My lab is looking to hire a postdoc to work on the evolution of organs and cell types. I’m at #EED2026 this week. If you’re here too and this sounds interesting then please reach out. Multi-year funding available!
Sebastian Kittelmann
@sebkittelmann.bsky.social
Research Fellow in the Centre for Functional Genomics at Oxford Brookes University, UK. Genetics, development, sequencing, Drosophila
If you'd be interested in a postdoc with us using CT scans of trilobite eyes to model their visual abilities, watch this space...!
Lauren Sumner-Rooney@laurensr.bsky.social · 4mo agoSo excited to have received an #HFSPResearchGrant to study trilobite eyes with Luke Parry @oxuniearthsci.bsky.social and Gil Ju Lee (Pusan National University)!🥳 I'll be recruiting a postdoc @bristolbiosci.bsky.social - if 3D data, optical modelling, and fossils tickle your interest, stay tuned!
Excited to share my first preprint from my PhD w/ @justinmcrocker.bsky.social. We show that cell type-specific regulatory dominance promotes robustness and evolutionary innovation through interallelic transcriptional hubs, potentially expanding the mutational paths available to diploids. (1/18)
bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology@biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · 5mo agoInterallelic cis-regulatory dominance promotes robustness and evolutionary innovation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.17.712157v1
Calling all #Drosophila #NewPI #researchers! A few spots remain for the upcoming JEDI Conference - and you won’t want to miss this! Every attendee gives a talk, making the exchange dynamic, personal, and highly interactive - all at a stunning venue that inspires collaboration and creativity.
Do you work with a strange model species and are frustrated by the lack of antibodies for immunos? Here's a web app that does some computational pre-screening for you. sixpack-abscan.serve.scilifelab.se
New preprint form me and the McMillan lab at STRI and Martin lab at GWU, digging into scale cell type specification and differentiation in Heliconius wings, with some insights on the lncRNA gene ivory. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Comments/suggestions welcome!
Thrilled to share that our preprint has been accepted in Science Advances! Grateful to an incredible team & collaborators. Link: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... 👏 @annaferraioli.bsky.social @maikekittelmann.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu @hfspo.bsky.social #ctenophores
The 3D architecture of the ctenophore aboral organ and the evolution of complex integrative centers in animals
The ctenophore aboral organ integrates multimodal sensory signals across distinct cell types.
science.org
Pawel Burkhardt@pawelburkhardt.bsky.social · 12mo agoCtenophores possess a unique aboral organ that acts as a multisensory center, controlling complex behaviors. We’ve now created a ctenophore model integrated with our 3D volume EM data. Puts it into perspective. Check out our recent work here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #ctenophores #volumeEM
We recommend a read of the new MBE editorial on how society journals work towards protecting the scientific record. Publishing in society journals, such as @molbioevol.bsky.social or @genomebiolevol.bsky.social, promotes transparent science that benefits the research community.
Molecular Biology and Evolution@molbioevol.bsky.social · 5mo agoMBE Editors-in-Chief Claudia Russo and Brandon Gaut publish a new editorial on the role of society journals in protecting the scientific record. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag022 #evobio #molbio #societyjournal @claurusso.bsky.social @bsgaut.bsky.social
#Drosophila calling. Delighted to share our new collection of ShineGAL4 drivers for CNS, FB, muscles, enterocytes, oenocytes and MTs made by @vgirard.bsky.social, @sebsorge.bsky.social and colleagues @crick.ac.uk. All at Bloomington @bdsc.bsky.social @dev-journal.bsky.social tinyurl.com/4jpw9jd6
New pre-print with some updates on ivory:miR193 in a highly polymorphic moth. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... We mapped ivory (again!?) this time controlling aspects of camouflage in Anticarsia gemmatalis. Mapping, SVs, Expression and Function. Comments/suggestions welcome!
