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Matt Wanat

@mattjwanat.bsky.social
11.4K followers 390 following 123 posts

Nerding out to neuroscience since 2002. Studying the neurobiology of motivated behavior by day. Running, hiking, eating, and camping by night. www.wanatlab.org

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Reposted by Matt Wanat
Anthony Dornan @dornan.bsky.social · 20h
For everyone who has ever had to give a talk. Superb. 10/10. No notes.
inpreparation.substack.com
Opinion: Fuck This Fucking Projector
By Prof. Russell Huang, Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Matt Wanat @mattjwanat.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Faculty job opening in Neurodevelopment / Neuroregeneration at UT - San Antonio Please spread the word! www.nature.com/naturecareer...
nature.com
Assistant Professor - College of Sciences, Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology - San Antonio, Texas job with University of Texas at San Antonio | 12865564
The University of Texas at San Antonio College invites applications for a tenure-track appointment at the Assistant Professor level
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Matt Wanat @mattjwanat.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Faculty job opening in Neurodevelopment / Neuroregeneration at UT - San Antonio Please spread the word! www.nature.com/naturecareer...
nature.com
Assistant Professor - College of Sciences, Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology - San Antonio, Texas job with University of Texas at San Antonio | 12865564
The University of Texas at San Antonio College invites applications for a tenure-track appointment at the Assistant Professor level
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Zoe McElligott @nanopharmnc.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Winter Brain Enthusiasts, are you concerned that you've missed your chance to submit a poster for #WCBR2027? FEAR NOT!!!! We are extending the deadline to October 20th, 2026 so you can submit your amazing science! www.winterbrain.org
WCBR Poster Deadline is extended to October 20th, 2026!
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Jenny Hsieh @jennyhsieh1.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The Department of Neuroscience, Developmental and Regenerative Biology at UT San Antonio is recruiting a tenure-track Assistant Professor. What you'll find here: ✅ A collaborative, fast-growing department ✅ A vibrant, affordable city with a great quality of life 👉 Apply here: bit.ly/4drxSBv
bit.ly
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Leanne Holt @holtlm90.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
My lab is recruiting a postdoctoral researcher! Interested in astrocyte transcriptional regulation and addiction? We study how astrocytic transcriptional, epigenetic, and chromatin regulation contributes to substance abuse disorders. DM or email me! www.l-holt-lab.com
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Rachel Donka @racheldonka.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
🚨New paper alert: Excited to share our journey to contrast how multiple dopamine sensors respond to acute morphine treatment. We first compared changes in dopamine transients in rats prepared with VTA DA GCaMP6f, NAcLS dLight1.3b or GRABDA2h 1/5
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Matt Wanat @mattjwanat.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
My apologies
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Matt Wanat @mattjwanat.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
If you are a Mac user then Pages is the way to go (for the final embed of figures). Has never failed... unlike Word
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Zoe McElligott @nanopharmnc.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Winter Brain Enthusiasts! Are you sitting here worried that you missed out on your chance to submit a panel. Did you just come up with a good idea today? I get it I too am a procrastinator. But today is your lucky day....
static.klipy.com
I don't procrastinate. I just like to do things later.
Alt: Ted Danson says "I don't procrastinate. I just like to do things later."
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Matt Wanat @mattjwanat.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Congrats!!!!
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Zoe McElligott @nanopharmnc.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
What is that you say!? You're dreaming of frosty slopes when the weather in Durham, NC (or insert your location here) is currently 89F at 7:16pm (which is better than last night!)....well my friends....spend this #LaborDayWeekend putting together a panel for #WCBR2027 !
