Chen Ran
@chenran.bsky.social
Neuroscientist. Assistant Professor at Scripps Research.
https://www.ran-lab.org
https://www.ran-lab.org
A very nice spinal spatial transcriptomics paper here! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
January 13, 2026 at 5:32 AM
A very nice spinal spatial transcriptomics paper here! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Chen Ran
Patagonia was not bad at all!
January 12, 2026 at 9:52 PM
Patagonia was not bad at all!
Reposted by Chen Ran
🧠⚡️💊New @nature.com publication !
Mimicking opioid analgesia in cortical pain circuits
We built a brain-behavior framework to decode spontaneous chronic pain in mice—and to biologically mimic morphine with a synthetic opioid gene therapy
nature.com/articles/s41...
@pennmedicine.bsky.social
Mimicking opioid analgesia in cortical pain circuits
We built a brain-behavior framework to decode spontaneous chronic pain in mice—and to biologically mimic morphine with a synthetic opioid gene therapy
nature.com/articles/s41...
@pennmedicine.bsky.social
Researchers identify the neurons involved in the emotional distress associated with pain
go.nature.com/4qIKkB8
go.nature.com/4qIKkB8
Chronic pain could be eased by uncoupling the sensory and emotional experiences
Researchers identify the neurons involved in the emotional distress associated with pain, and design a genetic approach that could soothe suffering without opioid drugs.
go.nature.com
January 8, 2026 at 6:01 PM
🧠⚡️💊New @nature.com publication !
Mimicking opioid analgesia in cortical pain circuits
We built a brain-behavior framework to decode spontaneous chronic pain in mice—and to biologically mimic morphine with a synthetic opioid gene therapy
nature.com/articles/s41...
@pennmedicine.bsky.social
Mimicking opioid analgesia in cortical pain circuits
We built a brain-behavior framework to decode spontaneous chronic pain in mice—and to biologically mimic morphine with a synthetic opioid gene therapy
nature.com/articles/s41...
@pennmedicine.bsky.social
Beautiful paper! Somebody should do it in then viscerosensory brainstem.
Excited to share @rbrianroome.bsky.social ‘s beautiful paper on development of the dorsal horn of the mouse spinal cord @science.org
This is how the anatomical organization and cell types that process pain, touch, body position and more are laid down.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
This is how the anatomical organization and cell types that process pain, touch, body position and more are laid down.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Ontogeny of the spinal cord dorsal horn
The dorsal horn of the mammalian spinal cord is organized into laminae where each layer is populated by different neuron types, has distinctive circuit connections, and plays specialized roles in beha...
www.science.org
January 8, 2026 at 9:43 PM
Beautiful paper! Somebody should do it in then viscerosensory brainstem.
Reposted by Chen Ran
Fellows-to-Faculty awardee Chen Ran maps the senses of internal organs. Receiving this award — which is currently open for apps — has been crucial in enabling his work: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/autism-and-neuroscience-innovators-awardees-share-their-research-at-the-annual-retreat/ #science
December 21, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Fellows-to-Faculty awardee Chen Ran maps the senses of internal organs. Receiving this award — which is currently open for apps — has been crucial in enabling his work: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/autism-and-neuroscience-innovators-awardees-share-their-research-at-the-annual-retreat/ #science
Reposted by Chen Ran
Some news. Exciting new challenges and opportunities ahead.
December 16, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Some news. Exciting new challenges and opportunities ahead.
Reposted by Chen Ran
Thrilled this is out, led by former PD Cameron Ogg (now with her own lab at @rhodescollege.bsky.social!). It was a driven by a desire to see, in real-time, how LC activity/NE release influences downstream targets in behaving animals. SO hard to do, but Cameron did it! www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Locus coeruleus norepinephrine neurons facilitate orbitofrontal cortex remapping and behavioral flexibility
Ogg et al. use in vivo imaging techniques to record activity in the locus coeruleus
(LC) and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) during a reversal learning task in freely
moving rodents. They show that man...
www.cell.com
December 15, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Thrilled this is out, led by former PD Cameron Ogg (now with her own lab at @rhodescollege.bsky.social!). It was a driven by a desire to see, in real-time, how LC activity/NE release influences downstream targets in behaving animals. SO hard to do, but Cameron did it! www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Reposted by Chen Ran
I was one of those immigrants, and we commit fewer crimes than people born here.
