Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 07/10/2026zero women have won a Nobel prize in the past few days. how disappointing 011
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Grateful to the #Marfan Foundation for featuring me in their newest magazine issue (page 12), Connective Issues! Patient advocacy has always been important to me and I'm thrilled I get to continue lending my voice to the community even as my career is expanding beyond connective tissue disorders. 121
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 04/10/2026next time I watch the bills play after today will be IN PERSON for my first ever bills game, GO BILLS 120
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 24/09/2026God I love science www.vet.cornell.edu/about-us/new...vet.cornell.eduFirst known cases of feline Marfan syndrome discovered in cat siblingsResearchers at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and the Baker Institute of Animal Health have documented the first molecular characterization of Marfan syndrome in domestic cats, ... 011
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 21/09/2026new headshots are in courtesy of the UC Berkeley postdoc association ✨☀️ 041
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 18/09/2026echo day happened to coincide with game day, happy to have a healthy aorta for another year, go bills 210
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 24/08/2026So grateful to have my parents visit me in Berkeley this weekend and enjoy a fantastic trip to Yosemite! as a climber I was in heaven! next time I’d love to climb there 120
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 12/08/2026So sad to hear of the passing of Reed Pyeritz, a world renowned expert on #Marfan and other genetic aortic conditions. He was at Penn while I was working on my PhD project on Marfan syndrome and he met with me multiple times to give me advice and direction. 111
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Will probably delete this later because I’m a coward who eventually needs a job but honestly going WHAT THE F in the audience at rare disease day when jay bhattacharya said that MAHA will help the rare disease community was like, the bravest and coolest I’ve been in my life 030
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 15/06/2026Excited to tune into the #Marfan Foundation conference this week! Looking forward to learning about new translational and clinical research. the focus of my postdoc isn’t connective tissue disorders so it’ll be fun to get immersed back into the field! hopefully I am welcomed back with open arms 😅 020
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 14/06/2026today was my first visit to San Francisco, I cheered on my labmates in their rec soccer game, saw sea lions, and had in n out so it was a very solid day 150
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 02/06/2026having a lot of feelings about the breakthrough drug for pancreatic cancer. I haven’t looked at the data yet. My uncle died of pancreatic cancer one week ago after being diagnosed just three months ago. wish a drug like this had been in time for him. F%#k cancer. 030
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 25/05/202660 days sober today for the first time since I was 18 🥲 One day I’ll write a book about this challenging time of my life - surrounded by chaos and questioning my career and my integrity daily, all while prioritizing my sobriety. every day reaffirms that sobriety is the best choice for me right now. 2110
Reposted by Lauren Testa, Ph.D.santiago, phd 🐈⬛ @santiagokique.bsky.social · 21/05/2026Dr. Fauci came to Stanford for Medicine grand rounds and shared a few reflections I thought were worth passing on: The first was about Operation Warp Speed and the current state of the NIH. As you’ll recall the first mRNA vax was developed at record speed. Fauci atttributes that success to 4 factors 321670
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 18/05/2026Big day today. Doing my PhD on developing #genomeediting #CRISPR therapies for my own #RareDisease and related conditions was the honor of a lifetime. This one is for the #marfan #marfansyndrome community 🩷 7504
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 06/05/2026this is the same agency that is being praised for its regulatory flexibility re: gene editing therapies. the good that they’re doing in the editing space shouldn’t make them immune from criticism and should not detract from the ways they’re harming our country’s health 011
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 29/04/2026reminding myself on this fine wednesday morning that the american health insurance system is designed for people like me to give up when trying to get help, so to spite the system I need to not give up!! 021
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 22/04/2026The #RareDisease community has lost a great advocate. John Hudson was a young man with EB, whose story I learned through the YouTube channel Special Books for Special Kids. Based on the videos I’ve seen, he seemed like a compassionate, resilient person who did so much for the EB community. 111
Reposted by Lauren Testa, Ph.D.Dr. Mar @boldnewme.bsky.social · 12/04/2026Look at the women at NASA. They are the ones pushing the boundaries of science, solving problems most people can’t even understand, and carrying this country forward, while our politicians right now posture and stumble through talking points. And they are doing it all with joy.👇 417193834136
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 08/04/2026there seems to be some confusion, I did not do any work during my PhD that has led to the treatment of a child lol. I worked on therapeutic genome editing for hereditary connective tissue disorders, and now like 15 mice who would have had PXE do not because of me, that’s all😭 120
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 07/04/2026day 3 of postdoc: got asked several thought provoking and interesting scientific questions by some very smart trainees. Immediate response was “oh I am definitely not the person to ask about that”, only to realize I literally now am the person to ask about that 😬😬😬 060
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 02/04/2026tag urself I’m the mutation in a single gene that causes one of 5000 human diseases lol 030
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 01/04/2026First day of work!! Got my ID card and my email and scheduled meetings so I’ll call it a win. lucky to be here, honored as always to represent the #RareDisease community 🥲 #CRISPR 052
Reposted by Lauren Testa, Ph.D.Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 24/03/2026Okay so why was I the only one in the theater tonight who gasped when Ryan Gosling ran a centrifuge with two tubes in the whole thing, sitting right next to each other? Sorry was I the only scientist in the film society theater tonight?? 2683242239
