Kari Kretch

Graph of award probability of R35 and R01 from NIH factbook as a function of review rank percentile. As is apparent, 2025 is a significant departure, with lower award probabilities at all scores <40 and significant departures from norm, where even being in the top 10% is no longer a nearly certain indicator of success. Data source: https://report.nih.gov/nihdatabook/report/302

The data is in: the NIH goalposts have shifted.

What were once almost certain fundable scores have become coin flips and what used to be likely grants have become aspirational, leading to fewer awards.

Another manifestation of how HHS policies have led to fewer awards and less science.

Reminder, we are not in a CR. There’s an appropriation for the FY. And NIH is working on the Cycle of grants that went to Council *before* the government shutdown last fall.

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. 🧵👇

REMINDER: Gun violence is the leading killer of children in America.

Not immigrants, not trans people. Guns. #SOTU

Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin

Don’t Let The Machines Do The Living | Culture Study Get more from Culture Study on Patreon

My take on AI use

1) It's making it harder for people to learn *how* to learn

2) If you can't do everything you think ou should be doing without resorting to it — then you're doing (or being asked to do) too much

www.patreon.com/posts/149942...

❤️

Don’t let Russell Vought trick Congress into destroying science by removing multiyear funding limits from the NIH funding bill.

NIH funding is like pizza 🍕. Usually, the NIH gives many researchers a slice of the pie, but this year they decided to just give a few researchers the whole pie. The data show that, disproportionately, early career researchers went hungry. We need Congress to stop NIH multi-year funding mandates.

NIH shut out hundreds of young scientists from funding to start their own labs Special Report: The NIH has shut out hundreds of young scientists from funding to start their own labs.

www.statnews.com/2025/12/08/t...

Come on, Indiana

Please, if your senator is on the appropriations committee (ME, WA, KY, IL, AK, RI, SC, NH, KS, OR, ND, DE, AR, HI, WV, WI, LA, CT, MS, MD, TN, NM, AL, MI, NY, OK, GA, NE, SD) contact them TODAY to urge them to prevent this devastating policy from destroying the next 5 years of research funding

Odds of winning NIH grants plummet as new funding policy and spending delays bite Funding multiyear grants up front will sharply cut number of investigators receiving awards

New Science story about multi-year funding and it potential catastrophic consequences

www.science.org/content/arti...

1/n

This will be devastating

PO just confirmed that our 5th percentile R01 is not getting funded. Past NCI Payline at 4 percent. Cant believe it.

A chocolate cake with red and white decorations and lit candles shaped as the number 75. Bold text reads: ‘The NSF Turns 75 Today. What has it done over the past 7 decades?’ The background is a celebratory red with a spray-paint texture.

HAPPY 75th, NSF!

We’re celebrating this milestone by highlighting some of NSF’s most transformative accomplishments—innovations that have shaped our world and continue to drive progress in health, technology, the environment, and beyond.

Read on 🧵(1/11):

We got what I believe to be close to a "perfect" NSF score after our first submission--three "Excellent" reviews, highly competitive. The only minor weakness was that we could reduce our budget. It won't be funded. There is no path forward. I'm devastated.

must be incredibly frustrating and disheartening to have federal funding that was promised to you for important work suddenly and arbitrarily ripped away

Graduate School Mentorship Intiative (GSMI). Our mission is to help STEM students from underserved communities get accepted into graduate programs. Apply by 5/31/25 to be one of our 100 scholars. Program benefits: * Personal STEM mentor * Application Advice * Supportive community * Fee waivers * Mock interviews * Webinars and resources. For more info: cientificolatino.com/gsmi Cientifico Latino and Simons Foundation logos.

Deadline EXTENDED!
Mentors and scholars can apply for #CLGSMI until FRIDAY, JUNE 6th!

➡️ cientificolatino.com/gsmi

Don't miss out! The GSMI program supports applicants through 1-on-1 mentorship, fee waivers, professional development, and community building. 🩷

FEMA at 'high risk' of disrupting 'life-saving' disaster relief, per internal memo The agency in charge of mitigating disasters is in the midst of its own.

SCOOP— FEMA essential functions are at "high risk" of not functioning properly just days before hurricane season because of staffing shortages, per a recent internal memo obtained by The Handbasket.

These deficiencies "may disrupt life-saving and life-sustaining program delivery."

Full story here:

My trainee just sent me this notification from the NIH about a pending F31 application.

We knew it was likely to come, but it still hurt to read the words.

What RFK Jr. Doesn’t Understand About Disability The HHS secretary’s ignorance of the political history of disability shows he is the last person who should have a role in shaping its future.

I’m in @thebulwark.com! Writing about how RFK’s idea of disability — from vaccine-preventable disease to autism and beyond — is out of sync with disabled Americans’ reality. www.thebulwark.com/p/rfk-jr-doe...

This is a must read for those who want to know the MAGA plan for NIH:
1) slow down spending by NIH
2) prevent additional spending before the end of the fiscal year
3) point to this as proof the funds aren't actually needed
3) use impoundement/rescission to cut the NIH budget moving forward

In 100 days in office, US President Donald Trump has destabilized eight decades of government support for science.

This has included terminating more than 1,000 grants in areas such as climate change, cancer, and HIV prevention.

Will US science survive Trump 2.0?

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

All NIDA F31 diversity scholars officially losing their funding...

I barely have words.

Expected at this point but so so disappointing and unfair. We are effectively punishing some of America's best science students for telling the government they are from an underrepresented community.

Graduate School Mentorship Intiative (GSMI). Our mission is to help STEM students from underserved communities get accepted into graduate programs. Apply by 5/31/25 to be one of our 100 scholars. Program benefits: * Personal STEM mentor * Application Advice * Supportive community * Fee waivers * Mock interviews * Webinars and resources. For more info: cientificolatino.com/gsmi Cientifico Latino and Simons Foundation logos.

Applying to STEM grad programs? 🎓

Apply now for #CLGSMI! 🤩
➡️ cientificolatino.com/gsmi

The GSMI program supports applicants through 1-on-1 mentorship, fee waivers, professional development, and community building!

Applications accepted on a ROLLING basis until 5/31!

email starting, "The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has undertaken a review of its award portfolio. Each award was carefully and individually reviewed, and the agency has determined that termination of certain awards is necessary because they are not in alignment with current NSF priorites."

yesterday, my postdoc funding (salary and research funds) was cancelled by the National Science Foundation, effective immediately. I received the same generic, vaguely threatening, typo-ridden email as many of my colleagues who have had their awards terminated recently. (1/n)

I’m so sorry

I got an email yesterday afternoon that my NSF SPRF Postdoctoral Fellowship was terminated. My grant focused on testing interventions to address online misinformation and I was 8 months into a two year appointment.