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Ben Saunders

@bensaunders.bsky.social
4.9K followers 188 following 782 posts

Neuroscientist and gardener Lab site- saunderslab.com

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Reposted by Ben Saunders
Robert Phillips @rphillips3.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Very excited to share our newest preprint, led by myself and Biostats PhD Student Jianing Yao, where we generate a three dimensional reconstruction of the human NAc to understand how cell type heterogeneity and topography change across the anterior-posterior axis. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
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Keri Martinowich @martinowk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Very excited to share our newest preprint, led by @rphillips3.bsky.social and @jianingyao.bsky.social , reconstructing the molecular and cellular organization of the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in the human 🧠 in three dimensions.
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Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
GO MEGAN!!!
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Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 25/09/2026
FYI to everyone submitting this October NIH cycle You need to re-certify your ScienCV AFTER Sept 26 (tomorrow) for your application or it may not be accepted. Great timing!
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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 26/09/2026
Science world (and everyone who knows someone with cancer or dementia): Keep an eye on this! It looks like another try at the pocket rescission gambit.
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Natale R. Sciolino, PhD @sciolinolab.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Here’s the UConn Today press release covering our new Cell Reports (@cp-cellreports.bsky.social) paper on how a brainstem region reshapes the neural code for taste in mice. today.uconn.edu/2026/09/a-br...
today.uconn.edu
A Brainstem Signal Reorganizes the Neural Code for Taste - UConn Today
UConn researchers found that brief and sustained activation of an arousal-related brain region had markedly different effects on how the mouse brain encoded ...
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Steve Ramirez @okaysteve.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🚨 new work from the lab! "Dissociable cortical-hippocampal dopamine dynamics support memory-guided behavior" by @albitc.bsky.social et al. congratulations whole-heartedly to the team and we're excited to hear everyone's thoughts on the work! 👇🏽 www.cell.com/current-biol...
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Dr. Katja Thieme (she/they) @katjathieme.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Who are the scientists, what are their names, and what have they published on this topic. 🤦🏻‍♀️
Dario Amodei:
Today we announced the Claude-led discovery of a molecular machine that we suspect could represent a new gene editing mechanism. Its precise function, biotechnological utility (if any), or level of significance is not yet clear, but at minimum it is work I would have been proud to do as a PhD student. The work was done mostly, though not entirely, by Claude: our life sciences team suggested a broad area of research, Claude read through the literature and a bunch of genome data and discovered something interesting, then Claude proposed experiments to verify the discovery and our team carried them out.
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Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Huge congrats to Fallon Curry and Julia Wells in the lab - they both received the @sfn.org Trainee Professional Development Award!!
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Ann Clemens @annmclemens.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
if you're in Edinburgh and looking for research experience 👩‍🔬 🧑‍🔬 we're offering opportunities to join our work on **the sticky sense** in humans and rodents with potential for field research 🫎 🔭 get in touch 💻 📫 📞 @sidb-edinburgh.bsky.social @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social @edinunineuro.bsky.social
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Sarah J. Jackson @sjjphd.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Don’t forget, this is how the Kennedy center dismantling started. The folks at your institution doing equity work might be the first targeted, but the institutions themselves are always the target. Hope folks have learned this now.
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Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Big UMN contingent and we had a blast at the Pavlovian Society this weekend, thanks to the organizers! Also Montreal rules.
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Margo Le @margole.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
New preprint! 🧠🐭🔬 Reward-predictive cues can bias action selection, but can they also influence the *rules* we use to complete a sequence of actions? sPRInT through this thread to find out! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Reward Memories Bias Instrumental Rule Selection via the Orbitofrontal-to-Secondary Motor cortex Pathway
Reward-predictive cues can influence decision-making and promote the pursuit of specific outcomes. This influence is classically studied using specific Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (sPIT), in wh...
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Ron Keiflin @ronkeiflin.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
New lab preprint! OFC—>M2 in rule selection. Project led by the amazing @margole.bsky.social
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STAT @statnews.com · 21/09/2026
“We should be strengthening our investment in the NIH, not dismantling it,” writes Reed Jobs. www.statnews.com/2026/09/21/n...
statnews.com
The NIH budget should be $100 billion per year
“We should be strengthening our investment in the NIH, not dismantling it,” writes Reed Jobs.
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Bella Green @izzabellagreen.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Grateful to train alongside the best crew (ft @sethweir.bsky.social and @louisakuper.bsky.social) under the best mentorship (thank you @bensaunders.bsky.social!) and have the opportunity to learn and share our work at Pavlovian 2026! 🧠
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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 20/09/2026
“The arrangement would give Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, a direct role in determining how NIH distributes its $48 billion in congressionally-appropriated money.” Bypassing the many checks and balances at NIH on grant funding decisions.
