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Garrett Beeghly, PhD

@gbeeghly.bsky.social
1.3K followers 420 following 92 posts

Postdoc in the Radisic Lab at the University of Toronto and Toronto General Hospital. Engineering tissues to understand health and disease. Baker, hiker, cat dad. He/him. 🏳️‍🌈 gbeeghly.github.io

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Reposted by Garrett Beeghly, PhD
Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 14/02/2026
A Review in Nature Reviews Cardiology highlights the use of heart-on-a-chip and vasculature-on-a-chip platforms consisting of 3D structures that incorporate relevant cell populations to model cardiovascular disease phenotypes and contribute to the development of novel therapeutics.
go.nature.com
Heart-on-a-chip and vasculature-on-a-chip platforms as models of cardiovascular disease
Nature Reviews Cardiology
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Reposted by Garrett Beeghly, PhD
Nature Reviews Bioengineering @natrevbioeng.nature.com · 27/09/2025
Tumour heterogeneity comes at different length scales.This article classifies regulators of cancer into tumour-cell-intrinsic, tissue-microenvironment and organism-level sources, describing engineering strategies to measure and analyse these factors:
go.nature.com
Measuring and modelling tumour heterogeneity across scales - Nature Reviews Bioengineering
Heterogeneity constitutes a critical barrier to treating cancer. This Review discusses the biological and physical sources of heterogeneity across length scales, encompassing tumour-cell-intrinsic, tissue-microenvironment and organism-level sources, and how engineering strategies can improve our understanding of these phenomena.
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
Unfortunately, I think it is for desktop only but maybe you can find something equivalent for mobile 😬
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
I found a custom ublock origin filter that gets rid of most of the ads on YouTube! I can’t imagine actually sitting through the number of them on most videos
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
On a quest to make my own yogurt and cottage cheese… and all I can think is how useful it would be to have a hot plate and stir bar to prevent milk from burning. Why doesn’t this exist? #ScientistsWhoCook
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Congrats Jenn!
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
It was not an easy process getting back to Toronto this weekend and I ended up getting a last minute flight with Flair... Hope you can get it sorted out!
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
Yes, looking forward to seeing your future work too!
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
Thank you, Adeel! 🙌
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Excited to start my postdoctoral training @utoronto.ca and @uhn.ca this week! I will work with Dr. Milica Radisic who is a leader in developing organ-on-a-chip technologies and engineering functional microtissues. Glad to be in a new environment committed to funding the future of science 🇨🇦🔬
Photo of the Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research against a blue sky at the University of Toronto
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
Congrats Ya’el! So happy for you!
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Congrats! Amazing news 🥳
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
Congrats, Pilar! So great to see some good news!
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Cali approves of this important breakthrough in science! #catsky #catsofbluesky #calico #scisky
A picture of my cat, Cali, looking thoughtful with her two front paws crossed
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
The funding situation is rough! Hopefully things will turn around (this is what I’m telling myself)
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Congrats, Johanna! Well deserved!
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Had a great visit to Stanford last week and managed to squeeze in a visit to Half Moon Bay! Glad to have soaked up a little extra California sun ☀️ #blueskyartshow #nature #photography
A photograph of a sunny Half Moon Bay in California with waves crashing against the rocky coast and a wooden fence in the foreground
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Reposted by Garrett Beeghly, PhD
Nate Richbourg @nrichbourg.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
I am incredibly excited to share that I will be starting as an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the CBE Department at FAMU-FSU College of Engineering this fall! Ready for some Florida sunshine 😁
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
Congrats, Nate! This is amazing news! I'm so happy for you! ☀️
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Reposted by Garrett Beeghly, PhD
Monica Ohnsorg, Ph.D. @monicaohnsorg.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
I am THRILLED to officially announce that I have accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison starting January 2026! My lab will use expertise in polymer science, biomaterials, and ECM engineering study osteochondral disease! 🦡 🔬🧪🧫 🦴
Me holding a scarf that says biomedical engineering while wearing a UW-Madison branded winter hat and quarter zipA pin that says MAD-ison Scientist Me popping a bottle of champagne while wearing UW-Madison quarter-zip standing on a balcony in front of the Flatirons
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Reposted by Garrett Beeghly, PhD
Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
Science Magazine gets it wrong. 🧵
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
Congrats Jason!
