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Monika Scholz

@monikakscholz.bsky.social
520 followers 412 following 104 posts

PI at meep-neep (MPI for neurobiology of behavior) studying worm feeding and foraging behavior. I ❤️ imaging, watching worms wiggle and Friday experiments. scholz-lab.com

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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Come be our colleague @mpinb.mpg.de ! jobs.b-ite.com/jobposting/4... Bonn has a great community of neuroscientists and it's been a great place to start a group! #neuroethology @neuroethology.org
jobs.b-ite.com
Max Planck Research Group Leader (W2) in Neuroethology (m/f/div)
limited contract
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
#celegans to reach the people of the worm
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Today was the day of the first worm cup @mpinb.mpg.de! Three teams, 3 scopes: "Fast-ish and furious", "optoPilot" and "fast mroW" were using optogenetic activation of neurons to pilot their worm over 20 mm (10 m sprint in human terms!)! This year "optoPilot" took home the Cup!
A screen showing multiple users sharing their screens. The screens show microscope interfaces with worms.
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microPublication Biology @micropub7n.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Call for Volunteers: C. elegans Managing Editors for microPublication Biology micropublication.org/news/0f62741...
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Philipp Brand @pbrand.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
We are looking for a research assistant to join our team. brain.mpg.de/brand Apply using the link below if you are interested in doing research on the neural and genetic underpinnings of behavioral evolution. jobs.brain.mpg.de/jobposting/6...
Description of job ad for Research Assistant in the lab of Evolutionary Neuroscience and Behavior Lab at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research.Description of job ad for Research Assistant in the lab of Evolutionary Neuroscience and Behavior Lab at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research.
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Sign up as a mentee and benefit from the great #worm community! All worms are welcome, and all stages of scientist!
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MPI for Biology Tübingen & Friedrich Miescher Laboratory @mpi-bio-fml.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
A first for German nematology Ralf J. Sommer has been elected a Fellow of the Society of Nematologists – the first German scientist to receive this honour. Congratulations on this outstanding recognition! Read full press item: www.bio.mpg.de/544368/ralf-j #Nematology #EvolutionaryBiology #Science
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
this article beautifully captures the vibe of KITP! (also some fun science tidbits and intransigent neuroscientists 😂)
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Roxana Zeraati @roxana-zeraati.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
Our paper "Neural timescales from a computational perspective" is finally out in @natneuro.nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/s41... We discuss how computational models and methods can distill empirical observations on neural timescales into quantitative, testable theories of brain computation.
nature.com
Neural timescales from a computational perspective - Nature Neuroscience
This review integrates computational approaches to provide a unified view on how data analysis methods, biophysical mechanistic models and machine learning approaches can help to uncover the origins a...
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
We're here from @mpinb.mpg.de !
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Michael D. Green, PhD @michaeldgreen.phd · 28/05/2026
President of MIT not mincing words today in @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2026/05/27/s...
So let me say it as clearly as I can: Without basic scientific research, supported by the kind of farsighted public investment that allows large-scale, undirected, curiosity-driven inquiry, the scientific pipeline will run dry.
In daily life, people may not feel the effects right away, or even in 10 years. But we will feel it. And when someone we love needs therapies that could have emerged but didn't or when other countries now
investing in science can launch new science-based industries or run their societies on vast resources of fusion energy or reap the benefits of quantum computing power or advanced medical breakthroughs, America will wish it sustained its leadership in scientific research here and now.
Sally Kornbluth is the president of MIT.
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Scientists would simply wait. They would sit in their offices and count the days. This was not the reflective period we intended. The oak tree ensures that the applicant has genuinely spent time nurturing something from nothing. inpreparation.substack.com/p/erc-now-re...
inpreparation.substack.com
ERC Now Requires Rejected Applicants To Grow Oak Tree From Acorn Before Resubmission
BRUSSELS—In an effort to ensure that rejected applicants have undergone “sufficient personal and scientific growth” before resubmitting, the European Research Council announced Tuesday that scientists...
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Javier Apfeld @javierapfeld.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
