Joanna Dabrowska

My quote of the day

If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

George Orwell

a large screen shows a man 's face and says ingsoc ALT: a large screen shows a man 's face and says ingsoc

So... A friend was supposed to give a PURELY SCIENTIFIC talk at NIH within the next couple of weeks and it was cancelled because of a "new process" where all speakers/talks have to be CLEARED BY A POLITICAL APPOINTEE.

Do you want to learn about 'Estrous stage-dependent suppression of anxiety-potentiated startle via CRF neurons in the extended amygdala'? - join us at @labroots.bsky.social tomorrow! 🧠🔬👇

A line graph showing NSF grant awards made through 2/27/26 for fiscal year 2026 compared with grant awards for fiscal years 2021-2025.

NSF Update (Awards through 2/27/26)

Directorates to follow

1/10

hahaha

White House stalls release of approved US science budgets The US Congress rejected sweeping cuts to science agencies. But the NIH, the NSF and NASA have had their spending slowed.

Congress rejected massive cuts to US science budgets for 2026, but much of the money still isn’t flowing to researchers.

The culprit? The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is quietly slow-walking the release of funds. 🧵👇

E.P.A. Weakens Limits on Mercury From Coal Plants

sooooooo
Mercury in vaccines = 🤬
Mercury everywhere else = 😀👍????

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/20/c...

Just a thought: How about we nix Presidents’ Day and make Election Day a national holiday instead?

Excited to share our study in Neuron led by
@travisgoode.bsky.social, a K99 PDF (interviewing for Faculty) and Sahay lab team with collaborators at BROAD, Hopkins, and UW Seattle, defining a neural circuit that links prior experience with feeding behavior. Open Access: sahaylab.com/publications

Congrats to @pact-lab.bsky.social postdoc @ryanntansey.bsky.social on her recent paper looking at the impact of elevated anandamide via FAAH inhibition on brain function in patients with PTSD

What does it do?

Well....not much 😬

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Getting into the mood to review a grant

One on left is a black dog and above it the words “Reality”. Below it is “I chased a squirrel” One the right is a black dog and above it says “LinkedIn”. Below it says, Proud to announce that I effectively executed a rapid-response squirrel displacement strategy to mitigate potential yard intrusions. Humbled by the unwavering support of my family and local stakeholders. This experience reinforced the importance of vigilance, ownership, and continuous improvement. Looking forward to scaling this impact in future engagements.

😂

New to using Jupyter notebooks for the Allen Brain Cell Atlas?

Join us on Feb. 11 for a beginner-friendly webinar focusing on installation, set-up, and common questions.

Register for the meeting link and recording: https://alleninstitute-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_q0sJzndpRbSZWjrSGblu6A#/

$1.65M per day in DC alone. That’s approximately two NIH R01 Grant *years* burned per day. Ninety *five year* R01s projects burned in the last seven months with no end in sight.

Instead of lasting scientific advance we get….what?
Civil rights violations and authoritarian replacement of democracy.

We’re still far from Scandinavia, but for the US, our @rfuniversity.bsky.social is pretty cool. Medical, dental, vision plan; Paid parental leave; Disability; Flexible spending; 403(b)plan with 8% RFU contribution, 3 weeks of vacation, 15 sick days, 9 paid holidays, paid ❄️ break, +2 floating days.

We’re hiring! The Suthana Lab @ Duke is looking for a Research Assistant to join our team studying human memory & real-world 🧠 dynamics using wearable tech & intracranial recordings.

Apply: careers.duke.edu/job/Durham-C...

You can also email suthanalab@duke.edu with CV/questions. Please share!

goose bumps

Small shifts in diurnal rhythms are associated with an increase in suicide: The effect of daylight saving Large disruptions of chronobiological rhythms are documented as destabilizing individuals with bipolar disorder; however, the impact of small phase altering events is unclear. Australian suicide data....

“Suicides rise following commencement of Daylight Saving Time, compared to the return to Standard Time.” onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Sleep and infant development in the first year - Pediatric Research Pediatric Research - Sleep and infant development in the first year

"Sleep problems, most notably, circadian rhythm dysfunction, are reported early in children subsequently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD),coinciding with the frequent finding of intrinsic melatonin abnormalities in this condition."
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A line graph showing funding curves for all NIH projects awarded grants for fiscal years 2021-2026. The curve for fiscal year 2026 is lagging behind that for previous fiscal years substantially.

My weekly update on NIH funding.

This is for all projects.

The breakdown for competing and non-competing awards will follow.

1/4

better yet, how does one get '0' percentile? 🤔

Dentists don’t even get close..

A picture of NIH Director Bhattacharya at a Senate HELP committee hearing on February 3, 2026 with NIH staffer Janna Norton who had been placed on administrative leave in the audience behind him.

Coverage today with NIH Dir. Bhattacharya testifying before the Senate HELP Committee with NIH staffer @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social (who was placed on administrative leave for speaking out against the illegal and immoral actions of the administration) seated behind him.

#BethesdaDeclaration

just talked to a rotating student about science, already feeling a bit better

it just never stops! some things you can try to ignore (learning this skill) but some (like budgets, progress reports, etc) you can't! just 🤯🥵

If I ever quit this job (I am close today), it will not be for lack of love for science, but because of the soulless bureaucracy that left my heart dry (and pounding from adrenaline) #stopacademicbureaucracy #academicchatter #academia

BERNIE SANDERS: Do vaccines cause autism?

BHATTACHARYA: I do not believe that the measles vaccine causes autism

SANDERS: Nah. Uh uh. I didn't ask measles. Do vaccines cause autism?

BHATTACHARYA: I have not seen a study that suggests any single vaccine causes autism

a man with a beard is wearing a cowboy hat and a jacket and says howdy . ALT: a man with a beard is wearing a cowboy hat and a jacket and says howdy .

Anyone writing neuroscience/Neurodegeneration grants wanna team up for a writing group?

I’d love to get more input and learn from people!

Yesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning.

Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack.

🧵Good news out of #NIH today.
(1) NIH is extending #ESI and #K99/R00 eligibility to accommodate researchers whose eligibility would have ended during the previous shutdown. Take a look at NOT-OD-26-020. If your ESI status would have ended in 2025, you get an automatic extension through 2026/03/31.