Javier Apfeld
@javierapfeld.bsky.social
Aging scientist. Worm expert. Community-engaged teacher. Lab at Northeastern University. I watch worms die to learn how to live.
Lab: apfeldlab.mystrikingly.com
ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9897-5671
Lab: apfeldlab.mystrikingly.com
ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9897-5671
Pinned
Javier Apfeld
@javierapfeld.bsky.social
· Nov 28
Keeping in touch with the road not taken
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology - Keeping in touch with the road not taken
www.nature.com
I am so happy this perspective was published today, on Thanksgiving day!! 🥂🦃
I reflect on how keeping in touch with a field I left behind long ago continues to bring me joy and fulfillment.
I reflect on how keeping in touch with a field I left behind long ago continues to bring me joy and fulfillment.
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
Read this inspiring perspectives coauthored by the Worm Resource directors and worm Nobel Laureates! 4 Nobel Prizes and how they were enabled by major NIH-supported research resources (the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center, WormBase, and WormAtlas) www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
November 25, 2025 at 6:18 AM
Read this inspiring perspectives coauthored by the Worm Resource directors and worm Nobel Laureates! 4 Nobel Prizes and how they were enabled by major NIH-supported research resources (the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center, WormBase, and WormAtlas) www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
The C. elegans community is amazing. I email a Nobel laureate for a favor. He immediately responds yes and offers additional help!
a woman with a big hairdo is singing and the words simply the best are above her
ALT: a woman with a big hairdo is singing and the words simply the best are above her
media.tenor.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:48 PM
The C. elegans community is amazing. I email a Nobel laureate for a favor. He immediately responds yes and offers additional help!
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
Are you an early-stage graduate student (2nd or 3rd year) or early-stage postdoc based in the US or Canada, working primarily in Drosophila? Would you like to help improve the experience of all trainees working in Drosophila research? If so, read on.
(Please repost to reach a broad audience.)
(Please repost to reach a broad audience.)
November 12, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Are you an early-stage graduate student (2nd or 3rd year) or early-stage postdoc based in the US or Canada, working primarily in Drosophila? Would you like to help improve the experience of all trainees working in Drosophila research? If so, read on.
(Please repost to reach a broad audience.)
(Please repost to reach a broad audience.)
Nice sky in Cambridge MA
November 12, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Nice sky in Cambridge MA
My former undergad Hannah Tam gave a phenomenal PhD dissertation talk earlier today on the mechanisms of skin regeneration in mice!! So proud and such joy to see her shine so brightly! We had a mini lab reunion too, with Hannah and former undergad Juli Stanley.
November 11, 2025 at 2:53 AM
My former undergad Hannah Tam gave a phenomenal PhD dissertation talk earlier today on the mechanisms of skin regeneration in mice!! So proud and such joy to see her shine so brightly! We had a mini lab reunion too, with Hannah and former undergad Juli Stanley.
I got my sticker!
November 5, 2025 at 12:25 AM
I got my sticker!
A film you've seen more than seven times with a gif
November 2, 2025 at 2:18 AM
A film you've seen more than seven times with a gif
Lio the jack-o'-lantern dog 🎃🐶
November 1, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Lio the jack-o'-lantern dog 🎃🐶
I just listened to an excellent @bigbiology.bsky.social podcast interviewing my amazing colleague Katie Lotterhos @drk-lo.bsky.social, who’s been using surveys to give scientists a platform to tell their stories about how recent federal policy changes are affecting them and the practice of science.
Ep 141: Vulnerability in science and in genomes (with Katie Letterhos) — Big Biology Podcast
What impact has the Trump administration had on biology and the scientific community? How do scientists study genomic adaptation and vulnerability? On this episode we talk with Katie Lotterhos , ...
www.bigbiology.org
October 30, 2025 at 10:57 PM
I just listened to an excellent @bigbiology.bsky.social podcast interviewing my amazing colleague Katie Lotterhos @drk-lo.bsky.social, who’s been using surveys to give scientists a platform to tell their stories about how recent federal policy changes are affecting them and the practice of science.
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
Molecular & Cellular Physiology (MCP) Monday
We are recruiting a tenure-track assistant professor to join the Dept of Molecular & Cellular Physiology at Stanford. Apply to be our colleague 1/n
facultypositions.stanford.edu/en-us/job/49...
We are recruiting a tenure-track assistant professor to join the Dept of Molecular & Cellular Physiology at Stanford. Apply to be our colleague 1/n
facultypositions.stanford.edu/en-us/job/49...
Stanford | Faculty Positions: Details - Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology
facultypositions.stanford.edu
October 27, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Molecular & Cellular Physiology (MCP) Monday
We are recruiting a tenure-track assistant professor to join the Dept of Molecular & Cellular Physiology at Stanford. Apply to be our colleague 1/n
facultypositions.stanford.edu/en-us/job/49...
