Lucas Farnung
@lucas.farnunglab.com
Assistant Professor of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School | HHMI Freeman Hrabowski Scholar | Nexus of chromatin, transcription, replication, and epigenetics. farnunglab.com
Pinned
Lucas Farnung
@lucas.farnunglab.com
· Apr 6
🔬 New from the Farnung Lab: We established a fully in vitro reconstituted chromatin replication system and report the first cryo-EM snapshots of the human replisome engaging nucleosomes. Brilliant work by @felixsteinruecke.bsky.social with support from @jonmarkert.bsky.social! tinyurl.com/replisome
I'll need a couple more weeks. I'll try to get it out soon.
January 12, 2026 at 10:17 PM
I'll need a couple more weeks. I'll try to get it out soon.
It's my own molecular biology agent + ELN. It is unrelated to Benchmate.ai. I have to contemplate my naming choice. I decided to also have my own ELN and registry/inventory. It better reflects needs of academic structural biology/biochemistry labs. Time to implement has become negligible with Codex.
January 12, 2026 at 7:11 PM
It's my own molecular biology agent + ELN. It is unrelated to Benchmate.ai. I have to contemplate my naming choice. I decided to also have my own ELN and registry/inventory. It better reflects needs of academic structural biology/biochemistry labs. Time to implement has become negligible with Codex.
Benchmate🧪 has its own custom-written ELN now.
January 12, 2026 at 3:19 PM
Benchmate🧪 has its own custom-written ELN now.
Any test I should run for you?
January 7, 2026 at 9:52 PM
Any test I should run for you?
Currently, under development. I hope to have this out soon as a tool for the community. It’s using Claude Opus 4.5 and Codex, coupled to self-written molecular biology and structural biology tools. It’s extendable and should be able to manage lab life end to end including pipetting.
January 7, 2026 at 9:44 PM
Currently, under development. I hope to have this out soon as a tool for the community. It’s using Claude Opus 4.5 and Codex, coupled to self-written molecular biology and structural biology tools. It’s extendable and should be able to manage lab life end to end including pipetting.
Benchmate gonna benchmate...
January 7, 2026 at 6:59 PM
Benchmate gonna benchmate...
Reposted by Lucas Farnung
We are thrilled to share our latest work uncovering the mechanistic basis of target-directed microRNA degradation (TDMD). This work was driven by @jakobfarnung.bsky.social and @elenaslo.bsky.social in a fantastic collaboration with Brenda Schulman's lab. tinyurl.com/E3TDMD (1/5)
January 6, 2026 at 3:16 PM
We are thrilled to share our latest work uncovering the mechanistic basis of target-directed microRNA degradation (TDMD). This work was driven by @jakobfarnung.bsky.social and @elenaslo.bsky.social in a fantastic collaboration with Brenda Schulman's lab. tinyurl.com/E3TDMD (1/5)
Here it is! A new chapter in RNA biology and degradation mechanisms. My brother @jakobfarnung.bsky.social and @elenaslo.bsky.social show that an E3 not only induces the degradation of proteins but also of RNA. Congrats!
When RNA Degradation 🤝 meets 🤝 Protein Degradation! tinyurl.com/E3TDMD In a collaboration of @bartellab.bsky.social and Schulman lab, we show that, in target-directed microRNA degradation (TDMD), 2-RNA-factors recruit an E3 ligase and induce the degradation of not only a protein but also RNA (1/5).
January 6, 2026 at 11:06 AM
Here it is! A new chapter in RNA biology and degradation mechanisms. My brother @jakobfarnung.bsky.social and @elenaslo.bsky.social show that an E3 not only induces the degradation of proteins but also of RNA. Congrats!
Reposted by Lucas Farnung
When RNA Degradation 🤝 meets 🤝 Protein Degradation! tinyurl.com/E3TDMD In a collaboration of @bartellab.bsky.social and Schulman lab, we show that, in target-directed microRNA degradation (TDMD), 2-RNA-factors recruit an E3 ligase and induce the degradation of not only a protein but also RNA (1/5).
January 6, 2026 at 8:05 AM
When RNA Degradation 🤝 meets 🤝 Protein Degradation! tinyurl.com/E3TDMD In a collaboration of @bartellab.bsky.social and Schulman lab, we show that, in target-directed microRNA degradation (TDMD), 2-RNA-factors recruit an E3 ligase and induce the degradation of not only a protein but also RNA (1/5).