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davidweinshenker.bsky.social @davidweinshenker.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
In case you missed the preprint the published version of our paper describing the cellular, molecular, and behavioral consequences of hyperphosphorylated tau in the mouse locus coeruleus is out! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Pathogenic tau in the mouse locus coeruleus produces noradrenergic hyperactivity and neuropsychiatric phenotypes reminiscent of early Alzheimer’s disease - Molecular Psychiatry
Molecular Psychiatry - Pathogenic tau in the mouse locus coeruleus produces noradrenergic hyperactivity and neuropsychiatric phenotypes reminiscent of early Alzheimer’s disease
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eartha mae @endoeartha.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Extremely proud to share @acara333.bsky.social and my new paper, out today in @cp-neuron.bsky.social, where we develop a new fluorescent reporter of neural responses to estrogen! 🔬 paper 📝: www.cell.com/neuron/fullt... addgene page 🧬: www.addgene.org/254753/ #neuroskyence 🧪 1/10
graphical abstract of the manuscript depicting pink estrogen-sensitive neurons with a subset of their nuclei colored in green. These green nuclei represent estrogen receptor dependent neural gene transcription, tracked via the expression of a destabilized GFP with a 2 hour half-life. At top, in green is shown a cartoon of the neural response to estrogen across two estrous cycles, and below there is a cartoon of a mouse implanted with an optic fiber for in vivo imaging.
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Matt Wanat @mattjwanat.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Huge thanks to NIDA / NIH for supporting this STTR grant with Astrocyte Pharmaceuticals and @mikebeckstead.bsky.social. www.astrocytepharma.com/2026/08/astr...
astrocytepharma.com
Astrocyte Pharmaceuticals Receives NIH Award to Evaluate AST-004 in Substance Use Disorders - Astrocyte Pharmaceuticals
$400,000 program extends AST-004 into another major CNS indication and reinforces the breadth of its cerebroprotective potential Groton, CT – August 25, 2026 – Astrocyte Pharmaceuticals Inc., a clinic...
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Matt Wanat @mattjwanat.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Also check out the Panel Interest form (and put your info on there) if you want to present at Winter Brain and are looking to put together a panel. parthenonmgmt-my.sharepoint.com/:x:/p/ahinne...
parthenonmgmt-my.sharepoint.com
2027 Winter Brain Panel Interest Form.xlsx
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Matt Wanat @mattjwanat.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Could also post this on the panel interest form. Also we have projects on sex diffs and stress if you are still looking. parthenonmgmt-my.sharepoint.com/:x:/p/ahinne...
parthenonmgmt-my.sharepoint.com
2027 Winter Brain Panel Interest Form.xlsx
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Lauren Burgeno @laurenburgeno.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
🚨 New Walton × Bogacz Collab Preprint! POV: dopamine refuses to have just one job.🧠 DLS dopamine carries distinct reward AND action prediction errors — parallel teaching signals that could support value learning and habit formation. Enjoyed working with Yuhao, Juan Carlos, et al. on this one!
doi.org
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Zoe McElligott @nanopharmnc.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Gearing up for #WCBR2027! (Please repost!) Helpful links for submission (panels due 9/15/26, posters 10/13/26) and travel fellowships (Due 9/15/26): winterbrain.org/science-of-t... winterbrain.org/travel-fello...
Why Reserachers Choose Winter Brain, From the mouths of attendees: "Great quality science, small meeting, great location" "It was the perfect size for a meeting, with a great  networking opportunity" "The quality of the science and the networking combined with opportunity for snowboarding is very appealing"Find Your Way to Share Your Science
We are now accepting Panel, Perspective, Short Course, and Poster proposals for the 59th Winter Conference on Brain Research in Breckenridge, Colorado, January 30 – February 4, 2027.  Winter Brain seeks proposals from across different neuroscience disciplines and in different formats.

Build the Conversation: Panels
Panels have a cohesive scientific theme. Presentations that approach a theme from different experimental angles or have clinically translational themes are highly encouraged. 

Panel Proposal Deadline: September 15, 2026.
Challenge the Conversation: Perspectives
Perspectives are intended to bring people in a field together to discuss and debate ideas and findings. Brief slide presentations (1–5 slides per panelist) and audience participation should be encouraged by panelists.
Perspective Proposal Deadline: September 15, 2026.

Share Your Expertise: Short Courses
Short Courses introduce a topic/technique to non-experts, addressing its foundations, strengths, and limitations, with ample time for questions. Opportunities for hands-on participation are encouraged.
Short Course Proposal Deadline: September 15, 2026.

Put Your Research in the Spotlight: Posters
Share your latest research and connect directly with scientists in the Winter Brain Community through a Poster presentation.
Poster Proposal Deadline: October 13, 2026.Supporting the Next Generation of Neuroscience - Travel Fellows

The Travel Fellowships page provides information on how to apply for these junior investigator awards. The application deadline is September 15, 2026, for both Panel and Poster Travel Fellowships. In addition to Travel Fellowships, awards for best posters by junior investigators will be presented at the closing banquet. You can indicate your eligibility for a poster award when submitting your poster abstract.
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davidweinshenker.bsky.social @davidweinshenker.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Important new paper on the role of LC mu opioid receptors in pain from @jordacular.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
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Joe Cheer @joeycheers.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
New opening in our lab!
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Kurt Fraser @kurtfraser.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The Department of Psychology at University of Minnesota seeks an Assistant Professor working on computational approaches related to cognition and/or perception (broadly). This would be in my area of the department and I’m happy to answer any questions. Posting : hr.myu.umn.edu/psc/hrprd/EM...
google.com
Careers
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor, Computational Approaches to Perception and/or CognitionDepartment of PsychologyUniversity of Minnesota, College of Liberal ArtsThe Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities announces a search for an outstanding scholar to fill a tenure-track assistant professor position focused on computational approaches to perception and/or cognition. This full-time position in the Department’s Cognitive and Brain Sciences (CAB) Training Program will begin in Fall 2027.Applications are invited from researchers who would extend or complement our historic strengths in combining experimental and computational approaches to perception and cognition. Examples of desired research topics include, but are not limited to, computational approaches in human and/or non-human animal models to study perceptual function and sensory loss, learning, motivation, emotion, and/or higher cognition. While we expect the primary appointment to be in our CAB area, there is  potential for cross-affiliation with other departmental areas.The appointment will be 100%-time over the nine-month academic year (late-August to late-May) and will be made at the rank of tenure-track assistant professor, depending on qualifications and experience and consistent with collegiate and University policy. Salary and start-up packages are competitive. The successful applicant should have and is expected to maintain a strong research program, advise graduate students from a variety of different backgrounds, and teach undergraduate and graduate courses, including core courses within the graduate training program. A strong record of teaching and mentorship is desired. The individual will also be expected to contribute to the service needs of the department, college, university, and profession.A successful candidate's application will demonstrate scholarly distinction, a record of publications, teaching commitment and, if applicable to the research program and the candidate’s career stage, evidence of success in securing and/or pursuing extramural funding.Applicants are invited to review the Workload Principles and Guidelines for Regular Faculty in the College of Liberal Arts, as well as the Standards for Promotion and Tenure in the Department of Psychology.
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Dave Root @neuronroot.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
On the cover of Science Signaling today, the final version of our initial investigation of functional differences between VTA glutamate-dopamine, nonglutamate-dopamine, and glutamate-only neurons www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Distinct properties of glutamate-dopamine, nonglutamate-dopamine, and glutamate-only ventral tegmental area neurons
Glutamate cotransmission predicts the behavioral functions and characteristics of dopaminergic neurons in the VTA.
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Matt Wanat @mattjwanat.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
University gets hacked on Friday. Canvas has been down for most of the time since then. University preemptively shuts down all email/team/web portal access and requires password reset. But password portal reset is busted. So nobody on campus has access to emails. Oh and class starts tomorrow
static.klipy.com
This Is Fine Dog Meme
ALT: This Is Fine Dog Meme
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Zoe McElligott @nanopharmnc.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Winter Brain enthusiasts! Please see the Important Dates below. Also on the website winterbrain.org/conference-h... we cant wait to see you at #WCBR2027
panel, short course, and perspectives deadline and the travel fellow deadline is 9/15/2026
the poster deadline is 10/13/2026
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I-75 Scientist @flscitriguy.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Updates to NIH K awards starting with October 2027 deadlines. The individual K awards are being consolidated into 4 awards. 🧪 grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov
NOT-OD-26-098: Notice of NIH Updates to Career Development (K) Award Programs
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Notice of NIH Updates to Career Development (K) Award Programs NOT-OD-26-098. OD
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Bita Moghaddam @bita137.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Love seeing entirely novel findings about dopamine Move over G proteins! Dopamine can regulate glutamate/NMDA directly and without second messenger systems: D2R physically couples GluN2B to suppress NMDA current directly 🤯 (congrats to team from Javitch & Ford labs) www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Dopamine D2 receptors bypass canonical signaling to directly tune NMDA receptor function and aversive learning
Dopamine acts at D2-NMDA receptor heteromers to control glutamatergic transmission and aversive learning.
