Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · 5d

I’m loving the @lsumns.bsky.social new “Art After Dark” series! Last night I learned how @lsu.bsky.social Art & Design Professor Leslie Koptcho is making paper out of invasive plants, and using them as inspiration for her printmaking 😍🌱📃🖼️🧪

Paper samples made by out of plants that are invasive in Louisiana, including mimosa, alligator weed, Japanese climbing fern and water hyacinth.

LSU College of Art and Design Professor Leslie Koptcho with a print she made of water lettuce, an invasive species in Louisiana

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Reposted by Christine R. Lattin, PhD

Cathy Newman ⚜️🐘 @cenewman0.bsky.social · 8d

Current list of funded programs in EPSCoR states: www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

EGFP Designated Awardee Institutions and Programs

www.nsf.gov

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Reposted by Christine R. Lattin, PhD

Drug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · 13d

This may be the most important paper ever published about NIH funded research.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

What if NIH had been 40% smaller?

Replaying history with less NIH funding shows widespread impacts on drug-linked research

www.science.org

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · 21d

Enter the 2026 @sicb-spdac.bsky.social sticker contest! Stickers will be available at the SPDAC booth at the #SICB2026 meeting. Enter submissions by November 3 as PDF or PNG files (>600 dpi; no AI designs). 1st, 2nd, & 3rd place will receive Visa gift card prizes: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

docs.google.com

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · 22d

The lab’s research on house sparrows & Eurasian tree sparrows is featured in Chapter 2 of David Stipp’s new non-fiction book, “Why Rats Laugh and Jellyfish Sleep: And Other Enchanting Stories of Evolution," available September 23: www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/david... 🤩🐦📖🧪

The cover of David Stipp's new book, "Why Rats Laugh & Jellyfish Sleep: And Other Enchanting Stories of Evolution," showing Charles Darwin sitting on a jellyfish.

A photo of page 56 of "Why Rats Laugh & Jellyfish Sleep," which references house sparrow and Eurasian tree sparrow research done by the Lattin Lab.

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · 23d

"Once you get to the top, you get to ski all the way back down the mountain!" Read @lsubiosci.bsky.social PhD student @jacobcarignan.bsky.social's interview with Quantitative Ecologist Michelle Stantial about her ski mountaineering hobby:
thelattinlab.com/beyond-the-b...

Michelle and a friend sitting under the moonlight on the side of Mount Shasta. They started their climb that morning at 3 am! Photo courtesy of Michelle Stantial.

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · Aug 29

A very nice article from @lsuscience.bsky.social about @marquisehenry.bsky.social and his @hhmi.org Gilliam Fellowship! Geaux Marquise!! 💜💛 www.lsu.edu/science/news...

LSU Graduate Student Named HHMI Gilliam Fellow for Research on How Animals Adapt to a Changing World

www.lsu.edu

Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · Aug 7

I’m so so proud of rockstar PhD student @marquisehenry.bsky.social who is one of this year’s class of @hhmi.org Gilliam Fellows! @lsubiosci.bsky.social @lsuscience.bsky.social @lsu.bsky.social

HHMI @hhmi.org · Aug 7

Congratulations 2025 Gilliam Fellows and Advisors! 🎉

The Gilliam Fellows Program launches promising PhD students into impactful scientific research careers while fostering inclusive training environments.
Through this program, HHMI supports both graduate students and their faculty thesis advisors.

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · Jul 16

"I got all my friends and family to come out and see me being Anne of Cleves! That was great." @lsubiosci.bsky.social PhD student @ezekielbmartin.bsky.social interviews @westernu.ca Biology Professor @bethmacshack.bsky.social about her show choir hobby: thelattinlab.com/beyond-the-b...

Beth MacDougall-Shackleton and the Silver Spotlight Players performing “Shakin’ at the High School Hop” from Grease: The Musical. Photo courtesy of Beth MacDougall-Shackleton.

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · Jul 7

"This campaign wasn't written by biologists...I have to come up on the fly with a reason why it makes sense to somebody who knows about genetics." @lsumns.bsky.social PhD student @harveyyamanda.bsky.social interviews Quinn McCallum about his RPG & miniatures hobbies: thelattinlab.com/beyond-the-b...

Quinn working on painting a miniature. (Photo credit: Amanda Harvey).

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · Jun 14

"I've snapped tendons in my hands, which meant long recovery periods...those moments taught me patience." @urigso.bsky.social Oceanographer Kelton McMahon talking about his rock climbing hobby with @lsubiosci.bsky.social PhD student Yasodha Gamage on our class blog: thelattinlab.com/beyond-the-b...

Kelton sport climbing in Thailand as an Assistant Professor. Photo credit: Mac McMahon.

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · Jun 10

I had an awesome morning at the #postersatcapitolLA25 event today! I really enjoyed chatting with Louisiana’s best and brightest undergrad researchers @lsu.bsky.social & 11 other LaURA organizations on how their important work helps their local communities, our state, country & world 🥹🧪

LSU researcher Jena Bordelon chats with LSU Interim President Dr. Matt Lee about her research on improving the food environment in Louisiana schools.

