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Cohen Lab @Cornell

@cohenlab.bsky.social

We study all things germ cell!

65 Posts974 Follower456 Folgt
Cohen Lab @Cornell@cohenlab.bsky.social · last mo.

very proud to announce the publication of our newest work with Andrew Grimson demonstrating non-canonical roles for AGO3 and AGO4 in mammalian meiosis. Bravo to @mercedes-carro.bsky.social who led this work fearlessly and relentlessly, from mass spec to multiomics. journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...

Argonaute proteins orchestrate Meiotic Sex Chromosome Inactivation and timing of the spermatogenic transcriptional program

Author summary In order to make spermatozoa, germ cells undergo the meiotic specialized cell division, during which the sex chromosomes are temporarily shut down in a process called Meiotic Sex Chromo...

journals.plos.org

Cohen Lab @Cornell@cohenlab.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Exceptionally proud of this new work from the Cohen lab led by the AMAZING @teganhoran.bsky.social. This was the major work from Tegan's K99, completely envisaged, led, and undertaken by Tegan. I was merely a bystander and cheerleader!! Congrats to Tegan! academic.oup.com/mbe/advance-...

Molecular assessment of recombination processing across genetically diverse mouse strains reveals sexually dimorphic determinants of crossover distribution beyond chromosome length

Abstract. Meiotic recombination generates crossovers (COs), reciprocal exchanges between homologous chromosomes critical for accurate chromosome segregatio

academic.oup.com

Jenna Norton@jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Sharing this screen grab from a friend at NIH (with permission). This is a checklist program officers have to complete before a grant can be awarded. The first question: "Is this grant All Clean/Clear in the NIH Text analysis Tool?" 🧵1/3

Screen grab of an NIH grants checklist showing the first question is: "1. Is this grant All Clean/Clear in the NIH Text analysis Tool?"
@brookscrickard1.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Very exciting that our new paper on the forces exerted by the Rad51-Rad54 homology search complex is now online. This was a collaborative effort with the Wang here at Cornell, and this work performed primarily by a graduate student, Mitch Woodhouse genesdev.cshlp.org/content/earl...

The eukaryotic homology search complex distorts donor DNA structure to probe for homology

A biweekly scientific journal publishing high-quality research in molecular biology and genetics, cancer biology, biochemistry, and related fields

genesdev.cshlp.org

Cohen Lab @Cornell@cohenlab.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Very proud of this tour de force from two former students, Stephanie Tanis and Leah Simon, with help from a huge team, including @charlesdanko.bsky.social highlighting a novel-overlooked intervention point for male contraception www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Meiotic prophase I disruption as a strategy for nonhormonal male contraception using small-molecule inhibitor JQ1 | PNAS

Developing safe, reversible, and nonhormonal male contraceptives has been hindered by the lack of defined biological windows that can be transientl...

pnas.org

Jenna Norton@jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Grant terminations had deep impacts on all early career scientists, running counter to Bhattacharya’s stated interest in supporting them. The terminations disproportionately harmed early career women. www.fiercebiotech.com/research/nih...

NIH grant cuts hit women, early-career scientists the hardest: analysis

Last year’s funding cuts at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) disproportionately impacted women and early-career researchers, according to a | Last year’s funding cuts at the National Institutes...

fiercebiotech.com

Don Moynihan@donmoyn.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Full resignation letter from Demetre C. Daskalakis, a CDC leader, does not hold back. "The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning. My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so. I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud."

