@nu-bsa.bsky.social @feinberg.northwestern.edu

Christine Dunham@dunhamlab.bsky.social · last mo.

This was a really fun collaboration with the Yap lab at Northwestern @ribo1214.bsky.social. Congrats to Jacob Mattingly who led our structural biology efforts and Anna Lipońska from the Yap lab who performed the virulence assays! @pnas.org @emorycollege.bsky.social

Check out the resources added to our collections this month: www.galter.northwestern.edu/about/news/a...

In the latest episode of our #BreakthroughsPodcast, Peter Penzes, PhD, discusses a newly discovered #schizophrenia biomarker & how research into the genetic overlaps between autism and schizophrenia could offer earlier diagnosis, more precise treatment, & better outcomes. 🔗spr.ly/6006B8L1WG

What is the Genetic Overlap Between Autism and Schizophrenia? with Peter Penzes, PhD

In this episode, Peter Penzes, PhD, director of the Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, discusses a recent discovery of a schizophrenia biomarker and how this research could one day offer earlier diagnosis, more precise treatment, and better outcomes for patients.

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Allegra Minor is a PhD candidate in the Driskill Graduate Program and Department of Biochemistry/Molecular Genetics @feinberg.northwestern.edu using cellular senescence, a permanent form of cell cycle arrest, as a strategy to control tumor growth. Learn more: www.tgs.northwestern.edu/about/our-co...

Congrats to Loukia Parisiadou, PhD, and team on receiving a multi-year grant to join the Collaborative Research Network, supported by Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (@asapresearch.parkinsonsroadmap.org) and The Michael J. Fox Foundation, to study selective vulnerability in #ParkinsonsDisease.

🧠 CRN Team Surmeier released a new #publication exploring how sustained dopamine levels during dyskinesia reshape striatal neuron activity, revealing state-specific changes in excitability and connectivity. 🔗 bit.ly/3Nsmzzk

Pioneering scientist Svetlana Mojsov, PhD, captivated the Northwestern audience with her 2026 #KimberlyPrize Lecture, sharing the story behind her discovery of the #GLP1 hormone and its transformation of #diabetes and obesity treatment. 🔗 spr.ly/63322BB385K

Seemingly unrelated mutations boost multidrug resistance by promoting ribosome synthesis. Out in #mBio @asm.org, 1st author @lescorneta.bsky.social, great collaboration w/ Dapeng Zhang's and Jade Wang's groups. @nu-bsa.bsky.social #MicroSky #ribosome #AMR journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

Inactivation of a purine biosynthesis repressor promotes ribosome synthesis to overcome antibiotic stress | mBio

The Erm rRNA methyltransferase superfamily represents the most prevalent determinant of MLS resistance in nosocomial Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. Previous studies have established that erm expression is primarily governed by upstream ribosome stalling peptide and the 5′ untranslated regions. Using the widespread S. aureus ermBL-ermB (ermB+) operon as a model system, we unexpectedly identified second-site mutations in purR that synergistically enhance MLS resistance in an ermB+ background. Loss of purR function derepresses nucleotide biosynthesis and ribosome production, thereby promoting bacterial growth under antibiotic stress. While numerous purR single-nucleotide polymorphisms across multiple species have been associated with antibiotic resistance, no study has directly linked these sequence polymorphisms to their regulatory function. Our results highlight the critical role of ribosome abundance and nucleotide metabolism in shaping antibiotic efficacy.

journals.asm.org

Who gets the calories? An endothelial checkpoint for fat expansion. Luisa Iruela-Arispe @feinberg.northwestern.edu discusses new work by Wetternwald, Köck and colleagues @petrovalab.bsky.social (rupress.org/jem/article/...) in Insights: rupress.org/jem/article/... #CardiovascularBiology #Metabolism

Members of the Northwestern community are invited to join the Department of Pharmacology for the Eugene M. Silinsky Symposium on Monday, April 6 from 1:00–4:15 p.m. Bringing Biology to Light: Novel Technologies in Scientific Visualization 👇 See details in the flyer below.

Here are the virtual classes we're offering this month. Sign up here: galter.northwestern.edu/classes

Scientists in the Prakriya Lab have identified Orai1 calcium channels as key drivers of microglia-mediated neuroinflammation, with inhibition reducing hippocampal inflammation and depressive-like behaviors, according to findings published in Science Signaling. tinyurl.com/yr4rb8jm

Publicly Available Neisseria Gonorrhoeae Genomes Predominantly Represent In Vitro-Derived Nonpiliated Variants url: academic.oup.com/jid/article/... #Microbiology #Microsky

Publicly Available Neisseria Gonorrhoeae Genomes Predominantly Represent In Vitro-Derived Nonpiliated Variants

Most Neisseria gonorrhoeae clinical isolates are piliated but lose piliation during laboratory passage. However, most public genomic sequences are from non

academic.oup.com

Brandon Jutras, PhD, joins #BreakthroughsPodcast to share how his lab is uncovering the biology behind persistent #LymeDisease symptoms and how these discoveries could lead to more targeted therapies and personalized diagnostics. spr.ly/6049hKQVv

Targeting neuronal signaling behind aberrant learning in the striatum may enhance first-line therapy for #Parkinsons and reduce therapy-related side effects, according to a Science Advances study led by D. James Surmeier, PhD.

Targeting Aberrant Learning May Improve Parkinson’s Treatment - News Center

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered that targeting neuronal signaling controlling aberrant learning in the striatum may improve the efficacy of a first-line therapy for Parkinson’s…

tinyurl.com

Congratulations to Murali Prakriya, PhD, the Magerstadt Professor of Pharmacology, named a 2025 American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics Fellow — one of just 17 honorees recognized nationally for excellence in pharmacology, mentorship and service.

A new year means new discoveries! 🔬🎆 Join us this January for Basic Science seminars and events and let’s kick off 2026 with learning, collaboration, and curiosity. Details🔗: tinyurl.com/9e34r7t6

If you missed the webinar held on December 2, 2025, you can watch the recording here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPlS...

Autism Across the Spectrum: From Understanding the Brain to Developing New Treatments 12.2.2025

YouTube video by Northwestern University Medical Alumni Association

youtube.com

What happens when a cell’s internal scaffolding breaks down? Vladimir Gelfand, PhD, explores how cytoskeletal disruptions could play a role in motor neuron diseases like #ALS on the latest episode of #BreakthroughsPodcast. 🔗 spr.ly/6017COtU3

🎙️Egon Ozer, MD, PhD, co-director of the Center for Pathogen Genomics and Microbial Evolution, discusses investigating global infectious disease threats in the new episode of #ExploreGlobalHealthPodcast. Listen: www.globalhealth.northwestern.edu/events/podca...

Iryna Boiko and Selma Mettane show that most gonococcal genomic sequences are from nonpiliated bacteria, even though clinical isolates are piliated. Publicly Available Neisseria Gonorrhoeae Genomes Predominantly Represent In Vitro-Derived Nonpiliated Variants: academic.oup.com/jid/article/...

NEW PREPRINT led by stellar postdoc @biophysben.bsky.social We turn diffusion models into inference machines. Score function→exact likelihoods, uncertainty estimate & interpretablity. Diffusion models generate. But classify? Untapped—until now @chanzuckerberg.bsky.social shorturl.at/s32uX

Interpretable Thermodynamic Score-based Classification of Relaxation Excursions

Classification and regression are cornerstones of computational biology and science at large, from identifying cell types to stratifying patients by disease state. Current deep learning classifiers pr...

shorturl.at

Ben Kuznets-Speck@biophysben.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Today we’re excited to share Keeping SCORE, a framework that turns any diffusion model into a thermodynamic inference machine. Using only a model’s score function, we compute exact class likelihoods and uncertainty—and even decompose which features drove the decision. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

This December, explore our basic science events and seminars featuring exciting research. Join us for opportunities to connect with colleagues across Feinberg. Check out the event lineup here: tinyurl.com/dvyvrds4

New preprint! We measured temperature- and pH-induced aggregation for over 18,000 natural and de novo designed protein domains!

Join us this November for our virtual classes! Register here: galter.northwestern.edu/classes

Join us for basic science events and seminars in November. 🔗Explore upcoming talks, lectures and discussions: tinyurl.com/2tvstbce

Excited to share our latest work out today in @cp-molcell.bsky.social, revealing a molecular link between succinate dehydrogenase and purine synthesis, connecting two fundamental metabolic pathways. Huge congratulations to the first author, Mushtaq Nengroo! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... !

Accumulation of succinate suppresses de novo purine synthesis through succinylation-mediated control of the mitochondrial folate cycle

The de novo purine synthesis pathway is fundamental for nucleotide production, yet the role of mitochondrial metabolism in modulating this process rem…

sciencedirect.com

Online Now: Accumulation of succinate suppresses de novo purine synthesis through succinylation-mediated control of the mitochondrial folate cycle Online now: