Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ali Maximilian Erturk

@erturklab.bsky.social

1.9K followers 640 following 120 posts

AI and tissue clearing-based technologies for health. Director at Helmholtz Munich, Full professor at LMU Munich, and CEO of Deep Piction (@deeppiction.bsky.social) We’re🇩🇪🇹🇷🇭🇷🇨🇳🇮🇹🇮🇳🇸🇮🇴🇲🇨🇱🇭🇺🇧🇬🇺🇦🇷🇴🇦🇹🇹🇼🏳‍🌈

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Reposted by Ali Maximilian Erturk

Markus Elsner @markuselsner.bsky.social · 19d

New pre-print from our lab (@erturklab.bsky.social)

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

Skeetorial to follow, but check it out now if you are interested in targeted drug delivery

LipiGo: A Versatile DNA-Lipid Nanoparticle Hybrid for Precision Drug Delivery

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are established carriers for nucleic acid delivery, however, achieving efficient delivery to non-hepatic tissues remains a major challenge. Here, we present LipiGo, a nanoca...

www.biorxiv.org

4 4

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · 21d

Do you feel uncomfortable pitching—adopting your slides for them, rather than focusing on all your great ideas?
#AcademicChatter #PhDLife #Postdoc #PI #CareerAdvice #Science #Leadership
9/9

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · 21d

Focus on getting your first position by showing how you can contribute. The primary goal is to get the position. Once you have the job, you can find the sweet spot to do more of what you want.
Without the position, you have zero chance.
8/9

1 2

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · 21d

To make that first move, be flexible. I went to interviews in Cardiff, Göttingen, Miami, Cologne, and more, even though my family was in Munich.
7/9

1 2

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · 21d

Success gives you options. If an environment is unhappy that you are focusing on great science and publishing well as a young PI, then it's not a good environment for you for the future anyway.
6/9

1 2

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · 21d

For the next five years, I focused on what I believed could be a breakthrough. It was a bet, and it paid off with good publications, which allowed me to move to the next level.
5/9

1 1

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · 21d

When I was searching for my PI position, I pitched differently depending on where I went. I got my position at a Stroke Institute. Did I pitch my vision for tissue clearing and AI? No. I pitched "Stroke Link," an idea directly relevant to host.
4/9

1 1

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · 21d

This means you must adapt. Getting a group leader position is 90% of the battle; finding the "perfect" place for your specific idea is the other 10%.
3/9

1 1

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · 21d

The uncomfortable truth is that institutions hire you to contribute to their environment, not just to fund your brilliant idea. Everyone has great ideas; what's rare is creating results within a given system.
2/9

1 1

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · 21d

Your Brilliant Idea Won't Get You a PI Position
As scientists, we are passionate about our research and great ideas. But this is a dream that rarely gets you hired.
1/9

1 3 10

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · Aug 13

We discovered that the skull bone marrow has direct connections to the brain surface & mirrors brain inflammation, making it a new site for diagnosing & monitoring brain pathologies.
Kolabas…Ertürk, Cell (2023):
www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S00...
Our Tech: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
bit.ly/3PQuymm

1 14

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · Jul 30

We developed MouseMapper AI, a deep learning ensemble for the analysis of whole-body systems, including the nervous and immune systems, to map disease/drug perturbations tissue by tissue, organ by organ, at the cellular level in 3D.
biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

17 34

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · Jul 1

What are some of your best AI tools or tips for scientists?
#AI #Science #Education #Innovation #FutureOfWork #ProblemSolving
10/10

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · Jul 1

For example, I do a deep search of a topic in GPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Grok, then import all the resulting PDFs into NotebookLM to work on the synthesis. Its Mind Map function is a gem to synthesize complex info.
9/10

1 1

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · Jul 1

A brief summary of what I use often: Gemini and NotebookLM. I believe Google has the lead asset—data—to make the best AI tools.
8/10

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · Jul 1

Be relentless in learning how to use these tools at their best, beyond the standard use of ChatGPT. I spend ~60–90 minutes daily on this, including learning coding.
7/10

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · Jul 1

The model for this new way of working should be simple:
Identify a problem (human fieldwork).
Use AI to gather information (outsource the "what" and "how").
Implement the solution (human fieldwork).
6/10

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · Jul 1

Good solutions can come from anyone with curiosity. Let’s see which Nobel Prize in Science will go to someone without a formal science education.
5/10

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · Jul 1

Maybe a more radical idea: AI tools will also democratize science. With AI, one may no longer need years of formal training in top institutions.
4/10

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · Jul 1

They can help us transform from "information-loaders" to real "problem-solvers." They handle the mind-numbing tasks so we can get our hands dirty, see problems for ourselves, and spend more time on prototyping and experimenting.
3/10

1 1

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · Jul 1

We've become very good at loading information, but that is not the same as solving problems. AI is a tool to free us from many tasks we can, and should, outsource.
2/10

1 1

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · Jul 1

Don’t Be Afraid to Use AI Tools: Learn How to Utilize Them to Drive Innovation
Many people are concerned about using AI tools in science. They say it hallucinates or that using it is cheating.
I disagree. I think these fears focus on the wrong thing and discourage many.
1/10

1 1 2

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · Jun 12

bit.ly/3TnFpXq

BIG NEWS: Seed Round Financing for Deep Piction | Deep Piction

BIG NEWS: Seed Round Financing for Deep Piction We’re thrilled to announce the closure of our relatively large seed financing round (more info later). Our vision is to become the best AI-driven biote...

bit.ly

1 3

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · Jun 12

BIG NEWS:
As the CEO, I am thrilled to announce the closure of our seed financing round for Deep Piction.
👉🏻https://bit.ly/3TnFpXq
Our vision is to bring the fastest and most precise therapeutics to millions using our transparency and AI technology platform.

1 2 9

Ali Maximilian Erturk @erturklab.bsky.social · Jun 11

What setbacks have you faced, and how did you turn them into a step forward?
11/11