Michael P Hart 🏳️🌈 (he/him)
@michaelphart1.bsky.social
Neuroscientist and geneticist @PennGenetics and @PennMedicine. Our lab studies plasticity of neuronal circuits and behavior in C. elegans. www.mphartlab.com
We need your help spreading the word about the C. elegans Community Mentor Match Program! Please talk about the program in your next lab meeting and share this slide with your lab: docs.google.com/presentation...
Mentor match QR codes 2026
Join the C. elegans Community Mentor Match Program! sign up for mentors sign up for mentees and to join peer-mentoring groups https://forms.gle/nfNWQRnpymu6tCYC9 https://forms.gle/pZdwor7wERmQ4oMG8
docs.google.com
Lovely gift from my former PhD student @maracowen.bsky.social !! Who’s to say the worm friend isn’t a pink pseudo-colored C. elegans!?!?
Worm friends, we need your help! For the next C. elegans Mentor Match cycle, we’re gathering testimonials from past mentors and mentees. One of our biggest challenges is recruiting new mentees, and hearing directly from past participants could really help. Please record a short video, and share!
C. elegans Mentor Match Testimonials
Made with Padlet
padlet.com
Please join us in celebrating the life and legacy of Assoc. Prof. Laura Grafe, and the dedication of the Dr. Laura Grafe Endowed Student Research Fund. Sunday April 19th, 2026 2:00 - 4:00 pm Bryn Mawr College lnkd.in/ehM3jxDD] To contribute to the Dr. Laura Grafe Endowed Fund for Student Research
2025 was… something. But time closing it out on the slopes with family has me smiling and optimistic for 2026!
A fun evolution and behavior project initiated by a summer undergrad Reina Eugene (PGSIP intern!) with Dustin Haskell - Variation in Social Feeding Behaviors and Interactions Among Caenorhabditis Nematodes @penngenetics.bsky.social @ecol-evol.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Variation in Social Feeding Behaviors and Interactions Among Caenorhabditis Nematodes
Different species of roundworms (nematodes) are frequently found together in the wild and can aggregate in groups while feeding. We find that different species of worms display a range of feeding beh...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
In the October issue of #GENETICS, @michaelphart1.bsky.social and colleagues report #Celegans mutant analysis that identified conserved #autism genes with functions in experience-dependent neuron remodeling and circuit plasticity. buff.ly/ZrxH4rM
In #GENETICS, @michaelphart1.bsky.social and colleagues performed a mutant screen in #Celegans to identify conserved #autism genes with functions in experience-dependent neuron remodeling and circuit plasticity. buff.ly/f5UYogl
Do you like neuronal #plasticity? #genetics? #Celegans? Check out 1st installment of work by Kristi Zoga in the lab. Kristi screened 20 conserved #autism genes for roles in experience-dependent #neuron remodeling and a related behavior. doi.org/10.1093/genetics/iyaf156
Multiple autism genes influence GABA neuron remodeling via distinct developmental trajectories
Abstract. Variation in over 100 genes are now associated with increased risk for autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions, but how this variation r
doi.org
This all checks out. As a donor, the endless fundraising texts and emails I receive after donating make me donate LESS!!! Figure out a better way to not piss off unit supporters @housedemocrats.bsky.social
Adam Bonica@adambonica.bsky.social · last yr.The annoying spam texts destroying the Democratic brand: $678M raised through those spam tactics $282M to one consulting firm: Mothership Strategies. $11M to actual campaigns (1.6%) The party isn’t just treating donors like marks—it’s being fleeced itself yet continues to back Mothership.
Feature article on latest work from @tdrivas.bsky.social Genetic testing of critically ill adults yields surprises—and reveals disparities in treatment of Black patients | Science www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
We're asking YOU to run for office and we're partnering with the best of the best to make it happen: Pipeline Fund, LEAD NC, Annie's List, Texas Leadership Pipeline, Instituto, Run for Something, and National Democratic Training Committee. Learn more at votesaveamerica.com/run
The White House's proposed FY26 budget would cut NIH funding by >40%. Our new #SCIMaP report projects the budget would lead to economic losses throughout the US with $10M+ lost in almost every House district. scienceimpacts.org/fy26 @joshuasweitz.bsky.social @asinclair.bsky.social @cl10.bsky.social
SCIMaP - Impacts of Federal Cuts to Science and Medical Research
Developed by an interdisciplinary research team, this website shows how funding cuts reduce economic activity and employment nationwide
scienceimpacts.org
(5/5) 🚨 It’s time to flood the zone. NIH scientists just took a huge risk speaking out. Now it’s our turn. 📜 Read the Bethesda Declaration ✍️ Sign the Public Letter of Support 👯♀️Follow NIHers doing the work: @nihvigils.bsky.social Read and sign here 👉 www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
standupforscience.net
"Women are PIs on 58% of the canceled grants, although they are PIs on only 34% of all active NSF grants. Similarly, Blacks are PIs on 17% of the terminated grants, although they make only 4% of the total pool. Hispanic PIs and those with disabilities were twice as likely to lose a grant."
David Malakoff@davidmalakoff.bsky.social · last yr.Another scoop from Jeff Mervis (@policyhound.bsky.social): NSF's ~1400 grant terminations have disproportionately affected PIs from groups underrepresented in science: women, racial & ethnic minorities, & those with disabilities. 1/3 www.science.org/content/arti...
Devastated by the loss of my amazing friend and colleague Laura Grafe (@grafelab.bsky.social, Bryn Mawr). She was beautiful, brilliant, and bursting with life! Her love and light burned so bright, it will forever be with everyone who was lucky enough to know her. Rest In Peace @pennngg.bsky.social
Beyond excited to host @dacolon.bsky.social today for the Distinguished Seminar Series at @pennmedicine.bsky.social @penngenetics.bsky.social!! Come see a terrific talk at noon!
Researchers and advocates have pushed back at what they consider inaccurate and stigmatizing comments made by the health secretary, and note the causes of autism are complex.
RFK pushes to find 'environmental' cause of autism, calls rising rates an 'epidemic'
Researchers and advocates have pushed back at what they consider inaccurate and stigmatizing comments made by the health secretary, and note the causes of autism are complex.
npr.org
Ire isn't the right word... he is wrong and is stigmatizing 1 in ~40 children. 'Kennedy called research into the genetic factors in whether a child will develop autism “a dead end.” “Genes don’t cause epidemics,” he said. “You need an environmental toxin.”" www.nytimes.com/2025/04/16/u...
RFK Jr. Calls Autism ‘Preventable,’ Drawing Ire From Researchers
The health secretary said he would prioritize studies into environmental causes while harshly discounting other factors scientists say are likely contributing to rising rates of the condition.
nytimes.com
"After nearly five hours, he and his wife were released. They are now pursuing legal action. "It's not about the immigrants," his sister, told NBC10 Boston. "It's coming to us Americans, and it's going to go after all of us." www.nbcboston.com/news/politic...
‘Treated like a criminal': US citizen says he was detained returning from Canada
Bachir Atallah, a real estate attorney from New Hampshire, says he and his wife, Jessica Fakhri, were stopped crossing from Canada into Vermont
nbcboston.com
So excited to host @singhvilabglia.bsky.social (One of my favorite scientists to spend time with!!) tomorrow for the @pennngg.bsky.social and MINS seminar!! Come learn about glia!!
Patience, collaboration, and perseverance pay off! Our investigation of the population prevalence of NF1 pathogenic variants is out today in @naturecomms.bsky.social! We find these variants are much more common than anticipated and confer increased risk for cancer. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A genotype-first approach identifies high incidence of NF1 pathogenic variants with distinct disease associations - Nature Communications
Our current understanding of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is based on patients ascertained through phenotype-first approaches, which estimate a low prevalence at 1 in 3,000. Here, the authors levera...
nature.com
attention worm peeps! we need YOU to help recruit more mentees for the C. elegans Community Mentor Match program! 🪱🧪 mentees of all stages are welcome to join! Please help us sign up more mentees by sharing this this slide with your lab in your next lab meeting! docs.google.com/presentation...
Join the C. elegans Community Mentor Match Program!
Join the C. elegans Community Mentor Match Program! sign up for mentors sign up for mentees and to join peer-mentoring groups https://forms.gle/DpGTWRMrNGL96wHy8 https://forms.gle/pVBD5DYGXyLT4waLA
docs.google.com
Amazing support for SCIENCE with so many familiar faces! (Dog, sign, and picture courtesy of @glennislogsdon.bsky.social) @tdrivas.bsky.social @korblab.bsky.social @standupforscience.bsky.social #standupforscience2025
Wonder what it would be like to present your research at a conference attended by #NobelPrize recipients? See them in the hallway & have a chance to chat? Hear about their illustrious work that earned them this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine? This is your chance! 1/3🧵
Philadelphia Stand Up For Science! #standupforscience2025 Friday, March 7 · 11am - 1pm Philadelphia City Hall standupforscience2025.org
Join the @standupforscience.bsky.social rally on March 7 to help protect the American scientific enterprise & defend science as a public good that drives social, political, & economic progress. Learn more & find your local site: https://buff.ly/3EWhSZM #standupforscience2025 #scienceforall
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE
March 7, 2025. Washington DC and nationwide. Because science is for everyone.
buff.ly
Your Action Is Needed! Congress needs to hear from scientists. Call your representatives to oppose funding freezes and restrictions on research. Find contact info at govtrack.us and make your voice heard today! #SciencePolicy www.ascb.org/science-poli...
Awesome, albeit freezing, ski weekend with my siblings and nephew in Vermont! Definitely worth taking an extra 2 days off despite an impending grant deadline!