My resignation letter from CDC. Dear Dr. Houry, I am writing to formally resign from my position as Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), effective August 28, 2025, close of business. I am happy to stay on for two weeks to provide transition, if requested. This decision has not come easily, as I deeply value the work that the CDC does in safeguarding public health and am proud of my contributions to that critical mission. However, after much contemplation and reflection on recent developments and perspectives brought to light by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I find that the views he and his staff have shared challenge my ability to continue in my current role at the agency and in the service of the health of the American people. Enough is enough. While I hold immense respect for the institution and my colleagues, I believe that it is imperative to align my professional responsibilities to my system of ethics and my understanding of the science of infectious disease, immunology, and my promise to serve the American people. This step is necessary to ensure that I can contribute effectively in a capacity that allows me to remain true to my principles. The recent change in the adult and children’s immunization schedule threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people. The data analyses that supported this decision have never been shared with CDC despite my respectful requests to HHS and other leadership. This lack of meaningful engagement was further compounded by a “frequently asked questions” document written to support the Secretary’s directive that was circulated by HHS without input from CDC subject matter experts and that cited studies that did not support the conclusions that were attributed to these authors. Having worked in local and national public health for years, I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people. It is untenable to serve in an organization that is not afforded the opportunity to discuss decisions of scientific and public health importance released under the moniker of CDC. The lack of communication by HHS and other CDC political leadership that culminates in social media posts announcing major policy changes without prior notice demonstrate a disregard of normal communication channels and common sense. Having to retrofit analyses and policy actions to match inadequately thought-out announcements in poorly scripted videos or page long X posts should not be how organizations responsible for the health of people should function. Some examples include the announcement of the change in the COVID-19 recommendations for children and pregnant people, the firing of scientists from ACIP by X post and an op-ed rather than direct communication with these valuable experts, the announcement of new ACIP members by X before onboarding and vetting have completed, and the release of term of reference for an ACIP workgroup that ignored all feedback from career staff at CDC. Their desire to please a political base will result in death and disability of vulnerable children and adults. Their base should be the people they serve not a political voting bloc. I have always been first to challenge scientific and public health dogma in my career and was excited by the opportunity to do so again. I was optimistic that there would be an opportunity to brief the Secretary about key topics such as measles, avian influenza, and the highly coordinated approach to the respiratory virus season. Such briefings would allow exchange of ideas and a shared path to support the vision of “Making America Healthy Again.” We are seven months into the new administration, and no CDC subject matter expert from my Center has ever briefed the Secretary. I am not sure who the Secretary is listening to, but it is quite certainly not to us. Unvetted and conflicted outside organizations seem to be the sources HHS use over the gold standard science of CDC and other reputable sources. At a hearing, Secretary Kennedy said that Americans should not take medical advice from him. To the contrary, an appropriately briefed and inquisitive Secretary should be a source of health information for the people he serves. As it stands now, I must agree with him, that he should not be considered a source of accurate information. The intentional eroding of trust in low-risk vaccines favoring natural infection and unproven remedies will bring us to a pre-vaccine era where only the strong will survive and many if not all will suffer. I believe in nutrition and exercise. I believe in making our food supply healthier, and I also believe in using vaccines to prevent death and disability. Eugenics plays prominently in the rhetoric being generated and is derivative of a legacy that good medicine and science should continue to shun.The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning. My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so. I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud. I am resigning because of the cowardice of a leader that cannot admit that HIS and his minions’ words over decades created an environment where violence like this can occur. I reject his and his colleagues’ thoughts and prayers, and advise they direct those to people that they have not actively harmed. For decades, I have been a trusted voice for the LGBTQ community when it comes to critical health topics. I must also cite the recklessness of the administration in their efforts to erase transgender populations, cease critical domestic and international HIV programming, and terminate key research to support equity as part of my decision. Public health is not merely about the health of the individual, but it is about the health of the community, the nation, the world. The nation’s health security is at risk and is in the hands of people focusing on ideological self-interest. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunities for growth, learning, and collaboration that I have been afforded during my time at the CDC. It has been a privilege to work alongside such dedicated professionals who are committed to improving the health and well-being of communities across the nation even when under attack from within both physically and psychologically. Thank you once again for the support and guidance I have received from you and previous CDC leadership throughout my tenure. I wish the CDC continued success in its vital mission and that HHS reverse its dangerous course to dismantle public health as a practice and as an institution. If they continue the current path, they risk our personal well-being and the security of the United States.
Costa Samaras@costasamaras.com · 11mo ago

A hero. I got to meet Dr. Daskalakis at the White House when he was the deputy coordinator of the White House Mpox Response. His public service made the country safer. RFK must resign.

Don Moynihan@donmoyn.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Full resignation letter from Demetre C. Daskalakis, a CDC leader, does not hold back. "The recent shooting at CDC is not why I am resigning. My grandfather, who I am named after, stood up to fascist forces in Greece and lost his life doing so. I am resigning to make him and his legacy proud."

My resignation letter from CDC. Dear Dr. Houry, I am writing to formally resign from my position as Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), effective August 28, 2025, close of business. I am happy to stay on for two weeks to provide transition, if requested. This decision has not come easily, as I deeply value the work that the CDC does in safeguarding public health and am proud of my contributions to that critical mission. However, after much contemplation and reflection on recent developments and perspectives brought to light by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., I find that the views he and his staff have shared challenge my ability to continue in my current role at the agency and in the service of the health of the American people. Enough is enough. While I hold immense respect for the institution and my colleagues, I believe that it is imperative to align my professional responsibilities to my system of ethics and my understanding of the science of infectious disease, immunology, and my promise to serve the American people. This step is necessary to ensure that I can contribute effectively in a capacity that allows me to remain true to my principles.
Cohen Lab @Cornell@cohenlab.bsky.social · last yr.

I couldn’t be more proud of this tremendous work by Dr @awood2.bsky.social in my lab, co-led by myself and @idwolff.bsky.social. Anna worked tirelessly to conduct a comprehensive analysis of female meiosis, showing that CNTD1 plays role in crossover designation and checkpoint regulation in females.

Journal of Cell Biology@jcb.org · last yr.

@awood2.bsky.social, Wolff et al. @cohenlab.bsky.social‬ @cornellrepro.bsky.social‬ show that cyclin N-terminal domain containing 1 (CNTD1) is a critical regulator of crossover formation during prophase I of #meiosis in females. rupress.org/jcb/article/... #Genetics #CellCycle #CellDivision