Join us in Adelaide this September for IVBM2026! The program is brilliant and the opportunities to interact with amazing researchers, clinicians, students and industry partners working on vascular biology are unmatched! Register now at ivbm2026.com

Zijing Zhou, Charles Cox @charlesdcox.bsky.social @victorchang.edu.au and colleagues interrogate the molecular components of mechanically evoked currents in the Merkel cell line MCC13. Highlight: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/... Article: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...

Biophysical Society members! The 2026 ballot for the election of President-Elect, Secretary, and four members of Council is now available online. Cast your vote! buff.ly/FLF1Waz

Beyond time that we started seeing articles like this about the appalling state of Australia’s grant funding system……and peer review is just one problem that needs fixing. Australia’s erosion of peer review | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Australia’s erosion of peer review

Throughout the world, peer review serves as the cornerstone of the scientific enterprise, providing rigorous quality control and building the confidence that underpins progress for both science and so...

science.org

Looking for a cell line that natively expresses PIEZO2 - we’d say avoid MCC13. Unlike Merkel cells the native mechanically-evoked currents in this line are largely carried by PIEZO1. And like many other cell lines that we’ve tested the slow components come from MDFIC/MDFI tinyurl.com/3mmnwhpp

Understanding the molecular components of mechanically evoked currents in the Merkel cell line MCC13

Merkel cells are epithelial cells involved in the discrimination of light touch. Situated in the skin, these specialised cells decode mechanical cues through the mechanosensitive ion channel PIEZO2. M...

tinyurl.com

Not the greatest ride for this one but happy with the end result - a sensory neuron specific protein that regulates PIEZO1/2. Lots of cool things left to show with this protein! MDFIC2 is a sensory neuron–specific PIEZO channel auxiliary subunit | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

#NHMRC responses at #Estimates were deeply inadequate, uninformed and are not going to #SaveOzScience. #NHMRC has NOT requested more funding to save the majority of excellent science. Our science, our scientists and the public deserve better. Thankyou #DavidPocock and #DrMoniqueRyan.

To all trainees interested in channels and transporters: the joint FEBS/EMBO course will go ahead in Erice, Italy from May 13-19 2026: network.febs.org/posts/new-jo... Further details to come soon. Please share and repost.

Hey Mechanobiologists! Come and join us in sunny Brisbane for #MechBio2025 Nov 5-7. Registration is now open. Enjoy world-class science, a stellar speaker line-up, and relaxed Queensland vibes. 🧪🔬🌴 ausmb.org/meetings_202...

Published an op-ed for @cnn.com: “Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger.” A personal reflection on what’s at stake as science funding gets slashed. I’d be grateful if you could amplify both in and beyond the science world. www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/h...

Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger | CNN

Dr. Ardem Patapoutian says he watches “with deep sadness as the United States’ remarkable scientific enterprise, which took generations of hard work and national investment to build, faces a concerted...

cnn.com

I didn’t even know there was a PIEZO3 let alone a 4th one…

First pre-print of 2025! Collaborative effort with the Martinac and Feneley labs looking at the long term impact of Piezo1 deletion on cardiac function. Some very cool data, particularly a link between atrial stretch-Piezo1 channels and ANP release!! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Deletion of PIEZO1 in adult cardiomyocytes accelerates cardiac aging and causes premature death

Mechanosensitive PIEZO1 channels have emerged as key transducers of mechanical forces in the cardiovascular system. In cardiomyocytes, we previously showed that PIEZO1 decodes mechanical cues driving ...

biorxiv.org

Stoked for and thankful to 🙏🏽 this wonderful crew! Amazing to get an NHMRC ideas grant at the 4th attempt!! Not only that but a second one led by our wonderful colleague Renjing_Liu !! #Fantastic2024 and it’s not even over yet 🥹

8 years apart - first as a post doc now as a PI. Pretty sure I haven’t aged a day 🫣 - congrats to post doc Zijing Zhou @victorchang.edu.au

Please share, we have #PhD opportunities for anyone interested in filming the #Biophysics of life at the nanoscale. Full details at: heath-afm-lab.github.io/positions/ Projects based around developing and applying High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy methods to understand molecular dynamics.

First post- a photo of all the important people, celebrating a birthday and unbelievably good news from a grant funding round!