Sign in

Kristin Connor

@kconnor.bsky.social
969 followers 830 following 666 posts

🤰🏽My lab conducts research on developmental origins of health & disease 👶🏻Believe a healthy start to life is a right we all share 👩🏼‍🔬Value fundamental science! 📍Toronto & Ottawa connorlab.ca

PostsRepliesMedia
Kristin Connor @kconnor.bsky.social · 3h
Good 🧵and I particularly like this framing (reminder, really!) (This conversation aspect is what’s missing in so many papers these days IMO, where the discussion section itself has become too ‘clinical’ and /or short as well. Bring back a real discussion. I want to hear what others are pondering!)
130
Reposted by Kristin Connor
The Society for Reproductive Investigation @sriwomenshealth.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The SRI Research Policy Affairs Committee works to keep members informed about policy developments involving reproductive science and research. Visit the SRI website for the latest updates on research policy affairs and information about advocacy resources. www.sri-online.org/sri-resource...
012
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Devon Greyson @greyson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This new article, lead-authored by Greyson Lab trainee Alex Krug-Mushey (MSc '25), explores the importance of different forms of trust in pregnancy vaccination decisions of people who gave birth in BC or ON in 2020-2021: doi.org/10.1016/j.jo... 2/2 (Open access as always!)
Screnshot of header of the article linked in the post text, titled, "Triad of Trust: Vaccine Decision-Making by Pregnant People During the COVID-19 Pandemic in British Columbia and Ontario," published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada.
153
Kristin Connor @kconnor.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Excellent thread & analysis of privatisation of medical services in Ontario & what this means for costs, access to care, & your safety. Fund public healthcare.
000
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Development @dev-journal.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The curious case of the placental genome In this Review, Zoé Ducarne, @agathechaigne.bsky.social and @myanhtruong.bsky.social highlight the placenta, the only mammalian organ that harbors a cancer-like genome while remaining functional and healthy. doi.org/10.1242/dev....
Diagrams of a blastocyst and full-term placenta in human. More details in the paper.
12012
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Women's Health Research Cluster @whrcluster.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
A study led by researchers from the Women’s Health Research Cluster, CAMH and the University of Toronto found that just 6.4% of #CIHR operating and project grant funding supported women’s health research questions. ow.ly/uA0e50ZRvsR
0106
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Julie S. Lalonde @julieslalonde.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The literacy crisis is not just referring to people's ability to literally read and write. It's also people's inability to read for context. I've been a public educator for over 20 years and I have never, ever seen it this bad.
8246751172
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Cheryl in Nova Scotia 🇨🇦🍁🍁 @minibubbly.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Moose was trapped in the Rideau Canal #Ottawa #Canada rescuers lowered the water level and helped the Moose get free 🫎
311139
Reposted by Kristin Connor
BCCHR ResDev (DM) @resdevbcch.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
‼️ attention Canadian health researchers ‼️ #CIHR has posted the Project Grants Discussion Paper and a related *survey* cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/54821.html Please please participate 🙏
photo of the “help shape the future of the project grant program” announcement by CIHR. TEXT is accessible in the hyperlink in this post.
42331
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Josh Chafetz @joshchafetz.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
There's a lot to say about this, and other folks are saying most of it. I just want to focus on one thing: the claim about the relationship between universities and "the real world."
1526993
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Jim Woodgett @jwoodgett.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
There’s a concerted campaign to undermine EDI in Canada. The evidence behind EDI policies reducing excellence are based on abysmal, flawed evidence. Look at who feels threatened by equity, diversity and inclusion. They’re the least diverse, least equitable and most exclusive people. Just no.
66950
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Kevin A. Scott, PhD @sculpturatus.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
found at ucsf
9555117
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Maggie Macintosh @maggiemacintosh.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Manitoba has a new recipe for health class and “food literacy” is a key ingredient. A new pilot asks teachers to expand nutrition units w/ in-depth discussions about how everything from diet culture to food insecurity affects eating habits #mbed #wfp www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews...
winnipegfreepress.com
Food literacy curriculum on the menu Manitoba
Manitoba has a new recipe for health class and “food literacy” is a key ingredient.
0164
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Mary Gillis @marygillis.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