Join us for a day of talks, posters, and discussions, featuring a morning joint lecture with Nobel Laureates Eric F. Wieschaus and Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard! Date: Monday, May 4th, 2026 Location: University of Copenhagen, Mærsk Tower sites.google.com/view/emergin... Free to participate
Very excited to be advertising this project with the excellent cosupervision of Peter Mergaert through @i2bcparissaclay.bsky.social and @uniexecec.bsky.social. This position is open to international applicants and will involve stints in both Penryn UK and Paris France. Please share! Apply: adum.fr
🚨 We are #hiring a PhD Student to study cerebellum-like circuits in #Drosophila. Please spread the word! www.groschner-lab.org/join #Neuroscience #PhD
🚨 Postdoc opportunity to study memory or nutrition in #Drosophila 🪰 I am looking for a candidate to support for a 3 year Addison Wheeler Fellowship application lnkd.in/e2rvNf5x Interested? Please send a CV & cover letter with brief research outline by 20th February to vincent.croset@durham.ac.uk
addison-wheeler-fellowship - Durham University
dur.ac.uk
Look at the replies and then understand why I yell at the nonsense initiatives the EU has pulled instead of reinforcing what we already have 🧪
Professor Lesley Hoyles@bugsinyourguts.bsky.social · 6mo agoAnybody know what the threshold was for MSCA funding this time round? Results are coming out and it looks brutal.
Very last chance to join us (Deadline tomorrow Feb 10!) at this Developmental Biology meeting! Have a nice story? Come and discuss it with editors from @embojournal.org @plosbiology.org and @dev-journal.bsky.social ! A one hour info session from @erc.europa.eu will also be presented!
Bardin Lab@bardinlab.bsky.social · 8mo agoCome join us in beautiful Roscoff for this Conference Jacques Monod on Developmental regulation: from molecular to ecological niches May 18-22, 2026 Roscoff, France Abstract deadline: January 31, 2026 Apply here: cjm.sb-roscoff.fr/en
I'm looking for a Swiss department to host me for an SNSF Starting Grant. I research how gene expression evolves and emerges by combining wet lab + computational work in a variety of model systems (E. coli, Drosophila, yeast). More: timothyfuqua.com If your department might be a match, let’s chat!
Home | Timothy Fuqua
timothyfuqua.com
I am looking for examples of a 2-3 hour lab activity for a course that would allow college students to get some experience connected to environmental DNA studies (e.g., e-DNA, rRNA/ITS PCR, metagenomics, etc). Ideally this would have some DNA extraction and some follow up processing / analysis.
Fun news! @gcbias.bsky.social and I are teaching a 2-week online population genetics workshop this summer to raise money for the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis. We're trying to gauge interest -- please fill this out if you might be interested! And please share broadly!
Davis Summer Population Genomics Program
Want to learn population genetics? Please fill out this form to indicate your potential interest in a 2-week intensive online summer population genetics course taught by Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra and Graham...
docs.google.com
Abstract submission and registration for the *10th Euro Evo Devo Meeting 2026* at University of Glasgow (June 8-12, 2026) is open. Early bird deadline: March 5, 2026. More info: https://www.evodevoconference26.com/ #conference
Most people are worried about climate change - but most don't hear or talk about regularly. That's why I started my free newsletter Talking Climate. Every week I share good news, not so good news, and what people can do. If you aren't a reader yet, see below. I have 6 different ways to subscribe!
New #PhD on #bees (BeeHd?)! Despite the ad saying "UK Students only", a limited number of scholarships are available for international candidates. So please apply!
Vivek Nityananda@viveknityananda.bsky.social · 6mo agoNew PhD alert! We'll be applying animal welfare ideas to look at how stress affects bees, looking at the effect on bee brains with @lenariab.bsky.social, and working with @sensibee.bsky.social developing new monitoring methods. Please spread the word! #bees #PhD 🧪 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Both MRC and BBSRC responsive modes now withdrawn until further notice. Existing applications unlikely to succeed (late 2025 round expecting 1-5% success rate). Listen, I get that UKRI wants to pivot. But killing both at once is devastating. Let's hope at least one opens by summer... #AcademicSky
MRC instructs grant review boards to slash funding rates - Research Professional News
Boards asked to recommend just three applications for funding, as BBSRC also suspends calls
researchprofessionalnews.com
this mini-review was fueled by frustration with others who use "context-specific" to describe transcription factors that supposedly can function as repressors or activators: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Molecular Mechanisms of Transcription Factors with Dual Activator and Repressor Functions
Transcription factors (TFs) are traditionally classified as activators or repressors, yet some can perform both roles. We highlight well-supported examples of dual activator/repressor functions and...