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Kate Wassum @katewassum.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
We’re hiring a research technician!! We’re an inclusive team of behavioral neuroscientists trying to discover the brain circuits of learning, decision making, and habit. More info👇 wassumlab.psych.ucla.edu/join-the-lab/ Job posting: jobs.ucla.edu/jobs/11232
Photo of group of Wassum lab scientists standing in front of a fountain at UCLA.
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Dr. Cate Peña @cate-cholamine.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
So proud to have “Early-life stress alters H3K4me1 in VTA to prime stress sensitivity” out now in Neuron! This work spanned Many years and Many people contributed. Huge thanks to @hyejaykim.bsky.social, @ja-balouek.bsky.social, Luke Geiger, and Meaghan Creed www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
cell.com
Early-life stress alters H3K4me1 in VTA to prime stress sensitivity
Kim, Geiger et al. report that early-life stress increases the chromatin modification H3K4me1 and its enzymatic writer, SETD7, in the ventral tegmental area. They show that this form of epigenetic pri...
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Dr. Becca @docbecca.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Please share--the Shansky lab is currently recruiting at all levels to work on an NIH-funded project investigating sex differences in the neural circuits that drive defensive behaviors. The official job ad isn't yet up, but interested folks can contact me as instructed here www.shanskylab.com/join
shanskylab.com
Join — Shansky Lab
The lab at our end-of-semester field day
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Bita Moghaddam @bita137.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
This guidance is for NCI for now but I assume it will become NIH wide?? "when grant proposals contain animal experiments, the proposal should also contain a plan for validation of the findings of this animal experiment in a human model"
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Talia Lerner @talialerner.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
And a second new preprint from Lerner Lab on the same day! 👀 🎉 Led by graduate student Nkatha Mwenda! “Dopamine dips during unrewarded actions promote punishment-resistant reward seeking” #neuroskyence🧪
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Talia Lerner @talialerner.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
🚨Happy to share a new preprint from Lerner Lab led by graduate student @nadelneurosci.bsky.social! 🚨 “Adolescent stress recruits a latent amygdala-dopamine circuit to drive punishment-resistant reward-seeking” This has been a wholly impressive effort by Jacob; summary below 👇 #neuroskyence🧪
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Ben Saunders @bensaunders.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
The final version of our amygdala dopamine paper is out! BLA dopamine dynamically tracks emotional salience and not value or reward prediction error. Congrats to Dr. Megan Brickner!! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Basolateral amygdala dopamine transmits emotional salience - Nature Communications
The basolateral amygdala dopamine system has received little attention. Here, authors show that BLA dopamine plays a unique role in learning, by encoding the emotional salience of sensory cues to supp...
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Jeremy Day @daylab.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Very excited about this new preprint from @odrake.bsky.social, an incredibly talented MD/PhD student in the lab. 🧵 below, but the TL;DR: we found a rare striatal neuron subtype with unique transcriptional, spatial, and circuit properties that gates opioid reward.
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Matt Wanat @mattjwanat.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Congrats!!!!
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Matt Wanat @mattjwanat.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Thanks David! Also congrats on your recent paper with Bruchas that just came out in Cell Reports!
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Alexey Soshnev @asoshnev.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Out on bioRxiv - chemogenetic activation of VTA astrocytes switches pro- to anti-addictive behavior dependent on prior drug exposure - via @mattjwanat.bsky.social and our collaborators at UT Health
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I-75 Scientist @flscitriguy.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Oh, and Forms J are coming... grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov
NOT-OD-26-094: NIH Is Replacing Letters of Support with Letters of Collaboration to Reduce Administrative Burden
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: NIH Is Replacing Letters of Support with Letters of Collaboration to Reduce Administrative Burden NOT-OD-26-094. NIH
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Matt Wanat @mattjwanat.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Thanks Jibran!