We are recruiting a tenure-track assistant professor to join the Dept of Molecular & Cellular Physiology at Stanford. Apply to be our colleague 1/n
facultypositions.stanford.edu/en-us/job/49...
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
TT faculty job opening in #Neuroscience!
We are looking for a colleague to join us in our fantastic Biology Department and Neuroscience Program at Brandeis. We are a group of *very* collaborative, supportive, and productive scientists (& humans!) so please apply
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30961
We are looking for a colleague to join us in our fantastic Biology Department and Neuroscience Program at Brandeis. We are a group of *very* collaborative, supportive, and productive scientists (& humans!) so please apply
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30961
Brandeis University, Biology Department
Job #AJO30961, Assistant Professor in Biology and Neuroscience Program, Biology Department, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, US
academicjobsonline.org
October 22, 2025 at 11:28 PM
TT faculty job opening in #Neuroscience!
We are looking for a colleague to join us in our fantastic Biology Department and Neuroscience Program at Brandeis. We are a group of *very* collaborative, supportive, and productive scientists (& humans!) so please apply
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30961
We are looking for a colleague to join us in our fantastic Biology Department and Neuroscience Program at Brandeis. We are a group of *very* collaborative, supportive, and productive scientists (& humans!) so please apply
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30961
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
Despite the mess, we are grateful to be funded, have exciting science happening, and have an opening for a postdoc!
If you are interested in sensory biology and esp in cilia, thermosensation, or interoception, and would like to join an interactive & supportive group - please email.
Please RT 🙏
If you are interested in sensory biology and esp in cilia, thermosensation, or interoception, and would like to join an interactive & supportive group - please email.
Please RT 🙏
October 16, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Despite the mess, we are grateful to be funded, have exciting science happening, and have an opening for a postdoc!
If you are interested in sensory biology and esp in cilia, thermosensation, or interoception, and would like to join an interactive & supportive group - please email.
Please RT 🙏
If you are interested in sensory biology and esp in cilia, thermosensation, or interoception, and would like to join an interactive & supportive group - please email.
Please RT 🙏
The plates have mites.
In honour of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand.
rm -rf ~/
rm -rf ~/
"The chancellor approved it"
October 12, 2025 at 2:48 PM
The plates have mites.
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
Another Friday is here! Bring your recommendations for interesting papers! 😍
October 10, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Another Friday is here! Bring your recommendations for interesting papers! 😍
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
Are you an early career scientist who wants to get specialist training in C. elegans model for your laboratory research? we co-organize again the EMBO C. elegans course! Do not miss applying!
🪱 Ready to take your C. elegans skills to the next level? Join our #EMBOCelegans course!
🎯 Learn hands-on genome editing, AI-driven imaging, microfluidics & uncover development, physiology & evolutionary insights.
📍 EMBL Heidelberg
📅 23 – 29 Mar 2026
👉 Apply by 8 Dec: s.embl.org/cel26-01-bl
🎯 Learn hands-on genome editing, AI-driven imaging, microfluidics & uncover development, physiology & evolutionary insights.
📍 EMBL Heidelberg
📅 23 – 29 Mar 2026
👉 Apply by 8 Dec: s.embl.org/cel26-01-bl
October 5, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Are you an early career scientist who wants to get specialist training in C. elegans model for your laboratory research? we co-organize again the EMBO C. elegans course! Do not miss applying!
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
Saturday morning, waiting for kid's soccer game, is a great time to indulge in the lowest form of humor:
LAB HAIKU!
1.
Does anyone know
whose PCR is in there?
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
LAB HAIKU!
1.
Does anyone know
whose PCR is in there?
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
October 4, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Saturday morning, waiting for kid's soccer game, is a great time to indulge in the lowest form of humor:
LAB HAIKU!
1.
Does anyone know
whose PCR is in there?
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
LAB HAIKU!
1.
Does anyone know
whose PCR is in there?
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
Hi fellow C. elegans scientists, I've made a few videos that may be of use for new trainees working in worm labs. Hoping to add more in the future, but figured I'd share this resource as is in case it's helpful :)
www.youtube.com/@Workingwith...
www.youtube.com/@Workingwith...
Working with C. elegans
This channel provides clear demonstrations of core C. elegans lab skills, including: recognizing life stages and common phenotypes, picking and manipulating worms, and maintaining healthy cultures. De...
www.youtube.com
October 1, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Hi fellow C. elegans scientists, I've made a few videos that may be of use for new trainees working in worm labs. Hoping to add more in the future, but figured I'd share this resource as is in case it's helpful :)
www.youtube.com/@Workingwith...
www.youtube.com/@Workingwith...
