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Jake Saunders, PhD

@jakesaunders.bsky.social
184 followers 415 following 31 posts

A sensory neuroscientist, earthworm research advocate, and chemical senses enthusiast from Kean University. www.SaundersPhD.com/

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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
I seriously just don't understand how any competent company lets a product this bad out the door? Maybe the reason certain people are afraid of AI/LLMs taking their jobs is just that they are really bad at their jobs. Every time I ask @microsoft-copilot.bsky.social for help, it makes me miss #Clippy
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
A student emailed me asking how to add custom error bars in the online version of Excel (which I don't use), so I decided that asking @microsoft.com copilot for directions might be quicker than figuring it out myself The two critical interactions are pasted below.
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
I'm an early adopter of most new technologies, and while I wasn't as bullish on AI/LLMs as most, I really saw the potential in answering certain questions quickly. I just had a perfect use case come through my email, and Copilot failed.
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Phil Klay @philklay.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
“Security agencies staffed by dumb thugs are typically inept at identifying genuine subversive threats.” Extraordinary piece
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Ian L Morgan @ianlmorgan.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
Another early career researcher speaking out about the value of biomedical research and the cost of NIH cuts. Thank you, Ben.
cincinnati.com
NIH cuts are pushing young scientists like me out of the country | Opinion
Opinion: I should be chasing discovery in the US not fleeing to Germany.
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
@xplainthexmen.bsky.social Any thoughts on this: www.reddit.com/r/xmen/comme...
reddit.com
From the xmen community on Reddit: Where is John Francis Moore?
Explore this post and more from the xmen community
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
#BeerDay
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Alt NIH Bluesky 🧪 @altnih4science.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
Yes. And the other thing about this Trump #NIH move is it’s NOT ABOUT organoids, nor models, nor in fact research. This is merely an effort to destroy American science and universities. Animal research policy is a useful tool in that destruction, because it is a political wedge issue. That’s it!
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Breaking bad: when clitellate genomes go rogue www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Breaking bad: when clitellate genomes go rogue
Clitellate genomes are the result of a profound genome reshaping compared to marine annelids, as if their genomes had exploded into thousands of atomi…
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Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) @achems.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
SAVE THE DATE AChemS XLVIII April 22-25, 2026 New Location! Island Grand at Tradewinds, St. Pete, Florida
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Rachael Ott @rachaelott.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
For #FluorescenceFriday, this z-projection shows extensive microtubule networks (gold) and nuclei (pink) in adipocytes 🔬 #CellBiology #Microscopy
Microtubules (gold) and nuclei (pink) are shown in a z-projection of adipocytes.
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
And the winner of this year’s ‘Dance Your Ph.D.’ contest is …
Helsinki chemist’s food-themed frolic wins overall honors as other awards recognize physics laser raps, swaying leaf cells, and collective dancing takeovers
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
#Chemesthesis is in the house, and I am here for it. youtu.be/qOa6GJ6_les?... @achems.bsky.social #ChemSenses
youtu.be
Dance Your PhD 2025 Winner | Insights into oral chemesthetic perception by Dr. Sulo Roukka
YouTube video by Dr. Sulo Roukka
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Joshua Sharp @joshuasharp.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
I have spent less time in the last several months doing science than I have during my entire career, because so much of my time is taken up dealing with Federal dysfunction. So if Lynne Partner wants scientists to get back to doing science, I have some suggestions.
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 05/05/2025
Such an amazing book.
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Dr. Jens Foell @jensfoell.de · 04/05/2025
My personal gateway drug into science communication. Not sure when I first read it but it was a good bit over 20 years ago.
The cover of THE DEMON-HAUNTED WORLD: SCIENCE AS A CANDLE IN THE DARK by Carl Sagan
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Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) @achems.bsky.social · 27/04/2025
Congratulations Sarah Sniffen at University of Florida for achieving the Don Tucker Memorial Award for an Outstanding presentation at the #AChemS2025 annual meeting.
