Robert Gregg
@doctorbobg.bsky.social
400 followers 82 following 57 posts
Professor and Lab Director @UMRobotics | Enhancing human ability with robotics, control systems, and prosthetics/orthotics
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doctorbobg.bsky.social
Unlike a recent review that had one minor weakness under Approach but a score of 5. 🙃
doctorbobg.bsky.social
I enjoyed sharing our latest work in my plenary talk this morning at the 2025 Modeling Estimation and Control Conference (MECC)! Had a great time at the conference too, thanks to the organizers.
doctorbobg.bsky.social
Excited for the cancellation of my A1 proposal’s review panel next week just like happened with the original submission. Can’t catch a break. I’m also serving on a panel in 2 weeks and that is probably toast too.
Reposted by Robert Gregg
chubicki.bsky.social
Great demo from Boston Dynamics/Toyota Research Institute.

Other robots do manipulation (hand tasks) while people mess with them, but mostly while standing upright and still. Here it steps and crouches to pick up parts, combining locomotion with manipulation quite nicely.

youtu.be/HYwekersccY?...
Getting a Leg up with End-to-end Neural Networks | Boston Dynamics
YouTube video by Boston Dynamics
youtu.be
doctorbobg.bsky.social
Shouldn’t technical expertise be required to write a successful grant proposal?!?!
Reposted by Robert Gregg
alexwild.bsky.social
Trump tries to put federally funded science under full ruling party political control. Hard to see how the U.S. maintains any global competitiveness in science in this scenario.
doctorbobg.bsky.social
So they are aware of the problem but don’t plan to stop it.
Reposted by Robert Gregg
davidimiller.bsky.social
🧪 Senate appropriators say: NIH's budget gets a... boost!

Rather than 40% cut, NIH gets a $400M *increase* in the Senate committee bill for FY26 (about +1%).

"Congress has your back," said @murray.senate.gov.

ADVOCACY MATTERS! There's still a long road (esp in the House), so keep up pressure.
Full Committee Markup of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Acts | United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
www.appropriations.senate.gov
doctorbobg.bsky.social
What about stopping multi-year funding shenanigans?
doctorbobg.bsky.social
As long as they have the cures they think they need, they can forget everybody else.
Reposted by Robert Gregg
rosalafersousa.bsky.social
‼️🚨‼️ Russel Vought just locked up the entirety of the remaining extramural NIH budget for this fiscal year, and part of intramural. $15 billion. ~a third of the NIH budget. THIS IS AN ALL-OUT ASSAULT.

All $$ is iced except intramural salaries, admin expenses, and clinical center. NO MORE GRANTS.

🧪
prasad.bsky.social
“[Vought’s] footnote stipulated that the agency’s funding for the remainder of the fiscal year could only go to staff salaries and expenses, not to new grants or certain grants that are up for renewal. Most NIH-funded research is done by outside scientists at labs across the country.”

no words
Reposted by Robert Gregg
donmoyn.bsky.social
New, from an anonymous NIH insider: Trump is being pushed to spend more NIH money. The White House is ordering NIH to do multi-year budgets for awards. This budget trick means fewer awards, fewer labs funded, and lower paylines for researchers. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/alert-the-...
Alert: The Trump administration is quietly slashing new NIH grant awards, and it's not via the budget
NIH’s sudden move to multiyear grant funding is forcing shocking cuts in the number of grants funded. This is an effective budget cut. It's bad, folks.
donmoynihan.substack.com
Reposted by Robert Gregg
jwoodgett.bsky.social
Good grief, the US National Cancer Institute projects it will fund only one in 25 RO1 grant applications in 2026. This is massively defunding cancer research. Despicable vandalism. www.cancer.gov/grants-train...
National Cancer Institute projection of a 4% pay line in FY2026.
doctorbobg.bsky.social
NIH can give 5 year MY awards that explicitly prohibit NCEs. My DP2 was like this.
doctorbobg.bsky.social
Pretty common. But I don’t understand why they have to limit MY awards to 4 years if 5 is the financial cliff.
Reposted by Robert Gregg
jeremymberg.bsky.social
NIH staff are being required to fully fund ~ 50% of their grants. This means that all 4 years of an award will be paid out of this appropriation. This will help them get the appropriated funds spent, but will mean they can only fund (1/2 + 1/4*1/2) = 5/8 has many grants as they would have otherwise.
doctorbobg.bsky.social
NIH has been toying with the idea of limiting R01s per PI for some time before the current admin, this is another way of doing that. I also think this admin doesn’t want PIs on soft money, primarily supported by federal funds.
Reposted by Robert Gregg
standupforscience.bsky.social
📣 CALL TO ACTION -

Yesterday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee that determines the funding for NSF proposed a 23% cut to NSF’s 2026 budget.

If one of these members listed is your representative, use our link to easily call your rep & demand NO CUTS to NSF➡️ actionnetwork.org/call_campaig...
Red banner at top reads “CALL NOW! Demand NO CUTS to NSF Funding in the FY 2026 Budget!” Below are three sections: “What’s Happening” explains the House CJS Subcommittee marked up the NSF budget; “Why It Matters” warns of a 23% funding cut; “What You’ll Do” urges people to call if their rep is on the list. Statue of Liberty background and “next page” arrow at bottom. Graphic with a red banner reading “CALL NOW! Demand NO CUTS to NSF Funding in the FY 2026 Budget!” Below is a list of 12 members of Congress (Republicans and Democrats) with their states and districts. “Stand Up for Science” logo at bottom.
Reposted by Robert Gregg
jeremymberg.bsky.social
Update on funding curves and late non-competitive renewals.

First, funding curves for new and competitive renewals.

1/n
Graph showing NIH funding for new and competitive renewal grants for fiscal year 2025 compared to fiscal year 2024. The fiscal year 2025 curve is substantially below the fiscal year 2024 curve.
Reposted by Robert Gregg
nature.com
Nature @nature.com · Jul 14
In an unprecedented move, the NIH will soon disinvite dozens of scientists who were about to take positions on advisory councils that make final decisions on grant applications for the US agency, Nature has learnt.

go.nature.com/3TEw7GN
Exclusive: NIH to dismiss dozens of grant reviewers to align with Trump priorities
The move would undo years of work, leaving advisory councils understaffed, and without the full expertise needed for reviews.
go.nature.com
Reposted by Robert Gregg
deniswirtz.bsky.social
Grant terminations have grabbed the headlines and have seen legal action, but even more damaging to the US research enterprise has been the massive decrease in number of research grants issued by federal agencies

NIH has seen a decrease of 57% in the number of awards & 63% in value compared to FY24
Reposted by Robert Gregg
emmylis.bsky.social
Read this thread, watch the segment and share. As a comms manager for an org that supports cancer centers, I’ve been consumed by these budget cuts and their impacts since January. I hope this helps people who aren’t immersed in this day to day start to understand what’s happening — and fight it.
altnih4science.bsky.social
CBS Sunday Morning tomorrow will have a segment on Trump killing cancer research.

Many thanks to all the people who spoke out to CBS. 💪💕🧪
#NIH #Medsky
A woman in a hospital gown with a resolute smile. Wearing an NIH visitor badge because she’s being treated at the NIH hospital in Bethesda.
CBS This Morning.