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
Had a great time working with @natrevbioeng.nature.com to put this review together! Biophysical cues integrate across length scales (molecular, cellular, tissue level, organismal) to drive cancer outcomes. Bioengineers have the tools to measure and model these factors in isolation 🛠️🔬
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
Overdue debut of my cat Cali on Bluesky for this spring #caturday
A picture of my calico cat looking out of a window.
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
#BabysFirstConfocal
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Ultimately, our findings suggest that larger adipocytes constitute a distinct cell population within mammary adipose tissue and increase lipid transfer to invading cancer cells. As a result, we propose that adipocyte size could serve as a prognostic biomarker for breast cancer patients. 5/5
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
In a published cohort of mastectomy patients, we also found that average adipocyte size predicted dyslipidemia and circulating triglycerides more than body mass index. These results suggest that altered lipid release by larger adipocytes may have broader implications for whole body metabolism. 4/5
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Functionally, larger adipocytes increase a non-canonical, vesicle-mediated mode of lipid release versus lipolysis. This shift promotes lipid transfer to nearby breast cancer cells, increasing their migration and proliferation in a manner dependent on fatty acid metabolism. 3/5
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Here, we developed methods to sort and culture primary adipocytes isolated from the same adipose tissue samples. We determined larger adipocytes are transcriptionally distinct from smaller donor-matched adipocytes and are enriched for gene sets related to altered lipid processing. 2/5
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Preprint alert! Excited to share this manuscript from my PhD which aims to answer an age-old question. Does size matter? For fat cells, or adipocytes, the answer seems to be yes. We found that larger adipocytes promote aggressive behavior in breast cancer cells. 1/5 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
Hypertrophic adipocytes increase extracellular vesicle-mediated lipid release and reprogram breast cancer cell metabolism
Obesity worsens cancer-specific survival and all-cause mortality for women diagnosed with breast cancer. Rich in adipose tissue, the breast exhibits increased adipocyte size in obesity, which correlat...
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Reposted by Garrett Beeghly, PhD
ACLU @aclu.org · 02/04/2025
BREAKING: We're suing the National Institutes of Health over their politically-motivated purge of research grants. This is an unlawful attack on scientific progress that puts lives at risk.
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Reposted by Garrett Beeghly, PhD
Lauren Forrest @laurenforrest.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
1/x My NIH grant that would collect data to help *prevent suicidal thoughts and behaviors* among LGBTQ+ people was terminated today, along with many other LGBTQ+ focused grants. These terminations make no sense scientifically. Here's why:
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Now it’s all making sense 🤩
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Glad to see @aimbe-official.bsky.social on this letter. But disheartening that other biomedical research societies are noticeably absent
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Cornell announced a hiring freeze today effective until June 30 in response to the recent changes at #HHS and #NIH, following a similar announcement made by Stanford. I wonder if more universities will follow suit? I’ve posted the email below for those who are curious #SciSky #MedSky #AcademicSky
“To ensure that we continue to thrive in an even more complex future, we must commit, across every part of our institution, to a sustainable budget today. To that end, we are initiating strategic budgetary adjustments that preserve shared governance and accountability among our central administrative units and all colleges, schools, and divisions. Because each Cornell unit is different, we are asking all deans, vice provosts, vice presidents, and unit leaders to focus on their core strategic needs, and trim budgets through mechanisms such as strategic restructuring for efficiency and reducing expenses, including nonessential travel and discretionary spending (such as food and events). We also ask all college, school, and administrative units to pause starting new searches for personnel until June 30 to give the university time to assess and model the financial impact of evolving federal policies.