C. elegans friends: If you participated in the mentor match program last year, we want your feedback on what worked, what didn't, and how to make the program better! Please fill out this survey: forms.gle/xYCF19saFfoj...
forms.gle
C. elegans Community Mentor Match 2025 feedback survey
Thank you for providing feedback about your experiences as a mentee, mentor, and peer group member in the last cycle of the C. elegans Community Mentor Match program! Please skip questions that are n...
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Anne C. Hart @ach-ceneuro.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Postdoctoral position available, focused on Alternating Hemiplegia of Childhood! Join the awesome Brown Univ. neuroscience community. Background in genetics (like C. elegans) and/or neuroscience is welcome, but not required. Contact Anne Hart for details and apply via apply.interfolio.com/188268
Cover image from Dis Model Mech (2026) Volume 19, Issue 5 showing C. elegans population on a Petri dish, associated with article: https://doi.org/10.1242/dmm.052809
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Want to follow your favorite small animal around? Maybe you'd like to also see it's environment at the same time? Or you'd want to see muscle activity but your commercial microscope doesn't have a large enough field-of-view? Meet Glowtracker! scholz-lab.github.io/GlowTracker/ Paper: rdcu.be/foISQ
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Javier Apfeld @javierapfeld.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Worm friends, we need your help! For the next C. elegans Mentor Match cycle, we’re gathering testimonials from past mentors and mentees. One of our biggest challenges is recruiting new mentees, and hearing directly from past participants could really help. Please record a short video, and share!
padlet.com
C. elegans Mentor Match Testimonials
Made with Padlet
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Teresa Lee @snickclunk.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Worm-friends, we can't wait to science with you in Japan! 🪱 🇯🇵🪱 🇯🇵🪱 🇯🇵 🪱 Save the date for #worm27!
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
👀 looking forward to reading it!
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 23/04/2026
When Einstein developed general relativity the closest thing to a practical application that could even be imagined at the time was a slightly more precise description of where to look for the planet Mercury in the sky, and yet now we’d all be literally lost without it. Anyway: fund basic research.
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
On my way to @mpiforbi.bsky.social to share our recent work tomorrow! Looking forward to seeing Herwig, @fleyes.bsky.social and others there! Also it involves a beautiful train ride diagonally through Germany, and working on a train cannot be beat.
media.tenor.com
a black and white photo of a man standing in front of a train .
ALT: a black and white photo of a man standing in front of a train .
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Piali Sengupta @senguptalab.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Such an exciting time to be in neuroscience. To study how animals do the amazing things they do: from collective behaviors to navigation, camouflage and more. How can we define the constraints of a sensory system if we don't study diverse animals and their behaviors? Oh and #fundscience.
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Fleur Zeldenrust @fleurzeldenrust.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
What do #neuromodulators do in the #brain? Two recent papers give new insights: @nishantjoshi.bsky.social shows they do not only reshape individual cellular properties, but also the architecture linking them, thereby expanding the computational repertoire. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
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Carolina Rezaval @crezaval.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
We’re recruiting! Exciting opportunities in our lab supported by a @wellcometrust.bsky.social Discovery Award. • Postdoctoral researchers • Research assistant/PhD students Join us to study how neural circuits drive decision-making. Deadline 26/04 Learn more and Apply here: rezavallab.org
rezavallab.org
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Oh this is awesome! 🤓
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
It's a Florida filter on top of one of the old SEMs, that's the only explanation for that wrinkly worm!
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
We are at #BonnBrain26! Find us tomorrow at the poster session to chat about smelling delicious things and then eating them, and how what is delicious and what you eat may evolve! #celegans #worms #pharynx
List of posters and their titles presented by students
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Nice Friday surprise to get a physical copy of the recent issue with our paper from @nature.com! So good to see the figures in print, especially the IL2 neurons 😊 @jameslightfoot.bsky.social how is your shelf looking? www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Darren Dahly @statsepi.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Every day is a good day for sharing one of the most useful papers about research data ever written. PLEASE get your people to understand and follow this advice. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Data Organization in Spreadsheets
Karl W. Broman
& Kara H. Woo
Pages 2-10 | Received 01 Jun 2017, Accepted author version posted online: 29 Sep 2017, Published online: 24 Apr 2018

