|
EVERYTHING
Event: NIH Symposium on Data-Driven Innovation for Women's Health
What: It is perhaps a positive sign that NIH is still hosting an annual symposium tomorrow on women's health, with a focus on data science and interdisciplinary data. The event aims to showcase federal data resources, enhance data literacy, and highlight real-world applications of data science for community-focused projects. You can stream it here starting at noon EST.
Key line: "An NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health annual signature event, the Vivian W. Pinn Symposium, honors the first full-time director of the National Institutes of Health Office of Research on Women’s Health, Vivian W. Pinn, M.D. The symposium is held every year during National Women’s Health Week."
Source: NIH
Kennedy Clashes with Democrats Over Health Agency Overhaul
What: HHS Sec. Kennedy went to Capitol Hill for the first time since his nomination hearings, and it did not go well. Kennedy faced tough questions from both sides of the aisle, and claimed against all evidence that his agency had not fired any scientists and was not withholding funds for research. He also refused to say if he would vaccinate his own children if they were of age today, said his autism research would be focused on "toxins", and incorrectly claimed that no vaccines had been tested against placebos. (Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who voted for Kennedy's nomination, pointed out that rotavirus, measles and HPV vaccines have been tested and outperformed placebos.)
Key Line: "He ducked questions about whether, if he had young children today, they would be inoculated against measles, chickenpox or polio. 'I don’t think people should be taking advice, medical advice from me,' the health secretary said."
Source: New York Times
Trump Administration's Attack on Science
What: The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committe (HELP) released a report that found the Trump administration has cut $13.5 billion in health funding since January 2025, ending over 1,600 grants and firing thousands of scientific workers.
Key line: "HELP Minority Staff analysis shows that the Trump administration’s terminations of grant programs affected research on urgent health challenges. Cancelled grants include those focused on infectious disease, mental health, maternal and reproductive health, cancer, and aging. These five categories alone account for almost $700 million in lost NIH research funding." [Ed. note: We will be reconciling these findings with our own tracker at maternie.com/cuts]
Source: Senate HELP Democrats
BIRTH CONTROL
A New Generation of Birth Control Skeptics
What: The 19th has a deep dive on the women who are rejecting hormonal birth control and turning to less reliable fertility tracking methods. Much seems fueled by online influencers -- and the information tends to come from right-leaning sources.
Key Line: "Dr. Marguerite Duane, a board-certified family physician, serves as the director of the Center for Fertility Awareness Education and Research at Duquesne University College of Osteopathic Medicine and is an adjunct associate professor at Georgetown University. ...Duane underscored that hormonal birth control methods — from birth control pills to long-acting reversible contraceptives like IUDs and implants — are effective and that clinicians are trained to prioritize effectiveness. But she said she also has seen in her own practice the way that the pursuit of efficacy has left many women with real health concerns dismissed."
Source: The 19th
ONCOLOGY
NIH Study Finds Tissue Changes May Signal Aggressive Breast Cancer
What: NIH researchers found specific changes in breast tissues, called stromal disruption, can indicate a higher risk of aggressive breast cancer development and death. Flagging these tissue changes early could help identify women at high risk.
Key Line: "Such insights could help inform the development of cancer prevention and treatment strategies that target the stromal microenvironment. In addition, stromal disruption is inexpensive to assess and could be widely adopted, particularly in low-resource settings where molecular analysis is impractical or very expensive."
Source: NIH
|