iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Congrats Kierstin Clark on your 1st author publication in Biomaterials Science! 🎉 Link to article: doi.org/10.1039/D6BM... Substack simplified explanation: go.unc.edu/SStMSPolymer

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Congrats Luis Ontiveros-Padilla & Stephen Ehrenzeller on your co-first author paper. Also great work Connor Murphy getting it over the finish line! Link: doi.org/10.1016/j.ij... Substack article: go.unc.edu/SStButter

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Pls Repost! I've set up a central resource of post doc opportunities for BME and related areas: 📌 For PIs & Lab Leaders: Submit your open postdoc positions here: go.unc.edu/BME-PD-Form 🔎 For Trainees & Job Seekers, browse current postdoc opportunities: go.unc.edu/BME-PD-Posti...

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

We show that biodegradable microparticles can reprogram B cells to restore immune tolerance in MS w/o broadly suppressing immunity. 83% of fully paralyzed mice recover, and protective immunity remained intact! Article: go.unc.edu/NatCommBcell Substack: go.unc.edu/SStNatCommBc...

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American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering (AIMBE) @aimbe-official.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

🚨✍️ AIMBE urges the scientific community to take a minute to send our new congressional letter opposing the President’s FY2027 budget proposal: bit.ly/420ig1A These proposed cuts to our scientific enterprise (e.g., NIH & NSF) would jeopardize training, research, and innovation driving our economy.

A screen capture of AIMBE's congressional letter campaign "Protect U.S. Scientific Leadership and Reject FY2027 Proposed Cuts."

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Check out Ryan Woodring, PhD's latest review in WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology: "Modeling Polymeric Drug Release: The Emerging Role of Machine Learning" Link to article: go.unc.edu/WIRESMLRev Substack simplified review of article: go.unc.edu/SStMLRev

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

I’ve reviewed hundreds of CVs for postdoc ads - only hired a few. They didn't use "pretty" sidebars or skill bars.✅ Bold + Underline your name in Every. Single. Citation. ✅ Match your skills to your publication titles. ✅ 3-5 bullets per role. One line each. No paragraphs. go.unc.edu/SStPostDoc

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Reposted by Kristy Ainslie's Lab

Tom Kash @superkash.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Myf fixed at 2025 levels.

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Email overload isn’t just annoying and it can quietly affect professionalism. Missing a message can look like you’re ignoring someone when the reality is usually just noise and volume. Link to post: lnkd.in/e7QsQsmi

open.substack.com

Four simple, real-life tips I use to keep my inbox under control

A practical system for staying responsive without drowning in email

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Excited to share our open-access work exploring a different approach to treating multiple sclerosis: inducing antigen-specific immune tolerance rather than broadly suppressing the immune system. Pub: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC... Substack: go.unc.edu/SStStiepelMS

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Part 2 of 8 of series on the history of micro- and nanotechnology in therapeutics, vaccines & imaging! This installment dives into complex biologic carriers. These are systems that aren’t quite living but are more sophisticated than simple drugs & contain biologics. Link: go.unc.edu/SStComplexBio2

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

A Brief History of Living Medicines: I just published the first post in a new series exploring the timeline of micro- and nanotechnology in therapeutics, vaccines, and imaging. Part 1 focuses on living medicines: therapies that are alive at the time of delivery. Link: go.unc.edu/SStLivingMed1

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Running an academic research lab is hard. I’ve learned that what matters most isn’t perfection, but clear expectations, consistent communication & shared responsibility. My lab certainly isn’t flawless, but here are some thoughts on organizing a lab. go.unc.edu/SStManagement

go.unc.edu

Practical Systems That Keep My Academic Lab Running

Lessons learned from building a collaborative, accountable lab

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Thinking about a PhD? Evidence shows that PhD success is driven primarily by the advisor–student relationship. - What actually makes a good advisor and lab - Questions every prospective PhD student should ask - Common red flags that lead to regret go.unc.edu/SStGradSelec...

go.unc.edu

The Decision That Shapes Your PhD More Than Any Other

How to evaluate advisors, labs, and programs with clarity and intention

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Björn Högberg @bjornhogberg.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Our new paper is out! Tracking the stability of DNA origami in-vivo is typically done with fluorescence, but are they still attached to intact DNA nanostructures? Here we introduce PLASTIQ, a method to quantify the structure of DNA nanostructures using tiny blood samples, ligations and PCRs!

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Especially now, most programs interview many strong applicants and admit only a few. Yes, they’re evaluating you, but you should also be evaluating them. Advisor fit matters, and a bad mentor can make even a great project miserable. go.unc.edu/STEMGradInte...

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Excited to share our new preprint on BioRxiv: “Novel compounds derived from AR-12 that demonstrate host-directed clearance of intracellular Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium.” Preprint: go.unc.edu/Salmonella20... Substack about it: go.unc.edu/AISubSt

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

I recently spoke about how I use AI. The ideas and content are mine, with careful editing and ref checks, but AI helps me work faster and with fewer errors. I use it particularly for letters of recommendation, NIH grants, and scientific writing. go.unc.edu/AISubSt

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

New year, new platform to try! I’m experimenting with Substack as a place to share my research and practical insights on grant writing & academic life. go.unc.edu/NIHfactorpro... go.unc.edu/AinslieTop10... My site is called 'Kristy Engineers Immunity' if you want to check it out!

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

Wrapping up the year by celebrating the Top 10 Ainslie Lab papers (by citations + social buzz). Proud of this team and grateful for our collaborators. Here’s to another year of impactful biomaterials science.