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Steve Wang @stevewang251.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
Heard from a former (undergrad) student who just defended her PhD. Students: tell your old profs about your successes and achievements. It's not bragging, and we love to hear about it. It's one of the best parts of being an educator. #academicsky
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Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) @achems.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
🎉Congratulations #AChemS2025 Career Award Winners! Don't miss their award presentations tonight at 7 PM.
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
@achems.bsky.social
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Need to cleanse your palate after gorging on the first day of fantastic (mostly vertebrate) taste and smell talks at #AChemS2025? Stop by our poster to hear about the feeding behavior of earthworms! tonight 4-6pm (poster #103) #ChemSenses #PUI @KeanUniversity #CougarsClimbHigher
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Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) @achems.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
Great way to kick off #AChemS2025!
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Hi Randall @xkcd.com, is there any way you could update this cartoon with the current budget numbers: phdcomics.com/documents/ph... ? It would be super useful to have right now to demonstrate visually that the research budget isn't big enough to produce the sized savings people are calming.
phdcomics.com
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Brian J. Enquist @bjenquist.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
“On a Mission to Heal Gila Monsters -After years in Big Pharma, a chemist pivoted to help save the species that made Ozempic possible” www.nytimes.com/2025/02/16/s...
nytimes.com
On a Mission to Heal Gila Monsters (Gift Article)
After years in Big Pharma, a chemist pivoted to help save the species that made Ozempic possible.
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
www.kean.edu/news/kean-un...
kean.edu
Kean University Earns Prestigious R2 Research Designation
Kean University was officially designated an R2 research university under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, marking a significant milestone in Kean’s rapid transformatio...
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Matthias C. Rillig @mrillig.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Reading in journal club: Duan et al. @pnas.org Postdoc publications and citations link to academic retention and faculty success #AcademicSky 🧪 www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....
pnas.org
Postdoc publications and citations link to academic retention and faculty success | PNAS
Postdoctoral training is a career stage often described as a demanding and anxiety-laden time when many promising PhDs see their academic dreams sl...
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
@plosbiology.org: Food hardness preference reveals multisensory contributions of fly larval gustatory organs in behaviour and physiology. dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
dx.plos.org
Food hardness preference reveals multisensory contributions of fly larval gustatory organs in behaviour and physiology
Sensing food is a complex multisensory experience. This study of food hardness preference in fruit fly larvae reveals that gustatory organ sensory neurons can perceive cues of both chemical and mechan...
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
Perception of food texture #mouthfeel and #gustation are intimately intertwined! In Drosophila, these two sensations are apparently integrated at the level of the receptor cell! #ChemSenses
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Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 01/02/2025
The entire archive of CDC datasets can be found here. HUGE shoutout to data archivists- this work is important 👏🙌🏻 archive.org/details/2025...
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Carly Anne York, PhD @biologycarly.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
Scientific breakthroughs we might not have had without NSF funding: The Internet Smartphones DNA analysis MRIs Doppler radar Bar codes And this is just the tiniest tip of the iceburg.
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Thanks!
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Hi @benthicbuddy.bsky.social , can I be added to the Primarily undergraduate institution (PUI) Research starter pack?
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
AChemS abstracts submitted!! Who else is planning to be at @achems.bsky.social 2025? #chemsenses
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
@josephdzak.bsky.social
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Intro to BN open textbook @introtobn.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
Spotlight: Ever noticed that food loses flavor when you have a cold. What's up with that? Your perception of flavor is not one sense. It is a mixing of taste, smell and chemosensation. Read about it in Ch8 Chemical Senses by Joe Zak & @jakesaunders.bsky.social tinyurl.com/itobnch8 #neuroscience
The left panel of this image shows the side view of a person’s face with a cup containing a beverage underneath the nose. The image shows how the aroma of the beverage passes through the nasal cavity. The right panel shows a detailed ultrastructure of the olfactory bulb. A textbox reads: Odorant molecules activate receptors in the cilia of olfactory sensory neurons. Olfactory sensory neuron axons cross into the olfactory bulb, synapsing on mitral cells in polysynaptic structures called glomeruli.