tandfonline.com
Thanks @elife.bsky.social for this thread on @brunolemaitre.bsky.social and all's immense work assessing the field's reliability! For #Metascience folks: what's unique about the #Drosophila model is access to independent tools. Most studies use multiple approaches to test their key questions. 1n 🧵
eLife@elife.bsky.social · 6mo ago1/ A field-wide audit of reproducibility in Drosophila immunity The ReproSci project assessed how many claims from 400 papers had been verified by later research, and, in an accompanying study, tested those that remained uncorroborated. 🔗 elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
I'm seeing relatively little chatter or outcry about what is happening at the MRC, the UK's biomedical research funder. Before Christmas MRC paused the acceptance of many of its grants, including the standard applicant-led research grant. There has been no public information on what is happening 🧵
New lab paper!! We develop a technology for real-time, single-molecule visualization of proteasomal substrate degradation in cells. We find that the site of substrate engagement by the proteasome determines decay kinetics, efficiency and co-factor requirement. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
In vivo kinetics of protein degradation by individual proteasomes
Protein degradation by the proteasome is central to cellular homeostasis and has been studied extensively using biochemical and structural studies. Despite an in-depth understanding of core proteolytic activity, it has remained largely unresolved how individual proteasomes process substrates inside living cells where many substrate types and co-factors exist. Here, we establish a live-cell single-molecule imaging approach that enables direct visualization and quantification of protein degradation by individual proteasomes. Using this approach, we find that substrate identity, folding and protein-protein interaction have a surprisingly modest impact on processing efficiency, whereas the mode of substrate engagement greatly impacts substrate processing; degradation initiated from protein termini typically proceeds rapidly and with high processivity, whereas internal engagement constitutes a distinct processing mode that exhibits poor processivity and a specific requirement for the AAA+ family ATPase p97/VCP. Furthermore, degradation initiated from opposite termini proceeds with asymmetric rates in a sequence-dependent manner, demonstrating that directionality is an important feature of proteasomal processing in vivo. Notably, poly-glutamine substrates associated with neurodegenerative disease are efficiently degraded from one terminus but resist degradation when engaged from the opposite terminus, highlighting the importance of substrate engagement mode. Together, our results show that different modes of substrate engagement lead to different proteasomal processing outcomes in vivo and revise the prevailing view of the proteasome as a uniform degradation machine. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
biorxiv.org
Interested in hormonal control of development? Want to do your PhD in a supportive environment using flies, molecular biology, genetics, imaging, sequencing? A month to go to apply for this studentship with me, co-supervised by Dani Nunes and Darren Williams. www.brookes.ac.uk/courses/rese...
PhD in Nigel Groome Studentship: Unravelling Context-Specific Hormonal Control of Gene Expression in Drosophila at Oxford Brookes University
The regulation of gene expression underlies nearly every biological process in eukaryotes. It is facilitated through transcription factors (TFs), which bind to DNA and influence mRNA product...
brookes.ac.uk
Very happy to announce that our Exchangeable Tagging System (ExTaSy) is on bioRxiv: doi.org/10.64898/202.... With ExTaSy you can tag #Drosophila genes endogenously and exchange the tag subsequently through fly crosses. Also, the gentic marker is removable, allowing for minimal locus modification.
doi.org
Thrilled to see our review article "The evolutionary origins of synaptic proteins" highlighted on the cover of Nature Reviews Neuroscience 🤩. www.nature.com/articles/s41... @msarscentre.bsky.social 🧠✨🧬🌊🪼🧽
Pawel Burkhardt@pawelburkhardt.bsky.social · 9mo agoFirst neurons didn’t appear overnight. We trace their roots to ancient secretory cells - showing how lifestyle & behavior shaped the evolution of first synapses.🧠🌊 #Evolution #Neuroscience Our latest in @natrevneuro.nature.com Link: rdcu.be/eMX3E @jeffcolgren.bsky.social @msarscentre.bsky.social