Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Lydia Grmai, Ph.D.

Frankie D Heyward @frankiedheyward.bsky.social · 14h

I’m excited to share our new preprint! We built a single-nucleus multiomic (snRNA-seq+snATAC-seq) atlas of leptin receptor-expressing hypothalamic neurons (LepRᴴʸᵖᵒ) and identified conserved cis-regulatory elements overlapping human obesity-linked variants and eQTLs🧠🧬
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Single-nucleus transcriptional and chromatin accessibility profiling of mouse hypothalamic LepRb neurons reveals cell type-specific cis-regulatory elements linked to human obesity

Leptin receptor-expressing hypothalamic neurons (LepRHypo) are key regulators of energy balance, yet a comprehensive, cell type-resolved, chromatin accessibility map of these neurons is lacking. We pr...

www.biorxiv.org

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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · 7h

amazing!!!!! congrats to you Ish!!!

Reposted by Lydia Grmai, Ph.D.

Society for Developmental Biology @socdevbio.bsky.social · Sep 3

The 2025-2026 season of the Ethel Browne Harvey Postdoc Seminar kicks off Friday, September 12 at 3 pm Eastern Time with @sarahcolijn.bsky.social‬ of Washington Univ in St. Louis and @shyama13.bsky.social‬ of the Univ of Pittsburgh. Register today and join us. bit.ly/4649fWS #SDBPostdocSeminar

Society for Developmental Biology Ethel Browne Harvey Postdoctoral Seminar Series
Friday, September 12, 2025, 3:00pm - 4:00 pm Eastern Time
Sarah Colijn (Washington University in St. Louis)
Novel roles for centriolar protein WDR90 in endothelial cells and cardiac tissue
Shyama Nandakumar (University of Pittsburgh)
Ring canals in the larval adipose of Drosophila buffer stress response

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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · Aug 13

Our faculty job market series continues today on the topic of CVs, cover letters, and LORs. Come hear myself, @brisapalikuqilab.bsky.social & @jayeperview.bsky.social share our thoughts/advice today at 3pm ET / 12p PT. There will also be time for Q&A.

Registration link in flyer - see you soon!

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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · Aug 13

i miss the chemistry from “still processing” 😭 but i am liking cannonball!

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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · Jul 15

new review alert❗️

thought your neighborhood stress response pathway (ISR) only dealt in stress adaptation? well, maybe so. but many cells are apparently quite “stressed out” - even healthy ones.

see quoted thread by my phenom co-author @shyama13.bsky.social for a summary! ⬇️

Shyama Nandakumar @shyama13.bsky.social · Jul 15

Hello fellow scientists, I'm thrilled to share with you a state of the art review that @lydiagrmai.bsky.social , the bsky-less Deepika Vasudevan and I have been working on for >1 year! Keep reading...!
febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

FEBS Press

Integrated stress response (ISR), an evolutionarily conserved eukaryotic stress-adaptive program in eukaryotes, has also been implicated in homeostatic functions. This review covers a broad body of l....

febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · Jun 24

we are so glad to hear it! thank you for sharing 🫶🏾

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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · Jun 24

Calling all future faculty! Great news: we are bringing back our EquiSciTrack series with a fantastic lineup of generous new PIs. As before, we’ll be discussing all the major points of the application process.

See flyer below for registration link/QR. We hope to see you there!

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Reposted by Lydia Grmai, Ph.D.

Scott Delaney @scott-delaney.bsky.social · May 22

⚖️🍿 Alright, let’s do it.

Live-tweeting oral arguments on a motion for preliminary injunction in APHA v NIH.

Hearing starts at 11a EDT today

This is scheduled to be an argument about whether the Court should reinstate terminated NIH grants on topics like DEI, trans health, HIV prevention. But...

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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · Apr 9

😱😱😱

Reposted by Lydia Grmai, Ph.D.

Needhi Bhalla 💅🏽 @needhibhalla.bsky.social · Apr 4

They are resegregating academic science

Scott Delaney @scott-delaney.bsky.social · Apr 4

An important point getting overlooked:

When NIH cancels "diversity" grants (e.g., diversity supplements, Fs, Ks, etc), they aren't canceling the grants based on *what* the grant studies.

They're cancelling them based on *who* is doing the research. And that disallowed "who" is anyone not white.

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Reposted by Lydia Grmai, Ph.D.

Alissa Armstrong @armstrongflylab.bsky.social · Feb 24

Beyond thrilled - I’ve been awarded an NSF CAREER grant! I get to continue making scientific discoveries, training the next generation of researchers, & sharing knowledge about the scientific enterprise with the general public. This support is much needed, personally & professionally…let’s GOOO!!!

