iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I'm sorry for your employee & am sympathetic to the issue in NYC, but it's not just bikers ignoring the rules. When you look beyond edge cases like NYC, the negative externalities of motorists breaking the law far exceed anything cyclists are doing. Car culture just loves to hate on bikes.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Utterly disappointed in @harvard.edu Harvard Med School's decision to shame #bikecommuters rather than actually keep us safe at Longwood. Because ya know, my 20 lb bike going 15 mph is so much more dangerous than the 3k+ lb chunk of metal being operated by someone staring at their phone.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Love having a great excuse to bike out to the commons when Boston weather is showing off.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Spring weather finally hitting in Boston.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Trying to rebuild some fitness, feeling completely worked, but love seeing the data. Absolutely better than last week’s attempt. (This is what a VO2 max workout on the bike looks like for me right now 💀)

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

Having a hobby is a great way to regularly gain that perspective and connect with the world outside the bubble. Without that perspective sometimes we don’t know how great the bubble is, or that we would personally do better outside the bubble. I’m grateful for the perspective brought by the bike.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

After years of telling PhD students they need to keep a strong hobby, I think I’ve finally articulated to myself the essential “Why?” It’s about perspective. Life in academia is a bubble. We often have to have a narrow focus to achieve goals, but this often leads to a loss of perspective. (1/2)

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Even I can’t believe how tired I look after a very hard week in postdoc life, but I’m still smiling because I have amazing mentors who make me feel at home. Very proud to be a part of this interdisciplinary group. #NewLabSwagDay

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Compassion challenge for professors today: see how many students you can say hello to by name as you’re passing them in the halls or wherever on campus. Not every student will care, but I think you’ll have a good chance of pulling on at least one heart string…

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

Just something pretty for your timeline. Nothing can ever really replace Furiosa, but new commuter also means new vibe. Introducing: Maitreya — the one who will help bring compassion, kindness, patience, and understanding to the streets.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Boston postdoc life really living up to the hype 😉 Isn’t it funny that I genuinely do still love it here?! As always, cannot express enough gratitude for the people working hard to keep the roads and sidewalks cleared. YOU are the reason my precious experiment didn’t go to waste this week 🥹 🙏

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Part of why I was commuting on Furiosa was because I had retired her from racing but still loved the way she rode. She’s one of the funnest bikes I’ve ever owned and as weird as it sounds, I felt happy every single time I started my commute b/c of her. Would 100% take her back no questions asked.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Boston - pls be on the lookout for my bike that was stolen from this exact rack on Longwood Ave today. 2021 Specialized Diverge Expert Carbon, size 52 cm, raspberry and blk with studded tires. Yes I know it’s too nice for commuting but ya know, we ride what we got and I spend a lot of time commuting

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

I don’t regret doing a postdoc in Boston but a little foresight into the weather when experiment planning MAY have saved me some trouble 🥶 Celebrating a successful day in lab thanks to my amazing labmates @cynthiamoncadareid.bsky.social @yichiahuang.bsky.social 🫶 #SequencingScienceSisters

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

No one even bike commutes in the winter. Just so grateful for these studded tires making my winter commute that much easier.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

Was inspired to break my Bluesky silence so that I could share my awesome new book (thx to my wonderfully generous lab mate) with @christlet.bsky.social — this is a fun language challenge for me!

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

And of course, special thanks to my host Michael Krieg & his wonderful lab for making me feel so welcome.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

Very grateful to @icfo.eu MINDLAB workshop organizers for inviting me to share my research & visit the institute. I may have gone more bio for my postdoc, but my love of engineering has yet to fade & my passion for photons grows with every experiment. Feeling very inspired by this community 🔬 💗

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Video of the system in action. I found this great MEMS microphone from SparkFun, rigged it to the Arduino, and used ArduinoFFT and FastLED to make the audio visualizer thanks to the open source maker community. Will def pay it forward by writing up the project details soon!

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

It was such a Happy Halloween. Elated that, thanks to an awesome team effort, the Goodrich Lab took home the win in the "Super Scientist" category for our "Gourdier Transform." The best part was getting to see others in the depart share the excitement for our science. #CochleaLove #AuditoryScience

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

Even after 18 yrs of bike racing, it never ceases to amaze me what the human heart 🫀 can achieve. Oh, I guess I should also say thanks 🫁 .

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

It’s not easy coming back from vacationing in the best parts of Europe, but Boston’s automnal beauty certainly softens the blow.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

One final vacation day before heading back home & it’s a big one: racing UCI Gravel World Championships. The course traverses some of the most beautiful farmland I’ve ever seen through Zuid-Limburg. Today is 100% all about just pushing myself to the absolute limit to see how hard & fast I can go.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

Was given a very special chance to present our work at the Institut de l’Audition in Paris. It felt like such a magical experience & I don’t fully have the words to describe my gratitude other than to say: bless the PIs that give lil ole trainees like me big ole opportunities like this 😭.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

Sharing some #auditory highlights from my visit to the Natural History Museum in Paris for all my fellow inner ear enthusiasts out there 🐌. I’m especially taken with the how they managed to show « les labryinthes osseux »

