DMartin
@drddom.bsky.social
Assistant Prof at UWaterloo in Biology. Study autophagy & protein lipidation (S-acylation & N-myristoylation) in ALS & Huntington disease. Expect science, food, some cdnpoli, & dog pics
https://neurdyphagylab.squarespace.com/
https://neurdyphagylab.squarespace.com/
Sadly, this didn't age well....
Sadly, I wrote that last night....
Sadly, I wrote that last night....
Anyone else feel like this was a good week? Like the first in a while?
January 25, 2026 at 2:50 AM
Sadly, this didn't age well....
Sadly, I wrote that last night....
Sadly, I wrote that last night....
Anyone else feel like this was a good week? Like the first in a while?
January 24, 2026 at 2:41 AM
Anyone else feel like this was a good week? Like the first in a while?
Can any labs in the GTA recommend a company to repair a cell culture incubator? Rayco wants to charge the cost of the incubator just to look at it.
January 17, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Can any labs in the GTA recommend a company to repair a cell culture incubator? Rayco wants to charge the cost of the incubator just to look at it.
Sadly, streamlined again. Even though reviewers again stated it was well written & important work, new reviewers have only raised concerns previously addressed or that can only be addressed with $$$.
This project is officially dead.
If you need reagents or models for VCP disease let me know.
This project is officially dead.
If you need reagents or models for VCP disease let me know.
This week we're getting our CIHR Notice of Recommendations. This will likely mark my 9th application to be rejected. Hoping that it was at least discussed.
To the rest of you waiting....
To the rest of you waiting....
a woman in a black jacket is giving a peace sign .
ALT: a woman in a black jacket is giving a peace sign .
media.tenor.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:18 PM
Sadly, streamlined again. Even though reviewers again stated it was well written & important work, new reviewers have only raised concerns previously addressed or that can only be addressed with $$$.
This project is officially dead.
If you need reagents or models for VCP disease let me know.
This project is officially dead.
If you need reagents or models for VCP disease let me know.
Good luck tomorrow!
This week we're getting our CIHR Notice of Recommendations. This will likely mark my 9th application to be rejected. Hoping that it was at least discussed.
To the rest of you waiting....
To the rest of you waiting....
a woman in a black jacket is giving a peace sign .
ALT: a woman in a black jacket is giving a peace sign .
media.tenor.com
January 15, 2026 at 2:51 AM
Good luck tomorrow!
Reposted by DMartin
Western University is looking for a Canada Research Chair (CRC)
Tier 1 in Metabolomics. We are intent on building capacity in this system and the ideal candidate will help build infrastructure and mentor junior faculty.
Please see the job ad at: uwo.ca/facultyrelat...
Tier 1 in Metabolomics. We are intent on building capacity in this system and the ideal candidate will help build infrastructure and mentor junior faculty.
Please see the job ad at: uwo.ca/facultyrelat...
uwo.ca
January 12, 2026 at 9:12 PM
Western University is looking for a Canada Research Chair (CRC)
Tier 1 in Metabolomics. We are intent on building capacity in this system and the ideal candidate will help build infrastructure and mentor junior faculty.
Please see the job ad at: uwo.ca/facultyrelat...
Tier 1 in Metabolomics. We are intent on building capacity in this system and the ideal candidate will help build infrastructure and mentor junior faculty.
Please see the job ad at: uwo.ca/facultyrelat...
That was a choice Captcha! Or you were listening to me try to log into this journal.
January 12, 2026 at 8:50 PM
That was a choice Captcha! Or you were listening to me try to log into this journal.
This week we're getting our CIHR Notice of Recommendations. This will likely mark my 9th application to be rejected. Hoping that it was at least discussed.
To the rest of you waiting....
To the rest of you waiting....
a woman in a black jacket is giving a peace sign .
ALT: a woman in a black jacket is giving a peace sign .
media.tenor.com
January 12, 2026 at 5:24 PM
This week we're getting our CIHR Notice of Recommendations. This will likely mark my 9th application to be rejected. Hoping that it was at least discussed.
To the rest of you waiting....
To the rest of you waiting....
Everyone's New Year resolution or hope: let 2026 be calmer with no existential or literal crisis.
America: hold my beer 🍺
America: hold my beer 🍺
January 4, 2026 at 2:38 AM
Everyone's New Year resolution or hope: let 2026 be calmer with no existential or literal crisis.
America: hold my beer 🍺
America: hold my beer 🍺
Why is Pearson always a mess? More than an hour & we're still waiting for our bags.
December 29, 2025 at 4:40 AM
Why is Pearson always a mess? More than an hour & we're still waiting for our bags.
Ruby says Merry Christmas all! And 'Sir. Please put me down at your earliest convenience. Thank you!'
December 26, 2025 at 1:36 AM
Ruby says Merry Christmas all! And 'Sir. Please put me down at your earliest convenience. Thank you!'
Some great news in ALS treatments & research.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Tofersen, SOD1, and the Treatability of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
For years, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has universally been defined as a progressive, fatal disease with limited treatment options. Numerous therapeutic treatment trials failed to significantl...
jamanetwork.com
December 23, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Some great news in ALS treatments & research.
