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Janay A. Fox, PhD

@janayf.bsky.social

220 followers 200 following 17 posts

Guppy gal turned cancer researcher. Applied Postdoctoral Fellow at Moffitt Cancer Center. (she/her) https://janayafox.wixsite.com/my-site

janayafox.wixsite.com

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Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · 13d

Being cringe in the land of the free 💜😂

Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · 23d

The full app is finally out! Please check it out if you're interested and rate and review if you like it 😊

> read(the_room) @read-theroom.bsky.social · 23d

After months of testing, the chameleons are loose 🦎🎉

Read the Room is fully released on iOS + Android!

Now’s the most important step: download, rate & review. It’s the #1 way we can grow this community together!

Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · Jul 17

Check out this new project I'm working on! Pre-register now if you are interested in either being a Workin' Grad or hiring one.

workingrad.bsky.social @workingrad.bsky.social · Jul 17

Why did we build Workin' Grad?

Because we were once broke Workin’ Grads too. We believe grad students deserve better.

This platform is our way of fighting back, with flexible, paid work designed for your weird schedule. 📚💸

Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · Jul 1

Be a part of the chameleon crew! Join our alpha testing: readtheroom.site

Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · Jun 19

Previous link didn't work so you can access here: doi.org/10.1111/mec....

Developmental Behavioural Plasticity and DNA Methylation Patterns in Response to Predation Stress in Trinidadian Guppies

Early-life experiences can predict the environments experienced later in life, giving individuals an opportunity to develop adaptive behaviour appropriate to a likely future environment. Epigenetic m...

Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · Jun 19

Special thanks to my collaborators throughout my thesis and all my friends and family who supported me along the way. Very excited to wrap this chapter of my life up and to move onto the next! 🐟🧬👩🏼‍🔬

Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · Jun 19

However, males and females showed different methylation responses suggesting that methylation could be playing a different role between the sexes. Interestingly similar to previous results I found here: doi.org/10.1111/mec....

Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · Jun 19

We found that guppies exposed to alarm cues as juveniles shoaled more as adults and showed epigenetic changes (DNAm) in their brain that persisted into adulthood. We also found potential associations between these epigenetic and behavioural shifts.

Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · Jun 19

I am excited to announce that the last paper from my PhD is now out!

In this paper, we tested how early-life predation stress shapes adult behaviour in Trinidadian guppies and whether DNA methylation in the brain plays a role.

Read all about it here: doi.org/10.1111/mec....

Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · May 21

Exciting things coming on RTR!

> read(the_room) @read-theroom.bsky.social · May 19

It’s me, Karma the chameleon🦎, aka the only member of the team who’s been working on this app (besides Soud, who may be doing all the real work). The other team members are very busy providing moral support.

Anyways, we’re building something cool. Stay tuned!

#newapp #appdev #mobileapp #appdesign

Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · Apr 29

How fast can brains epigenetically respond to predation stress?

We found that brain DNA methylation in guppies can shift within 30 minutes of predator exposure — with different time courses between males and females.

New paper from my PhD now out! 🧠🐟
doi.org/10.1111/mec....

Rapid Neural DNA Methylation Responses to Predation Stress in Trinidadian Guppies

DNA methylation (DNAm) is a well-studied epigenetic mechanism implicated in environmentally induced phenotypes and phenotypic plasticity. However, few studies investigate the timescale of DNAm shifts...

Reposted by Janay A. Fox, PhD

Yaser Atlasi @yatlasi.bsky.social · Apr 27

Congratulations to @janayf.bsky.social for winning the 2025 Bruce Cattanach Prize from @gensocuk.bsky.social and for delivering an amazing talk.

Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · Apr 25

I was incredibly grateful to receive recognition for my work and for the opportunity to present at this very exciting conference! Thank you!

Genetics Society UK @gensocuk.bsky.social · Apr 24

🎉 Congratulations @janayf.bsky.social on winning our 2025 Bruce Cattanach Prize!

Janay's talk is on the epigenetic plasticity in response to environmental stress: insights from an evolutionary fish model #Epigenetics2025

Reposted by Janay A. Fox, PhD

Allegra Love @allegralove.bsky.social · Jan 16

Check out this awesome work that just came out!

Alexis Heckley @alexisheckley.bsky.social · Jan 16

Check out our new review, 'Pathogens and Planetary Change', in @natrevbiodiv.bsky.social! The paper is nicely summarized in this thread by @ctrlalttim.bsky.social (and another thread I've also re-posted by @colincarlson.bsky.social). Very excited to have been part of this fantastic collaboration!

Timothée Poisot @ctrlalttim.com · Jan 16

Pandemics, global change, and biodiversity loss? In a new paper published in the first issue of @natrevbiodiv.bsky.social, we argue that these are three facets of an ongoing polycrisis, with common roots, and hopefully common solution.

