Kathleen Kay
@kathleenmkay.bsky.social
Scientist, professor, mom, trail runner, plant lover. UC Santa Cruz.
Pinned
Beyond the Grant–Stebbins model: floral adaptive landscapes and plant speciation
AbstractBackground. Floral diversity, a striking feature of angiosperm evolution, provides the impetus and rationale for linking pollinator-driven selectio
doi.org
Is the Most Effective Pollinator Principle a zombie idea? How do plants adapted to one pollinator shift to another without traversing an adaptive valley? How should we measure fitness in pollinator selection studies? We explore these questions and more in a new review doi.org/10.1093/aob/...
Our economy is a big circle jerk
November 22, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Our economy is a big circle jerk
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
Short version:
Trump: I'm dismantling the Constitution, building a paramilitary fascist army loyal only to me, blowing up the US economy for my billionaire cronies, and destroying the planet.
Schumer: Okay, but you have to extend subsidies for corporate health care
Trump: No
Schumer: Okay
Trump: I'm dismantling the Constitution, building a paramilitary fascist army loyal only to me, blowing up the US economy for my billionaire cronies, and destroying the planet.
Schumer: Okay, but you have to extend subsidies for corporate health care
Trump: No
Schumer: Okay
How Chuck Schumer Planned the Shutdown Capitulation to Trump
In brief. And then in excruciating detail
hillheat.news
November 11, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Short version:
Trump: I'm dismantling the Constitution, building a paramilitary fascist army loyal only to me, blowing up the US economy for my billionaire cronies, and destroying the planet.
Schumer: Okay, but you have to extend subsidies for corporate health care
Trump: No
Schumer: Okay
Trump: I'm dismantling the Constitution, building a paramilitary fascist army loyal only to me, blowing up the US economy for my billionaire cronies, and destroying the planet.
Schumer: Okay, but you have to extend subsidies for corporate health care
Trump: No
Schumer: Okay
proof that evolutionary biologists can be good parents 😂
This profile is pretty much proof that Seattle stands a very good chance of soon having its most Seattle (laudatory) mayor ever
And there's a bonus surprise for the evolutionary biologists in the audience
www.thestranger.com/news/2025/10...
And there's a bonus surprise for the evolutionary biologists in the audience
www.thestranger.com/news/2025/10...
The Making of Katie Wilson
She’s coming for the mayor’s office.
www.thestranger.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:08 AM
proof that evolutionary biologists can be good parents 😂
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
This profile is pretty much proof that Seattle stands a very good chance of soon having its most Seattle (laudatory) mayor ever
And there's a bonus surprise for the evolutionary biologists in the audience
www.thestranger.com/news/2025/10...
And there's a bonus surprise for the evolutionary biologists in the audience
www.thestranger.com/news/2025/10...
The Making of Katie Wilson
She’s coming for the mayor’s office.
www.thestranger.com
October 3, 2025 at 6:13 PM
This profile is pretty much proof that Seattle stands a very good chance of soon having its most Seattle (laudatory) mayor ever
And there's a bonus surprise for the evolutionary biologists in the audience
www.thestranger.com/news/2025/10...
And there's a bonus surprise for the evolutionary biologists in the audience
www.thestranger.com/news/2025/10...
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
Amy Angert and I are recruiting a #postdoc to participate in a collaborative NSF-funded study of demographic responses to climate across the geographic range of the scarlet monkeyflower. Please repost! jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/224...
November 7, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Amy Angert and I are recruiting a #postdoc to participate in a collaborative NSF-funded study of demographic responses to climate across the geographic range of the scarlet monkeyflower. Please repost! jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/224...
Spooky treat from my kid’s Halloween bag 😱@jrossibarra.bsky.social
November 7, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Spooky treat from my kid’s Halloween bag 😱@jrossibarra.bsky.social
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
What was the hardest part of grad school for you? Was it having a kid, the thesis defense? I told them nope, it was being the only & the first. The only Inupiaq at UW Madison for most of my years there, one of 250 Natives on a campus of over 40K, the first Native to earn a PhD in my program🧵
November 6, 2025 at 12:00 PM
What was the hardest part of grad school for you? Was it having a kid, the thesis defense? I told them nope, it was being the only & the first. The only Inupiaq at UW Madison for most of my years there, one of 250 Natives on a campus of over 40K, the first Native to earn a PhD in my program🧵
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
I heard rumors about this but devastating to see it happening.. “the PPFP faculty hiring incentive is sunsetting as of fall 2025” 💔 www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
UC to Stop Funding Systemwide Postdoc Program
Established in 1984 to encourage women and minority Ph.D.s to pursue academia, the program has attracted right-wing criticism for prioritizing diverse candidates.
