Our boy Leo has been sick the past week and stopped eating. A bad sign for a year old active pup. Turns out it’s some sort of aggressive cancer that’s spread 😢. Still waiting for more info but not looking good 💔

Hearing a rumor that NIH/HHS may now plan to retaliate against other Bethesda Declaration signers. I am one, but it’s not about me: we have been speaking out because of the ongoing damage to US medical research, cancer and Alzheimer’s research. As @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social put well: 1/

As per usual, “free speech” really means “don’t disagree with me” by this govt. This is total BS! @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social needs us to speak out about this clear retaliation!

Just got an email from my SRO for the study section that was missed in October. Good news is that they are trying to reschedule ASAP (Dec/Jan). The bad news is that CSR is mandating that only the the top third (not half) of applications will get discussed for the next 2 rounds.

Thanks Maureen! Been a fun meeting.

SLC -> Montreal! Looking forward to the 2nd conference on extracellular vesicles in the nervous system!! @isev.org

When the sky matches the Fall foliage 😍

I'm so excited to see this Perspective with @jasonsynaptic.bsky.social out in Neuron! About 8% of our genome is made up of the remnants of LTR-containing retroelements - here, Jason and I explore the activities of retroTEs in neurological health and disease! authors.elsevier.com/c/1lzTx3BtfH...

My NIH study section will not meet tomorrow because of the government shutdown. This may seem trivial but rescheduling these meetings will delay funding decisions for months to even a year! Let alone the uncertainty of what the FY26 budget will be. Awful for US scientists! 😓

For obvious reasons, I've become fascinated with retrotransposons. So we ( @alexwhiteley.bsky.social and I) wrote an article now out in Neuron @cellpress.bsky.social on how we think retrotransposons influence brain function and health! kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...

Awesome program (booklet and speaker list) organized by our students for our annual symposium at Snowbird!

Looking forward to visiting Emory Cell Biology dept tomorrow! @basselllab.bsky.social @angalus.bsky.social @katzlab.bsky.social

Growing up in a country where there wasn’t much of a season change…it never gets old! Winter is almost here in the ‘hood. 📷 🌲 ❄️

Thoughtful and well-informed op-ed from @ianlmorgan.bsky.social Definitely worth a read! www.the-scientist.com/nih-leadersh... 1/2

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

I love this year’s selection for many reasons. 2 are not on any list of expected awardees. Science has become an industry dominated by metrics and $$. Most do science for the love of discovery and fulfilling our curiosity, but this *love* is in conflict with hypercompetition and poor incentives!

WORD

He’s not wrong!

Finally had some time to process a few camera shots! This was a magical morning on the #Normandy coast in France...📷 🌄 @sonyalpha.bsky.social

Anniversary weekend at the place where it started!

Heads up: It will be the 50th anniversary of the Park City Learning and Memory meeting next Jan (8-11th) 2026! We will have special guests, alumni, and historical reflection of the field. We hope you can join us! parkcitywinterconf.org

I was going to write a whole post about all this incredible work with all these amazing scientists and organizations, but I’ll just leave @stellatecomms.bsky.social design sizzle reel here. It speaks for itself. youtu.be/x2O7DkpIoCA?...

Powerful new article in NYT Magazine on cancer research [Gift Link] www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/m...

Picked a good weekend for our annual lab retreat! We all needed it. Escaped to the “Caribbean of the Rockies”…Bear Lake!

Current mood. #oregon 📷 🏞️

Timeline cleanse 📷 🏞️

We are not safe on Utah education campuses. State laws allow open carry guns and our politicians fan the flames of hate and division. The USA will never be a “free” country until something is actually done about gun violence! I fear for where we are heading 😢

Hey @mikefeigin.bsky.social are you watching this god damn game?! Holy

A federal judge in Boston said she found it "difficult to conclude anything other than that [the Trump administration] used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country's premier universities, and did so in a way that runs afoul of [federal law]."

The future of research on cancer and Alzheimer’s is uncertain with federal cuts. “I'm feeling pretty demoralized,” said neuroscientist @jasonsynaptic.bsky.social.

Morning Sunday walks with the pup. Trying to keep sane in insane times. Fall season in the hood is almost here!

Happy #NationalDogDay to our pup Leo! I forgot how much energy puppies have..he def keeps us on our toes.

After a wonderful trip down under..now heading home to the US. But my heart aches for the future of the country and I’m yet, again, feeling anxious to return. I wish Americans could see the true freedoms they are slowly losing!

My NIA PO said they have “closed the books” on this fiscal year. So my 10% scored Alzheimer’s R01 goes back into the lottery 😭 (I resubmitted it).

New Zealand never disappoints! Good to be with family.

Had a super stimulating day visiting the Florey Institute/university of Melbourne! And what a lovely city.

Melbourne! Got a meat pie at the local bakery. Got a beer from the store. Walked to the beach. Watched the sunset. Peace.

Great Pavlovian society meeting in Sydney!! Now off to Melbourne.

Congrats to Sven Bervoets and co-authors for our paper on fly Arc now out in @currentbiology.bsky.social !! This was an awesome collaboration with @thecaronlab.bsky.social’s lab @utah.edu authors.elsevier.com/c/1lZlk3QW8S...

The updated version of the database of PhD fellowships produced and maintained by my team can be downloaded by anyone here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-... For each of the 187 fellowships, you will find a short description, deadline, $ amount, link, etc. Good luck!

FFS 😩🤬

Had a great visit to QBI! Thanks @twbredy.bsky.social for hosting. Now off to Sydney for the Pavlovian society meeting.

Brisbane…”you beauty”! Loved exploring you today. Thanks for the lovely hike this morning @twbredy.bsky.social

Excited to be heading down under for a bit! First stop Brisbane (QBI), then Sydney for the Pavlovian Society meeting, Melbourne @floreyinstitute.bsky.social and finally Auckland @aucklanduni.bsky.social 😅

Arc is the protein of the month on PDB @rcsbpdb.bsky.social! Of course, it's really protein of the century in my mind 😆 Thanks to Janet Iwasa @utah.edu and her team for the excellent write up and animations! pdb101.rcsb.org/motm/308

Join us in Montreal this October! Registration now open and we will be selecting short talks from the abstracts. ECRs will be prioritized!

#NIH PIs, start emailing Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya and tell them what you are experiencing. CC Dr. Jon Lorsch and your ICO Director of Extramural Activities. Get them to talk with each other. #defendresearch

This man is pure evil.