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Melanie D. White

@melaniedwhite.bsky.social
2.8K followers 730 following 91 posts

ARC Future Fellow & Group Leader @IMBatUQ Development biologist/ neuroscientist/ live imager passionate about understanding embryo morphogenesis.

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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I spoke with @nature.com about the Nikon Small World controversy. As AI becomes part of scientific imaging, we need greater transparency about what was measured, inferred or generated. It's not about excluding AI. It’s about preserving trust in scientific evidence. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
This award-winning microscopy image used AI — igniting controversy in a prestigious competition
Researchers say that using artificial-intelligence tools to visualize scientific images can become problematic when models misrepresent the underlying data.
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The Nikon Small World AI controversy has me worried. AI is transforming science, but what happens once it can generate “raw data” indistinguishable from real data? How do we embrace AI without losing confidence in the data underpinning scientific discovery? www.the-scientist.com/allegations-...
the-scientist.com
Allegations of AI Use in Nikon Competition Spark Controversy | The Scientist
Microscopists raise concerns about inappropriate AI usage in Nikon's microscopy contest-winning video. Nikon stands their ground, citing no policy breach.
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
It’s mainly to improve the visual presentation
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A/Prof Sam Stehbens PhD (She/Her) @samstehbens.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Thank-you to the community members who spoke up. In the age of AI it is increasingly important to maintain #biologicalreality. Hallucinating biological structures is not science. @melaniedwhite.bsky.social @christlet.bsky.social & Robert Hirst.
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Happy #FluorescenceFriday from the UQ Institute for Molecular Bioscience where the fluorescence is real and the embryos are keeping a watchful eye 👀. Imaged by the entirely human @vanderspuy.bsky.social 🔬 👩‍🔬
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Biomedical Picture of the Day BPoD @bpodaily.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Essential role for PRICKLE-1 protein in the formation & closure of the neural tube – the precursor to the brain and spinal cord 📹 Jian Xiong Wang et al @melaniedwhite.bsky.social lab University of Queensland in @natcomms.nature.com ➡️ bpod.org.uk/archive/2026... with John Ankers
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Happy #FluorescenceFriday! ✨ It's the glue that holds us together, but it looks like a pair of angel wings to me. 👼 This beautiful meshwork of extracellular matrix surrounds the developing tissues of a quail embryo, helping guide cells as they build the body. 📷 @wangjianxiong.bsky.social 🔬
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Happy #FluorescenceFriday! 🔥 Neural crest cells are bringing the heat again! These migrating cells weave through the developing quail embryo, leaving beautiful patterns in their wake. 😍🧪🔬 📷 @siewzhuan.bsky.social 🔬
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Happy #FluorescenceFriday! ✨🔬 A peek inside a developing quail embryo, where the brain and heart are already taking shape. A tiny embryo doing some seriously impressive developmental heavy lifting. 💪❤️ 📷 @vanderspuy.bsky.social
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ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Some substantial changes announced by ARC for next (supposedly final) rounds of some schemes, esp. Discovery Projects👇 🔹CIs can only be on one DP28 app 🔹CIs on successful DP26 or DP27 apps cannot apply 🔹Rejoinder process “has been removed and replaced with more detailed feedback to applicants” ⁉️
arc.gov.au
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
Happy #FluorescenceFriday! 🏁🔥🧪 And they're off! These neural crest cells are racing past the somites on their journey to become ganglia. Beautifully captured by Yanina Alvarez 🔬#devbio
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Happy #FluorescenceFriday! ✨ A peek beneath the surface of a quail embryo reveals the neuroepithelium and beautifully segmented somites hiding below. 📷 Captured by PhD student @samarar.bsky.social. 🔬😍
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Happy #FluorescenceFriday 🔥 The title may be new, but the spectacular microscopy isn't! Congratulations to the newly minted DR @vanderspuy.bsky.social on a well-earned PhD! 🔬
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Happy #FluorescenceFriday! 🔥🧪🔬 A blaze of neural crest cells migrates through a developing quail embryo on one of embryonic development's most epic journeys. Beautifully captured by @vanderspuy.bsky.social 👩‍🔬🐣 #Devbio
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the Node @the-node.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
A day in the life of a Transgenic Quail lab Samara Ranie @samarar.bsky.social, PhD student in Melanie White's @melaniedwhite.bsky.social lab, reveals a day in the life of a transgenic quail lab. 🥚🔬 thenode.biologists.com/a-day-in-the...
thenode.biologists.com
A day in the life of a Transgenic Quail lab - the Node
Samara Ranie, PhD student in Melanie White's lab, takes us through a day in the life of a transgenic quail lab.
