Mara Duncan
@mcduncanlab.bsky.social
Associate Professor at the University of Michigan. I post photos of my cat and garden, and helpful tips for running a lab. Thoughts my own.
Pinned
Mara Duncan
@mcduncanlab.bsky.social
· Nov 29
🧪Dear Grad student,
Are you overdue for a thesis committee meeting but feel like you have nothing to show since your last meeting? I'm begging you to schedule that meeting now!
1/🧵
Are you overdue for a thesis committee meeting but feel like you have nothing to show since your last meeting? I'm begging you to schedule that meeting now!
1/🧵
Reposted by Mara Duncan
Hey #Seattle #bioscience people, my daughter (studying neurosci/biochem) is looking for a Seattle area on-site biosci/biochem lab work internship opportunity for this summer. She has a year of biomanufacturing lab work experience. Pls DM if you know of something I could point her to!
January 19, 2026 at 10:01 PM
Hey #Seattle #bioscience people, my daughter (studying neurosci/biochem) is looking for a Seattle area on-site biosci/biochem lab work internship opportunity for this summer. She has a year of biomanufacturing lab work experience. Pls DM if you know of something I could point her to!
Reposted by Mara Duncan
I am looking for someone who successfully fought tenure denial at the dept level for a friend (NOT ME!!). If you have time and resources to help a friend of mine, please message me. #AcademicSky #AcademiaSky
January 19, 2026 at 3:45 PM
I am looking for someone who successfully fought tenure denial at the dept level for a friend (NOT ME!!). If you have time and resources to help a friend of mine, please message me. #AcademicSky #AcademiaSky
Reposted by Mara Duncan
Do I know any scientists based in Antarctica? Or who can put me in touch with someone? Reposts gratefully accepted!
January 18, 2026 at 7:28 PM
Do I know any scientists based in Antarctica? Or who can put me in touch with someone? Reposts gratefully accepted!
Reposted by Mara Duncan
0/10
🥳 our #exocyst paper out in @cp-cell.bsky.social, led by Marta, Sebas & @sasmeek.bsky.social in collab with @jonasries.bsky.social, @cmanzo.bsky.social & Castaño-Díez labs #Quantitative_Cell_Biology
Continuum architecture dynamics of vesicle tethering in exocytosis
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
🥳 our #exocyst paper out in @cp-cell.bsky.social, led by Marta, Sebas & @sasmeek.bsky.social in collab with @jonasries.bsky.social, @cmanzo.bsky.social & Castaño-Díez labs #Quantitative_Cell_Biology
Continuum architecture dynamics of vesicle tethering in exocytosis
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Continuum architecture dynamics of vesicle tethering in exocytosis
Data from complementary imaging techniques were integrated into a model that resolves
the dynamic exocyst ensemble and membrane architecture during exocytosis, an essential
cellular pathway. Sec18 med...
www.cell.com
January 16, 2026 at 5:28 PM
0/10
🥳 our #exocyst paper out in @cp-cell.bsky.social, led by Marta, Sebas & @sasmeek.bsky.social in collab with @jonasries.bsky.social, @cmanzo.bsky.social & Castaño-Díez labs #Quantitative_Cell_Biology
Continuum architecture dynamics of vesicle tethering in exocytosis
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
🥳 our #exocyst paper out in @cp-cell.bsky.social, led by Marta, Sebas & @sasmeek.bsky.social in collab with @jonasries.bsky.social, @cmanzo.bsky.social & Castaño-Díez labs #Quantitative_Cell_Biology
Continuum architecture dynamics of vesicle tethering in exocytosis
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Resolution to write every morning is still going strong!
My plan to write first thing in the morning seems to be working. On Weds, I had meetings at 9:30-10:30, 11-12:30, and I taught 3-5pm. Getting the writing done before that first meeting meant it got done!
My plan to write first thing in the morning seems to be working. On Weds, I had meetings at 9:30-10:30, 11-12:30, and I taught 3-5pm. Getting the writing done before that first meeting meant it got done!
January 16, 2026 at 2:52 PM
Resolution to write every morning is still going strong!
My plan to write first thing in the morning seems to be working. On Weds, I had meetings at 9:30-10:30, 11-12:30, and I taught 3-5pm. Getting the writing done before that first meeting meant it got done!
My plan to write first thing in the morning seems to be working. On Weds, I had meetings at 9:30-10:30, 11-12:30, and I taught 3-5pm. Getting the writing done before that first meeting meant it got done!
Reposted by Mara Duncan
The Murphy Lab did our annual retreat this week. This year's theme was using AI (what it's good and bad for). I wanted to be open-minded to make sure we are not missing something we should be using it for, so we did a few exercises to test, and had presentations.
January 15, 2026 at 4:51 PM
The Murphy Lab did our annual retreat this week. This year's theme was using AI (what it's good and bad for). I wanted to be open-minded to make sure we are not missing something we should be using it for, so we did a few exercises to test, and had presentations.
