Cissy Ballen
@cissyballen.bsky.social
140 followers 170 following 9 posts
Associate professor, biology education research, Auburn University. ballenlab.com
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Reposted by Cissy Ballen
Reposted by Cissy Ballen
iamtaylornotyou.bsky.social
Amazing symposium on Sex and Gender at #Evol2025 So grateful to all the speakers for bringing us together to think about how to teach and communicate these complex topics @jacanamama.bsky.social Thomas Sanger @bio-eddy.bsky.social @cissyballen.bsky.social
Sara Lipshutz presents her multivariate view of sex including gametes, genetics, anatomy, hormones, brains, and behavior Thomas Sanger demonstrates that sex is not a developmental binary and is both extremely complex and dynamic
Reposted by Cissy Ballen
datanuggets.bsky.social
Our #NSF grant, supporting a fruitful collaboration with the @cissyballen.bsky.social Lab, was terminated, along with over 1,600 others. We describe the impact of this loss in a press release here. datanuggets.org/2025/06/nsf-...
Reposted by Cissy Ballen
katrinamillerphd.bsky.social
an overwhelming percentage of cuts at the NSF are to STEM education. experts see it as part of a broader attack on DEI, as well as on education as a whole.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/s...
Funding Cuts Are a ‘Gut Punch’ for STEM Education Researchers
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Cissy Ballen
carlzimmer.com
Time to catch up on the past week’s news about science and medicine in the US. Whew. 1/10
cissyballen.bsky.social
I’m so sorry to read this Jay 😡
cissyballen.bsky.social
Hard to believe, I'm so so sorry...
cissyballen.bsky.social
yes yes yes! 🎉🎉🎉
cissyballen.bsky.social
Julie I'm so sorry - terrible news.
Reposted by Cissy Ballen
dynarski.bsky.social
“No government—regardless of which party is in power—should dictate what private universities canteach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue.”
Reposted by Cissy Ballen
peadams.bsky.social
My NSF postdoctoral fellowship was one of the grants terminated yesterday. Devastating is an understatement. Thankful for a supportive admin with a plan to support me for now.
cissyballen.bsky.social
Sorry to read this Kelly.
Reposted by Cissy Ballen
datanuggets.bsky.social
Undergrad biology instructors! Want to participate in a paid research study to test the impacts of highlighting scientist role models in instructional materials? We are looking for you! #edusky 🧪

See more information and apply here: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

@cissyballen.bsky.social
Recruitment instructors_IUSE2.docx
Which elements of scientist role model stories are effective in improving equity and success in undergraduate STEM education? Interested? Fill out this poll! We are searching for undergraduate bio...
docs.google.com
cissyballen.bsky.social
Check out Costello, Hammarlund et al.! We ask how students want to be assessed, and found their preferences aligned with those known to reduce the impact of test anxiety.
Reposted by Cissy Ballen
peadams.bsky.social
Super proud of the Ballen Lab undergrads who presented our work today at the Auburn Reseaech Symposium! @cissyballen.bsky.social
Reposted by Cissy Ballen
davidimiller.bsky.social
🧪🚨 NSF's Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) has halted making nearly all new awards since inauguration day.

Among *many* other things, EDU runs the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP).

We need to protect the education & training of the next gen of scientists #StandUpForScience

Thread👇🧵
Graph between 1/20 and 2/28 of fiscal year 2024 and 2025 new awards in the EDU directorate.
Reposted by Cissy Ballen
drstarbird.bsky.social
Sharing this brave piece that echos a lot of what I have been feeling. The silence around DEI from institutions means the damage is already done. Leadership asking us to keep our heads down to prevent actual damage ignore that it’s already here for people like me.

stanforddaily.com/2025/03/03/f...
From the Community | I am more than a researcher, but Stanford doesn’t care
Assistant Professor Elliott White Jr. denounces the University's faint response to political threats against DEI, especially compared to the robust support its research initiatives in the wake of NIH ...
stanforddaily.com
Reposted by Cissy Ballen
datanuggets.bsky.social
When featuring scientists in the classroom, what details are most effective for students? We found sharing humanizing information, such as hobbies & interests in & out of STEM, increases student's ability to relate & in turn, engagement.

datanuggets.org/2025/02/more...
@cissyballen.bsky.social
More than a token photo | Data Nuggets
When asked to name scientists, students mention the likes of Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, and Isaac Newton. And when asked to draw a scientist, students almost always draw a white man holding a…
datanuggets.org
Reposted by Cissy Ballen
kzutaustin.bsky.social
Hey All, plz repost, and share with grads, post-docs and disease folks! We are hiring a post-doc to work on mechanisms of immune responses of frog hosts to Bd infections. Deadline is February 1, 2025. Details for the position can be found at the link below. 🐸🐸🐸

zamudiolab.org/2024/12/17/p...
Post-Doc position in the KZLab! Immune responses to pathogen infections in frogs
We are looking for an NSF-funded post-doc in our lab in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. The work will examine immune mechanisms that potentially underlie…
zamudiolab.org