I defended my PhD 10 years ago today. That was the least remarkable thing that happened that day. Sharing something I wrote about it last year. Since then "the horrors persist but so do we." And with dignity.
Kevin Waldron
@waldronlab.bsky.social
British/Irish in Poland —————————————— Institute Professor, Lab of Metalloprotein Biology, IBB-PAS, Warsaw —————————————— Opinions entirely my own
Mackenzie, @waldronlab.bsky.social et al. argue that differing superoxide dismutase metal preferences observed across the tree of life evolved through tuning of their redox properties by the secondary coordination sphere. 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msag040 #evobio #molbio
An enzyme's metal preference evolves through redox modulation driven by the cofactor's secondary coordination sphere
Abstract. Changes in protein properties and functions are central to the evolution of life. Metalloproteins can evolve by changing their preference from on
doi.org
New paper alert! Just out, the latest in our study of the evolution of a fascinating family of metalloenzymes, the iron- or manganese-dependent superoxide dismutases (SodFMs). Here, we’ve probed the evolutionary mechanism.
The ups and downs of academic life: a story told in two Acts (from two consecutive days)
A cracking weekend in Annecy with a whole load of old friends and their families. Good times. Even a >3 h delay to my flight back from Geneva can’t dampen my spirits.
On Saturday, we gathered two teams from IBB-PAS to run the Relay Marathon #Ekiden in Warsaw. It was a good day for running, but it made for a sore Sunday (for me, at least). Thanks to all of our runners for a great team effort!
Finally, we're recruiting! If you'd like to do a PhD using NMR structures to study the dynamics of a metalloenzyme, then you're in luck! Come to Warsaw for this project, in collaboration with Simone Ciofi-Baffoni's group at CERM, Florence: ibb.edu.pl/app/uploads/...
Happy 99th birthday to the man who gave voice to the wild. 🎉 Sir David Attenborough, thank you for a lifetime dedicated to the natural world, and for sharing its story with wisdom, wonder, and grace. You've inspired generations to fall in love with nature.
They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made. -FS Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, published 4/10/1925.
Prediction: Today (4/9/25) registered the greatest ill gotten gains from insider trading in history.
Grant number 2 submitted for this calendar year. Two down, two more to go. But for now, on to the manuscripts that have been backing up for the last couple of months.
a cartoon of a person typing on a laptop with the words 10 minute finger break below it
ALT: a cartoon of a person typing on a laptop with the words 10 minute finger break below it
media.tenor.com
A great week at the IPNC conference in Florence. Learned a lot about this interesting group of bacteria which will help in our forthcoming project, and nice to meet a whole new community of researchers.
Termination notices going out this afternoon to more than 300 employees of the National Cancer Institute. Access likely ends today. Four weeks paid leave and that’s it. Strong power move for Team Cancer.
This weekend, my parents came to visit me in Warsaw, so I gave them a tour of the lab. Turns out it was the first time they'd visited any of my labs, which is weird. But I think they're now convinced that I really do have a proper job 🤷♂️
That’s nothing. I found 13 contracts awarded to SpaceX since December totaling $77M. 1/
Will Stancil@whstancil.bsky.social · 2y agoJust got a tip from a guy at the FAA. You'll never believe who is still getting new government contracts while all the contracts at the Department of Education and USAID and other agencies are being nuked from orbit.
Incredible: Russ Vought’s daughter has cystic fibrosis and benefits from a “miracle drug” made possible by the National Institutes of Health—an agency Vought now aims to gut as part of the Project 2025 attack www.motherjones.com/politics/202... Scoop from @motherjones.com’s @metrauxjulia.bsky.social
Project 2025 is gutting medical funding that helped Russell Vought's own kid
Its architect's daughter has cystic fibrosis—and benefits from a "miracle drug" backed by an agency he's attacking.
motherjones.com
When the Bar is publicly stating your country’s laws are being destroyed right in front of you, things are… er, not great www.americanbar.org/news/abanews...
The ABA supports the rule of law
It has been three weeks since Inauguration Day. Most Americans recognize that newly elected leaders bring change. That is expected. But most Americans also expect that changes will take place in accor...
americanbar.org
Of course it’s a coup. Miss the obvious, lose your republic. open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...
Of course it’s a coup
Miss the obvious, lose your republic
open.substack.com
Deadline tomorrow, get your application in
Kevin Waldron@waldronlab.bsky.social · 2y agoAre you a graduate seeking a research post in Warsaw? Looking to gain experience working in a biochemical lab? Have good organisation skills, and want to be part of a team making fundamental discoveries? Join my group at @IBBPAS as a Technician studying metalloproteins. ibb.edu.pl/app/uploads/...
Last few days to apply...
Kevin Waldron@waldronlab.bsky.social · 2y agoLooking for a postdoc position? Want to apply your biochemistry skills to answer interesting evolutionary questions of how metalloenzymes evolve? Join my growing team in Warsaw at @IBBPAS. We're seeking a talented new postdoc to work on the superoxide dismutases. ibb.edu.pl/app/uploads/...
Your regular reminder Delft’s market square was a surface parking lot as recently as 2004. A razor-thin coalition (19-18 votes) initiated a six-month pilot to help merchants realize cars don’t spend money, people do. Years later, no one remembers the controversy or regrets the decision. *Sound on*
🧪 If I were Canadian PM I would immediately: 1. Create a new $15B science fund 2. Offer any credentialed US scientist funding for lab startup and replacement of NIH grants if they move to Canada 3. Immediate permanent residency 4. Citizenship after 2 years Overnight a science superpower
Looking for a postdoc position? Want to apply your biochemistry skills to answer interesting evolutionary questions of how metalloenzymes evolve? Join my growing team in Warsaw at @IBBPAS. We're seeking a talented new postdoc to work on the superoxide dismutases. ibb.edu.pl/app/uploads/...
Kevin Waldron@waldronlab.bsky.social · 2y agoWe are recruiting for my lab in Warsaw. One postdoc position available for a biochemistry project on superoxide dismutases (of course). ibb.edu.pl/app/uploads/... We're also looking for a technician. ibb.edu.pl/app/uploads/... Get your application in!
One more week to get your applications submitted
a man is sitting at a desk in front of a computer and smiling .
ALT: a man is sitting at a desk in front of a computer and smiling .
media.tenor.com
Kevin Waldron@waldronlab.bsky.social · 2y agoAre you a graduate seeking a research post in Warsaw? Looking to gain experience working in a biochemical lab? Have good organisation skills, and want to be part of a team making fundamental discoveries? Join my group at @IBBPAS as a Technician studying metalloproteins. ibb.edu.pl/app/uploads/...
Are you a graduate seeking a research post in Warsaw? Looking to gain experience working in a biochemical lab? Have good organisation skills, and want to be part of a team making fundamental discoveries? Join my group at @IBBPAS as a Technician studying metalloproteins. ibb.edu.pl/app/uploads/...
ibb.edu.pl
Kevin Waldron@waldronlab.bsky.social · 2y agoWe are recruiting for my lab in Warsaw. One postdoc position available for a biochemistry project on superoxide dismutases (of course). ibb.edu.pl/app/uploads/... We're also looking for a technician. ibb.edu.pl/app/uploads/... Get your application in!
"Open science is not a new thing. People have been talking about how to reconcile scientific messiness and rigour for a long time"- @maddipow.bsky.social #QRS2025 @cqr-bath.bsky.social
