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Steve Ekker

@scekker.bsky.social

1.6K followers 2.5K following 210 posts

Platypus entrepreneur scientist precision genomes engineer (nuclear&mito). Zebrafish J EIC. ‘Longhorn’ leader@ UT Austin & Dell Med. Active w/ LEAH Labs, LifEngine, Forjazul. DGI/Immusoft cofounder. First SAB @ OpenTrons. Was faculty UMN & Mayo. Posts=mine

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Reposted by Steve Ekker

Sofiya Hupalo @sofiyahupalo.bsky.social · Sep 5

The NIMH Director job announcement and search is back on: hr.nih.gov/jobs/search/...

The NIMH Director provides executive direction and scientific leadership for NIMH, overseeing a $2.3 billion budget and ~1600 employees, trainees, and contractors.

Up for the challenge 😉? Apply!

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Aug 20

No, we are spending all of our leadership on even MORE gerrymandering.

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Jul 17

That's a lot of

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Jul 14

Great to hear! I was lucky to have Dr Chris Wylie as a senior faculty member at UMN for years showcasing COB and Development. Really like the mission of COB

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Jul 12

I used Grok to assess this, and Grok just 'spewed forth' - citations to primary sources. Terrible.

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Jul 12

Indeed. Such BS when reviewers are making such demands. Let the authors decide on the story they want to tell!!!!

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Jul 12

I’d think an ‘AI editorial tag’ could go a long way too

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Jul 12

Maybe make it a tagged-annotated process. So even if issues are missed the first time, cannot correct later? Time to make our papers more like software where bugs just get fixed

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Jul 12

When can AI tools dramatically reduce these costs while still keeping humans in the loop?

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Jul 12

#nature

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Jul 12

We #fishfolk call them 'water habitats'!

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Jul 9

FishFolk - post if you are here in Madison!

Tamara Stawicki, PhD @tamarastawicki.bsky.social · Jul 9

Made it to Madison. Looking forward to seeing fellow fishy folks soon. #izfc2025

A white capitol building with a big dome behind trees.

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Jun 26

@izfs.bsky.social Zebrafish Disease Models Society should be this handle too, but I do not think it's active. @zdms.bsky.social

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Jun 19

Thanks!

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Jun 18

A quiet conversation on the side, a closed-door phone call, a printout showing an email out of context... this 'whispernet' is a true poison in academia. Our 'culture of silence' feeds these voices, and the threat of being a recipient keeps most of the reasonable folk on the sidelines.

Reposted by Steve Ekker

Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · Jun 6

Very smart, high ROI initiative from the Spencer Foundation.

Providing bridge funding for canceled NSF grants:

1) directs funds to projects already screened by a top-noch review process.
2) avoids imposing proposal prep costs on researchers.
3) ameliorates the disruption from GOP sabotage.

Rapid Response Bridge Funding Program

In the face of recent abrupt shifts in federal funding for education research, including large-scale terminations of National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant awards, we have developed a rap...

www.spencer.org

Reposted by Steve Ekker

Mark A. Hanson @hansonmark.bsky.social · Jun 3

URGENT: FlyBase has lost practically all its funding overnight; even user fees are tied up in denied grant funding. 🤬🤯

Any lab using @flybase.bsky.social please donate using the link in post below.

This incredible community, on whose backs our #Drosophila labs depend, can't be left out to dry.

Marc Dionne @marcsdionne.bsky.social · Jun 3

My lab studies bacterial infections. We spend a lot of time looking at (or for) species-specific genetic and genomic databases for hosts and microbes. FlyBase is the best of all—there is literally no comparison. Its existence is under threat. Please donate.
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...

Drosophila Genetic Database

The Drosophila Genetic Database, FlyBase, is on the brink of collapse due to the sudden termination of the FlyBase NIH grant, which includes salaries for 5 literature curators based at the University ...

www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · May 31

Should have called it 'Just Keep Swimming'!

Zebrafish Rock! @zebrafishrock.bsky.social · May 15

Useful tips from @scekker.bsky.social et al. 🐟

Communications Biology @commsbio.nature.com · May 15

A review emphasizes the advantages of using zebrafish in research, outlines key differences in experimental approaches, and offers guidelines for designing studies in a way that enhances experimental rigor and reproducibility. www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · May 15

From a wonderful group of colleagues! We hope it helps with thoughts and suggestions on using #zebrafish. Ping me with any questions. #werallfish

Zebrafish Rock! @zebrafishrock.bsky.social · May 15

Useful tips from @scekker.bsky.social et al. 🐟

Communications Biology @commsbio.nature.com · May 15

A review emphasizes the advantages of using zebrafish in research, outlines key differences in experimental approaches, and offers guidelines for designing studies in a way that enhances experimental rigor and reproducibility. www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · May 3

Sebastian is awesome. Catch him while he has extra availability.

Sebastian S. Cocioba @atinygreencell.bsky.social · May 2

I got hit by some rather sudden and extreme financial hardship so if anyone is in need of remote wetlab contract research, strictly BSL1, do let me know. Currently scrambling for gigs.

Plant, Bacterial, Archaeal Non-model Bioeng
Custom Lab Hardware
Turn Key Genetic Design

Please repost for reach 💚

Reposted by Steve Ekker

Dr. Suzanne Le Menestrel @drsl.bsky.social · May 2

The Spencer Foundation is offering rapid response bridge funding for those who lost NSF research grants.

www.spencer.org/grant_types/...

Rapid Response Bridge Funding Program

In the face of recent abrupt shifts in federal funding for education research, including large-scale terminations of National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant awards, we have developed a rap...

www.spencer.org

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · May 3

Genotyping zebrafish can be a challenge. We have been refining a non-destructive approach that is scalable, accessible and can be used in 48 well and 96 well formats. We use this for measuring mitochondrial DNA editing and heteroplasmy, but works on nuclear DNA, too.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Non-Destructive Larval Genotyping of Danio rerio for Mitochondrial DNA Genetics

The rapid advancement of nuclear and mitochondrial genomic editing tools has created an urgent need for efficient, non-lethal larval genotyping methods in zebrafish Danio rerio research. This study op...

www.biorxiv.org

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Apr 7

Great thread. It’s getting even more complicated when genetic compensation is coming to light. Meaning there are additional layers of both genetics and environmental inputs that will change the system and our phenotypes. The ‘winners’ of simple views are those selling articles by clickbait headlines

Reposted by Steve Ekker

Brendan Evano @brendan-evano.bsky.social · Apr 7

🚨 JOB OFFER in our lab at Institut Pasteur 🚨
We are looking for a postdoc! Please repost 🙏

Postdoctoral research position in Institut Pasteur

Steve Ekker @scekker.bsky.social · Apr 5

The most cited it the developmental staging series by Chuck Kimmel, as I recall.