A lot of people seem to take it as a fact that the private sector has secret efficiency magic the public sector doesn't have. It doesn't. It pays workers less and charges more for the same service. That's like 99% of private sector "efficiency." And everyone's worse off, except shareholders.
519356
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Jeffrey Barrett @jeffbarrett.eu · 15/09/2026
Tempted to use AI to write your cover letter or email to a potential employer? RESIST! It is simultaneously obvious, insulting, and renders you totally undifferentiated from the other 80 people being considered t the same time. There has never been a better time to write concisely in your own voice!
33912
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Ludo Waltman @ludowaltman.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Last year CWTS, ASAPbio, DORA and the International Science Council organized a workshop in Pisa to discuss coordination of research assessment reform and scholarly publishing reform. The workshop participants have now published a paper outlining their vision on how to realize this coordination.
146
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
"Women and Global South respondents emphasized normative goals: equity, justice, and structural reform.... In contrast, men and Global North respondents often framed success through processes: institutional innovation, efficiency, and procedural legitimacy." academic.oup.com/heapol/advan...
academic.oup.com
What is success in global health diplomacy? A qualitative analysis of gendered and global perspectives on success and failure
Abstract. Global health diplomacy is central to shaping the international response to health challenges, yet what counts as “success” or “failure” remains
0129
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Michael Hendricks 🇨🇦 @michaelhendricks.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Thread. Apologies in advance, I've been grinding away for weeks on a grant with maybe a 10% success rate. Canadian researchers work in buildings held together with duct tape, run labs on shoestrings, and spend more and more time competing for lower and lower success rate operating programs.
26722
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences @pnas.org · 11/09/2026
The 2026 Lasker~Bloomberg Public Service Award honors Michael J. Fox for advancing Parkinson’s research through his foundation. Randy Schekman reflects on his impact in a PNAS Perspective: ow.ly/TLef50ZMCu5 #LaskerLaureate Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation
0147
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Tod Maffin 🇨🇦 @todmaffin.com · 10/09/2026
Our UNPLUG AMERICA directory of Canadian alternatives to American technology isn't just a basic list on the Internet. My team deeply researches each individual company that requests to be listed: 🔎 Where they store their data 🔎 Who owns the company 🔎 What money they've taken ✅ unplug.todmaffin.com
Email requesting clarification that PitchBook lists a minority investment by Astralabs (Texas) and asking whether the app’s tournament booking uses Google Firebase hosting or Google-hosted servers for user data.
719893
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Kate Cavanaugh @katecavanaugh.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
🧵 What if one reason fertility declines with age isn’t just genetic-but mechanical? Thrilled to share our new paper in @NatureCellBio : Elevated contractility drives implantation failure in mouse embryos from aged females… here’s what we found 👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41... 1/11
nature.com
Elevated contractility drives implantation failure in mouse embryos from aged females - Nature Cell Biology
Cavanaugh et al. show that embryos from aged mice have increased contractility and tissue viscosity on embryonic day 4.5, which leads to poor spreading and attachment. Similar age-associated mechanica...
1214646
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Natasha Tusikov @ntusikov.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
New from me (paywall): Voluntary agreements lack transparency, efficacy & serve corporate interests. Canadians are making clear their strong opposition to AI data centres: the federal govt is abdicating its governance role in hiding behind a voluntary framework. www.hilltimes.com/2026/09/09/w...
hilltimes.com
Why Canada’s new voluntary framework for AI data centres won’t work - The Hill Times
Voluntary principles, as outlined in the government’s national framework for AI, have no legally binding force. They typically lack efficacy and transparency, even as governments and tech companies of...
01811
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 08/09/2026
Changes in the female brain during menopause contrast sharply with those seen during pregnancy and puberty, according to research in Nature Communications. go.nature.com/4qZRLoJ #Neuroskyence 🧪
This is figure 1, which shows monthly rates of gray matter volume change across three female hormonal transitions.
03414
Kristin Connor @kconnor.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
🫶🏻
010
Kristin Connor @kconnor.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Fab day for a flight! Love seeing the #Snowbirds #LoveTO 🫶🏻
010
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Béryl Laplace-Builhé Aka biologiste antique @berylbiologist.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
New Prelight out! 🐸 @prelights.bsky.social Neural crest migration and neural tube closure: two tissues in conversation. Read it here: prelights.biologists.com/highlights/r... Original preprint from @mayorlab.bsky.social here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... #NeuralCrest #Xenopus #preLights
