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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her)

@karenmullersmith.bsky.social
429 followers 165 following 716 posts

Neuroscientist, Geneticist, Educator, and Mama Bear. German-Chilean. My Lab studies Astrocytes, FGF Receptors, the Neurobiology of Self Injurious Behaviors. Ally for LGBTQ rights. Opinions are my own.

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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
On a cleaning mission today, even though I have work piled up. I need a clean home to live in, and my husband isn't 100% after being in the hospital and picking up a GI bug while there. Still, it is a gorgeous day,and a little break on the front porch while I hydrate is in order. Truffle agrees.
Dog on the front lawn with her favorite Frisbee toys.
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Tired of the admin stuff this month. I want to go play on lab!
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Yikes, I haven't posted in weeks. Well, the world is at war, my son's rights are under attack while he and my husband both deal with serious health problems, our other son had his wisdom teeth out, and UL limps along in this financial crisis, and I am way behind on deadlines.
media.tenor.com
a dumpster is on fire with the words `` it 's fine everything is fine '' written on the bottom .
Alt: a dumpster is on fire with the words `` it 's fine everything is fine '' written on the bottom .
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Reposted by Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her)
Zebrafish Rock! 🎃 @zebrafishrock.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
For those on the job market, University of Toronto 🇨🇦 is hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor in Zebrafish Models of Genetic and Metabolic Pathologies 🐟 Yes, they want #zebrafish! 🔗 jobs.utoronto.ca/job/Toronto-...
jobs.utoronto.ca
Assistant Professor - Zebrafish Models of Genetic and Metabolic Pathologies
Assistant Professor - Zebrafish Models of Genetic and Metabolic Pathologies
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
Ugh, feeling sick for the 1st time in a while. This is going to be one of those that triggers bronchitis and asthma.
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Caturday vibes. With a side of pup cuddles. My husband brought home donuts and koulachs earlier while running errands.
Black cat cuddling on a lap, under a blanket, dog sitting next to human and cat.
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Reposted by Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her)
Global Abortion Rights News @globalabortionnews.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
A new study has shown that miscarriage or induced abortion is NOT a potential risk factor for breast cancer, contrary to continued anti-choice propaganda. Even several abortions or miscarriages does not increase risk. The study used high-quality Finnish registry data.
news-medical.net
Prior abortion or miscarriage not linked to increased risk of pre- or postmenopausal breast cancer
A prior abortion or miscarriage was not linked with an increased risk of developing pre- or postmenopausal breast cancer in a study published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica.
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Mardi Gras vibes for my last lecture before the break. I am need this break, even though I have work to catch up on, no meetings or teaching on Monday and Tuesday is a nice treat.
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
We had a SuperbOWL day yesterday, complete with a great view of the Barn Owl I have been spotting in our neighborhood recemtly. He was hunting worms near the drainage ditches across from our house. He got a bit nervous when the truck went by in this vid, but he caught a worm 5 min later.
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
I am watching this closely. My so n is a PLC in his troop, and he is a founding member of his troop. Scouting means a lot to him. If he was barred from participating, it would devastate him.
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 01/02/2026
Look at this amazing creation by my 15yo son. Baking is an outlet for his creativity and his stress. I wish he wasn't going through such a rough time, but his art and baking is wonderful to me.
Cream colored cake with coconut almond buttercream frosting, decorated with strawberry,blackberry, and raspberry.
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Minnesota Star Tribune @startribune.com · 30/01/2026
Thousands of people filled the streets of downtown Minneapolis in protest of federal immigration enforcement for the second consecutive Friday. 📷️: Aaron Lavinsky
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Joseph Cermatori @cermatori.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
About small liberal-arts colleges, Ian Bogost writes in @theatlantic.com: “The form of higher ed that they provide seems poised to be the most resilient in the years to come.” 🎓 #educationmatters #academia #liberalarts #academicsky #SLAC
theatlantic.com
The Accidental Winners of the War on Higher Ed
Go to a small liberal-arts college if you can.
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Patrick R. Secor @prsecor.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Friends, please help spread the word about our microbiology REU program at Montana State University. www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/ Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided. Details in the attached pic--Feb 14 deadline 🧫🧪🦠#microsky
This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is funded by the National Science Foundation to create "points of entry" for students interested in research. Students apply from across the country to spend 10 weeks in Bozeman, Montana this summer (May 26, 2026 - August 1, 2026). Admitted students are paired with a faculty mentor, who serves as an advisor for a student's summer project. Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided.