Screenshot of part of a notice of award for an NSF CAREER grant: Regulation of Drosophila melanogaster oogenesis by ovarian and adipose tissue amino acid sensing signaling pathways

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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · Feb 9

¡felicidades! happy birthday!!

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Reposted by Lydia Grmai, Ph.D.

Rachel Zwick @rkzwick.bsky.social · Feb 6

The Zwick lab has landed in the Regenerative Medicine Institute @NYU! I’m incredibly excited to build a team to study how epithelial organs are patterned and remodeled throughout life, with a major focus on the remarkable changes that occur in the maternal body during pregnancy..1/5

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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · Jan 16

never seen a more beautiful sight 🥲

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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · Jan 13

two more days to submit for consideration in this workshop! looking forward to hearing about all your amazing science :)

Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · Dec 9

Calling all fly biologists: submit your research for consideration in the “Everything you ever wanted to know about sex” workshop at #Dros25! We hope to highlight diverse science, researchers, and career stages. Email submission to [email protected] by Wed, Jan 15.

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Reposted by Lydia Grmai, Ph.D.

Meike van der Heijden @meikeesther.bsky.social · Jan 6

Eligible? Don’t hesitate to apply for this fantabulous peer mentoring program!

We can’t wait to meet you!

Leading Edge Fellows Program @leadingedgeprogram.bsky.social · Jan 6

Leading Edge is celebrating a milestone: 100 (actually 102!) new assistant professors!!! 🎉🥳🎊

Learn more about them:
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/fellows/

Applications are now open for the 2025 Leading Edge cohort! (Deadline Feb 3).

You do NOT need to be ready for the job market to apply.

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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · Jan 6

congrats @phosphotig.bsky.social !!! i can’t wait to follow your group’s work!

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Reposted by Lydia Grmai, Ph.D.

UNC Biochemistry and Biophysics department @unc-bcbp.bsky.social · Jan 6

Tigist Tamir PhD has joined the department as a TT Assistant Professor. Her research focuses on Cell signaling mediated regulation of metabolism & oxidative stress response in obesity and cancer. Her lab is accepting applications for RA,postdoc positions & rotation students. @phosphotig.bsky.social

Tigist Tamir standing confidently smiling in a yellow blazer standing outside by a window with blue dots. She is a diverse scientist who joins UNC biochemistry and biophysics faculty in January 2025.

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Reposted by Lydia Grmai, Ph.D.

Dr. Arnaldo Díaz @ajdiazphd.bsky.social · Jan 4

#Mentoring is empowering our mentees with a broader network so they can experience different perspectives as they progress in their own journey.

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Reposted by Lydia Grmai, Ph.D.

Alissa Armstrong @armstrongflylab.bsky.social · Dec 31

If you are an #EarlyCareerResearcher (grad student, postdoc, pre-tenure faculty) using #Drosophila, consider the new mentoring initiative #FlyCROSS. Complete the survey (link and QR code in the reposts) by Jan 5 to get matched up with a mentor.

Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · Dec 23

Hello #Drosophila early career scientists, this is your chance to get mentored and achieve your goals - a one of a kind opportunity!!! Complete the survey by Jan 5th !!
#holidays #genetics #AcademicTwitter

Please share @fly-eds.bsky.social @flybase.bsky.social @bdsc.bsky.social #ABRCMS24

Shefali @iamshef.bsky.social · Dec 6

Calling #Drosophila #grad students #postdoc and #pretenure #faculty to participate in FlyCROSS and be matched by a #mentor of your preferences to gain guidance to your unique needs !
#genetics #dros25 #phdlife

@flybase.bsky.social @bdsc.bsky.social

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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · Dec 30

- my first 1st-author paper reported on sexual identity maintenance in gonads, and getting to build that story as a grad student made me fascinated with biological sex differences. i'm so glad to cap off my postdoc training with another contribution to this field :)

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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · Dec 30

- in this study, we performed a "genetic nutrient deprivation" by expressing a bacterial enzyme called methioninase - it metabolizes (and thus depletes) Met, causing cells to respond to amino acid deprivation. technique was developed by Dr. Andrey Parkhitko (Pitt)

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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · Dec 30

A few points to highlight:
- this story adds to an apparently vast body of literature that shows stress response factors are required in some tissues (like the fat) during homeostasis. some cell types just happen to live especially stressful lives (the academics of the organism?)

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Lydia Grmai, Ph.D. @lydiagrmai.bsky.social · Dec 30

Closing out the year with a new pre-print! Here, we show that the stress response factor Atf4 is more abundant in female vs male fat (likely directly Doublesex-regulated). This dimorphism renders females more resilient to starvation-induced death. Lots of follow-up work to come!

bioRxiv Cell Biology @biorxiv-cellbio.bsky.social · Dec 28

Sexually dimorphic ATF4 expression in the fat confers female stress tolerance in Drosophila melanogaster https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.12.27.630478v1

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