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Connor Powers

@cpowers141.bsky.social

PhD Candidate in Developmental Biology Fly Pusher Orange cat Dad MSU Alumni Michigander Busy Studying Lipids and Immune Signaling

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Rachel Smith-Bolton @rachelsmithbolton.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

In the Smith-Bolton lab we celebrate funding with cake! So happy we get to survive to continue our science, but also feeling a little survivor’s guilt given so many fabulous labs that have not received similar news.

Homemade cake with MIRA NOA written on it

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Rachel Smith-Bolton @rachelsmithbolton.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

Connor Powers @cpowers141.bsky.social explaining his super cool project on lipids in regeneration at Fly Meeting #DROS26

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Development @dev-journal.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

To regenerate or not: metamorphosis acts as a switch for annelid regeneration This Research Highlight showcases work from Elaine Seaver and Alicia Boyd: journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...

• Figure 2 from the manuscript: Juveniles amputated as larvae grow new segments. All images are oriented in ventral view, with anterior to the left. (A-F) Controls fixed immediately following metamorphosis (time zero). (G-Z) Juveniles fixed at 3 dpm (G-L), 7 dpm (M-R) and 14 dpm (S-Z). (Y,Z) Magnified views of the posterior ends of 14 dpm juveniles. (A,B,G,H,M,N,S,T,Y,Z) Transmitted light images. (C-F,I-L,O-R,U-X) Confocal image stacks. (C,D,I,J,O,P,U,V) Nuclei are stained with Hoechst. Pink arrows indicate ganglia of the ventral nerve cord. (E,F,K,L,Q,R,W,X) Anti-acetylated tubulin antibody labeling of the nervous system. White arrowheads indicate pairs of peripheral nerves. Amputation site is represented by the dashed line. (V,X) In 14-day images, the amputation site is anterior to the region imaged, out of the field of view, and therefore not marked. A and C, J and L, P and R, V and X are the same animals, respectively. J and P are also shown in Fig. 4D,F, respectively. Bracket indicates the pygidium (py). n denotes the number of animals scored that resemble the representative image, with each animal a biological replicate. Black arrowheads indicate individual segments by pointing to segmentally repeated septae. Two to four independent experiments were conducted for each time point. Scale bars: 50 µm.

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Rachel Smith-Bolton @rachelsmithbolton.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

A huge congratulations to the newly minted Dr. Anish Bose @anishbose.bsky.social on a fantastic thesis defense!! What a great day! A toast to Zelda, Forkhead, the exit from regeneration, and all the mysteries we haven’t yet solved.

Anish and Rachel posing with an empty champagne bottle

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Rachel Smith-Bolton @rachelsmithbolton.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

Great departmental retreat! Awards for Connor and Snigdha, plus tug-of-war to wake up between talks. Tagging @snigdhamathure.bsky.social and @cpowers141.bsky.social

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@LaBonneLaB @labonnelab.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Continuing efforts to hurt the research pipeline, the very late NSF GFRP solicitation no longer allows 2nd year PhD students to apply. Lots of these students chose not to apply last year because they were told they would have a better change once in their thesis lab www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

nsf.gov

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

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Rachel Smith-Bolton @rachelsmithbolton.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

Huge congratulations to Anish Bose @anishbose.bsky.social for winning the Development talk award at the International Society for Regenerative Biology meeting!! Presented by Elly Tanaka.

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FlyBase @flybase.bsky.social · 25/06/2025

MassLive.com recently interviewed several Harvard FlyBase people and wrote this news article about the importance of FlyBase: tinyurl.com/4chpts9f

tinyurl.com

Why a database of bug genes could be one of Trump’s most devastating cuts at Harvard

FlyBase, the world's only fruit fly database, is in the crosshairs of Trump's attack on Harvard. Here's why it could matter for your health.

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