Biomedical researcher at #LTRI: signaling, cancer; @jwoodgett@mas.to @jwoodgett.bsky.social He/Him #TerryFox https://t.co/c02NBnBblM Joined 2010 (verify below).
Mar 27 • 8 tweets • 2 min read
Unpopular opinion coming up. I screen a bunch of preprints for BioRxiv, have done for a decade. I think these are fairly representative of what is published generally - e.g. similar in quality, etc., even though only ~20% of papers are preprinted. /1
I realise it is a small sample but what I see is broader than I'd ever normally read. I think that (a) too much is submitted, (b) quality may be OK but significance is very low, (c) many papers are terrible. /2
Oct 23, 2021 • 34 tweets • 8 min read
Good thread here from @JSchleiderPhD that is relatively specific to the peccadillos of the US academic research system. Each country has its own peccadilloes. Here’s a thread on Canada’s. /1
Tricouncil (@NSERC_CRSNG, @CIHR_IRSC, @SSHRC_CRSH) grants are associated with indirect costs that flow to the host institution (Research Support Fund) that is inversely proportional to the total research funding of the institution. Varies from 80% to ~17%. /2
Mar 24, 2021 • 7 tweets • 1 min read
Covid-19 vaccinology – a tragi-comedy in 8 parts
1. Jan-Mar 2020 New virus! Create a vaccine(s) that confers immunity! Can’t be done! Would take 5 years!
2. May-Jun 2020 – early trials looking promising.
Too good to be true. How many $billions do you want? Order 10 shots/🇨🇦!
3. Sep-Nov 2020 – Why are the regulatory approvals taking so long (3 weeks)? Wait, too soon, short cuts! How can it be safe? How many did we order? 🇺🇸 First!
Jan 23, 2021 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
1/ Good article on the lag in tracking SARS-CoV2 variants in Canada. Short thread that’s going to annoy some people I respect and a COI: the tech I talk about was developed at #LTRI where I work. cbc.ca/news/health/co…2/ The CBC article discusses the main approach to identifying viral variants - genomic sequencing. This was done spectacularly well in the UK which has invested a lot more. It identified the B1.1.1.7 variant that just coursed through 125 residents of a LTC home in Barrie. But...
Sep 5, 2020 • 7 tweets • 2 min read
While it’s important to remain incredulous and humble in realizing what you don’t know in science (or the world at large), what you do know is also more than you’ll likely give yourself credit for. Am not talking about false confidence which is both annoying and useless. /1
Best way to understand this is via a conversation with someone asking for some help. You may think you can’t possibly add anything but you’re wrong. The act of someone asking questions causes you to think differently, to piece together answers you may not have thought about. /2
Aug 7, 2020 • 8 tweets • 3 min read
Short thread. I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with @picardonhealth on numerous occasions. He is incredibly thoughtful, amazingly disciplined, ethical and a hugely talented health reporter. He uses Twitter wisely and open-mindedly. /1
He also has a very tall pulpit, is very aware of this and is careful in how it is used. He called out @dockaurG for her stance on vaccines and HCQ. She professes to be an advocate in T cell immunity and HCQ. She called him out for not being an MD. /2
Apr 19, 2020 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
1/ This is a lucid and very well thought out article on Covid-19 that touches on the key elements that must be addressed. It’s from a US perspective but Canada is in a better position to implement: jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/…2/ To date, Canada has largely dealt with the pandemic at a provincial level, as healthcare is delivered that way. The provinces differ in impact but this is largely a result of timing, population density and proximity to US.
Mar 23, 2019 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
1/ Scientific funding is not a voter priority. We were fortunate the 🇨🇦 gov took the Fundamental Science Review seriously. At one point, it wasn’t looking that way. Yay, #SupportTheReport. That it feels it has now finished its work is a worry, but...
2/ Our job as a scientific community is not to lobby for incremental change, a few more dollars for the agencies, a few more crumbs. Instead, look South for inspiration.
Nov 26, 2018 • 6 tweets • 3 min read
1/ Here @picardonhealth covers a lot of ground on the #CRISPRbaby story, much of which I agree with but… “the technology is changing so quickly that many scientists are taking a “if I don’t do it, someone else will” attitude.” theglobeandmail.com/opinion/articl…@picardonhealth 2/ There’s very little I disagree with André on but here’s hoping he is wrong. If a scientist is rushing to be first to engineer a human without extraordinary safety, they are a charlatan.
Apr 29, 2018 • 9 tweets • 1 min read
1/Heard today that two superb mid-career 🇨🇦 scientists are moving to US due to funding precariousness. Scientists move. That’s normal. But...
... this is after a government budget that responded to a major science report. They did the math and concluded leaving was their best option.
