In @sarahstern.bsky.social's lab @mpfneuro.bsky.social, Sébastien Bullich + Elisa Mizrachi study the #neurobiology of how chronic stress contributes to eating disorders, and why they impact men & women differently. What did they learn from a mouse model of sustained stress hormone exposure? 🧵 (1/4)

We noticed something interesting (and frustrating) this winter because we had a number of cold spells here in Florida - when humidity drops, the food in our cages loses moisture and therefore weight, artificially increasing our food consumption measures. Curious if anyone else has noticed this?

Circuit mapping of PKCdelta–expressing neurons in the lateral capsule of the CeA identified opioid-sensitive inputs, implicating central amygdala protein kinase C-delta neurons as key mediators of the somatic features of opioid withdrawal

So excited to finally be on this list!! Third time’s a charm 😜 Thanks to all those who wrote me letters, gave advice and extended meeting invites over the years!

Thrilled that we could play a small role in this very exciting work! Congratulations Yoav and team!

Second Stern Lab escape room outing. Even when things feel difficult, I’m so grateful to be able to work with these fantastic people every day!

Today, after two years, I can finally remove the yellow ribbon from my profile. A huge sense of relief with an almost unbearable sadness for everything in between. שהחינו וקימנו והגיענו לזמן הזה

Episode 3 of Science Amplified is up now! I talk to Dr. Rachel Marsh about her pioneering research on mother-baby outcomes from prenatal covid exposure and the consequences of terminating her funding for that project. Please share and give us a rating! open.spotify.com/episode/0rCp...

Heading into the weekend by sharing the second episode of my podcast Science Amplified, where I interview scientists like @ScienceYael whose funding has been cut, either temporarily or permanently. open.spotify.com/episode/1YZT...

Please double check the expiration date on any NOFO you are applying do. They are updated on the form, (Expiration date) with a link to the notice, but other aspects aren't edited.

The number of people who qualify for this is growing everyday. Have your voice, and your science, heard!

Thrilled to share our latest preprint and first major project from the lab, where we show a mechanism for direct interoceptive input to the insular cortex. Work by the incredible @zhezhao2017 with help from many others including @stefanoberto83.bsky.social

As grants started getting cancelled a few months ago, I felt compelled to give a voice to scientists whose work has been targeted & share with the public what they do and why it’s so vital. Happy to announce the start of my new podcast, Science Amplified open.spotify.com/episode/6aUZ...

Celebrating the first major paper submitted from our lab, with a Herculean effort from our postdoc Zhe, and many colleagues! Can’t wait to share more once the preprint posts!

If you’re a scientist whose funding has recently been cut or impacted, I would love to interview you and amplify your work! Hoping to release our first two podcast episodes next week. Please share widely!

Highly recommend for stress relief. A little progress every day.

I was told that prices were gonna come down, but my eggs are $6, the entire American scientific enterprise is in jeopardy and now we can’t even get on an airplane without worrying? What am I missing.

😳🤯. Dr. Laurer was the coauthor of the memo yesterday acknowledging that the NIH funding freeze was illegal and directing staff to resume issuing grants.

Is it odd that I’m sort of like “well, if my R01 that’s been reviewed today is not discussed, at least I won’t have to worry about whether or not it will actually be funded” 🤷‍♀️

Trainees who applied for an NIH diversity fellowship whose applications were withdrawn/not being reviewed, there's a NYTimes reporter who wants to talk, especially interested in applicants with disabilities. DM me & I'll put you in touch, will keep all contact confidential. Please amplify

Since Oct 7th I have felt in a constant state of bleakness. Keeping my lab going, working on our science and trying to help my trainees fulfill their goals has kept me going and been the distraction that I need every day. Now, every day is another punch in the gut at lab too. Tbh, I am very tired.

This is insanity. Why couldn’t they put these applications into the regular pool instead of throwing them out completely??

Me lately

🧪🧠 more new red GECIs!🚨 👏🥳 congrats to everyone involved!

In fact I have heard that some think the comms freeze at NIH institutes will last through April. There are events in April that have already been canceled.

