News
How Worried Should We Be About the Bundibugyo Ebola Outbreak?
Boston University researchers are helping track disease’s spread and preparing to test new treatments.
Measles, Cholera, and Mpox: BU-Based Outbreak Tracker Monitors World’s Most Dangerous Infectious Diseases
In its first year, BEACON has helped direct public health responses globally, monitoring 181 pathogens in 169 countries—and 1 in space.
Opioid Crisis, Polarization, Pomelos
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT
How the Legal Opium Market Shaped Global Trade—and Led to an Opioid Crisis
BU historian Benjamin R. Siegel charts opium from a commodity in colonial India to fuel for a drug crisis in modern-day America.
FACULTY EXPERT
BU Scholar Studies How Online Images Feed Polarization
BU Professor Ayse Lokmanoglu aims to help people think more critically about internet content, especially during politically charged moments.
STUDENT LIFE
Could This King-Size Citrus Fruit Inspire a Better Mobile Phone Case?
Boston University engineers, with support from the US Navy, are studying the pomelo’s remarkable shock absorbency—including by throwing it off a campus roof.
THOUGHT LEADERS
In Case You Missed It...
BU celebrated our 2026 Commencement... BU biomedical engineer Wilson Wongis BU's Innovator of the Year... The Washington Post interviews Nahid Bhadelia of the BU Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases on the hantavirus response... Mary Churchill, Stephanie M. Curenton, and Anthony Abraham Jack of BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development describe how their Head Start experiences shaped their lives in blackpressUSA... BU economist Laurence Kotlikoff talks to CBS News about the limitations of AI and retirement planning... Emma Wiles of BU Questrom School of Business explains why AI agents shouldn't be treated like employees to Harvard Business Review.
Boston University–Trained High Schoolers Educate Lawmakers About Taxing Alcohol
SPH’s David Jernigan leads initiative that shows young activists how to speak publicly about causes.
Boston University Celebrates the Class of 2026 at 153rd Commencement
Approximately 20,000 guests gathered on a hot, sunny Nickerson Field to honor this year’s graduates.
DOE Science; NIH Changes; McMahon
BU IN DC
Kevin Outterson of CARB-X met with Congressional offices to discuss antimicrobial resistance on May 11th.
Brian Walsh of the College of Engineering talked with Congressional staff about federal investment in space weather research as part of the Heliophysics Coalition's Capitol Hill fly-in on May 12th.
John Connor of the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories discussed federal support for National Biocontainment Labs with Congressional offices on May 13th and 14th.
BUZZ BITS...
- The House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee released a draft spending bill yesterday that would increase the Department of Energy Office of Science budget by 1.5% and decrease the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) budget by 10% in fiscal year 2027. The measure will be considered by the House Appropriations Committee next week. The Senate has not yet released a proposed energy spending bill.
- On Tuesday, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) led a letter from 25 Senators requesting that President Donald J. Trump and Acting Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Brian Stone answer questions about the dismissal of the National Science Board. The letter highlights the challenges NSF faces without a governing board, permanent director, and deputy director, and with a significantly reduced number of staff.
- The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee and the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee have each passed a version of the National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act, which would continue the National Quantum Initiative until 2032. A compromise bill will need to be approved by both chambers of Congress before the bill can be signed into law.
GRANT NEWS YOU CAN USE
Advisory councils across the National Institutes of Health (NIH) convened earlier this year for their first round of meetings to discuss agency-wide issues and Institute- and Center-specific priorities. Several of the Councils covered similar themes, including NIH’s Unified Funding Strategy, the effects of the fall 2025 government shutdown, changes to peer review, and efforts to streamline administrative processes. Councils also weighed in on the NIH's scientific priorities, such as scientific rigor and reproducibility, artificial intelligence, and human-based research models. Notable concept clearances that were approved can be found here
LAWMAKERS QUESTION MCMAHON ON GRADUATE LOANS
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon testified before the House Education and Workforce Committee on Thursday regarding the President's Budget Request, which recommends a 2.9% reduction in the Department of Education's (ED) budget. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle criticized ED's decision to subject graduate students in nursing, teacher preparation, and social work programs to lower federal loan limits starting in July 2026. They also expressed bipartisan support for TRIO college preparatory programs, which the Trump Administration has proposed to eliminate. Committee members did demonstrate partisan differences: Republicans praised ED's efforts to detect student aid fraud by expanding identification requirements, while Democrats criticized staffing reductions at ED's Office of Civil Rights.
Manuel Cuevas-Trisán Will Be BU’s First Senior Vice President for People, Belonging, and Culture
Veteran administrator has led workplace culture efforts in higher education and private industry.
BU Students Showcase Real-World Data Projects at Spark! Demo Day
From a font-design tool to a dashboard tracking federal grant cuts, undergrads demonstrate that data science is as much about people as it is about code.
Biomedical Engineer Wilson Wong Is Boston University’s Innovator of the Year
Cofounder of three biotech companies is pioneering new therapies for cancer and autoimmune disorders.
Online Speech, Student Launchpad, Cocktail Party Problem
FACULTY EXPERT
Communication Law Scholar Urges a Reconsideration of Online Speech
BU Professor Morgan Weiland wants to prevent making the same deregulatory mistakes with AI as we made with social media.
STUDENT LIFE
BU Launches Next Phase of You Are Why Initiative Focused on Student Experience
You Are Why: Students in Action will help BU build new partnerships and philanthropy to fund undergraduate scholarships, internships, and research.
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT
What Is the Cocktail Party Problem—and Can New Boston University Research Solve It?
BU student Natalie Lett explains why it can be hard to separate sounds in noisy places and how research funded by the National Science Foundation could help people with hearing loss.
THOUGHT LEADERS
In Case You Missed It...
Bloomberg interviews BU Global Development Policy Center Director Kevin Gallagher about geopolitical uncertainty and the International Monetary Fund... BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Professor Rachel Epsteindiscusses her new study on the impact of the updated U.S. infant vaccine recommendation for hepatitis B with STAT News... David Barlow of the BU Center for Anxiety & Related Disorders explains the risks of trusting your gut in Time... USA Today talks to BU College of Communication Professor Kathryn Coduto about her concerns with improved image generators and deepfakes... Irene Pepperberg of the BU College of Arts & Sciences talks to NPR about the real science behind the movie Project Hail Mary.