Our new tool for automating the quantification of synapses (or any other fluorescent puncta) in C. elegans is published- please try it out!! journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...

“Terrible things are happening outside. Poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart. Men, women, and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared.” Diary of Anne Frank January 13, 1943

🚀 NY-CURES Launch — Championing State-Wide Investment in Science! 🚀 Our new coalition advocates for sustained public support of New York’s vibrant biomedical research ecosystem — creating cures, economic gains & strengthening communities. Sign up. Stay informed. Join the movement: www.nycures.org/

While I’m a big fan of new technologies that help us study human biology…there’s still no replacement for animal research! See my article in Gen News. www.genengnews.com/topics/trans...

If someone had said, “Who cares how desert lizard venom works? Let’s not fund that research,” we never would have discovered semaglutide, a key component of drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic, which have helped millions of Americans lose weight.

Important update about local impacts of funding cuts. Depressing but compelling... Thanks to @joshuasweitz.bsky.social and his team for putting this together. scienceimpacts.org

The National Science Foundation is critical to our future, but Trump wants to cut it by $5 billion. Here are 5 things we wouldn't have today if it wasn't for the NSF.

"Our calculations suggest that the proposed budgetary cuts to the NIH will create a social cost that is 16 times greater than the savings that the administration is attempting to achieve." jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

🧪 Basic science boosts the economy: "The proposed dismantling of NSF [and NIH] raises an urgent question: do these cuts actually save money or merely delay spending until the bill gets larger? The answer is clear: these cuts will cost the economy billions."

important historical perspective on the value of federal funding of basic research at universities: "These are the building blocks of America's extraordinary strength, created over the last 100 years, and they are now being dismantled in 100 days" 🧪 www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qk4...

Ever wonder how many lives have been saved by NIH-funded research - including your own? Enter any medical condition and instantly see how your tax dollars transformed science into survival. www.ourhealthroi.com

The NYT wants you to think universities became dependent on government. This is false. The government invested in the national research infrastructure by competitive grants to universities. The taxpayers built this. It got us to the moon. Won the Cold War. Created Silicon Valley. Made the McRib.

FACULTY JOB ALERT! The Albert Einstein Dept of Neuroscience is hiring a new assistant professor in any area of neuroscience! We have funds specifically earmarked for this search. #Neuroscience #AcademicJobs #NeuroSky Job just posted: faculty-einstein.icims.com/jobs/17175/f... Please share widely!!

🚨 Everyone needs to call their Dem Senator right now. They are starting to cave. Tell them: 1. Vote NO on Cloture AND 2. Vote NO on the Republican spending bill. Don’t let them pivot to reconciliation. GOP doesn’t need Dem votes on that and they know it. TODAY is the showdown. 🤳🏽: (202) 224-3121

Finally, those of us with Blue State Senators have something we can do- call your Senator (especially those of you with centrist Democrats!) and tell them to vote NO on the dirty CR that lets Trump/Musk keep gutting the govt. A full shutdown will show that Dems have a spine and are not OK with this!

WHERE WILL YOU BE ON MARCH 7TH!? Head to www.standupforscience2025.org/local-event-information/ or the link in our bio to find your closest event—or add one if you're hosting one! #standupforscience2025

This is the type of work being conducted at research institutions across the country (including in our lab, which conducts research on similar disorders through the same amazing program), that are now being disrupted by the administration's executive orders. www.youtube.com/watch?v=At2d...

Interested in career development and postdoctoral training opportunities at Einstein? Registration is now open for the second EDGE (Einstein Dialogues in Graduate Education) symposium for senior #phd students. Register by March 1 at #postodoclife Visit bit.ly/3Wa6G1C to register.

➡️ January 20: FAA director fired ➡️ January 21: Air Traffic Controller hiring frozen ➡️ January 22: Aviation Safety Advisory Committee disbanded ➡️ January 28: Buyout/retirement demand sent to existing employees ➡️ January 29: First American mid-air collision in 16 years Making America Great Again!

Our newest preprint is out: an automated code-free method developed for quantifying synapses in C. elegans (but also useful for other fluorescent puncta/organisms!) that we're calling "WormSNAP" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #wormfeed #neuropapers

Our newest paper is out! Congratulations to lead author @elisafrankel.bsky.social! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #Neuroscience #WormFeed #NeuroPapers #Celegans

Interested in doing a postdoc in NYC? Registration is now open for the second EDGE symposium for senior Ph.D. students, hosted by the Department of Neuroscience. Registration deadline is March 1. The event takes place in NYC on May 7. Visit bit.ly/3Wa6G1C to learn more and register.

First lab paper is officially published! journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

New paper out from the lab! We propose a new model for how synapses are initially pre-assembled, prior to the arrival of cell adhesion molecules (it involves protein-lipid interactions!). Also propose a role for that pesky short gamma neurexin isoform... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...