Anita Devineni
@anitadevineni.bsky.social
1K followers 350 following 180 posts
Assistant Professor at Emory studying neural circuits and behavior in flies (she/her). Views are my own. https://devinenilab.org/
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Reposted by Anita Devineni
flscitriguy.bsky.social
My portfolio had 100s of UG & Grad students lose their funding in the previous 9mo. PIs that had their training programs canceled for bogus reasons. I’m ok holding out for congress to get a spine and remember it’s a system of checks & balances.
Reposted by Anita Devineni
hannah-haberkern.bsky.social
Years ago @lauragrima.bsky.social talked about what a pity it is when scientists who work on #foraging miss out on fruitful interactions because they work with different animals. Together with collegues we started a virtual seminar series, which grew into a conference and now a review!
ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books.
authors.elsevier.com
Reposted by Anita Devineni
franciscorr25.bsky.social
Check out our FlyWire anniversary piece to learn how @crezaval.bsky.social, @anitadevineni.bsky.social, Pelin Volkan, and six other researchers are using connectome data in their labs, and to read their thoughts on what new tools Drosophila neuroscience needs to move forward!
thetransmitter.bsky.social
To celebrate the first anniversary of the release of FlyWire, we asked nine neuroscientists to share how they are using connectome data in their research and what they hope is in store for the future of fly connectomics.

By @franciscorr25.bsky.social

#neuroskyence

bit.ly/3Wx5nt3
How FlyWire is redefining Drosophila research, one year in
Nine Drosophila researchers share how the connectome transformed the field and what additional new tools they would like to see.
bit.ly
Reposted by Anita Devineni
jefferis.bsky.social
Exciting news for #drosophila #connectomics and #neuroscience enthusiasts: the Drosophila male central nervous system connectome is now live for exploration. Find out more at the landing page hosted by our Janelia FlyEM collaborators www.janelia.org/project-team....
Male CNS Connectome
A team of researchers has unveiled the complete connectome of a male fruit fly central nervous system —a seamless map of all the neurons in the brain and nerve cord of a single male fruit fly and the ...
www.janelia.org
anitadevineni.bsky.social
Everything is terrible but we're 2 days away from the most fun event on earth, the CSHL Fly Neuro Meeting!!! @cshlmeetings.bsky.social

My last blog post about it was 8 years ago (www.brains-explained.com/fly-neurobio...) but I think it still holds up, especially the abstract book roller coaster
Graph showing level of excitement about the abstract book as a roller coaster based on different events
Reposted by Anita Devineni
propublica.org
In July, we documented nearly 50 incidents of immigration officers shattering car windows to make arrests — a tactic experts say was rarely used before Trump took office.

ICE claims its officers use a “minimum amount of force.”

You can judge for yourself.
“We’ll Smash the Fucking Window Out and Drag Him Out”
We’ve documented nearly 50 incidents of immigration officers shattering car windows to make arrests — a tactic experts say was rarely used before Trump took office. ICE claims its officers use a “mini...
projects.propublica.org
Reposted by Anita Devineni
markhisted.org
Proud to talk about defending the Constitution in front of the Capitol this week.

We are seeing the greatest assault on our freedoms of our lifetimes. The shredding of the Constitution must stop. The lawlessness must stop.
And Congress can and must stop it.
safa-science.bsky.social
Federal workers are speaking out on how the Trump regime is harming Americans:

"We stand here today at a moment of the greatest assault of our lifetimes on our freedoms. The US Constitution is being shredded... We are here to call on Congress to stand up and stop it."

youtu.be/uw1KwIBgrCw?...
Mark Histed, NIH Scientist *speaking in personal capacity
YouTube video by Civil Servants Coalition
youtu.be
Reposted by Anita Devineni
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Surreal moment for America. Needless to say, if the normal police ever pulled something like this — pulling every single person out of an apartment building and handcuffing them to run warrant checks — they would be sued into oblivion.

Yet ICE is going to get away with it entirely.
"It was scary, because I had never had a gun in my face," Fisher said. "They asked my name and my date of birth and asked me, did I have any warrants? And I told them, 'No, 'Ididn't."
Fisher said she was handcuffed before being released around 3 a.m., and she was told that if anyone had any kind of warrant out for them, even if it was unrelated to immigration, they would not be released.
Reposted by Anita Devineni
hokuba.bsky.social
The Agrawal lab is moving! This January we will be setting up shop at #UBC in Vancouver, in the department of #Zoology! We are actively recruiting at all levels, especially masters and PhD students. These position are #funded! Please send anyone interested my way!
Agrawal lab logo. A fly in the UBC colors, with dots framing its body.
anitadevineni.bsky.social
My department at Emory is a hiring a tenure-track neuroscientist!