Our program leverages MSU’s unique microbiology expertise, focusing specifically on microbes living with little or no oxygen (like those in the hot springs of nearby Yellowstone). Low oxygen microbes are essential to human and ecosystem health. They influence (or control) such processes as the breakdown of food in the GI tract, removal of toxins from our bodies and the environment, and production of greenhouse gases. They are also models for understanding the origins of life on this planet, and the potential for life on other planets.

A key goal of our program is to recruit students from schools with limited research infrastructure. Being in Montana, a state with a vibrant Native American community, we are particularly interested in applications from students at tribal colleges. However, ANYONE with an interest in microbiology - or biology/science in general - can and should apply.

If willing and able, please share/tweet/spread the word far and wide. Applications are due February 14, 2026. Full details can be found through our website http://www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Kitty shenanigans. These kitties help keep me stay sane in a world that is being engineered to create chaos to steal elections and rights. The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of justice is being stolen from us as citizens.
Black and Orange cat on top of the fridge. Possibly stealing pet treats.Black and Orange cat on top of the fridge. Possibly stealing pet treats.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 25/01/2026
Murphy: "It's always been the fear & now is closer to the reality that the Trump admin is creating this mayhem, particularly in cities in swing states, to take control of elections. They're trying to trade the presence of ICE & the murder & mayhem they are causing for control of MN's elections"
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Brandy Zadrozny @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Alex Pretti "used to tell people off when they made sexist comments to female physicians. He bought me coffee when I had a really bad day as an intern...I laughed alongside him daily. He made a point to teach medical residents without judgement, but with a smile on his face and a joke."
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
I made a NY style Cheesecake and a Chantilly Cake for my Twins' 15th Birthday. They were awesome!
Chantilly Cake decorated with berriesNY style Cheesecake with candles.
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Reposted by Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her)
Dr. Scandal Piñata @dr-g.myatproto.social · 18/01/2026
Another thing that I do to support my students is that I acknowledge what’s happening, and I don’t pretend that stuff like this is normal, and that everything’s fine. I have had students tell me that they feel like they’re going crazy because they see what is happening but no one will speak of it.
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Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov · 16/01/2026
Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system against your opponents is an authoritarian tactic. The only person not being investigated for the shooting of Renee Good is the federal agent who shot her.
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Robert Mahon @bedform.org · 12/01/2026
Happy academic "just circling back on that email from November 22nd" day to all who celebrate 😅
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
RIP Bob Weir 😢
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Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov · 10/01/2026
Trump sent thousands of armed federal officers into our state, and it took just one day for them to kill someone. Now he wants nothing more than to see chaos distract from that horrific action. Don’t give him what he wants.
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
My last day of break. I watched a good movie with my husband, and crafted new jewelry. Now, I have a hearty stew on the stove. Here are my octopus earrings and necklace.
Earrings made of and blue and white glass Octopus beads. The necklace has beads in blue and aqua tones with faux pearl beads, with an Octopus in the center.
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Tony Martin @tonymartin.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
I'm seriously starting to question the credibility of the FIFA Peace Prize.
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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
What the United States did in Venezuela is prohibited under international law, which bars the use of force as an instrument of national policy.
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
1st day hike at Palmetto Island
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
1st day hike at Palmetto Island State Park.with the family and a visiting friend.
People walking on a trailSunlight filtering through spanish moss drapped trees, over a creek with a low stone retaining wall controlling the water flow
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
Jajaja
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
Frodo contemplating his goals for 2026 as he gazes into the fireplace.
