Mallory Harris, PhD

Our scoping review "Emerging frontiers in infectious disease modelling: reassessing the data-driven feedback loop between human behaviour and disease dynamics" is out now! From a group of epidemiologists, behavioural scientists, & mathematicians. royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article...

Michael D. Green, a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and one of the plaintiffs suing the NIH over alleged freedom of speech infringements, talks about what it was like to have to change the direction of his research to abide by Trump administration rules. #STATSummit

If you got your last tetanus booster before 2020, it may be decades since you last got boosted against pertussis (CDC guidelines were updated in Jan 2020 - I learned this the hard way www.voicesforvaccines.org/my-pertussis... )

NEW: RFK is planning a major vaccine injury initiative, including more research, a clinic at NIH, and a new billing code so doctors can be reimbursed for filing reports of side effects. Experts say more research is needed. But they're wary. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/07/u...

SCOOP in @rollingstone.com 👇 CDC has set aside new $1.6M for controversial hepatitis B vax clinical trial in Guinea-Bissau, halted earlier amid uproar over medical ethics. CDC director's office resurrected it, taking $$ from global health security funds: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

Pennsylvania reports fifth measles-associated death as outbreak grows reut.rs/4z7PydB

NEW: The HHS is holding back Covid vaccines for all children in at least 11 states and one territory. And it's not clear when - or whether - the shots will be available. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

"Roderick Blair, a 70-year-old trial participant who lives in the Homewood neighborhood, said the grant cancellation is a “clear” form of retribution for daring to examine links between the health of Black Americans and structural racism." www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

NEW: Yet another group of researchers is suing the NIH and HHS over a massive purge of federal research grants. The class-action suit alleges the Trump admin is violating scientists' first amendment rights by using keyword searches to censor science that doesn't align with its political views.

“In less than one month since your confirmation by the Senate, your assurances that you will ‘follow the science, wherever it leads” are falling flat.”

NEW: The 40-year-old woman who died of probable measles in PA was not vaccinated and had COPD & 24/7 oxygen. She did not appear to die in a hospital. The coroner is "100%" certain she died because of measles. Yet the CDC changed the way it counts measles deaths www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Ok here we go: It DOES look like a major purpose of this NIH funding transfer to NIH is to circumvent NIH’s peer review processes so political appointees can have control. Check out the redacted agreement @maxkozlov.bsky.social released: 1/

The agreement was signed out of the public view a month ago by Pentagon official Robert Kadlec and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, echoing my reporting. It establishes a 10-year framework that officially runs through September 30, 2036.

I think it is important to read the interagency agreement story with the following data in mind, showing that NIH is billions of dollars and thousands of grants behind schedule with the end of the fiscal year approaching. @noamross.net & @scott-delaney.bsky.social grantwitness.org/nih/analyses...

The agreement "signed by Dr. Bhattacharya and Dr. Robert Kadlec at the Defense Department" ... "could allow the Defense Department to go around Congress and gain access to billions of dollars meant for infectious disease research" and involve ~$2 billion of NIAID's budget (!!!). 🎁

COMMENTARY by @mtosterholm.bsky.social: When the federal vaccine process falters, good science cannot stop Our researchers systematically reviewed the newest scientific evidence on flu, COVID-19, and RSV immunizations, examining effectiveness and safety. Read more: https://bit.ly/4xCgvpG

The CDC still isn't counting two deaths from measles in PA, reportedly by order of the new director, Erica Schwartz. I reached out to her spox for comment last week, but haven't heard anything, and afaik she's made no public comments about measles. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Kennedy and the CDC aren't yet counting the Pennsylvania deaths from measles -- a "highly unusual” move, @drdebhoury.bsky.social told me. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Excellent story about Bhattacharya www.insidehighered.com/news/governm... with strong quotes from @scott-delaney.bsky.social @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social and others. 1/4

The NIH Director accepted an award from this group in November 2025, less than a year ago.

I'm a staff writer at @wired.com and I'm looking to speak with parents of immunocompromised kids, especially those in areas with measles outbreaks, and how you're dealing with back to school with rising cases. emily_mullin@wired.com

The University of Maryland, College Park may lose 30% of its newly admitted graduate students this fall. That’s according to a declaration submitted by the state’s flagship in support of a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s visa restrictions. www.thebanner.com/education/hi...

Before last year, there were no US measles deaths in a decade, and now we have had 5 deaths in two years. Measles was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, but will lose that status this year. This is an abject failure of public health leadership.

@grantwitness.org now has an official Bluesky account! Give us a follow for up-to-date analyses on all things science grantmaking ⤵️

After his 35-year-old wife Porsha Ngumezi bled to death from a miscarriage in a Houston-area hospital, a Texas father is suing—and taking Porsha’s story to Capitol Hill.

if you are or know a pregnancy expert who could talk to me about Emily Oster's pregnancy work, hit me up here or by email (ifbookscouldkill on gmail). or ignore me, that's your prerogative also.