We're delighted to welcome our new postdoc Carla Peiró back to the lab, with some lovely scottish summer rain 🌧! Didn't stop us enjoying a drink outside, but this is how we went home 🏄‍♂️

Excited to share my postdoc paper from the @lyons-lab.bsky.social Our question: what controls axon diameter? It varies >100-fold between neurons, shapes signal speed & myelination, and changes in disease. Yet very little is known about what regulates it. 🧵 journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...

A high-resolution phenotypic screen identifies regulators of CNS axon diameter in zebrafish

Axon diameter is important for action potential conduction speed, but what molecular pathways influence this neuronal property? This study reports a high-resolution imaging-based chemical screening pi...

journals.plos.org

New preprint from the lab 🥳 We made new knock-in zebrafish 🐟 that fluorescently tag endogenous neurofascins. So now, we can live-image neuronal nfasca/NF186 and glial nfascb/NF155 non-invasively, as nerves, nodes of Ranvier and paranodes develop in vivo 🧵👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Live-imaging of endogenous neurofascins reveals glial adhesion shapes developing nodes of Ranvier

The organisation of myelinated axons into specialised domains is essential for saltatory conduction and depends on the polarised distribution of neuronal and glial cell-adhesion molecules, including n...

biorxiv.org

And it is an award winning poster! Well done Phoebe! 🥳🥳🥳 #MSFrontiers

And here is our PhD student Phoebe presenting her poster on glial Neurofascin #MSFrontiers

Looking forward to a day of hearing about cutting edge MS research at #MSFrontiers Here is our postdoc @sophiesiems.bsky.social presenting the first ECR talk

Very proud of our lab's & @lidazoupi.bsky.social lab's PhD student Inés Jiménez Pulido, for bagging a Poster Prize at the UK Glia Meeting, showing her work developing cell type-specific inhibitors of myelination in 🐁 and 🐟 ! Well done Inés 🥳🥳🥳

Incredible! Scientists receive a rare standing ovation after announcing that a new treatment can double the survival time for pancreatic cancer, the deadliest cancer which was once considered “undruggable.” When we fund and support science, we can achieve anything! (Video: Dr. Wish Dhillon)

I had a great time last week presenting our work on the axon-myelin interface dynamics in zebrafish, seeing familiar faces & catching up in my hometown at the X Symposium of the Portuguese Glia Network. Thanks to the organisers!

A few moments from our department's zebrafish retreat in the Scottish Highlands. Phoebe presented her work, and the lab enjoyed some lovely scenery. Briefly checked the stone circle in the interest of science. No time travel ensued, despite the equinox.

Super proud of our postdoc @sophiesiems.bsky.social for securing a MSCA award to fund her ambitious project on the axon-myelin interface across vertebrates 🐟🐁🧠. Very competitive call this year– feeling humbled and grateful to @ec.europa.eu marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/news/msca-aw...

MSCA awards €404.3 million to postdoctoral researchers

1610 outstanding postdoctoral researchers were selected for funding among 17,066 applicants.

marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu

New paper alert!🤩Super proud that our story led by superstar postdocs @liujinghui.bsky.social and @nerlielisa.bsky.social is finally out! We found how electrical signals are key for promoting organ regenerative growth!!! A thread 🧵https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aec0687

Injury-induced electrochemical coupling triggers organ growth

Organ repair and growth rely on coupling tissue-wide membrane depolarization with intracellular proliferative signaling.

science.org

If you're interested in the factors that enable the regular structure of CNS #myelin sheaths by #oligodendrocytes, check this out. Featuring a #CDC42 - effector proteins - #septin axis. Congrats to 1st author Sophie, and a big thank you to all who contributed onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

CDC42‐Effector Proteins Regulate Higher Order Structure of Septins Required for CNS Myelin Integrity

CDC42-effector proteins 1/2 are present in CNS myelin. They facilitate the higher order structure of myelin septin filaments. Their loss impairs septin-dependent scaffolding of myelin. Myelin o...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Happy holiday wishes from the Almeida Lab 🎄✨️ Very grateful to an excellent team for all the thinking, tinkering, and troubleshooting in 2025. Extra proud of our two postdocs @sophiesiems.bsky.social and @katymarshallphelps.bsky.social landing their own pilot grants just in time for Christmas 🎁

Very grateful to the RSMacDonald Trust for funding my pilot project to establish zebrafish models of STXBP1-related NDDs - a brilliant pre-Christmas 🎁 Thanks so much to the @almeidalab.bsky.social for their continued support!

Pleased to share that I’ve been awarded a Catalyst Award from the @mssocietyuk.bsky.social 🥳 Many thanks to the MS Society UK for supporting our research in the @almeidalab.bsky.social and helping to advance understanding of MS!

Shout-out to our PhD student Wei Huang for stepping up to present her work on zebrafish motor neuron synaptic protein heterogeneity at the Darwin Trust symposium — great to see the project (and presentation skills) evolving nicely! 🐟 🔬🧠

Enhorabuena Dr Carla Peiró for smashing your PhD defence cum laude! And teaching us about myelin internalization when she visited from the Achucarro! 🐟🐁

OPPORTUNITIES ⏰Dec 15➡️Assistant Researcher➡️Project FORTIFISH at #i3S. Profile: PhD in biomed sci, veterinary sci or related; Relevant publication record demonstrating research expertise in zebrafish behaviour & welfare; Extensive hands-on expertise in ...👇 👉https://tinyurl.com/3mk3bbfa #i3Sjobs

This is important for 🧪🔬 www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Fluorescent protein and peptide tags alter condensate formation and dynamics in vivo and in vitro | EMBO reports

imageimageProtein and peptide tags can profoundly alter condensation in a tag- and protein-specific manner, both in cells and in vitro, highlighting the need for careful validation in condensate studi...

embopress.org

Happy to share that I passed my tenure review. Excited to be doing research until someone kicks me out!

Excitement is brewing amongst the team to welcome Neuroscience MSc students to the lab next week. Can't wait to show them Fin Diesel 🐟🔬

👁Happy Halloween from our resident Cyclops fish 👁

Congrats to our PhD Wei Huang for getting a wee grant for upskilling her 🐟🔬 analysis - thank you Darwin Trust!

Updated Almeida lab photo :)

If you're interested in trafficking of #myelin constituents in #oligodendrocytes, and of course you are, you may want to check out our new preprint. It's very nice PhD work by @sophiesiems.bsky.social, and we're grateful to all who contributed! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Adaptor protein complex 2 (AP2) participates in biogenesis and homeostasis of myelin sheaths in the central nervous system

Myelination of CNS axons requires oligodendrocytes to undergo extensive morphological changes by producing large amounts of myelin membrane with defined protein composition and structure. The formatio...

biorxiv.org

Thrilled that myelin purifier extraordinaire @sophiesiems.bsky.social bagged a DFG fellowship from the Walter Benjamin Program to study axon-myelin adhesion dynamics in zebrafish! Congrats Sophie, and thanks DFG ☺️

Couple of opportunities up to join the group! One at postdoc level, but open to senior support path. One research assistant role. Please share, or drop a line if you want to learn more! Or just apply! Thanks! elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid... elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

Celebrating a very Scottish Christmas season in the Almeida lab with deep fried mars bars 🤤🎅🎄