Jess Moore
@jlmoore.bsky.social
Schmidt Science Fellow, Cagla Eroglu’s lab @ Duke Studying astrocyte endfeet ⭐️ PhD from Valentina Greco’s lab @ Yale
Our Graduate School Mentorship Initiative (GSMI) started in 2019 when three graduate students had a vision to make graduate school entry accessible for students from low-income, first-generation and underserved communities. www.youtube.com/watch?v=s88T...
Científico Latino: Graduate School Mentorship Initiative (GSMI)
YouTube video by Científico Latino
youtube.com
A new Nature study from Duke University School of Medicine introduces Raygun, an AI framework that can redesign proteins while preserving their structure and function. #AcademicSky #MedSky https://medschool.duke.edu/news/molecular-shrink-ray
Like a molecular 'shrink ray'
The tool, called Raygun in a nod to science fiction, can create shorter, longer, and highly modified versions of proteins while preserving their structure and function. The findings, published in Natu...
medschool.duke.edu
You're probably already doing science advocacy — you just might not call it that. Our new commentary (www.nature.com/articles/s41...) makes the case that every scientist has a role, and that advocacy takes many forms. Find and embrace yours! @natcellbio.nature.com @vfarm15.bsky.social
Every scientist has a role in advocacy - Nature Cell Biology
In this Comment, we call on scientists to share their stories. Through casual conversation or prepared presentations, with images or essays, scientists can advocate for their research and reach taxpay...
nature.com
Excited to share our latest! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... This was a highly collaborative endeavor– the best way to do science. We asked how a developing tissue achieves the right shape despite all the variability along the way. Short answer: Hydrostatic pressure. Read on for the long answer!
Spotlight: @isabella-gaeta.bsky.social, @shuangshuangdu.bsky.social, @valentatormenta.bsky.social et al. (doi.org/10.1083/jcb....) revealed that dermal #fibroblast depletion does not affect epidermal #StemCell proliferation in the skin. Rognoni highlights the findings: rupress.org/jcb/article/...
So happy to share this angle of my postdoctoral work! The skin epidermis keeps on keeping on, even when we deplete a majority of dermal fibroblasts.
Journal of Cell Biology@jcb.org · 2mo ago@isabella-gaeta.bsky.social, @shuangshuangdu.bsky.social, @valentatormenta.bsky.social et al. show that the epidermal stem cell layer retains its capacity for proliferation despite significant fibroblast depletion during both adult and neonatal stages in vivo. rupress.org/jcb/article/... #StemCells
@isabella-gaeta.bsky.social, @shuangshuangdu.bsky.social, @valentatormenta.bsky.social et al. show that the epidermal stem cell layer retains its capacity for proliferation despite significant fibroblast depletion during both adult and neonatal stages in vivo. rupress.org/jcb/article/... #StemCells
sciencepolitics.org/2026/06/08/t...
The Myth of the Irreplaceable Scientist - Science Politics
To create fair promotion and evaluation systems, academia might learn something from biology: Cells do not rely on one individual; tissues survive because they are adaptable and redundant.
sciencepolitics.org
Grateful to be part of this amazing community that I've looked up to for years!
Leading Edge Fellows Program@leadingedgeprogram.bsky.social · 2mo agoWe are thrilled to announce the 2026 Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Fellows! 40 remarkable postdocs pursuing transformative research in biological/biomedical sciences. This is the 7th Leading Edge cohort and we are so excited to welcome them! www.leadingedgesymposium.org/fellows/
BREAKING: New proposed OMB regulation, applying to all federal grants, requiring grant reviews by senior political appointees and re-emphasizes that "peer review remains advisory and does not replace agency discretion". #standupforscience public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-10817.pdf
public-inspection.federalregister.gov
Scoop: NSF has been quietly blocking new funds and grants to four top universities: Duke, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. Dozens of proposals from PIs at these universities—and their collaborators—have been stuck at the Office of Award Management awaiting finalization for months.
