We're hiring a postdoc to develop and use custom optical instruments for measuring and manipulating neural activity in worms and flies. Please apply via interfolio: apply.interfolio.com/186001

Excited to announce that I defended my PhD last week and am now officially Dr. Sophie Dvali! Thank you to my adviser @andrewleifer.bsky.social, my labmates, colleagues, friends and family and everyone else who supported me through this journey! 🎓🪱🔬

C. elegans enthusiasts- save the date for two consecutive C. elegans meetings, taking place in Bordeaux, 29 June–3 July 2026. Abstract submission will open around January, with many opportunities for oral presentations. Check out our website for more details: ceneuroeuro2026.sciencesconf.org.

Big picture: community structure of C. elegans connectome and an "effectome" derived from insane stimulation experiments (see shorturl.at/vYEDZ) are poorly aligned (except for pharynx, oddly). Wires ≠ propagation paths. A truly interesting wrinkle in the tapestry of structure-function papers. 2/3

So stoked to see this in press! Diverging network architecture of the C. elegans connectome and signaling network journal: journals.aps.org/prxlife/acce... preprint: arxiv.org/abs/2412.14498 1/3

Join me tomorrow June 11 2-3 ET for an @apsphysics.bsky.social‬ webinar with co-authors Andrea Liu and Sidney Nagel about how scientists can speak up for the rights of scientists, the independence of our institutions and the rule of law. Register here: apsphysics.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

APS Division of Biological Physics@aps-dbio.bsky.social · last yr.

Science is built on public trust, federal funding, and academic freedom. All of these are currently being eroded, but what can we do? Join us for an online panel on "Being a Voice for Science" (June 11, 2-3pm ET). Info and registration: engage.aps.org/dbio/resourc...

Panelists: Andrew Leifer (@andrewleifer.bsky.social‬), Andrea Liu, and Sid Nagel. Moderator: Chris Lynn (@chriswlynn.bsky.social‬).

Science is built on public trust, federal funding, and academic freedom. All of these are currently being eroded, but what can we do? Join us for an online panel on "Being a Voice for Science" (June 11, 2-3pm ET). Info and registration: engage.aps.org/dbio/resourc...

New op-ed in @nature.com: The Trump administration's assault on freedoms and the rule of law is an existential threat to US science. We urge scientists to speak out in defense of freedoms, not just funding. With Andrea Liu @upenn.edu and Sidney Nagel of UChicago! www.nature.com/articles/d41...

US researchers must stand up to protect freedoms, not just funding

Curtailment of freedoms and disregard for the rule of law in the United States is destroying the ability of science to serve the nation’s, and the world’s, interests. Researchers can take action.

nature.com

Those trying to understand the tariffs as economic policy are dangerously naive. No, the tariffs are a tool to collapse our democracy. A means to compel loyalty from every business that will need to petition Trump for relief. 1/ A 🧵 to explain his plan and how we fight back.

I know it's crazy timing, nuts but Michigan Biophysics is hiring on the tenure track! App deadline is May 15. Join our interdisciplinary community. careers.umich.edu/job_detail/2...

Professional societies have an important role to play in pushing back against encroaching authoritarianism. My colleagues and I are lobbying for tougher stances from our professional societies and you can too. andrewleifer.substack.com/p/profession...

Professional societies can speak out against encroaching authoritarianism

A first post and a first step.

andrewleifer.substack.com

"We are passionate about science and its benefits to society, but we fear more what will happen if we do not help defend everyone’s fundamental rights." Op-ed I co-wrote w/ @samwang.bsky.social @jpillowtime.bsky.social @ilanawitten.bsky.social & David Tank www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2025...

To stop intimidation, Eisgruber needs your help

When targeting one institution is a bald attempt to divide and conquer, as is the case with Columbia, it is essential for a coalition or group of institutions and individuals to stand up together.&nbs...

dailyprincetonian.com

How do worms navigate based on learned experience? @andrewleifer.bsky.social @jpillowtime.bsky.social &co reveal flexible behavioral strategies & distributed neural computations underlying learning-dependent odor #navigation in #Celegans @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4bYZs7c

Wow! Check out this thoughtful and mindbending preprint from Jacob Bien and colleagues describing their experience teaching non-technical MBA students data science via Github Copilot: "Generative AI for Data Science 101: Coding Without Learning To Code" arxiv.org/abs/2401.17647

Plugging invisible gaps in the synaptic connectome By @elissawelle.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/connectome/p...

Plugging invisible gaps in the synaptic connectome

Two new maps of the roundworm nervous system detail how neurons communicate with short proteins called neuropeptides outside synapses.

thetransmitter.org

New single-figure paper out in Current Biology: Light evokes stereotyped global brain dynamics in C. elegans by first author Wayan Gauthey. doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...

One more week to apply for our joint faculty position in Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Computer Science Dept, in neuroAI and intelligent systems, broadly construed. Do you fit? Yes. But feel free to contact me with q's. puwebp.princeton.edu/AcadHire/app...