Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
@ishmailsaboor.bsky.social
Associate Prof | Columbia Biology & Zuckerman Institute
Freeman Hrabowski Scholar | HHMI
We study how the skin-brain axis drives somatosensory behaviors
https://www.abdus-saboorlab.com/
Freeman Hrabowski Scholar | HHMI
We study how the skin-brain axis drives somatosensory behaviors
https://www.abdus-saboorlab.com/
Pinned
I am happy to share that I’ve been awarded tenure here at Columbia University. Alhamdulillah. I thank my wife, parents, mentors, colleagues, friends, and family. I thank my lab members, present and past, for entrusting their careers in my hands and making this a thrilling journey.
Very important article for all of us in neuroscience. Thanks @suthanalab.bsky.social. It takes people like yourself who are comfortable breaking down these cross-species barriers to make real progress. I hope people follow you. You have improved my thinking.
The biggest problem holding neuroscience back right now isn’t data or tools, thanks in large part to the BRAIN Initiative.
It’s fragmentation across species. I wrote this to hopefully spark discussion around an issue that can only be solved as a community👇
www.thetransmitter.org/animal-model...
It’s fragmentation across species. I wrote this to hopefully spark discussion around an issue that can only be solved as a community👇
www.thetransmitter.org/animal-model...
Neuroscience has a species problem
If neuroscience is serious about building general principles of brain function, cross-species dialogue must become a core organizing principle.
www.thetransmitter.org
February 17, 2026 at 8:06 PM
Very important article for all of us in neuroscience. Thanks @suthanalab.bsky.social. It takes people like yourself who are comfortable breaking down these cross-species barriers to make real progress. I hope people follow you. You have improved my thinking.
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
We deleted a rhomboid protease… and regeneration went into overdrive.
New preprint from the Neal Lab!
Rhbdl2 restrains macrophage-driven regeneration in zebrafish. 🐟🔥 #Regeneration #InnateImmunity
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
New preprint from the Neal Lab!
Rhbdl2 restrains macrophage-driven regeneration in zebrafish. 🐟🔥 #Regeneration #InnateImmunity
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
February 17, 2026 at 1:59 AM
We deleted a rhomboid protease… and regeneration went into overdrive.
New preprint from the Neal Lab!
Rhbdl2 restrains macrophage-driven regeneration in zebrafish. 🐟🔥 #Regeneration #InnateImmunity
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
New preprint from the Neal Lab!
Rhbdl2 restrains macrophage-driven regeneration in zebrafish. 🐟🔥 #Regeneration #InnateImmunity
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
Assoc. Prof. @xinjin.bsky.social has been named a 2026 Sloan Research Fellow by the @sloanfoundation.bsky.social, recognized for pioneering in vivo Perturb-seq—a gene-editing approach combining CRISPR technology and single-cell RNA analysis to uncover how genetic variation shapes brain development.
Xin Jin receives prestigious Sloan Research Fellowship - Scripps Research Magazine
Xin Jin, an associate professor at Scripps Research and a Freeman Hrabowski Scholar at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, has been awarded a Sloan Research Fellowship for her exceptional research and le...
ow.ly
February 17, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Assoc. Prof. @xinjin.bsky.social has been named a 2026 Sloan Research Fellow by the @sloanfoundation.bsky.social, recognized for pioneering in vivo Perturb-seq—a gene-editing approach combining CRISPR technology and single-cell RNA analysis to uncover how genetic variation shapes brain development.
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
Excited to co-host this conference with @marissascavuzzo.bsky.social and Steve Liberles focused on the peripheral nervous system -- No Brainer! Check out the amazing list of speakers and apply for one of the spots for this small, interactive meeting on the beautiful Janelia Campus at HHMI.
📢 Apply by May 14 to explore peripheral nervous system function across somatic + autonomic + enteric divisions, with a focus on new methods + emerging technologies.
