Posts from Those Nerdy Girls

What do you do when you get a bunch of Nerds together in real life? Of course, you create a video about the father of Epidemiology! Featuring Nerdy Girls Dr. Gabriella (@gabriellaexplains), Dr. Jenn Dowd, Dr. Irini Hadjisavva, Sandy Laping, and MK Haber.  Video created by Nerdy Girl Dr. Gabriella ‪@GabriellaExplains‬. Video edited by Nerdy Read more…

Any health decision or complex health question should always be discussed with a human clinician. However, AI chatbots can be helpful for answering some basic health questions, with some caveats.  It seems like every industry nowadays wants a piece of the artificial intelligence (AI) pie. Healthcare has been no exception, with 2 out of 3 Read more…

Researchers have found that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines prime certain cancers to a cancer treatment known as immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) immunotherapy! Within 100 days of starting immunotherapy, people with advanced cancer who received mRNA COVID-19 vaccines survived nearly twice as long as those who did not receive the shot (approximately 37 months versus 21 months). Read more…

March 8th is International Women’s Day! Those Nerdy Girls are celebrating International Women’s Day – here are ways you can join in and #GiveToGain Since March 1911, International Women’s Day has been recognized as a global day of activism and celebration. It is a day for everyone committed to the advancement of gender equality to Read more…

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is an independent advisory panel of experts who make evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services. (This post was updated by Those Nerdy Girls from the original published on August 22, 2025.) In July 2025, the current Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) abruptly canceled a meeting Read more…

That urge to reach back out after conflict, distance, or even estrangement is hard to ignore. For some of us, reconnection can be deeply healing, while for others, it can reopen old wounds. We have hovered over someone’s name in our phone, replayed old conversations in our heads, or imagined what it would be like Read more…

The overall number of people who identify as transgender in the U.S. is estimated to have increased over the past ~10+ years, particularly among those aged 13-24 years. TL;DR: There has been an increase in the total number of people estimated to identify as transgender in the U.S. overall, especially among teens and young adults. Read more…

Nerdy Nexus – where science and health meet society Taking Care of Each Other: Resources and Information for Immigrants, Allies, and Neighbors Public health is full of interesting puzzles: How do we keep everyone safe while respecting personal choices? Civil rights ensure we *all* get a fair shot at being healthy—access to good healthcare, safe Read more…

Continued research is needed, but in the meantime, avoiding unproven and harmful therapies is the best medicine. For children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), effective therapies for social/communication symptoms and medications to help co-occurring conditions (depression, anxiety, irritability) exist. Continued research is needed, but in the meantime, avoiding unproven and harmful therapies is the best Read more…

This year’s Black History Month theme—”A Century of Black History Commemorations”—reminds us to honor a full century of contributions while charting the path forward. For Black women in STEM, this century tells a story of groundbreaking achievement against extraordinary odds. These women include the NASA mathematicians Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, whose calculations Read more…

Implementation science is the study of how to make sure good, evidence-based ideas in medicine and public health actually reach people. In the hospital, very sick patients may need a central line to receive important medicines and fluids. In the past, these helpful tubes too often led to serious infections in the bloodstream. Doctors already Read more…

For Black History Month we are excited to celebrate the fabulous Black Nerds that are part of Those Nerdy Girls. Today we are highlighting Camille Seaberry, MPS Camille is a professional data nerd. As a senior research associate at DataHaven, a nonprofit based in New Haven, CT, she does data analysis, data science, and data Read more…

For Black History Month we are excited to celebrate the fabulous Black Nerds that are part of Those Nerdy Girls. Today we are highlighting Kelly Valentin Kelly has a passion for psychiatric epidemiology, and her research interests include psychopharmacology, behavioral health, social determinants of mental health outcomes, and psychopathology. Currently, she is pursuing a Master Read more…

For Black History Month we are excited to celebrate the fabulous Black Nerds that are part of Those Nerdy Girls. Today we are highlighting MacKenzie (Kenzie) Isaac, MA, CHES® Kenzie is a social epidemiologist and health communications specialist who loves discussing all things health equity. Her specific research passions are the sociology of body image; Read more…

The Bradford-Hill Criteria give you a scientific checklist that can help you evaluate whether wild health claims are actually true. What is causality anyway? Causality means that one thing directly makes another thing happen. For example, flipping a light switch (A) causes the light to turn on (B), so A causes B. But ice cream Read more…

A: Current evidence suggests that puberty blockers, which hit the pause button on puberty and are reversible, significantly improve the mental health of trans youth while reducing the risk of needing future surgeries. (Note: This post was updated by Those Nerdy Girls from the original published on January 23, 2024.) A recent study showed that Read more…

Armed conflict of any kind has severe public health consequences for the entire global community. In keeping with our tradition of offering practical advice to our readers and addressing mental health consequences of public health crises, we have put together a piece that we hope will help during these extraordinarily trying times. We are living Read more…

Febrile seizures most commonly happen in a child between six months and five years old. Though it looks scary, febrile seizures are common and generally not a cause for major concern. A febrile seizure can happen in a child between the ages six months to five years old when they have a fever. A true Read more…

Heavy metals, like lead, can build up in the body and cause poisoning or toxicity. For most people, this is unlikely to happen from everyday exposures. Your clinician can tell you if testing is a good idea. Heavy metal toxicity can be very dangerous, but it is the amount of heavy metals that you’re in Read more…

Q: Why are people sharing their pronouns? A: Using correct names and gender pronouns can make a significant difference in someone’s life. Pronouns are the words we use to refer to ourselves or someone else when not using a name. Gender pronouns specifically refer to people and possessions (she/her/hers, they/them/theirs, ze/zir/zirs, etc.) The 2022 U.S. Read more…