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

Baked goods for the lab from the past semester. Strawberry cupcakes, apple cider doughnuts, raspberry cupcakes, Oreo cupcakes, vanilla coffee cupcakes, candy corn shortbread cookies and dark chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate frosting. 😋

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

New preprint! We evaluated 343 analogs of AR-12 (OSU-03012), a compound with host-directed anti-leishmanial activity. w/ RTI & Duke Chem, we identified the lysosome as a new anti-leishmanial target and developed analogs with improved potency and safety. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

While waiting for election results, I asked ChatGPT for the top 50 synthetic polymers used in drug delivery - with discovery years and references. It got 35% of the years right and only 1 correct reference out of 40! ainslielab.web.unc.edu/wp-content/u...

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Thrilled to congratulate Elizabeth Gurysh on her first-author paper in Nature Portfolio, showcasing exciting work on immunotherapy-driven clearance of orthotopic glioblastoma. Open Access: rdcu.be/eIJmv

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Reposted by Kristy Ainslie's Lab

Science Magazine @science.org · 27/09/2025

NSF today released instructions for the next round of applicants to its Graduate Research Fellowship Program. A key group—second-year Ph.D. students—is no longer eligible, and students who are still able to apply will face an unusually narrow timeframe. scim.ag/3KlQkQk

science.org

‘Completely shattered.’ Changes to NSF’s graduate student fellowship spur outcry

The announcement comes months later than usual, leaving many would-be applicants stranded

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Group lunch at the newly reopened Med Deli! Great to see it open again and wonderful food as always!

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Congrats High School student Jacob Bachelder on your first author pre-print publication in Chemrxiv! "Six-Array Transepithelial Electrical Resistance Device" doi.org/10.26434/che...

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Congrats Ryan Woodring on your 1st author pub "Biodegradable nanofibrous scaffolds enhance standard of care for glioblastoma via localized targeted therapy" Open Access: go.unc.edu/AinslieLabTMZ

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Over the years, I’ve baked cupcakes for lab members’ birthdays, colleagues at work, and friends in my neighborhood. Some of the students in the division asked me to collect the recipes, so I’ve put them together in a free PDF download: go.unc.edu/Cakes Enjoy! 🧁

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Reposted by Kristy Ainslie's Lab

Liz Szabo @lizszabo.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

High-dose flu shots associated with protection against myocarditis or pericarditis compared with regular flu shots in the largest individually randomized trial of an enhanced influenza vaccine. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

jamanetwork.com

Risk of Myocarditis or Pericarditis With High-Dose vs Standard-Dose Influenza Vaccine

This prespecified secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial investigates the risk of myocarditis or pericarditis with high-dose vs standard-dose inactivated influenza vaccine among older adult...

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

Welcoming the lab back to the 1st week of classes w/ homemade lunch! Korean beef rice bowl, Roasted veggie over an orzo, garbanzo & feta salad, Southwest chix farro bowl w/ grilled corn, black beans, pico de gallo, roasted onion & peppers, & cauliflower & Cashew barley bowl with baked tofu

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

Our lab's meme of the week this week! I'm a sucker for any Schitt's Creek meme.

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Some lab birthday treats from this summer. Double decadence brownies, peach upside down cake, lemon cupcakes, and reverse cookies & cream cupcakes.

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

I’m looking forward to presenting at the Controlled Release Society Annual Meeting today during Tech Session VI: Immuno Delivery III! 🗓 Thursday, July 17, 2025 🕟 4:30 PM EDT 📍 Room 119 B

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

JCR Article double feature alert! Intranasal influenza vaccine w/ a nanocomplex particulate adjuvant targeting mast cells & TLR9 doi.org/10.1016/j.jc... Multivalent subunit influenza vaccine using mixed polymeric microparticle degradation rates doi.org/10.1016/j.jc... @dpmp-unc.bsky.social

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

Inspired by CRS meeting - A new Micro/Nanotechnology for Therapeutic, Vaccine, and Imaging Applications timeline! Original article Stiepel et al.: doi.org/10.1002/btm2... Link timelines: ainslielab.web.unc.edu/support/ Editable timeline: docs.google.com/presentation... @dpmp-unc.bsky.social

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Excited to be co-chairing a fantastic Immuno Delivery session at the CRS this Wednesday alongside Helena Florindo! We have an outstanding lineup of speakers : ✨ Ayelet David ✨ Vincent J. Venditto ✨ Paul Sagoe ✨ Milan paul ✨ Ana Baião ✨ David Peeler ✨ Madhan Mohan Chandra Sekhar Jaggarapu

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

I’m looking forward to presenting at the CRS Meeting Thursday during Tech Session VI: Immuno Delivery III! 🗓 Thurs 7/17/25 🕟 4:30 PM 📍 Room 119 B My talk, “Engineering Tolerance: Acetalated Dextran Microparticles in the Generation of B-regs and T-regs,”

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

Great to visit UMich Pharmacy and thanks for the swag!

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Congrats Nicole Rose on your successful PhD defense!! 🎉🎉

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Pics from Nicole's graduation party! 🎉🎉

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Congrats Sophie on your review! Open Access: www.preprints.org/manuscript/2...

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

A peach upside down cake for my lab tech Allie's birthday! 🍑

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Reposted by Kristy Ainslie's Lab

American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering (AIMBE) @aimbe-official.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

AIMBE has launched our new Citizen Advocate for Science Letter: takeaction.io/aimbe/scienc... We ask the broader scientific community to widely share this letter (✍️ <1 minute) with friends, family, and other concerned citizens to urge their elected officials to protect biomedical research funding 👇

aimbe.org

Write Your Lawmakers - AIMBE

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Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

Cancer vaccines will be a big part of the future of immunotherapy. A new, super review @thelancet.com www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

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Kristy Ainslie's Lab @kristy-ainslie-lab.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

What's $40k+ a year in unexpected publishing costs in these turbulent times! 😆😭

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