An excellent op-ed from @socdevbio.bsky.social president Carole LaBonne @labonnelab.bsky.social. Our lab uses both animal models and human organoids. We believe these to be complementary approaches, each with their respective strengths and limitations. www.statnews.com/2025/05/19/a...
Excited to share the version of record of our study of patterned gene expression during the earliest stages of neural development, out now in @elife.bsky.social! A single-cell atlas of spatial and temporal gene expression in the mouse cranial neural plate doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Director of the Nat'l Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) was summarily dismissed yesterday. So here's your reminder that birth defects kill twice as many American kids as cancer. But there is no St. Jude's for birth defects. Only the NICHD.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The “What do we owe this cluster of cells?” piece was great. Looking forward to the one you linked.
Time for Developmental Biologists to convene @unm.edu in New Mexico for this exciting SouthWest Dev Bio meeting www.swsdb2025.org. We have a fantastic panel of scientists and educators. Register for this exciting conference, and see you soon! NM is very pleasant in spring.
Congrats!
Society for Developmental Biology logo Society for Developmental Biology 2025 Award Winners Edwin G. Conklin Medal Headshot of Blanche Capel Blanche Capel, Duke University Developmental Biology-Society for Developmental Biology Lifetime Achievement Award Headshot of Billie Swalla Billie Swalla, University of Washington Viktor Hamburger Outstanding Educator Prize Headshot of Erica Crespi Erica Crespi, Washington State University Elizabeth D. Hay New Investigator Award Headshot of Mubarek Syed Mubarak Syed, The University of New Mexico Society for Developmental Biology Trainee Science Communication Award Headshot of Joaquin Navajas Acedo Joaquin Navajas Acedo, Biozentrum at University of Basel
Congrats to the 2025 SDB Award Winners!
Conklin Medal: Blanche Capel
DB-SDB Lifetime Achievement Award: Billie Swalla
Hamburger Outstanding Educator Prize: Erica Crespi
Hay New Investigator Award: Mubarak Syed
SDB Trainee Science Communication Award: Joaquin Navajas Acedo
bit.ly/4bcrFap
Fox Bleeps Out Entire Kendrick Lamar Performance theonion.com/fox-ble...
Birth defects are the #1 cause of death in the first year of life (🧵). Birth defects kill more than twice as many children as cancer. Birth defects are diseases of developmental biology. Here are CDC statistics for 2021. 1/5
wisqars.cdc.gov/pdfs/leading...
Here is the 2025 embryo alphabet from alligator to zebrafish. Developmental biology is stunning & leads to important discoveries for human medicine.
@socdevbio.bsky.social
Disruptions to the NIH impact more than just science; they will hit all Americans in our wallets. I spoke yesterday with Becky Fogel from @kutnews.bsky.social about the important role NIH-funded research plays in the economy. 🧵 1/n
www.kut.org/education/20...
Scientific research is a driving force behind human progress. It fuels medical breakthroughs, spurs technological innovations and drives economic growth. Federal funding of research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) is absolutely critical for ensuring that the U.S. maintains its global leadership in science and technology. The unprecedented freeze on the review and issuance of federal research grants is already negatively impacting research and could have significant ripple effects. Ongoing studies may lose momentum if grant renewals or supplement requests are delayed, slowing scientific progress on research the NIH has already invested in. Researchers affiliated with the Society for Developmental Biology carry out critical research on birth defects, which kill twice as many children as cancer does. Slowed progress will delay the development of new therapies and diagnostics, and thus have real public health implications. In 2019, the total estimated cost of birth defect–associated hospitalizations was $22.2 billion. Scientific research is also critical to the U.S. economy more broadly. In 2023 alone NIH funded research not only directly supported 412 thousand jobs, but its overall economic impact rippled out to all sectors of the economy driving more than $92.89 billion in economic activity across all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. It is estimated that every dollar of NIH funding generates $2.46 dollars of economic activity. Finally, federal research funding not only drives impactful research discoveries but also supports the training of the scientists, engineers, and innovators of the future. University laboratories, funded by federal grants, serve as essential training grounds for the next generation of researchers even as they push the boundaries of knowledge. This training prepares young scientists for leadership roles in both academia and industry, helping to ensure that the scientific workforce r…
The Society for Developmental Biology has released a statement on the Unprecedented Disruptions to Biomedical Research in the United States.
I made some posts explaining the impacts of the NIH freeze for my family and friends that don't work in science. Feel free to share.
Congrats!!
A reminder: for genotypes to produce phenotypes, they have to go through development
#DevBio Folks, The next 4 years will be brutal for science. It's essential to support organization that promote our field and support our trainees. Please consider making a tax deductible donation to @socdevbio.bsky.social before midnight - your support is so important. www.sdbonline.org/donations
"‘'Twas the night before grant deadline, 7:15.
Many creatures were stirring, thanks to caffeine.
The comments accepted, the references done,
In hopes someone might fund my first R01."
#Devbio folks, mark your calendars:
SWSDB2025 at UNM in Albuquerque, NM, May 2-4!
Organizers Drs. Mubarak Hussain Syed, Lomeli Shull, Tou Yia Vue, Alexa Burger, & Marycruz Flores-Flores as US-Mexico liaison - more tk on their fabulous website:
www.swsdb2025.org
@socdevbio.bsky.social #SWSDB2025
First ASCB insights:
1. I am, in fact, asking cell biology questions in my work
2. Rab7 is important
3. The granularity you can observe cellular processes at is insane!
4. I still love embryos most
#Cellbio2024
Cilia alert! Stoked for our new paper in Dev. Cell! Our cross-linking mass spec interactome for motile cilia provides some cool new insights into motile ciliopathy. Helmed by @computingcaitie.bsky.social, read her fantastic Bluetorial below (👇)!
www.cell.com/developmenta...
Thank you!
Can I be added please?
Thanks for making me learn a new word, cogent is a useful word for scientific writing!
Now more than ever It is vital that we educate people about how research on model organisms had been fundamental in advancing our understanding of genetics, development, and cell biology, and this discovery driven research is foundational for disease focused studies. Consider these 8 Nobel Prizes:
Welcome to the #devbiolwriteclub Bluesky Boot Camp! I’ll be posting here regularly with thoughts and exercises to help scientists become better writers. Let’s start by managing expectations: I will NOT help you write better. I WILL help you become a better writer. 🧵 1/10
#devbiolwriteclub Bluesky Bootcamp starts Monday Dec. 2. At nine o'clock sharp. Please re-skeet.
Looking for something fun to read? Here’s a #popsci piece I did on the crazy history of cilia and left/right patterning in embryos. Remember #devbiolwriteclub Bluesky Boot Camp starts Monday Dec. 2! Please RS (re-skeet?)
nautil.us/the-anatomic...
chick embryo unilaterally injected with fluorescent reporter.
Hopping on fluorescent Friday with an image of a unilaterally injected chick embryo from a new undergraduate course I am teaching. Not the prettiest embryo, but the labeling is 👌🏼