www.insidehighered.com
November 6, 2025 at 2:54 AM
I heard rumors about this but devastating to see it happening.. “the PPFP faculty hiring incentive is sunsetting as of fall 2025” 💔 www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
A devastating set of decisions on the part of UC leadership to withdraw support from our nationally recognized postdoc program that prioritizes research excellence combined with addressing our university public service mission. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
UC to Stop Funding Systemwide Postdoc Program
Established in 1984 to encourage women and minority Ph.D.s to pursue academia, the program has attracted right-wing criticism for prioritizing diverse candidates.
www.insidehighered.com
November 5, 2025 at 6:53 PM
A devastating set of decisions on the part of UC leadership to withdraw support from our nationally recognized postdoc program that prioritizes research excellence combined with addressing our university public service mission. www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty...
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
My amazing colleague Shelley Sianta (not on bsky) is looking for a tech to join her new lab at UT Austin. The position will involve lab, greenhouse, and field work to study local adaptation and speciation in plants. Please share! utaustin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UTstaff/job/...
Research Engineering/Scientist Associate I
Job Posting Title: Research Engineering/Scientist Associate I ---- Hiring Department: Department of Integrative Biology ---- Position Open To: All Applicants ---- Weekly Scheduled Hours: 40 ---- FLSA ...
utaustin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:00 PM
My amazing colleague Shelley Sianta (not on bsky) is looking for a tech to join her new lab at UT Austin. The position will involve lab, greenhouse, and field work to study local adaptation and speciation in plants. Please share! utaustin.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/UTstaff/job/...
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
Hey Yaniv Brandvain is not on Bluesky but his most recent biostats ebook is live ybrandvain.github.io/biostats/. His stats resources have been so helpful to me as I develop my own stats course, so check it out. Github repo here: github.com/ybrandvain/b...
Applied Biostatistics
ybrandvain.github.io
October 24, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Hey Yaniv Brandvain is not on Bluesky but his most recent biostats ebook is live ybrandvain.github.io/biostats/. His stats resources have been so helpful to me as I develop my own stats course, so check it out. Github repo here: github.com/ybrandvain/b...
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
Proud of the latest edition of my free intro biostats book.
gitrepo: github.com/ybrandvain/b...
book: ybrandvain.github.io/biostats/
Not complete but at a good point to take a break, and I think its quite usable
dm me with comments , ideas etc
gitrepo: github.com/ybrandvain/b...
book: ybrandvain.github.io/biostats/
Not complete but at a good point to take a break, and I think its quite usable
dm me with comments , ideas etc
Applied Biostatistics
ybrandvain.github.io
October 24, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Proud of the latest edition of my free intro biostats book.
gitrepo: github.com/ybrandvain/b...
book: ybrandvain.github.io/biostats/
Not complete but at a good point to take a break, and I think its quite usable
dm me with comments , ideas etc
gitrepo: github.com/ybrandvain/b...
book: ybrandvain.github.io/biostats/
Not complete but at a good point to take a break, and I think its quite usable
dm me with comments , ideas etc
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
One of the most exciting works of my career, years in the making. We used high-throughput precision genome editing to test the fitness effects of thousands of natural variants. Our findings challenge the long-held assumption that common variants are inconsequential.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Massively parallel interrogation of the fitness of natural variants in ancient signaling pathways reveals pervasive local adaptation
The nature of standing genetic variation remains a central debate in population genetics, with differing perspectives on whether common variants are almost always neutral as suggested by neutral and n...
www.biorxiv.org
October 22, 2025 at 5:46 PM
One of the most exciting works of my career, years in the making. We used high-throughput precision genome editing to test the fitness effects of thousands of natural variants. Our findings challenge the long-held assumption that common variants are inconsequential.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
We're excited to be recruiting an NIH funded postdoc to work in the Coop lab at UC Davis. We're specifically interested in candidates who are want to work at the intersection of human genetics, GWAS, and population genetics modeling. Please RT
October 15, 2025 at 3:53 PM
We're excited to be recruiting an NIH funded postdoc to work in the Coop lab at UC Davis. We're specifically interested in candidates who are want to work at the intersection of human genetics, GWAS, and population genetics modeling. Please RT
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
When women researchers publish, media attention doesn’t always follow | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
When women researchers publish, media attention doesn’t always follow
Men-led papers receive more media coverage than women’s, new study finds
www.science.org
October 13, 2025 at 1:01 AM
When women researchers publish, media attention doesn’t always follow | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
Excited by this breakthrough work led by Dr. Lauren Stanley (now Assistant Professor at Central Michigan University). Lauren was able to develop for the first time floral dip/spray transformation methods in the yellow monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus). bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Just add water: A simple floral bud injection method for stable Agrobacterium‐mediated transformation in two ecotypes of Mimulus guttatus
Premise Stable transformation is the biggest barrier to studying gene function in plants. In most species, transformation requires tissue culture and regeneration methods that may be arduous and cau...
bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 13, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Excited by this breakthrough work led by Dr. Lauren Stanley (now Assistant Professor at Central Michigan University). Lauren was able to develop for the first time floral dip/spray transformation methods in the yellow monkeyflower (Mimulus guttatus). bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
I am hiring a postdoc to examine the genomic and evolutionary basis of plant microbiome variation in legumes. There are opportunities to gain teaching experience. Chicago is a great city to live in! Please help spread the word.
share.google/gukbzS1zdIx6...
share.google/gukbzS1zdIx6...
Postdoctoral Researcher in Plant Evolutionary Genomics
The postdoctoral researcher will work in Dr. Michael Grillo’s plant evolutionary genetics lab. The goal of this research project is to understand the genomic basis of plant-microbiome variation in leg...
share.google
October 10, 2025 at 6:11 PM
I am hiring a postdoc to examine the genomic and evolutionary basis of plant microbiome variation in legumes. There are opportunities to gain teaching experience. Chicago is a great city to live in! Please help spread the word.
share.google/gukbzS1zdIx6...
share.google/gukbzS1zdIx6...
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
Very happy to share that I will be starting as an Assistant Professor in the department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina in January! My group will be working on environmental phage ecology and evolution, and I am recruiting for the upcoming year (more info below).
October 8, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Very happy to share that I will be starting as an Assistant Professor in the department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina in January! My group will be working on environmental phage ecology and evolution, and I am recruiting for the upcoming year (more info below).
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
Application review begins in one week for the MSU herbarium director position!!!! More info here: plantbiology.natsci.msu.edu/job-postings...
September 26, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Application review begins in one week for the MSU herbarium director position!!!! More info here: plantbiology.natsci.msu.edu/job-postings...
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
I'll add here that MSU's Plant Biology Dept is world class, has a great chair, and is full of excellent scientists. #scijobs
Application review begins in one week for the MSU herbarium director position!!!! More info here: plantbiology.natsci.msu.edu/job-postings...
September 26, 2025 at 1:35 PM
I'll add here that MSU's Plant Biology Dept is world class, has a great chair, and is full of excellent scientists. #scijobs
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
Publication bias continues to skew academic literature. In our new @plosbiology.org article, we outline actionable steps for journals, funders & researchers to ensure all results—not only “positive” ones—are valued. A roadmap for more reliable science: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Ending publication bias: A values-based approach to surface null and negative results
Sharing knowledge is a fundamental principle within the scientific community, yet null and negative results are still being underreported. This Consensus View discusses the problem of such publication...
journals.plos.org
September 25, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Publication bias continues to skew academic literature. In our new @plosbiology.org article, we outline actionable steps for journals, funders & researchers to ensure all results—not only “positive” ones—are valued. A roadmap for more reliable science: journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Congratulations, @needhibhalla.bsky.social !!!!!
🎉 Congratulations to Needhi Bhalla, UC Santa Cruz (www.bhallalab.com
), named a 2025 #ASCB Fellow! This honor celebrates her outstanding contributions to cell biology, leadership, & service. Fellows will be recognized at #CellBio2025 in Philadelphia this December. #CellBiology
), named a 2025 #ASCB Fellow! This honor celebrates her outstanding contributions to cell biology, leadership, & service. Fellows will be recognized at #CellBio2025 in Philadelphia this December. #CellBiology
September 21, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Congratulations, @needhibhalla.bsky.social !!!!!
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
A host organelle (in sea slugs) integrates stolen chloroplasts for animal photosynthesis
A host organelle (in sea slugs) integrates stolen chloroplasts for animal photosynthesis
A host organelle integrates stolen chloroplasts for animal photosynthesis
Sea slugs steal foreign chloroplasts and store them in specialized organelles that
facilitate photosynthesis and eventual digestion to mediate starvation resistance.
www.cell.com
September 17, 2025 at 5:04 PM
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
A host organelle (in sea slugs) integrates stolen chloroplasts for animal photosynthesis
A host organelle (in sea slugs) integrates stolen chloroplasts for animal photosynthesis
Reposted by Kathleen Kay
Sadly timely from @mcsweeneys.net: www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/who...
Who Radicalized You: An Elite University or a Discord Server?
“The Utah man being held in the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk used the social media platform Discord to send messages about the ri...
www.mcsweeneys.net
September 16, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Sadly timely from @mcsweeneys.net: www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/who...