It’s here! Come see what the lab is up to at #SSIB2026

Alex DiFeliceantonio@difeliceantonio.bsky.social · 7d ago

Getting ready for @ssibsociety.bsky.social next week!! So excited to see everyone. If you want to check out what the lab has been up to, here are all of our presentations/posters.

Getting ready for @ssibsociety.bsky.social next week!! So excited to see everyone. If you want to check out what the lab has been up to, here are all of our presentations/posters.

I had to get a nerve block yesterday for an intractable migraine (8 days). Easily top 5 weirdest experiences of my life. But also medicine is amazing and I almost feel like a human today.

New paper out in @amjpublichealth.bsky.social! We used machine learning to identify nutritional charecteristics of foods with addictive potential as rated from a national sample. @fralinbiomed.bsky.social This was a big collaborative effort! 1/7 🧪 ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/suppl/10...

Being in science is especially wierd right now, it feels hard to be excited about milestones. But, I'm still trying to celebrate important things when they happen. Matt and I got tenure! news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Board of Visitors approves 2026 promotions, tenure, and continued appointments

The board approved the following promotions, tenure, and continued appointments.

news.vt.edu

Let them eat golden horses

Anna Kramer@annackramer.bsky.social · 2mo ago

SCOOP: The Trump administration is paying millions to quickly cover four enormous bronze horses with extra-thick 23.75 karat gold leaf. The money for the rush job is coming from National Park Service funds. In total, I found ~$100 mil spent on new DC beautification projects.

I went to school here 20 years ago… Made it to the Dopamine Society Meeting in Seville!! I am so very tired.

Congratulations to the lab’s newest PhDs! Emma Leslie and Zach Hutelin!! @fralinbiomed.bsky.social

We have two post-doctoral fellow positions posted for the lab and for a collaborative project! If you are interested in understanding how diet affects the brain and how that influences eating behavior, please apply here: jobs.apply.vt.edu/jobs/postdoc...

Postdoctoral Associate - Roanoke, Virginia, United States

Job Description The DiFeliceantonio (DONNUT) Lab at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech is seeking an enthusiastic Postdoctoral Associate. Led by Dr. DiFeliceantonio, the lab a...

jobs.apply.vt.edu

The article on Mary Elizabeth's K01 is in the VT News! I'm excited for her to do this work and take the nex step in her career! She's also a triple hokie @virginiatech.bsky.social !! news.vt.edu/articles/202...

Grant backs early-career study on metabolism and food choices

The award from the National Institutes of Health will support Mary Elizabeth Baugh ’09, M.S. ’13, Ph.D. ’18 and her research into better understanding how changes in brain activity translate into how ...

news.vt.edu

Alex DiFeliceantonio@difeliceantonio.bsky.social · 5mo ago

In the spirit of celebrating what we can, I’m so proud of Mary Elizabeth Baugh, DONNUT Lab Research Associate, who got the NOA for her K01 today. 🎉🎉

He did it with glee while posing with a chain saw. Hundreds of thousands of children dead.

Anjali Dayal@anjalikdayal.bsky.social · 3mo ago

“The dismantling of USAID, according to models from Boston University epidemiologist Brooke Nichols, “has already caused the deaths of six hundred thousand people, two-thirds of them children,” Gawande wrote.” hsph.harvard.edu/news/usaid-s...

“The dismantling of USAID, according to models from Boston University epidemiologist Brooke Nichols, “has already caused the deaths of six hundred thousand people, two-thirds of them children,” Gawande wrote.” hsph.harvard.edu/news/usaid-s...

USAID shutdown has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

The Trump administration’s decision to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths from infectious diseases and malnutrition, accord...

hsph.harvard.edu

Joshua Foust 🪖🎮@joshuafoust.com · 3mo ago

The single most defining thing Elon Musk has ever done is killing untold numbers of people by having DOGE illegally raid and disband USAID. Not rickets, not cars, not even the CSAMbot on X. It’s this, and so many media pundits just choose to unsee it.

The fMRI outcomes are here (preprinted) www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6... The story is surprisingly similar! Little effect of intervention in the overall group but changes occurring in our younger participants. 1/ 🧪

Effects of Controlled Diets High in and Free of Ultraprocessed Food on the Brain of Emerging Adults

Objective: The average American consumes 55% of their daily energy from ultraprocessed foods (UPF) created through industrial processes and additives not used at home. We investigated if a high-UPF di...

medrxiv.org

Alex DiFeliceantonio@difeliceantonio.bsky.social · 9mo ago

@davybrenda.bsky.social and I’s UPF RCT is finally published! We tested the effects of a eucaloric UPF vs no UPF diet on energy intake in young people. Our age subgroup analysis found adolescents ate more in a buffet meal after the UPF diet. 🧵🧪 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Excited to be heading to the @achems.bsky.social meeting today! I’m honored to be presenting in the presidential symposium Saturday night. I’ll be presenting these new data and some more from the lab! See you there!

