Meike van der Heijden
@meikeesther.bsky.social
Thinking about work, life, and balance. Looking for answers in the cerebellum.
Assistant Professor @ Virginia Tech
www.vanderheijdenlab.com
Assistant Professor @ Virginia Tech
www.vanderheijdenlab.com
Pinned
'Big Science, Small Pod' podcast: How does a brain even happen?
Neuroscientist Meike van der Heijden of the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC explains how understanding childhood brain development could guide treatments for movement disorders.
news.vt.edu
A podcast about my work, my life, and balance… the things I think about a lot:
@fralinbiomed.bsky.social
news.vt.edu/articles/202...
@fralinbiomed.bsky.social
news.vt.edu/articles/202...
Happy 1 year anniversary to this viewpoint and receiving weekly emails addressed to Dr. Dooley asking for a contribution to Journals of Surgery, Transportation, and Integrative Neuroscience (among others).
There is no other publication I can link as directly to the amount of spam email. Worth it?
There is no other publication I can link as directly to the amount of spam email. Worth it?
Looking for an escape over the holiday?
@meikeesther.bsky.social and I published a ViewPoint looking at the intersection of Developmental and Systems Neuroscience titled “More Than a Small Brain: The Importance of Studying Neural Function during Development”
www.jneurosci.org/content/44/4...
@meikeesther.bsky.social and I published a ViewPoint looking at the intersection of Developmental and Systems Neuroscience titled “More Than a Small Brain: The Importance of Studying Neural Function during Development”
www.jneurosci.org/content/44/4...
More Than a Small Brain: The Importance of Studying Neural Function during Development
The nervous system contains complex circuits comprising thousands of cell types and trillions of connections. Here, we discuss how the field of “developmental systems neuroscience” combines the molecu...
www.jneurosci.org
November 27, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Happy 1 year anniversary to this viewpoint and receiving weekly emails addressed to Dr. Dooley asking for a contribution to Journals of Surgery, Transportation, and Integrative Neuroscience (among others).
There is no other publication I can link as directly to the amount of spam email. Worth it?
There is no other publication I can link as directly to the amount of spam email. Worth it?
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
Nature Sci Rep publishes incoherent AI slop. eLife publishes a paper which the reviewers didn't agree with, making all the comments and responses public with thoughtful commentary. One of these journals got delisted by Web of Science for quality concerns from not doing peer review. Guess which one?
November 27, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Nature Sci Rep publishes incoherent AI slop. eLife publishes a paper which the reviewers didn't agree with, making all the comments and responses public with thoughtful commentary. One of these journals got delisted by Web of Science for quality concerns from not doing peer review. Guess which one?
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
And here is the story after peer review. This work highlights our current approach, which is to use Piezo channels to uncover new areas of biology that are shaped by mechanical forces: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
November 13, 2025 at 10:05 PM
And here is the story after peer review. This work highlights our current approach, which is to use Piezo channels to uncover new areas of biology that are shaped by mechanical forces: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Our 18 mo daughter pointed out this morning that I have many pairs of shoes. All I have to say is… rude.
November 26, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Our 18 mo daughter pointed out this morning that I have many pairs of shoes. All I have to say is… rude.
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
Our new paper is out in Nature Communications! nature.com/articles/s41...
We combined psychophysics, 7T fMRI, and computational modeling of vision with placebo, 5mg, and 10mg psilocybin, in the same group of participants, to clarify the computational mechanisms of psychedelics. 🧵
We combined psychophysics, 7T fMRI, and computational modeling of vision with placebo, 5mg, and 10mg psilocybin, in the same group of participants, to clarify the computational mechanisms of psychedelics. 🧵
November 23, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Our new paper is out in Nature Communications! nature.com/articles/s41...
We combined psychophysics, 7T fMRI, and computational modeling of vision with placebo, 5mg, and 10mg psilocybin, in the same group of participants, to clarify the computational mechanisms of psychedelics. 🧵
We combined psychophysics, 7T fMRI, and computational modeling of vision with placebo, 5mg, and 10mg psilocybin, in the same group of participants, to clarify the computational mechanisms of psychedelics. 🧵
Exciting to see this work published.