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NARF_AU @narfau.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Got 2 minutes? Australian research delivers medical breakthroughs, innovation, jobs, and the next generation of scientists. Yet we're investing less than many comparable nations. If science matters to you, please take a moment to tell your MP...🧪 restorescience.com.au
restorescience.com.au
Homepage | Back Australia's Ability
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
The talent runs deep in our lab! Check out this article PhD student @samarar.bsky.social wrote for @aunz.theconversation.com about our new paper out in @natcomms.nature.com 🧪👩‍🔬🐣 #Devbio
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 27/04/2026
I'm SO excited to see this new paper from our lab's first PhD graduate @wangjianxiong.bsky.social. An outstanding student with a promising career ahead! A PCP-independent role for Prickle1 in junctional neural tube formation. 🧪🐣 Check it out: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
I'm so pleased to see this work on neural crest development out in Nature today! This was a truly fantastic collaboration with @gleesonlab.bsky.social, Keng loi (Harry) Vong and @xiaoxuyang.bsky.social. Huge thanks to everyone involved 👏 🧪🐣 #devbio www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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NARF_AU @narfau.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Australia’s health & medical research system is at a critical turning point. Read & sign an open letter to govt calling for urgent action to: • Unlock the full capacity of the MRFF • Support sustainable research careers • Build a connected national innovation system www.ccrg.org.au/news/an-open...
ccrg.org.au
Unlock the MRFF: An Open Letter from Australia’s Medical Research and Scientific Community — Critical Care Research Group
Join our Open Letter to Minister Mark Butler calling for the full capacity of the MRFF to be unlocked. Australia stands at a critical juncture for medical research and innovation. The decisions we ma...
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Neural crest cells beginning their long trek out of the neural tube in a quail embryo. Beautifully captured by the fantastic @siewzhuan.bsky.social 🧪🐣🔬
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
So depressing that this is the Australian research landscape early career researchers training in my lab are seeing. I hope we can turn it around before we lose all these talented young scientists.
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
This developing quail embryo looks like it's thinking fiery thoughts for #FluorescenceFriday 🐣🔥🧪. Imaged by the fantastic @vanderspuy.bsky.social
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A/Prof Sam Stehbens PhD (She/Her) @samstehbens.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
#NARF is on bluesky! 👉 if you’ve held a fellowship in the last 10 years, you should join.
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Dr Monique Ryan @mon4kooyong.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Right now, the Government is starving medical research of full funding, even as it claims that science and research are national priorities. If our leaders truly value science as much as they say, then they must back their words with action—and fund it properly. Join the campaign!
moniqueryan.com.au
Medical Research Matters
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natalieadye.bsky.social @natalieadye.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Apply for a PhD in Singapore at NUS! Deadline Jan 12. I'm recruiting: Here with Mechanobiology Institute: www.mbi.nus.edu.sg/education/gr... and Here with Biomedical Engineering dept: cde.nus.edu.sg/bme/
mbi.nus.edu.sg
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ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 02/12/2025
Every opportunity politicians provide for you to tell them about how chronic underfunding of research in Australia is affecting your particular fields, people, working conditions etc. is extremely important. Fill out the form here: lnkd.in/g8A_PAZG
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Aussies, please consider signing this petition to show your support for Australian science. The sector is already on its knees. 🇦🇺 🧪 actionnetwork.org/petitions/cs...
actionnetwork.org
CSIRO needs urgent support
CSIRO is under attack. Sign the petition calling on the Albanese Government to act now to secure the future of CSIRO’s world-leading science and research.
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
It must be spring! Every spring for at least the last 3yrs, these crows have collected and stashed their favourite sticks outside my 6th floor office window. They collect them for 1-2 months and then one day, they all vanish! 🐦‍⬛🪹🪺
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Nature @nature.com · 29/10/2025
Funders must recognise that great discoveries often come from studies that seeks to advance knowledge for its own sake go.nature.com/47zrzYZ
go.nature.com
From MRI to Ozempic: breakthroughs that show why fundamental research must be protected
In these financially straitened times, funders must recognize that great discoveries often arise from work that was looking for something completely different.
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Hey Mechanobiologists! Come and join us in sunny Brisbane for #MechBio2025 Nov 5-7. Registration is now open. Enjoy world-class science, a stellar speaker line-up, and relaxed Queensland vibes. 🧪🔬🌴 ausmb.org/meetings_202...
ausmb.org
Mechanobiology2025
Join us for MechBio2025, the annual meeting of the Australian Society for Mechanobiology. November 5-7, 2025 at the University of Queensland, Brisbane. Featuring international keynote speakers and sho...