“Trump says he wants to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations and is promising to seek to expel millions of immigrants from the US by revoking their legal status.”
apnews.com/article/trum...
“Trump says he wants to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations and is promising to seek to expel millions of immigrants from the US by revoking their legal status.”
apnews.com/article/trum...
Trump says he wants to 'permanently pause' migration to the US from poorer countries
President Donald Trump says he wants to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations and is promising to seek to expel millions of immigrants from the United States by revoking their legal status...
apnews.com
November 28, 2025 at 3:19 PM
I was one of those immigrants, and we commit fewer crimes than people born here.
“Trump says he wants to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations and is promising to seek to expel millions of immigrants from the US by revoking their legal status.”
apnews.com/article/trum...
“Trump says he wants to “permanently pause migration” from poorer nations and is promising to seek to expel millions of immigrants from the US by revoking their legal status.”
apnews.com/article/trum...
What does it take in mechanosensory biology to earn one? Characterizing brainstem responses to stomach stretch?
November 28, 2025 at 6:04 AM
What does it take in mechanosensory biology to earn one? Characterizing brainstem responses to stomach stretch?
Reposted by Chen Ran
Ive seen this work from Prof Liqun Luo’s presented a few times now and its stunning and heroic.
Nature research paper: Rewiring an olfactory circuit by altering cell-surface combinatorial code
go.nature.com/3MbCoZT
go.nature.com/3MbCoZT
Rewiring an olfactory circuit by altering cell-surface combinatorial code - Nature
In Drosophila, changing the expression of a small set of cell-surface proteins in just one type of olfactory neuron rewires its connections almost entirely to a new postsynaptic partner neuron type, altering the fly’s odour response and courtship behaviour.
go.nature.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Ive seen this work from Prof Liqun Luo’s presented a few times now and its stunning and heroic.
A beautiful paper on the role of Piezos in uterine biology. I have known first author Yunxiao Zhang since 2012. Yunxiao is rare talent (and a wonderfully kind human being) now on the job market!
And here is the story after peer review. This work highlights our current approach, which is to use Piezo channels to uncover new areas of biology that are shaped by mechanical forces: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 20, 2025 at 2:35 PM
A beautiful paper on the role of Piezos in uterine biology. I have known first author Yunxiao Zhang since 2012. Yunxiao is rare talent (and a wonderfully kind human being) now on the job market!
Reposted by Chen Ran
Deeply honored to receive this year's Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Young Investigator Award from @sfn.org Grateful to all lab members and my mentors.
Congratulations to the 2025 SfN award & prize recipients!
Their dedication to advancing the understanding of the brain paves the way for future discoveries.
SfN looks forward to celebrating their achievements at #SfN25.
Learn about the recipients.
🔗 vist.ly/4cni8
#neurosky
Their dedication to advancing the understanding of the brain paves the way for future discoveries.
SfN looks forward to celebrating their achievements at #SfN25.
Learn about the recipients.
🔗 vist.ly/4cni8
#neurosky
November 3, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Deeply honored to receive this year's Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Young Investigator Award from @sfn.org Grateful to all lab members and my mentors.
Reposted by Chen Ran
Actively hiring! Video made by Sora-2 but the job post is 100% real.
Apply here: hhmi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...
Apply here: hhmi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...
October 2, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Actively hiring! Video made by Sora-2 but the job post is 100% real.
Apply here: hhmi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...
Apply here: hhmi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...
1.5 years in the making, only two weeks to go! Can’t wait to see everyone here at Scripps!
Coming to #SfN2025 in San Diego? Come join our Neuroscience Symposium a day before on Nov 13! Hear from a fantastic speaker lineup and interact with vibrant audience in our community and beyond.
Free registration link: www.eventbrite.com/e/dorris-neu...
Free registration link: www.eventbrite.com/e/dorris-neu...
October 30, 2025 at 10:17 PM
1.5 years in the making, only two weeks to go! Can’t wait to see everyone here at Scripps!
Reposted by Chen Ran
This great primer from our #brain–body special by @dulaclab.bsky.social explores the many ways in which the brain and the immune system interact in the diseased state.
🧠
www.cell.com/current-biol...
