This is such a wonderful study!

A 60 second video clip of Episode 5 in which we chronicle the fascinating story behind Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) and of Adam Heller the man who built technologies that advanced these devices.

🔬 New research from the @anideshpande.bsky.social Deshpande lab at Sanford Burnham Prebys. The study demonstrates how public genomic screening data can be used to uncover a new genetic vulnerability in synovial sarcoma. 👏 Shout out to Rema Iyer, PhD lead author of the manuscript.

Really excited that our manuscript on Synovial Sarcoma is now online. Link to Open Access PDF: tinyurl.com/55bnssws A summary🧵 :

Sugar is the fuel of life, but we are drowning in it in the modern world. Where does all that excess sugar go, and what quiet damage might it be causing inside us?

I’m excited to share that as of July 1, I’ve been promoted to Full Professor. I am immensely grateful for the support of my trainees, mentors, letter writers and colleagues who supported me in reaching this milestone and for those who made this journey meaningful and worthwhile.

Atul Butte died yesterday. The world lost a giant. A big bear of a man. With a huge smile. With love for everyone. With energy that could power a room. I loved everything about Atul. I loved how he was always happy. I loved how excited he was about science and helping people.

Always a bittersweet moment when a PhD student from the lab graduates.Terrific work and what a thesis defense talk Rema Iyer ! Congratulations on your degree!

Science is under attack. The NIH, the NSF, and our research universities. So today, I have a message for America's scientists: youtu.be/MeoZDPy5cIY?...

David Liu @harvard.edu beautifully articulates the criticality of basic science funding for developing revolutionary therapeutics like life-saving base editors 👏 youtu.be/8YhJM6zxYDw?...

Venoms can kill, but can they also heal? Here's Episode 3 of The Discovery Dialogues Podcast 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗲: tinyurl.com/u7p3r8n9 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆: tinyurl.com/mryvvjsr 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲: tinyurl.com/bswzh583

In this episode, we talked with @anideshpande.bsky.social from @sbpdiscovery.bsky.social about his work on epigenetic regulation and developing small molecules through high throughput screens for AML. #epigenetics #podcast #chromatin #cancer #leukemia Listen here: activemotif.com/podcasts-ani...

We live in such a golden age of science with so much potential for discovery and alleviating some of the most severe human diseases. And we are going to piss it all away because … I’m not exactly sure why. No one has made a convincing case why this helps anyone, red or blue or purple.

As someone who covered both: -NIH cuts came first; there is some news exhaustion; - “Curing cancer” is an easier story to tell than the varied domains funded by NSF, and easier for citizens to find applicable; - You’re not going to like this, but people don’t know what “science” is.

I’m fascinated by scientific breakthroughs that were universally hailed in the moment, like pasteurization, that are now vilified by some people. Is this a uniquely American thing? Anybody written a book about why/how this happens? Like the psychology behind it. I’d love to learn more.

Ben Franklin on inoculation, after his son died from smallpox. “In 1736, I lost one of my sons, a fine boy of four years old, by the small-pox, taken in the common way. I long regretted bitterly, and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation”.

Every now again it’s useful to repeat advice about accessing papers that are behind a paywall that excludes you. Email the author. My estimate is that 90% of academics are so thrilled that a living, breathing, possibly even reading, person shows interest that they will swiftly send you a copy.

In Episode 2 of the Discovery Dialogues Podcast, we recount the fascinating story of the race to clone the first human gene. Featuring Herb Boyer and Keiichi Itakura. 🎥YouTube: tinyurl.com/4x7fkzzu 🎧 Spotify: tinyurl.com/3af8zrt8 🎧 Apple Podcasts: tinyurl.com/2st95bb9

I feel like the conference talk format has gotten so stale, even for those who are good at it. How can we switch it up? One idea we've been toying with is an "interview" style, where after a 5 minute presentation, an interviewer who has read the paper engages in a structured conversation. Thoughts?

I have always felt there is a monumental disconnect between how transformative science has been in improving the human condition, and how it is generally perceived. With this in mind, we are launching The Discovery Dialogues Podcast. Please listen/share.

Listening to the Airborne audiobook by @carlzimmer.com while driving to work and it makes you want to stay in the car even when you have arrived at your destination and keep listening. What a terrific piece of science writing!

Genome editing success for the first time in nine patients with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a heritable disease which can cause cirrhosis and emphysema, affecting ~100,000 Americans, which is similar to the prevalence of sickle cell disease www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/h...

This would have never, ever-ever been done by a for-profit entity. At the time this was way too experimental - only an "academic" team could have taken on this risk. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23527958/

Emily Whitehead's life was saved by an "academic" team at Penn Medicine - this yielded an approved therapy, Kymriah, since used by Novartius to treat ~20,000 patients with cancer. = science at research universities saves lives. Pls read second subunit below. www.cnn.com/2025/03/07/h...

I heard some folks try Bluesky, don’t get enough engagement, and go back to Twitter! Be generous with posts you like—it doesn’t cost a dime!

There are thousands of studies published on the cancer-causing protein MYC – but some big pieces of the puzzle have been missing. I am excited to share a preprint of one of the coolest studies I have seen go from inception to completion from my colleague Anindya Bagchi's Lab. tinyurl.com/447f2jur

Please share widely - we are hiring, come join our team!

Maybe a bit passive aggressive this messaging from me. Should tone it down?

Today, the lab turned 10 years old. After a shaky beginning, we embarked on some really fun projects, made discoveries, and trained extraordinary people. I am particularly excited by upcoming studies in our lab, and it looks like the fun has just begun. Looking forward to the next 10 and more.

Fabulous Deshpande/Adams/Bagchi/Dhar joint lab holiday trip to the Anza Borrego desert near San Diego. Those who are traveling to #ASH24 this week can expect this winter weather!

Our institute is excited to host The Myeloid Precursor this Thursday, a fun mini symposium on AML with great talks, a panel discussion on AML therapeutics, and a poster session. If you are in San Diego this Thursday and interested, please register here. forms.office.com/r/Sq59VV1vh7

Turning a paper into a podcast! Here's a summary of the manuscript we published last year on HOX gene regulation in AML (Google NotebookLM). Bit over the top, but cool to hear a Sal Khan-soundalike explain your own paper to you in an NPR-like fashion! youtu.be/944UIdCfCR0?...

So deeply saddened to hear of Daniel Dennett’s death. An incredibly influential philosopher, and someone whose writings I always found provocative and illuminating. A monumental loss!

From here it looks like a recently graduated mouse.