Katie Hsiao and her team found cerebellar circuit deficits in a mouse model for Down syndrome, likely contributing to motor incoordination in the mice and individuals with Down syndrome.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Katie Hsiao and her team found cerebellar circuit deficits in a mouse model for Down syndrome, likely contributing to motor incoordination in the mice and individuals with Down syndrome.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Altered motor coordination, vocal communication, and cerebellar circuit connectivity in mice carrying a near-complete human chromosome 21 - Translational Psychiatry
Translational Psychiatry - Altered motor coordination, vocal communication, and cerebellar circuit connectivity in mice carrying a near-complete human chromosome 21
www.nature.com
November 22, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Exciting to see this work published.
Katie Hsiao and her team found cerebellar circuit deficits in a mouse model for Down syndrome, likely contributing to motor incoordination in the mice and individuals with Down syndrome.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Katie Hsiao and her team found cerebellar circuit deficits in a mouse model for Down syndrome, likely contributing to motor incoordination in the mice and individuals with Down syndrome.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Great meeting. Honored to be part of it and represent team preclinical models.
Learned a lot from my clinical colleagues and got many good ideas on where to steer the lab’s projects in the near future.
Learned a lot from my clinical colleagues and got many good ideas on where to steer the lab’s projects in the near future.
The DMRF hosted a meeting on “Neuromodulation in Dystonia,” chaired by Noreen Bukhari-Parlakturk, MD, PhD, Asst. Prof of Neurology, Duke University and Michael D. Fox, MD, PhD, Dir, Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics, Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, MA.
#dystonia #dmrf #dystoniafoundation
#dystonia #dmrf #dystoniafoundation
November 22, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Great meeting. Honored to be part of it and represent team preclinical models.
Learned a lot from my clinical colleagues and got many good ideas on where to steer the lab’s projects in the near future.
Learned a lot from my clinical colleagues and got many good ideas on where to steer the lab’s projects in the near future.
This is just a tired academic once again pleading with the scientific community to use only sans-serif fonts in their papers, grants, and seminars.
This is how Times New Roman looks to me; on screens, the words actually dance.
This is how Times New Roman looks to me; on screens, the words actually dance.
November 20, 2025 at 7:25 PM
This is just a tired academic once again pleading with the scientific community to use only sans-serif fonts in their papers, grants, and seminars.
This is how Times New Roman looks to me; on screens, the words actually dance.
This is how Times New Roman looks to me; on screens, the words actually dance.
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
I am increasingly of the opinion that people who change menus and look and feel of computer software just so that you know it's a new version should be personally forced to play tech support to my mother for five months.
November 19, 2025 at 4:10 AM
I am increasingly of the opinion that people who change menus and look and feel of computer software just so that you know it's a new version should be personally forced to play tech support to my mother for five months.
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
Link to study:
Clinical Trials Affected by Research Grant Terminations at the National Institutes of Health
This cross-sectional study summarizes the number of trials with terminated grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and calculates the proportion of affected trials among those with previou...
jamanetwork.com
November 17, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Link to study:
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
The link between the gut #microbiome and autism is not backed by science, researchers say.
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
November 13, 2025 at 4:00 PM
The link between the gut #microbiome and autism is not backed by science, researchers say.
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
Read the full opinion piece in @cp-neuron.bsky.social: spkl.io/63322AbxpA
@wiringthebrain.bsky.social, @statsepi.bsky.social, & @deevybee.bsky.social
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
The room is
almost all
elephant.
Almost none
of it isn’t.
Pretty much
solid elephant.
So there’s no
room to talk
about it.
-Kay Ryan, “The Elephant in the Room”
#everynightapoem
almost all
elephant.
Almost none
of it isn’t.
Pretty much
solid elephant.
So there’s no
room to talk
about it.