🧠
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Sickness and the brain
Zuri Sullivan and Catherine Dulac discuss the reciprocal communication between the
brain and the immune system in sickness behavior.
www.cell.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:15 PM
This great primer from our #brain–body special by @dulaclab.bsky.social explores the many ways in which the brain and the immune system interact in the diseased state.
🧠
www.cell.com/current-biol...
🧠
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Scripps is a wonderful place to do science. Hard to imagine better colleagues and students…
During these uncertain times, I’m very happy to see that my institution, @scripps.edu has an open tenure-track Assistant Professor position. Any field in Chemistry or Biology is welcome. I’d especially love to see fellow neuroscientists apply. Please repost!
apply.interfolio.com/174756
apply.interfolio.com/174756
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
October 16, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Scripps is a wonderful place to do science. Hard to imagine better colleagues and students…
Reposted by Chen Ran
Finally out: our recent work with Nick Betley is a view into how the brain reshapes its behavior in the face of competing survival needs- and also a potential angle on treatment targets for enduring pain.
A brief rundown...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A brief rundown...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A parabrachial hub for need-state control of enduring pain - Nature
Activity in a set of parabranchial neurons in the mouse brain is increased during chronic pain, predicts coping behaviour, and can be modulated by circuits activated by survival threats.
www.nature.com
October 9, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Finally out: our recent work with Nick Betley is a view into how the brain reshapes its behavior in the face of competing survival needs- and also a potential angle on treatment targets for enduring pain.
A brief rundown...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A brief rundown...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Chen Ran
We’re hiring!
My new Gut–Brain Axis Lab at Northwestern is looking for a Research Technologist 2 to help build the lab and explore how the nervous system shapes gut health and disease.
🔬 Apply here: myhr.northwestern.edu/psp/hrnu/EMP...
My new Gut–Brain Axis Lab at Northwestern is looking for a Research Technologist 2 to help build the lab and explore how the nervous system shapes gut health and disease.
🔬 Apply here: myhr.northwestern.edu/psp/hrnu/EMP...
Sign In
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myhr.northwestern.edu
September 30, 2025 at 10:32 PM
We’re hiring!
My new Gut–Brain Axis Lab at Northwestern is looking for a Research Technologist 2 to help build the lab and explore how the nervous system shapes gut health and disease.
🔬 Apply here: myhr.northwestern.edu/psp/hrnu/EMP...
My new Gut–Brain Axis Lab at Northwestern is looking for a Research Technologist 2 to help build the lab and explore how the nervous system shapes gut health and disease.
🔬 Apply here: myhr.northwestern.edu/psp/hrnu/EMP...
Reposted by Chen Ran
Submedius Thalamus Modulates Orbitofrontal Cortex Representations During Maternal Behavior in Mice https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.18.677207v1
September 19, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Submedius Thalamus Modulates Orbitofrontal Cortex Representations During Maternal Behavior in Mice https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.18.677207v1
Very interesting paper—>must read- and the first author will be looking for a job soon: one of the strongest scientists I could imagine. I learned so much from Yunxiao since my graduate school days.
New preprint alert! The uterus expands ~500-fold in pregnancy, yet we know little about how pressures are sensed. Led by @yunxiao-dr.bsky.social, we show PIEZOs are required for contractions and birth in mice, with dual roles of PIEZO1 in muscle and PIEZO2 in neurons
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
PIEZO channels link mechanical forces to uterine contractions in parturition
Mechanical forces are extensively involved in pregnancy and parturition, but their precise roles and mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we identify mechanically activated ion channels PIEZO1 a...
www.biorxiv.org
September 19, 2025 at 5:11 AM
Very interesting paper—>must read- and the first author will be looking for a job soon: one of the strongest scientists I could imagine. I learned so much from Yunxiao since my graduate school days.
