Maria Geffen
@geffenlab.bsky.social
2.7K followers 610 following 80 posts
Brain scientist who studies how we hear and form memories of sounds 🧠 🧬🔬🧪; prof at Penn. Loves🧘‍♀️🚴‍♀️✈️🥐🧶📷⛷️🏔️. Mom to 👦👧👦🐈🐈. Lab: hosting.med.UPenn.edu/hearing
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geffenlab.bsky.social
Celebrating two PhD defenses this week: Congrats, Dr. Ding and Dr. Collina! You both did a terrific job and I feel very grateful for the privilege of serving as your mentor!
The Geffen lab having a picnic to celebrate the defense of Dr Ding and Dr Collina. Dr Collina popping open sparking wine. Dr Ding cutting the cake while Dr Collina watches. The Geffen lab jumping.
Reposted by Maria Geffen
tyk314.net
#NIH colleagues fight for true #HHS leadership. Health has no political affiliation. Sign the #BethesdaDeclaration if you agree.
ianlmorgan.bsky.social
Joyous dissent at @nihvigils.bsky.social today! Great to see support from local Rockville council member, Zola Shaw!
Reposted by Maria Geffen
newseye.bsky.social
NEW: Democracy is alive in Philly!

Amazing scenes in Philadelphia as thousands hit the streets for the anti-Trump protest.

#NoKings #50501Movement
geffenlab.bsky.social
A great deal of hope in these uncertain times for the autism community— Jeffrey Lurie and family announced a large gift to create the Penn-CHOP Lurie Autism Research Institute to support cross-disciplinary and collaborative research. Let’s go do it! www.inquirer.com/health/upenn...
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and family donate $50 million to CHOP and Penn for autism institute
The purpose of the new Lurie Autism Institute is to expand research already being done at CHOP and Penn, form a global hub for research, and attract more scientists to the field.
www.inquirer.com
Reposted by Maria Geffen
ardemp.bskyverified.social
Thank you @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social for standing up. We all appreciate you and your colleagues for your courage!
jenna-m-norton.bsky.social
Today, my NIH colleagues and I did something scary but really important. We spoke up about egregious harms we are seeing happen to research participants and public health through thoughtless and politicized policies at NIH. 🧵1/3

apnews.com/article/nih-...
Reposted by Maria Geffen
jenna-m-norton.bsky.social
Today, my NIH colleagues and I did something scary but really important. We spoke up about egregious harms we are seeing happen to research participants and public health through thoughtless and politicized policies at NIH. 🧵1/3

apnews.com/article/nih-...
Reposted by Maria Geffen
luckytran.com
"We are speaking on behalf of hundreds of NIH staff who are standing up together to say: WE DISSENT.

I am so scared about doing this but I am trying to be brave for my kids because it's only gonna get harder to speak up."

Thank you to Dr. Jenna Norton and NIH scientists for your courage!
Reposted by Maria Geffen
jeremymberg.bsky.social
If you weren't angry enough already, here are the rates of non-competitive renewals through May.

4008 Non-competitive renewals were due to be funded in May.

The total funded was 99!

Some is due to terminations, but most is due to slow grant making due to DOGE review and other impediments.

1/2
geffenlab.bsky.social
Sign on to support the NIH staff in their demand to restore funding and infrastructure for life-saving research!
geffenlab.bsky.social
Your talk was fabulous!
geffenlab.bsky.social
Huge thanks to all my colleagues for your generous contributions! The Eagles Autism Challenge 5K was a blast! It was amazing to end the run at the stadium. And it’s not too late to donate to the foundation that does so much for autism research and accommodations through the link below!
geffenlab.bsky.social
So sad to hear this @hhmi.org program that supports talented young scientists is cancelled, especially after the application deadline. Audrey came up with a really exciting project and worked so hard on her application!
audreydrotos.bsky.social
Heartbroken to hear that the @hhmi.org Hanna Grey fellowship competition is being cancelled this year. I poured so much work and creativity into this app and am very grateful for everyone who helped me revise. It is such a difficult time to be a young scientist.
geffenlab.bsky.social
Thanks for another fabulous EARS season. As we're preparing for next year's edition, we are soliciting feedback and suggestions. Please fill out this survey with your suggestions by 5/20/25: forms.gle/R64F9V3Wz7uf...
geffenlab.bsky.social
Tune it at 1 pm ET today!
geffenlab.bsky.social
EARS seminar tomorrow, Tuesday, May 13 1 pm ET:

Maria Chait (the Ear Institute, UCL)
@mariachait.bsky.social
“Inferring Instantaneous Auditory Attention from Ocular Dynamics”
pennmedicine.zoom.us/j/96672201477.
Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting
Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.
pennmedicine.zoom.us
geffenlab.bsky.social
EARS seminar tomorrow, Tuesday, May 13 1 pm ET:

Maria Chait (the Ear Institute, UCL)
@mariachait.bsky.social
“Inferring Instantaneous Auditory Attention from Ocular Dynamics”
pennmedicine.zoom.us/j/96672201477.
Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting
Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.
pennmedicine.zoom.us
Reposted by Maria Geffen
efharkin.bsky.social
Everybody has that one VIP friend who boosts you up by dragging all your other buddies down.
Reposted by Maria Geffen
merterginkaya.bsky.social
Excited to share my PhD paper is out! We studied how motion vision is processed beyond the optic lobes to help flies walk straight. It has been a wonderful collaboration with @michaelreiser.bsky.social, @dddavi.bsky.social and many others not in bluesky!
Paper + digest here: bsky.app/profile/cham...
champalimaudr.bsky.social
🪰How does a fruit fly walk or fly in a perfectly straight line — even at high speed? It’s not just sharp vision. A sophisticated neural computation is at work.
🧠New study led by @champalimaudf.bsky.social Eugenia Chiappe.
📖 www.fchampalimaud.org/news/researc...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
geffenlab.bsky.social
Congrats! This is huge!!!
Reposted by Maria Geffen
uw-nbio.bsky.social
Congratulations to Adrienne Fairhall, Prof. of Neurobiology and Biophysics, Adjunct Prof. of Applied Mathematics, and Adjunct Prof. of Physics, who has just been elected to the National Academy of Sciences! 🍾 🎉
geffenlab.bsky.social
Please support me in the 5K to benefit the Philadelphia Eagles Autism Foundation and help me reach my goal! The Eagles Foundation supports neuroscience research and sets up wonderful initiatives around Philly to help children like my son.
fundraisers.eaglesautismfoundation.org/maria-geffen
Maria and her son at the Eagles Superbowl celebration.
Reposted by Maria Geffen
mkfeeney.bsky.social
Censoring mis/disinformation research is just the beginning. All scientific research in the US is under threat. Now is the time for scientists in all fields to act. Some small steps each of us can take:
Eight tangible things you can do: 1. call congressional representatives 2. push universities to advocate against cuts 3. activate professional associations 4. attend a protest 5. follow researchers working in these areas 6. educate your neighbors and friends 7. join a group that supports science 8. demand federally funded research be free of partisan interference
geffenlab.bsky.social
As a mother of a wonderful, talented, and quirky autistic child and as a circuits neuroscientist, I am immensely grateful to the Simons Foundation for the opportunity to launch a research program on identifying the neuronal circuits that underlie auditory processing differences in autism.