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Was puzzling wih Die Hard in the background. Although I couldn't see the movie, I realized even all the background music is Christmas music. Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
a man pointing a gun with a caption that says it 's not christmas
Alt: a man pointing a gun with a caption that says it 's not christmas
media.tenor.com
December 20, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Was puzzling wih Die Hard in the background. Although I couldn't see the movie, I realized even all the background music is Christmas music. Die Hard is a Christmas movie.
Reposted by DMartin
Pleased to share our new paper published in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle. doi.org/10.1002/jcsm...
The Monocrotaline Model of Hypertension Leads to Cachexia in Male but Not Female Mice
Background The monocrotaline (MCT) model of cardiac cachexia is a pharmaceutical approach to pulmonary hypertension that has been used to study heart failure and muscle wasting in rodents; however, ...
doi.org
November 21, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Pleased to share our new paper published in the Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle. doi.org/10.1002/jcsm...
Reposted by DMartin
Dunno who needs to hear this, but before your start writing your reviewer comments, eat a cookie. Only you can prevent rude reviews.
December 15, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Dunno who needs to hear this, but before your start writing your reviewer comments, eat a cookie. Only you can prevent rude reviews.
Reposted by DMartin
It may be of interest to you to know that the best way to go about science funding is to actually fund all scientists regularly and universally, and UBI does that best.
www.scientificamerican.com/blog/beautif...
www.scientificamerican.com/blog/beautif...
December 11, 2025 at 9:55 PM
It may be of interest to you to know that the best way to go about science funding is to actually fund all scientists regularly and universally, and UBI does that best.
www.scientificamerican.com/blog/beautif...
www.scientificamerican.com/blog/beautif...
Reposted by DMartin
I just got off an extremely depressing call with my amazing Canadian collaborators at Natural Resources Canada who are facing cuts, retirement buy-outs, and layoffs for biologists across the board. This just seems a slap in the face to scientists in Canada.
December 12, 2025 at 12:37 AM
I just got off an extremely depressing call with my amazing Canadian collaborators at Natural Resources Canada who are facing cuts, retirement buy-outs, and layoffs for biologists across the board. This just seems a slap in the face to scientists in Canada.
Let's recreate the photo they said. My character is the only upside down one....
December 12, 2025 at 10:32 PM
Let's recreate the photo they said. My character is the only upside down one....
Reposted by DMartin
🎉 Excited to share our latest preprint📰 !
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Many thanks to everyone involved in this project ! Using a zebrafish model 🐟 and iPSC-derived motor neurons 🔬 we show that restoring the calpastatin/calpain pathway preserves motoneuron survival and function in C9orf72 ALS!
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Many thanks to everyone involved in this project ! Using a zebrafish model 🐟 and iPSC-derived motor neurons 🔬 we show that restoring the calpastatin/calpain pathway preserves motoneuron survival and function in C9orf72 ALS!
Therapeutic modulation of the calpastatin/calpain pathway restores calpain-mediated synaptic proteolysis and preserves motor neurons survival and function in C9orf72 ALS
A hexanucleotide repeat expansion (GGGGCC) in the C9orf72 gene is the most prevalent genetic cause of ALS, with early neuromuscular junction (NMJ) dysfunction being a key pathological feature. Current...
www.biorxiv.org
December 12, 2025 at 3:21 PM
🎉 Excited to share our latest preprint📰 !
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Many thanks to everyone involved in this project ! Using a zebrafish model 🐟 and iPSC-derived motor neurons 🔬 we show that restoring the calpastatin/calpain pathway preserves motoneuron survival and function in C9orf72 ALS!
www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Many thanks to everyone involved in this project ! Using a zebrafish model 🐟 and iPSC-derived motor neurons 🔬 we show that restoring the calpastatin/calpain pathway preserves motoneuron survival and function in C9orf72 ALS!
It's baffling that we're cutting research funds, but recruiting more US researchers during massive hiring freezes. Politicians like to blame researchers for not 'being innovative.' Despite 'punching above our weight' we're continously in survival mode bc of bad policy. Fund basic research!
Canada’s new government is investing big to attract world-class talent in science and technology — and become an innovation powerhouse.
December 12, 2025 at 4:35 PM
It's baffling that we're cutting research funds, but recruiting more US researchers during massive hiring freezes. Politicians like to blame researchers for not 'being innovative.' Despite 'punching above our weight' we're continously in survival mode bc of bad policy. Fund basic research!
Reposted by DMartin
Institutional autonomy is a major facet of academic freedom. Institutions set academic priorities through internal collegial processes.
Starving unis into hiring freezes and then telling them they can only have funds to recruit if they check vapid government PR boxes attacks that autonomy.
Starving unis into hiring freezes and then telling them they can only have funds to recruit if they check vapid government PR boxes attacks that autonomy.
Canada’s new government is investing big to attract world-class talent in science and technology — and become an innovation powerhouse.
December 12, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Institutional autonomy is a major facet of academic freedom. Institutions set academic priorities through internal collegial processes.
Starving unis into hiring freezes and then telling them they can only have funds to recruit if they check vapid government PR boxes attacks that autonomy.
Starving unis into hiring freezes and then telling them they can only have funds to recruit if they check vapid government PR boxes attacks that autonomy.