The US slashed research for cancer, Alzheimer’s, mental health — and nearly everything else Revealed in one chart.

Good story from Vox on falling numbers of new and competitive renewal R01 grants.

[Gift Link]

www.vox.com/future-perfe...

1/5

The NIH budget was basically the same in 2025 vs. 2024. This massive decline in health research funding was driven by *administrative* choices.

Finally out! We studied the retinas of the longest-living vertebrate, the Greenland shark, and found that the retinas remain remarkably healthy in animals around 150 years old. What is the mechanism? It may be a highly efficient DNA repair system. Enjoy!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Dr Patrick Hwu and Dr Katie Thompson-Peer right after Patrick's thesis defense.

So so proud of the new Dr Hwu!

Was smiling so much that my face hurt.

@ucibiosci.bsky.social @ucirvine.bsky.social

LGBTQ+ persons, queer bioethics, and inclusivity in stem cell research and regenerative medicine Despite the increasing visibility of the LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and other expansive genders or sexual orientations) community, LGBTQ+ persons continue to face significa...

My UCI colleague Dr. Sydney Prange (@sciencey-syd.bsky.social) & I recently published an article on LGBTQ+ persons, queer bioethics, & the importance of diversity, equity, & inclusivity in stem cell research, regenerative medicine, & other "STEM" fields. OA link: www.tandfonline.com/eprint/SHJBX...

I can't find a bsky account for the journal, so I guess @ascbiology.bsky.social is the closest I can come to tagging CBE-Life Sciences Education.

I was happy to participate in this study, and thank my students for filling out the survey. This is now a regular practice in my undergraduate teaching.

Nine Undergraduate Biology Instructors Revealing their LGBTQ+ Identities in Class Resulted in Benefits for their LGBTQ+ Students and Students with Other Marginalized Identities | CBE—Life Sciences Edu... Few LGBTQ+ biology instructors reveal their identities to undergraduates, often without considering the potential student benefits. Although instructors who have revealed their LGBTQ+ identity perceiv...

I'm delighted to see this come out: "Nine Undergraduate Biology Instructors Revealing their LGBTQ+ Identities in Class Resulted in Benefits for their LGBTQ+ Students and Students with Other Marginalized Identities" from Carly Busch and Sara Brownell and colleagues www.lifescied.org/doi/10.1187/...

I was a UC PPFP fellow when I was a postdoc at UCSD. This program is invaluable--aside from support for two years of my postdoc, I received excellent mentoring from faculty at the UCs. This fellowship set me up for success and gave me a cohort of fellow postdocs who are now UC faculty. 1/2

The President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program is one of the most coveted & prestigious positions for UC graduates. It gives a hiring incentive to campuses who hire recipients for a tenure track position. What a DAMN travesty.

This is capitulation to Trump's demand letter & anti-diversity agenda.

Kim Lab at UC Irvine Visit the post for more.

The Kim Lab (sskimlab.org) at UC Irvine is recruiting motivated grad students interested in uncovering how transcriptional regulators direct cell fates. We accept students through the CMB (cmb.uci.edu) and MCSB (ccbs.uci.edu/education/mcsb/) PhD programs. Please share with prospective grad students!

@joann-trejo.bsky.social, @marymunson4.bsky.social and I have a commentary in @natcellbio.nature.com on recent attacks on DEI in biomedical research: "If scientific research, especially biomedical research, is meant to serve everyone, then it requires that everyone has an opportunity to participate"

Neuro IFES - Graduate Students - Online Survey Software Neuro IFES - Graduate Students - Online Survey Software

Survey for neuroscience PhD students:

If you're a neuroscience or neuro-related PhD student, and you're so inclined, please take this short survey from a colleague of mine.
uci.questionpro.com/NeuroIFESgra...

And/or pass it on to other neuro PhD students.

Raising a Resilient Scientist, Unit 1: Communication Skills to Build Trainee Resilience YouTube video by NIH OITE

Here's the recording of the first session youtu.be/Ehbgmrcb1iU?...

Reaffirming the value of model organisms in training scientific minds - Nature Cell Biology As biomedical research prioritizes human models and translational promise, classic model organisms are increasingly dismissed. Here we argue that they have a lasting value, both in enabling discovery and in cultivating scientific thinking, by training researchers in systems reasoning, integrative thinking and independent inquiry.

PREACH!

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thanks for sharing the updates on FlyBase!

Figure from the preprint showing sensory neuron morphology with different levels of Cas9 expression.

High levels of Cas9 are toxic in sensory neurons. Reducing Cas9 levels with uORFs avoids toxicity and is compatible with efficient editing. From @thompsonpeerlab.bsky.social. Fly lines @vdrc-flies.bsky.social

#CRISPR #Drosophila

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

They're going to send out the slides, I think. Not sure about a recording. But there are 4 of 5 sessions coming up, over the next 4 weeks, if you have time!

Just sat through the 1st of 5 webinars on "Raising a Resilient Scientist" from NIH OITE (Office of Intramural Training and Education).

I've done lots of mentorship training. This one, on communication skills, was a step above.

Highly recommended for PIs. www.training.nih.gov/raising-a-re...

That sounds like what NewPISlack is already doing, in case you want to join an established community.

We cannot scicomm our way out of this, part …I-don’t-know-I’m-tired-of-counting

@ucirvine.bsky.social @ucibiosci.bsky.social

How It's Made Panel - Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory | UCI CNLM Click to Register HOW IT’S MADE: NEUROSCIENCE Ever wonder how neuroscience research really works? Join us for a virtual panel open to the public featuring UCI neuroscience experts in human…

🗓️ June 18 | 6:00–7:30 PM | Zoom

🎟️ Free & open to everyone — students, teachers, families & lifelong learners

🔗 Register here loom.ly/2rR_Uxo

🧠 Ever wonder how neuroscience discoveries are made?
From fruit flies to human memory, join us for a behind-the-scenes look at how brain science happens — straight from the experts at UC Irvine! 🔬✨

How It's Made flyer

I'm looking forward to participating in this interactive, family-friendly panel designed to make neuroscience accessible and exciting for all:

URGENT: FlyBase has lost practically all its funding overnight; even user fees are tied up in denied grant funding. 🤬🤯

Any lab using @flybase.bsky.social please donate using the link in post below.

This incredible community, on whose backs our #Drosophila labs depend, can't be left out to dry.

A screencapture of the page dedicated to the transcription factor isl1/tailup. There is information about the flybase ID, function, classification, keywords, and a very long wall of text under BIOLOGICAL OVERVIEW. Fly people rock tbh

The Interactive Fly logo, showing a cartoon of two adult Drosophila melanogaster on a yellow background. There's subtext that reads "A cyberspace guide to Drosophila development and metazoan evolution".

Did you know? 🧪 "The Interactive Fly" is a wonderful website hosted by @socdevbio.bsky.social where you can learn about their development, the history of gene discovery/name, and it is full of super useful resources for the #DevBio community 🪰https://www.sdbonline.org/sites/fly/aimain/1aahome.htm

Fantastic visit from @marthabhattacharya.bsky.social to UC Irvine’s Dept of Developmental and Cell Biology yesterday.

Beautiful science, studying the role of a transmembrane protein across many model systems.

Thanks for visiting!

It makes me sad every week.

Katie and Belén at the Dynamic Women Awards.

Today I received the 'Committee Spotlight Award' from the @ucirvine.bsky.social Women's Center for Success at the Dynamic Women Awards. What an honor! Thank you to the people who nominated me for this recognition, including Belén Torrado.