Turnip is getting a lesson about neuroplasticity from David Byrne 🧠

To appreciate the power & promise of science, people need a deeper understanding of the _processes_ of science. Join the #MySciJourney Challenge to show the world what “doing science” looks like for you! Scientists at all stages are invited to submit their short videos by September 30.

I'm teaching about the structure of DNA, genes, and chromosomes. If you're in the same boat, consider bringing the DNA Landscape into your class! It can be tricky to "see" how representations of DNA are related, so we created animations to make it more visible! sites.google.com/view/dnaland...

A new office on campus means new places to hang up David Byrne art

Turnip has some opinions about the new David Byrne album

Delilah is a little adventurer 🌿

Speaking in Meows

Dreams walking in broad daylight! These Talking Heads lyrics best capture what I’m feeling as I’m starting as a tenure-track professor at Towson University! @towsonu.bsky.social

I’m gonna keep on dancing at the Pink Poodle Club 🐩

Turnip: Beastie Boys edition.

Tonight’s painting: Turnip in the David Byrne Big Suit 🎨

I perused published figures and found misshaped chromosomes, mismatched chromatids, and missized genes! Yikes! Representing chromosomes and genes can be a tricky task, so I published ideas for easy edits to figures that can mitigate misconceptions. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

An evening painting root vegetables and a cat named after them 🎨

I try to explore each city I travel to for conferences. This year, I attended SABER in Minneapolis to present research on how visual models are used on biology exams and I adventured to Prince's Paisley Park!

I’m attending a science communication education research meeting and found the perfect book in a local bookstore for the occasion! I study models of chromosomes and this 1960s educational book is filled with fascinating illustrations of chromosomes in mitosis and meiosis models!

DBER-SiT, part of the @sabercommunity.bsky.social, is thrilled to finally join Bluesky! ⭐ We're a community of early career scholars in #BER and #DBER. Let's connect for chats about research, social and professional events, and a growing community of early career scholars!

Visual models are a key part of learning molecular biology, yet our new research found that only 16% of exam questions contain a model and those questions tend to use models to assess memorizable facts. If you teach models, make sure to test models too! doi.org/10.1371/jour...

Recreating scenes from the Aristocats 🎹

🎹🐈‍⬛

Good evening, Baltimore!

David Byrne was the first piece of art to go up on my walls in my new home because David Byrne said it best — home is where I want to be.

One last night in Rochester means there’s time for one last garbage plate!

My amazing mentor, Dina Newman, made a cake of my research logo to celebrate my last few days as an RIT postdoc!

That's a wrap on SABER East 2025! I had such a great experience helping to plan the conference and I was so happy to see so many people who care about biology education here in Rochester!

When you’re going to a screening of Lolita at the museum, you’ve got to wear your matching heart-shaped glasses!

I’ll be moving to Baltimore soon, so I’ve got to get in my last chances for color coordinated photos on the RIT campus!

What might make learning ATP hydrolysis a bit easier for students? Showing the bonds breaking and forming in the reaction! Read about our new research in microPublication Biology! micropublication.org/journals/bio...

I've spent the last 7+ years trying to connect academia to K-12 & create #openaccess curriculum w/ scientists through NSF funding for Broader Impacts. We've created 100+ lessons & videos about diverse topics that are free for all @galacticpolymath.com #saveNSF #scicomm 🧪 youtube.com/shorts/0ICu-...

I was absolutely delighted to see this Andy Warhol Polaroid of John Waters at the George Eastman museum! I love to imagine what kinds of conversations might have occurred between two of my favorite artists!

When you ask students to explain their drawings of DNA, you uncover some surprising ideas! Here, a student describes a double helix as consisting of 2 single strands of RNA! Get inspiration for incorporating drawing into your teaching in our new paper! doi.org/10.1128/jmbe...

Nothing in an art museum makes me smile quite as much as a Warhol

Wearing a mustard-colored outfit to the National Mustard Museum

Coffee Ground[s] Control to Major Tom

The Rochester Lilac Festival is the perfect place for purple glasses!

Revisiting my Rochester favorites during my last few weeks in the city! This amazingly terrible Elvis lamp at the Record Archive was worth a trip back to see!

I couldn’t think of a better place to wear plant pants than the botanical garden!

The three forms Turnip: seed, root vegetable, and cat.

I’m delighted and thankful to be recognized for my research at RIT! (I’m also delighted and thankful for a fancy new award to keep company with the bug on my desk!) 🪲 @rittigers.bsky.social

Is an apartment really complete without a set of Beastie Boys paintings?

Take a moment on Earth Day to celebrate things that make this planet beautiful and then take a moment to contact your elected officials to let them know that funding the USFWS, NPS, EPA, and NSF help us keep this planet beautiful. 🌎

Cool Crystals at the Buffalo Museum of Science

I had such a great time sharing my work with the University of Washington Biology Learning and Teaching group last year, and I'm absolutely delighted they invited me back to talk about my new research! Join me on Friday and chat about assessing visual literacy in biology!

I’ve filled my quota for quirky Upstate New York museums with visits to the carousel and kazoo museums today!

Intergalactic rock? Was one of the West Wing writers also a Beastie Boys fan?

Discounted early bird registration for SABER East ends soon! This is a great conference for biology educators and biology education researchers! Hope to see you in Rochester this May!

This little guy who was born on the day of the solar eclipse last year just completed his first trip around the sun!

Undergrad biology instructors! Paid opportunity to participate in research that tests the impacts of highlighting scientist role models in instructional materials. 🐌 🧪 🦋 🔬 Check it out and apply! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Color coordinated with the calcite at the New York State Museum

Making new friends on the Erie Canal

I 🫀museums (and Nic Cage)