iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

As a note, this needs to be transported in a mini van, bigger SUV, or a truck of some kind!

Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

Help needed!! The summer got the best of me in terms of getting my shark sculpture to Minnesota, but now I really REALLY need some help! If anyone is making road trip legs between Baltimore or Pittsburgh towards the Midwest, PLEASE let me know! My fish lab would love to see this happen! Thanks 🦈

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

71.5% cut to BIO. Just...jesus fucking christ on a bike

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

I was briefly interviewed by NPR about the housing market!

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Gen Wojcik @genandgenes.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Come meet me to transfer a shark sculpture! It fits in my Honda Odyssey, so any vehicle with at least that much space would work. The first leg is to Pittsburgh and I can meet you halfway. In this hellscape, bring a little good to your world. Also, my kids think I'm moderately cool now.

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Please send me a DM or reply here! Thank you!!!! 🦈

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

The amazing @genandgenes.bsky.social can meet someone halfway to Pittsburgh from Baltimore. Some possible other stops: Pittsburgh Cleveland Toledo Chicago* Milwaukee* Madison* I can likely pick it up from one of the * locations if it can be stored for a couple of days/weeks in a garage or basement

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Hi folks, I've got a follow up request about my large (~10ft) shark sculpture 🦈 Can this network help me come up with a caravan of folks who can transport the sculpture from the Baltimore area to the Illinois/Wisconsin/Minnesota area? The sculpture fit in a minivan! And I can help w/ gas money

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Was looking (first casually then more seriously) from Dec-April to buy with my mom for some multi-gen housing in MN. Now waiting at least 6mo to 1y due to concerns about interest rates, wild markets, and trying to save more for a down payment. She moved into my unit and we resigned the 1y lease.

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

alright i have my laptop, guess i'm livetweeting the dire wolf preprint. so a quick reminder: this is not yet peer-reviewed, so there's some different expectations re: quality. also let's be clear, i'm a hella biased reader, bc i don't trust the hype they're courting

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Joe Heras, Ph.D. @sebastesinblue.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

Thanks RC @rchoover.bsky.social for giving a really toothy talk about dentition in Stichaeids to my ichthyology class, today! Also, special thanks to the research mentors as well! @kassthefish.bsky.social, @karlycohen.bsky.social, and @cmdonatelli.bsky.social

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Science Sam @samanthayammine.com · 08/04/2025

Scientists love to debate and argue, but if there are 3 things every scientist absolutely agrees on, it's that: 1. Climate change is real 2. Vaccines work 3. Those are NOT dire wolves 😤 🧪

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Dr. Headbutt 🌈🧪 @nicoleackermans.com · 08/04/2025

And this is why science communication and science literacy is so important. 🧪

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Darren Incorvaia @megadarren.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

“De-extinction” is to biodiversity loss what “Mars colonization” is to climate change—wishful thinking that is at its core impossible but nevertheless sucks up attention and resources from actual solutions to these crises (which, ultimately, might be the whole point)

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

All jokes I've made about species concepts during my career aside.... YIKES. This is BS.

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Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

The NSF's flagship fellowship program typically gives offers to 2,000+ young scientists. This year, in the face of looming budget cuts, that number was halved: only 1,000 received an offer. Our story on what that means for the science talent pipeline: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

NSF slashes prestigious PhD fellowship awards by half

US National Science Foundation announces lowest number of Graduate Research Fellowship Programme recipients in 15 years.

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Heather Randell @heatherrandell.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Well, UMN has officially been hit. We just got an email from our president that an international grad student was detained yesterday. No further details provided. This. Is. Crushing.

Dear students, faculty and staff,

We are writing to inform you about a deeply concerning situation involving one of our international graduate students at the University of Minnesota.

We learned that, on March 27 at an off-campus residence, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials detained a graduate student enrolled on our Twin Cities campus. We are actively working to gather more details about this incident.

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Bell Museum @bellmuseum.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Congratulations to Bell affiliate @pjhundt.bsky.social on his recent publication, which describes several new species of studfish! Peter Hundt has added many fish specimens to the Bell’s collections. Read more about his research in our blog post: www.bellmuseum.umn.edu/blog/newly-d...

mapress.com

Phylogenomic species delimitation of studfishes (Fundulidae: Fundulus ): evidence for cryptic species in agreement with the central highlands vicariance hypothesis | Zootaxa

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Trying to come up with the words to say. I'm terrified for our students. We just received an email that an international grad student at UMN has been detained. Minnesota has laws stating police are not required to provide info to ICE. Admin claims no info was given. How can we protect our people?

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

I would buy the heck out of this 👀👀

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

TransGENETIC ≠ TransGENDER Say it again louder for those in the back (and apparently also those in the front who are unable to read things correctly)

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

I think I'm set! Found a wonderful person in town who can hang on to it until I can coordinate getting it 😊 thank you though!

