@emilydriessen.bsky.social and I wrote a letter in Science calling for us to lean into our communities and increase support for change agents during this time of adversity and funding cuts.
#DBER #BioEd
Community support for inclusive US education | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Posts by Cissy Ballen
Sara Lipshutz presents her multivariate view of sex including gametes, genetics, anatomy, hormones, brains, and behavior
Thomas Sanger demonstrates that sex is not a developmental binary and is both extremely complex and dynamic
Amazing symposium on Sex and Gender at #Evol2025 So grateful to all the speakers for bringing us together to think about how to teach and communicate these complex topics @jacanamama.bsky.social Thomas Sanger @bio-eddy.bsky.social @cissyballen.bsky.social
Educational #equity faces renewed threats across higher #education in the USA. @cissyballen.bsky.social @kzutaustin.bsky.social @hormiga.bsky.social address what can be done by life science instructors and researchers to prioritize equitable, evidence-based teaching for all. 🧪
plos.io/4lm8sa4
Using anti-DEI policies to dismantle education: A new front in a really old battle - a perspective with @kzutaustin.bsky.social and @hormiga.bsky.social | PLOS Biology
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Our #NSF grant, supporting a fruitful collaboration with the @cissyballen.bsky.social Lab, was terminated, along with over 1,600 others. We describe the impact of this loss in a press release here. datanuggets.org/2025/06/nsf-...
an overwhelming percentage of cuts at the NSF are to STEM education. experts see it as part of a broader attack on DEI, as well as on education as a whole.
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/s...
Time to catch up on the past week’s news about science and medicine in the US. Whew. 1/10
I’m so sorry to read this Jay 😡
Hard to believe, I'm so so sorry...
yes yes yes! 🎉🎉🎉
Julie I'm so sorry - terrible news.
“No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities canteach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
My NSF postdoctoral fellowship was one of the grants terminated yesterday. Devastating is an understatement. Thankful for a supportive admin with a plan to support me for now.
Sorry to read this Kelly.
so well deserved, congrats Liz and Melissa!!
Undergrad biology instructors! Want to participate in a paid research study to test the impacts of highlighting scientist role models in instructional materials? We are looking for you! #edusky 🧪
See more information and apply here: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
@cissyballen.bsky.social
Undergrad biology instructors! Paid opportunity to participate in research that tests the impacts of highlighting scientist role models in instructional materials. 🐌 🧪 🦋 🔬
Check it out and apply! docs.google.com/document/d/1...
Check out Costello, Hammarlund et al.! We ask how students want to be assessed, and found their preferences aligned with those known to reduce the impact of test anxiety.
Super proud of the Ballen Lab undergrads who presented our work today at the Auburn Reseaech Symposium! @cissyballen.bsky.social
Graph between 1/20 and 2/28 of fiscal year 2024 and 2025 new awards in the EDU directorate.
🧪🚨 NSF's Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) has halted making nearly all new awards since inauguration day.
Among *many* other things, EDU runs the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).
We need to protect the education & training of the next gen of scientists #StandUpForScience
Thread👇🧵
Sharing this brave piece that echos a lot of what I have been feeling. The silence around DEI from institutions means the damage is already done. Leadership asking us to keep our heads down to prevent actual damage ignore that it’s already here for people like me.
stanforddaily.com/2025/03/03/f...
When featuring scientists in the classroom, what details are most effective for students? We found sharing humanizing information, such as hobbies & interests in & out of STEM, increases student's ability to relate & in turn, engagement.
datanuggets.org/2025/02/more...
@cissyballen.bsky.social
Hey All, plz repost, and share with grads, post-docs and disease folks! We are hiring a post-doc to work on mechanisms of immune responses of frog hosts to Bd infections. Deadline is February 1, 2025. Details for the position can be found at the link below. 🐸🐸🐸
zamudiolab.org/2024/12/17/p...
So excited to see BEES (and their beautiful nest) on the cover of Current Biology!
@currentbiology.bsky.social
This work wouldn't have been possible without a super team of researchers, and the cover wouldn't have been possible without the phenomenal Peter Marting! @aztecacecropia.bsky.social