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Jibran Khokhar @drjkhokhar.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
So grateful to @thetransmitter.bsky.social for the opportunity to talk about a paper that truly shaped how I think about my science by @fowleruci.bsky.social and @paulkennyphd.bsky.social! They helped make causal sense of the association that people call “Mr. Big“ in the context of 🚬!
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Steve Ramirez @okaysteve.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
🚨 new work from the lab! "Hippocampal astrocytic sequences emerge during learning and memory recall" by @ryguy.io & @rsuthard.bsky.social thank you to the entire team for your camaraderie and for muscling through science together 🧠 -- we welcome all feedback! nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Hippocampal astrocytic sequences emerge during learning and memory recall
Nature Neuroscience - Senne, Suthard and colleagues show that dorsal hippocampal astrocytes display time-compressed calcium-event sequences after foot shock and upon context re-exposure, and that...
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Tom Kash @superkash.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
new paper out, led by @jobeneuro.bsky.social , exploring 5HT dynamics in cingulate and central amygdala, and how a history of alcohol consumption changes them! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Selective dysregulation of serotonin dynamics in the anterior cingulate cortex and central amygdala following binge alcohol consumption - Neuropsychopharmacology
Neuropsychopharmacology - Selective dysregulation of serotonin dynamics in the anterior cingulate cortex and central amygdala following binge alcohol consumption
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Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Lots of stories across Pennsylvania about NIH grant terminations at Pitt and Penn. This is why speaking out matters. Even Congress critters who generally support the administration get pressured into actually supporting their constituents. www.wesanews.org/health-scien...
wesanews.org
McCormick, Fetterman question termination of more than 100 health research grants
Pennsylvania’s senators are demanding information about more than 150 health research grants canceled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services this summer.
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Naoshige Uchida @naoshigeuchida.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
This is a joint junior faculty search across several life sciences Departments at Harvard, including my Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. Please apply!
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Alicia Izquierdo @aliciaizquierdo.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Updated lab website with the amazing people I get to work with and some exciting projects underway izquierdolab.com
izquierdolab.com
Izquierdo Lab — Alicia Izquierdo, UCLA Department of Psychology
The Izquierdo Lab at UCLA studies the brain mechanisms of flexible reward learning and value-based decision making, with a focus on frontocortical circuits.
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Chise @sailorrooscout.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
GOOD NEWS! A personalized mRNA vaccine has SUCCEEDED in keeping melanoma, a deadly skin cancer, from returning. Phase III trial results in MORE THAN 1,100 patients shows the vaccine SIGNIFICANTLY extended the time patients lived without their melanoma returning AND reduced the risk of metastasis.
statnews.com
Moderna and Merck say mRNA cancer vaccine succeeded in late-stage melanoma trial
A personalized mRNA cancer vaccine succeeded in a late-stage melanoma study, results that could herald a new, powerful approach in oncology.
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Drug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
And there it is. As rumored, and as predicted by YHN from the gitgo, enhanced triage of NIH grants will continue. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov
NOT-OD-26-114: Continuation of Modifications to Peer Review Practices
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Continuation of Modifications to Peer Review Practices NOT-OD-26-114. NIH
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Sabine Krabbe @sabinekrabbe.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Amygdala dopamine is often studied in response to external rewards or threats. But what happens during self-initiated exploration? Our new preprint suggests a broader role: a state-dependent salience signal linking exploration and associative learning. 👉 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Basolateral amygdala dopamine signals behavioural salience across exploration and learning
Animals must balance exploration with threat avoidance, yet how neuromodulatory signals shape information-seeking states remains unclear. Using fibre photometry recordings in the basolateral amygdala ...
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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 05/09/2026
Ok here we go: It DOES look like a major purpose of this NIH funding transfer to NIH is to circumvent NIH’s peer review processes so political appointees can have control. Check out the redacted agreement @maxkozlov.bsky.social released: 1/
AGENCY-AGREEMENT-NIH-AND-DOW-REDACTED v
Q
Federal departments, agencies, and offices with respect to the identification of additional priority virus families and other viral pathogens with a significant potential to cause a pandemic" (42
U.S.C. § 285f-5(e)(1)).
Through this agreement, NIH will leverage OASW ND-CBD's procurement, grants, and funding network to allow for critical basic science
I, related research pathways, and basic research to
support the translation and advanced development of medical countermeasures.
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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
This is pretty fucking wild. I had assumed in a worst case scenario he would target blue zip codes and toss ballots based on technicalities but this is even worse than I imagined.
Not only is this system astonishingly untested, USPS has simultaneously implemented an
impracticable zero percent failure rate.