🛏️ Meals & lodging covered; no registration fee
Apply ➡️ janelia.news/PNS26
@ardemp.bskyverified.social @marissascavuzzo.bsky.social
🛏️ Meals & lodging covered; no registration fee
Apply ➡️ janelia.news/PNS26
@ardemp.bskyverified.social @marissascavuzzo.bsky.social
February 6, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Excited to co-host this conference with @marissascavuzzo.bsky.social and Steve Liberles focused on the peripheral nervous system -- No Brainer! Check out the amazing list of speakers and apply for one of the spots for this small, interactive meeting on the beautiful Janelia Campus at HHMI.
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
In this month’s “Liftoff,” @shawnrhoadsphd.com talks about how he’ll implement hackathons to foster community in his lab, and @zurisullivan.bsky.social shares how weekly discussions about unfamiliar topics can encourage curiosity in a lab. bit.ly/3ZkMQl8
By @franciscorr25.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
By @franciscorr25.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
January 20, 2026 at 6:30 PM
In this month’s “Liftoff,” @shawnrhoadsphd.com talks about how he’ll implement hackathons to foster community in his lab, and @zurisullivan.bsky.social shares how weekly discussions about unfamiliar topics can encourage curiosity in a lab. bit.ly/3ZkMQl8
By @franciscorr25.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
By @franciscorr25.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
very darn cool!
Cow Tools!
We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them
It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS
Here I describe our study
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them
It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS
Here I describe our study
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
January 19, 2026 at 11:15 PM
very darn cool!
Exciting new preprint on oxytocin neural circuits for massage led by Manon Bohic in Vicky Abraira’s lab. Sasha and I were glad to contribute imaging experiments to this collaborative effort, spanning mice to humans. Vicky is a master at bringing people together.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Oxytocin Modulation of Spinal Circuits Drives Therapeutic Benefits of Massage
Across social species, social touch enhances well-being and reduces pain - two seemingly distinct benefits that enhance survival. Yet where and how the nervous system integrates these functions, and w...
www.biorxiv.org
January 13, 2026 at 3:39 PM
Exciting new preprint on oxytocin neural circuits for massage led by Manon Bohic in Vicky Abraira’s lab. Sasha and I were glad to contribute imaging experiments to this collaborative effort, spanning mice to humans. Vicky is a master at bringing people together.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
I enjoyed reading these 20 reviews in this special edition on interoception. This exciting field of brain-body signaling has many open questions – indicated by most articles written by PIs of labs opened within the past few years. Nice job authors and editors.
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
Current Opinion in Neurobiology | Interoception 2025 | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier
Read the latest articles of Current Opinion in Neurobiology at ScienceDirect.com, Elsevier’s leading platform of peer-reviewed scholarly literature
www.sciencedirect.com
January 9, 2026 at 2:09 PM
I enjoyed reading these 20 reviews in this special edition on interoception. This exciting field of brain-body signaling has many open questions – indicated by most articles written by PIs of labs opened within the past few years. Nice job authors and editors.
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
very cool work @sethblackshaw.bsky.social and team!
Nice summary on our paper on mechanisms controlling development and evolution of the cone-dominant ground squirrel retina, which is now in final form at eLife.
www.lifescienceeditors.com/2026/01/06/h...
www.lifescienceeditors.com/2026/01/06/h...
How ground squirrels enhanced their retinas - Scientific editing and writing experts - Life Science Editors
Scientific editing and writing experts for manuscripts and grants
www.lifescienceeditors.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:16 PM
very cool work @sethblackshaw.bsky.social and team!
Congratulations @flybottleescape.bsky.social and team on this impressive study. Greg, I still remember your job talk and you dreaming of doing things like this. You've made it happen!
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 1:02 PM
Congratulations @flybottleescape.bsky.social and team on this impressive study. Greg, I still remember your job talk and you dreaming of doing things like this. You've made it happen!
Congratulations @zurisullivan.bsky.social!! I'm so proud of you and MIT and Whitehead are so fortunate to have landed you. Looking forward to seeing some amazing science come from your lab.
