iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

“It's supernatural Extraterrestrial I know a bar out in Mars Where they drivin' spaceships instead of cars” #KatyPerry #halloween

070

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 02/10/2025

We lost an icon today! Activist, scientist, and a difficult woman! #JaneGoodall

070

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

2/ Here is what the human spinal cord and real DRG look like in humans! Image from human donor and our journal cover in www.jpain.org/article/S152.... White arrows show the DRG, the same clusters shown in the cartoon above.

130

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 27/08/2025

1/ Word of the Week: Dorsal Root Ganglia (DRG) Clusters of nerve cell bodies (soma) near the spinal cord that relay sensory signals - including pain - from the body to the brain. Curious what they look like in real human tissue? See thread below #NeuroSkyence #PainResearch #ChronicPain #SciComm

170

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

🧠From Lab To Life Why do peripheral nerves suffer axonal loss in diabetes? A study led by @dianatavf.bsky.social from the @tedpricethepainguy.bsky.social lab showed how inflammation leads to neural fibrosis in diabetic peripheral neuropathy! #PainResearch #Neuroskyence #FromLabToLife 1/

Infographic titled "From Lab To Life: How Diabetes Rewires the Peripheral Nervous System – And what that means for treatment?" It is divided into four sections. The first section, "The Challenge," explains that about 50% of diabetes patients develop diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN), which causes pain, numbness, and disability, and highlights the lack of understanding of nerve degeneration. The second section, "What they did?" describes how researchers collected human tibial and sural nerves and used spatial transcriptomics to map gene activity and track inflammation and mRNA transport. The third section, "What they found?" reports increased inflammation markers (IL6, IL1B, CXCL2) and fibrosis markers (TGF-B, Tenascin) in DPN nerves. The final section, "Why it matters?" emphasizes the potential for early intervention to prevent fibrosis and axonal loss, moving toward personalized care. Visuals include a leg with pain indicators and a nerve illustration showing inflammation. The study is credited to Tavares-Ferreira et al., J Clin Invest, 2025, with a DOI link.

283

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

📸 Big day in the lab! Our new electrophysiology rig is officially up and running — huge thanks to everyone who helped make this happen. Excited for the science ahead! 🧠⚡️ @alleslab.bsky.social @cincychildrens.bsky.social #PainResearch

Three lab members standing proudly in front of a newly assembled electrophysiology rig. The setup includes a micromanipulator, amplifier, and monitor, with cables neatly arranged. Everyone is smiling in casual lab attire, celebrating the milestone in a well-lit lab space.

092

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

Gabapentin is widely prescribed for nerve pain, but it doesn’t work the same for everyone. We studied actual human sensory neurons from donors and found that some responded strongly - and others hardly at all. #fromlabtolife #neuroskyence #PainResearch 1/4

Alt text (expanded version for web or accessibility-focused platforms):
Vertical infographic titled “Why Gabapentin Works Differently for Different People.”
Section 1 explains that 10% of adults live with neuropathic pain and gabapentin doesn't help everyone.
Section 2 shows that researchers used donated human dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons to study gabapentin’s effects, combining electrophysiology and RNA sequencing.
Section 3 illustrates how gabapentin reduced excitability in some donors’ neurons but not others, and those differences matched gene expression profiles.
Section 4 highlights how this could lead to more personalized pain treatment that adds life to the years of people living with chronic pain.
Footer credits the donors and includes the study DOI

6336

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

🧠 From Lab to Life New research shows Tylenol may quiet pain at its source by blocking Nav1.7 and Nav1.8, sodium channels critical for pain signaling. That’s a big deal for the most common active ingredient in U.S. meds. 1/4 #FromLabToLife #PainResearch #NeuroSkyence

Infographic titled “From Lab to Life.” The header reads: “Tylenol may quiet pain at its source by blocking Nav1.7 and Nav1.8—sodium channels critical for nerve signaling.” The left panel lists key findings: (1) Acetaminophen inhibits sodium currents in sensory neurons, (2) AM404—the active metabolite—blocks Nav1.7 and Nav1.8, (3) This may reduce neuronal excitability and pain. On the right, a simple neuron illustration shows AM404 blocking two sodium channels, labeled Nav1.7 and Nav1.8. The footer says: “That’s a big deal for the most common active ingredient in U.S. meds.” The citation at the bottom is: Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 2025 Jun 10;122(23):e2413811122. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2413811122. Epub 2025 Jun 4.

3283

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 17/04/2025

In Oklahoma City we stayed at the Fordson Hotel. It used to be a Model T Assembly plant! Gorgeous hotel in a nice neighborhood west of downtown! Pierre and I finally felt like we could relax and breathe for the first time in days! #DogIsMyCopilot #Ford #ModelT #OKC #MovingOnUp

010

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Hasta Luego Albuquerque! We are off on a new adventure to Cincinnati #NewBeginnings #CincinnatiBound

Me and my dog in front of an Albuquerque sunset

030

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

Congrats to Dr. @goinsyeah.bsky.social for defending her thesis today 🎉🥂

180

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Got to hang with the amazing @tedpricethepainguy.bsky.social today in NM! Talked some pain research and of course the terrible Luka trade! @goinsyeah.bsky.social

051

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

New year, new notebooks! I designed these based on some images I took of some sensory neurons. Seemed like an appropriate lab holiday gift! #neuroskyence #PainResearch #SciArt

3511

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

In our preprint on donor specific effects of gabapentin on DRG neurons www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... We used a UMAP developed by @tedpricethepainguy.bsky.social and team in pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38905344/ to show broad expression of a2d1 in DRG neurons. Thoughts on this use case? #UMAP

130

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

One of the simplest explanations of our pain circuitry I have read. In ‘Behave’ by Robert Sapolsky. ‘An insect bite throbs unbearably, we scratch hard right around it to dull the pain, and the slow, chronic pain pathway is shut down for up to a few minutes’ #painresearch #neuroskyence

4151

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Interrupting your regularly scheduled programming with a sunset break #paradise #VacationMode #PuraVida

120

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 24/11/2024

My puppers, Marie and Pierre Curie 🐕🐕‍🦺

110

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 23/11/2024

Jumped on the #ChatGPT "Given what you know about me, create an image" bandwagon. Both accurate to me, and scientifically inaccurate. 😂 #NeuroSkyence

190

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Happy #FluorescenceFriday! Here’s a sneak peek at some exciting upcoming work in human DRG neurons. Stay tuned for a preprint in the coming weeks. Feeling grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this research! #Neuroskyence #PainResearch

1353

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

When I decided to be a scientist, I never imagined my daily grind would involve stabbing and shocking human DRG neurons. I guess you could say I’m really shocking the world of pain research! 💉⚡️ #Neuroskyence #PainResearch #Electrophysiology #WomenInSTEM #JustAnotherDayInTheLab

3432

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Some of my #neuroscience inspired art. Cut out of watercolor paper using #11 blade. #neuroart #neuroskynce

4617

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Honored to be nominated for UNM SOM staff award by grad students in the lab! #neuroscience #pain

020

Nesia Zurek, PhD @docnessmonster.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Neurons are our connections to the world! Sensory neurons pick up stimuli—like touch, sound, and sight. Allowing us to experience and respond to everything around us. Every sensation we feel is thanks to these amazing cells! 🧠💫 #Neuroscience #SensoryNeurons #BrainPower #cellfie

072