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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁

@bryanheit.bsky.social
2.8K followers 3.2K following 506 posts

Canadian immunologist who looks at host-pathogen interactions, cardiovascular disease & how they intersect. Also a big 🔬, 🔭 & 3D printing nerd. I ❤️ 🧀,🐝, 🍺 & 🐐. Same username on threads. He/him. www.phagocytes.ca www.micrographiauwo.ca

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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Our newest preprint is up! Using super-res #microscopy we demonstrate that proteases and their ligands are localized to distinct microdomains in the plasma membrane. Cleavage-inducing stimuli breaks down the barriers between microdomains, allowing the protease and its ligand to interact.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Toos all weekend, but we got the #greenhouse done!
Partially assembled greenhouse. Metal hoop-frame on a wooden foundation. Finished greenhouse next to a green shed.Finished greenhouse viewed from the side
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Happy #FluorescenceFriday. eSRRF reconstruction of actin dynamics in PMA-stimulated macrophages. Scale bar is 2 microns!
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Getting the gals setup for winter. Varroa treatment is done, the population looks good, and now I just need to feed them to make sure they have enough to get through winter.
Open beehive filled with bees. Two off-white rectangles (varroa treatments) can be seen at either end of the hive
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Happy #FluorescenceFriday! This is the cortical actin cytoskeleton of a macrophage imaged using eSRRF and @spirochrome.com's SPY555-FastAct_X.
image shows the web-like network formed by actin. Image is pseudo-coloured using a heatmap with red "dim" regions and orange-white "bright" regions.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Our antibody providers are involved in the mass production and presentation of fraudulent western blot "validation" images. Scientists would be fired for dojng this - why do antibody providers get a free pass?
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
I normally make basic cheeses, but every once in a while I make something fancy.
A white rind cheese with a wedge cut out. A line of black ash runs through the middle of the cheese.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
Some very cool resesrch from Patrick Lajoie's lab here at @westernu.ca on morphogenesis in the pathogenic yeast C. albicans!
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Good start to our holiday!
Cody with a good sized small mouth bass
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
We had a good harvest of garlic this year!
A lot of garlic drying jn the sun.
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Reposted by 🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁
Jake Harris @c-jake-harris.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Excited to be able to advertise 1x postdoc and 2x technician positions to join my group in Cambridge working on an exciting ARIA funded project to help bring a plant artificial chromosome into existence! Reposts very welcome please 🙏 (1/2)
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Here we go again.... 🌪
A tornado warning on my phone.  At least one tornado is on the ground near us.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Its always nice when Hase N Pfeffer (who lives under our front stoop) sees me off to work in the morning.
A wild rabbit in front of some evergreen trees
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Testing @abbelight.bsky.social Smart Kit Buffer in GSDM. Despite being made for dSTORM, it's giving the most amazing GSD performance I've ever seen - across Alexa647, Alexa555 AND Alexa488! #microscopy #GroundStateDepletion
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
The girls are busy tonight! #bees
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Spent the afternoon doing some ground state imaging. Always a good day when you spend a chunk of it on a #microscope!
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Went to do a hive inspection and had two nice surprises. My new hive has exploded in population and needed a second brood box, and I caught a swarm that I moved into a second hive! #bees
Two bee hives with a fence behind it. On the fence is hanging some burlap clothCloseup of thr front of two bee hives. A number of bees can be seen on front of each hive.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Do you like #microscopes? Are you a microscopy professional? If so, come and lead the microscopy facility in the Biotron - a biological research centre here at Western University, situated in lovely London, Ontario, Canada. Come join us! focalplane.biologists.com/jobs/researc...
focalplane.biologists.com
Research Technologist (Microscopy) - FocalPlane
Job ID Number 43410 (use this number to find the job at the link, below) Classification & Regular Hours Hours per Week: 37.5 Salary Grade R1 The base salary will be $62,480 – $89,040 per annum*. Start...
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
My #cloning reaction worked today - and on the first try! I'm trying not to feel too smug about it, as its step 1 of 4, but...
static.klipy.com
Nick Scarpino on Kinda Funny's The Old Mans
Alt: Gif of some random podcast bro I don't recognize saying "the old mans still got it"
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
#Macrophages have already been crowned as the best cell, and as amazing as they are, they only get better. Pigeon macrophages are literally magnetic, and enable the pigeon equivalent to GPS! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Homing pigeon navigation relies on superparamagnetic macrophages under overcast conditions
Birds use a variety of navigational strategies, including the geomagnetic field, especially when other cues are not available, such as under overcast or nocturnal conditions. Magnetite particles in th...
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Reposted by 🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁
Michael Bazaco @mcbazacophd.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Oh snap! A surprise new A Perfect Circle single! tidal.com/track/526551...
tidal.com
A Perfect Circle - Starless
Listen to Starless on TIDAL
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
This is very cool, and if generalizable to most/all GTPases, will be a game changer!
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
After a year's hiatus, #bees are back on the farm!
A frame from a beehive with a queen bee near the centre. She had a white dot painted on her back.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
It is too early in the year for this 🤬
A f**king tornado warning in May.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Happy International Day for Immunology! As luck would have it, I'm spending today at the @cdnimmunol.bsky.social 2026 meeting where we're discussing emerging pathogens.
Slide from a talk depicting the many different things that have to be considered in the study of new viruses.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
First harvest of 2026 - I cut back the bullshoots of my hops. We fry up the tender ends - it tastes like asparagus. And the goats love the woody ends.
Scissors cutting back some short hop shootsA handful of hop shootsLink and Jerry (our bucks) eating the leftover hop shoots.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Renovations suck, but my wife is amazing. She built these cabinets from scratch, and based on her own design. Obviously there is still a lot to be done, but just a few days ago this was an empty space.
Front entrance of a house with unfinished cabinetry
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
My labs most recent publication made the journal cover! The image shows a macrophage trying to eat blue dots that mimic dying cells. Red is the macrophage membrane, orange and green are two proteins involved in removing dead cells. The paper: journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
Cover image of the Journal of Cell Science, Volume 139, issue 6. Image shows a red macrophage on top of a grid of blue dots. Inside of the macrophage are green and yellow dots.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
Cody found some polyphores in the forested part of of our property, so we brought them in to look at them under the microscope. Pretty cool fungi - the bottom is a layer of channels that they release spores through, with a tough woody cap on top for protection.
Two polyphore fungi on a cutting matA small cube of polyphore and a razer blade on a cutting mat100x magnification of the polyphore on the fungus. The look like a series of small tubes. 40x magnification view of the polyphores, which are long tubes extending from the bottom of the fungus into its core
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Our latest paper, with lots of fancy microscopy!
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Made some feta today!
Brine being poured over a rectangular block of feta cheeseTwo rectangular cheese molds, stacked kn each other, on a white draining mat.Square cubes of cheese curd in a post with a black plastic spoon.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
So the picture is 💩, but we had a couple of sandhill cranes come through today. I used to see them all the time back home, but this is my first time seeing them in Ontario!
A very hazy photo of two sandhill cranes standing in a field with the first sprouts of winter wheat appearing.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Last game of the season 🏒
Some little kids playing hockey
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Are you in first or second or second year of your undergraduate journey @westernu.ca ? If so, come by the Microbiology and Immunology booth in the Mustang Lounge to learn more about our program!
The microimm booth
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
There may still be snow on the ground, but it's tike to get the leeks and peppers started!
Seed starters underneath a grow light. Everything is cast in pink light.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
For two glorious hours I thought today was Friday.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
This is a very cool study- a must-read if you're into cell migration, chemotaxis, or plain-ol' cool science 😎
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
First ride of 2026. Slightly chilly!
A country road, lined with leaflets trees and snow covered shoulders. A lead grey sky is overhead.Selfie of a very winded old dude with a grey beard, in a hoodie, wearing a bike helmet, trying not to fall. A gravel road, lined with snow and pines, in the background.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Returned to work this morning after a long weekend. First email in my inbox was an acceptance letter for a paper! Not a bad way to start off the week. Its under an embargo, so I can't say more, but we're really excited about this one!
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
#Goat update. It was too cold last night, so they spent the night in our bathtub.
Two newborn goats in a jacuzzi-style bathtub, standing on yellow and blue towels
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Wasn't expecting to come across 2 new #goats when I went out to do chores tonight. Looks like someone was having sex through the electric fence. Happy Valentines Day, Gracie, I guess....
A large mommy goat, grey-brown in colour, with two babies. One is brown with gray ears. The other is a brownish-grey with white moon spotsTwo baby goats in a blue hut with light from a heat lamp coming from above
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
A real loss to our country.
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
My cloning worked!
media.tenor.com
a woman in a pink dress is dancing on a stage and saying `` i still got it '' .
Alt: a woman in a pink dress is dancing on a stage and saying `` i still got it '' .
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
Bottled my smoked habanero #hotsauce that I started fermenting back in September, and I got a fresh batch of #sauerkraut started.
Five shaker bottles filled with a red-brown sauce in front of a green mixing bowl filled with shredded cabbage .
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 30/12/2025
Final #brewday of 2025 is in the bag. This is my annual teaching beer that I ferment with 6 different yeasts, which are then used as aroma samples in my course on industrial fermentation. A fun way to explore yeast biochemistry! This year I'm using a Czech style pilsner as the base beer.
Five mini-fermenters, each containing a unique yeast.Beer going into the large fermenter
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
Did I do this right? #icestorm
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Reposted by 🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁
Ravi Menon @northernthrux.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Come work with us. Huge strengths in MRI, neuroscience and musculoskeletal health and their intersections such as pain, child development or ageing. Preclinical and clinical research and translation are also big opportunities. Shoot me a note if you have questions.
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Reposted by 🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁
Mike Domaratzki @mdomarat.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Western is seeking outstanding leaders for the Canada Impact+ Research Chair program. Candidates in AI, cybersecurity, and other advanced technologies are of interest to Western Computer Science. If you are interested, please reach out or see ad below. Applications considered starting Jan 19 2026.
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Reposted by 🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁
Juan Moreno-Cruz @jmorenocruz.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
It's happening! Canada launched two programs to recruit international researchers. Canada Impact+ Research Chairs (1 million/yr for 8 yrs +) Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders. I will do my best to facilitate the process for those interested. Hit me up. www.canada.ca/en/impact-pl...
canada.ca
The Government of Canada introduces new programs for international researchers - Canada.ca
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🍁 Bryan Heit, PhD 🍁 @bryanheit.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
It's the most wonderful time of the year...by which I mean it's the time of year when my brewing club does our big advent exchange. I've been under the weather, so I'm playing catch-up, but here's beer #1 - an abbey-inspired winter ale 🎄 🍺🍻 🎁
A brown ale in a nonic pint glass, held infront of a brightly lit Christmas tree
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