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 28/03/2026showed up to my little apartment in Berkeley to discover it was covered with hundreds of flies 😭 thankfully it was deep cleaned today and it looks great now but I was making SO many TH Morgan/fly genetics jokes for the last 24h 😭 I’m calling apartment “the fly room” for obvious reasons 010
Reposted by Lauren Testa, Ph.D.public health guy @publichealthguy1.bsky.social · 26/03/2026folks are forgetting jay bhattacharya’s reaction to the CDC attack. says a lot more than his empty words. these lies were cited by the shooter as his motive for firing 500 rounds at CDC staff and killing a police officer 213340
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 25/03/2026Today is my last day in Philadelphia after five incredible years. Saying goodbye to my friends over the past week has been heartbreaking. I’ve developed a life I really love here. Here’s hoping I’ll be back some day. 460
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 17/03/2026wake up babe new *inheritance pattern for #MarfanSyndrome* just dropped! SO interesting. Familial #Marfan syndrome with an unaffected parent. The potential for trisomy FBN1 (would aorta and joints be extra strong?!) I love old-school #HumanGenetics. #Genetics pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govNovel Generation‐Skipping Inheritance Pattern of Marfan Syndrome Due to FBN1 Insertional Translocation: Diagnostic Utility of FISH and Implications for Genetic CounselingMarfan syndrome (MFS) is an autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder caused by pathogenic variants in the fibrillin‐1 (FBN1) gene on Chromosome 15q21.1. A 3‐year‐old female presented to the clinic with MFS and a family history of an affected ... 031
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 11/03/2026Now that I am packing up the last of my moving boxes, I am excited to share that I will be joining the @urnov.bsky.social Lab at the CZI-IGI Center for Pediatric CRISPR Cures at UC Berkeley @innovativegenomics.bsky.social as a Postdoc/Team Lead in just a few weeks! 120
Reposted by Lauren Testa, Ph.D.Innovative Genomics Institute @innovativegenomics.bsky.social · 28/02/2026We're collaborating with the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network to create the Center for Pediatric #CRISPR cures, which will bring personalized genomic medicines to children with rare diseases. Learn more ow.ly/X60p50YnzgT #RareDiseaseDay 061
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 27/02/2026easiest way to boost my mood is to call me Dr Lauren Testa, btw 😂 Thanks to all for your kind words about my talk. I felt so supported by the #RareDisease community today. #RDDNIH 040
Reposted by Lauren Testa, Ph.D.Eric Topol @erictopol.bsky.social · 26/02/2026This week's cover @thelancet.com 4031031440
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 26/02/2026Emotions have been running high lately. Yesterday was my last day in the Musunuru Lab, and saying goodbye to my labmates and friends was heartbreaking. Our group is full of so many kind, brilliant scientists who made me a better scientist and person. 241
Reposted by Lauren Testa, Ph.D.Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · 23/02/2026This piece by @jeneeninterlandi.bsky.social is one for the ages. The damage Donald Trump (under the guidance of Russell Vought) has done to biomedical research is profound and will be long-lasting. It is a national tragedy to be measured in the sick and the dead. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/o...nytimes.comOpinion | The Human Cost of Trump’s War on Science 616299
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 23/02/2026Update, my #RDDNIH talk is now at 2:20PM instead of 10:50AM this Friday, Feb 27! Live-streamed and in-person. Looking forward to it! #RareDisease #Marfan #CRISPR 012
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 23/02/2026as a #raredisease patient and as a biomedical scientist whose salary depends on NIH funding, i do not agree with 99.99% of the folks at HHS. but the plausible mechanism pathway announced today is a promising first step toward meaningful therapies for devastating genetic diseases. 110
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 18/02/2026excited to be giving a Rare Story at 10:50am at #RDDNIH! I don’t get to publicly speak about what it’s like to be a #RareDisease patient working on genetic therapies very often so I’m quite excited! 152
Reposted by Lauren Testa, Ph.D.Micah @rincewind.run · 11/02/2026the rollout of the mRNA vaccines was one of the greatest public health triumphs in history and the end result has been the all-around triumph of the antivax movement and I will never get over it 303408939
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 07/02/2026For both #RareDisease month and #MarfanSyndrome awareness month, I thought I'd share this article I wrote for the @ahajournals.bsky.social about being a patient-scientist working on developing genetic therapies for my condition and related conditions. 262
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 07/02/2026happy Marfan awareness month from me and my now partial weight bearing left knee almost stuck the move though, but my leg completely crumpled in the fall 240
Reposted by Lauren Testa, Ph.D.BK. Titanji @boghuma.bsky.social · 28/01/2026The scale of the loss is unimaginable. www.science.org/content/arti...science.orgU.S. government has lost more than 10,000 STEM Ph.D.s since Trump took officeA Science analysis reveals how many were fired, retired, or quit across 14 agencies 115545
Reposted by Lauren Testa, Ph.D.Molly Ploofkins @mollyploofkins.bsky.social · 26/01/2026Alex Pretti’s coworkers take a moment of silence this morning 179120643355
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 25/01/2026This is my favorite part of my #PhD defense presentation, my acknowledgement to NIH where I started my scientific career. I am proud of myself for using my platform to speak out about the tragedy of science in this country. @standupforscience.bsky.social 29515
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 24/01/2026Yesterday was perfect. My whole community came out to support me, and as I looked around at my closest friends and family during our four course dinner, I asked myself over and over “how did I get so lucky?” Dr. Lauren Catherine Testa, Ph.D. 160
Lauren Testa, Ph.D. @laurenctesta.bsky.social · 23/01/2026I'm going to be sharing several projects tomorrow, including some unpublished Marfan work I did early on in my PhD. I learned a lot from the project, but therapeutically it didn't pan out how I'd hoped. At first I was almost embarrassed to publicly share a project like this but you know what? 130