Reposted by Chen Ran
New preprint alert! The uterus expands ~500-fold in pregnancy, yet we know little about how pressures are sensed. Led by @yunxiao-dr.bsky.social, we show PIEZOs are required for contractions and birth in mice, with dual roles of PIEZO1 in muscle and PIEZO2 in neurons
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
PIEZO channels link mechanical forces to uterine contractions in parturition
Mechanical forces are extensively involved in pregnancy and parturition, but their precise roles and mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we identify mechanically activated ion channels PIEZO1 a...
www.biorxiv.org
September 18, 2025 at 3:23 PM
New preprint alert! The uterus expands ~500-fold in pregnancy, yet we know little about how pressures are sensed. Led by @yunxiao-dr.bsky.social, we show PIEZOs are required for contractions and birth in mice, with dual roles of PIEZO1 in muscle and PIEZO2 in neurons
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Chen Ran
🚨 New preprint from an ongoing collaboration with the Pang lab. Project led by rising stars @rohansavani.bsky.social and @lewang1.bsky.social showing how individual GLP-1R neurons in the paraventricular hypothalamus track ingestion across energy states.
Preprint: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Preprint: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Individual Paraventricular Hypothalamic GLP-1R Neurons Track Ingestion Across Energy States
Energy homeostasis is tightly regulated to ensure metabolic health in the face of uncertain environments. Changes in energy states or circulating hormonal signa
papers.ssrn.com
September 15, 2025 at 1:51 PM
🚨 New preprint from an ongoing collaboration with the Pang lab. Project led by rising stars @rohansavani.bsky.social and @lewang1.bsky.social showing how individual GLP-1R neurons in the paraventricular hypothalamus track ingestion across energy states.
Preprint: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Preprint: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Lots of interesting data there!
Thanks Misha for the shout-out!
It has been a truly mind-opening journey. WHOLISTIC is one step towards whole-organism neuroscience and a true physiological observatory - with extensions on the way! I am continually amazed by what the data reveals - so much remains to be discovered and mined.
It has been a truly mind-opening journey. WHOLISTIC is one step towards whole-organism neuroscience and a true physiological observatory - with extensions on the way! I am continually amazed by what the data reveals - so much remains to be discovered and mined.
Preprint -
Excited to present WHOLISTIC, which extends the concept of whole-brain functional imaging to the entire body. Pioneering work by incredibly talented Virginia Ruetten @vmsruetten.bsky.social, this platform reveals whole-organism cellular dynamics in vivo.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Excited to present WHOLISTIC, which extends the concept of whole-brain functional imaging to the entire body. Pioneering work by incredibly talented Virginia Ruetten @vmsruetten.bsky.social, this platform reveals whole-organism cellular dynamics in vivo.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 8, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Lots of interesting data there!
Reposted by Chen Ran
Thanks Misha for the shout-out!
It has been a truly mind-opening journey. WHOLISTIC is one step towards whole-organism neuroscience and a true physiological observatory - with extensions on the way! I am continually amazed by what the data reveals - so much remains to be discovered and mined.
It has been a truly mind-opening journey. WHOLISTIC is one step towards whole-organism neuroscience and a true physiological observatory - with extensions on the way! I am continually amazed by what the data reveals - so much remains to be discovered and mined.
Preprint -
Excited to present WHOLISTIC, which extends the concept of whole-brain functional imaging to the entire body. Pioneering work by incredibly talented Virginia Ruetten @vmsruetten.bsky.social, this platform reveals whole-organism cellular dynamics in vivo.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Excited to present WHOLISTIC, which extends the concept of whole-brain functional imaging to the entire body. Pioneering work by incredibly talented Virginia Ruetten @vmsruetten.bsky.social, this platform reveals whole-organism cellular dynamics in vivo.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 8, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Thanks Misha for the shout-out!
It has been a truly mind-opening journey. WHOLISTIC is one step towards whole-organism neuroscience and a true physiological observatory - with extensions on the way! I am continually amazed by what the data reveals - so much remains to be discovered and mined.
It has been a truly mind-opening journey. WHOLISTIC is one step towards whole-organism neuroscience and a true physiological observatory - with extensions on the way! I am continually amazed by what the data reveals - so much remains to be discovered and mined.
Reposted by Chen Ran
We are looking for a postdoc fellow to join the group. Focus on studying feeding-relevant slow dynamics in the brain using invivo microscopy approaches. Please share with anyone interested. Thank you. www.training.nih.gov/jobs/pdf-inf...
www.training.nih.gov
August 6, 2025 at 5:47 PM
We are looking for a postdoc fellow to join the group. Focus on studying feeding-relevant slow dynamics in the brain using invivo microscopy approaches. Please share with anyone interested. Thank you. www.training.nih.gov/jobs/pdf-inf...