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Matthew Freeman

@mjafreeman.bsky.social
4.2K followers 1.4K following 555 posts

Cell Biologist. Membrane proteins, rhomboids, signalling, inflammation, cancer, unknome... Head, Dunn School of Pathology, @UniofOxford And other stuff

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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Yet another opportunity @dunnschool.bsky.social! We are looking for an Associate Professor If you have exciting research plans, @dunnschool.bsky.social is a great place: excellent science (and lovely people, obvs) www.path.ox.ac.uk/vacancy/asso...
path.ox.ac.uk
Associate Professorship of Cancer Biology - Sir William Dunn School of Pathology in association with the Queen’s College. - Dunn School
We are seeking to appoint an Associate Professor working in the area of the cellular and/or molecular biology of cancer, to be based in Oxford University’s Sir William Dunn School of Pathology. The ro...
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Martin Pacesa @martinpacesa.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
ʙɪɴᴅᴄʀᴀꜰᴛ2 is out, and we're not waiting for the paper. The full code drops today, free for academic and industry use. We're releasing it early so you can start designing right now, and bring its full power to the current Adaptyv competition. github.com/PacesaLab/Bi...
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The Dunn School, Oxford @dunnschool.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Applications are now open for our PhD Programme Studentship Competition! Come and join our community of students studying the molecular mechanisms underlying health and disease. Deadline: 1st Dec (noon) www.path.ox.ac.uk/study-with-u...
path.ox.ac.uk
Graduate Students - Dunn School
Our graduate students’ community comprises around 70 post-graduate students from over 30 countries. Find out how to apply for a PhD at the Dunn School, what projects are available, and why we are the ...
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The Company of Biologists @biologists.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
We are pleased to welcome Dan Shanahan as our new CEO. Dan brings extensive publishing expertise and market knowledge to the role, with a strong background in Open Access publishing and non-profit organisations.Read more at www.biologists.com/stories/welc...
biologists.com
Welcome Dan Shanahan
The Company of Biologists is pleased to welcome Dan Shanahan as the new Chief Executive Officer, effective from 14 September 2026.
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Marius Lemberg @marius-lemberg.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Fascinating new work on TMEM115 and Rab6A/TMF1. I did smile at “in contrast to canonical rhomboid-like mechanisms” - given how little we still know about how most rhomboid pseudoproteases actually work 😉. Really intriguing study!
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Less than 2 weeks to apply! If you are looking for early career fellowship sponsorship, consider @dunnschool.bsky.social to launch your independent career Great science, great support and, of course, lovely colleagues... www.path.ox.ac.uk/work-with-us...
path.ox.ac.uk
Group Leader Career Development Fellowships - Dunn School
Are you an early career researcher interested in the cell or molecular mechanisms underlying disease? Do you have an outstanding record and an innovative research plan?
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Charles Fourier @charlesfourier.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Bill Bryson’s words seem appropriate to post right now
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
If you would like to add your voice to tens of thousands of people thanking RNLI volunteers for their work, 38 Degrees have organised this open letter to express public support (at a time when a hateful fringe have been intimidating & abusing RNLI volunteers) act.38degrees.org.uk/act/rnli-tha...
act.38degrees.org.uk
An open letter in support of the volunteers and staff at the RNLI
This is a disgrace. Brave RNLI volunteers being called scum for risking their lives to save others at sea is just plain wrong. So I've signed an open letter of thanks for the RNLI letting them know th...
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Feels like an interesting one... oh, wait...!
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Gavin Simpson @gsimpson.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
So I did tell the editor where to shove it — politely of course
Dear Professor Bee,

Thank you for your email, and again for the time that you, the handling editor, and the reviewers have devoted to my manuscript, "Method: Using generalized additive models in the livestock animal sciences". I am very grateful for the constructive review of the paper and was pleased that it was accepted for publication in animal – open space.

I have considered the requested changes to remove first-person formulations such as “I show”, “I describe”, and similar expressions. I respectfully disagree with this stylistic requirement and am not willing to revise the manuscript throughout to adopt an impersonal style. The use of first-person, active prose is a deliberate authorial choice, and there is substantial contemporary guidance encouraging clearer, more direct scientific writing of this kind, including Brennan (2024, *PNAS*, doi:10.1073/pnas.2316966121) and guidance from Nature advocating active rather than passive scientific prose (https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/effective-writing-13815989/).

I would therefore be very happy for the manuscript to remain with animal – open space and proceed to publication, subject to normal copy-editing, provided that the requirement to convert first-person formulations throughout the manuscript to an impersonal style is withdrawn.

If the journal considers this stylistic change to be a condition of publication, please treat this email as my formal request that the manuscript not proceed to publication.

As I signed the publishing agreement following acceptance, I would be grateful if, in that event, you could confirm in writing that the manuscript will not be published by animal – open space and that, pursuant to the “Reversion of Rights” provision in the agreement, all rights granted under the exclusive publishing and distribution licence have reverted to me. I would also appreciate confirmation that I am free to submit the manuscript for consideration by another journal.

I regret that we have reach…
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Dr Jo Kershaw @mthrjo.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
The RNLI have some of the best people in Britain volunteering for them. They put their lives on the line when they are called on and they will rescue anyone who needs them. Because every life matters, and offering help is the right thing to do. You can donate here: rnli.org
rnli.org
RNLI - Royal National Lifeboat Institution - Saving Lives at Sea
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. We do this through lifeboat search and rescue, lifeguards, water safety education and international interventions.
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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Everyone heard of landlocked countries. You might even be able to some of the 44 nations without access to the ocean. This map however introduces us to the idea of landlocked rivers and kindly marks their watersheds too. Great geography fun: www.reddit.com/r/geography/...
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MwahahahahahadScientist @mads100tist.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
That's why the response to these people has to be putting them in jail for 50 years, so the next one that has the same idea thinks "hmmm best not to"
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Heather Brown-Harding @microscopyed.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
These people are evil. 2 year olds!?!
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Wow Extraordinary report from @financialtimes.com on stem cell charlatans in US www.ft.com/content/007e...
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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Pro tip: Most of these @dshb-antibodies.bsky.social Abs are documented in dozens of publications and are also substantially cheaper.
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Hey, @valerialulla.bsky.social welcome to @dunnschool.bsky.social
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Reese Richardson @reeserichardson.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
A massive update: At least ~15 companies~ are selling scientists antibodies using faked validation data. We've documented 18,000+ manipulated images on 17,000+ products sold by leading laboratory suppliers including Thermo Fisher, Abcam, Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Millipore Sigma and Bio-Techne. 1/🧵
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The Company of Biologists @biologists.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
@jcellsci.bsky.social is looking to recruit an enthusiastic & motivated Reviews Editor. This is an exciting opportunity for a talented scientific editor to make a significant contribution to an important journal in the field of cell biology. Apply by 3 September. www.biologists.com/about-us/wor...
biologists.com
Work for us
Explore career opportunities at The Company of Biologists. Join a team passionate about science, publishing and community support.
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Breaking! Congratulations to @adamgrieve.bsky.social for becoming the newest Senior Lecturer @bristoluni.bsky.social Great news for him; even better for them 🎉 I’m excited to follow the discoveries that comes from his lab #rhomboids #intramembraneproteases #neurons #proteostasis
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Colin Carlson @colincarlson.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
I wrote about a reason not to use generative AI in your writing that I haven't seen anyone talking about. Once I realized this, banning GenAI in our lab's writing became a no-brainer. Feel free to share, I think this is probably useful especially for trainees: www.carlsonlab.bio/thoughts/the...
carlsonlab.bio
The only reason you’ll ever need not to write with AI — The Carlson Lab
Over the last year, our lab has been developing a policy on AI use. To do this, we did three main things: We read a lot of academic publications and tech news. We set up an #ai channel on our la...
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Peter McCullough @mcculloughp.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Tale of two quads @lincoln.ox.ac.uk . Under our no-water policy, the Front Quad (L) with trad formal lawn; and Chapel Quad (R) with native wildflowers planted as plugs 9 mos ago. Only the latter are green; as they spread and knit together, this will be how to have a sustainably green quad.
Quadrangle of Oxford college with large central lawn, closely mowed with a curved pattern still visible, but entirely brown.Another quadrangle, with central portion still green from un-mown grass and developing clumps of wildflowers.
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Nadine Batchelor-Hunt @nadinebh.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
This statement by UEFA on FIFA attempting to sell off the World Cup gave me goosebumps, what a statement - the beautiful game deserves no less “As so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.”
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Great opportunity alert! @dunnschool.bsky.social has opened its annual call for new PIs looking for sponsorship for early career fellowships. If you think we might provide the scientific environment you need to launch your independent career, we want to hear from you!
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Grab the chance to join one of Oxford's most exciting groups working at interface of pathogenic bacteria and structural biology! @georgiaisom.bsky.social lab @dunnschool.bsky.social is highly recommended
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Hesso Farhan @hessofarhan.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
1/4 Thrilled to share our new paper on the role of ER-export in multiple myeloma (MM) published in @sigtrans-sttt.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41... Thanks to editors and reviewers for a constructive process. Here is a thread to summarize the major findings #ER_literature #MultipleMyeloma
nature.com
Targeting endoplasmic reticulum export disrupts metabolic resilience in multiple myeloma - Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy
Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy - Targeting endoplasmic reticulum export disrupts metabolic resilience in multiple myeloma
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Daniel Gorelick @danielgorelick.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Paying peer reviewers works. Benefits authors, editors & reviewers. Hopefully other journals will try this.
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
The awesome trio of @lmescu.bsky.social @fpichaud.bsky.social and Fernando Casares (and their teams) are on fire Fly eyes represent 'programmable metamaterials'; human engineering principles pre-exist in biology www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
A natural programmable metamaterial controls 3D curvature of compound eyes - Nature Communications
This article uncovers a natural, programmable metamaterial in the developing Drosophila eye. The precise 3D curvature of the adult compound eye is programmed during development by a microscopic, 2D tr...