All hiring managers should coordinate with their supervisor and HR director to evaluate active searches based on unit needs and
budget constraints.”
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Reposted by Garrett Beeghly, PhD
Amy Klobuchar @amyklobuchar.com · 22/02/2025
Slashing NIH funding is a direct attack on life-saving research happening in Minnesota and across the country. The Trump administration's proposed cuts would jeopardize breakthroughs in cancer, heart disease, PTSD treatment, and more. We must continue to fight back.
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Reposted by Garrett Beeghly, PhD
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) @theaacr.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
The AACR is deeply concerned that the Administration’s recent actions are threatening NIH and its mission to accelerate progress for patients with cancer and other diseases that afflict millions of Americans. Read our statement: buff.ly/4gRXNB8
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Reposted by Garrett Beeghly, PhD
Aashrith Saraswathibhatla @aashrith.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
Despite the current uncertainty of being a scientist, I am excited to share our manuscript demonstrating an interesting mechanism of how swirling motion of breast cancer cells align collagen fibers radially at the tumor-stroma interface to enable their invasion (1/11) @thechaudhurilab.bsky.social
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
It looks like Brandeis, Brown, the UC system, Cal Tech, Carnegie Melon, MIT, UChicago, Cornell, GWU, Hopkins, UPenn, URochester, and Tufts
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
We had a candidate in our lab who was reassigned to a new study section today. Fingers crossed 🤞
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Reposted by Garrett Beeghly, PhD
The New York Times @nytimes.com · 11/02/2025
Breaking News: A federal judge temporarily blocked the National Institutes of Health from enacting President Trump’s cuts to research funding in 22 states.
nytimes.com
Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Cuts to Medical Research Funding
A coalition of 22 attorneys general sued the federal government, claiming that the $4 billion in cuts would “grind to a halt” studies on cancer, heart disease and other conditions.
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
We just received an email that Cornell along with 11 other universities have filed suit against the cut to indirect costs at the #NIH announced on Friday. As far as I can tell, this appears to be in addition to the suit filed by 22 state AGs earlier today #SciSky #MedSky #AcademicSky
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Reposted by Garrett Beeghly, PhD
Colette Delawalla, PhD @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Get in dorks, we're going protesting! STAND UP FOR SCIENCE WITH US ON MARCH 7TH, 2025 WASHINGTON DC AND EVERY STATE CAPITOL Because science is for everyone! Find us at standupforscience2025.org #standupforscience2025 #scienceforall #sciencenotsilence
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 08/02/2025
Sad I wasn’t able to make it to the GRC this year but I hope to see you in 2027!
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Reposted by Garrett Beeghly, PhD
Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 08/02/2025
The NIH overhead cut doesn't just hurt universities. It's deadly to the US economy. The US is a world leader in tech due to the ecosystem that NIH and NSF propel. It drives innovation for tech transfer, creates a highly-skilled sci/tech workforce, and fosters academic/industry crossfertilization.
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Adipocytes get a bad rap but these fat cells uptake nutrients to store them in case of famine. Nguyen et al. engineered adipocytes to increase uptake and deprive tumors of nutrients, slowing their growth. A creative use of my favorite cells! See the paper below 👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Implantation of engineered adipocytes suppresses tumor progression in cancer models - Nature Biotechnology
Adipose manipulation transplantation can reduce tumor growth and proliferation in vitro and in mouse models.
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Proud (or embarrassed?) that I can recognize them by eye... even before I read the alt text. They're so good!
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Are these Eric Kim's gochujang cookies? 👀
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
As an early career scientist, it is extremely disheartening (if unsurprising) to see the NIH targeted by the Trump administration. These executive orders are a reminder of how vulnerable research can be to the crossfire of politics in a climate that demonizes science. How can we respond?
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Garrett Beeghly, PhD @gbeeghly.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
Would love to be added as well!
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