MindCORE Summer Fellowship Program May 31-Aug 7, 2026 This is a paid 10-wk research experience for undergrad students matched with select Penn faculty in mind sciences. Open to both Penn students & non-Penn US students through our REU. Apply by Jan 11: mindcore.sas.upenn.edu/research/sum...

The Johri Lab has an open postdoc position. Please send me an email, if interested. Start date is flexible. Please do share! Thank you in advance.

I am proud to share our work on X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism — a rare neurodegenerative movement disorder driven by a SINE-VNTR-Alu retrotransposon insertion in the TAF1 gene. Read our two companion papers: 🔹 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🔹 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵 Highlights below!

Last night I could not put this book down. The opening chapter is 🤯 and the final chapters full of great ideas about what we can collectively do to ensure women & underrepresented groups stay in science. We need diversity in science as diversity breeds discovery

Paper accepted 🤩. Stay tuned for news on #fibroblasts in #SCI and #regeneration.

New from the Washington Post [Gift link] wapo.st/3KqjcXB 1/3

A fresh supply of the immune cells that keep the brain tidy might one day help to treat a host of conditions, from ultra-rare genetic disorders to more familiar scourges, such as Alzheimer’s disease. go.nature.com/46mGgPA

Replacing old immune cells called microglia with fresh ones holds promise for addressing brain conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease @nature.com @heidiledford.bsky.social nature.com/articles/d41...

SPP1 = osteopontin CD61 = integrin β3

Commentary @cp-cancercell.bsky.social @maxkrummel.bsky.social The coming era of nudge drugs for cancer www.cell.com/cancer-cell/...

Our new collection highlights recent advances in our understanding of #macrophages & #dendriticcells, and their roles in #infection, #allergy, #cancer, #neuroinflammation, & #neurodegeneration. Read new research to accompany next week's #EMDS2025! rupress.org/jem/collecti... @emds2025.bsky.social

Another great paper adding to our understanding of macrophage-neuron interactions shaping myeloid and nerve identity (here via TGFb signalling). Led by @philipp359.bsky.social from Freiburg. Out now open access in @cp-immunity.bsky.social:

Sensory neurons shape local macrophage identity via TGF-β signaling @cp-immunity.bsky.social www.cell.com/immunity/ful...

Our paper was just published in Nat Comm. First single‑nucleus atlas of human sural nerves in health and disease. Identified lipid‑phagocytosing macrophages and focal perineurial hyperplasia especially in immune-mediated polyneuropathies. rdcu.be/eB2Dg

My Friday night hot take is that replication studies are largely a waste of time & $ If a result is worth following up on, it's better to address from a different angle & see if it holds water. Strong ideas withstand this Conversely, there R infinite ways a replication can fail that teach you zip

The goal of a PhD is not to learn some facts or read a few papers or learn a bunch of techniques. The goal of a PhD is to learn independence, problem solving, how to finish things you start, resilience, & gain the ability to adapt & think creatively. Learning these things is hard.

Now on bioRxiv! Astrocytes in one brain region (cyan) communicate in expansive networks (magenta). Through tool development, tissue clearing, and many hours on our @zeiss-microscopy.bsky.social Z1, we now know these networks are repeatable across mice, plastic, and specific. doi.org/10.1101/2025...

I still can’t believe that all NIH grants to my colleagues at Harvard and Harvard Medical School have been nullified. And that, as a nation, we’re somehow okay with this illegal, arbitrary, and petty act. Just think of the consequences: scientists, students, and patients will all suffer.

Rijuta Lamba, Alexandra Naba @nabalabuic.bsky.social, @valerioizzi.bsky.social and team present MatriCom, a single-cell RNA-sequencing data mining tool to infer cell–ECM interactions. Highlight: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/... Article: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/... #OpenAccess

ft. Siera Tomishima, Dale Kim, @YohanizOrtega, Paula Oliver (@pennpathlabmed.bsky.social), Robert Bowman (@penncbio.bsky.social), Nadia Porter, Ipsita Guha, @dar_darasif, Jennifer Roof, Hossein Fazelinia, Lynn Spruce & Christopher Thom (@chopresearch.bsky.social) www.jci.org/articles/vie...

Myocilin marks the glia limitans superficialis Astrocyte Re-analysis of brain-wide #SpatialTranscriptomics & sc-/sn-RNAseq data➡️ Myoc+ 2% of total astrocytes covering brain/spinal cord surface @philiphasel.bsky.social @liddelowsa.bsky.social #CellRep 2025 www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Perfect timing on the last day of the 2025 #Collagen Gordon Research Conference! Our paper, in collaboration with @valerioizzi.bsky.social describing #MatriCom, a tool to infer ECM communication systems from scRNA-Seq datasets, is now published in @jcellsci.bsky.social! doi.org/10.1242/jcs....

Progress with my grant proposal:

Good morning @gliameeting.bsky.social! Don’t miss @fchrisbennett.bsky.social talk today to hear about what we’re doing with microglia replacement #glia2025

A science fair of cancelled grants. The research that will be represented at this event (Tuesday) ranges from neuroscience, to astrophysics, to STEM education. The awarding agencies of the now-canceled grants include the EPA, DHS, NIH, NSF, USAID, and DOD. Open to the public.