Exclusive: NSF puts new research grants to top universities on hold
US science funder once again restricts awards to Harvard University and other research institutions.
nature.com
δ-catenin controls layer-specific transcriptional maturation of astrocytes via Zbtb20 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.12.724361v1
Live on bioRxiv🎉🧬🧠! We @BhaduriLab use perturb-seq in human cortical tissues to make sense of the shifting molecular trajectories that form the human prefrontal cortex. (1/7) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Intrinsic coordination of dynamic molecular signatures shape the human prefrontal cortex
The cerebral cortex drives human cognition through the coordinated activity of discrete cortical areas, each harboring specialized molecular, structural and functional characteristics. Central to this organization is the prefrontal cortex (PFC), a hub for executive function that displays disproportionate expansion in humans and selective vulnerability to neurodevelopmental disorders. Previous work has identified a collection of PFC-enriched marker genes with dynamic expression trajectories, and re-analysis of these datasets converge these markers into 18 distinct molecular signatures of spatiotemporal PFC identity. However, the intrinsic gene networks that coordinate these molecular signatures to shape the human PFC remains unclear. Through pooled CRISPR activation screens in human primary cortical tissues, we have evaluated the ability of PFC-enriched transcription factors to intrinsically pattern PFC molecular identity. Our screens identify novel roles for the neurogenesis regulator, YBX1, in the activation of human PFC fate. In parallel screens and knock-down experiments in human cortical organoids, we define how YBX1 acts in concert with other PFC determinants to activate molecular signatures of PFC identity. Our findings support a model in which PFC patterning is orchestrated by cohorts of intrinsic determinants that initiate, potentiate, and modulate PFC gene signatures, conferring robustness to the development of the human PFC. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. NIH, R00NS111731, R01MH132689, UM1MH130991, RF1MH132662, U24HG002371 Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, https://ror.org/03a63f080, Young Investigator Award Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, https://ror.org/052csg198, Sloan Fellowship Rose Hills Foundation, Innovation Award Esther A. & Joseph Klingenstein Fund, Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Simons Foundation, https://ror.org/01cmst727, Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Ablon Trust, Ablon Scholar Award Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA Zamenhof Scholarship UCLA Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine, Innovation Award, Stem Cell Research Training Program University of California, Los Angeles, https://ror.org/046rm7j60, Eugene V. Cota-Robles Award California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, https://ror.org/033m8b439, DISC0-14514, DISC4-16337 National Science Foundation, Graduate Research Fellowship Program
biorxiv.org
What’s new in #DevBio? 👀 Our preLighters Theodora, Jawdat, @sristi.bsky.social & @deevithab.bsky.social have handpicked a selection of exciting preprints in this area. Check out the #preList and let us know your favourite, recent DevBio preprint ⬇️: prelights.biologists.com/prelists/pre...
preLighters’ choice – Handpicked DevBio preprints - preLights
prelights.biologists.com
What if brain metastatic cells do not act alone, but form #networks to help them grow? In our new #preprint, we show that #brainmetastases form malignant, gap-junction mediated #networks that drive cell cycle progression & neural features through Ca²⁺ signaling. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 🧵👇
SIGN YOUR SUPPORT for the Reinstatement of the National Science Board at this link: zurl.co/UPf5g 1/3
🎉 First preprint from our lab! Regulatory T cells are selectively recruited to regenerating but not scarring mouse digit tips, driving macrophage-mediated bone remodeling essential for regrowth. A new axis of innate/adaptive immune cooperation in mammalian regeneration! #immunology #regeneration
bioRxiv Immunology@biorxiv-immuno.bsky.social · 3mo agoSelective Treg recruitment to bone remodeling niches is required for digit tip regeneration https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.04.722813v1
Please check out our new preprint! Together with @sarathomasy.bsky.social and led by DVM/PhD candidate Raneesh Ramarapu, we used 3D imaging + quantitative analysis to show how the corneal endothelium maintains a stable layer and refines hexagonal packing during development.
bioRxiv Developmental Biology@biorxiv-devbio.bsky.social · 3mo agoQuantitative imaging of corneal endothelial development reveals dynamic but resilient monolayer https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.01.722310v1
Posting for Vibhu Sahni: Due to unforeseen circumstances the Burke Neurological Institute will have to terminate its research operations 5/22. There are international postdocs on visas who are looking for new homes. Please reach out to Vibhu if you can help
The application deadline has been extended for our Stem Cell & Dev Bio Early Career Symposium! 👉 Apply by May 3. All career stages welcomed. 🔗 https://alleninstitute.org/events/stem-cell-developmental-biology-early-career-symposium Co-hosted with @isscr.org and @socdevbio.bsky.social
Our PhD student Kennedy Orwa, who studies applications of AI to health care, was hastily deported today to Kenya along with his 13-year-old son without opportunity to speak to legal counsel. King 5 reports that he held a valid visa that was rescinded without explanation.
UW graduate student deported through SEA as protesters demand answers
A union representing University of Washington graduate student workers says Kennedy Orwa’s student visa was rescinded without explanation.
king5.com
🐟!JOB ALERT!Duke, Durham, NC!🐟 We are looking for a research tech (our current tech is starting grad school this Fall (Yay!)). The candidate will contribute to our ongoing research projects on tissue morphogenesis using zebrafish. Please RT🙏 www.munjallab.com/join-us
Opportunities — Principles of Tissue Morphogenesis (Munjal Lab)
munjallab.com
Visibility in Academia, like in the world, is not fixed; it is produced. This piece “What Cell Biology Reveals About Academia” is a reminder that everyone has the potential to be either seen or unseen. sciencepolitics.org/2026/03/23/w...
What Cell Biology Reveals About Academia - Science Politics
Our work reminds me that everyone has the potential to be either seen or unseen.
sciencepolitics.org
Scientists at Duke University School of Medicine think they’ve found a genetic switch that helped build the human brain. #AcademicSky #MedSky https://medschool.duke.edu/news/tiny-dna-switch-may-explain-why-human-brains-grew-so-big?utm_campaign=SoMnews&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky
A tiny DNA switch may explain why human brains grew so big
A short piece of DNA that changed rapidly in humans compared with other mammals appears to act like a volume knob for brain growth.
medschool.duke.edu
We are thrilled to introduce our 2026 Schmidt Science Fellows — thirty-two incredible scientists set to embark on the next step of their interdisciplinary journey with our support. schmidtsciencefellows.org/news/the-202... @schmidtsciences.bsky.social
Delighted to share that our study is now out @cp-cellstemcell.bsky.social www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce... Congrats to Dr. @federicamosti.bsky.social for the culmination of a beautiful thesis!
Species-specific chromatin architecture and neurogenesis mediated by a human enhancer
How human-specific DNA changes shape brain development is poorly understood. Mosti et al. discover a human enhancer, HAR1984, which drives ETV5 and TRA2B expression via human-enriched chromatin intera...
cell.com
Debby Silver@debbysilver.bsky.social · 12mo agoSharing our newest study led by the incredibly talented @federicamosti.bsky.social investigating new molecular mechanisms of human brain development. We discover a human-specific enhancer HAR1984 that influences chromatin looping to promote cortical size and folding! www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Our first cancer biology preprint is up! TRIM9 switches melanoma cell phenotypes. First author @klukasik.bsky.social has taken the lab into new directions for sure in a fun collaboration with @coronin.bsky.social. We can't wait to hear what you think. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Condensates are powerful ways to break symmetry and cells do remarkable things with them. Here we show that in a multinucleate fungus, a condensate regulates translation of a cyclin and a formin in distinct locations. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
RNA-specific local translation is patterned by condensates for multinucleate cell growth - Nature Cell Biology
Geisterfer, Jalihal et al. show spatially distinct effects of Whi3 condensates on target translation in Ashbya syncytia. In vitro, translation is enriched at condensate–solute interfaces but repressed...
nature.com
Delighted to share this new publication from our lab, led by the AMAZING Dr. Juan Ramirez and collaborators. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
