Veronica van Heyningen
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vvheye.bsky.social
Veronica van Heyningen
@vvheye.bsky.social
Human geneticist, FRS. Honorary Prof UCL & Edinburgh. Gene regulation, development, disease; focus on eyes. Champion of EDI. she/her
https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/37812-veronica-van-heyningen
Connections
Puzzle #889
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Not often this works so well
November 16, 2025 at 1:50 AM
What a fantastic icon, such focus and dedication. And she was an immigrant. So many countries have benefited from the fresh insights and out-of-the-box ideas of immigrants.
Born #OnThisDay in 1867 was Marie Skłodowska–Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the only woman to win twice and the only person to win a Nobel Prize in two disciplines: Physics for her work on radioactivity, and Chemistry for her discovery of radium and polonium. #WomenInSTEM
November 7, 2025 at 11:33 AM
@bsgmofficial.bsky.social enjoyed an excellent morning of talks at #BSGM2025. Fantastic progress in medical genetics during my career. Feel as excited about the ideas and new findings as I was in the 1989s! So many more genetic components of diseases now understood. Therapy techniques now emerging
November 5, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Reposted by Veronica van Heyningen
After this excellent meeting I am much clearer about why the question about newborn genome screening is not simply "Will it save some lives?" It would be great if it was, but that's not how it works.
October 23, 2025 at 8:34 PM
It was a very good discussion. Thanks to BBC Sounds I listened while cooking dinner
Thank you to @adamrutherford.bsky.social and the team at Start The Week for a great start to my week! Listen again to me, Steven Pinker and David Edmonds philosophising about common knowledge, immortality, and the effectiveness of our altruism on @bbcsounds.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - Start the Week, Steven Pinker on common knowledge
Steven Pinker, Aleks Krotoski and David Edmonds, with Adam Rutherford.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 29, 2025 at 8:01 PM
@girtoncollege.bsky.social Have just spent a wonderful day at Girton celebrating 60 years since first arriving there. So many memories come flooding back. Great to hear what interesting and useful lives we have all led.
September 27, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Reposted by Veronica van Heyningen
Come to a great free @adelphigenetics.bsky.social meeting about complexities of population screening, @royalsociety.org Thu 23 October. Register adelphigenetics.org/events/annua...
Annual Conference 2025 – Adelphi Genetics Forum
adelphigenetics.org
September 4, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Come to a great free @adelphigenetics.bsky.social meeting about complexities of population screening, @royalsociety.org Thu 23 October. Register adelphigenetics.org/events/annua...
Annual Conference 2025 – Adelphi Genetics Forum
adelphigenetics.org
September 4, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Wordle 1,522 2/6

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Skill 99/99
Luck 99/99

Surprisingly cheering
August 19, 2025 at 2:20 AM
Wordle 1,509 2/6

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Skill 99/99
Luck 99/99

Skill and luck. What more can I ask for?
August 5, 2025 at 11:06 PM
A great step for mankind!
Congratulations to Professor Michele Dougherty FRS, who has become the first woman appointed as Astronomer Royal in the post's 350-year history.
#WomenInSTEM

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
UK gets first female Astronomer Royal in 350 years
Prof Michele Dougherty is the first woman to be appointed to the influential post.
www.bbc.co.uk
July 30, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Reposted by Veronica van Heyningen
Our Faraday Discovery Fellowships Accelerated International Route is now open for applications, providing a fast-track option for attracting mid-career researchers looking to relocate to the UK from overseas, providing up to £4m over a five-year period.

#RSGrants
July 29, 2025 at 3:27 PM
About to enjoy second day @royalsociety.org meeting on “The future of scientific publishing”. Lots of interesting concepts and problems as well as good progress. Just hearing how important preprints were for scientific progress on COVID during pandemic. But reader knowledge and vigilance critical
July 15, 2025 at 8:39 AM
🌳 Dame Judi Dench is calling for the return of ancient woodlands. Will you sign the petition to help restore the Ghost Woods and protect our green spaces for future generations? you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/br...
Bring back the ancient woodlands smothered beneath your timber plantations
Ancient woodlands are vanishing – and with them, some of our most loved and endangered wildlife. Forestry England manages over 100,000 acres of land that used to be ancient woodland - that’s bigger th...
you.38degrees.org.uk
July 4, 2025 at 8:50 AM
@adelphigenetics.bsky.social annual conference on hot topic of Population Genomic screening will take place on Thursday 23 October 2025. Free to attend but must book
adelphigenetics.org/events/annua...
or www.eventbrite.com/e/population...
June 8, 2025 at 4:05 PM
I have a lovely lovage soup recipe but no lovage since we moved from Edinburgh. It is too rampant for small London garden. After touching the leaves your hands smell of mild fragrant curry. Have read that it is secret ingredient of Knorr cubes
At least in spring and at least in my garden, lovage may be the most effective carbon-capture device on the planet - very tasty too in small quantities
May 17, 2025 at 10:32 AM
It is wonderful to see the successes and achievements of Royal Society funding recipients. One of their major contributions is the training of subsequent generations of scientists, but they continue to make huge contributions to science and society many decades after support by @royalsociety.org
See the full tracker on our website and read the report on our 2024 survey from the Careers Research and Advisory Centre, as well as a look at the economic impacts of the discovery science we support: royalsociety.org/grants/caree...
May 4, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Reposted by Veronica van Heyningen
🎉 Congratulations to Dr Yukun Zhou (@ucleye.bsky.social) on receiving the prestigious Wellcome Early Career Award! This 5-year fellowship will support his research on using AI for faster diagnoses and personalised care.
buff.ly/gP2qW3A
April 30, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Reposted by Veronica van Heyningen
This is better from the incoming RS president but they need to be *much* more robust in enacting their code of conduct. Otherwise what’s the point?
Imagine RS PR people’s reaction!

“Musk’s “massive attacks” on publicly funded scientific research make his position as a member of Britain’s Royal Society increasingly difficult and he should consider resigning his fellowship,”

www.thetimes.com/article/e13f...
Musk should consider resigning from UK Royal Society, new president says
Musk’s attacks on publicly funded scientific research make his position as a member difficult, says Sir Paul Nurse
www.thetimes.com
April 28, 2025 at 9:57 AM
NDAs can silence victims of abuse & harassment. Let's change this! Sign the petition to ensure the Employment Rights Bill bans NDAs in cases of misconduct. #StopAbusiveNDAs #EmploymentRightsBill you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...
Stop employers covering up abuse
Hey! Do you remember the Harvey Weinstein case? Non Disclosure Agreements silenced victims of abuse - and it's not just happening in Hollywood. They're used in the UK to cover up all kinds of miscondu...
you.38degrees.org.uk
April 27, 2025 at 11:50 AM
I agree strongly with what @chrischirp.bsky.social says in this thread
April 22, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Veronica van Heyningen
Aunt Lydia in the Handmaid's Tale says: “There is more than one kind of freedom, freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are being given freedom from.”

Where freedom from ends up is Gilead.

I want freedom to. Always and forever freedom to.
as ever. when people say "hard-won female spaces" all I can ever hear is "mechitzah", the curtain I grew up standing behind in synagoge while the men got on with doing the service & we women got to listen in silence, in our "hard-won female space".

"separate is never equal" is a very good principle
April 20, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Reposted by Veronica van Heyningen
Old North Church in Boston last night on the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere's ride.
April 18, 2025 at 7:39 PM