As if it wasn’t already tough enough to get me to stop talking, now I’ll be giving a TedX talk. (But in all seriousness - very appreciative that Northwestern’s TedX is giving me this chance to talk about pediatric cancer.) @manneresearch.bsky.social

Did not expect to find instructions for cough syrup in one of our old cookbooks. Pretty sure coughing was the least of your worries after you took this. 😐

With continued uncertainty over federal government support for biomedical research, PhD students are struggling to find labs willing to take on new students, @jonathanwosen.bsky.social reports. New students are the future of US science. www.statnews.com/2026/01/30/f...

Signs that your office tends to be a little bit warm - the fact that your pineapple plant has started to fruit. During January. In Chicago.

She seems much less interested in the new episode of The Pitt than I am.

My (now) weekly update on 2026 NIH funding. New and competitive renewal awards. 3 new awards (compared to ~100 expected based on recent years). No new ICs... still just NIA, NINDS, NIDCD, and NIDCR. 1/2

Gold OA: the gift that keeps on giving

Read our full statement by AAP President Dr. Andrew Racine on today’s HHS announcement about the childhood immunization schedule: www.aap.org/en/news-room...

Every single one of the vaccines “no longer universally” recommended today, is something I have seen kids in the ICU for, several of which I’ve seen die despite heroic efforts by the #PedsICU team. Freed up beds allowed us to advance other care for children, accommodating return of vanquished

Scientists discovered cancer cells use interactive LINE-1 retrotransposon regions to reshape 3D genome architecture, enhancing oncogenic gene expression. This mechanism links LINE-1 activity to cancer development & highlights potential therapeutic targets. ow.ly/qVN650XS0MN

Introducing you all to @mishamehta.bsky.social who has spent tireless hours advocating for children with brain tumors, supporting researchers doing their work, and building community for other families. We are indebted to her: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r_7... #PEDCan #CanSky #CancerSurvivors

Note to self: in the future, remember that you store Halloween decorations in the creepy, dark space under the stairs of your 100 year old house *before* shining a flashlight in there.

Starting off the new year with cake - a peanut butter and jelly (and chocolate) cake to be precise. (Chocolate sponges, raspberry preserves, peanut butter Swiss buttercream, and homemade peanut brittle to be really precise.)

The NYE/wedding anniversary/birthday combo means it’s sushi time. (Not pictured: the rest of the sushi we ordered).

Tegan is celebrating the holidays using my favorite technique - napping so hard on the couch as to be indistinguishable from a potato.

The Akhtar Lab @manneresearch.bsky.social and Northwestern University @nufeinbergmed.bsky.social is hiring a full time RESEARCH TECHNICIAN. If you want to study neonatal HSV pathogenesis please send me a message and apply for the position here: luriechildrens.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/externalport...

I love academia, half your coworkers left yesterday evening and won't be back until Jan 6, the other half will frantically try to contact you at 8am on New Year's Day

Co-sign

AAP learned this week that seven grants to AAP under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are being terminated. The sudden withdrawal of these funds will directly impact and potentially harm infants, children, youth, and their families. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

SCOOP: American Academy of Pediatrics loses HHS funding after criticizing RFK Jr. Research included reducing sudden infant deaths and identifying autism early. Me and @Paigecunningham.Bsky.Social www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

Getting shown new, exciting (and pretty!) data to start my Wednesday, when I’m also feeling festive:

Annual holiday lab bake-off means I had to make an identical backup cake to keep at home, in addition to the one ‘competing’.

The NUCATS Mentored Career Development Program in Clinical and Translational Science (K12) is designed to train a strong workforce of investigators to drive future innovation and implement effective clinical and translational research. View the RFA — www.nucats.northwestern.edu/docs/cecd/k1...

And even more data showing fewer hospitals provide pediatric care. The situation is going to continue to deteriorate until we markedly overhaul how we pay for care of children. publications.aap.org/pediatrics/a...

The battles get even fiercer when your yard has about 11 inches of snowy cushioning.

My lab and I had the pleasure recently of being involved with a piece by the Children’s Hospital Association (@hospitals4kids) on the importance of investing in pediatric medical research. You can check it out here! youtu.be/NmNIgpVddNU #MomentsMadePossible

💬Viewpoint: Eliminating universal hepatitis B birth dose vaccination risks an estimated 8% increase in annual perinatal #HepatitisB infections in the US, increasing preventable chronic disease burden. ja.ma/3Me0zHh

Pls Repost: I am putting together an edition of “Methods in Molecular Biology” focused on early development, encompassing gastrulation. I am making a list of potential authors for chapters. If interested, please contact me - An excellent opportunity for trainees to co-author with their advisors.

Playing fetch in the deep snow really takes it out of you.

Thanksgiving math : 11 pieces of lamb for 2 people.

The indignation at not getting to lick the bowl of cheesecake batter earlier today is palpable.

May you live long enough to see your favorite angsty music as a teenager turn into a performance by the Lyric Opera.

We are witnessing a poisonous effort to destroy what the vast majority of Americans know is a key pillar of public health. Vaccines are responsible for 40% of the reduction in child mortality achieved in the last half century.

Wow

You read what you can, with an honest attempt at being comprehensive. If you missed something, hopefully the editors/reviewers will point it out. If they don't, well, it happens; a reader or the authors might mention it, and now you know. We haven't been able to "read everything" for many years.

Friday, Nov. 21 @ 12pm CT, Wendy Bickmore, PhD presents the Monthly Seminar on Physical Genomics live on Zoom: "Chromatin Folding And Gene Activation: From The Nucleosome To Transcription Hubs" Registration is free. Join us! tinyurl.com/f9njvnyu #chromatin #genomics #northwestern #biology #dna

Also, and not for nothing, I have zero idea how much my services cost.

Work email came out swinging this morning.

The 3D arrangement of DNA within a cell might influence the ability of a tumour to metastasise to specific locations.

Just as saving for retirement starts early, so should protecting your heart. A new study led by Sadiya Khan introduces a first-of-its-kind online calculator that to help younger adults forecast and understand their risk of a heart event over the next 30 years — bit.ly/4i8g13F

Mishearing of my first name has reached never before seen heights today.

as a physician, patient, and human, I can say that relieving pain is not “useless”

Notably different weather vibes down here in Boca Raton for #CTOS2025 compared to snow storms in Chicago.

Would like to know who I register a complaint with about this much snow before Thanksgiving.

So grateful that technology tells me the sort of thing that really matters at 11 PM for me and my airport uber driver - like where the nearest Sunglass Hut is.

All right, Philly, I’ll concede you make some compelling points on a beautiful fall day.

Co-pilot kept pushing to have me let it ‘analyze’ some data I put in a spreadsheet and generate a pathway diagram for me. I am very excited to report that I will now be focusing on ‘Signuling pathways’ and the role of the ‘cell cyrvcel’. Groundbreaking science to come!

Think we've got DNA all figured out? Nope. Researchers at Northwestern University say our genome has a geometric code, and we may be "living, breathing computational systems." 😲 H/T @kylemacquarrie.bsky.social @physgencenter.bsky.social @nuintmed.bsky.social kimbellard.medium.com/life-is-geom...

Scaling back DEI isn’t just a moral setback—it’s a loss of innovation. Bhalla, Trejo & @marymunson4.bsky.social in Nature Cell Biology: limiting who can participate in science “weakens research capacity and stifles discovery.” doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Putting on my trick or treating game face (/horns).