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

Une obligatoire Américaine dans Paris truc.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

Les vacances commence maintenant. Happy to report that everyone has been very kind and welcoming of my desire to practice speaking. Ce n’est pas facile et je suis très timide mais je l’aime vraiment beaucoup. Alors, j’essaie d’être courageuse 😇.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

And since we’re chatting MBL, #MyMBLMoment was getting to see a hair cell dance thanks to Dr. Jonathan Ashmore at the Biology of the Inner Course… also fitting for #MicroscopyMonday

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Applications for the Grass Fellowships at @mblscience.bsky.social are open! This is such a cool opportunity to work on an independent project at what is effectively the best science camp in the world. Something I wish I’d known about earlier. Reposting from the other place grassfoundation.org

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

Looks like @dacolon.bsky.social is hiring a postdoc. Reposting here from the other place because this is truly a great opportunity to do very exciting work with a renowned mentor.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

#NewKitDay Just 15 days till gravel world championships. Want to support my journey? Help me reach my PMC fundraising commitment by donating before October 1st -> profile.pmc.org/JF0546

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

Funding op for grad students copied from the other place. Non X link to the app info: bit.ly/HF-application

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

Ok one more for #MicroscopyMonday b/c it was a very fun afternoon. This is from live tissue. Auditory neurons in magenta & their friends (including satellite cells) in green. Big thx to @jessdixonneuro.bsky.social for being generous w/ reagents #ScienceSisters Imaged on FLIMmer @ HMS MicRoN core.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

Something different for today’s #MicroscopyMonday. Learning about VKH (a rare autoimmune disorder in which immune cells attack melanocytes) reminded me of this. VKH causes hearing loss because there are melanocytes in the cochlea! You can see them as the dark speckles in this pic from my iPhone

Image of the mouse cochlea taken with an iPhoto through the eyepiece of a dissecting microscope.

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

The phrase « a-t-elle » has stumped me for awhile so I finally dug into it a bit and learned something very cool about grammar that perfectly addressed the issue bothering me: why the extra t? Because it’s an "ephelcystic nu." It exists purely to make the words sound better & easier to say 😍

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

I sadly rejoined X b/c it remains one of the easiest ways to find job opportunites. I still like Bluesky better and would rather be here, so I’m going to do my best to bring over some of those job postings. Starting now! t.co/NsZS1X7iPo

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Je sais que Duolingo n’est pas le meilleur pour apprendre le français mais c’est toujours très amusant et drôle à moi. Moi, «championne des expériences» 😇

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

(Mitochondria + Microscopy)Monday =2M^2? Still feeling those miles from Saturday but getting to fly solo on FLIMmer @ the Micron core the first time was a nice analgesic 🥰. Primary somatosensory neurons expressing mito-targeted RCaMP1h (plasmid c/o Yellen Lab). Pls pardon the lack of scale bar 😬

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

Side note about the ride gear: I’m training for Gravel Master’s World Championships so I decided to do PMC on my gravel bike. I’ve been way overloaded by paper writing so didn’t have time to swap out my knobby front tire for a proper file tread so I’m very pleased with my >17mph average moving time

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

I did it! Pan Mass Challenge is in the books. 93 miles from Brookline to Bourne (I decided to up the ante by riding to the Wellesley start from home). 5h18m. Absolutely stoked. Fundraiser is still going if you’re able to donate-> profile.pmc.org/JF0546 Why I Ride ...

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

With so much sadness in the world, we have to really celebrate the things that bring us joy. Like finally getting a FLIM-based experiment going to measure mitochondrial function after years of dreaming, thx to support from the Yellen Lab & MICRON core at HMS. Absolutely over the moon about this 🥹

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

Given everything that’s happened to science this year, riding in the Pan Mass Challenge and committing to raising $4k for research felt like the least I could do. Check out my story about why this is so important to me & if you’re able, chip in a little. Every bit counts -> profile.pmc.org/JF0546

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 06/06/2025

Goodrich Lab manager and RA is making great progress with cochlea cleareing and imaging, getting closer and closer to single fiber resolution! 🥳 Perfect for #FluorescenceFriday

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Pardon me for a second as I celebrate reading a scientific abstract in French for the first time ever and it just happens to be on one of my favorite topics 🤓. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

Yesterday: getting hit with a grant termination. Today: settling into lab with the fiercest determination to never give up. Si, se puede ✊

Photo of a typed quote that reads:
"Between stimulus and response there is a space.
In that space is our power to choose our response.
In our response lies our growth and our opportunity for freedom. "
- Viktor E. Frankl

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

J’ai appris un nouveau mot que j’aime: «les malfaiteurs» J’aime que c’est très littéral, n’est pas? "Bad-doers" je pense 🤔 ? (passage de «Le cahier gris» - Martin du Gard)

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Joy Franco, PhD @engineeringjoy.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

Who out there has a fun PhD defense outfit photo to share? A student I mentor is defending next week & I want to give her a taste of this fun tradition. I love suits so I jumped on the opportunity to wear one. #Academia #PhDLife

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