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Matt Wanat @mattjwanat.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Check out the new preprint from the lab led by Brandon Garcia-Castañeda! Huge shout out to NIH/NIDA for initially funding this line of research and continuing to support this work in a new R21/R33 with @asoshnev.bsky.social! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Ventral tegmental area astrocytes regulate drug-cue associations and drug intake
Cocaine use disorder remains a critical public health concern with limited treatment options. Astrocytes are increasingly recognized as active regulators of neurotransmission and are emerging as impor...
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bioRxiv Neuroscience @biorxiv-neursci.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Ventral tegmental area astrocytes regulate drug-cue associations and drug intake www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/20…
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Bita Moghaddam @bita137.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Our new study ⬇️inspired by the question: does psilocybin influence meta-learning and cortical processing of unexpected uncertainty? Why is this important? Meta-learning may be critical for therapeutic effects of psychedelics and how the trip creates a window that facilitates clinical intervention
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Mitch Roitman @mitchroitman.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Dopamine and sodium appetite! Sodium appetite causes a 'sign change' in the taste of hypertonic NaCl solutions. We've previously shown that generation of the appetite recruits phasic dopamine to the taste of NaCl; here we show the 'derecruitment' process during satiation.
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Daniel Castro @flanbrain.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Fresh from the Castro Lab! We characterize how mu opioid receptors on pancreatic alpha cells regulate ingestive phenotypes. Surprise! Mu can act both inside and outside the brain😱 Congrats to our technician Diego De Gregorio! @ssibsociety.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Pancreatic mu opioid receptors regulate metabolism and ingestive behaviors
The mu opioid receptor system has long been recognized for its role in regulating ingestive behaviors and food palatability. However, beyond their rob…
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Stephen V Mahler @svmahler.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Are ultrasonic vocalizations a window into the subjective effects of drugs of abuse, and VTA dopamine neuron manipulations, in rats? 🤔 New answers to these questions, & intriguing new questions raised! urldefense.com/v3/__https:/...
urldefense.com
Interrogating roles for VTA dopamine neurons in locomotion and ultrasonic vocalizations elicited by different classes of rewarding drugs
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Kurt Fraser @kurtfraser.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Our labs first paper! Some 😳 surprising effects. Turns out everything comes back to context 🤓
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Travis Moschak @tmoschak.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
We're hiring! UTEP seeks two Research Assistant Professors studying neural circuits underlying substance use disorders. • Behavioral Neuroscientist • Brain Circuit Imaging & Atlas Mapping Behavior: tinyurl.com/3wkrsrw3 Imaging: tinyurl.com/8fefztm3 #Neuroscience #AcademicJobs
utep.interviewexchange.com
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davidweinshenker.bsky.social @davidweinshenker.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Excited to share this new Addiction Neuroscience Special Issue on Transcriptomics in Addiction. Edited by Laura Saba and Dayne Mayfield with articles from Ana-Clara Bobadilla, Ryan Logan, Giordano de Guglielmo, José Sotelo-Silveira, and Tamara Phillips labs. www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
sciencedirect.com
Addiction Neuroscience | The Role of Transcriptomics in Addiction | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier
The generation of RNA transcripts in a cell is one of the first opportunities for interaction between DNA sequence and the environment (both at the organism and cellular level). Although many RNA transcripts get translated into proteins that are active in the cell, many other types of transcripts play critical roles in both the transcription and translation processes and ultimately, in how our bodies respond to our environment. Brain transcriptomics has the potential to mediate our acute responses to drugs of abuse and to reflect the changing cellular environment across the addiction cycle. Furthermore, RNA-based therapeutics are emerging as a significant treatment resource for many diseases. However, our knowledge about non-coding RNA transcripts, differences in transcript processing, and the interdependence among networks of transcripts is far from complete. This Special Issue features novel research into the role of transcriptomics and epigenetics in the neuroscience of addiction including predisposing factors and changing molecular phenotypes across the addiction cycle with the ultimate goal of identifying novel treatment and prevention approaches.
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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 27/06/2026
NIH grants have been under political scrutiny since early 2025. But what does the screening process actually look like? What is being flagged? I spent a month digging into leaked docs and emails. We've published the 235-word list that are being flagged by an internal AI tool. And so much more. 🧵
nature.com
Inside the new political screening that’s stalling NIH grants
Mandatory reviews by top health officials and checks for 235 disfavoured terms have left hundreds of vetted grant applications in administrative limbo.
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