Researchers talk to legislators, faculty, and visitors at the end of the morning session at the Louisiana Undergraduate Research Association (LaURA) Posters at the Capitol 2025 event.

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · Jun 3

"I had the choice of getting a driver’s license for a moped or a sailboat, and of course I went for the boat." Read more about @lsubiosci.bsky.social PhD student Jackson Ferber's interview with @katharinahoff.bsky.social about her sailing hobby here: thelattinlab.com/beyond-the-b...

Katharina and her daughter, Hanna, sailing. Photo courtesy of Mario Stanke.

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Reposted by Christine R. Lattin, PhD

Ed Yong @edyong209.bsky.social · May 30

I urge everyone to read Unbreaking’s new page on everything the govt is doing to destroy & diminish medical research funding.

It’s the best thing I’ve read on this topic: @lizneeley.bsky.social & co have such done an incredible job.

unbreaking.org/issues/medic...

Medical Research Funding — Unbreaking

How the administration is breaking the government, and what that means for all of us.

unbreaking.org

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · May 30

As I know from when my students try to do it, using ChatGPT to write your scientific reports is not the best idea www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/w...

White House Health Report Included Fake Citations

www.nytimes.com

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · May 28

The lab was recognized for outstanding research & teaching at this year's @lsuscience.bsky.social awards! Danna Masri won the Undergraduate Research Award from @lsubiosci.bsky.social, former PhD student Melanie Kimball the Distinguished Dissertation Award, & I received a Graduate Teaching Award ❤️

Undergraduate Danna Masri receives the Undergraduate Teaching Award from the LSU Department of Biological Sciences and Dr. Christine Lattin receives the Graduate Teaching Award from the LSU College of Science.

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · May 27

"Everybody who has a voice can sing. One of the big takeaways is that anyone can do it; we are all born with this natural ability to sing." Read @lsuvetmed.bsky.social PhD student Kimia Nourozi's interview with @prolactingrl.bsky.social‬ about her hobbies here: thelattinlab.com/beyond-the-b...

Kristina Smiley sings karaoke at the Majestic in Northampton Massachusetts. Photo courtesy of Kristina Smiley.

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · May 27

Our new collaborative paper (led by former undergrad Kenedi Lynch) found very high avian malaria rates in Louisiana wild turkeys, suggesting the parasites may be one reason turkeys have declined locally @lsubiosci.bsky.social: meridian.allenpress.com/avian-diseas... 🦟🦃🔬🧪

Data from Lynch et al. 2025 showing that only 2% of all turkeys sampled (out of 106 total) were free from all avian malaria infections. 8% had Leucocytozoon, Haemoproteus, and Plasmodium, 30% had two strains of malaria, and 60% were infected with a single strain of malaria.

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · May 25

A new paper from the lab led by Blake Dusang & @marquisehenry.bsky.social builds on past work & finds not all "neophobia" tests measure the same trait. Specifically, responses to novel objects & novel environments were not consistent within individuals: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

This image gives the background for the Dusang and Henry 2025 paper. The image reads: "Neophobia is often evaluated in only one context. Assumed that an animal's response to one type of novel stimulus is consistent with another". There are three images, one of a food dish with yellow coiled pipe cleaners with the label "novel objects," one of a house sparrow taking a potato chip from a bowl with the label "novel foods," and one of a city landscape with office towers with the label "novel environments." Double-headed arrows connect all three images.

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · May 16

I think different countries do this differently. In the US, most of the time committee members are all faculty at the student’s university & you want faculty with relevant expertise. At my university, we also have an external Dean’s representative from a completely different field on each committee

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · May 16

Three lab members presented their research on physiology and behavior at the LSU Discover Day conference a few weeks ago, and they all did a fabulous job! @lsudiscover.bsky.social @lsubiosci.bsky.social 👩🏻‍🔬🐦🦎🧫🧪

Undergraduate researcher Danna Masri presents work on links between neophobia and other behaviors in sparrows

Postbacc scholar Elena Liebl presents research on links between color and behavior in anoles

Undergraduate researcher Caroline Henry with her poster on captivity-induced changes in the microbiome of lizards.

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · May 15

Congratulations to Sara Wang, who just defended her PhD dissertation in Oceanography on how ocean temperature variation affects foraging & physiology in 2 Peruvian seabirds! Sara ran feather corticosterone assays in my lab & I really enjoyed being on her committee @lsu.bsky.social 🥰🪶🧪

Sara Wang gives a talk summarizing her PhD dissertation research

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Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · May 12

True! 😂

Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · May 12

Also:
“Future studies should further examine links between ovarian cancer and factors such as exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and/or HPV.” ❌👎
“Future studies should further examine links between ovarian cancer and factors such as exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and HPV.” ✅👍

Christine R. Lattin, PhD @clattin.bsky.social · May 12

For example:
“Increased inshore and/or benthic foraging can increase metabolic rates in seabirds.” ❌👎
“Increased inshore or benthic foraging can increase metabolic rates in seabirds.” ✅👍

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