Ok, but since then even more of the local dance community have started to learn some small everyday signs to be able to interact with me better in the loud dance rooms 😭💜 And yes, the CODA and I are friends despite our age gap. Communication transcends age :) I'm so grateful for this community!

🚨 Requesting help: I am looking for an agent who can facilitate more speaking gigs, podcast appearances, and interviews with journalists I want to more widely share my story and expertise as a trans geneticist who understands the reality and complexity of "biological sex" 🏳️‍⚧️🧬 Please signal boost?

Requesting an interpreter and not getting one always stings a bit. Socials in densely packed bars are equally difficult to poster sessions. I am excited, in this regard, to get back home to an asl community where going out still means we can converse with one another.

Also, I am HoH so I walk around w/ headphones on because I can't hear people talking w/out lip reading in these spaces. That said... If you see me: wave, tap my shoulder, and I am *super* happy to meet and chat with people whenever I'm out and about :)! #SICB2026

Some people are also born deaf/HoH, have had injuries (like ruptured eardrums) that cause hearing impairment, and so much more! Inclusion increases the people that can nerd out with you about your science :)

If you're at #SICB2026 I've got a poster this afternoon! Stop on by to chat about how cool #wobbegong #sharks are, #biomechanics, and more! #BestShark #anatomy #physiology #biomechanics #StationaryHolding

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2026 can bring joy and happiness to people 💜

Maine survey shows trans students face double the threats and violence as their peers mainemorningstar.com... #transgender #trans #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA

Grading and googling hallucinated citations, as one does nowadays, and now that LLMs have been around for a while, I've discovered new horrors: hallucinated journals are now appearing in Google Scholar with dozens of citations bc so many people are citing these fake things

Chatting with a dance friend tonight. It was a few weeks ago that I realized from Nov to Nov I took basically no time off. Told him the burnout for Phd's is high and most dream of a bakery back-up. He immediately said, so yours is a dance bakery Ya'll!!! The accuracy 😂

Happy #WobbegongWed! Today is a reminder, because this photo is making rounds again: The #fish on the left is a teleost fish called a monkfish, while the #shark on the right is a tasselled #wobbegong. Easy to confuse, but the image on the left, I promise, is NOT a wobbegong shark <3.

Texas' new 'bathroom bill' is about to be law. What does it mean for you? www.chron.com/cultur... #transgender #trans #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA

Absolutely no one saw this coming or warned of it in the early days *cough cough*. studyfinds.org/chatgpts-hal...

Absolutely no one saw this coming or warned of it in the early days *cough cough*. studyfinds.org/chatgpts-hal...

Apparently everyone on bluesky today: baseball!!! ⚾️ Me tonight: becoming a ghost at open gym 👻 😂

Today, I saw someone stumble and almost trip. I immediately asked if she was ok. She said yes, took a small pause, her facial expression softened and she said, "thank you for asking". This isn't a 'I'm a good person' post. This is a 'why aren't more people treating others with softness' post.

Why is my version of 'relaxing' just learning non-work related new things? Lol I'm supposed to be resting, hard to do with walking pnaumonia from a sinus infection, and my version of 'rest' is learning a new language - I'm at elementary level now 😅. Are other people like this too?

I appreciate ya'll 💜

Reading papers is a basic skill (and dare I say duty?) of scientists, and I include medical doctors in that group. Keeping abreast of the literature is a foundational part of our professions. There aren’t good shortcuts. In any case, reading papers regularly is fun. arstechnica.com/ai/2025/09/s...

"In a landmark study, OpenAI researchers reveal that large language models will always produce plausible but false outputs, even with perfect data, due to fundamental statistical and computational limits." www.computerworld.com/article/4059...

this is a comic for kids, but we don't skimp on the science. (And one day I'll remember the emoji for the feeds) 🧪🔭

2 weeks ago I learned that someone at a dance social is a CODA because the person saw me signing a song. This past weekend we are signing, now, inside jokes about songs we like and dislike, lesson funnies, and more. I love this so much, both the dance and deaf community 🤟

Me: why is my laptop moving at a snail's pace? Also me: transferring large files, R open, StereoMorph running, 5 tabs with papers, and more Woops 😅

I'm trying to post more to instagram (healthy mix of science, day in a life, dance, all things that are 'me'. I will not be cross-posting. So, you can find me at the same handle over there. These are my only 2 social media platforms lol. At least for now.

