Sad to be finishing up as a postdoc in @blackrim.bsky.social 's lab. I've had such a great time there! Also excited to be about to start as an Assistant Professor/Lecturer at University College Dublin.

When I built nQuack, I wanted to be able to capture both allopolyploids and autoployploids - which differ in expected proportions of heterozygotes. Specifically, we expected autopolyploids to look like cats or dogs (2/n)

New paper just posted with @rschley.bsky.social et al: doi.org/10.1111/nph.... (1/n)

fun paper with a lot of great folks @tomacarruthers.bsky.social @willweaver.bsky.social @phylieu.bsky.social @jamesbpease.bsky.social @gbradburd.bsky.social and more nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Congrats to (newly graduated) Dr. Ellen Weinheimer for her new publication in @theplantjournal.bsky.social on drought responses in the iconic umbrella acacia of the African savannas using a "differential gene reaction" analysis developed for this project onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/....

Longevity in plants impacts phylogenetic and population dynamics https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.20.660758v1

In the grand tradition of Gould, I love when papers use analogies (and art!) to frame their questions. This first line (on the age of angiosperms) from @blackrim.bsky.social and @phylieu.bsky.social is a banger. nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 🧪

NIH, CDC, and FDA getting RIFs this morning www.reddit.com/r/fednews/co...

I may be tired and a little hoarse, but as I said again and again on the Senate floor, this is a moment where we cannot afford to be silent, when we must speak up.

I am honored to be elected an AAAS fellow! news.umich.edu/13-u-m-facul...

Okay, here is this week’s comic. NEWS OF THE TIMES: LOCAL CRACKPOT TAKES TRUMP SERIOUSLY - Brought to you by the Inner Hive, including longtime member Burkbark and new member Darren Bedwell ( bit.ly/theInnerHive ) - READ IT RIGHT HERE👇

NYU hacked and data leaked - politically motivated nyunews.com/news/2025/03... also here signalinthestorm.org/news.html

Well, this took my breath away a bit... www.nytimes.com/2025/03/21/n...

🚨 Now on Bluesky! 🚨 We’re Signal in the Storm, a project dedicated to tracking federal policy changes and news re: academia - follow us here and at signalinthestorm.org/index.html

Executive order on Dept of Ed www.whitehouse.gov/articles/202... summarized here at the top signalinthestorm.org/eos.html TLDR: shifting from fed to states

The Trump administration is exerting unprecedented pressure on American universities, demanding compliance with specific policies or facing substantial federal funding cuts. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/u... signalinthestorm.org/news.html

Federal immigration detained an Indian national and postdoc at Georgetown University. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/u... signalinthestorm.org/news.html

President Trump is set to sign an executive order directing the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/19/u... signalinthestorm.org/news.html

Check here for daily updates!

a link to rescinded HHS grants (data from HHS) taggs.hhs.gov/Content/Data... and a link to community-contributed rescinded NSF and NIH grants docs.google.com/spreadsheets... seen on signalinthestorm.org

Here's a super helpful site called Signal in the Storm that is automated to keep track of federal policy changes (EO's and Ed dept) and news re: academia. Also includes suggestions on what to do, and a faq's page about indirects, etc. Pls RT! signalinthestorm.org/index.html

Prairie Practice and Pedagogy gallery opening: UArk Fine Arts in collaboration with @uarkherbarium.bsky.social 🤝. Kids these days with their punk rock plant zines 🥲

🚨This week, many Columbia scientists lost grants that funded over half their annual income. Others will no longer be able to do research that helps treat thousands of sick patients across the US. "It hurts," they told me. My story for @nature.com 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

If the government can do this to universities, we don't live in a free society. Five alarm fire.

The Trump administration has terminated $800 million in grants to Johns Hopkins University, spurring the nation’s top spender on research and development to plan layoffs and cancel health projects

I have confirmation from several sources now that all T32s, many F30s and F31s, and most or all Center awards (P30, P50) have been terminated at Columbia. This is quite damaging to research and to individuals. This is pure terrorism and cannot be legal. But litigation will take time...

I am sure this has been posted already but just in case some folks haven't seen it www.ed.gov/about/news/p...

Kennedy Links Measles Outbreak to Poor Diet and Health, Citing Fringe Theories. Story by @teddyrosenbluth.bsky.social Gift link: nyti.ms/3FvFUej

Kevin is a good friend and colleague. Please share widely and feel free to pass along any opportunities that might be a good fit!

Canadian Whiskey Before Breakfast youtu.be/4tkpGXqlolc

I’ve repeatedly been scolded for sharing direct reports, from scientists that I know personally, about disastrous orders coming from the current administration. I’m told this hasn’t been vetted by a news organization and so I shouldn’t post it here. No. I believe my colleagues.

Great showing supporting science! Excellent speakers! Stand up for Science in Lansing Michigan.

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/o... Worth a read in order to better know who wants to attack higher ed. 1/4

Lots of people at the rally in New York! Josh Dubnau from Stony Brook gave the speech the moment demands: attacks on science funding are bad, but they’re downstream of fascism, and we need to fight the fascism even when we’re not the targets

Huge crowd at Stand up for Science

DOJ, HHS, ED, and GSA Announce Initial Cancellation of Grants and Contracts to Columbia University Worth $400 Million (government press release) www.gsa.gov/about-us/new...

Blatantly illegal. It's time to start fighting, universities. The pretexts will change, but they are coming for all of you.

This CDC "survey" getting sent to grantees is wild yall. This is some serious "Kiss my Ring" level bullshit.

In recognizing that lots of students (undergrads and grads) are unaware of the dire situation created by the recent executive / DOGE actions, I am trying to compile a list of how these will impact folks so I can make materials and spread the word and get more advocates. 1/2

So that's the beginning of the end for US Old Growth Forests then, prepare for massive biodiversity and carbon loss, here billed as the opposite www.whitehouse.gov/presidential... 🌎

Just extended the deadline to March 21 for this position in the Plant Phylogenomics group at the University of Vienna. It is sort of a "post doc plus" position funded for up to six years. Please reach out if you want to chat - I'd love to talk to you about it! jobs.univie.ac.at/job/Universi...