New low for the BBSRC @ukri.org this week - 596 ECRs put their blood, sweat, tears and Easter vacation into a -pretty involved- postdoc fellowship preapplication only for the ALL to be rejected because they *didn’t foresee* applicant numbers and will therefore impose institution caps. Not cool.

Imminent deadline(s) mean I’m good to work all weekend, except Parkrun which is non negotiable. So, 1) did a parkrun thats far away 2) did it slowly 3) stayed for two coffees 4) met a cute cat who got extra fuss. Now time to focus!

Two weeks post marathon is all the time I needed to decide to enter something stupid for next year 🙃

Got to see Sir Gary Oldman on stage this evening 😍😍

First PROTAC gains FDA approval, bolstering targeted protein degradation and induced proximity ambitions www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Another visit to the office for Lupin, who appears to enjoy it almost as much as we do!

Sir David Attenborough… on your 100th birthday, we thank you. For a lifetime dedicated to the natural world, and for sharing its story with such grace and wonder. Generations have fallen in love with nature because of you. Happy birthday, Sir. 🎉

UCL really does boast some of the best science communicators on the planet.

Big day ahead. First live-animal studies I've done in our lab for a while. Alpacas moving through our gait lab including over soil, rough terrain and pressure pad. Lots of tech. Bio-inspired robot foot design with Dr. Sara Abad-Guaman from UCL. Hopefully some alpaca pics and video to come...

It’s an “all-out” local election in Barnsley today & Reform are predicted to take control. I understand frustration with national leadership, but local government has been pretty good IMO and the town has transformed in the past 10 years. And reading about the Reform candidates is just depressing…

Join us! Research Fellow role at UCL @ukdri.ac.uk @uclqsion.bsky.social with me & @sj-marzi.bsky.social studying oligodendrocytes, genetics & epigenetics in ageing & neurodegeneration using multiomics/bioinformatics. Collaboration with Alexi Nott & @rikeshrajani.bsky.social Closing date: 2nd June

📢 New #publication from CRN Team Hardy! This study shows that GPNMB is secreted by macrophages in response to lysosomal stress via lysosomal exocytosis. 🔗 Read the full publication: bit.ly/4dalhTo

And v proud of Argyro from the group who worked so hard to organise the event together with Dimitrios & the EDI team 🤩

Great to attend the first IoN Research Technician Showcase this afternoon - celebrating the staff who are the driving force behind so much of what we do. And super proud that two of the fantastic techs from our group, Katie and Lucrezia, received the silver and bronze poster awards 🥳 🎉

Come and join our team @humantechnopole.bsky.social! We are recruiting a Senior Technician. You will be part of a collaborative and diverse team working on human stem cell biology, precise genome-engineering, and virology. More info: careers.humantechnopole.it/job/Senior-T... Please share.

Watch and read Molly’s brave and deeply timely thoughts. What a role model for us all in terms of how to use our platforms. 🤩

🎉 We’re pleased to announce that UCL has appointed Professor Andrew Dick as new Dean of the Faculty of Brain Sciences. www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2026/ma...

This is Obelix, a great name for an absolute unit of a boy. He’s started visiting our garden much to my delight and Billy’s horror (who is fairly sizeable himself but looks like a kitten in comparison!)

Two weeks to go! Join us on May 12, 2026, for the Hot Brain 4 meeting on climate change and neurological disorders, organised with @uclbrainscience.bsky.social. This year, experts will examine the mechanisms underlying the effects of #ClimateChange on #BrainHealth. Register here: hubs.li/Q049pp660

London marathon 2026 ✅ It was a bit toasty 🥵 but always such a privilege to be part of this amazing race. Hilary aced her first ever marathon 🧡super proud to be one of a 300 strong team running for Alzheimer’s Research UK 🧡 Next year, I fully intend to be a spectator!

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Come celebrate UCL's 200th birthday with a very special Shambles event on May 6th with physicists, Olympians, biochemists, musicians, comedians and more!! thecosmicshamblesnetwork.substack.com/p/cosmic-ucl

Well, the hardest bit of the London marathon - getting to the Excel and home in a tube strike - is done! 3 days to go until London’s biggest party! 🥳 🎈 🎉 2026tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/hilary-ev...

A migratory bird brain, the Eurasian blackcap, has been mapped for the first time using high-resolution light microscopy. The open-source software tools developed form a foundation for new brain atlases to be built for any species, providing a valuable resource.