Thrilled to start my lab at the @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social @mit.edu and to join such a special community of creative and inspiring colleagues. The Sullivan Lab asks (1) how and (2) why infections make us sick, bridging immunology and neuroscience to understand host defense at the organism scale
“I want everyone in my lab to be exposed to many ways of thinking about biology,” says Whitehead Institute’s newest Member, immunologist Zuri Sullivan. “Creative science often comes from making connections across systems, and Whitehead is uniquely well-suited for that.”
shorturl.at/EFsmh
shorturl.at/EFsmh
January 7, 2026 at 10:10 PM
Congratulations @zurisullivan.bsky.social!! I'm so proud of you and MIT and Whitehead are so fortunate to have landed you. Looking forward to seeing some amazing science come from your lab.
This really struck me too about this biography. Over and over in his career when people asked Crick what he did for a living he would respond: "I read and I think"
Loved this brilliant biography of Crick by @matthewcobb.bsky.social But what struck me from the start: it's also a portrait of a lost time in science: no grant applications or teaching, big travel budgets: the job only to think, talk & get science done. Future scientific biogs will be so different.
January 2, 2026 at 1:46 AM
This really struck me too about this biography. Over and over in his career when people asked Crick what he did for a living he would respond: "I read and I think"
incredible advice @arjunraj.bsky.social!!
Blog post: Just quit
Quitting projects in science is hard, but we should be doing a lot more of it.
open.substack.com/pub/arjunraj...
Quitting projects in science is hard, but we should be doing a lot more of it.
open.substack.com/pub/arjunraj...
Just quit
Quitting projects in science is hard, but we should be doing a lot more of it.
open.substack.com
December 30, 2025 at 6:34 PM
incredible advice @arjunraj.bsky.social!!
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
🎉 New Publication in @pnas.org
Excited to share our lab’s latest research article: PIP₂ Corrects an Endothelial Piezo1 Channelopathy
pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... (Open Access)
Excited to share our lab’s latest research article: PIP₂ Corrects an Endothelial Piezo1 Channelopathy
pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... (Open Access)
December 30, 2025 at 7:38 AM
🎉 New Publication in @pnas.org
Excited to share our lab’s latest research article: PIP₂ Corrects an Endothelial Piezo1 Channelopathy
pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... (Open Access)
Excited to share our lab’s latest research article: PIP₂ Corrects an Endothelial Piezo1 Channelopathy
pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... (Open Access)
I read 22 books this year and these were my favorites.
December 29, 2025 at 4:44 PM
I read 22 books this year and these were my favorites.
Just finished this thrilling, vulnerable, and inspiring book on friendship, loss, addiction, resilience, and editing memories by Prof Steve Ramirez. Neuroscientists and neuroscience enthusiasts should enjoy this one.
December 22, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Just finished this thrilling, vulnerable, and inspiring book on friendship, loss, addiction, resilience, and editing memories by Prof Steve Ramirez. Neuroscientists and neuroscience enthusiasts should enjoy this one.
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
Grateful to @pewtrusts.org for funding our snow fly work, in collaboration with Sebastian Brauchi at Universidad Austral de Chile.
We are now looking for post-docs to work on the biophysical mechanisms that allow snow fly neurons and muscles to function below zero.
newsroom.uw.edu/news-release...
We are now looking for post-docs to work on the biophysical mechanisms that allow snow fly neurons and muscles to function below zero.
newsroom.uw.edu/news-release...
Most insects slow down in bitter cold. Not snow flies. - UW Medicine | Newsroom
newsroom.uw.edu
December 18, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Grateful to @pewtrusts.org for funding our snow fly work, in collaboration with Sebastian Brauchi at Universidad Austral de Chile.
We are now looking for post-docs to work on the biophysical mechanisms that allow snow fly neurons and muscles to function below zero.
newsroom.uw.edu/news-release...
We are now looking for post-docs to work on the biophysical mechanisms that allow snow fly neurons and muscles to function below zero.
newsroom.uw.edu/news-release...
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
“Basic neuroscience hasn’t produced new drugs.” 💊
Not true - zuranolone (PPD), suzetrigine (pain), gepants (migraine), and more... were born out of a long arc of studies in the lab.
I wrote a Perspective on why this matters. @thetransmitter.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
Not true - zuranolone (PPD), suzetrigine (pain), gepants (migraine), and more... were born out of a long arc of studies in the lab.