Really cool and 100 % agree. CLI > MCP though.
January 5, 2026 at 9:22 PM
Really cool and 100 % agree. CLI > MCP though.
It's similarly easy to setup a complex formation with Benchmate🧪.
December 30, 2025 at 8:35 PM
It's similarly easy to setup a complex formation with Benchmate🧪.
"Benchmate, generate LICv1 primers for Midnolin." Benchmate🧪: ✅
December 30, 2025 at 8:29 PM
"Benchmate, generate LICv1 primers for Midnolin." Benchmate🧪: ✅
Hey, I'm Benchmate🧪.
I am a molecular biology agent living in Lucas' terminal. That plasmid cloned 3 years ago? Found it. Purified protein in the -80? I know the concentration and can write the next protocol. Need primers for that gene? Give me 30 seconds.
I am a molecular biology agent living in Lucas' terminal. That plasmid cloned 3 years ago? Found it. Purified protein in the -80? I know the concentration and can write the next protocol. Need primers for that gene? Give me 30 seconds.
December 29, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Hey, I'm Benchmate🧪.
I am a molecular biology agent living in Lucas' terminal. That plasmid cloned 3 years ago? Found it. Purified protein in the -80? I know the concentration and can write the next protocol. Need primers for that gene? Give me 30 seconds.
I am a molecular biology agent living in Lucas' terminal. That plasmid cloned 3 years ago? Found it. Purified protein in the -80? I know the concentration and can write the next protocol. Need primers for that gene? Give me 30 seconds.
We thank you for your service!
December 26, 2025 at 10:51 PM
We thank you for your service!
Happy Holidays from the Farnung lab!
December 13, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Happy Holidays from the Farnung lab!
Reposted by Lucas Farnung
$15k stipend to support 9 weeks of full time summer research!
For rising juniors/seniors who are able to travel to and obtain housing at the location of the lab they are placed in!
I did an HHMI summer experience in 2013 and it changed everything for me! Apply…or tell someone to apply!
🧪🧠
For rising juniors/seniors who are able to travel to and obtain housing at the location of the lab they are placed in!
I did an HHMI summer experience in 2013 and it changed everything for me! Apply…or tell someone to apply!
🧪🧠
@hhmi.org Summer Undergraduate Research Experience - #CechFellows named in honor of Prof Tom Cech
Deadline to apply: 12/22/2025
Spend 9 weeks in a paid, mentored biomedical research experience in an HHMI lab. See you next summer!!!
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
Deadline to apply: 12/22/2025
Spend 9 weeks in a paid, mentored biomedical research experience in an HHMI lab. See you next summer!!!
www.hhmi.org/programs/cec...
Summer Undergraduate Research Experience | HHMI
The Cech Fellows Program is a paid, nine-week summer research experience empowering the next generation of scientific leaders.
www.hhmi.org
November 24, 2025 at 4:49 AM
$15k stipend to support 9 weeks of full time summer research!
For rising juniors/seniors who are able to travel to and obtain housing at the location of the lab they are placed in!
I did an HHMI summer experience in 2013 and it changed everything for me! Apply…or tell someone to apply!
🧪🧠
For rising juniors/seniors who are able to travel to and obtain housing at the location of the lab they are placed in!
I did an HHMI summer experience in 2013 and it changed everything for me! Apply…or tell someone to apply!
🧪🧠
Reposted by Lucas Farnung
"My advice to other undergraduates: Just go for it!" — Lalitha Ravipati, alum, Summer Undergraduate Research Program
Rising junior or senior who's interested in working alongside some of the nation's top scientists this summer? Apply now: bit.ly/CechFellows 🧪
Rising junior or senior who's interested in working alongside some of the nation's top scientists this summer? Apply now: bit.ly/CechFellows 🧪
November 26, 2025 at 5:59 PM
"My advice to other undergraduates: Just go for it!" — Lalitha Ravipati, alum, Summer Undergraduate Research Program
Rising junior or senior who's interested in working alongside some of the nation's top scientists this summer? Apply now: bit.ly/CechFellows 🧪
Rising junior or senior who's interested in working alongside some of the nation's top scientists this summer? Apply now: bit.ly/CechFellows 🧪
The Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation, which supports our work, has produced a short film about our research:
November 26, 2025 at 1:22 AM
The Richard and Susan Smith Family Foundation, which supports our work, has produced a short film about our research:
A great way to dive into cutting-edge biological research and learn from leading scientists. Apply to join the Farnung lab or other HHMI labs this summer!