One week to go so this wkd was a chilled Parkrun in the sun, then an easy 60 min today.I never want to eat porridge or a bagel again but other than that, feeling relaxed & ready! Thanks to everyone who supported me & Hilary so far! 2026tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/hilary-ev...

on the 50th anniversary of the release of The Boys Are Back in Town I'm morally obligated to share my favorite story of all time

My best pal Lupin Plun-Favreau recently qualified as a therapy dog, so we surprised the lab with a visit to our offices this afternoon in his new uniform 🥹🥹

The LMB is proud to launch the Career Returner Fellowship, a three-year, fully funded postdoc placement for scientists who have had a career break of over 1 year. Applications are open now! More details: mrclmb.ac.uk/careers-and-... Please share this post with anyone who may be interested!

“Over the next decade these stem-cell-based models will increasingly help reveal the biology of complex brain conditions & demystify diseases that have long remained inaccessible” says organoid guru @sergiuppasca.bsky.social in this Nature news piece on an elegant & beautiful area of modern science🧪

Congrats to Jobert, Anna-Leigh, and Kai on showing how #BDNF amplifies #transcription, coordinates #RNA dynamics, and spatially regulates the #phosphoproteome. Beautiful cover art too! @jamessleigh.bsky.social @frattalab.bsky.social @uclqsion.bsky.social

Individually rare. Collectively common. The @newstatesman1913.bsky.social special rare disease report explores what more can be done to deliver faster diagnoses and better treatments. 👉 Read now: https://t.ly/EyekY

So cool! I had to look this up to learn more:

New preprint 🥳 Gamma secretase isnt a single enzyme, multiple GSEC exist depending on which subunits are incorporated into the complex. We made PSEN1 & PSEN2 knockouts to study the impact of different GSEC in neurons & microglia Led by @celarber.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

This is Sadie. She was finally reunited with her human, astronaut Christina Koch, after her mom’s voyage around the moon took her the furthest any human has ever been from their dog. She can't wait to hear all about the universe. 14/10 (IG: astro_christina)

Very proud of our new paper, which I worked on in the @paquetlab.bsky.social for the past years! 👩‍🔬 Out this week in Science Translational Medicine @science.org. Find all the exciting details on what we found here 👇

Great opportunity for year 12 students to do work experience at the House of Lords. Apply by 22 April www.parliament.uk/business/new...

LOL, trying to stay offline and do my work, and friends are sending me "LOOK AT THIS NEW PIC!" texts .... This one is worth it. First PoC and first woman to go around another world. Don't stop talking about this point. It's important. #ArtemisII

Watch or listen to the full show and well done to everyone behind #PPAAwareness Day Listen - player.captivate.fm/episode/3943... Watch - youtu.be/4fiLg9xsWZY

Even though it was recorded the same year as Tigermilk … I can’t believe Sinister is 30 years old 😱🤣 🎵 Oh you’re the trouble and you’re worth the pain, you’re worth the worry I would do the same, if we all went back to another time, I would love you over 🥹 🎵 Gorgeous two nights at the RAH 😍

I can’t believe Tigermilk is 30 years old! 😱 It doesn’t seem 2 mins since I was here for the 20th anniversary. I’ll never tire of Belle & Sebastian 🥹

There's still time to book your space at our upcoming David Attenborough Lecture with Dr Roger Highfield, as he explains why science matters in today's age of misinformation. Register now: https://royalsociety.org/science-events-and-lectures/2026/04/attenborough-prize-lecture/

Really enjoyed Project Hail Mary except the two tubes SIDE BY SIDE in the centrifuge instead of opposite each other 😵😵‍💫

Legs are 💀 but enjoyed tackling the Curly Wurly at Thames Path Woolwich Parkrun 🌀

Thanks for the extra days off UCL 🥳 Going to use it to run 18-19 miles 😭 2026tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/hilary-ev...

UCL is now closed for the spring break - we'll be back on Wednesday 8th April 🌸 Our usual channels won't be monitored during this time but if you need support during the closure period, help is available: buff.ly/bTF6Ddl #UCL #SpringBreak

Very much enjoyed Butter, so I’m looking forward to getting stuck into this one! 🎣

Transgender rights = human rights. In many countries around the world, the rights of trans people are under attack. This International Transgender Day of Visibility, we continue to work for a world where all people can enjoy their rights fully.

Calling all UCL students - our Summer Research Studentships are open! If you're studying Life, Physical or Mathematical Sciences, this is your chance to dive into real research with top academics. Deadline: 5pm, 26 May 2026. https://bit.ly/4tC7JFV

Double dose of theatre and a double dose of @aoifekiely.bsky.social this week 😍 Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the NT (I could watch Lesley Manville in anything 🤩) & John Proctor is the Villain at Royal Court (which is simultaneously uplifting & rage inducing)