Having a very uncommon food allergy usually means I don't have to worry as much about this specific consumable. On the flip side, it also means no one warns me before serving because they aren't even aware someone *could* be allergic to it. Fun times racing home for meds this afternoon 😅

Yesterday was my 1 year anniversary of my top surgery! This whole year I've been a happier, healthier, more "me" me because of it! I had fought in 3 states, over 8 years to make it happen. I am still elated every day when I wake up from the happiness it brings :). #trans #TransJoy #TransInSTEM 🏳️‍⚧️

I'm a trans, queer, disabled, neurodivergent, nontraditional scientist and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I will continue community building, outreach, and more. I've been 'out' looong before lgbtq+ marriage was legal, been legally denied housing for being trans, and more. I'm not done yet.

Do you want to learn how to be a scientist and discover what life was like on Earth a long, long time ago? 🎉NEW project just launched for kindergarten kids in ASL, English & Spanish! 🎥 Videos 📝 Vocabulary sheets 📄 Worksheets 🎨 Coloring pages 👉 Explore now: www.colorado.edu/cumuseum/how...

I try to live by the "give people their flowers while their alive" motto. Someone (not assuming a gender) had an awesome shade of blue weaved into their braids. I told them I loved their hair. They beamed and said, "Thank you, I really needed that". Give people their flowers, we all need them.

Is it still burnout if you still love your thesis topic but all the roadblocks are burning you out? Or is that called something else? Asking for a friend....I'm the friend...

Download our database of POSTDOC fellowships for cancer research/oncology in the US. We found 46 different fellowships. For each entry, we provide link, description, deadline, amount, eligibility criteria. Good luck! Here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...

Woke up and read an article that said someone expected 80% of jobs to be replaced by AI in the next 10 years...and that the trick is to continue to learn until retirement. I love learning (see being a grad student). I *want* to be taught, gain skills, and better understand things.

The current reality as told by others...

The current reality as told by others...

The authors report that all seven tested deep learning models failed to outperform simple baselines in predicting transcriptome changes after single or double perturbations. I will duck for cover.

I've leaned a lot more into dance, friends, and prioritizing an hour of outside in the sun over the last bit now. It's made a difference but still the worry is there. I hope everyone is finding things and/or people to help ground them right now. 🤟 Drop a line of what's helping you! #academia

I don't know any Phd students or Post docs that feel calm right now. We are not okay while watching positions disappear, seeing friends get dropped from programs instantly, and many are job hunting while working their 60hr weeks in case they wake up to an email cutting funding.

My PhD research questionnaire is now live! forms.gle/HEPBswqzswGi... Looking for those who: 1. identify as #nonbinary in the broadest sense 2. live or have lived in the UK (any point between 1990-2020) 3. aged 15+ (adult consent required to participate) Open until 23/09/2025. More info below! 👇

I don't know any Phd students or Post docs that feel calm right now. We are not okay while watching positions disappear, seeing friends get dropped from programs instantly, and many are job hunting while working their 60hr weeks in case they wake up to an email cutting funding.

Loud & Proud Music Festival (organized by Candrika & J., with the help of MANY friends) is up for City Paper's BEST MUSIC FESTIVAL. 🌈 This is a grassroots LGBTQ+ fest, and winning this would go a long way toward gaining support for our fundraising efforts. posting.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/B...

Me: Having a dance competition at the end of the month that I'm nervous about Also me: What is literally every dance night possible between now and then (as if it's possible to 'cram' for a dance competition...LOL...it is not btw) I really miss fusion comps, was never nervous for those lol

Hey hey, this is my cousin, James Dommek. He fricking rocks (as do all his siblings). He wrote a book and co-produced the audiobook version. Hulu picked it up and it'll be out this September! I can't tell from the story if it's an episode or a miniseries or a movie, but I'm looking forward to it!

Ahhhh, #wobbegong #sharks are all over the Alien Shark episode! I'm so happy they made another Alien Shark episode! And yes, wobbegong sharks have been known to eat other sharks, but their primary diets usually consist of teleost fishes and cephalopods.

Okay, while I'm catching up some Shark Week episodes, I'll join a trend. One like = one random #shark fact (Warning, typos are likely as I often have typos via mobile and am doing this with a drink in hand 😂)

Dyk: many aquariums use positive reinforcement training to train their elasmobranchs for feeding. This keeps the aquarists and animals safer during these interactions. Sharks are highly trainable and learn very quickly! 🧪 🦈 🐟 🦑 #shark #skate #ray

𝑀𝑜𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑎 𝑦𝑎𝑟𝑎, a new cryptic species of Manta Ray, is described from the Western Atlantic Ocean. The existence of an undescribed manta ray species has been suggested for over 15 years and is now formally described. 🐟🧪 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

One of the Shark Week shows tonight is “great white invasion,” which implies that sharks are newly moving into an area where they do not belong. Which is, obviously, not the case. If a shark walks down Main Street give me a call. But a shark in the ocean? That’s where they’re supposed to be!