Pacheco & @drericabiophd.bsky.social discuss new study from @jorgediazfuentes.bsky.social & @mayorlab.bsky.social (rupress.org/jcb/article/...) which reveals the distinct force-generating mechanisms used by epithelial and mesenchymal cells during collective cell migration rupress.org/jcb/article/...

#SuperbOwls San Francisco

Methionine metabolism and the NOP2 methyltransferase are essential for MYC-Driven liver tumorigenesis. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.28.702329v1

Some of the latest work from our lab from outstanding scientist Sensen Lin @ctbatucsf.bsky.social @ucsfcancer.bsky.social We find MYC- driven #livercancer are dependent on methionine metabolism. This includes a dependence on the ribosomal rRNA methyltransferase NOP2 that is a MYC target. 🧪

Each Friday night, I write about what happened in US science & higher ed. 🧪 Year 2, Week 6: Feb 6 - civil servants face Schedule F - NSF disappoints on pre & postdoc research fellowships - Oklahoma ends tenure - Dept of Ed Civil Rights Office fails & much more - buttondown.com/liminalcreat...

Today 2/6 at 4pm: Friday Cancer Center Seminar Series @ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social | Isaac Chan, MD, PhD from UT Southwestern Medical Center presents "Using innate barriers to treat metastatic breast cancer" Hosted by @andreigoga.bsky.social Info: cancer.ucsf.edu/seminars

Each Friday night, I write about what happened in US science & higher ed. 🧪 This was Year 2, Week 4: - Dept of Ed ends legal defense of threats to strip $$ from schools w/ DEI programs - sweeping new changes to univ governance in VA - US leaves WHO & so much more - buttondown.com/liminalcreat...

Amazing hike in Marin Headlands with the @gladstoneinst.bsky.social hiking challenge group. 7 miles of gorgeous view. Now everything hurts.

Each Friday, I write a briefing on what is happening to American science & higher ed. 🧪 This was Year 2, Week 2: - science budgets avoid catastrophic cuts, but NOT okay - vaccination schedule hijacked & kids will suffer - university mergers in Oregon & so much more buttondown.com/liminalcreat...

Best TikTok thing going is the two dudes trying food from every country without leaving NYC. If you haven’t seen them yet, it’s incredible. My favorite so far is last week’s. Legit got me emotional.

Before CRISPR (at the Kyoto Manga Museum)

Bay Area storms brings an unmoored boat to Crissy Field #ggnra this morning.

During a power outage in San Francisco on Saturday, Waymo's robotaxis suddenly froze in their tracks. This won't be the last time that driverless cars go awry, writes Patrick George.

Failed Waymo robot blocking emergency services during a widespread emergency: Grant St at Sacramento, heart of Chinatown, San Francisco I've been warning about this scenario for ~7 yrs. Safety drivers fix this in seconds. SFPD will prob have to drive this out of the way. OP:tiktok.joolyana

Crazy evening in San Francisco. Power outage for nearly half the city tonight. Saw five @waymo.bsky.social cars stopped in the middle of the streets, apparently unable to operate and blocking traffic. A clear danger to safety. Should be investigated @gavinnewsom.bsky.social

"She'd rather return her attention to her ongoing investigations, which she's confident could eventually save lives." Wouldn't we all? A well-told story of one PI and one lab, that reflects many stories right now.

Thanks to Dr. McNeely @phdmarie.bsky.social for profiling our work and putting together such an awesome podcast on scientists--the people behind the work. #STEM And now that #Basal and #Tuft are quasi famous.... will have to post them here. ;)

Do not pick the mushrooms. They are not a gift of the Atmospheric River. They are not friendly. They will melt your liver. (That is not a metaphor.) apnews.com/article/pois...

A terrible tragedy for the UCSF community. As a medical oncology fellow I had my weekly continuity clinic at Ward 86 building. Always fantastic and caring staff and the kindest patient population. I’m so sad this tragedy occurred. sfstandard.com/2025/12/06/s...

The Leading Edge Fellows gathered this week to celebrate Zara Weinberg, a beloved member of our community. Our 7th cohort of Leading Edge Fellows (2026) will be named in her honor. The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2. www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/

What a joy to host the one and only Jenn Prescher for a memorable seminar visit at Cornell Chemistry!!

Amazing weather in the Bay Area the past week. Here’s some wildlife spotted in San Francisco over the past few days. The coyote playing with stuffed animals is a highlight.

Most potential pet owners consider things like breeding, size, coat, intelligence, trainability, and temperament. Often overlooked is the crucially important element of aerodynamics, which can greatly affect your gas mileage, raising the overall cost of ownership significantly.