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
"Jane Goodall showed us what a life in science could look like: rigorous discovery paired with fierce advocacy for what you study. She gave the world six decades of groundbreaking research on chimpanzees and their habitats, then turned that knowledge into a global movement for conservation." (1/2)
October 2, 2025 at 1:47 PM
"Jane Goodall showed us what a life in science could look like: rigorous discovery paired with fierce advocacy for what you study. She gave the world six decades of groundbreaking research on chimpanzees and their habitats, then turned that knowledge into a global movement for conservation." (1/2)
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
RIP Jane Goodall.
Sharing this photo of Skosha, one of the chimpanzees she studied. I took this photo in Gombe Stream, Tanzania, in November 2000.
#goodall #photography
Sharing this photo of Skosha, one of the chimpanzees she studied. I took this photo in Gombe Stream, Tanzania, in November 2000.
#goodall #photography
October 1, 2025 at 7:19 PM
RIP Jane Goodall.
Sharing this photo of Skosha, one of the chimpanzees she studied. I took this photo in Gombe Stream, Tanzania, in November 2000.
#goodall #photography
Sharing this photo of Skosha, one of the chimpanzees she studied. I took this photo in Gombe Stream, Tanzania, in November 2000.
#goodall #photography
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
Worm peeps: nominate a newly minted PhD for the Sydney Brenner Thesis Award! #celegans
📢 Deadline extended! Apply by Oct 3 for the 2025 Sydney Brenner Thesis Award—honoring outstanding theses in nematode biology (defended Oct 1, 2024–Sept 30, 2025).
Send in your nomination today! 🔗:
Send in your nomination today! 🔗:
2025 Brenner Award Nomination
This nomination form is for the 2025 Brenner Award Nomination. Due: September 30th, 2025. Please do not include any information besides what is asked as a formal nominee form and recommendation…
buff.ly
September 30, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Worm peeps: nominate a newly minted PhD for the Sydney Brenner Thesis Award! #celegans
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
Got to love studies that were clearly conducted "for the love of the game" (“self-decapitating sea slugs”, “plants that see and use that for mimicry”, “worms that jump in the air”, aka papers you sometimes find in @currentbiology.bsky.social
) References to all of this bellow👇
) References to all of this bellow👇
September 29, 2025 at 6:15 AM
Got to love studies that were clearly conducted "for the love of the game" (“self-decapitating sea slugs”, “plants that see and use that for mimicry”, “worms that jump in the air”, aka papers you sometimes find in @currentbiology.bsky.social
) References to all of this bellow👇
) References to all of this bellow👇
New cures feel sudden, but the seeds were planted decades ago by basic scientists.
Which seeds will turn into cures? Unpredictable looking forward, a straight line looking back. 🧪🧬 🧵
Which seeds will turn into cures? Unpredictable looking forward, a straight line looking back. 🧪🧬 🧵
Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time
One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.
www.bbc.com
September 25, 2025 at 1:39 AM
New cures feel sudden, but the seeds were planted decades ago by basic scientists.
Which seeds will turn into cures? Unpredictable looking forward, a straight line looking back. 🧪🧬 🧵
Which seeds will turn into cures? Unpredictable looking forward, a straight line looking back. 🧪🧬 🧵
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
C. elegans is a real animal and we set out to understand how it comes to have its distinctive biogeography. Its ancestral center of diversity is in the higher elevation forests of Hawaii. Its closest relatives are spread across east Asia. Did they travel from Asia? [Preprint 🧵]
September 24, 2025 at 8:33 PM
C. elegans is a real animal and we set out to understand how it comes to have its distinctive biogeography. Its ancestral center of diversity is in the higher elevation forests of Hawaii. Its closest relatives are spread across east Asia. Did they travel from Asia? [Preprint 🧵]
Reposted by Javier Apfeld
Very excited to share this finding from my postdoctoral work that is now published in #ScienceAdvances. We show how the gut’s epithelium modifies enteric behaviors during nutritional adversity via distinct peptidergic signaling axes.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Thread ⬇️
(1/n)
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Thread ⬇️
(1/n)
Gut epithelium modifies enteric behaviors during nutritional adversity via distinct peptidergic signaling axes
Gut epithelium modulates output from distinct enteric circuits by altering secretion of insulin and noninsulin peptides.
www.science.org
September 24, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Very excited to share this finding from my postdoctoral work that is now published in #ScienceAdvances. We show how the gut’s epithelium modifies enteric behaviors during nutritional adversity via distinct peptidergic signaling axes.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Thread ⬇️
(1/n)
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Thread ⬇️
(1/n)
What movie do you consider "perfect"?
September 22, 2025 at 1:26 AM
What movie do you consider "perfect"?