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Aimee Pugh Bernard

@funsizeimmuninja

Defender of health and harmony. This immunologist blends teaching and science communication with the discipline of a black belt and stubborn spirit of a bulldog.

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19.11.2024
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Latest posts by Aimee Pugh Bernard @funsizeimmuninja

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Ready to make your mark in immunology? #IMMUNOLOGY2026β„’ is now accepting abstract submissions! Present your groundbreaking research to peers worldwide in Boston, MA, in April 2026. The deadline is October 15: immunology2026.aai.org

11.09.2025 18:34 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Screenshot from ABC7 Los Angeles that says LOS ANGELES (KABC) - Health officials on Thursday reported the death of a Los Angeles County child from a complication of measles infection acquired during infancy.

Screenshot from ABC7 Los Angeles that says LOS ANGELES (KABC) - Health officials on Thursday reported the death of a Los Angeles County child from a complication of measles infection acquired during infancy.

A child in Los Angeles has just died of measlesβ€”years after they were initially infected.

They had measles as an infant and recovered. However, they later developed subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), which is rare neurological complication that can arise up to a decade after infection.

11.09.2025 20:16 πŸ‘ 292 πŸ” 155 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 20
A photo of 5 panelists at the town hall event. 3 women and 2 men.

A photo of 5 panelists at the town hall event. 3 women and 2 men.

Energized by a sold out town-hall panel event at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on the β€˜Future of Vaccines.’ Lots of great questions and respectful conversation. We need more community science events!

11.09.2025 03:55 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Opinion | America First? Not When It Comes to Your Health.

New York Times story with profiles of researchers whose grants were terminated.

[Gift Link]

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/o...

24.08.2025 13:08 πŸ‘ 477 πŸ” 312 πŸ’¬ 6 πŸ“Œ 22
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When Science Becomes the Enemy From funding cuts to violence: How mRNA became ground zero in the war on expertise

This piece is an extraordinary deep dive into mRNA vaccine technology, why it is critical, and the damage caused by RFK Jr. torpedoing funding for it.

Incredible work by @funsizeimmuninja.bsky.social and Dr. Jess Steier.

mRNA is indeed, as the authors say, a molecule of hope.

10.08.2025 20:00 πŸ‘ 701 πŸ” 300 πŸ’¬ 20 πŸ“Œ 8
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CU Cancer Center-led Research Shows That COVID-19 Infection Can Awaken Dormant Cancer Cells, Leading to Metastatic Disease CU Cancer Center researcher James DeGregori, PhD, led a study showing that COVID-19 can awaken dormant cancer cells, leading to metastatic disease.

Research led by @cucancercenter.bsky.social Deputy Director James DeGregori, PhD, shows that COVID-19 infection can awaken dormant cancer cells. Learn more about the newly published research:

01.08.2025 15:26 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Another opportunity to collaborate with amazing scientists ⭐️

18.07.2025 02:32 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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A Massive Study Finds No Evidence Aluminum in Vaccines Causes Childhood Disease A 1.2 Million-Child Study Counters the Latest Vaccine Safety Claims

This new study is pretty remarkable for its scope and methodology. Danish researchers analyzed health records from over 1.2 million children born between 1997 and 2018, tracking them for up to 24 years. They examined 50 different health conditions across three major categories...

15.07.2025 16:53 πŸ‘ 67 πŸ” 32 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 4

THANK YOU for doing this! Appreciate your time and expertise giving us the facts and evidence!

25.06.2025 15:13 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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I joined a team of scientists from the CU Anschutz medical campus to write an op-ed about the recent dismantling of the CREID Network. You can find it online in The Front Porch newspaper.

16.06.2025 22:56 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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#Allergy shots contain very small amounts of the allergens that you are allergic to, with the goal of retraining the immune system to respond to allergens in a way that does not cause symptoms. @funsizeimmuninja.bsky.social explains more on #ImmunologyExplained: ow.ly/cj7G50VCVXU.

18.04.2025 15:40 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

β€ͺAimee Bernard, PhD (@funsizeimmuninja.bsky.social‬) is the amazing co-director of our Communicating Your Science to the Public Workshop Series!

28.05.2025 21:17 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Vaccination rates are dropping.

Mr. Kennedy can’t stop lying about vaccines.

He needs to go.

Call your elected representatives and tell them that RFK Jr. is committing #PublicHealthMalpractice.

@defendpublichealth.bsky.social

12.05.2025 19:24 πŸ‘ 408 πŸ” 115 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 3
RFK Jr made the unsupported claim that the measles vaccine leads to β€œdeaths every year” and misleadingly said it causes β€œall the illnesses” of the disease. The vaccine can cause some mild, similar symptoms but is much safer than getting measles, which regularly kills and is highly contagious

RFK Jr made the unsupported claim that the measles vaccine leads to β€œdeaths every year” and misleadingly said it causes β€œall the illnesses” of the disease. The vaccine can cause some mild, similar symptoms but is much safer than getting measles, which regularly kills and is highly contagious

#PublicHealthMalpractice

12.05.2025 20:38 πŸ‘ 89 πŸ” 45 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 3

Agree! Found this out earlier today that spelling bee made a huge mistake!!