In @elife.bsky.social: Microglia replacement by ER-Hoxb8 conditionally immortalized macrophages provides insight into Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome neuropathology doi.org/10.7554/eLif...

We bombed Iran without congressional approval and I still have chores and work and kids in sports and supper to make. Living through autocracy and another possible forever war while living day to day is wild.

Now published in the June issue @natneuro.nature.com I am especially happy that the artwork my 4-year-old son created (with a little help) was chosen for the cover. #Glial cells in diverse hues as paint splotches, CD8+ #Tcells in red, aberrant #myelin in purple. Thanks @elisaflo.bsky.social & team!

📘 Our #Neuroimmunology & #Neurodegeneration collection covers a broad range of topics including macular degeneration, the role of #microglia, β-amyloid transport, CNS #autoimmunity, and the sympathetic control of cancer progression 👉 rupress.org/jem/collecti... @keystonesymposia.bsky.social‬

"If the proposal is enacted, Americans today and tomorrow will be sicker, poorer, and die younger” an $18 Billion cut Only 3 NIH Institutes will remain in place, and even they will have their funds markedly reduced www.statnews.com/2025/05/30/n...

Meet M, our microglia superheroine 🦸‍♀️💥 After chugging the magical DGAT2-Stop! Kool-Aid 💊🧃, she breaks free from her lipid droplet shackles 💥💪 Supercharged, she lifts the amyloid beams 🧱 trapping neurons and saves the city of Brain 🧠🏙️! Our cover submission for @cp-immunity.bsky.social. #notthecover

Steven J. Fleischman, MD, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in a statement, “The science has not changed. It is very clear that #COVID infection during pregnancy can be catastrophic and lead to major disability." @acog.org

Hello world! My first post here, and it's a special one! I'm excited to share that my first piece of work in grad school titled "Microglia Replacement: From Monocytic Origin to Therapy" is now online in Trends in Immunology! Read it here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

It was a lot of fun co-writing this Spotlight with a talented graduate student @jingyiyang0321.bsky.social in my lab. Congrats to @fchrisbennett.bsky.social @nachoriko.bsky.social @waisenberg.bsky.social @Movahedi lab on these two important papers on microglia replacement! @cp-immunity.bsky.social

Please check these two amazing papers (Links ⬇️) on microglia replacement published in the current issue of @cp-immunity.bsky.social Congrats to @fchrisbennett.bsky.social @nachoriko.bsky.social @waisenberg.bsky.social @Movahedi lab For their amazing work!!!

Tl;dr: the computer isn’t doing the thinking for you, it’s a guy named Jeff who taught a microwave to speak English. Why are we talking about letting Jeff decide which cancer drugs we invest in. Don’t do that. There’s no reason to think that would be good

Happy to share that our work "Amyloid-β induces lipid droplet-mediated microglial dysfunction via the enzyme DGAT2 in Alzheimer’s disease" is out now @cp-immunity.bsky.social! ➡️ www.cell.com/immunity/ful...

A Review in Nature Reviews Immunology provides an overview of the current vaccines that are offered during pregnancy and to newborns, explaining the rationale behind the different vaccination programmes and the unique challenges that come with immunizing these populations. 🔒

These papers out in @science.org are a great reminder that it's call the nervous SYSTEM for a reason! We're just scratching the surface of what glia do in the brain. 🧠 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

May issue is online! Explore reviews on the #neuroimmune axis! The beautiful cover was designed by Ella Marushchenko, working with @jonykipnis.bsky.social. A brain encased in a walnut shell that is cracking open symbolizes our growing understanding of #neuroimmunology www.cell.com/immunity/iss...

What’s at stake when scientific research funds are cut? Our own @ericarodriguez.bsky.social talks about the grant canceled for her work on social behaviors (with autism and schizophrenia ties) and the impact on her career. @gothamist.com tinyurl.com/yc34c64b

This is what can be achieved today due to longstanding federal support of academic basic science alongside close partnership of universities, private industry and NIH intramural initiatives. An ecosystem worth not just saving but doubling down on! innovativegenomics.org/news/first-p...

Microglial TMEM119 actively participates in the dynamic clearance of amyloid-beta in mice @cp-immunity.bsky.social www.cell.com/immunity/abs...

Our special issue on #neuroimmunology is online! Check out the collection, with reviews from @jonykipnis.bsky.social @michellemonje.bsky.social @ugolinis.bsky.social @bethstevenslab.bsky.social @movahedilab.bsky.social Matteoli, Butovsky, Kim, Artis, & Prinz! www.cell.com/immunity/col... #AAI2025

Fantastic writing by Erin Digitale from the News Center at @stanfordmedicine.bsky.social about our collaboration with @michellemonje.bsky.social - published now in @cellpress.bsky.social. Work in our lab led by @mrodea.bsky.social. Read the paper here - www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

I know you all know this, but apparently it needs to be said that basic science is a NECESSARY PRECURSOR to translational science

Let’s get the word out about the importance of federal funding of curiosity -driven science We all have similar stories to share