Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
@maikokitaoka.bsky.social
1.1K followers 420 following 14 posts
Cell biologist enamored with gametes and their chromosomes | HHMI Hanna Gray Fellow | Leading Edge Fellow | 🧬🐸🪰🔬 she/her
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Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
carlzimmer.com
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
nyti.ms
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
flybase.bsky.social
FlyBase needs your help! We ask that European labs continue to contribute to Cambridge, UK FlyBase, whereas US and other non-European labs can contribute to US FlyBase. For more information and how to donate: wiki.flybase.org/wiki/FlyBase...
FlyBase:Contribute to FlyBase - FlyBase Wiki
wiki.flybase.org
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
peiferlabunc.bsky.social
If you are a researcher whose lab uses FlyBase, consider a tax-deductible personal contribution. A lot of $100 contributions would help bridge the gap until we can set up a user fee system, and even $10 donations send the folks there the message we're behind them. Please share
My own donation
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
ongkaty.bsky.social
All proceeds from my #sciart Etsy shop will now be donated to
@flybase.bsky.social . Due to fed cuts, this beloved resource that I use daily has lost it's funding, and I'm helping in my small way. Now's a good time stock up on #STEM & #drosophila gifts & swag!
www.etsy.com/shop/Picosti...
gold crispr-cas9 enamel pins drosophila embroidered patches and enamel pins IgM antibody enamel pins in purple and cyan
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
wiringthebrain.bsky.social
This isn't a coincidence, IMO. The fly community is generally super rigorous - because there are so many tools and techniques available, people expect you to really nail things in order to get published (and keep getting funded)
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
takashiakeralab.bsky.social
🚨Our latest work on selfish centromeres is published @currentbiology.bsky.social 🐭🧬We found that the spindle checkpoint contributes to non-Mendelian segregation! Huge congrats to our lab manager, Zaak Walton, who led the project🎉

Free link:
authors.elsevier.com/a/1lQzN3QW8S...
authors.elsevier.com
maikokitaoka.bsky.social
Are you an MIT postdoc in the life sciences? Come join my new initiative, the KendallSqBio Postdoc Symposium on Sept. 10, 2025!

✅ Present your science
✅ Connect with other postdocs
✅ Build your community

Abstract deadline July 11th! forms.gle/iXMTYfqgLKWR...
Poster of diverse scientists chatting with each other and holding idea balloons representing various fields in the life sciences, such as DNA, cells, gears, and lightbulbs. More information is available through the QR code.
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social
Congratulations to Whitehead Institute Member Yukiko Yamashita, who has been elected as a member to the National Academy of Sciences! www.nasonline.org/news/2025-na... @nasonline.org
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social
Whitehead Institute Member Yukiko Yamashita, who studies how genetic information is passed from parents to offspring, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Full story on our website: wi.mit.edu/news/yukiko-...
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
poppi62.bsky.social
If using Bloomigton #Drosophila Stock Center stocks, pls. acknowledge them & their NIH funding (P40 OD018537). Papers listing this no. are being harvested as evidence. We massively depend on the @bdsc.bsky.social & they need our support in these dire times! @flybase.bsky.social @fly-eds.bsky.social
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
miriamgoldstein.bsky.social
Just in case you thought that removing DEI criteria would mean that everyone is competing equally: NIH is removing grad students from underrepresented backgrounds from the applicant pool altogether. Their applications will not be considered. Other students, not from these backgrounds, will be.
Update: They were removed from our reviewer assignments completely. I'm so sorry to all those graduate students. 

