Rick Berke
@rickberke.bsky.social
Co-founder & Executive Editor, STAT (www.statnews.com)
@statnews.bsky.social
Longtime reporter/editor NYT
@statnews.bsky.social
Longtime reporter/editor NYT
Reposted by Rick Berke
Part 2 of STAT's 10-part look at how the Trump admin has gutted American science. 🩺 🧪 #MedSky #ScienceSky Grateful that we have @statnews.com taking this story on with their dedicated crew of medical science and #biotech journalists.
“The only reason I don’t have this funding is because my last name is Rodriguez.”
MOSAIC checked many of the boxes of the administration — but that didn't matter. It was terminated, and left grantees scrambling
Next installment of American Science, Shattered:
www.statnews.com/2025/12/08/t...
MOSAIC checked many of the boxes of the administration — but that didn't matter. It was terminated, and left grantees scrambling
Next installment of American Science, Shattered:
www.statnews.com/2025/12/08/t...
NIH shut out hundreds of young scientists from funding to start their own labs
Special Report: The NIH has shut out hundreds of young scientists from funding to start their own labs.
www.statnews.com
December 8, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Part 2 of STAT's 10-part look at how the Trump admin has gutted American science. 🩺 🧪 #MedSky #ScienceSky Grateful that we have @statnews.com taking this story on with their dedicated crew of medical science and #biotech journalists.
RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel is laying the groundwork for more scrutiny of childhood shots www.statnews.com/2025/12/05/c... via @statnews.com @danielpayne.bsky.social @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social
RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel is laying the groundwork for more scrutiny of childhood shots
RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel is laying the groundwork for more scrutiny of childhood shots.
www.statnews.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:52 PM
RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel is laying the groundwork for more scrutiny of childhood shots www.statnews.com/2025/12/05/c... via @statnews.com @danielpayne.bsky.social @chelseacirruzzo.bsky.social
Powerful reporting on the impact of CDC cuts by @sarah-todd.bsky.social
What West Virginia teens lost when CDC cuts ended their fight against Big Tobacco www.statnews.com/2025/12/04/i... via @statnews.com
What West Virginia teens lost when CDC cuts ended their fight against Big Tobacco www.statnews.com/2025/12/04/i... via @statnews.com
What West Virginia teens lost when CDC cuts ended their fight against Big Tobacco
What West Virginia teens lost when CDC cuts ended their fight against Big Tobacco.
www.statnews.com
December 4, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Powerful reporting on the impact of CDC cuts by @sarah-todd.bsky.social
What West Virginia teens lost when CDC cuts ended their fight against Big Tobacco www.statnews.com/2025/12/04/i... via @statnews.com
What West Virginia teens lost when CDC cuts ended their fight against Big Tobacco www.statnews.com/2025/12/04/i... via @statnews.com
U.K. pledges to boost pharma payments, will avoid U.S. tariffs on drugs www.statnews.com/2025/12/01/u... via @statnews.com @danielpayne.bsky.social
U.K. pledges to boost pharma payments, will avoid U.S. tariffs on drugs
The United States and United Kingdom announced a high-level agreement Monday under which the U.K. is expected to pay more for medicines.
www.statnews.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:46 PM
U.K. pledges to boost pharma payments, will avoid U.S. tariffs on drugs www.statnews.com/2025/12/01/u... via @statnews.com @danielpayne.bsky.social
What if RFK Jr. reacted to his cousin’s terminal cancer as JFK reacted to his baby’s death? www.statnews.com/2025/11/26/t... via @statnews.com
What if RFK Jr. reacted to his cousin’s terminal cancer as JFK reacted to his baby’s death?
When President Kennedy’s newborn son died in 1963, it galvanized research. A new Kennedy family tragedy should spur RFK Jr. to support cancer research, not cut it.
www.statnews.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:29 PM
What if RFK Jr. reacted to his cousin’s terminal cancer as JFK reacted to his baby’s death? www.statnews.com/2025/11/26/t... via @statnews.com
Reposted by Rick Berke
STAT will be on the ground at #ASH25. Join us Dec. 5 in Orlando for STAT@ASH: Standing on Medicine’s Threshold — an evening of conversation with leading voices in hematology and biotech. www.statnews.com/event/stat-a...
STAT@ASH: Standing on Medicine's Threshold
We’re on the ground at the 67th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting — join us live.
www.statnews.com
November 24, 2025 at 6:03 PM
STAT will be on the ground at #ASH25. Join us Dec. 5 in Orlando for STAT@ASH: Standing on Medicine’s Threshold — an evening of conversation with leading voices in hematology and biotech. www.statnews.com/event/stat-a...
Reposted by Rick Berke
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
How Children’s Health Defense plans to cement its agenda beyond RFK Jr. www.statnews.com/2025/11/08/r... via @statnews.com @danielpayne.bsky.social
How Children’s Health Defense plans to cement its agenda beyond RFK Jr.
Children’s Health Defense is leveraging its ties to HHS to lock in legal and cultural shifts that could shape policy long after RFK Jr. leaves.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:59 PM
How Children’s Health Defense plans to cement its agenda beyond RFK Jr. www.statnews.com/2025/11/08/r... via @statnews.com @danielpayne.bsky.social
BREAKING: Trump announces deal with Lilly, Novo to expand access to weight loss drugs, cut prices www.statnews.com/2025/11/06/t... via @statnews.com @danielpayne.bsky.social @elaineywchen.bsky.social
Trump announces deal with Lilly, Novo to expand access to weight loss drugs, cut prices
Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, Eli Lilly's Zepbound to be sold at discounted prices on TrumpRx, covered by Medicare.
www.statnews.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:43 PM
BREAKING: Trump announces deal with Lilly, Novo to expand access to weight loss drugs, cut prices www.statnews.com/2025/11/06/t... via @statnews.com @danielpayne.bsky.social @elaineywchen.bsky.social
Appeals court judges seem skeptical of Trump administration’s defense of capping NIH overhead payments www.statnews.com/2025/11/05/n... via @statnews.com @jonathanwosen.bsky.social
Appeals court judges seem skeptical of Trump administration's defense of capping NIH overhead payments
Appeals court judges’ questions and comments suggested they may be skeptical of Trump administration changes to research overhead payments
www.statnews.com
November 5, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Appeals court judges seem skeptical of Trump administration’s defense of capping NIH overhead payments www.statnews.com/2025/11/05/n... via @statnews.com @jonathanwosen.bsky.social
SCOOP: Arena BioWorks, an ambitious biomedical institute backed by billionaires, abruptly shuts down www.statnews.com/2025/11/04/a... via @statnews.com
Arena BioWorks, an ambitious biomedical institute backed by billionaires, abruptly shuts down
Exclusive: Arena Bioworks, the buzzy research institute that launched with $500 million to support a decade of scientific R&D, is abruptly shutting down, STAT has learned.
www.statnews.com
November 4, 2025 at 9:35 PM
SCOOP: Arena BioWorks, an ambitious biomedical institute backed by billionaires, abruptly shuts down www.statnews.com/2025/11/04/a... via @statnews.com
In Texas, the nation’s MAHA capital, many are frustrated with the status quo in health care www.statnews.com/2025/11/03/m... via @statnews.com @isabellacueto.bsky.social
In Texas, the nation's MAHA capital, many are frustrated with the status quo in health care
Texas is the MAHA capital of the country — offering a look at health policies that may soon roll across the country.
www.statnews.com
November 3, 2025 at 6:21 PM
In Texas, the nation’s MAHA capital, many are frustrated with the status quo in health care www.statnews.com/2025/11/03/m... via @statnews.com @isabellacueto.bsky.social
Medicare finalizes rule to lower payments for surgeries www.statnews.com/2025/11/01/m... via @statnews.com @tarabannow.bsky.social
Medicare finalizes rule to lower payments for surgeries
This move is a blow to the powerful physician lobby that has long controlled how procedures are priced.
www.statnews.com
November 2, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Medicare finalizes rule to lower payments for surgeries www.statnews.com/2025/11/01/m... via @statnews.com @tarabannow.bsky.social
States reject Dr. Oz’s claims of Medicaid spending on undocumented immigrants
Sharp reporting by @danielpayne.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2025/11/01/d... via @statnews.com
Sharp reporting by @danielpayne.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2025/11/01/d... via @statnews.com
States reject Dr. Oz’s claims of Medicaid spending on undocumented immigrants
Officials from Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington say CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz posted incorrect figures about their Medicaid spending on X.
www.statnews.com
November 1, 2025 at 6:13 PM
States reject Dr. Oz’s claims of Medicaid spending on undocumented immigrants
Sharp reporting by @danielpayne.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2025/11/01/d... via @statnews.com
Sharp reporting by @danielpayne.bsky.social
www.statnews.com/2025/11/01/d... via @statnews.com
Hope and ‘no regrets’: How pancreatic cancer surgeon Dr. Michael Zinner faced a pancreatic cancer diagnosis www.statnews.com/2025/10/27/h... via @statnews.com
Hope and ‘no regrets’: How pancreatic cancer surgeon Dr. Michael Zinner faced a pancreatic cancer diagnosis
Hope and ‘no regrets’: How pancreatic cancer surgeon Dr. Michael Zinner faced a pancreatic cancer diagnosis
www.statnews.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Hope and ‘no regrets’: How pancreatic cancer surgeon Dr. Michael Zinner faced a pancreatic cancer diagnosis www.statnews.com/2025/10/27/h... via @statnews.com
Trump, Pfizer, and the art of a drug pricing deal www.statnews.com/2025/09/30/w... via @statnews.com @matthewherper.bsky.social
Trump, Pfizer, and the art of a drug pricing deal
The Trump administration’s posture toward the pharma industry has largely been driven by threats, and a tense negotiation over prices. On Tuesday, in the Oval Office, there was talk of friendship.
www.statnews.com
September 30, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Trump, Pfizer, and the art of a drug pricing deal www.statnews.com/2025/09/30/w... via @statnews.com @matthewherper.bsky.social
Harvard public health school confronts severe financial crisis, seeks corporate sponsors www.statnews.com/2025/09/28/h... via @statnews.com
Harvard public health school confronts severe financial crisis, seeks corporate sponsors
Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health faces a harsh new reality: the government is shifting away from funding public health.
www.statnews.com
September 29, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Harvard public health school confronts severe financial crisis, seeks corporate sponsors www.statnews.com/2025/09/28/h... via @statnews.com
Perimenopause is the new buzzword in the business of women’s health www.statnews.com/2025/09/29/p... via @statnews.com @sarah-todd.bsky.social
Perimenopause is the new buzzword in the business of women’s health
Perimenopause brings real symptoms and a booming market of supplements, apps, and therapies. What’s hype, what’s helpful, and what women need to know.
www.statnews.com
September 29, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Perimenopause is the new buzzword in the business of women’s health www.statnews.com/2025/09/29/p... via @statnews.com @sarah-todd.bsky.social
FDA aims to expand use of leucovorin as RFK Jr. touts it as autism treatment www.statnews.com/2025/09/22/f... via @statnews.com @danielpayne.bsky.social @drewqjoseph.bsky.social
FDA aims to expand use of leucovorin as RFK Jr. touts it as autism treatment
The Trump administration is touting leucovorin as a treatment for autism.
www.statnews.com
September 22, 2025 at 11:51 PM
FDA aims to expand use of leucovorin as RFK Jr. touts it as autism treatment www.statnews.com/2025/09/22/f... via @statnews.com @danielpayne.bsky.social @drewqjoseph.bsky.social
This follows great reporting by @rosebroderick.bsky.social CDC reverses telework pause that sparked complaints over its impact on workers with disabilities www.statnews.com/2025/09/19/c... via @statnews.com
CDC reverses telework pause that sparked complaints over its impact on workers with disabilities
The CDC has rescinded a policy issued on Monday that paused remote work for employees, including those with disabilities
www.statnews.com
September 19, 2025 at 11:20 PM
This follows great reporting by @rosebroderick.bsky.social CDC reverses telework pause that sparked complaints over its impact on workers with disabilities www.statnews.com/2025/09/19/c... via @statnews.com
FDA approves ultra-rare disease drug that became a symbol of uncertainty over regulatory standards www.statnews.com/pharmalot/20... via @statnews.com @pharmalot.bsky.social
FDA approves ultra-rare disease drug that became a symbol of uncertainty over regulatory standards
After months of uncertainty, the FDA offered accelerated approval for a treatment for Barth syndrome.
www.statnews.com
September 19, 2025 at 11:09 PM
FDA approves ultra-rare disease drug that became a symbol of uncertainty over regulatory standards www.statnews.com/pharmalot/20... via @statnews.com @pharmalot.bsky.social
FDA warning letters show how it intends to ratchet up pressure over drug ads www.statnews.com/2025/09/17/f... via @statnews.com @pharmalot.bsky.social @lizzylawrence.bsky.social
FDA warning letters show how it intends to ratchet up pressure over drug ads
The FDA's crackdown on drug advertising is unprecedented, but some experts questioned whether the agency has the staff to carry it out.
www.statnews.com
September 17, 2025 at 1:14 PM
FDA warning letters show how it intends to ratchet up pressure over drug ads www.statnews.com/2025/09/17/f... via @statnews.com @pharmalot.bsky.social @lizzylawrence.bsky.social
Trump says CDC is ‘being ripped apart’ over Covid products, calls for drugmakers to prove their benefits www.statnews.com/2025/09/01/t... via @statnews.com @danielpayne.bsky.social @matthewherper.bsky.social
Trump says CDC is ‘being ripped apart’ over Covid products, calls for drugmakers to prove their benefits
President Trump on Monday urged pharma companies to publicly prove that their Covid-19 products work, saying in a Truth Social post that the CDC is "being ripped apart over this question.”
www.statnews.com
September 1, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Trump says CDC is ‘being ripped apart’ over Covid products, calls for drugmakers to prove their benefits www.statnews.com/2025/09/01/t... via @statnews.com @danielpayne.bsky.social @matthewherper.bsky.social
Reposted by Rick Berke
Inside the American Medical Association’s sudden strategy shift in Washington www.statnews.com/2025/08/13/a... via @statnews.com @theresagaff.bsky.social
Inside the American Medical Association's sudden strategy shift in Washington
The AMA has shifted from a behind-the-scenes lobbying strategy to more forceful public advocacy against President Trump's health care policies.
www.statnews.com
August 13, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Inside the American Medical Association’s sudden strategy shift in Washington www.statnews.com/2025/08/13/a... via @statnews.com @theresagaff.bsky.social