-Kay Ryan, “The Elephant in the Room”
#everynightapoem
November 13, 2025 at 12:13 AM
The room is
almost all
elephant.
Almost none
of it isn’t.
Pretty much
solid elephant.
So there’s no
room to talk
about it.
-Kay Ryan, “The Elephant in the Room”
#everynightapoem
almost all
elephant.
Almost none
of it isn’t.
Pretty much
solid elephant.
So there’s no
room to talk
about it.
-Kay Ryan, “The Elephant in the Room”
#everynightapoem
Someone booked me a 6 am outbound flight tomorrow only to fly back the next day at 11 pm. I seriously question this someone’s sanity.
This someone, of course, was me.
This someone, of course, was me.
November 12, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Someone booked me a 6 am outbound flight tomorrow only to fly back the next day at 11 pm. I seriously question this someone’s sanity.
This someone, of course, was me.
This someone, of course, was me.
Being a leading edge fellow has been the single best thing for my scientific career.
Zara’s voice and vision was no small part in that.
Apply. Apply. Apply.
Zara’s voice and vision was no small part in that.
Apply. Apply. Apply.
The Leading Edge Fellows gathered this week to celebrate Zara Weinberg, a beloved member of our community. Our 7th cohort of Leading Edge Fellows (2026) will be named in her honor.
The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2.
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2.
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
November 5, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Being a leading edge fellow has been the single best thing for my scientific career.
Zara’s voice and vision was no small part in that.
Apply. Apply. Apply.
Zara’s voice and vision was no small part in that.
Apply. Apply. Apply.
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
MindCORE Summer Fellowship Program
May 31-Aug 7, 2026
This is a paid 10-wk research experience for undergrad students matched with select Penn faculty in mind sciences.
Open to both Penn students & non-Penn US students through our REU.
Apply by Jan 11: mindcore.sas.upenn.edu/research/sum...
May 31-Aug 7, 2026
This is a paid 10-wk research experience for undergrad students matched with select Penn faculty in mind sciences.
Open to both Penn students & non-Penn US students through our REU.
Apply by Jan 11: mindcore.sas.upenn.edu/research/sum...
October 30, 2025 at 7:36 PM
MindCORE Summer Fellowship Program
May 31-Aug 7, 2026
This is a paid 10-wk research experience for undergrad students matched with select Penn faculty in mind sciences.
Open to both Penn students & non-Penn US students through our REU.
Apply by Jan 11: mindcore.sas.upenn.edu/research/sum...
May 31-Aug 7, 2026
This is a paid 10-wk research experience for undergrad students matched with select Penn faculty in mind sciences.
Open to both Penn students & non-Penn US students through our REU.
Apply by Jan 11: mindcore.sas.upenn.edu/research/sum...
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
Zara Weinberg was a brilliant, loving, and beautiful woman. She inspired everyone who she interacted with, and always strived to make the world a better place for everyone. Tho the world is a little less bright today without her, her memory will always be a blessing.
She was truly one of the best.
She was truly one of the best.
October 30, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Zara Weinberg was a brilliant, loving, and beautiful woman. She inspired everyone who she interacted with, and always strived to make the world a better place for everyone. Tho the world is a little less bright today without her, her memory will always be a blessing.
She was truly one of the best.
She was truly one of the best.
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
Excited to share the final version of our paper, where we invented a robotic device (ARM) for pain and somatosensory testing in rodents. We are excited to see many groups already getting this device in their labs through our startup company Tactorum Inc.
elifesciences.org/articles/996...
elifesciences.org/articles/996...
October 20, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Excited to share the final version of our paper, where we invented a robotic device (ARM) for pain and somatosensory testing in rodents. We are excited to see many groups already getting this device in their labs through our startup company Tactorum Inc.
elifesciences.org/articles/996...
elifesciences.org/articles/996...