Personal good news alert: I’ve been promoted to associate professor and it’s time to update the ol’ bio! Launching my lab at UCSF has been a privilege + I’m so grateful to my team and community here. More exciting science ahead! 🚀

Fastest half - but still very slow…

The thing about professor stuff is that you’re never done and you’re always behind

The UCSF Breast Oncology Program is happy to partner with One More City and founder Christine O’Connell to support metastatic breast cancer research. This will be the 4th year that together with Rapha they have sponsored a century ride. @ucsfcancer.bsky.social @ctbatucsf.bsky.social

Why does the naked mole rat have the longest lifespan of any rodent, nearly 40 years? A 30-year long mystery unraveled @ScienceMagazine today! Its cGAS enzyme in cells has 4 missense mutations that upends its function, promoting DNA repair and suppressing inflammation www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

#Emerging #leader awards to developing faculty in #Cancerresearch are critical, especially in the current era of decreasing funding: 2024.themarkfoundation.org/an-emerging-...

We have a new #NCI Director who was just sworn in: www.nih.gov/news-events/...

Influencers are selling homeopathy as Tylenol “alternatives” — it’s NOT. ⚠️Homeopathy is a scam created in 1796 by a German guy with NO plausibility or evidence. Premise: 1️⃣ what causes a symptom will cure an illness w/the symptom 2️⃣ it’s more potent the more it’s diluted 1/

Karin Shamardani, DDS/PhD candidate, is working with Jeff Bush @jeffbush.bsky.social to study how Efnb1 and the understudied actin-regulator gene Shrm4 interact to control palatal outgrowth and mesenchymal organization during craniofacial development.

Kyle Jacobs, a Biomedical Sciences PhD candidate in the Kutys Lab, is studying mechanisms of blood vessel inflammation and how this inflammation is dysregulated in diseases like atherosclerosis.

Ting, a postdoc in the L’Etoile lab @girlsinscience.bsky.social, was recently awarded the BARI Postdoctoral Fellowship to study how nights of poor sleep contribute to age-related memory decline in tiny roundworms, which—like humans—also experience sleep loss and memory deterioration as they age.

Wrapping up National Postdoc Appreciation Week with a big thank you to our outstanding postdocs! #ucsfNPAW #UCSFpostdocs

Happy National Postdoc Appreciation Week! We are celebrating all the incredible postdocs in the CTB Department! Thank you for your dedication and the vital role you play in advancing research! We will be introducing some of the postdocs who have joined in 2025. #ucsfNPAW #UCSFpostdocs

From @shaynarubin and also well done Poseys and Giants!! Buster Posey, Giants raise $1.3M for pediatric cancer research at Oracle Park gala www.sfchronicle.com/sports/giant... via @sfchronicle

giants win while mets, padres, and cardinals all lose great day!

A mega-merger for #cancer #research:

Was my pleasure to moderate the panel today at the inaugural Female Fellows symposium “Balancing Acts”. An insightful, open and frank discussion on juggling a scientific career with caring, part time work and leave, and a real sense of solidarity.

Enjoyed the Physics of Life Symposium today @UCSF

New preprint! How are developmental cycles coordinated across cell types? It turns out that, like Geppetto's cuckoo clocks in the GIF below, individual cell types are each performing their own little crazy routine, but all in sync with each other.

We are thrilled that Hydronovo www.hydronovo.com has been awarded an NIH SBIR grant to develop Ceviginate, a new therapeutic for regenerating salivary gland function in debilitating xerostomia. The discoveries for this breakthrough come from the lab of Sarah Knox in CTB!

Beautiful day for the Head for the Cure 5k to raise funds, awareness and hope for the Kansas brain cancer community. What a turnout! Looks like there may have been nearly 2,800 participants towards a goal of raising $700,000. @kucancercenter.bsky.social

It’s my opinion that humanitarian and musical genius Dolly Parton (as well as Chef José Andrés) deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. tucson.com/life-enterta...

New work from stellar scientists Jeremy Williams and Roman Camarda. Many contributors including the amazing Zena Werb and Atul Butte Work explores how breast cancer cells interact directly with adipocytes via gap junctions, leading to lipid release. @ctbatucsf.bsky.social @ucsfcancer.bsky.social

The Department of Cell and Tissue Biology has outstanding graduate students from several different programs at UCSF. We are grateful! Over the next several weeks, we will highlight some of these students and share their research focus.

Alanine Catabolism as a Targetable Vulnerability for MYC-Driven Liver Cancer https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.29.667471v1

Our latest on cancer metabolism by star student Tonatiuh Montoya @ctbatucsf.bsky.social @ucsfcancer.bsky.social Liver cancers driven by the MYC oncogene are reliant on alanine metabolism. Alanine is the second most abundant amino acid and can partially substitute for glucose and glutamine. 🧪