Reposted by Mara Duncan
Throwing this out there for those doing westerns on mouse embryo lysates: ALWAYS do a secondary only blot. No matter how "clean" your primary is, your secondary can (and will) cause problems - and Murphy's law ensures the crossreactivity will be the same size as your protein of interest 1/3 🧪 🤬
January 15, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Throwing this out there for those doing westerns on mouse embryo lysates: ALWAYS do a secondary only blot. No matter how "clean" your primary is, your secondary can (and will) cause problems - and Murphy's law ensures the crossreactivity will be the same size as your protein of interest 1/3 🧪 🤬
Reposted by Mara Duncan
Lara Bareis, Nils Johnsson and colleagues identify a short linear motif, conserved from yeast to human, that directs proteins to the cell cortex by binding to the Spa2 family of scaffold proteins.
journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
#OpenAccess #ReadandPublish
journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
#OpenAccess #ReadandPublish
January 15, 2026 at 9:38 AM
Lara Bareis, Nils Johnsson and colleagues identify a short linear motif, conserved from yeast to human, that directs proteins to the cell cortex by binding to the Spa2 family of scaffold proteins.
journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
#OpenAccess #ReadandPublish
journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
#OpenAccess #ReadandPublish
Reposted by Mara Duncan
Exciting preprint from @felixmendu.bsky.social and Yuichi Wakana! A TGN carrier whose budding is driven by ER–Golgi lipid transfer, PKD activity, and a caveolin-based oligomeric coat!
A PKD-caveolin axis drives secretory carrier biogenesis at the TGN
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
A PKD-caveolin axis drives secretory carrier biogenesis at the TGN
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
January 14, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Exciting preprint from @felixmendu.bsky.social and Yuichi Wakana! A TGN carrier whose budding is driven by ER–Golgi lipid transfer, PKD activity, and a caveolin-based oligomeric coat!
A PKD-caveolin axis drives secretory carrier biogenesis at the TGN
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
A PKD-caveolin axis drives secretory carrier biogenesis at the TGN
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Mara Duncan
Hello #PortfolioDay 🐡 I’m a scientific illustrator with a PhD in biology and research experience in ecology and evolution. My work includes infographics, illustrations, learning materials, and branding
I’m open to commissions and/or a full-time job in communications or educational design
I’m open to commissions and/or a full-time job in communications or educational design
January 13, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Hello #PortfolioDay 🐡 I’m a scientific illustrator with a PhD in biology and research experience in ecology and evolution. My work includes infographics, illustrations, learning materials, and branding
I’m open to commissions and/or a full-time job in communications or educational design
I’m open to commissions and/or a full-time job in communications or educational design
Reposted by Mara Duncan
Addgene gave our lab at #NIH the Blue Flame Award for making a plasmid requested at least 100 times by other scientists. It's a bicistronic stable opsin-GCaMP8s pair for pattern stim.
Congrats to @lafosse.bsky.social, Z Zhou, and B Akitake who led this work. 🥳🥳
Addgene
Congrats to @lafosse.bsky.social, Z Zhou, and B Akitake who led this work. 🥳🥳
Addgene
January 12, 2026 at 11:40 PM
Addgene gave our lab at #NIH the Blue Flame Award for making a plasmid requested at least 100 times by other scientists. It's a bicistronic stable opsin-GCaMP8s pair for pattern stim.
Congrats to @lafosse.bsky.social, Z Zhou, and B Akitake who led this work. 🥳🥳
Addgene
Congrats to @lafosse.bsky.social, Z Zhou, and B Akitake who led this work. 🥳🥳
Addgene
Reposted by Mara Duncan
Second week as a new PI: lab space is starting to look like a lab! Becoming an expert in matching power cords to donated equipment.
January 12, 2026 at 4:16 PM
Second week as a new PI: lab space is starting to look like a lab! Becoming an expert in matching power cords to donated equipment.
Happy to welcome Nicole Edward’s to the CDB community!
I’m happy to announce that I joined @umich.edu Department of Cell & Developmental Biology as an Assistant Professor and I will open my lab this month! My lab will investigate the genetic and cellular mechanisms underlying digestive and respiratory organs with a focus on the trachea and esophagus 1/2
January 13, 2026 at 2:03 AM
Happy to welcome Nicole Edward’s to the CDB community!
Reposted by Mara Duncan
I’m happy to announce that I joined @umich.edu Department of Cell & Developmental Biology as an Assistant Professor and I will open my lab this month! My lab will investigate the genetic and cellular mechanisms underlying digestive and respiratory organs with a focus on the trachea and esophagus 1/2
January 7, 2026 at 3:28 PM
I’m happy to announce that I joined @umich.edu Department of Cell & Developmental Biology as an Assistant Professor and I will open my lab this month! My lab will investigate the genetic and cellular mechanisms underlying digestive and respiratory organs with a focus on the trachea and esophagus 1/2
Reposted by Mara Duncan
Happy to finally share the amazing results of our long-term collaboration with Karin Reinisch’s lab on how bridge lipid-transfer proteins (BLTPs) cooperate with partner proteins to orchestrate lipid delivery. A quick thread (1/7)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
January 12, 2026 at 7:57 PM
Happy to finally share the amazing results of our long-term collaboration with Karin Reinisch’s lab on how bridge lipid-transfer proteins (BLTPs) cooperate with partner proteins to orchestrate lipid delivery. A quick thread (1/7)
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Sharing my Monday motivation: Just 30 minutes of writing at the beginning of your day. You can do it!!
