Katie Berry

@katieberry.bsky.social

Associate Professor of Biochemistry Mount Holyoke College Loves RNA, bacteria, gene regulation, molecular genetics, mentoring undergraduates, inclusive pedagogy, outdoor adventures, photography, sports, and being a mom! tinyurl.com/berrylab

Registration is open for the 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Stress Response to be held on July 19-24 2026!! Submit your abstract by February 15th to be considered for a short talk. Apply now before it fills up!! Hope to see you there!! www.grc.org/microbial-st...

2026 Microbial Stress Response Conference GRC

The 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Stress Response will be held in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Apply today to reserve your spot.

grc.org

16 (! What?) years ago I went to my first ABRCMS and was welcomed and encouraged to pursue my scientific dreams. I met folks that provided direct feedback on my graduate school applications and served a pivotal role in my career. I am honored return and give back again as faculty. #ABRCMS2025

Me in front of the ABRCMS sign

Hiring 4 postdocs — organismal biophysics, soft robotics, frugal Raman diagnostics, or your own bold idea. 3-year funding, $65K+ benefits. GT (Atlanta) now → CU Boulder BioFrontiers Institute in Fall ’26. PDF/details in next post. Tag/share if someone comes to mind. 🧪🪲🪳#livingphysics

Recruitment poster for the Bhamla Lab. Top shows Georgia Tech and CU Boulder logos. Main headline: “Hiring Multiple Postdoctoral Researchers: Organismal Biomechanics, Soft Robotics, and Raman Diagnostics.” Left column lists four roles—Organismal Biology, Bioinspired Engineering, Raman Diagnostics, and a Curiosity‑Based slot—plus note of 3‑year funding from DARPA, NSF, NIH, and Schmidt. Right side features a vintage collage of a Victorian‑era scientist with robotic arm, insects, and globe, and a circular “Physics of Life” diagram linking biology, physics, engineering, and mathematics. Tan background, Bhamla Lab crest at top.

“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Alan Garber, Harvard’s president, said about President Trump's demands. nyti.ms/4jzSS9W

The gates of Harvard University. The text reads: "Harvard Says It Will Not Comply With Trump Administration's Demands." Photo by Sophie Park for The New York Times.

I am thrilled to share this new preprint from our lab! We find (>800!) 30S binding sites in hundreds of 5'UTRs, but also new dynamic steps of translation initiation. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Congrats to all co-authors at the RNA control of gene expression lab, IBPC CNRS (Thread, 1/6)

30S-seq redefines the bacterial Ribosome Binding Site

The translation initiation step is rate limiting for the efficiency of gene expression in all organisms. However, the mechanism of ribosome recruitment to mRNA start sites strikingly differs between e...

biorxiv.org

NSF grantees and awardees can learn from a *new report* how they might respond to grant changes like termination! 🔬 Like @davidimiller.bsky.social says, prepare now. I helped edit this with the amazing @isaackamola.bsky.social at AAUP and other great colleagues. Posted w/ other CDAF resources here:

Publications

Executive Power Watch Our Executive Power Watch monitors executive action that weakens democratic society by targeting students, faculty, and campus workers in American colleges and universities.

aaup.org

Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈@davidimiller.bsky.social · last yr.

🧪 Whoa this @aaup.bsky.social guide for navigating NSF grant terminations looks amazing!! 👀 And quite timely: there's another EO deadline this Friday (3/28) to "terminate or modify...grants...to advance the policies of my administration." PDF: www.aaup.org/sites/defaul...

Understanding the Law and Policies for Grant Terminations for the National Science Foundation March 25, 2025 This informational guide is primarily intended for National Science Foundation (NSF)–funded principal investigators if NSF requests a change in your work. The level of detail assumes the reader has basic familiarity with the NSF’s two main review criteria (intellectual merit and broader impacts), in addition to the NSF’s Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). However, this guide may also be relevant to research administrators, legal experts, or awards from other funding agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), given that the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) applies to all agencies, not just the NSF. This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please also consult the links contained within this document for the official statutes, regulations, procedures, or any other such guidance. Other experts may interpret the official guidance in ways that may differ from this informational document.

Now is a critical time for colleges and universities to coordinate a collective fight to protect our missions and freedom of expression. Please consider signing in solidarity with colleagues at UMass Amherst and other universities targeted by recent threats. sites.google.com/umass.edu/we...

Home

March 20, 2025 Dear Presidents, Chancellors, and Boards of Trustees of the 60 Universities that received a March 10th warning letter from the U.S. Department of Education: You are on the frontlines ...

sites.google.com

A friend drove two hours today for her breast cancer chemotherapy only to learn it was canceled due to NIH cuts. Clinical trial ended midstream. No treatment, no restart, no plan, no information. Her bro-in-law's chemo was also canceled.