jared toettcher
@toettch.bsky.social
Dad, bioengineer, climber, skier, surfer (in that order, more or less). Chaotic good alignment, or so my lab tells me...
New Toettchlab paper alert! Harrison Oatman just published his beautiful work combining software design for "smart" microscopy+optogenetics and some really beautiful work understanding EGFR-driven collective cell migration. www.cell.com/cell-systems...
Excited to share our new paper, now published in Nature Cell Biology! 🎉 We asked a fundamental question in cell biology: How do cells maintain polarity while migrating? Especially how do cancer cells navigate confined spaces? www.nature.com/articles/s41556-026-01981-1
CD44 restricts EGFR mobility to polarize cytoskeletal signalling modules driving bleb-based migration - Nature Cell Biology
Jha et al. show that the transmembrane protein CD44 restricts EGFR mobility to maintain an EGFR–PI3K–Rac gradient during bleb-based cell migration.
nature.com
Hey friends, we're hiring over here at Princeton Bioengineering! In addition to the usual positions (faculty, grad students, postdocs), BioE is looking for a Program Manager to help oversee big multi-PI projects (e.g. DARPA, ARPA-H). Pass along & apply if interested! apply.interfolio.com/187973
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Together with mammalian KSR1/2 and budding yeast Ste5, our discovery of Sms1 demonstrates the #evolutionary #convergence of the MAPK scaffolds in opisthokonts, with the independent acquisition of MAPK affinity and plasma membrane targeting domains.
IU let them lock the labs without notice and the occupants had to beg to make sure equipment was turned off and experiments running taken care of to, you know, not cause the building to burn down
Science Magazine@science.org · 3mo agoBreaking news: Indiana University plant microbiologist Roger Innes has been locked out of his laboratory by the school in response to a request by one of his federal funders. The move comes after Innes complained about the government’s prosecution of Chinese postdocs. https://scim.ag/4tsDqRr
Site-specific, multi-kilobase insertions and over-writes in mammalian cells, without DSBs, HDR, recombinases, integrases, transposases, or active cell cycling? Using fully or predominantly single-stranded DNA donors? 1/15
Meet MagLuc: a magnetically-controlled luminescent protein. This is a foundational tool for remote control of biological processes, also known as "magnetogenetics". Can you tell when the magnetic field turns on and off? From @mariaingaramo.bsky.social and the team at @nonfictionlabs.bsky.social
New review on optogenetics in development is out in @genesdev.bsky.social with @toettch.bsky.social and Yang Gao! 💙💡🔦 genesdev.cshlp.org/content/earl... We aim to capture why opto is such a powerful tool for devbio and how future advances can make it even better. Some highlights:
The number of NIH competitive awards is down 50% from 2025, and down ~70% from prior years. Even if they catch up by the end of the year, only wealthy institutions can bridge these huge funding gaps.They're killing science-and violating the constitution-by weaponizing the bureaucracy
The Washington Post@washingtonpost.com · 4mo agoThrough March 31, the number of grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health is down by more than half compared with the same period last year, a Post analysis found. There are also fewer grants focused on women’s health, cancer and mental health, the analysis found. https://wapo.st/48dWJWX
Quantum biological control, now in a multicellular organism! Super exciting to see this work from @scburd.bsky.social et al 🧪
Magnetic resonance control of spin-correlated radical pair dynamics in vivo - Nature
Magnetic resonance control of spin-correlated radical pairs alters red fluorescent protein emission in transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans, demonstrating in vivo magnetic field modulation of biomolecula...
nature.com
Wondering what's the difference between Halorhodopsin and Channelrhodopsin? Curious how a plant photosensor domain could power your next gene editing experiment? Check out our Optogenetics Guide to learn about these tools and more to light up your lab! 🧠💡🔬
Addgene: Optogenetics Guide
Learn about using Optogenetics plasmids in your lab, including microbial opsins and optical switch systems.
twp.ai
Today I'd like to honor the memory of my mentor and friend, Roger Tsien, born 1952 February 1. Today would have been Roger's 74th birthday. Most know Roger for his 2008 Chemistry Nobel Prize with Shimomura and Chalfie. Roger made GFP into the versatile imaging method it is now.
Our new paper just out! pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Optogenetic Translocation to Subcellular Compartments through Regulation of Protein Avidity
Inducible translocation to subcellular compartments is a common strategy for protein switches that control a variety of cell behaviors. However, existing switches achieve translocation through induced...
pubs.acs.org
Zikang (Dennis) Huang@dennishuang.bsky.social · last yr.Check out our Aviatar toolkit for optogenetic translocation to arbitrary organelles! Simple, modular, compact, and many more.