Close this browser and write!
Close this browser and write!
January 12, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Sharing my Monday motivation: Just 30 minutes of writing at the beginning of your day. You can do it!!
Close this browser and write!
Close this browser and write!
🧪Exciting work from my colleagues on the role of Endogenous FGF in a model of the primitive streak.
elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
January 12, 2026 at 2:50 PM
🧪Exciting work from my colleagues on the role of Endogenous FGF in a model of the primitive streak.
elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...
Reposted by Mara Duncan
READ THE MANUAL????
Thats Crazy Talk Crazy GIF
ALT: Thats Crazy Talk Crazy GIF
media.tenor.com
January 9, 2026 at 10:53 PM
READ THE MANUAL????
Reposted by Mara Duncan
today i am thankful to caleb mcdaniel, who i’ve never met, but whose generic syllabus maker saves me every term: wcaleb.rice.edu/syllabusmake...
Generic Syllabus Maker
wcaleb.rice.edu
January 9, 2026 at 4:49 PM
today i am thankful to caleb mcdaniel, who i’ve never met, but whose generic syllabus maker saves me every term: wcaleb.rice.edu/syllabusmake...
Reposted by Mara Duncan
Pro tip: NEVER log into My NCBI with more than one 3rd party option. It creates a whole new account that can’t be deleted. I apparently did this once with the ORCiD login (as opposed to normal eRA login) and now I can’t link my ORCiD ID to my SciENcv. I have to ask the Help Desk to merge accounts. 🫠
January 9, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Pro tip: NEVER log into My NCBI with more than one 3rd party option. It creates a whole new account that can’t be deleted. I apparently did this once with the ORCiD login (as opposed to normal eRA login) and now I can’t link my ORCiD ID to my SciENcv. I have to ask the Help Desk to merge accounts. 🫠
Hey Lab ppl,
Do you actually pay to have your pipette calibrated? Why or why not?
I don't pay because I read the manual and it's easy to check calibration and recalibrate unless they are broken.
Do you actually pay to have your pipette calibrated? Why or why not?
I don't pay because I read the manual and it's easy to check calibration and recalibrate unless they are broken.
January 9, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Hey Lab ppl,
Do you actually pay to have your pipette calibrated? Why or why not?
I don't pay because I read the manual and it's easy to check calibration and recalibrate unless they are broken.
Do you actually pay to have your pipette calibrated? Why or why not?
I don't pay because I read the manual and it's easy to check calibration and recalibrate unless they are broken.
So far so good with the New Year's resolution to write 30 min at the start of each work-day.
I've been much more productive this week because of it.
I'm keeping track with check marks and stars if I do it every day of the week.
I might give myself a foil star sticker if I fill all of January.
I've been much more productive this week because of it.
I'm keeping track with check marks and stars if I do it every day of the week.
I might give myself a foil star sticker if I fill all of January.
January 9, 2026 at 2:53 PM
So far so good with the New Year's resolution to write 30 min at the start of each work-day.
I've been much more productive this week because of it.
I'm keeping track with check marks and stars if I do it every day of the week.
I might give myself a foil star sticker if I fill all of January.
I've been much more productive this week because of it.
I'm keeping track with check marks and stars if I do it every day of the week.
I might give myself a foil star sticker if I fill all of January.
Mission accomplished: Updated, printed, and indexed the 2025 lab notebook.
Alpha fold predictions are by far the most common entry for me this year. Some very exciting predictions there!!
Alpha fold predictions are by far the most common entry for me this year. Some very exciting predictions there!!
January 8, 2026 at 7:43 PM
Mission accomplished: Updated, printed, and indexed the 2025 lab notebook.
Alpha fold predictions are by far the most common entry for me this year. Some very exciting predictions there!!
Alpha fold predictions are by far the most common entry for me this year. Some very exciting predictions there!!
Congrats to Duncan lab alum Lucas Marmorale for his recent co-first author paper in @jcb.org showing that ESCRTS and NEDD promote TDP-43 endolysosomal clearance.
rupress.org/jcb/article/...
rupress.org/jcb/article/...
Rsp5/NEDD4 and ESCRT regulate TDP-43 toxicity and turnover via an endolysosomal clearance mechanism | Journal of Cell Biology | Rockefeller University Press
Byrd, Marmorale and colleagues conducted a yeast genome-wide screen to identify genes affecting TDP-43 clearance in ALS cell models. They found that ESCRT
rupress.org
January 8, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Congrats to Duncan lab alum Lucas Marmorale for his recent co-first author paper in @jcb.org showing that ESCRTS and NEDD promote TDP-43 endolysosomal clearance.
rupress.org/jcb/article/...
rupress.org/jcb/article/...