Marianne Bronner, Elham Azizi, Guosong Hong, and Maayan Levy. Photos:  Courtesy of the Vilcek Fondation.

Dear Commons Community,

Those of us who work in research institutions understand that scientific progress in the United States is inextricably linked to the contributions of immigrants. Their efforts have improved lives worldwide and established this country as a beacon of scientific discovery. Immigrants represent 28% of the American recipients of Nobel Prizes awarded in physics, chemistry, and medicine between 1901 and 2024.

The Vilcek Foundation was established in 2000 to recognize and celebrate immigrant contributions to culture and society in the United States, with a focus on biomedical science and the arts and humanities. This year, the Foundation awarded a total of $250,000 in prizes to immigrant scientists, honoring foreign-born professionals at the forefront of research in immunotherapy, brain imaging, metabolite-based therapy, and human development. Marianne Bronner receives the $100,000 Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science; Elham Azizi, Guosong Hong, and Maayan Levy each receive a $50,000 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise.  Here are brief biographies of the four winners.

Marianne Bronner

California Institute of Technology

Marianne Bronner was 4 years old when her family fled communist Hungary. Her early enthusiasm for physics transformed into a fascination with developmental biology, particularly the functions of neural crest stem cells (NCSCs). This group of transient, migratory cells found early in vertebrate development differentiate into a wide variety of cell types in the body and may have potential in regenerative therapies. Bronner’s career-long examination of NCSCs has led to the identification of the mechanisms that drive genetic regulation of cell migration and differentiation, and furthered scientists’ understanding of NCSC involvement in congenital disorders, cancer metastasis, and heart regeneration. She receives the Vilcek Prize for advancing science’s understanding of how NSCSs contribute to the development of the nervous system, heart, and skeleton.

A pioneer in her field, Bronner prioritizes helping mentees develop their strengths and navigate careers. “I’ve never taken for granted the access to opportunities in a free country that helped me realize my dream of being a scientist.”

Elham Azizi

Columbia University

Elham Azizi embodies the concept of a multidisciplinary approach to difficult problems. The Iranian-born computational biologist leverages an innate curiosity and background in genomics and bioengineering to reveal insights into cancer progression and persistence. She receives a Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in recognition of ongoing efforts to enlist machine learning and artificial intelligence to unmask how the immune system interacts with complex diseases.

Azizi’s efforts capitalize on tools offering an unprecedented opportunity to model a patient’s unique immunological fingerprint and disease phenotype. “The ultimate goal is to translate strategies for targeting cancer and other diseases into effective, personalized immunotherapies for patients.̶

Guosong Hong

Stanford University

Born to working-class parents in China, Guosong Hong’s fascination with the physical and chemical properties of matter was ignited by a children’s book of chemistry experiments. Now a materials scientist at Stanford University, his research has accelerated breakthroughs in biological imaging and neuromodulation. Hong receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in recognition of his development of noninvasive methods to visualize complex physiological processes in real time.

Hong’s work to optimize deep-tissue and brain imaging promises to allow glimpses of previously invisible biological processes. “The culture of academic freedom in this country has guided my career,” he says. “Collaborations with brilliant colleagues continue to motivate new discoveries.”

Maayan Levy

Stanford University

Immunologist and microbiologist Maayan Levy receives the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in recognition of her work on the efficacy of metabolites for the prevention and treatment of cancer, chronic inflammation, and other diseases.

Growing up in Israel, Levy witnessed firsthand how immigration can affect integration and equality; she carries this core experience in her practice, and advocates for minority students in the sciences. She is also a passionate supporter of women in STEM, especially those with children. As a principal investigator and mother, Levy appreciates the demands and rewards of each role and advocates for colleagues balancing parenthood and careers in science. “Creating an environment that minimizes compromises between being a scientist and mother encourages people to excel at both.”

Congratulations to these four scholars!

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

For sports enthusiasts, this weekend provides a smorgasbord of top events in several professional sports including golf, basketball, and football.

Friday through Sunday afternoon, the PGA  Phoenix Open will feature the likes of Scottie Scheffler competing on a fun course – TPC Scottsdale – Stadium Course.  It is referred to as “The People’s Open,” featuring enthusiastic crowds and iconic moments in golf at the famed 16th hole Coliseum.  Broadcast on CBS and the Golf Channel.

On Saturday night, the Boston Celtics will play the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in what is arguably one of the great all-time sports rivalries. In addition, both teams are playing well this season and have two of the five best won-lost records in the NBA.  The game will be on ESPN.