Our research on magneto-sensitive fluorescent proteins and some of their applications has now been published! Huge thank you to the many many people involved in making this happen. 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Quantum spin resonance in engineered proteins for multimodal sensing - Nature
A recently developed class of magneto-sensitive fluorescent proteins are engineered to alter the properties of their response to magnetic fields and radio frequencies, enabling multimodal sensing of b...
nature.com
Blog post: Just quit Quitting projects in science is hard, but we should be doing a lot more of it. open.substack.com/pub/arjunraj...
Just quit
Quitting projects in science is hard, but we should be doing a lot more of it.
open.substack.com
Here's another exciting doctoral project led by Research Group Leader Beatrice Ramm at the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory. Check the list of other available projects on our website: lnkd.in/gEMXNQY6 The application portal is open so apply now! #PhD #IMPRS #graduateprogram #maxplanck
Janelia is hiring! "Invent new imaging methods, molecular tools, or protein chemistry approaches" www.janelia.org/content/lead...
Lead a lab at Janelia
janelia.org
So happy to announce our new preprint, “A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes.” We cultured a novel amoeba from Lassen Volcanic NP (CA, USA) that divides at 63°C (145°F) 🔥 - a new record for euk growth! #protistsonsky 🧵
bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 8mo agoA geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.24.690213v1
The lab’s first pre-print! We investigated how growth-inducing Erk activity waves are regulated in regenerating zebrafish scales. We discovered that Erk waves are followed by waves of expression of their own inhibitors, as predicted by excitable waves theory. tinyurl.com/26r2cmpj
Domesticated animals have pulled our heavy carts and turned our large mills for centuries. But what about the opposite end of the spectrum—what if the wheel you want to turn is so small you can’t see it? Turns out we can harness the power of bacteria to power the world’s smallest machines. 1/7 ⚛️🧪
Great Job - Great Colleagues - Great Science👍 Help us pick the next generation of @hhmi.org Investigators, Freeman Hrabowski Scholars, Hanna Gray Fellows, Gilliam Fellows Relocation to DC is required, perfect for academic PIs looking for their next chapter hhmi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/External/job...
Senior Director - Scientific Officer
Primary Work Address: 4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, MD, 20815 Current HHMI Employees, click here to apply via your Workday account. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) advances the disco...
hhmi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
Want to get started with smart microscopy? 🧠🔬 Check out our online repository with implementations from labs and industry -- lots of practical tips and links to sample code! smartmicroscopy.github.io/implementati... More details in the ✨updated preprint!✨ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🚀 Our new paper is out @natmethods.nature.com! Kuffer & Marzilli engineered conditionally stable MS2 & PP7 coat proteins (dMCP & dPCP) that degrade unless bound to RNA, enabling ultra–low-background, single-mRNA imaging in live cells. 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🧬 www.addgene.org/John_Ngo/
SCHEPHERD--the bioelectric cell herding platform built for YOU. Single cells, monolayers, organoids--this herds them all + new tricks. Plz try it-- we will *give* you parts! Teaser here of a steering a single cell. GS Yubin Lin's lifeblood with J. Yodh on piano; Celeste R. and Paul K. Thread 1/N
bioRxivpreprint@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · 11mo agoSCHEPHERD: A universal platform for high-throughput, high-resolution, and programmable control of cell behavior through bioelectric stimulation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.16.674226v1
Out in @science.org! We found that the intestine doesn’t just push out cells when crowded. Instead, cells are in a mechanical tug-of-war, and weaker ones are extruded. A new view of how our gut keeps its balance and stays healthy. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Epithelial tension controls intestinal cell extrusion
Cell extrusion is essential for homeostatic self-renewal of the intestinal epithelium. Extrusion is thought to be triggered by crowding-induced compression of cells at the intestinal villus tip. In th...
science.org
Very excited to be co-organizing this meeting next February. Fellow collective behavior enthusiasts, this one is for you!
EMBL Events@events.embl.org · 12mo ago✨ How do bird flocks form or diseases emerge? Join the brand-new EMBO | EMBL Symposium #EESCollectivity and explore how collective behaviours arise from fundamental principles across biological systems 🧬🦠🐒 💻 s.embl.org/ees26-01-bl ✒️ Submit your abstract by 18 Nov
Latest paper elifesciences.org/articles/107... closes an important cycle in our efforts to study regeneration: week-long recordings allow us to observe the behaviour of cells during the entire course of regeneration in a crustacean leg – bright objects in movie are fluorescent nuclei of cells. 1/6