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

Is this what I expected for my life? No. Would I change it? Also no 😂

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

Omg y'all are actually the home for the sculpture for the time being. But we're planning on finding this shark a new (temporary) home so y'all have space for your new exhibits and sculptures 😊

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

I think we've got it covered!! Thanks everyone! Stay tuned for my upcoming ask of folks with mini vans willing to caravan it across the country to get it closer to Minnesota ☠️

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

Okay huge ask/question. Do I know anyone in the Baltimore area who could store a ~10ft shark sculpture for me? I was supposed to go pick it up this month but my schedule has gotten chaotic. I could pick it up later in the spring or early summer 👀 It should fit in a mini van or Suburban for transit

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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Yay!! A federal judge in California sided with a coalition of unions, temporarily barring the Office of Personnel Management from ordering federal agencies to terminate probationary workers, stating that the firings were ‘illegal, should be stopped, and rescinded.’

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

Today was the kind of day where a turkey visits your office window 🦃 It *really* wanted to be let into the building 😂

Large turkey sitting on a railing right outside my office window

Turkey taking flight from a railing outside my office window. Some pencils are visible in the foreground.

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More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

BREAKING: The mass firing of upwards of 1,800 workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including top climate scientists and weather forecasters, has begun. The firings reportedly include workers at the National Weather Service.

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Firings at the NWS will kill people

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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

Research universities are often the largest employers in their region. They are often the primary health care providers to communities. This funding shift will not only reduce US research leadership, it will put working people out of work and reduce healthcare access.

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 08/02/2025

The NIH announced it will slash billions of dollars of support to universities and research centers. This is one of the biggest attacks on science we have ever seen. It could dismantle the biomedical research system, shut down clinical trials, and halt development of treatments.

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

Scientists and journalists need to figure out right quick how to explain to the average person how a massive change in research indirects will impact the medical care they and their children get (eg at the local children’s hospital), the education their children will get, the price of tuition, etc.

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

There is a fire hose of bad things being done, all so the bad folks can see what they can get away with. This will overwhelm the courts and allow this coup-leading group to gut important and established government programs. Try to make as much noise as you can 📢

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

This is going to be absolutely catastrophic for academic research. The amount of support public universities get from grants is astronomical, so those universities can be functional. It's not a waste; it literally supports our country's medical research. Science is valid!!!

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Not the university changing to a new HR & purchasing system (called PEAK) to make things more "centralized." Sadly the E in PEAK doesn't stand for Efficiency 🤦🏾‍♀️ My folks are dealing with late pay, missing research checks, incorrect tuition reimbursements, and lack of health insurance 😬

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Alt National Park Service @altnps.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

While Trump has been distracting America with everything else, Elon Musk’s staffers are quietly taking over NOAA and the Department of Labor. They are also using AI to help rewrite a significant portion of the federal government’s computer systems.

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Kitty tax if you read the whole thing:

Ajax (a black cat) curled up and holding his paw over his face, while snuggled under a colorful blanket.

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

*Yes I'm okay. I had an elective procedure for my own happiness and mental health.

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

I've been trying to heal after a surgery on Friday* and also trying not throw my anxiety into a chaotic nightmare. I may not always have the ability to say things myself and may repost things instead. Don't burn yourself out. This will be a long fight. And we need you.

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Hi everyone. Just a reminder that it's okay to not be okay. I'm overwhelmed by everything and very much LIVID at what's happening. Things are bad and unprecedented. Know I love you all. Science is real. Trans people deserve life and happiness. Your feelings are valid. YOU are valid.

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Katie O'Reilly @drkatfish.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

how it feels to be a new PI writing grants and papers right now

A golden retriever types on a laptop while the apocalypse happens in the background

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

This is how you do it. Thank you @sicbjournals.bsky.social Read their whole email to membership here mailchi.mp/sicb.org/sic...

an email from the society for integrative and comparative biology that reads "Attn SICB Members:

The past few weeks have been a stressful time in our scientific community, and we want to make our position clear: The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology unequivocally condemns recent attacks on scientific integrity, funding for scientific research, and the importance of broadening participation in science."

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Dr. Aubree Jones @sensiblyaubree.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

I am continually proud to be a member of SICB. Great science 🤝 great people

A portion of the Statement from the society for integrative and comparative biology reading: “The past few weeks have been a stressful time in our scientific community, and we want to make our position clear: The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology unequivocally condemns recent attacks on scientific integrity, funding for scientific research, and the importance of broadening participation in science.”

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Terry McGlynn @hormiga.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

Note to fellow professors: it’s perfectly fine to let attendance slide if your students are out participating in protests to stop a coup in your country. After all, education is liberatory practice.

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Dr. Kassandra Ford @kassthefish.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

Please know how valued you are by people in your community. That Orange person unfortunately has power right now but you are strong and we will be stronger together. I'm so proud and happy to know you.

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

I probably don't even need to say this, BUT. Me not posting about every nightmarish thing is not because I am not internally (or externally!) screaming multiple times per day, i just figure you heard about it from 100 other people posting about each new nightmare. I assure you, my soul is cracking.

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