I wrote a Perspective on why this matters. @thetransmitter.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
How basic neuroscience has paved the path to new drugs
A growing list of medications—such as zuranolone for postpartum depression, suzetrigine for pain, and the gepants class of migraine medicines—exist because of insights from basic research.
www.thetransmitter.org
December 15, 2025 at 3:15 PM
“Basic neuroscience hasn’t produced new drugs.” 💊
Not true - zuranolone (PPD), suzetrigine (pain), gepants (migraine), and more... were born out of a long arc of studies in the lab.
I wrote a Perspective on why this matters. @thetransmitter.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
Not true - zuranolone (PPD), suzetrigine (pain), gepants (migraine), and more... were born out of a long arc of studies in the lab.
I wrote a Perspective on why this matters. @thetransmitter.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
New paper alert!!...🤩 Led by @blogeman.bsky.social, we identify how cell type-specific hormonal responses in the hypothalamus tunes parenting behavior in males and females 🐭🧠🍼. Highlights in thread 👇 1/6
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Cell Type-Specific Hormonal Signaling Configures Hypothalamic Circuits for Parenting
Parenting behavior emerges from hormonally sensitive circuits, but how distinct circuit components are affected by, and contribute to, sex and state dependent changes in infant caregiving remains uncl...
www.biorxiv.org
December 13, 2025 at 2:03 PM
New paper alert!!...🤩 Led by @blogeman.bsky.social, we identify how cell type-specific hormonal responses in the hypothalamus tunes parenting behavior in males and females 🐭🧠🍼. Highlights in thread 👇 1/6
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
Ancient Plants Used Infrared Radiation to Attract Their Pollinators #research 🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social @science.org
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social @science.org
Ancient Plants Used Infrared Radiation to Attract Their Pollinators - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology
Long before flowers painted the planet in brilliant colors, some of Earth’s earliest plants were glowing—not with pigment, but with heat. A new study from the lab of […]
www.mcb.harvard.edu
December 11, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Ancient Plants Used Infrared Radiation to Attract Their Pollinators #research 🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social @science.org
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social @science.org
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
gift article: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/s...
A Scientific Pipeline to the Nobel Prize Fueled by Immigrants
www.nytimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 11:27 AM
gift article: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/s...
Congratulations, glad to see this work out.
I am thrilled to share our latest work led by @zurisullivan.bsky.social in collaboration with @moffittlab.bsky.social ! We find that the brain encodes distinct, pathogen-specific sickness states across behavior, physiology, neural activity, and gene expression 1/6
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
December 9, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Congratulations, glad to see this work out.
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
The 1st NYC Area Pain Research Meetup was a roaring success! What started as an idea from @dr-lupo.bsky.social and myself turned into an incredible gathering with the help of @karapedsgastrodoc.bsky.social, and her team at @nyupainresearch.bsky.social.
#PainResearch #Neuroscience #Neuroskyence
#PainResearch #Neuroscience #Neuroskyence
December 8, 2025 at 4:04 PM
The 1st NYC Area Pain Research Meetup was a roaring success! What started as an idea from @dr-lupo.bsky.social and myself turned into an incredible gathering with the help of @karapedsgastrodoc.bsky.social, and her team at @nyupainresearch.bsky.social.
#PainResearch #Neuroscience #Neuroskyence
#PainResearch #Neuroscience #Neuroskyence
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
✨ Sponsor Spotlight! ✨
Huge shoutout to Tactorum — leading the way in improving preclinical pain research and pushing the field forward. We’re grateful for your support! 🔬💡
Huge shoutout to Tactorum — leading the way in improving preclinical pain research and pushing the field forward. We’re grateful for your support! 🔬💡
December 6, 2025 at 4:25 AM
✨ Sponsor Spotlight! ✨
Huge shoutout to Tactorum — leading the way in improving preclinical pain research and pushing the field forward. We’re grateful for your support! 🔬💡
Huge shoutout to Tactorum — leading the way in improving preclinical pain research and pushing the field forward. We’re grateful for your support! 🔬💡