Calling all rising juniors & seniors: Interested in biological or biomedical research? Applications for our ’26 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience Program are now open! Nine weeks, hands-on research, & mentorship from some of the nation’s top scientists — learn more: bit.ly/CechFellows
Summer Undergraduate Research Experience | HHMI
The Cech Fellows Program is a paid, nine-week summer research experience empowering the next generation of scientific leaders.
bit.ly
November 21, 2025 at 6:24 PM
A great way to dive into cutting-edge biological research and learn from leading scientists. Apply to join the Farnung lab or other HHMI labs this summer!
What's going on with ConSurf? consurf.tau.ac.il
consurfdb.tau.ac.il
November 20, 2025 at 4:51 PM
What's going on with ConSurf? consurf.tau.ac.il
Reposted by Lucas Farnung
Thrilled to share that the final piece of my PhD work is now on bioRxiv! biorxiv.org/content/10.1... With support from @nvidia and the @NSF, we used AlphaFold to screen 1.6M+ protein pairs, revealing thousands of potential novel PPIs. All data can be viewed at predictomes.org/hp
Proteome-wide in silico screening for human protein-protein interactions
Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) drive virtually all biological processes, yet most PPIs have not been identified and even more remain structurally unresolved. We developed a two-step computational...
biorxiv.org
November 12, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Thrilled to share that the final piece of my PhD work is now on bioRxiv! biorxiv.org/content/10.1... With support from @nvidia and the @NSF, we used AlphaFold to screen 1.6M+ protein pairs, revealing thousands of potential novel PPIs. All data can be viewed at predictomes.org/hp
Reposted by Lucas Farnung
Very well done story on 60 Minutes about the harms of grant terminations and freezes at Harvard with Joan Brugge, Don Engbar, David Liu, and a very compelling young cancer patient, now cured with Liu's technology.
Transcript and video here
www.cbsnews.com/news/researc...
Transcript and video here
www.cbsnews.com/news/researc...
Battle between Trump and universities hurting scientific research in need of federal funding
Federal research funding to universities has fueled breakthroughs for years. The White House is pressuring universities to align with the president's political agenda, or risk losing their funding.
www.cbsnews.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Very well done story on 60 Minutes about the harms of grant terminations and freezes at Harvard with Joan Brugge, Don Engbar, David Liu, and a very compelling young cancer patient, now cured with Liu's technology.
Transcript and video here
www.cbsnews.com/news/researc...
Transcript and video here
www.cbsnews.com/news/researc...
Reposted by Lucas Farnung
How did @biorxivpreprint make it this far without a #StructuralBiology "subject area"? 🤔
I will choose "biophysics" as the closest one, but this feels inexact for this paper...
I will choose "biophysics" as the closest one, but this feels inexact for this paper...
November 9, 2025 at 5:53 PM
How did @biorxivpreprint make it this far without a #StructuralBiology "subject area"? 🤔
I will choose "biophysics" as the closest one, but this feels inexact for this paper...
I will choose "biophysics" as the closest one, but this feels inexact for this paper...
Reposted by Lucas Farnung
@ckadoch.bsky.social and I are excited to welcome you to Geneva for the 2026 Keystone Symposium on Epigenetics and Gene Regulation in Health and Disease — short talk and poster slots are still open. Don’t miss the deadlines.
Video: youtu.be/sLfyuQuH8F0
Video: youtu.be/sLfyuQuH8F0
KSQA: Dr Karim-Jean Armache / Dr. Cigall Kadoch (Epigenetics and Gene Regulation)
YouTube video by KeystoneSymposia
youtu.be
November 3, 2025 at 2:43 PM
@ckadoch.bsky.social and I are excited to welcome you to Geneva for the 2026 Keystone Symposium on Epigenetics and Gene Regulation in Health and Disease — short talk and poster slots are still open. Don’t miss the deadlines.
Video: youtu.be/sLfyuQuH8F0
Video: youtu.be/sLfyuQuH8F0
I wish people did this all the time. Good biochemical validation is also appreciated!
October 27, 2025 at 3:47 PM
I wish people did this all the time. Good biochemical validation is also appreciated!