prelights.biologists.com
Reciprocal mechanochemical feedback couples neural crest migration and neurulation - preLights
Neural crest migration and neural tube closure: two tissues in conversation. Neural crest cells help the neural tube close by building a fibronectin-rich interface, while neural tube bending mechanica...
085
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Do you like pirates & are looking forward to "Talk like a Pirate Day" (Sept 19). Do you love botany and exotic plants? Do you like guacamole? How about 17t!h century exploration history? if any of these is true, this story is for you 1/n ncbg.unc.edu/2026/09/03/a...
ncbg.unc.edu
Arrgh Matey, Yer Plant Press or Yer Life: William Dampier, Pirate and Plant Collector - North Carolina Botanical Garden
by Cannonball Carol Ann McCormick Curatrix, University o’ North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium ORCID: 0000-0003-3785-8433 The farther we went, the more knowledge and experience I should get, which ...
2246
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Jordan Roberts @corruptario.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Yay, more Palantir. Other countries are raising pitchforks against Palantir. In Canada, most turnips think Palantir isn't here. Which is very wrong.
National Observer from 2024: Cohere a 5.5B Canadian AI startup is quietly working with PalantirCohere is quietly working with PalantirFed announcement: Canada partners with CohereFed announcement: $240 for Cohere
12316
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Alex Usher @alexusherhesa.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Here is my letter to the MacDonald Laurier Institute on the subject of their appalling research. Use as you will. I recommend sending something of your own, though. And if you know anyone associated with MLI - and Board directors, say - send it to them, too.
docs.google.com
Alex Usher email to Brian Lee Crowley
(text of an email sent to Brian Lee Crowley of the MacDonald Laurier Institute on September 2, 2026) Dear Brian, I am writing to you and your board with respect to the publication “The equity excelle...
32311121
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Over the past six years researchers have paid over $1B to publish in Elsevier journals. Elsevier has a ~36% profit margin and roughly $2.3B in profit last year. www.linkedin.com/posts/doug-w...
linkedin.com
RELX reports H1 earnings with 7% revenue growth | Doug Way posted on the topic | LinkedIn
RELX, Elsevier’s parent company, held its H1 earnings call on July 23, 2026.  Below are some observations from a librarian’s perspective.   The numbers (growth %’s are underlying): - REXL revenue: £4...
11414
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Natalie Brender @nataliebrender.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Nothing's more important on my radar today than our federal government acting on this: "Google and other big tech companies have made clear that they will acquiesce to American government requests, but they will push back forcefully when the Canadian government tries to set its own rules."
01610
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Meredith Conroy @meredithconroy.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Im putting together some analysis of social issues and gender gaps x education for my substack appropriately named GENDER GAP! Subscribe if you don’t want to miss it: open.substack.com/pub/meredith...
open.substack.com
GENDER GAP | Meredith Conroy | Substack
Welcome to GENDER GAP, where I'll be writing about gender gaps in American politics. Where are gender gaps, why do they emerge, and how do they matter for understanding our current political moment? C...
0104
Kristin Connor @kconnor.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
“If we want pan-Canadian science, we must build for it deliberately, with resources that match the ambition” I love the framing ✨collaboration as infrastructure✨ & much of what is in this commentary resonates for both the pan-Canadian work we are involved in & our global health work between 🇨🇦🫱🏽‍🫲🏿🇧🇯
051
Kristin Connor @kconnor.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
3 more hours into it and technically I’m within page limits!! Good time to take a movement break then come back to the last sections just in case I can find some additional improvements and buffer room 😅
static.klipy.com
Almost There Buddy: Endure to the End
ALT: Almost There Buddy: Endure to the End
060
Kristin Connor @kconnor.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Precisely! Whole thread and essay on close reading it points to are must reads. How I ✨long for more time✨ to just read and write out arguments! (Not *those* kind of arguments 💪🏻…but maybe, sometimes those too 😉)
073
Kristin Connor @kconnor.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Ok 4-ish hours later and only 11 lines over. This may be possible.
static.klipy.com
Yes... Possibly
ALT: Yes... Possibly
030
Kristin Connor @kconnor.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
💯
010
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Darrin T. Schultz @dts.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Our new paper in Science Advances asks how animals' genomes have changed since their origin from a common ancestor over 600 million years ago, and what patterns in their DNA have arisen in the churn of speciation and extinction. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Five-panel diagram explaining fusion-with-mixing in chromosome evolution. Red and blue represent two different ancestral chromosomes throughout.

A, Fusion-with-mixing: a red chromosome and a blue chromosome fuse into one half-red, half-blue bar. Down the page, successive rows show inversions, drawn as X-shaped crossings between rows, progressively interleaving the two colors until the bottom bar is finely striped. A widening gray wedge labeled Entropy runs alongside an arrow marked Time plus evolution, pointing down.

B, Independent regulation: two separate chromosomes, one red and one blue. In each, a regulatory element, drawn as an oval, acts by an arrow on a gene within its own chromosome only.

C, FWM and novel regulation: on a fused, mixed chromosome, a red gene and a blue gene now sit next to each other across an inversion breakpoint. Red and blue arrows show regulatory elements reaching across it to act on the other chromosome's gene.

D, Regulatory entanglement: an extensively mixed chromosome, finely striped. Below it, a row of alternating red and blue genes is linked by a dense web of crossing curved arrows, so many overlapping regulatory connections that unmixing the chromosome would break them.

E, Emergence of entangled loci: a five-species phylogeny. A red and a blue chromosome fuse at an ancestral node, and helical icons on later branches mark continued mixing. Colored boxes mark four new red-blue regulatory interactions arising after inversions. Species A keeps its two chromosomes separate. In species B through E, the two earliest interactions, cyan boxes 1 and 2, are present in every descendant lineage, while later ones, yellow 3 and magenta 4, appear in fewer.
315055
Reposted by Kristin Connor
The Royal Society @royalsociety.org · 29/08/2026
Dr Patricia Rodríguez Maciá is awarded the Rosalind Franklin Award and Lecture 2026 for developing new artificial metalloenzymes, and her proposed outreach and mentorship programme that engages secondary school girls from underrepresented communities. #RSMedals bit.ly/4ghIRiM
A woman in a tan jacket and white shirt smiles at the camera in front of a projector screen.
6183
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Dr. Scott Hartman - but not THAT kind of doctor @skeletaldrawing.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Have you ever wanted to visually compare the size of your favorite extinct animals? Now you can, as I'm launching an interactive size comparison tool on my website. Give it a try and let me know what you think: www.skeletaldrawing.com/compare/
40911441
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Professor Anjali Goswami FRS @evoswami.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Absolutely delighted to have been awarded the Faraday Prize! Scientific research is critical for solving the challenges that humanity and the planet currently faces, but ensuring that diverse communities are engaged in & benefit from science are just as important as the work that happens in the lab.
515325
Kristin Connor @kconnor.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
One doc now within page limits! 🙌🏻 Main doc now 1/2 page over 🫠 We’re at the hair pulling, eveything is precious yet something (a lot!) has to go phase. Thanks reviewers! 😅 It’s wine o’clock!
static.klipy.com
One Step Forward Paula
ALT: One Step Forward Paula
040
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Andrew Iwaniuk @evoneuro.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
I know lots of Canadians want to celebrate this as a “win” but it isn’t. We have consistently underfunded our universities and research capacity for decades. Adding big names that eat up a lot of capital will not improve our science at all. #Canada www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/art...
ctvnews.ca
Canada recruits dozens of foreign scientists, researchers, poaching many from U.S.
Canadian universities have recruited dozens of foreign scientists and researchers, many of them poached from prestigious U.S. institutions.
15025
Kristin Connor @kconnor.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
💯
000
Kristin Connor @kconnor.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
This is what I tell my students each year. Learning must be effortful, & they have to become comfortable with being uncomfortable in that process. And that the grade is not the product, it’s them & their growth. It’s an ongoing discussion & reframing, but I think it does hit home & transform some!
0115
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Evgeny Kvon @evgenykvon.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
First synthetic mouse enhancers active in defined embryonic tissues! Great collaboration led by @alex-stark.bsky.social lab now at @natgenet.nature.com
05920
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Joseph Fasano @josephfasano.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Back to school. ❤️
282566549
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Elizabeth Duxbury @eduxbury.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
Early-life sugar restriction causally reduces adult cancer incidence and slows biological aging | PNAS
Excess sugar consumption is implicated in multiple cancers through insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, and metabolic reprogramming, yet wheth...
1119
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Dr. Melanie Barwick @melaniebarwick.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
🍳 What does cooking have to do with implementation? Our new Implementation Kitchen animation shows why a good “recipe” isn’t enough. Successful implementation also needs the right team, core components, strategies, attention to barriers—and a sustainability plan.👩‍🍳 youtu.be/DameOjAH64Q
youtu.be
The Implementation Kitchen Analogy: A Recipe for Success
YouTube video by Melanie Barwick
022
Reposted by Kristin Connor
Jessica Leight @leightjessica.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
New blog post joint with my colleagues @ifpri: when the rain falls, who goes hungry? Evidence around gendered effects of low rainfall on stunting in PNG is important as much of the Pacific faces potentially massive effects of the huge el Niño forecast this year
121