Ryan Smith
@vectorimmunity.bsky.social
580 followers 270 following 42 posts
Assoc. Prof at Iowa State. Vector biology and innate immunity. Lover of mosquitoes and tacos. Caffeine and history buff. Unlikely midwesterner. Thoughts are my own.
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Reposted by Ryan Smith
cp-trendsparasitol.bsky.social
David Hall & @vectorimmunity.bsky.social highlight @merklinglab.bsky.social & colleagues’ Cell Genomics article on #mosquito cellular responses in #midgut & #fatbody after #bloodfeeding. #Aedes #aegypti #scRNAseq #Metabolomics @iastateresearch.bsky.social‬ ‬

authors.elsevier.com/a/1lbEr5Eb1x...
Reposted by Ryan Smith
vectorimmunity.bsky.social
I wouldn’t say unhinged, but it was fun. I would say it was more of a show than a concert. We still had a great time
vectorimmunity.bsky.social
Heading out for a night of weirdness with the family
vectorimmunity.bsky.social
It's nice to start off your day with "We are delighted to accept your manuscript..."
vectorimmunity.bsky.social
The phone calls are soooo much better...
vectorimmunity.bsky.social
It's the time of the year when a student can be genuinely excited about getting a D-. D's get degrees.

Only the best and brightest are ready to hit the workforce!
Reposted by Ryan Smith
docbecca.bsky.social
This is a great explainer of just how much trouble NIH-funded scientists are about to be in. 😨
donmoyn.bsky.social
New at Can We Still Govern: An anonymous NIH employee maps out the GOP budget gameplan to permanently gut our most important science agency.
Impoundment, delay and red tape will create artificial "savings" that become the new benchmark for NIH budgets.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-nih-bu...
The NIH budget is on a fast track to disaster
An NIH insider explains what Republicans are likely to do next, and what we can do
donmoynihan.substack.com
Reposted by Ryan Smith
malindalo.bsky.social
Harvard redid its whole homepage to push back against the administration’s demands. I mean, this is just a website but I think it’s kind of a great PR move: www.harvard.edu
Harvard University
Harvard University is devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, and research, and to developing leaders who make a difference globally.
www.harvard.edu
vectorimmunity.bsky.social
Does anyone have recommendations for a preferably free or low-cost software platform for cloning, plasmid design, and curation for the lab. I "grew up" scientifically with VectorNTI. Is SnapGene the best current option? Any other alternatives that you might recommend?
a cartoon character from south park says please in front of a sign that says south park
ALT: a cartoon character from south park says please in front of a sign that says south park
media.tenor.com
vectorimmunity.bsky.social
When it rains it pours
vectorimmunity.bsky.social
Got the NoA on a R01 through NIAID last Monday. Full award with normal IDCs.
Reposted by Ryan Smith
motherjones.com
The cost-saving claims don’t hold up. Every dollar in NIH research grants generates $2.46 in economic activity, research shows—a total of $93 billion in 2023 alone.

“It’s incredible to me that we would give up this thing that has such obvious societal benefits,” says biologist Mark Peifer.
America will pay dearly for the NIH’s mindless war on wokeness and DEI
Colleges, businesses, patients, students, workers, and US excellence will all suffer—and for what?
www.motherjones.com
Reposted by Ryan Smith
jeremymberg.bsky.social
The biggest hit to extramural program staff appears to be grants management specialists (GMSs). It appears that 15-20% of GMSs were terminated.

This is quite concerning since these folks have already missed essentially a month of getting-grants-out time and have lots to do. They already work hard.
kermit the frog has his hand on his mouth
ALT: kermit the frog has his hand on his mouth
media.tenor.com
vectorimmunity.bsky.social
🚨 We are recruiting for two post-doc positions!🚨

1) Development of genetic tools to study mosquito immune cells isu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/IowaStateJob...

2) Role of mosquito immune cells in immune recognition and priming isu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/IowaStateJob...
vectorimmunity.bsky.social
Thanks Greg! Much appreciated!
vectorimmunity.bsky.social
For the sake of transparency, this particular grant took four submissions and about 3 years to get it across the finish line:
-Submission #1: 50th %
-Submission #2: 26th %
-Submission #3: 29th %
-Submission #4: 12th %
vectorimmunity.bsky.social
Excited to share that I officially received my first R01 today! It's been a long road, one marked by persistence and several grants that narrowly missed the payline. Now to do all of the exciting work that we proposed!

I will be hiring, so be on the lookout for job postings!
vectorimmunity.bsky.social
Thanks Kristin! I'm happy to see that it's working on our end as well. Yay!
vectorimmunity.bsky.social
That's great! Glad that our work can be of help!