Anonymous to protect the identity of the NIH employee I spoke to...I am on study section next month to discuss F awards. We were just instructed to put the F31-Diversity applications on the bottom of our priority list for review because there is a chance we may not be able to review them. My heart is breaking for the grad students and their mentors that put so much work into these just for them to be disqualified and thrown out.
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
marisosa.bsky.social
@neuronline.sfn.org has made it incredibly easy to contact your reps and urge them to protect federal funding for biomedical research! Please sign today, it takes about 10 seconds:
www.sfn.org/Advocacy/Adv...
Available Actions
www.sfn.org
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
rkzwick.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
stowersinstitute.bsky.social
The Institute mourns the loss of R. Scott Hawley, PhD. A brilliant scientist, cherished colleague, and true mentor. Scott's contributions to our understanding of genetics and passion for training the next generation of scientists will forever be remembered. bit.ly/3WPqqYG
Remembering R. Scott Hawley, Ph.D.
A Legacy of Scientific Excellence and Mentorship
bit.ly
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
darbysaxbe.bsky.social
🚨BREAKING. From a program officer at the National Science Foundation, a list of keywords that can cause a grant to be pulled. I will be sharing screenshots of these keywords along with a decision tree. Please share widely. This is a crisis for academic freedom & science.
list of banned keywords
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
rogerslabucd.bsky.social
This is a fantastic program! You can apply as a mentor to work with a student who will travel to your lab, or you can apply as a mentor to work with one of your current students. I highly recommend it! I have done both and it’s been so rewarding. ❤️
socdevbio.bsky.social
We are extending the #ChooseDevelopment application deadline to Wednesday, February 5, 11:59 PM ET. Undergrads from underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, first-generation college students, veterans & students with a disability are eligible. bit.ly/3FwHqYp #devbio
Society for Developmental Biology Logo - Choose Development
Paid Summer Undergraduate Research Training
Mission
To broaden the scientific workforce by preparing undergraduate students to enter doctoral programs in developmental biology with enriched mentored research experiences for two summers.
Overview
Two 10-week summer research internships in the lab of an SDB member
Receive $5500 stipend each summer
Receive guidance and support from a team of mentors
Network with the developmental biology community
Present summer research at the next SDB annual meeting
Eligibility
Undergraduate student from underrepresented group(s), first generation college student, veteran, or undergraduate student with a disability
U.S. citizen or permanent resident
Interest to pursue a doctoral degree
Photo of woman in lab coat pipetting a solution
QR Code to Choose Development website
Application Deadline Extended: February 5, 2025, 11:59 PM ET
www.sdbonline.org/choose_development
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
valetornini.bsky.social
We're growing and recruiting! Please share this open position in our lab at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (www.torninilab.org) for a Staff Research Associate I (SRA I) position - jobs.ucla.edu/jobs/6546
Tornini Lab | UCLA
Tornini Lab @ UCLA - Genetics of vertebrate neurodevelopment
www.torninilab.org
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
jeremymberg.bsky.social
SOME GOOD NEWS ABOUT NIH FUNDING

Closed sessions of institute and center Advisory Counsel meetings are now permitted. This is where grant applications are discussed and approved for potential funding.

Open sessions where there are public presentations and discussions are still not allowed.
a man with glasses and a black shirt says " it 's a small step that really goes a long way "
ALT: a man with glasses and a black shirt says " it 's a small step that really goes a long way "
media.tenor.com
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
willowcoyote.bsky.social
We will host the 3rd Full Circle Symposium for Native Biologists at UCSF on April 3-4! We aim to build community and provide opportunities for Native scientists. If you are a Native biologist at any training stage who wants to speak, please fill this out by this Friday (1/31):
tinyurl.com/mm2tswt7
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
needhibhalla.bsky.social
🚨PIs of Training Grants and Programs, ESPECIALLY training grants that support students from historically excluded groups (T32s and T34s, IMSD, MARC, PREP, MOSAIC, etc.)🚨

We need to push back on the loss of information and the disappearance of websites about these resources.
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
karalmckinley.bsky.social
I have a wonderful scientist in my lab who is looking to move to Europe. Is anyone looking for a staff scientist? She has a PhD. She is particularly in her element doing field work. Great skills with rodents and very open to non-rodent positions as well.

Please send leads, please amplify!
Reposted by Maiko Kitaoka 北岡舞子, PhD
flyscinelson.bsky.social
Seconded! We have lots of 18 degree room and a dedicated fly food cook for our shared fly space. Please reach out if you need help!
harmitmalik.bsky.social
If you have been affected by the fires in LA, or are concerned about your ability to keep precious Drosophila strains going during the latest funding crisis, we will host your strains as a backup. Please email me.

Please amplify. If you are also able to host fly strains, add your name as well.