On Sunday evening, nothing needs to be said about the Super Bowl as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles.  The Chiefs are playing for what would be a record-breaking third consecutive Super Bowl win.  The game will air on Fox.

Enjoy!

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

College athletes who were male at birth may practice but no longer compete on women’s sports teams at colleges governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the organization announced yesterday.

The new rules were approved one day after President Trump signed an executive order pushing the Department of Education to rescind funding from educational programs that allow transgender women to compete in women’s sports. As reported by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Athletes who were female at birth but began testosterone therapy are also not eligible to compete. For men’s teams, athletes can practice and compete regardless of their gender identity.

Before yesterday, the NCAA took a sport-by-sport approach, deferring to sport-specific governing bodies, but the reality was complicated by differing state laws and pending court battles around the gender-equity law known as Title IX. In a statement Wednesday, the NCAA’s president, Charlie Baker, said that President Trump’s order “provides a clear, national standard.”

The statement also said the association would continue to “help foster welcoming environments on campuses for all student-athletes” and “assist schools as they look for ways to support any student-athletes affected by changes in the policy.”

Baker said at a congressional hearing late last year that fewer than 10 out of more than 500,000 athletes on NCAA teams were transgender. And yet some of those few instances have attracted controversy.

Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who competed for the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s swimming team, became a face of the debate when she took first place in an event at the 2022 NCAA Women’s Division I Swimming and Diving Championships.

Then, last year, several opposing teams scheduled to play the San Jose State University women’s volleyball team opted to forfeit instead, in apparent protest of the presence of a transgender player on San Jose State’s roster. A group sued the university over allowing the athlete to play, but a judge declined to forbid her from participating in the conference tournament.

The Department of Education announced yesterday that it is now investigating the two colleges “for suspected Title IX violations.”

The new policy settles, for now, a question that has aroused furious debate at NCAA institutions. But they’re waiting on other pressing questions that will likely take longer to answer: for instance, whether the Education Department will co-sign guidance issued by the Biden Administration decreeing that future payments to athletes for their name, image, and likeness must comply with Title IX.

Baker has also asked Congress to pass legislation that would, among other things, protect the NCAA from legislation by granting it an antitrust exemption. The narrow Republican majorities there make such a bill far from a sure thing.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

I have just finished reading a second novel by Ronald H. Balson entitled, Once We Were Brothers, written in 2010,  and republished in 2023.  It is a gripping story of two boys, who once were as close as brothers, on opposite sides of the Holocaust.  The story is in three parts:  Part I takes place in Chicago in the early 2000s, and establishes the plot of an older Jewish survivor (Ben Solomon) who claims that a respected civic leader, businessman, and philanthropist (Elliot Rozenzweig) was a Nazi who was responsible for atrocities in Poland.  Part II is a recollection of  events in the late 1930s and early 1940s.  Part III summarizes judicial proceedings leading up to a civil trial.  At 390 pages, it is a bit hefty but Balson presents such a riveting tale that you will not want to put it down,  I read it in six days.

In sum, I highly recommend Once We Were Brothers.

Below is a brief review and summary that appeared in Princeton Book Review.

Tony

——————————————–

Princeton Book Review

Once We Were Brothers

By Ronald H. Balson

PBR Book Review:

This story moves back and forth between Nazi occupied Poland and present day and is one that will captive and hold your attention right from the start. The present day portion of this story is a legal thriller bringing to light the importance of justice, regardless of how long it takes. The courtroom drama is terrific and realistic as it should be considering the author is an attorney. The historical fiction portion of this book is heart wrenching and shows what it was like growing up in Poland and surviving the Holocaust. The book tells the story from the perspective of Ben Solomon, a holocaust survivor who accuses a prominent Chicago philanthropist of not just being a former Nazi but the same boy taken in by his parents and raised as his brother. The author keeps the suspense high and the reader guessing right to the end. Is Eliot a former Nazi or is this a case of mistaken identity.

Protesters on the steps of the Washington State Capital in Olympia.  Courtesy of The Associated Press.

Dear Commons Community,

Demonstrators gathered in cities across the U.S. yesterday to protest the Trump administration’s early actions, decrying everything from the president’s immigration crackdown to his rollback of transgender rights and a proposal to forcibly transfer Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

Protesters in Philadelphia and at state capitols in California, Minnesota, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, Indiana and beyond waved signs denouncing President Donald Trump; billionaire Elon Musk, the leader of Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency; and Project 2025, a hard-right playbook for American government and society.  As reported by The Associated Press.

The protests were a result of a movement that has organized online under the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day. Websites and accounts across social media issued calls for action, with messages such as “reject fascism” and “defend our democracy.”

“I’m appalled by democracy’s changes in the last, well, specifically two weeks — but it started a long time ago,” Margaret Wilmeth said at a protest outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio. “So I’m just trying to put a presence into resistance.”

Catie Miglietti, from the Ann Arbor area, said Musk’s access to Treasury Department data was especially concerning. She painted a sign depicting Musk puppeteering Trump from his outraised arm — evoking Musk’s straight-arm gesture during a January speech that some have interpreted as a Nazi salute.

“If we don’t stop it and get Congress to do something, it’s an attack on democracy,” Miglietti said.

Demonstrations in several cities piled criticism on Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency.

“DOGE is not legit,” read one poster on the state Capitol steps in Jefferson City, Missouri, where dozens of protesters gathered. “Why does Elon have your Social Security info???”

Members of Congress have expressed concern that DOGE’s involvement with the U.S. government payment system could lead to security risks or missed payments for programs such as Social Security and Medicare. A Treasury Department official says a tech executive working with DOGE will have “read-only access.”

Trump has signed a series of executive orders in the first couple of weeks of his new term on everything from trade and immigration to climate change. As Democrats begin to raise their voice in opposition to Trump’s agenda, protests have multiplied.

Demonstrators strode through downtown Austin, Texas. They assembled in Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park for a march to Georgia’s state Capitol and gathered outside California’s Democratic-dominated Legislature in Sacramento. In Denver, protests coincided with nearby operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and an unspecified number of people detained. Protesters in Phoenix chanted “deport Elon” and “no hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here.”

“We need to show strength,” said Laura Wilde, a former public school occupational therapist in Austin. “I think we’re in a state of shock.”

Thousands protested in St. Paul, Minnesota, where 28-year-old Hallie Parten carried a Democratic presidential campaign sign, revised to read “Harris Walz Were Right.” The Minneapolis resident says she was motivated by fear.

“Fear for what is going to happen to our country if we don’t all just do something about it,” Parten said.

At Iowa’s Capitol in Des Moines, protesters who joined the anti-Trump movement went inside to counter a registered event by the conservative parental rights group Moms for Liberty. The anti-Trump protesters shouted over the speakers in the rotunda for about 15 minutes before law enforcement pushed them outside, removing four demonstrators in handcuffs.

In Alabama, several hundred people gathered outside the Statehouse to protest actions targeting LGBTQ+ people.

“The president thinks he has a lot of power,” the Rev. Julie Conrady, a Unitarian Universalist minister, told the crowd. “He does not have the power to determine your gender. He does not have the power to define your identity.”

Power to the people!

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

ESPN’s commentator, Stephen A. Smith, slammed Fox News for brazen hypocrisy while on Fox News’ Hannity show.  Smith appeared on Tuesday’s edition of “Hannity” and sternly pushed back when its conservative host reiterated the baseless claim from Trump that diversity, equity and inclusion efforts caused a recent deadly plane crash.

A midair collision in Washington, D.C., between a military helicopter and an American Airlines jet killed all 67 people aboard the vehicles last week.

Sean Hannity claimed that the Federal Aviation Administration hired people with “severe intellectual” and “psychiatric” disabilities prior to the crashes, citing language from the FAA’s website that Trump pointed to at a recent briefing about the accidents. He failed to mention that the wording came from a biographical questionnaire the agency implemented to broaden recruitment, however, and had been on the FAA website since at least 2013.

But Smith was mostly baffled that a Fox News host was worried about “unqualified” people in high positions.

“My issue with the eradication of DEI was … the explanation that the Trump administration and others were giving about it,” Smith said Tuesday. “I don’t want to hear DEI automatically being about people who happen to be minorities that are unqualified.”

The ESPN personality eventually told Hannity that they should discuss Pete Hegseth, a former “Fox & Friends Weekend” host who was confirmed last month as Secretary of Defense, “because he’s your former colleague” — only for Hannity to protest.

“Keep my friend outta this,” he warned Smith.

Pete Hegseth was confirmed last month as President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Defense.

“Excuse me,” Smith replied Tuesday. “Listen, I’m not bringing up anything personal. I’m simply saying, ‘My God, Sean.’ When you’re talking about people who are unqualified, I wish him nothing but the best — he served our country in the military, I get all of that.”

He continued, “But when you are a weekend host on Fox News and now you’re the defense secretary of the United States overseeing three and a half million people, that is not qualified!”