Alex DiFeliceantonio@difeliceantonio.bsky.social · 4mo ago

New preprint from the lab🧵🧪 Eating ultraprocessed foods leads to poor health outcomes, but HOW they do it isn't understood. "HOW?" is important, as "how" can allow targeted policy, reformulaiton, or recommendations to reduce harmful effects. We started to ask that question doi.org/10.64898/202...

1. Keep you fingers out of car doors. 2. Pet your cat.

New preprint from the lab🧵🧪 Eating ultraprocessed foods leads to poor health outcomes, but HOW they do it isn't understood. "HOW?" is important, as "how" can allow targeted policy, reformulaiton, or recommendations to reduce harmful effects. We started to ask that question doi.org/10.64898/202...

Our NIAAA funded Post-DoctT32 has received its NoA (non competing renewal). Are you looking for a post-doc and interested in joining our amazing center? If so, reach out! Here is a convenient form that you can use to upload CV and a cover letter! unc.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

In the spirit of celebrating what we can, I’m so proud of Mary Elizabeth Baugh, DONNUT Lab Research Associate, who got the NOA for her K01 today. 🎉🎉

DONNUT Lab at Brain School for Brain Awareness Week! @fralinbiomed.bsky.social

Newly released files from the investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein reveal that his ties to the scientific community were deeper than previously known. go.nature.com/3Oq4Po2

Epstein files reveal deeper ties to scientists than previously known

Latest batch of documents show researchers consulting the financier and sex offender on publications, visas and more.

go.nature.com

Reminder there are still 2000 active goons destroying our city and kidnapping civilians to such an extreme extent that kids cant even go to school normally

Beth Hawkins@bethhawkins.bsky.social · 6mo ago

ICE surge news: Minneapolis Public Schools has extended *optional* distance learning until April 6.

NEW: Abigail Spanberger this afternoon ordered that all state agencies leave ICE's 287(g) program. This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE. Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.

Virginia’s New Governor Ends ICE Program. Local Contracts Remain, For Now. - Bolts

Abigail Spanberger left the 287(g) program, which empowered state law enforcement to detain immigrants. Will Democrats also bar local police and sheriffs from the program?

boltsmag.org

I started reading my son The Wee Free Men (first of the series this quote is from). I started reading it to him becuase Tiffany becomes a witch, not becuase she's chosen or special. Tiffany becomes a witch because she witnesses a wrong (death of Mrs. Snapperly) and says, not again, not on my watch.

Micah@rincewind.run · 6mo ago

Discworld QOTD, from I Shall Wear Midnight

Academics vying for a spot in Epstein‘s world. There are so many. I feel the need to make a thread, so I don’t keep confusing them. 1/

Judge Biery signed the order with a photo of Liam and two bible verses: The first is "But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." The second is simply "Jesus wept." Astonishing thing for a judge to do.

Legal AF@legalafmtn.bsky.social · 6mo ago

NEWS: Judge Biery has ordered the release of 5-year-old Liam Ramos. A thunderous rebuke against ICE’s violent campaign in Minnesota. Read the order below. Link: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Nevermind the jobs you had, tell me 5 classes you took in college: 1. Democracy and Dictatorship in 20th Centuary Spain 2. History of the American Conquest 3. History of the Diffusion of 3 Cultures 4. Intro to Women's Sport and Culture 5. Men in Love (English course at a Women's College)

Abby Polter@ampolter.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college: 1. Russian Language I (and II) 2. Medical Microbiology 3. Rites of Passage 4. Bioweapons and terrorism 5. Works of Shakespeare

The feminine urge to search every man in your personal and professional network: www.justice.gov/epstein

People outside of Minnesota, in case you are wondering how to help the current situation, this website has many current opportunities to donate and support people who need help in Minnesota. Help pay rent, get groceries, and provide other support for people in hiding. www.standwithminnesota.com

Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory

Stand With Minnesota is a hub for supporting, learning, and taking action to support Minnesotans impacted by ICE and federal enforcement.

standwithminnesota.com

The NRA having their I never thought the leopards would eat my face moment was not on my 2026 bingo card.

Diana Brickell@dianabrickell.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Holy shit, there's an open carry #2A protest of ICE happening in Douglas County Colorado -- a very wealthy and very red suburb county of Denver. (I lived there for 16 years.) The Trump Administration pissing off committed gun owners sufficiently for them to join the protests against ICE is wild.