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
Absolutely. If a pregnant person or a mom with a child on the back can’t ride safely on the “bike lane” then it’s trash
October 19, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Absolutely. If a pregnant person or a mom with a child on the back can’t ride safely on the “bike lane” then it’s trash
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
📣 Deadline extended to 29 Oct 2025! The ALBA–Elsevier Award Lecture honours neuroscientists from underrepresented regions (based on Elsevier authorship metrics & journal market share, & past conference speakers).
🏆 Special Lecture at #FENS2026
✅ Must have led own lab ≥5 years
👉🏽 loom.ly/FEG7E-w
🏆 Special Lecture at #FENS2026
✅ Must have led own lab ≥5 years
👉🏽 loom.ly/FEG7E-w
October 16, 2025 at 9:34 AM
📣 Deadline extended to 29 Oct 2025! The ALBA–Elsevier Award Lecture honours neuroscientists from underrepresented regions (based on Elsevier authorship metrics & journal market share, & past conference speakers).
🏆 Special Lecture at #FENS2026
✅ Must have led own lab ≥5 years
👉🏽 loom.ly/FEG7E-w
🏆 Special Lecture at #FENS2026
✅ Must have led own lab ≥5 years
👉🏽 loom.ly/FEG7E-w
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
“I had previously assumed a 10-year depreciation curve, which I now recognize as quite unrealistic (...)," Kupperman wrote. “Based on my conversations over the past month, the physical data centers last for three to ten years, at most.”
futurism.com/future-socie...
futurism.com/future-socie...
AI Data Centers Are an Even Bigger Disaster Than Previously Thought
An investment manager realized he made a crucial mistake — and that his grim prediction about AI investments may not have been cynical enough.
futurism.com
October 13, 2025 at 7:09 AM
“I had previously assumed a 10-year depreciation curve, which I now recognize as quite unrealistic (...)," Kupperman wrote. “Based on my conversations over the past month, the physical data centers last for three to ten years, at most.”
futurism.com/future-socie...
futurism.com/future-socie...
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
Lab’s 1st preprint!
Menstruation is understudied due to societal taboos + a biological challenge: mice (a key system for research + drug discovery) don’t menstruate.
@cagricevrim.bsky.social made menstruating mice + used them to discover early events in menstruation.
He is on the job market!
Menstruation is understudied due to societal taboos + a biological challenge: mice (a key system for research + drug discovery) don’t menstruate.
@cagricevrim.bsky.social made menstruating mice + used them to discover early events in menstruation.
He is on the job market!
I’m thrilled to share my postdoc work and the first paper from the McKinley Lab! 🎉
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
Induction of menstruation in mice reveals the regulation of menstrual shedding
During menstruation, an inner layer of the endometrium is selectively shed, while an outer, progenitor-containing layer is preserved to support repeated regeneration. Progress in understanding this co...
www.biorxiv.org
October 10, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Lab’s 1st preprint!
Menstruation is understudied due to societal taboos + a biological challenge: mice (a key system for research + drug discovery) don’t menstruate.
@cagricevrim.bsky.social made menstruating mice + used them to discover early events in menstruation.
He is on the job market!
Menstruation is understudied due to societal taboos + a biological challenge: mice (a key system for research + drug discovery) don’t menstruate.
@cagricevrim.bsky.social made menstruating mice + used them to discover early events in menstruation.
He is on the job market!
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
I’m thrilled to share my postdoc work and the first paper from the McKinley Lab! 🎉
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
Induction of menstruation in mice reveals the regulation of menstrual shedding
During menstruation, an inner layer of the endometrium is selectively shed, while an outer, progenitor-containing layer is preserved to support repeated regeneration. Progress in understanding this co...
www.biorxiv.org
October 10, 2025 at 12:50 PM
I’m thrilled to share my postdoc work and the first paper from the McKinley Lab! 🎉
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
I think it’s very rude to live in a town that doesn’t sell a single kolache.
October 11, 2025 at 12:18 PM
I think it’s very rude to live in a town that doesn’t sell a single kolache.
Reposted by Meike van der Heijden
'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize
October 10, 2025 at 9:31 AM
'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said as it announced Maria Corina Machado as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize