Prosanta Chakrabarty
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prosanta.bsky.social
Prosanta Chakrabarty
@prosanta.bsky.social
Hunter #SciComm Chair & Prof, Director & Curator of Fishes Museum of NatSci @LSU, TED Fellow, F@AAAS, Fulbrighter, #Evolution #TeamFish, ASIH Past President, he/him #BLM ✊🏿 #ProtectTransKids #SaveTheNSF
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Fun news: I'm hiring a postdoc in ichthyology!

Please spread the word #TeamFish, and message me if you have questions.

(Job requisition id is R00107333 if LSU link below takes you elsewhere.)

lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/LSU/de...
Postdoctoral Researcher
All Job Postings will close at 12:01a.m. CST (1:01a.m. EST) on the specified Closing Date (if designated). If you close the browser or exit your application prior to submitting, the application progre...
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
Ahead of the 15-year anniversary of the Pulitzer-Prize-winning book “The Emperor of all Maladies,” we catch up with its author, oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee.
‘A Multi-Headed Beast’: Telling The Story Of Cancer
Science writer and oncologist Siddhartha Mukherjee discusses what we get wrong about cancer, and why he leans into nuance as an author.
buff.ly
November 24, 2025 at 7:04 PM
I wanted to re-read Gould’s ‘Full House’ because I know he wrote it after a cancer diagnosis with a short average life expectancy made him look more closely at the nature of variation (which can look progressive if you cherry pick). I think this might be my favorite book of his. #evolution
November 23, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
God! God! God!—crack my heart!—stave my brain!—mockery! mockery! bitter, biting mockery of grey hairs
November 23, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Very much enjoyed ‘My Life as a Fish’ by @gdgrossman.bsky.social

He survived lots of childhood drama and pain to become an excellent ichthyologist only
to be punished by his university admin for being unorthodox.

The bio has lots or descriptive art by Ryan Tavarez that helped with readability.
November 20, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Asking questions during seminars is a great way to practice public speaking.

It helps you learn to be clear and concise and hopefully to think deeply about a subject and to be polite. People around you will notice and take note of your words - good or bad.
November 20, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
Honored to be speaking at the @linneansociety.bsky.social online lecture series.

Come for the cute bat photos, stay for the fun research 🦇🦇🦇
Final call: our online lecture on bat foraging is happening tonight, 6:30 to 7:30pm! Join Dr Iroro Tanshi, @irorotanshi.bsky.social, as she explores how bats find food in the dark and how different species share foraging space across the Gulf of Guinea forests. See you soon!

buff.ly/sJo16t6
November 19, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
We thought coelacanths barely changed for 380 million years…

Until new research revealed they actually evolved, driven by what they least expected!
🧪 #SciComm

buff.ly/THflbyo
The Fish that Defied Evolution for 400 Million Years
Coelacanths were believed extinct for 66 million years until a shocking discovery in 1938. New research reveals this "living fossil" actually evolved, but followed a surprising pattern that changed…
youtube.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
How do four-eyed fish see above & underwater? 🌤️🌊 Our new preprint reveals how Anableps rewired its retina for dual vision- evolution at work 👁️👁️ Kudos to @perezlouise.bsky.social @josanesousa.bsky.social @keylapruett.bsky.social + team!
🔗 tinyurl.com/3a8r9xy5
November 4, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
Our flagship journal's co author from the #NSF Life invited papers, @prosanta.bsky.social wrote this tremendously helpful piece for us all to consider in how we share our lives at work.

Consider Sharing #Health Challenges With Colleagues (opinion) www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...
November 12, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
I lay there broad awake, feeling a great deal worse than I have ever done since
November 10, 2025 at 1:47 AM
I always enjoy reading about the Roosevelt’s - flaws and all - and this book about Teddy’s sons Ted Jr. and Kermit trekking through China in search of the then mostly mythical panda 🐼 was a fun read.
November 9, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
I’m stuck in bed between chemo treatments for metastatic coloncancer, wearing a take-home chemo pump attached to my chest.

I wanted to share my advice that you can benefit from ‘Letting Your Colleagues In’ don’t need to struggle alone
@insidehighered.com

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...
Consider Sharing Health Challenges With Colleagues (opinion)
Being open with my colleagues about my cancer diagnosis has allowed me to access an enormous source of support and comfort.
www.insidehighered.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:15 PM
I’m stuck in bed between chemo treatments for metastatic coloncancer, wearing a take-home chemo pump attached to my chest.

I wanted to share my advice that you can benefit from ‘Letting Your Colleagues In’ you don’t need to struggle alone (advice that is not possible for everyone to take).
Career Advice | Let Your Colleagues In

Being open with my colleagues about my cancer diagnosis has allowed me to access an enormous source of support and comfort. https://bit.ly/3JvoTDD

#EDUSky #AcademicSky #HigherEd
November 6, 2025 at 3:18 PM
I’m stuck in bed between chemo treatments for metastatic coloncancer, wearing a take-home chemo pump attached to my chest.

I wanted to share my advice that you can benefit from ‘Letting Your Colleagues In’ don’t need to struggle alone
@insidehighered.com

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...
Consider Sharing Health Challenges With Colleagues (opinion)
Being open with my colleagues about my cancer diagnosis has allowed me to access an enormous source of support and comfort.
www.insidehighered.com
November 6, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Hey I’m an ☄️ asteroid thanks to @spacepod.bsky.social

What a cosmic honor!

minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/sh...
IAU Minor Planet Center
We are the official body that deals with astrometric observations and orbits of minor planets (asteroids) and comets.
minorplanetcenter.net
November 6, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
🎉 Congrats to Dr. Chakrabarty @prosanta.bsky.social, Director of the LSU MNS, on being named a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences!

An ichthyologist studying fishes worldwide, he’s described 15 new species, published 5 books and 150+ papers, and is a passionate science communicator. 🌎🐟
November 5, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Check out the @lsu.bsky.social LSU Museum of Natural Science Fall 2025 newsletter. Lots of stories of fieldwork and research from our students, staff and curators. And my first as Director.

www.lsu.edu/mns/files/ne...
www.lsu.edu
November 5, 2025 at 2:23 AM
@solomonrdavid.bsky.social did you see the “gar girl” skit on SNL from last night - your promotion of #garweek hit the big time
November 2, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
Preview of this year’s #GarWeek sticker from @garlab.bsky.social!

Featuring scale patterns of all seven living gar species in the letters, and our unique Hybrid Gar!

Once again, debuting @bsky.app first!
credit: I.Terzian & S.R. David
October 31, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
Shark Whisperer is lying to you: a look into the harmful effects of Ocean Ramsey and shark influencers | This quotes me and is very thorough. Check it out.
Shark Whisperer is lying to you: a look into the harmful effects of Ocean Ramsey and shark influencers — Dr. Jack A. Cooper
Ocean Ramsey is undoubtedly one of the most well-known “shark influencers”, whose videos show her free diving and touching wild great white and tiger sharks as she swims right up alongside them.…
www.drjackacooper.com
October 31, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Loved the audiobook for the new Mark Twain bio by Rob Chernow especially all the folksy quips delivered in a slow drawl. I then reread Huck Finn which is a tough read in today’s context but I found ‘James’ a great revenge story that helps fill in the sad gaps from ‘Jim’s’ story that Huck missed.
October 29, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Congrats @danielgeldof.bsky.social on defending your Master's today. It's been wonderful having a CT expert and poacher enthusiast in the lab. Well done.
October 28, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Thanks to @coralreeffish.bsky.social and @raynacbell.bsky.social
for nominating me to be a new Fellow of the @calacademy.bsky.social California Academy of Sciences.

It is an honor.

Natural history is more important than ever.
October 27, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
By looking at some of the smallest vertebrates on Earth, our study offers novel insights into the genetic basis of miniaturization and highlights the value of studying non-model organisms to uncover the fundamental processes governing vertebrate size evolution.
October 22, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Reposted by Prosanta Chakrabarty
Why are some species smaller than a paperclip while others grow longer than a school bus? How is body size evolution governed in animals? Out now in @pnas.org we tackle these longstanding questions through a genetic lens using my favorite group of fishes as our model!! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Parallel shifts in differential gene expression reveal convergent miniaturization in fishes | PNAS
Body size variation in vertebrates is a complex polygenic trait, tightly correlated with numerous aspects of a species’ biology, ecology, and physi...
www.pnas.org
October 22, 2025 at 9:33 PM