Using proximity labeling and a derivatized galectin-3, scientists in the lab of Professor Mia Huang mapped glycan–protein interactions that drive placental cell fusion, published in @pnas.org, offering new insight into placental development.

At the #JAWARDS2025, the San Diego Press Club (@sdpressclub.bsky.social) recognized Scripps Research’s Office of Marketing and Communications for excellence in science communication, with top honors in video production, magazine design and press release writing.

We’re just a few days away from Scripps Research Discovery Day at the Fleet Science Center! 🌟 This year’s event is shaping up to be even bigger, with 50+ graduate students and postdoctoral researchers leading interactive experiences in neuroscience, chemistry, immunology and more.

Just as we can distinguish between the sting of heat and the chill of cold, our immune system is finely tuned to detect a range of threats—from viruses and bacteria to allergens and injury—thanks to constant crosstalk between sensory neurons and immune cells.

Lights, camera, science! 🎬🔬🌟 Scripps Research Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Keary Engle, PhD, and postgraduate students Jia Meng Pang and Paige Bensing joined KUSI News to share a sneak peek of Discovery Day at the Fleet Science Center!

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $6.9M grant to four Scripps Research scientists led by Bryan Briney, PhD, with Renan de Carvalho, PhD, Andrew Ward, PhD, and Darrell Irvine, PhD, to uncover how HIV vaccines can generate long-lasting immune protection. More: ow.ly/UcZC50Xmczc

The Society for Neuroscience (@sfn.org) has honored Professor Li Ye @liye-tsri.bsky.social with the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Young Investigator Award for pioneering techniques that set new standards for studying neural activity, advancing how researchers visualize brain function. ow.ly/cLWK50Xm8qK

🚀 Congrats to Associate Professor @xinjin.bsky.social, who has been named the 2026 Peter Gruss Young Investigator by @mpfneuro.bsky.social, recognized for pioneering high-throughput in vivo Perturb-seq and illuminating how mutations shape the brain development and circuit function! ow.ly/1XTQ50Xkwf4

We’re thrilled to announce that Dr. Xin Jin has been named the 2026 Peter Gruss Young Investigator. Her pioneering work developing high-throughput in vivo screening strategies is unraveling the genetic mechanisms of neurodevelopmental disorders. buff.ly/RI9emVa

Wishing you a Happy Halloween from all of us at Scripps Research! 👻 🎃 This year’s Spooky Social Hour brought costumes, candy, and scary good fun to campus. Our faculty and staff showed off their Halloween spirit with ghoulish, clever, and downright fa-BOO-lous looks!

Scripps Research Prof. Luc Teyton has received a $3.2M grant from the NIDDK to study how VAFs—rare pancreatic cells involved in antigen presentation—may contribute to type 1 diabetes. In collaboration with Asst. Prof. Joseph Jardine, the team will examine how inflammation disrupts immune tolerance.

From skin to gut, the body is constantly interpreting signals—deciding what’s dangerous and what can be ignored. Inside the lab of Assistant Professor Alejandra Mendoza, researchers show how neurons and immune cells coordinate defense across barrier tissues. 🧵⬇️

Join us for the 2025 Welch Conference on Chemical Research, “New Horizons in Drug Discovery,” Oct. 27-28 in-person or virtually. The event is completely free! Find more information here: welch1.org/conference/c...

Long before a medicine reaches a pharmacy, hospital, or clinic, it begins inside a lab like those at Scripps Research. Here, scientists spend years turning discoveries into new therapies, leading to more than 15 FDA-approved treatments that have helped people worldwide. More: ow.ly/qPXy50Xjc18

Ines Forrest, Ph.D., didn’t have a clear career path growing up. As part of a military family, her constant travels sparked a wide array of interests, including science. But it was the loss of her aunt to cancer in middle school that inspired her to dedicate her life to scientific research.

Assistant Professor Alejandra Mendoza (@thepenkpanther.bsky.social) is building a lab culture where discovery—and people—can thrive. 🔬🌟 Honored with this year’s Outstanding Mentor Award, she shares her mentorship style, advice for young scientists, and love of antiques in Scripps Research Magazine.

Tune in virtually Oct 27–28 for the 2025 Welch Conference—which includes Dr. Peter Schultz & Dr. Stuart Schreiber! Hosted by Dr. Kevan Shokat, with leading scientists exploring “New Horizons in Drug Discovery.” 🎥 Free to join: cvent.me/Evevn8

Every breakthrough begins with education, and as Scripps Research marks 100 years, we look back on a legacy of discovery and forward to a future shaped by training tomorrow’s scientific leaders. Read more: ow.ly/8ekN50XbXG9

In a recent study, scientists at Scripps Research used AI and advanced imaging techniques to identify antibody candidates in under 24 hours—an approach that could speed up efforts to fight viruses like flu and HIV. More: ow.ly/leVE50XbWen

New in @nature.com: The brainstem may hold an “off switch” for chronic pain. Research co-led by neuroscientist Ann Kennedy (@antihebbiann.bsky.social) reveals how the parabrachial nucleus can silence persistent pain signals when survival demands it, hinting at new ways to treat chronic pain.

Congrats to @ardemp.bskyverified.social, @liye-tsri.bsky.social & @xinjin.bsky.social on receiving the NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award! In collaboration with the @alleninstitute.org, the team will decode interoception and create the first atlas of how sensory neurons connect to organs.

Researchers have long wondered how type 1 diabetes begins. New findings from Scripps Research identified unique cells with protective properties that may help explain this early tolerance and offer clues for intervention.

Macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel) gradually damages light-sensing cells in the retina, leading to vision loss. Scripps Research helped uncover its cause—and supported the first FDA-approved implant to treat it. 🧵

The NIH has awarded a $14.2M Director’s Transformative Research Award to a team led by Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist @ardemp.bskyverified.social, Prof. @liye-tsri.bsky.social and Assoc. Prof. @xinjin.bsky.social to map interoception and build the first atlas of this hidden sixth sense.

Finally out: our recent work with Nick Betley is a view into how the brain reshapes its behavior in the face of competing survival needs- and also a potential angle on treatment targets for enduring pain. A brief rundown... www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A new @pnas.org study from Marco Mravic’s lab describes a computer-guided strategy to design synthetic membrane proteins, revealing how a conserved amino acid motif forms stabilizing hydrogen bonds that help proteins stay folded in lipid, even under boiling conditions.

Former Scripps Research assistant professor Shimon Sakaguchi has been awarded the 2025 #NobelPrize for discovering regulatory T cells—work that reshaped immunology and inspired therapies now in clinical trials for cancer, autoimmune disease and transplant complications.

The Fall 2025 edition of Scripps Research Magazine is here—featuring how the Skaggs Graduate School is enhancing graduate education in chemical and biological science and features alumni whose contributions are advancing discoveries across academia, industry and beyond.

In this episode of “Brain Inspired,” @braininspired.bsky.social talks to @antihebbiann.bsky.social, who argues that molecular signaling, like protein expression, controls innate brain responses to varying environmental contexts. #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/brain-inspir...

#DidYouKnow: Your gut is home to trillions of microbes that help shape your immune system 🧫 In our next Front Row lecture, Scripps Research professor Howard Hang will explore how microbial metabolites influence immunity and what this means for treating infection, cancer and chronic inflammation.

Actively hiring! Video made by Sora-2 but the job post is 100% real. Apply here: hhmi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...

Scripps Research Associate Prof. Xin Jin (@xinjin.bsky.social) has been named one of only 30 @hhmi.org Freeman Hrabowski Scholars, recognized for advancing genomic tools—including in vivo Perturb-seq—to map how genes shape brain circuits and uncover clues to neurological disease and brain health.

In back-to-back @science.org and @nature.com studies, Phil Baran’s lab reveals a radical cross-coupling method using sulfonyl hydrazides—enabling seven new reactions, pharma adoption, and the ability to retain about 90% of a molecule’s 3D shape. More at: ow.ly/CAh450X1Qmt

Congrats to Scripps Research Prof. @donnablack.bsky.social on being elected to @raeng.org.uk for her work in developing Reaction Progress Kinetic Analysis (RPKA) and research in molecular chirality—shaping both drug development and our understanding of life’s chemical origins. ow.ly/uefs50X1exY

The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT), a brain region linked to stress, may explain why people relapse even when alcohol no longer feels rewarding. A recent study from Scripps Research shows it activates when alcohol relieves withdrawal, driving negative reinforcement in the brain.

Wearables like Apple Watch & Fitbit may help monitor pregnancy. ⌚️ A study in @ebiomedicine.bsky.social led by Giorgio Quer & Tolúwalàṣẹ Àjàyí (@laseajayi.com) found heart rate tracked by wearables aligned with hormone changes, offering potential for early detection and improved remote care access.

The wait is almost over—#IBDCuttingEdge2025 starts tomorrow! Join @scrippshealth.bsky.social, @ucsdmedschool.bsky.social & @crohnscolitisfdn.bsky.social for a three-day CME event on translational science, clinical trials, surgery & drug discovery in IBD care. 🎟️ Secure your spot: ow.ly/4FPU50VFUGW

In our last Front Row, Travis Young, PhD, shared how Scripps Research is developing switchable CAR-T cells that activate only with a companion molecule. The design could help prevent neurological side effects and enable retreatment without reengineering. Watch the full lecture: ow.ly/TQAq50WYqrQ

A new study reveals how regulatory T cells in the skin modulate pain—not just immune responses—by releasing enkephalins that act on sensory neurons. The work, led by Scripps Research Assistant Professor Alejandra Mendoza (@thepenkpanther.bsky.social) uncovers a neuromodulatory role for Tregs.

Scripps Research scientists combine cryoEM with the graphical neural network-based structure building tool, ModelAngelo, to identify monoclonal antibodies from polyclonal responses—reducing discovery time from weeks to under a day while improving accuracy and scalability for therapeutic development.

📣 We’re just days away from #IBDCuttingEdge2025 —a three-day CME event exploring the future of IBD care: translational science, clinical trials, surgery, and multidisciplinary models led by top experts. Join us: 📅 Sept 19–21, 2025 📍Coronado, CA 🎟️ ow.ly/v6qx50VFLVm

Our next Front Row lecture: Prof. Benjamin Cravatt will explain how his large-scale protein profiling research and innovative chemical technologies are helping identify novel drugs for therapeutic targets previously deemed ‘undruggable.’ 💻 Virtual: ow.ly/43J250WWar8 📍 In-person: ow.ly/7aBj50WWaqS

Meet Katie Russell, president of the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation 👋 In our Q&A, “On doing good: Katie Russell,” she shares the foundation’s legacy, its focus on supporting young investigators, and why its partnership with Scripps Research is so meaningful.

After many years of work I’m so happy to share our work on #scienceimmunology on how Treg cells modulate nociception to dampen skin inflammation! My handle will make a lot more sense now!🕵🏻‍♀️

Next week, Scripps Research scientists Amy Lightner, Michael Bollong & Arnab Chatterjee will speak at #IBDCuttingEdge2025, sharing insights on regenerative medicine, clinical trials, and drug discovery in IBD. Join us next week, Sept 19–21 | 📍 Coronado, CA 🎟️ Register now: ow.ly/xPsK50VFU8L

Are you attending the 2025 #ScrippsResearchBiotechInnovationSummit? Meet the speakers for this year’s program and see what’s in store 👇

From molecule to medicine, guests explored Calibr-Skaggs’ drug discovery pipeline at #ScienceinAction, where researchers showed how discoveries made at @scripps.edu are tested and developed into real-world therapeutics at Calibr-Skaggs. More at: frontrow.scripps.edu/lectures/tra...

When you support research, here’s what you make possible 🧵⬇️

We’re in the final countdown—#IBDCuttingEdge2025 is just weeks away! This three-day CME conference will cover clinical trials, new therapies, surgical strategies & multidisciplinary IBD care—led by national & international experts. Join us Sept 19–21! 🎟️https://ow.ly/v6qx50VFLVm

A look back at last year’s inaugural Scripps Research Biotech Innovation Summit 🔬🌟 Investors, scientists and biotech leaders gathered for a day of panels, early-stage tech showcases and 1:1 partnering to explore how science drives real-world impact. 📸 See the full recap at: ow.ly/Ey3J50WN8Ue