News
National BU-Led Study Finds College Student Mental Health Continues to Improve
BU public health researcher Sarah K. Lipson on decrease in students experiencing depression—and what you can do to support your own well-being.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor Offers Advice, Insight to BU Law Students at Annual Shapiro Lecture
She spoke with her former law clerk Cesar Lopez-Morales (LAW’14) in a wide-ranging conversation at the Tsai Performance Center.
WHO Reports 40 Percent Jump in Antibiotic-Resistant infections; BU-Based Nonprofit Leads the Fight Back
CARB-X, an antibiotics research accelerator, is helping bring new medicines, vaccines, and tests to clinics worldwide.
BU Engineer Builds Next-Gen Sensors with Mix of Living Cells and Tiny Electronics
Biomedical engineer Miguel Jimenez blends engineering fields to develop devices to monitor environmental and human health.
COM Students Help Fill Local News Gap Through Partnership with Boston Neighborhood Network
Broadcast journalism reporters, led by BU’s Tina McDuffie, produce content covering 26 local communities.
Sign Language, Veterans & Smoking, Climate and Infectious Disease
FACULTY EXPERT
Making the World More Accessible for Sign Language Users
Her whole life, Professor Naomi Caselli, whose first languages are American Sign Language and English, has wrestled with complex questions about language. At BU, she’s turned them into research questions.
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT
Veterans More Likely than General Population to Use All Types of Tobacco Products, Including the Most Harmful
A new BU study examines differences in tobacco use among military veterans compared to civilians, showing that veterans continue to use tobacco and nicotine products at higher rates than the general population.
COMMUNITY RESOURCE
You're Invited: The Climate Crisis and the Future of Infectious Diseases
The BU Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases hosts Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and WWF International President Adil Najam for a symposium on climate change and its impacts across the health of humans, animals, and the environment.
THOUGHT LEADERS
In Case You Missed It...
BU engineer Xin Zhang's wireless coil sensors, which could one day lead to portable MRI scans, were listed as one of Time's Best Inventions of 2025... Paul Shafer of the BU School of Public Health discussed why health insurance premiums were on the rise with Newsweek... Dustin Allen of the BU Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences shares how virtual reality could trick your body into feeling hotter or cooler when exercising... the BU community has defined eight values that will shape the University for generations.
Defense Policy; ED; Parkinson’s Disease
BU IN DC
Dean Natalie McKnight of the College of General Studies met with Washington-area alumni during an October 7th stop on her farewell tour.
Kevin Gallagher, Marina Zucker-Marques, Cecilia Springer, Gregory Chin, and Marilou Uy of the Global Development Policy Center hosted and attended a panel discussion, book launch, and other events during the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings from October 13th to 16th.
SENATE PASSES NATIONAL DEFENSE POLICY BILL
Last week, the U.S. Senate approved its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual defense policy bill, by a vote of 77-20. Among other provisions, the bill calls on the Department of Energy to establish a program to facilitate collaboration with universities, national laboratories, and industry to address national security technology challenges. The bill would also authorize a university-based "incubator" program to "accelerate the development and transition of innovative technologies to meet national security needs." The House passed its NDAA in early September, and the two chambers will need to reconcile the differences in the bills before the final legislation is sent to the President's desk.
NEW LEADERS, REDUCTIONS IN FORCE AT DEPT. OF EDUCATION
Last week, the U.S. Senate confirmed David Barker as Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education and Kimberly Richey as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education. Barker will oversee the Office of Postsecondary Education, where more than 60 employees who oversee TRIO college preparatory programs and the nation's Minority Serving Institutions were laid off on Friday as part of the Trump Administration's reductions in force. Barker previously served on the Iowa Board of Regents, which oversees the state's public universities. During the first Trump Administration, Richey served as the acting head of the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), which monitors educational institutions' compliance with federal civil rights laws. Last week's reduction in force resulted in the elimination of more than 130 employees within the OCR.
EVENT NEWS YOU CAN USE
Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) will be the keynote speaker at "The Climate Crisis and the Future of Infectious Diseases" hosted by the Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases on Thursday, October 30th at the Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences between 4:30 and 6:45 p.m.
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The Office of Research will host "Research on Tap: Parkinson's Disease: From Bench to Bedside and Beyond" on Thursday, October 23rd at 4:00 p.m. at the Kilachand Center. Parkinson's disease affects over 10 million people globally and is rapidly becoming the world’s fastest-growing neurological disorder. The event, co-hosted by Terry Ellis of the Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Science and Marie-Helene Saint-Hilaire of the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, will feature micro-talks from BU faculty who are shaping the future of Parkinson’s research and care.
A Note to Our Readers: With both chambers of Congress not in session, Beltway BUzz will temporarily pause publication. Be sure to visit our website, follow us on LinkedIn, or check the University's Federal Actions page for updates.
BU Community Defines 8 Values That Will Shape the University for Generations
From integrity to inclusion to community to service and more, the values were reached through a yearlong community-driven process.
Higher Ed Compact; AI and Life Sciences; DARPA
BU IN DC
Brian Walsh of the College of Engineering met with Congressional offices during the Save NASA Science Day of Action, organized by the American Geophysical Union, The Planetary Society, and other organizations on October 6th.
Noel Vest of the School of Public Health spoke about substance use and mental health challenges among college students at Mobilize Recovery's event at Georgetown University on October 7th.
BUZZ BITS...
The federal government remains shut down, with lawmakers still far apart on a deal to enact the spending bills that keep federal agencies operational. However, activity still continues in Washington, DC.
- The White House recently invited nine colleges to sign a "Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education" that would require them to adopt certain admissions, hiring, and financial policies in exchange for "increased overhead payments where feasible, substantial and meaningful federal grants, and other federal partnerships." The schools were asked to provide feedback on the compact, which includes provisions for freezing tuition, capping international enrollment, and governing faculty speech, by October 20th.
- Science magazine reported that several leaders at the National Institutes of Health were fired last week. The directors of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the National Institute of Nursing Research had been placed on administrative leave in the spring.
- On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Neil Jacobs as administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Dr. Jacobs was nominated to lead NOAA during the first Trump Administration, but did not receive Senate confirmation at that time. NOAA Chief of Staff Laura Grimm is currently the acting director of the agency.
- Last week, President Donald J. Trump nominated Dr. Arvind Raman to serve as director at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Dr. Raman is dean of engineering at Purdue University. Attorney Craig Burkhardt is the current acting director of NIST.
EVENT NEWS YOU CAN USE
The Office of Research will host "Research on Tap: AI for Life Sciences" on Wednesday, October 15th at 4:00 p.m. at the Kilachand Center. Advances in AI are impacting a wide range of scientific disciplines, including the life sciences. The emergence of large foundational models–including large language models and those trained on biological sequences–is unlocking new possibilities in synthetic biology, protein engineering, biomarker discovery, and more. The event, co-hosted by Diane Joseph-McCarthy of the College of Engineering and Ioannis Paschalidis of the Hariri Institute, will feature micro-talks from BU faculty who will share how AI is driving new discoveries in their research.
GRANT NEWS YOU CAN USE
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office released its research announcement for the fiscal year 2026 Young Faculty Award program, which identifies “rising stars in junior research positions” at higher education institutions who have not yet received DARPA funding. DARPA is seeking “innovative research proposals” that address newly identified topic areas across four of its offices. The agency expects to award multiple grants, each with a maximum funding amount of $500,000. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit executive summaries, which are due by Wednesday, October 15th at 4:00 p.m.