Hannity argued otherwise because Hegseth served in the military and attended an Ivy League university. But he failed to acknowledge the lack of evidence that either of the pilots involved in the recent crashes were unqualified — or without similar accomplishments.

Smith 1; Hannity 0!

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

 The Trump administration is placing the U.S. Agency for International Development direct-hire staffers around the world on leave except those deemed essential, upending the aid agency’s six-decade mission overseas.  This move effectively dismantles USAID operations.  As reported by The Associated Press.

A notice posted online Tuesday gives the workers 30 days to return home. The move had been rumored for several days and was the most extreme of several proposals considered for consolidating the agency into the State Department. Other options had included closures of smaller USAID missions and partial closures of larger ones.

Thousands of USAID employees already had been laid off and programs worldwide shut down after Trump imposed a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance. In the space of a few weeks, Trump political appointees and Elon Musk’s budget-slashing Department of Government Efficiency have dismantled the aid agency despite outcry from Democratic lawmakers.

They have ordered a spending stop that has paralyzed U.S.-funded aid and development work around the world, gutted the senior leadership and workforce with furloughs and firings, and closed Washington headquarters to staffers Monday. Lawmakers said the agency’s computer servers were carted away.

“Spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Musk boasted on X.

Musk’s teams had taken USAID’s website offline over the weekend and it came back online Tuesday night, with the notice of recall or termination for global staffers its sole post.

The decision to withdraw direct-hire staff and their families earlier than their planned departures will likely cost the government tens of millions of dollars in travel and relocation costs.

Staff being placed on leave include both foreign and civil service officers who have legal protection against arbitrary dismissal and being placed on leave without reason.

The American Foreign Service Association, the union which represents U.S. diplomats, sent a notice to its members denouncing the decision and saying it was preparing legal action to counter or halt it.

Locally employed USAID staff, however, do not have much recourse and were excluded from the federal government’s voluntary buyout offer.

USAID staffers abroad have been fearing the move, packing up household belongings over the past week. Families faced wrenching decisions as the move loomed, including whether to pull children out of school midyear. Some gave away pet cats and dogs, fearing the Trump administration would not give them time to complete the paperwork to bring the animals with them.

The announcement came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio was on a five-nation tour of Central America and met with embassy and USAID staff at two of the region’s largest USAID missions: El Salvador and Guatemala on Monday and Tuesday.

Journalists accompanying Rubio were not allowed to witness the so-called “meet and greet” sessions in those two countries, but had been allowed in for a similar event in Panama on Sunday in which Rubio praised employees, particularly locals, for their dedication and service.

Democratic lawmakers and others say the USAID is enshrined in legislation as an independent agency and cannot be shut down without congressional approval.

The online notice says those who will exempted from leave include staffers responsible for “mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs” and would be informed by Thursday afternoon.

“Thank you for your service,” the notice concluded.

How nice our government treats people doing humanitarian work around the world.

Tony

Dear Commons Community.

The Wall Street Journal‘s editorial board has again jabbed Trump over his tariff policy, this time deriding the president for stepping back from taxing Canadian and Mexican imports at the last minute.

The newspaper’s Monday night editorial was headlined “Trump Blinks on North American Tariffs,” and began in a mocking tone.

“President Trump never admits a mistake, but he often changes his mind,” it started. “That’s the best way to read his decision Monday to pause his 25% tariffs against Mexico and Canada after minor concessions from each country.”

The piece went on to call out Trump supporters for celebrating the deals he struck with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

After suggesting all three leaders could “claim victory,” the article later added, “None of this means the tariffs are some genius power play, as the Trump media chorus is boasting.”

On Monday, Trump agreed to a 30-day pause on his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada as America’s two largest trading partners offered to take action on border security and drug trafficking.

The Journal has been critical of many of Trump’s moves in the early days of his second presidential term.

An editorial headline on Friday suggested Trump was engaging in “The Dumbest Trade War in History.”

The outlet said, with the exception of targeting China, Trump’s “justification for this economic assault on the neighbors makes no sense.”

The latest takedown comes in the aftermath of Rupert Murdoch, who owns the financial newspaper, visiting Trump on Monday in the Oval Office as he signed executive orders.

Tony

Nearly half of U.S. adults believe that the benefits of taking low-dose aspirin daily outweighs the risks — despite new guidance that suggests otherwise, according to a new survey.  As reported by People Magazine.

The survey published Monday, Feb. 3 by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) at the University of Pennsylvania found that 48% of people still “incorrectly” believe that there are more benefits to taking “low-dose aspirin every day to reduce the chance of heart attack or stroke” despite an increased risk for bleeding.

Nearly one in five adults “who say they have no personal or family history of heart attack or stroke,” reported in the survey that they “routinely” took a low-dose aspirin, with 10% saying they take it “basically every day.” Additionally, 6% of respondents also noted that they took it “a few times a month,” while 2% said they took it “a few times a week.”

The survey also noted that older age groups believed that the benefits of taking a low-dose aspirin daily outweighed the risks. The results revealed that 57% of respondents over 60 years old and 51% of people between the ages of 40 and 59 found the benefits outweighed the risks, while only 24% of people between the ages of 18 and 49 believed the same.

“Habits backed by conventional wisdom and the past advice of health care providers are hard to break,” Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the APPC and director of the survey, said in a statement. “Knowing whether taking a low-dose aspirin daily is advisable or not for you is vital health information.”

Doctors’ previous suggestion of routinely taking low-dose aspirin was due to the medication’s work “as a blood thinner,” which reduced “clotting that can clog arteries and lead to heart attack or stroke,” per the APPC.

However, further studies have shown that taking low-dose aspirin daily can increase the risk of bleeding in some older adults — including bleeding in the stomach, intestines, and brain, which can be life-threatening — which the experts say “cancels out the benefits of preventing heart disease.”

“This [revised] recommendation only applies to people who are at higher risk for CVD [cardiovascular disease], have no history of CVD, and are not already taking daily aspirin,” the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force previously announced in 2022.

The American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology made a similar joint decision in 2019 in which they recommended those ages 70 and older not take aspirin daily due to a high risk of gastrointestinal bleeding, according to NBC News.

“Aspirin only has a benefit if someone is at increased risk for heart disease. They shouldn’t be starting just because they have reached a certain age,” Dr. Chien-Wen Tseng, a member of the 16-person panel, told the outlet.

Heart disease and stroke are among the leading causes of death in the U.S., accounting for roughly one in three deaths in the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

As a senior citizen who has been taking a daily low-dose aspirin for about 30 years  as suggested by my GP, this report is disconcerting.

I will discuss it with him to see what he recommends.

Tony

Dear Commons Community,

Fans at a Toronto Raptors game continued an emerging trend Sunday of booing the American national anthem at pro sporting events in Canada. (See video below).

Fans of the NBA’s lone Canadian franchise booed the anthem after similar reactions broke out Saturday night at NHL games in Ottawa, Ontario, and Calgary, Alberta, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump made his threat of import tariffs on America’s northern neighbor reality.  As reported by the the Associated Press.

After initially cheering for the 15-year-old female singer, fans booed throughout “The Star-Spangled Banner” performance. At the end, mixed boos and cheers could be heard before the crowd erupted in applause for the Canadian anthem, “O Canada.”

Fans also booed Sunday night when Agasha Mutesasira began her performance of the American national anthem in Vancouver, British Columbia, when the NHL’s Canucks hosted the Detroit Red Wings. “I mean, it’s too bad, right? It is what it is,” Red Wings forward Patrick Kane, who was born in New York, said after Detroit’s win. “I guess you can maybe understand it from this side but seems like it’s a thing that’s going around the league right now.”

Trump declared an economic emergency Saturday in order to place taxes of 25% on imports from Canada and Mexico and 10% on imports from China. Energy imported from Canada, including oil, natural gas and electricity, would be taxed at a 10% rate.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexico’s president ordered retaliatory tariffs on goods from America in response.

Raptors forward Chris Boucher, a Canadian citizen, was asked after his team’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers whether he’d ever experienced something like that.

“No, no, no,” he said. “But have you ever seen us getting taxed like that?”

Joseph Chua, a Toronto resident who was at the Raptors game, said he’s going to be feeling the tariffs “pretty directly” in his work as an importer.

Still, he said he doesn’t think booing is “the right thing to do in this situation.” He chose to stay seated instead.

“I have a bunch of American family, friends that live in the states that are Americans, we travel to America all the time, but I thought chanting, ‘Canada,’ would be a more appropriate stance,” said Chua, who was deliberately wearing his red Canada Basketball cap. “Usually I will stand. I’ve always stood during both anthems. I’ve taken my hat off to show respect to the American national anthem, but today we’re feeling a little bitter about things.

I enjoy watching sports and I don’t remember our national anthem ever being booed.  Thank you, Trump!

Tony