harvard University, including electronic records and audio or video footage, regarding illegal activity whether on or off campus, by a nonimmigrant student enrolled in Harvard University in the last five years. 2. Any and all records, whether official or informal, in the possession of Harvard University, including electronic records and audio or video footage, regarding dangerous or violent activity whether on or off campus, by a nonimmigrant student enrolled in Harvard University in the last five years. 3. Any and all records, whether official or informal, in the possession of Harvard University, including electronic records and audio or video footage, regarding threats to other students or university personnel whether on or off campus, by a nonimmigrant student enrolled in Harvard University in the last five years. 4. Any and all records, whether official or informal, in the possession of Harvard University, including electronic records and audio or video footage, regarding deprivation of rights of other classmates or university personnel whether on or off campus, by a nonimmigrant student enrolled in Harvard University in the last five years. 5. Any and all disciplinary records of all nonimmigrant students enrolled in Harvard University in the last five years. 6. Any and all audio or video footage, in the possession of Harvard University, of any protest activity involving a nonimmigrant student on a Harvard Univer…
May 22, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
There is no doubt that Trump and Noem's actions here are that of an authoritarian; using the federal government to blow a hole in Harvard's budget and punish thousands of students who have done nothing wrong just because they don't like Harvard.

Our country is in crisis.
May 22, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
jamesbriscoe.bsky.social
New Faraday Fellowships for international applicants moving to the UK

Up to £4 million per researcher over 5-10 years

Fast-track option for mid-career researchers looking to relocate to the UK
royalsociety.org The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · May 19
Today we've announced the new Faraday Fellowship accelerated international route, which will grant up to £30 million in funding over the next two years to attract global talent and support the development of world-leading research groups in the UK: #RSGrants royalsociety.org/news/2025/05...
Royal Society announces £30m fund to attract global talent over next two years | Royal Society
International recruitment scheme comes amid announcement of Government principles for 10-year research funding
royalsociety.org
May 19, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
bmj.com
The US National Institutes of Health will no longer approve research grants that involve “subawards” to foreign researchers, potentially spelling an end to the type of international multicentre studies that have delivered breakthroughs in many diseases
www.bmj.com/content/389/...
Protests against cuts to NIH
May 7, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
bernietranders.bsky.social
You’re telling me that right wing voters that Labour was trying to appeal to voted for a right wing party anyway and left wing voters decided not to vote for Labour because they’re too right wing now? Who could have possibly predicted this.
May 2, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Reposted by Dr Alexis B Webb
buzzbaum.bsky.social
With a heavy heart I have decided not to attend a meeting in the US this June. I can’t act as if things are normal when science, universities, dissent & truth are all under threat. And I feel I can’t attend when there are scientists who are not able to travel to the US without fear of arrest.
April 11, 2025 at 8:05 PM