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 29/08/2025
Bird’s eye view, literally. 🐦👁️ Glowing quail embryo eye for #FluorescenceFriday, #DevBio 🧪🔬
A microscope image showing a developing eye in a quail embryo. Actin is labelled in orange and nuclei are in cyan.
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 28/08/2025
Spring has sprung at the UQ Lakes! 😍
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ruthwilliamslab.bsky.social @ruthwilliamslab.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
Register for the 12th Avian Model Systems Meeting www.stowers.org/events/avian.... We have now received funds from the @biologists.bsky.social to subsidise the travel/registration costs for students and early career researchers presenting their work from selected abstracts.
stowers.org
Research Organisms in Flight: Revealing the Roots of Vertebrate Form…
Organized by Tatjana Sauka-Spengler, Ph.D., and Ruth Williams, Ph.D.
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AIC at Janelia @aicjanelia.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
We've enjoyed having Marise and Samara from the lab of @melaniedwhite.bsky.social here to image quail embryos on our MOSAIC system. We wish them safe travels home and happy data analyzing!
A photo of a group of five people standing in a room filled with scientific equipment.
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Absolutely thrilled to be heading off soon to @stowersinstitute.bsky.social for this incredible meeting! The speaker lineup is stacked, and it’s all about the amazing potential of avian model systems. I’m travelling 25 hours to get there - can anyone top that? #devbio 🧪🐣✈️🔥
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
How long would you wait before contacting an editor to ask them to please either send your paper out for review or reject it so we can all move on with our lives? 1️⃣ 2 weeks 2️⃣ 3 weeks 3️⃣ 4+ weeks 4️⃣ Never - don't poke the bear! 📊 Show results
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 26/07/2025
Night time in the lab
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
Sunset in the lab @aicjanelia.bsky.social 😍
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
Today was a super fun first day of imaging @aicjanelia.bsky.social with @vanderspuy.bsky.social and @samarar.bsky.social. All hail the quail!🧪🔬#DevBio
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
I’m so excited to wake up at Janelia @hhmijanelia.bsky.social this morning! Ready for some awesome quail imaging over the next few weeks #DevBio 🤗🔬🧪
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ruthwilliamslab.bsky.social @ruthwilliamslab.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
12th Avian Model Systems Meeting bit.ly/3ZBw2qS @stowersinstitute.bsky.social. We will be joined by Marianne Bronner, Olivier Pourquié, Megan Davey, Julie Elie, @jeromegros.bsky.social, Carols Lois, Peter Lwigale, Alan Rodrigues, Marcos Simoes-Costa, @melaniedwhite.bsky.social and YOU!
bit.ly
Research Organisms in Flight: Revealing the Roots of Vertebrate Form…
Organized by Tatjana Sauka-Spengler, Ph.D., and Ruth Williams, Ph.D.
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Love this power crew of UQ #ARC Future Fellows (former, current and the newly minted @vessel-integrity.bsky.social)! My commiserations to those who missed out today. It’s a truly brutal system. Be kind to yourselves 💕
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
I’m excited for this! 🧪
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
In these turbulent times, beautiful microscopy always cheers me up 😍. Here's a quail neural tube just doing its thing for #FluorescenceFriday. Imaged by the very talented @vanderspuy.bsky.social #devbio 🧪🔬👩‍🔬
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Wonderful to watch @brettcollins.bsky.social giving his @anzscdb.bsky.social President’s Medal talk. So well deserved! #HunterMeetingOz 🧪
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Melanie D. White @melaniedwhite.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
My cat is channelling today’s vibe #CatsOfAcademia
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Meltem Weger @melweger.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Time change season is here! While most Australian states fall back from DST, QLD, WA & NT don't practice it. @benweger.bsky.social and I break down why this might be a win in our latest piece for The Conversation. ⏰☀️ @emcra-imb.bsky.social theconversation.com/daylight-sav...
theconversation.com
Daylight saving time ends Sunday. Why do we change our clocks? And how does it affect our bodies?
Here’s how your body might respond when you turn your clock back an hour on Saturday night.
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ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com reporting on the proposed changes to the ARC grants system. There’s concern that getting rid of standalone fellowships will have lots of unintended consequences, especially for Early-Career Researchers. By @donnadlu.bsky.social
theguardian.com
Changes to ARC grants will make it harder for Australia to combat Trump chaos, researchers warn
Plan to cut most standalone positions in favour of shorter fellowships will hurt international recruitment, critics say
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ARC Tracker @arc-tracker.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
The total Australian Research Council budget is $1bn.
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