Happy Friday from Goosey and his fresh haircut! He’s a dapper lil gentleman now. Don’t let the grey hairs fool you. He is still a roly poly babydog.

Do not doubt that my lab would try this. I joked once that they could either do short talks or an interpretive dance about the fly brain circadian clock circuit. And they picked dance. There were props. One actor played the sun. 🧪😂🧠⏰💃

I will probably also need a lighting and sound crew, backup performers (dressed as neurons and signaling molecules), support personnel for set, choreo, and costumes, and at least two 12-hour dress rehearsals. Funding agencies pull up!

I like to talk to my dog about science in ways that are relatable to him. For example: Explaining that he must have good boy genes and cutie pants genes in the same topologically associated domain since they're both expressed at a high level. As you can see, he's v attentive. #sciencewithGoose

I don't watch football, but my understanding from BlueSky is that the winner of the Super Bowl was Bad Bunny, on behalf of all the Americas, and perhaps some football teams also played. I couldn't even tell you who.

Imprisoning children is child abuse. No matter how a child arrived in our country, we should not use government resources, taxpayer money, to abuse and traumatize children.

Are you an NJ-12 voter who works at Rutgers? Sign the petition for Sam to be on the ballot and let's get a pro-education, pro-science progressive representing my district! I'm collecting signatures and will meet you anywhere on the NB campus. #Rutgers #election #scientist #NJ 🧪

This applies in every discipline. Plenty of science conferences where everyone is sucking up to the Big Names and ignoring cool science and scientists from less prestigious institutions or countries. Be the person who welcomes everyone to your community, whatever it may be! #academicsky

“Maintenance? We don’t know her!” 💅🏼 ✨ -University Admin, presumably.

Sometimes I think, "At least I don't really spend money on clothes or shoes." Then I remember that I DO spend money on race entry fees (including the T-shirt) and running shoes. #SundayRunday

There are four more students from Liam's MN school district in federal detention in Dilley, TX, two of them from the same school as Liam. A second grader, a fourth grader, a fifth grader, and a high-schooler.

OH AND FOR EVERYONE SAYING “just let the billionaires fund science!” This is that. And look how it turned out!

You don’t want hands free driving, you want trains. You want trains you want trains you want TRAINS

Relatedly I wonder what are the current elite boys club networks still in existence in academia? Being a woman in this environment de facto feels like a virtue and a curse at once. The lightness of being unaware and untainted by such depravity; the alienation of always being the outsider looking in.

We could have 4 JWST’s or a science mission at every planet. The NIH could be funded for two years. Or 1.5 years or so of USAID funding, if it still existed. This is how they’re spending our tax dollars. This is our money.

This is an important paper on social class barriers among faculty in academia. First-generation college grads earn less and are placed at lower prestige institutions despite being just as productive as other faculty. Faculty from upper class backgrounds are overplaced for their research records.

Science: U.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took office By Jeffrey Mervis, Monica Hersher @science.org @policyhound.bsky.social @mghersher.bsky.social bit.ly/3M8yf9B

Provocative! Not all scientists will want to hear this. I agree with many points. In parallel to emphasis on better communication, I hope we’ll begin conversations about maintaining integrity. asteriskmag.com/issues/13/th...

Good for Philly! I remember when these displays went up. They're in the heart of colonial Philadelphia and share powerful historical information. www.audacy.com/kywnewsradio...

Overheard from my student: My PI looks absolutely gorgeous today! Me: 👀 Student continues: Every cell is labeled perfectly! Ohhhhh…she’s talking about the pars intercerebralis! 🤣 🧠

🚨 New from me: Grant review at more than half of NIH's institutes could be frozen by the end of the year. That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027. A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications. A short 🧵

This isn't just near Independence Hall. It's where Washington stayed while president, kept slaves, posted bounty ads for runaways, and rotated them back and forth to VA to evade PA's manumission law. This is what it's known for, this specific location's primary historical significance is slavery.

I'm thrilled to announce that my lab passed their annual safety inspection with ZERO (0) violations or notes for further follow-up. That has never happened before! 😂 There's always some new form or protocol that we didn't realize we needed to implement.

This is one of many examples of how we name and talk about things, even in quantitative disciplines, ends up shaping the way both scientists and the public thing and talk about them.

Winter Adventure Boy was defeated by the 9 degree Fahrenheit weather this morning and had to spend an hour in the electric fleece blanket to recover after his 12 minute walk.

The ADA Final Rule requires accessibility for: -All online course content -Digital materials used for in-person courses -Content provided by publishers Historically, I have made PDFs of my slide decks available to students on Canvas. This year I won't be. Why not? #academicsky 1/n

Winter Adventure Boy wanted to go to the park this morning, even after a 15 minute walk on the sidewalks! We didn’t go to the park, tho. His feet do get chilly, even in the boots, because he goes cavorting in the deep snow. ❄️ 🐶

I love snow runs! As long as it’s not icy, I’m outside. #sundayrunday

Only 3 days until the incoming governor snubs the NJ capitol city to hold her inauguration in Newark. I guess money talks and Trenton will continue to be hollowed out by state government shenanigans. #trentonmakes #stategovtakes

There is a precedent for a person getting someone else's Nobel Prize. In 1943, the Norwegian writer Knut Hamsun, gave his Nobel Prize in literature to Joseph Goebbels uwapress.uw.edu/book/9780295...

Perhaps the Daruma-dog will bring the lab luck for the new year! Goose is a tolerant boy who doesn’t mind wearing outfits as long as he gets attention.

Most iPSC lines come from European donors. Now, two teams in Africa are studying neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration using iPSCs and organoids from African donors. By Lauren Schenkman www.thetransmitter.org/cellular-neu...

I read 105 books in 2026. Like study sections and pizza consumption, I've tracked and rated every book I've read for over a decade and I share the spreadsheet with my friends. Here are my top 8 favorite books I read for the first time in 2025 (doesn't mean published in 2025, not in rank order): 💙📚

This is who you’re asking to answer emails after three weeks away. 😑 (Photo taken at Tokyo National Museum).

Back from 12 glorious laptop free days in Hong Kong and Tokyo. Traveled with a friend to meet up with more friends for a wedding. A whirlwind of friends, food, hiking, and touristy stuff! 💜

26.5 hours later and it’s still Friday. I’m in NJ at least, but still not home…

Forever Friday begins…it’s Friday morning in Tokyo and it will *still* be Friday when I land in Newark in 28-ish hours. 🫠

I survived the most dangerous place in Tokyo. Not the Shibuya crossing - the 12 floor Itoya store! 💸

The district court injunction that prevented NIH from capping indirects at 15% was upheld today on appeal! www.reuters.com/world/trump-...

2026 Day 2: Already climbed a mountain. Did go across from Mont High West to Victoria Peak and took the tram down. 😅

As a girl constantly gaming my hydration to avoid being caught without a bathroom, I’m ready to pick up and move to Hong Kong just for the public toilets. Free. Everywhere. Cleaned multiple times daily. Stocked with paper products and soap. I would vote for any politician promising this in my city.

A sunrise run in a new place is always my favorite! And a good re-entrainment strategy for this very jet lagged chronobiologist. Scenes from the Bowen Road trail in Hong Kong.

Not gonna let the Hessians take the Dunkin! #battleoftrenton #patriotsweek

Merry Christmas from Goose and the Chaos Crew at Chez Barbèr!

Everyone’s in their pajamas and waiting for Santa! 🎄

Grannika’s little elves are here to help make Christmas cookies! 🍪 🧑‍🎄 🤶 🎄

💜

Husband: Goose’s sweater makes him look like a hamburger. Me: It does not! Husband: 🐶 🍔 📸

We have a new initiative to make all material on the online learning platform accessible to low-vision students. Good plan, right? Except...there will be absolutely no admin support for this. Every individual professor needs to DIY, including alt text on any uploaded slideshows. #academicsky

This made me laugh because imagine science reporters breathlessly repeating everything from our grants