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Great news! Congratulations to Emma Slack (@mucosalimmunology.bsky.social) and Kevin Foster for this very well deserved honour www.path.ox.ac.uk/news-article...
path.ox.ac.uk
Emma Slack and Kevin Foster elected members of EMBO - Dunn School
Both researchers are leaders in the rapidly growing field of the human gut microbiome.
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Benjamin Swedlund @benswedlund.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Beautiful piece on how field-specific journals with high ethical standards, such as Development, don’t try to « Game » the impact factor system - and practical steps to move away from this inherently flawed metric as a researcher (see Box 2)
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Toula Drimonis @mtltoula.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Ten years after Brexit. The front page of @theindependent.bsky.social
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Given the incoming tsunami of football, it feels like a good time to share this (which was sent to me by a colleague) Spot on, but I am still excited! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Musy...
youtube.com
Watch the Football! ⚽ | That Mitchell and Webb Look - BBC
YouTube video by BBC
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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
In case you still thought Frontiers journals were reputable places to publish, read this. In my field there are a lot of solid non-profit and scientific society journals with appropriate standards, so why would I choose Frontiers?
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Gautam Dey @gautamdey.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Science really takes a village. Thrilled to share this with my friend @dudinlab.bsky.social, and with our brilliant and fearless teams, our collaborators around the world and our mentors - in my case a special shoutout to Buzz Baum, Jan Ellenberg and @monicabettencourt.bsky.social. 1/2
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Benjamin Swedlund @benswedlund.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
The peer-review system needs an update. Biology Open did a cool experiment - contract reviewers in advance, and compensate them for a job well done. The results: it accelerates the process without loss of quality! Very promising. It’s not like for-profit journals can’t afford it…
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James Briscoe @jamesbriscoe.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Is this the future of peer review? New from @biologyopen.bsky.social: expanded Fast & Fair trial paying reviewers £220 per paper The result: rapid peer review with no drop in quality or change in acceptance rate Paying referees makes peer review faster & fairer www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
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Rob Klose @robklose.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Help please! We need to do some large(ish) cell culture inhibiting E-cadherin with a monoclonal antibody. Does anyone have the DECMA-1 hybridoma cell line so we could purify our own antibody? or a similar monoclonal that would do the job. Any help greatly appreciated, just DM me. Please repost!
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Tina Perica @glukozica.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
My department is open to hosting a Starting Grant lab. If you are eligible and want to do biochemistry broadly defined (we like everything, from biophysics to systems biology!) consider applying. My department is the best and Zurich is pretty good too! www.nature.com/naturecareer...
nature.com
Assistant professor for ERC Starting Grant in Biochemistry - Zurich (CH) job with University of Zurich (UZH) | 12859194
Assistant professor for ERC Starting Grant in Biochemistry (non-tenure track)
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
UK-based cell biologist? Interested in membrane trafficking? Want to find a conference? Looking for a job (PI, postdoc...)? Do link to www.ukmembranetraffic.com, where @jezcarlton.bsky.social and Chris Stefan (not here?) do sterling work
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Pleased to see news priorities even from @financialtimes.com
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Arsenal FC @arsenalfc.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
The Arsenal. Your Premier League champions.
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Daniel Padfield @padpadpadpad.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
BBSRC Early Independence Fellowships had an Outline stage this year to try help with amount of peer review. Turns out they received 586 applications, a 110% increase on 2025, and only typically fund 15 a year. They are cancelling this stage and going straight to full app with an institutional sift.
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The Dunn School, Oxford @dunnschool.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
We never lose our pride in what is perhaps the 20th century's greatest medical breakthrough
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Indeed And a very personal yardstick: there are only two @ox.ac.uk Professors of Pathology between Florey, who developed it in 1941, and me (the current holder)! Not sure if that's an indicator of professorships held for too long or how relatively recent penicillin is... ...but wild
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Boris Sieber @borissieber.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Very excited that our discovery of Sms1 as the #MAPK #scaffold of fission yeast mating has just been published in @natcomms.nature.com! @biology-unige.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Alexis Verger 🧬🧫🧪 @alexis-verger.cpesr.fr · 07/05/2026
#RIP Pierre Chambon (1931-2026) via @alainberetz.bsky.social one of the last giants in biology: PARP, nuclear receptors, RNA Pol II, nucleosome, promoters, split genes
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Wild story...
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
The polymath @rogerhighfield.bsky.social gave this year's @royalsociety.org David Attenborough Prize Lecture He discussed how more science communication seems to lead to less public confidence, and the neural basis for this paradox You can watch it here royalsociety.org/science-even...
royalsociety.org
David Attenborough Prize Lecture: The Battle for Reality | Royal Society
The Royal Society David Attenborough Prize Lecture: The battle for reality delivered by Roger Highfield
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Roger Highfield @rogerhighfield.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Very sad to hear of J. Craig Venter’s death, a swashbuckling, restless pioneer of genome sequencing and synthetic biology. Editing two of his books was both a privilege and enormous fun. www.synbiobeta.com/read/a-synth...
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
I curse Brexit daily, but some days more than others I hope those of my fellow passport queue members who voted for it spend some of the two hours reflecting on whether they might change their mind in a future decision...
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