Maureen Laroche 🇲🇶

Very proud to announce that my baby is finally here! This new program at UTMB will support a variety of training opportunities in medical and veterinary entomology. It will also focus on developing a broad network of partners interested in vector biology and ecology across the state of Texas.

I know this pic has been posted by others already, but... what on earth @rcphysicians.bsky.social?! 😱 #NoMoreManels #DiversityAndInclusion

Welp... www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-even...

I am sorry, which company is this? www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

The unethical, racist study of a birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine in Guinea-Bissau is back. Last year, we made a lot of noise and they dropped it. Time to get loud again! www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

Hey Biologists : Have you made any comments on the NIH Biosafety Policy for Biohazards? Because some of the changes are REDONKULOUS - and there are only 40 comments on file - Submit comments by Oct 19! osp.od.nih.gov/comment-form.... 🦠 #microsky

I need all the reviewers who criticize the fact that the work you're asking money for hasn't been done yet to congregate and ask themselves why this make sense to them...

I guess I have attained god-like status with the students and can now quit Academia 💀

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.

“There has to be a point where, as a government, we say, ‘You’re responsible for your actions, and you’re responsible for your safety,’” This has to be one of the wildest public health takes I've seen in a minute. What do they think their responsibilities are? www.nytimes.com/2026/03/28/u...

🥹🥹🥹 www.utmb.edu/news/article...

Still waiting on the NoA but, per the USDA press release, we did it Joe!

I was already having a bad day... and then this happened 💀 Now I'm on campus, in my underwear, squeezing water out of my clothes. Gotta love Galveston brutal showers...

So, NIAID has quietly withdrawn from the T35 program just before the May cycle deadline. Nobody said a word. No email from the PO. No statement. Nada. Wanna now how I found out? 👇🏽🙃

I would argue that some people already do exactly that 😂

Your reminder that parasitic colleagues only thrive because the environment allows them to do so. There's always an enabler somewhere trying to dress taking advantage of someone as a gracious opportunity.

A med school student who's now graduating just asked me what concentration I was in because "we've been here for the same amount of time and we never ended up in the same class" That's actually perfect because I was thinking of crashing the world cup game screening organized by the student assoc. 😂

Also serves as a reminder that some demographics really go through certain aspects of life on easy mode.

Nothing like being lectured on "how to improve trust" by someone who stole a grant that was sent to him for feedback 🤣 That incident is literally documented but we still have to entertain him. You gotta love academia man... truly a place of wonders lol

Those Galveston Aedes sollicitans are probably doing proboscis stretches and wing aerobics right now in anticipation of the field day they're going to have soon...

I absolutely hate imposing on people but had to stay with a friend due to damage in my house. I also wake up at 3:45-4:30 so was definitely anxious about that. Look what I found when I came out of my room 🥹

It's honestly quite depressing to see how the standards we're held to as random people literally don't apply to people in the most important offices in the country.

What are you guys using for Phylogeny? The software I was using is no longer supported and MEGA gives me impulses that would ultimately send me to jail. Alternatively, does someone still have access to the Topali install files?

love this game where if you choose wrong, you are penalized anywhere from a minimum of $1,000 to stroking out at the cvs ☺️

My student's bacteriology work is so clean, his petri dishes literally look like stock images

When the Response Letter to Reviewers is structured as - Comment - Answer - The following edits have been made at line x

My first student in the U.S. is officially a PhD Candidate

Super exciting news 🚨 I am hiring a technician to join my brand new lab at the University of Birmingham! @imibirmingham.bsky.social Come and support my BBSRC-funded research on understanding how staphylococci survive antibiotics. Please share! 🧫🧪 www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DRH271/a...

A beautiful way to rebuild trust in science. Now, people will certainly stop believing that we only publish what big pharma allows us to publish 🙃 www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/u...

Relating to this a bit too much 💀

Turns out your friend above may be protecting you from a lot of things but fleas aren't one of them. Can't wait to share our data on flea-borne pathogens in fleas collected in churches.

There's truly nothing like Bartonella phylogenetic analyses to ruin a perfect day...

My neighbors and I were talking about how it seems like no matter how transparent we try to be as scientists, some people will always believe we're trying to hide something. Their 8yo then said: how can you guys be hiding something when you talk about your work AAAALLL THE TIMMEEE to ANYBODY?

Isn't this one of the best things your grad students can tell you? 🥹

There sooooo many examples of this, plenty of them found in The Economist, that even with all the good faith in the world, it's becoming really hard to dispute 😅

“There has to be a point where, as a government, we say, ‘You’re responsible for your actions, and you’re responsible for your safety,’” This has to be one of the wildest public health takes I've seen in a minute. What do they think their responsibilities are? www.nytimes.com/2026/03/28/u...

Where did Ezra Klein come from? Can he go back?

Lab lunch for my 34th birthday! 💛

Isn't he cute? Ceratophyllus gallinae (or the hen flea).

Can someone explain to me like I'm 5 why something as important as qualifying exams isn't standardized across institutions and across departments within the same institution? Of course, the type of department (PH vs basic science for example) plays a role but other than that...?

Just rude...

Cediopsylla simplex 🙂

I got a DM asking if I think it's reasonable to empathize with these parents right now. 1. You don't achieve anything meaningful by calling people stupid. 2. The only difference between me and the hesitant people is that I already have the answers to my questions because of my education.

You know what's funny? People always accuse scientists of being disconnected from reality, caring only about their science. They have no idea how much empathy and understanding of the broader picture is required for good Public Health work. So you get stuff like this...

My gentle nugget just turned 6 🥹

This should give you an idea of what my friends have to endure. They hear about my work so often that they're capturing FLEAS 💀