13 When ballots are submitted to USPS in large-volume
batches, if any one ballot in the batch cannot be verified against the Portal, all ballots in that
batch will be rejected. For example, if a state election official brings a batch of 10,000 ballots to
USPS and USPS is unable to match just one of those ballots against the Portal – because, for
example, someone has recently changed their name after marriage or they’ve moved – then
USPS would refuse to mail the remaining 9,999 ballots as well. As the whistleblower notes,
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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
I feel like I’m going to throw up
Screen shot of an Instagram post that says the academy of natural sciences is closing its museum after nearly two centuries
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Shrew @shrewshrew.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Just an immediate lie bc a very impactful gene variant linked to severe neurodevelopmental challenges, CNTNAP2, was specifically and originally discovered in Amish communities Eg: Gene associated with seizures, autism, and hepatomegaly in an Amish girl - PubMed pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19302947/
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Ardem Patapoutian @ardemp.bskyverified.social · 31/08/2026
NIH's Aug 2026 proposal would scrap exact scores and percentiles for three broad bins (top = top 25%). With funding rates at 5% or lower, too much then rides on administrative discretion. It devalues peer review and is a deterrent to engage. Tell NIH before Oct 13. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov
NOT-OD-26-088: Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review NOT-OD-26-088. NIH
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eartha mae @endoeartha.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Extremely proud to share @acara333.bsky.social and my new paper, out today in @cp-neuron.bsky.social, where we develop a new fluorescent reporter of neural responses to estrogen! 🔬 paper 📝: www.cell.com/neuron/fullt... addgene page 🧬: www.addgene.org/254753/ #neuroskyence 🧪 1/10
graphical abstract of the manuscript depicting pink estrogen-sensitive neurons with a subset of their nuclei colored in green. These green nuclei represent estrogen receptor dependent neural gene transcription, tracked via the expression of a destabilized GFP with a 2 hour half-life. At top, in green is shown a cartoon of the neural response to estrogen across two estrous cycles, and below there is a cartoon of a mouse implanted with an optic fiber for in vivo imaging.
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Princess Vimentin PhD | Cancer Biologist @princess-vimentin.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Dolly Parton's $1M seed $ via the Dolly Parton research fund spurned 37 research papers on the mRNA Covid vaccine. This is one of them. That $1M provided the pivotal support for developing the vaccine & assessing the antibody response. My kind of philanthropy. 🧪 www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
nejm.org
An mRNA Vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 — Preliminary Report | NEJM
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in late 2019 and spread globally, prompting an international effort to accelerate development of a vaccine. The candidate va...
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Dr. Becca @docbecca.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
My behavioral neuroscience lab at Northeastern is looking to recruit two new research techs! Job description and link to apply is here: northeastern.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/careers/job/...
northeastern.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
Laboratory Technician - The Shansky Lab
About the Opportunity Job Summary The Shansky Lab is seeking a full-time technician to conduct National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded behavioral neuroscience research. The position includes lab ma...
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kate bush’s husband @airbagged.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
RIP TO ONE OF THE GREATEST TO EVER DO IT
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WuTangIsForTheChildren @wutangforchildren.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Dolly Parton invested the royalties she earned for writing ‘I Will Always Love You’ in Nashville’s Black community www.washingtonpost.com/arts-enterta... "This is the house that Whitney built" - DP 🥺🙏
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Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com · 25/08/2026
Dolly Parton's family asked that, in lieu of flowers, fans make a donation to the singer's Imagination Library. Here's what the charity does ⬇️ www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
rollingstone.com
Turning Pages: Inside Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
Core team of 15 staff and thousands of volunteers and partners help the country-music philanthropist deliver books to kids around the world.
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chrisjuhn.bsky.social @chrisjuhn.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I witnessed Spider-Man going into action yesterday in Minneapolis. He rode in on the back of a muscle car. Then leaped onto the pickup, right before unleashing a hail of fists onto his nemesis, Jake Lang, Jayden Scott, and their minions.
A man dressed as Spider-Man attacked Jake Lang and Jayden Scott on the back of a pickup truck.
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Robert Vaux @rvaux16.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
A cover mock-up of The Amazing Spider-Man showing Spidey punching Jake Lang.
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Vinny Costa @vincentcostaphd.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
It seems many have forgotten the true genius that was the @BSDNeuro Twitter account. An amalgam of hypermale neuroscientist PI tropes, >10 years old it was beyond hilarious, but it now seems prescient considering the rise of #NeuroAI tech bros. Bob’s blog: bsdneuro.wordpress.com/2015/02/08/l...
bsdneuro.wordpress.com
Losing My Edge
h/t LCD Soundsystem Yeah, I’m losing my edge. I’m losing my edge. The kids are coming up from behind. I’m losing my edge. I’m losing my edge to the kids from Berkeley and Ca…
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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
year 1: there's still grant funding, but we may need to change how we talk about our work, or what we work on year 2: the government has disappeared one billion dollars of science funding. it is unclear why they did that or where that sits within concepts like "the rule of law"
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Nicola Grissom @nicolagrissom.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
You know how the old saying goes, COME to Minnesota for the tenure track opening in Computational Approaches to Perception and/or Cognition in the Department of Psychology STAY in Minnesota for the amazing quality of life Details here: hr.myu.umn.edu/psc/hrprd/EM...
hr.myu.umn.edu
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Sarah Yip @yiplab.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Looking for a postdoc in addiction and neuroimaging!! Check out medicine.yale.edu/biomedical-i... Message me directly if you are interested in hearing about opportunities to apply to work with the YIP lab :)
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Kurt Fraser @kurtfraser.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The Department of Psychology at University of Minnesota seeks an Assistant Professor working on computational approaches related to cognition and/or perception (broadly). This would be in my area of the department and I’m happy to answer any questions. Posting : hr.myu.umn.edu/psc/hrprd/EM...
google.com
Careers
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Computational Approaches to Perception and/or CognitionDepartment of PsychologyUniversity of Minnesota, College of Liberal ArtsThe Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities announces a search for an outstanding scholar to fill a tenure-track assistant professor position focused on computational approaches to perception and/or cognition. This full-time position in the Department’s Cognitive and Brain Sciences (CAB) Training Program will begin in Fall 2027.Applications are invited from researchers who would extend or complement our historic strengths in combining experimental and computational approaches to perception and cognition. Examples of desired research topics include, but are not limited to, computational approaches in human and/or non-human animal models to study perceptual function and sensory loss, learning, motivation, emotion, and/or higher cognition. While we expect the primary appointment to be in our CAB area, there is  potential for cross-affiliation with other departmental areas.The appointment will be 100%-time over the nine-month academic year (late-August to late-May) and will be made at the rank of tenure-track assistant professor, depending on qualifications and experience and consistent with collegiate and University policy. Salary and start-up packages are competitive. The successful applicant should have and is expected to maintain a strong research program, advise graduate students from a variety of different backgrounds, and teach undergraduate and graduate courses, including core courses within the graduate training program. A strong record of teaching and mentorship is desired. The individual will also be expected to contribute to the service needs of the department, college, university, and profession.A successful candidate's application will demonstrate scholarly distinction, a record of publications, teaching commitment and, if applicable to the research program and the candidate’s career stage, evidence of success in securing and/or pursuing extramural funding.Applicants are invited to review the Workload Principles and Guidelines for Regular Faculty in the College of Liberal Arts, as well as the Standards for Promotion and Tenure in the Department of Psychology.
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Rafiq Huda @brainsonmymind.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Incredibly excited to share the latest published work from the lab: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/.... Using a range of techniques, including closed-loop optogenetics, we show that the ACC modulates pupil linked arousal in real time. Great summary of our findings here: scienceblog.com/your-brain-h...
science.org
The anterior cingulate cortex modulates pupil-linked arousal
The anterior cingulate cortex modulates pupil-linked arousal in real time.
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Dave Root @neuronroot.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
On the cover of Science Signaling today, the final version of our initial investigation of functional differences between VTA glutamate-dopamine, nonglutamate-dopamine, and glutamate-only neurons www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Distinct properties of glutamate-dopamine, nonglutamate-dopamine, and glutamate-only ventral tegmental area neurons
Glutamate cotransmission predicts the behavioral functions and characteristics of dopaminergic neurons in the VTA.
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elizabethginexi.bsky.social @elizabethginexi.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
On Aug 14, NIH held a webinar assuring researchers nothing was changing under the new funding strategy. Hours later, NIH proposed hiding peer review scores from program staff and investigators. My latest essay lays it out. formernih.substack.com/p/nih-direct...
formernih.substack.com
NIH Directors Decide, Except When HHS Says No
A June 2026 Nature report revealed that mandatory reviews by top officials, checking for a list of 235 disfavored terms, have left hundreds of meritorious NIH applications in administrative limbo (Koz...
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Vincent Breton-Provencher @handle.invalid · 17/08/2026
Happy to share this new paper from the lab. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Region-specific weighting of sensory intensity and reward prediction error by dopamine signals
Growing evidence shows that dopamine signaling is diverse, with dopaminergic neurons responding to rewarding and aversive stimuli. Here, we hypothesiz…
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Micaela Porod @micaelaporod.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
So excited to share the news! I'm immensely grateful to NIMH for their support, and to my amazing mentors @nicolagrissom.bsky.social and @bensaunders.bsky.social for their guidance toward achieving this milestone. Feeling pretty proud of this one ☺️
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