Cat in front of a little fireplace
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Reposted by Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her)
Arcadia Science @arcadiascience.com · 29/12/2025
A free, open-access library of high-quality organism illustrations for science communication
doi.org
A free, open-access library of high-quality organism illustrations for science communication
We create vector graphics of model organisms and emerging biological research organisms to enhance our publications. We’re sharing these editable graphics under a CC0 license for other scientists to...
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Reposted by Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her)
Piret Avila @piretavila.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
📢 I'm hiring! 3-year postdoc in theoretical evolutionary ecology at University of Helsinki 🇫🇮 Apply: jobs.helsinki.fi/job/Helsinki-Postdoctoral-Researcher-in-Theoretical-Evolutionary-Biology/1348955157/ #AcademicJobs #Postdoc #EvolutionaryEcology #TheoreticalEcology #ScienceJobs #AcademicChatter
jobs.helsinki.fi
Postdoctoral Researcher in Theoretical Evolutionary Biology
Postdoctoral Researcher in Theoretical Evolutionary Biology
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
McGees Landing, Henderson Swamp Louisiana
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
Louisiana tour boat at sunset
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 28/12/2025
Great Egret pic from UL's campus swamp.
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
So, the Trump administration is threatening makers of binders for trans people because they claim binders are "medical decices" and need to be FDA approved. This is cruel tyranny. This attacks social transition.
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Well, it's been a rough semester, but a grad student in my lab passed his proposal defense, so we are going out with good news and hope for 2026.
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
NSF pares down grant-review process, reducing influence of outside scientists | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
NSF pares down grant-review process, reducing influence of outside scientists
Memo cites overburdened staff, but some say move also aims to elevate White House priorities
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
🤯
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
This is evil
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M. Natasha Rajah @mnrajah.bsky.social · 06/12/2025
On this National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, let us all remember the 14 women who were brutally murdered for simply being women in 1989 at Polytechnique Montréal. Say there names & #NeverForget Our society still has a long way to go to #EndViolenceAgainstWomen 🤍
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Alex Kwan @alexkwan.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
New preprint + thread 🧵 #Psychedelics induce the formation of new synapses, but where do they connect? Our rabies tracing study reveals that #psilocybin shifts connectivity across specific cortical networks. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/12
Summary figure for study of psilocybin's effect on cortical network connectivity.
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
I indulged my hobby of painting wooden cut out crafts, and added our pets to personalize it, our dog Truffle with her Kong Frisbee, our cats Sammy and Frodo in the downstairs window, and even our Budgies, Dragonsita and Sky. I'm pretty happy with how it came out.
A painted wooden house with Christmas lights, a snowy roof, and wreath, with a dog out front and cats in the window
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
One more week of classes...the home stretch.
media.tenor.com
a cat driving a car with the words " hold on almost there " above it
ALT: a cat driving a car with the words " hold on almost there " above it
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Did anybody else notice a higher number than usual of No-show posters at SFN this year?
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Argel Aguilar Valles @argelaguilarvalles.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
www.ctvnews.ca/health/artic...
ctvnews.ca
Infamous antidepressant drug trial back in spotlight after journal sued
A heavily criticized drug study that promoted the use of an antidepressant to treat youth suffering from depression is back in the spotlight after the journal that published it was sued, and a child p...
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
Bye bye #sfn2025, it was a good meeting for my lab, and I have lots of ideas brewing.
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Tee-hee, lost and found booth has pictures of the hippocampus. I found them @daniellebeckman.bsky.social !
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Dr. Karen Muller Smith (She/Her) @karenmullersmith.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
I love all the birds of paradise in San Diego.I also caught a glimpse (and sound) of a Kingfisher (real bird) near the bay!!
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