03.04.2025 03:16 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Vaccination Slumps and Research Cuts Threaten Long-Term Public Health Low vaccination rates coupled with vanishing vaccine research and development will challenge ID experts.

β€œCutting research on vaccine confidence is like flying blind,” I told Medscape. β€œWe can’t improve what we can’t measure or understand… this research is about improving the quality and effectiveness of vaccination services in the US.” 🧡

Read more: πŸ‘‰ bit.ly/4cl5U8K

#Vaccines #PublicHealth #SciComm

03.04.2025 01:52 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Even as researchers file suit againt #NIH and #RFKJr's illegal terminations, we're hearing of more programs getting cancellations. If you know of someone who's research has been terminated, please encourage them to report it here!

02.04.2025 20:31 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Y’all we need to sleep come on.

28.03.2025 21:12 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Use the table below to report NIH grant termination!

01.04.2025 12:46 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Measles case confirmed in Colorado Officials are telling people they may have been exposed in mid-March if they visited one deli or a specific clinic in Pueblo.

🚨 Colorado just reported its first measles case of the yearβ€”an unvaccinated adult returning from travel.

My message to fellow Coloradans:
Vaccinate. Vaccinate. Vaccinate.

Measles is highly contagiousβ€”but completely preventable with vaccines.

🧡 Read more: www.cpr.org/2025/03/31/c...

01.04.2025 03:12 πŸ‘ 24 πŸ” 15 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 2
SCiMaP

Check out this map of the financial and job loss impacts of the NIH funding cuts scienceimpacts.org

30.03.2025 14:02 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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We dreamed of a future in public health for NC. Trump’s funding cuts threaten that | Opinion As young people pursuing education, staying in NC and contributing to it was exactly our plan. Recent ​federal executive actions threaten our goals. | Opinion

An excellent piece by two students about the effects of massive funding cuts on our next generation of researchers. www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/arti...

20.03.2025 19:28 πŸ‘ 13 πŸ” 9 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
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How are federal cuts going to impact your health care? As a doctor, I’m not going to sugarcoat it Federal funding by way of Medicare and Medicaid provides the lion’s share of salary and benefits for physicians in training.

Interesting OpEd in the SF Chronicle. A clinician explains how cuts to NIH funding will affect your patient care. www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/open...

24.03.2025 20:09 πŸ‘ 12 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

Everyone needs to understand that right this second, in real time, the U.S. government is throwing away the next generation of brilliant scientists.

20.02.2025 23:20 πŸ‘ 136 πŸ” 45 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 2
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Opinion: The Critical Need for Science Funding | Front Porch As chairs of the basic science departments, we are compelled to address a matter of utmost urgency: the critical need for funding in scientific research. In an era where scientific advancements hold t...

Excellent piece by Dr. Aimee Bernard and colleagues about the enormous importance of federal funding for scientific research.

frontporchne.com/opinion-the-...

@funsizeimmuninja.bsky.social

07.03.2025 22:25 πŸ‘ 43 πŸ” 19 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1
Front Porch - NE Denver Community Newspaper Sharing Local Voices The Front Porch is one of the largest community newspapers for advertising in NE Denver. Your Ad gets great visibility based on both quality and quantity.

Check out this op-ed written by all 6 basic science chairs at CU Anschutz and me about the critical need for science funding
frontporchne.com

05.03.2025 03:16 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Please check out this podcast about how to defend public heath with: @gregggonsalves.bsky.social @sln-pwr.bsky.social @funsizeimmuninja.bsky.social

09.02.2025 21:53 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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WATCH: Dr Aimee Pugh-Bernard explains how your immune system acts like dialing 911 - Immunology Explained Understanding the immune system helps to understand how other things in the body work. Watch Dr Bernard explain more about the immune system.

Vaccines are among the safest medical interventions saving countless lives over the years. Vaccines have been crucial in preventing and even eliminating many infectious diseases. Learn more: ow.ly/82a150V7Anc.

#ImmunologyExplained #immunology @funsizeimmuninja.bsky.social

27.02.2025 14:07 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Nutrition advice is rife with misinformation βˆ’ a medical education specialist explains how to tell valid health information from pseudoscience It’s easy to get caught up in the promise of quick health fixes, but they are generally too good to be true.

Confused by online health advice? @funsizeimmuninja.bsky.social of the CU Anschutz Dept of Immunology & Microbiology explains how to distinguish fact from pseudoscience.

"One good rule of thumb is that health hacks that promise quick fixes are almost always too good to be true."

03.03.2025 16:33 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

1-minute video where I explain why to follow the recommended immunization schedule

25.02.2025 02:58 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0