A short thread.

🧪😷
www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · Jan 14

Working on this cool project with some friends @soudk.bsky.social @chrispyross.bsky.social. Give our account a follow to watch our journey!

> read(the_room) @read-theroom.bsky.social · Jan 14

Hello Bluesky! We’re Read the Room, a new website that lets you ask questions anonymously and see how answers vary globally. Dive in and explore diverse opinions with us!

Reposted by Janay A. Fox, PhD

Alexis Heckley @alexisheckley.bsky.social · Dec 12

How does fibrosis (an inflammation and tissue repair response) affect dispersal? We investigated this question with stickleback in a mark-recapture experiment in Alaska: dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3... @danielbolnick.bsky.social @nataliesteinel.bsky.social @ecoevoevoeco.bsky.social

Does Motility‐Restricting Fibrosis Influence Dispersal? An Experiment in Nature With Threespine Stickleback

Factors that affect dispersal can have important eco-evolutionary implications. Here, we show that an inflammation and tissue repair response—peritoneal fibrosis—does not influence threespine stickle...

Reposted by Janay A. Fox, PhD

Quinn Webber @qwebber.bsky.social · Dec 5

Congrats to @allegralove.bsky.social & @alexisheckley.bsky.social on their co-first authored paper on the eco and evo basis for the landscape of disgust! Excitingly, this is the first first authored paper from my new(ish) lab! Congrats Allegra and Alexis!

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

Taking cues from ecological and evolutionary theories to expand the landscape of disgust | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Behavioural avoidance of parasites in the environment generates what is known as the ‘landscape of disgust’ (analogous to the predator-induced ‘landscape of fear’). Despite the potential for improving...

royalsocietypublishing.org

Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · Dec 5

Please join our discord so we can make it a vibrant community! Dm me if you want to join 😊

Clare Venney @clarevenney.bsky.social · Dec 3

Are you interested in evolutionary epigenetics?

After Evolution 2024 in Montréal, we created an Evolutionary Epigenetics Discord server for all things epigenetics - data analysis, events, job opportunities, etc.

Interested? Message me for the link! 😄

Discord server text channels, including "Introductions", "Articles", "Data analysis". etc.

Reposted by Janay A. Fox, PhD

Alexis Heckley @alexisheckley.bsky.social · Dec 5

🦠🦟Please check out our review on the landscape of disgust (with @qwebber.bsky.social @allegralove.bsky.social ): ow.ly/ZRKm50UlsiO. There is a formatting issue on the website version that we are trying to fix - so, please download the PDF version if you want to give it a read! @royalsociety.org

Taking cues from ecological and evolutionary theories to expand the landscape of disgust | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Behavioural avoidance of parasites in the environment generates what is known as the ‘landscape of disgust’ (analogous to the predator-induced ‘landscape of fear’). Despite the potential for improving...

Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · Dec 2

Can I be added please?

Reposted by Janay A. Fox, PhD

Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · Nov 14

Time for the @bsky.app community to see one of my favorite visualizations of climate change...

"Shifting Distribution of Land Temperature Anomalies" by svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/5211/ ⚒️🧪

Reposted by Janay A. Fox, PhD

Chelsea Whyte @chelswhyte.bsky.social · Nov 26

Retro is in, even in the ocean. The orcas are once again wearing salmon hats

www.newscientist.com/article/2457...

Orcas have begun wearing salmon hats again – and we may soon know why

About 40 years ago, researchers noticed a population of orcas had begun swimming around with dead fish on their heads, and now the craze is back

www.newscientist.com

Reposted by Janay A. Fox, PhD

Dustin Marshall @djmmeeg.bsky.social · Nov 7

I wrote (ranted) on experimental design as I was frustrated as an editor at how little guidance students were getting. I underestimated the interest in the issue: it has been downloaded 10,000+ times! Clearly it’s something we need to be talking about more. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Principles of experimental design for ecology and evolution

Here I argue that we do not discuss experimental design, often until it is too late. This editorial seeks to begin a conversation about how and where to replicate appropriately.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by Janay A. Fox, PhD

Alexis Heckley @alexisheckley.bsky.social · Dec 20

🦇🌳Please check out our new meta-analysis (with
@danjbecker.bsky.social and Lauren Lock)! Our paper investigates associations between habitat degradation and Neotropical bat virus prevalence and seroprevalence.
@ecography.bsky.social doi.org/10.1111/ecog...

A meta‐analysis exploring associations between habitat degradation and Neotropical bat virus preva...

Habitat degradation can increase zoonotic disease risks by altering infection dynamics in wildlife and increasing wildlife–human interactions. Bats are an important taxonomic group to consider these...

Janay A. Fox, PhD @janayf.bsky.social · Nov 25

Hi, can I please be added! I am a new PhD!