David Fisher
dfishstats.bsky.social
David Fisher
@dfishstats.bsky.social
Principal Research Fellow, MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL, London. Medical statistician and meta-analysis methodologist. profiles.ucl.ac.uk/6604

Likes: cycling, hiking, maps, maths, whimsy. 90s-00s sad indie kid. Leftie woke blob adjacent.
Reposted by David Fisher
The reforms to UKRI under Ian Chapman are only just starting, but there are already worries about what they mean for the bread and butter, applicant-led funding calls at research councils

While UKRI insists comparisons with previous years are impossible, figures from December suggest...
January 28, 2026 at 8:56 AM
Reposted by David Fisher
I'm seeing relatively little chatter or outcry about what is happening at the MRC, the UK's biomedical research funder.

Before Christmas MRC paused the acceptance of many of its grants, including the standard applicant-led research grant. There has been no public information on what is happening 🧵
January 23, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
I just thought everyone should see this
January 22, 2026 at 11:02 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
BUNNY CORE
January 20, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
RT if you've never had a tab of ChatGPT open 'just to do quick research'
January 13, 2026 at 8:45 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
wikipedia turns 25 today! the last unenshittified major website! backbone of online info! triumph of humanity! powered by urge of unpaid randos to correct each other! somehow mostly reliable! "good thing wikipedia works in practice, because it sure doesn't work in theory" - old wiki adage
January 15, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
The MRC's decision to stop funding research units is biting

Four out of five units at the University of Cambridge will run out of funding by 2027, and staff at risk of redundancty are considering action, @isaacbarbosa1.bsky.social reports

An insider said Cambridge is in "an awful position"
Union staff at Cambridge MRC research units consider action - Research Professional News
Medical Research Council under renewed criticism for putting university in “awful position” as redundancies loom
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
January 14, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
I wonder how much of the problem is that the masses have been groomed to be suspicious of people with intelligence rather than people with money.
January 14, 2026 at 9:19 AM
Reposted by David Fisher
Have seen a number of the ads in this campaign around London.

It's fascinating how heavily targetted it is at the people who come up to London once in December, go to Oxford Street and Winter Wonderland, then spend the rest of the year banging on about how terrible London is.
“Arsehole? Then our vodka’s for *you*”
December 21, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Reposted by David Fisher
—I’ve been asked to baptise the King of Spain’s daughter
—Infanta?
—No, holy water as usual. Weird thing to ask honestly
December 15, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
December 13, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Reposted by David Fisher
The hidden chemical attack that forced the Northern line’s extraordinary repair

www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/the...
The hidden chemical attack that forced the Northern line’s extraordinary repair
Thirty years ago, an entire section of the Northern line had to be replaced because it was under attack from acid, and hardly anyone noticed that it was happening.
www.ianvisits.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Reposted by David Fisher
We drive global research to improve HIV care for the next generation.

On #WorldAIDSDay, we share a thread highlighting our latest #ClinicalTrials that are transforming treatment for children and young people living with #HIV, helping them lead healthier, happier lives.

🧵
December 1, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
Eleven years ago, I wrote to Tom Stoppard to ask about this coup de théâtre from 1949. It took me down an unexpected rabbit hole - in memory of Stoppard, here's what I found.
November 30, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
1. It's been A Year, hasn't it? Maybe this time we should start with something delightful and calming. In that spirit, here's Max Bruch's lovely lullaby, 'Wiegenlied der Hirten', cradle-song of the shepherds, as sung incredibly sweetly by the Gächinger Kantorei.

youtu.be/FqFwp_NiKAs?...
Max Bruch »Wiegenlied der Hirten« | Gaechinger Cantorey | Hans-Christoph Rademann
YouTube video by bachakademie
youtu.be
December 1, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Reposted by David Fisher
For those wondering how you get on and off a penny-farthing.

*A guy walking by said to his companion, “That looks incredibly dangerous.” 😅
November 16, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
If the UK is on the brink of civil war, as Musk claims, it follows that in 300 years time there will be be a new generation of civil war re-enactment societies.

"Geoff,you defend Laurence Fox. Can you guys shout outside a hostel. Brian, i need you to relentlessly slag off Nish Kumar on Facebook."
November 15, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Reposted by David Fisher
Every ad now
November 13, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
how did i go so long not knowing we were literally teaching people to read wrong. i knew something wasn't right but jesus christ www.apmreports.org/episode/2019...
How a flawed idea is teaching millions of kids to be poor readers
For decades, schools have taught children the strategies of struggling readers, using a theory about reading that cognitive scientists have repeatedly debunked. And many teachers and parents don't kno...
www.apmreports.org
November 11, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
We’re going to see more of this ridiculous “they’re cancelling Christmas” narrative.

It’s basically Rage-Bait LAW from the 12th November, just as soon as Poppy Rage is over.

Try not to get sucked in👍🏼

It’s not good for your blood pressure to get so angry about imaginary problems

12/15
November 8, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
I'm just asking questions.
November 4, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
‘Study after study shows that students want to develop these critical thinking skills, are not lazy, and large numbers of them would be in favor of banning ChatGPT and similar tools in universities’, says @olivia.science www.ru.nl/en/research/...
‘Opposing the inevitability of AI at universities is possible and necessary’ | Radboud University
Since the widespread release of ChatGPT in December of 2022, AI has taken over much of the world by storm – including academia. Most of this happened with very little pushback, despite a myriad of iss...
www.ru.nl
November 1, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
#Museum30
We're Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre.
We have been Amberley Chalk Pits and Amberley Working Museum.
We're in a disused chalk quarry on the South Downs.
We tell the story of the chalk pits and lime burning and host a wide selection of craft and industrial exhibitions.
November 1, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Reposted by David Fisher
Tolkien fought in the Battle of the Somme. He saw the horrors of war, and the moments of bravery and fear within it up close.

And after all that. ALL that. He wrote Lord of the Rings. He declared true bravery and masculinity to be love, friendship and humbleness.

Musk is everything he hated.
October 29, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Reposted by David Fisher
It should be called Hurricane Exxon.
To understand the climate connection to Hurricane Melissa, check out our real-time attribution page at @climatecentral.org: www.climatecentral.org/tropical-cyc...

"Climate change made the ocean temperatures along Melissa's path 500 to 900 times more likely."
October 28, 2025 at 3:49 PM