Anyone who's talked to me in the last 4 years knows I cannot say enough good things about my dept and the neuroscience community here. My colleagues are so wonderfully supportive. Postdocs, please apply!

apply.interfolio.com/174371
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
anitadevineni.bsky.social
As the end of the fiscal year looms, we are SO grateful to the dedicated NIH staff who pushed out our lab's first F31 this month to Elle McCall 🎉🎉
Elle is a rising star who narrowly missed out on the NSF last year (honorable mention in a year with 1000 fewer awards) and couldn't be more deserving!
Reposted by Anita Devineni
katrinvogt.bsky.social
How is valence computed in the brain? Check out our new preprint about a single cell that integrates excitatory and inhibitory input across modalities according to valence and impacts behavioral decisions. An exciting collaboration across many labs. Enjoy reading!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A multisensory, bidirectional, valence encoder guides behavioral decisions
A key function of the brain is to categorize sensory cues as repulsive or attractive and respond accordingly. While we have some understanding of how sensory information is processed in the sensory pe...
www.biorxiv.org
Reposted by Anita Devineni
justinwolfers.bsky.social
Serious scholars have examined what happens when we change the number of H1-B visas issued.

Cities that get more H1-B immigrants subsequently see the wages of natives *rise* substantially.

Skilled immigrants bring new ideas, fill labor shortages and make us all more productive.
Reposted by Anita Devineni
angierasmussen.bsky.social
Of course some processes at NIH & in US science in general should be reformed. But uncritically presenting Jay Bhattacharya as a naive idealist rather than a hypocrite & political operative charged with NIH’s destruction is wildly divorced from reality.
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/o...
Opinion | ‘The Power of Science to Solve Problems Is Almost Limitless’
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Anita Devineni
propublica.org
📽️ WATCH: Epidemiologist Erin McCanlies spent much of the past 20 years studying how parents’ exposure to toxic chemicals affects the chances that they will have an autistic child.

RFK Jr. cut her entire division — yet promises to identify the causes of autism by September: https://propub.li/4nhXQua
Reposted by Anita Devineni
carlbergstrom.com
I cannot overstate how remarkable it is that under GOP rule, US federal health regulations have been captured by fringe crackpots who espouse views that the vast majority of the US public—and nearly 100% of health professionals—reject.

Gift link:
Kennedy’s Vaccine Panel Votes to Limit Access to Covid Shots
www.nytimes.com
anitadevineni.bsky.social
The government is trying to limit student visas to 4 years, even though PhD programs in the biomedical sciences typically take 5-6 years. This would make it impossible for international students to complete their PhD. Post a comment here ASAP to ensure our voices are heard!
Reposted by Anita Devineni
elizabethjacobs.bsky.social
Now here is my summary of the ACIP meeting itself.

1. The chair permitted people to present harmful misinformation about vaccines throughout the entire meeting.

2. Retsef Levi and several other members appear to have no understanding of basic public health principles and IMO should be removed.
Reposted by Anita Devineni
donmoyn.bsky.social
Part of our constitutional crisis is that Republicans are stopping Congress from playing its fundamental oversight role.
Reposted by Anita Devineni
markhisted.org
Shutting down the war on cancer.

“New presidential administrations have usually gone out of their way to make transitions at the NIH as seamless as possible so as not to disrupt ongoing research…”

Right. That’s not what is happening now. Must-read article.

🧪
Trump Is Shutting Down the War On Cancer
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Anita Devineni
jenna-m-norton.bsky.social
I am deeply saddened and angered by news that more NIH RIFs may happen next week. This is unacceptable, especially after NIH staff have worked nights & weekends to dig out from the backlog created by this admin's incompetence.

Tell your Congress people NIH needs its staff to keep delivering cures
Reposted by Anita Devineni
whstancil.bsky.social
How is this not a screaming massive headline across every news site? This is insane, a virtual declaration of civil war. We fought a revolution to not be subjected to this kind of tyranny
Reposted by Anita Devineni
drdebhoury.bsky.social
3 former Surgeon Generals issue a warning: "The CDC is more than just an agency. It is the cornerstone of public health... The recent turbulence at the CDC threatens to undermine this legacy, and we feel this is not just a bureaucratic or political issue. It’s truly a matter of life and death."
Surgeons general warning: CDC saves lives. It's up to us to save public health. | Opinion
As surgeons general, we took an oath to protect Americans. It includes speaking up when public health is in danger. We see that danger now at the CDC.
www.usatoday.com