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Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) @achems.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
🎉 The #AChemS2025 Preliminary Program is now LIVE! 🎉 Get a sneak peek at what's in store and start planning your trip to Bonita Springs! 🌴✨ Check out the full details here: achems.org/2025/ #AChemS2025 #ChemicalSciences #BonitaSprings
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Journal of Cell Science @jcellsci.bsky.social · 17/12/2024
Issue 23 is complete Explore our ToC: journals.biologists.com/jcs/issue/13... On the cover: a killifish retina labelled with nine markers of different retinal cell types using the IBEX technique. See article by Kothurkar et al. journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
JCS cover. The image is a confocal image of an adult killifish retina demonstrating that the Iterative Bleaching Extends Multiplexity (IBEX) technique enables simultaneous labelling of all major retinal cell types. Cryosection of an 8-week-old peripheral retina labelled with nine markers: HuC/D (yellow), PAX6 (lavender), GS (magenta), Calretinin (green), Zpr-1 (cyan), PCNA (red), PRPH2 (orange), Zrf-1 (light green) and Lcp1 (purple).
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
I feel like this is a fairly common groove for our colleagues to fall into if they decide they want to increase their salary. One look at a graph of mean/median professor and college admin salary overtime is all it takes to see the financial awards are substantially greater in administration.
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Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · 08/12/2024
Since yesterday I was talking about Gates McFadden’s struggles to get behind the camera opportunities, it’s time for me to share a story about the Doctor and how she’s one of the reasons I’m a Professor. 🧵 (Here’s us at the 2024 #StarTrek convention #STLV)
A photo of me with Gates McFadden at the 2024 STLV
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Heather Brown-Harding @microscopyed.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
I created a starter pack for Imaging Scientists that work in core facilities. I'm sure I missed lots of people since I searched for those that have "core" or "facility" in their bios, so let me know who else should be added! go.bsky.app/2bbgRQU
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Marius Loots @mariusloots.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Old Media. Three wall charts used by Anatomy departments before the advent of colour slides or PowerPoint. Before a lecture, an assistant was tasked to hang out the relevant chart.
A poster with a life size human skeleton from anterior and posterior.A very old wall chart showing the outline of a human and the skeleton.A wall chart showing two human hearts in section, the blood vessels of the body and sections through the skin. In the skin, the layers of skin are visible, with embedded hair follicles, blood vessels and sweat glands.
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Due to the parts of the conversation they chose to highlight for the video, I do come off more like an ecologist than a #neuroscientist but anything that gets the word out about why studying the chemical senses of earthworms is important is a positive. #PUG #虫 #ChemSenses #neuroscience #earthworms
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Kean University recently interviewed me about my #undergraduate focused #earthworm #research. #PUG #虫 #ChemSenses #neuroscience www.youtube.com/watch?v=D16C...
youtube.com
Earthworms, Ecosystems and Agriculture | Kean University Research
YouTube video by Kean University
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Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) @achems.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Understanding how to make bitter medicines more tolerable for children is essential, especially for kids who need them for their health. Bitter tastes often lead to non-compliance😖, but researchers are finding solutions! 💡
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Really nice. What is the Antibody or stain?
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Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) @achems.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
We invite applicants for the #AChemS2025 Travel Fellowships for Diversity. Applicants need not be AChemS members. Encourage those who are eligible to apply today!! achems.org/web/award...
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Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) @achems.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
AChemS members @jakesaunders.bsky.social and @josephdzak.bsky.social co-authored the Chemical Senses chapter in a recently release NSF-funded open-access textbook on behavioral #neuroscience. The textbook can be found on openstax: openstax.org/books/introd...
openstax.org
Ch. 8 Introduction - Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience | OpenStax
Your neuroscience study group is getting together to work on its end-of-course presentation and one of your group members has kindly brought some of the...
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Association for Chemoreception Sciences (AChemS) @achems.bsky.social · 04/11/2024
#AChemS2025 ABSTRACT SUBMISSION NOW OPEN! Submit an abstract and present your research at the preeminent international chemosensory meeting achems.org/2025/
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 27/09/2024
#chemsenses
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Jake Saunders, PhD @jakesaunders.bsky.social · 27/09/2024
This is one of my favorite #chemsenses facts!
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