From inside the National Cancer Institute -- employees have been told that the communications freeze, which was theoretically going to be lifted by Feb 1, is still in place.

Rescinded

Helpful reminder to myself as well!

Raise your hand if you’re an assistant professor who has now had to journey through a global pandemic AND a constitutional crisis, all while trying to obtain tenure 🙋🏻‍♀️ I’m tired.

I see some suggestions, in the reporting regarding the OMB impoundment order, that a mere delay in spending appropriated funds is legal. But that's not really true. The delay OMB has ordered specifically contradicts the Impoundment Control Act. A thread.

Spent 10 minutes this morning to write to my elected representatives about my concerns. It is the bare minimum that we all should be doing right now.

Tried to find myself on the brain initiative website …. I guess my K99 didn’t really exist braininitiative.nih.gov/archived/sar...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39779373/ woot @lisataxier.bsky.social first Kash Lab first author paper is out. Congrats to her and the team!

This past year I made a commitment to prioritize my health, and it definitely feels good to end 2024 with a nice milestone 💪

Night 1 of Chanukah. As we celebrate the holiday of lights, it’s impossible not to also think of the hostages who have now spent 446 nights in darkness. I pray that the days ahead bring a deal to end the war and bring the hostages home. 🎗️

Happy nittel natch to all those waiting for Chanukah to start tomorrow! And Merry Christmas to everyone celebrating tonight!

We just opened a position for an Academic Training Program Administrator at MPFI! This role is perfect for someone who is passionate about helping trainees at all levels succeed & fostering the next generation of talent in sunny South Florida! Learn more and apply here: www.mpfi.org/institute/ca...

@acnporg.bsky.social food crew congregating at @sarahstern.bsky.social poster 170! Come join Laura Berner, @drbritnyh.bsky.social and Sarah Stern before the session closes!!! #ACNP2024

If you’re still hanging around at #ACNP2024 tonight and you’re interested in the insular cortex, interoception, food intake or single-cell seq, stop by my poster (170)!

Ok which one of you is missing your photometry system? 😂 www.reddit.com/r/labrats/s/...

Happening soon in Sonoran H-I! Don’t miss our session on early life adversity, organized by Chris Anacker and featuring @arrudacarvalho.bsky.social @milennavandijk.bsky.social #ACNP2024

!!Just learned that faculty from Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, and others won't be eligible in the upcoming HHMI Investigator competition (2026?). It will be dedicated to bringing in people from institutions not currently well-represented at HHMI - max 1 current Investigator.

See you tomorrow ACNP-ers! This is my 5th time coming to the conference, which is one of my favorites for the great mix of basic and translational research. I’ll be giving a poster on Wednesday where I’ll talk about 3 (!!) ongoing projects on the lab, all about the insular cortex. Stop by!

Putting together a poster as a PI is just a whole different experience. First of all, I’m trying to put 3 people’s projects on one poster (don’t discourage me, it’s too late). 2nd, it’s difficult to make it look exactly how you want when it’s not your own data files without massive effort.

I am excited that my first Bluesky post is to share our new paper in @natureportfolio.bsky.social - "Understanding the neural code of stress to control anhedonia." With @fxia.bsky.social , @valeriafascianelli.bsky.social and @stefanofusi.bsky.social. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Latest from our group in collaboration with Lotte Bjerre Knudsen and other Novo scientists. They developed a GLP-1/Leptin co-agonist that we put through its paces in a number of mouse models to prove that both parts of the molecule matter. More options on the table! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

😳😳😳

By popular demand, here is your #ACNP2024 Travel Awardee Starter pack! A photo recap is included below - if you see anyone we've missed, please let us know! (we're still getting our bearings over here, so excuse any accidental oversights!) go.bsky.app/N4AcAWv

Also today, I made pie. Happy Thanksgiving! My most favorite food of the year!

At (most) lab meetings we have a “moment for diversity” where that week’s presenter either tells us about their culture or presents some topic related to diversity and inclusion. This week I chose to spend a few minutes talking about Rita Levi-Montalcini. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Le...