    1. Introduction
    2. Be Consistent
    3. Choose Good Names for Things
    4. Write Dates as YYYY-MM-DD
    5. No Empty Cells
    6. Put Just One Thing in a Cell
    7. Make it a Rectangle
    8. Create a Data Dictionary
    9. No Calculations in the Raw Data Files
    10. Do Not Use Font Color or Highlighting as Data
    11. Make Backups
    12. Use Data Validation to Avoid Errors
    13. Save the Data in Plain Text Files

ABSTRACT

Spreadsheets are widely used software tools for data entry, storage, analysis, and visualization. Focusing on the data entry and storage aspects, this article offers practical recommendations for organizing spreadsheet data to reduce errors and ease later analyses. The basic principles are: be consistent, write dates like YYYY-MM-DD, do not leave any cells empty, put just one thing in a cell, organize the data as a single rectangle (with subjects as rows and variables as columns, and with a single header row), create a data dictionary, do not include calculations in the raw data files, do not use font color or highlighting as data, choose good names for things, make backups, use data validation to avoid data entry errors, and save the data in plain text files.
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Ahmed El Hady @zamakany.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Deadline extended to March 25th , send in your Applications 🙌🏾😁
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Nice foraging review! There are some nice suggestions for gaps in the field, but I also find it surprising how many models assume that within a patch, animals will just consume the available food. That's not true and the actual regulation of ingestion is a key contributor to the energy balance.
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
We'll be there!
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Another one with our next door colleagues! @marianneroca.bsky.social in @jameslightfoot.bsky.social's group found the IL2 neurons detecting prey (this study) are also sensing octopamine, which we recently found plays an important role in predatory aggression! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Predatory aggression evolved through adaptations to noradrenergic circuits - Nature
Noradrenergic circuits support and balance aggressive behavioural states in predatory nematodes, distinguish predatory from non-predatory nematode species and are associated with the evolution of comp...
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Our home automation system has me saying 'daylight off' when leaving the house and I do not appreciate this Omen for my day.
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Great across-the-pond collaboration. I'm glad we could contribute a small sliver to this cool paper. @javierapfeld.bsky.social and Co used so many different techniques to answer the question, its a fun read! 🪱
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Nature @nature.com · 23/01/2026
Nature research paper: Predatory aggression evolved through adaptations to noradrenergic circuits go.nature.com/3NxFCrs
go.nature.com
Predatory aggression evolved through adaptations to noradrenergic circuits - Nature
Noradrenergic circuits support and balance aggressive behavioural states in predatory nematodes, distinguish predatory from non-predatory nematode species and are associated with the evolution of complex behavioural traits.
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Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar @mpinb.mpg.de · 21/01/2026
How do new behaviors evolve? A new Nature study shows how predatory aggression can emerge through changes in neuromodulatory circuits – without adding new neurons. We’ve created a short animated explainer video to walk through the key ideas. youtu.be/wNhjKDCPs_8?...
youtu.be
How new behaviors evolve: from peaceful worm to predator
YouTube video by MPINB
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
First joint work between @jameslightfoot.bsky.social and my lab is now published! Machine-learning, aggression, genetics, beautiful fluorescent transgenics and evolution! You can find it all!
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New papers in Network Science @networkspapers.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
PLOS Comput. Biol.: A data-driven biology-based network model reproduces <i>C. elegans</i> premotor neural dynamics journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/arti…
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Tobias Ackels @tobiasackels.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
PhD position in systems neuroscience! Excited to start a new DFG-funded project together with @obarnstedt.bsky.social to study olfactory–spatial coding in CA1. 🔬 Dual-colour miniscope Ca2+ imaging 🐭 Freely moving behaviour & optogenetics ⏳ Start: April 2026 | Deadline: 31.01.2026 More info below ⬇️
The project studies how the hippocampal CA1 integrates olfactory and spatial information for goal-directed navigation. The position is a 3-year DFG-funded PhD (TV-L E13, 65%) starting April 2026, jointly supervised by Prof. Tobias Ackels at University Hospital Bonn and Dr. Oliver Barnstedt at the European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen. The project uses dual-colour miniscope calcium imaging, optogenetics, and behavioural experiments in freely moving mice. Application deadline is 31 January 2026, with applications sent by email.
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Richard Is super nice and I'm sure this would be a great place to do a PhD!
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Drug Monkey @drugmonkey.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
A great intro to academic conferencing. Not sure how I missed this one. scienceforeveryone.science/getting-the-...
scienceforeveryone.science
Getting the most of out a scientific conference
A slightly unconventional guide to your first time
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
The open source spirit of the worm community makes it so special - and so powerful for discovery! Great account of the impact of the community tools and databases had and have on understanding fundamental biology! 🪱 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... Important to keep these resources funded!
pnas.org
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
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FPbase @fpbase.org · 04/11/2025
The FPbase spectra viewer just had it's biggest software refactor in 6 years. It *should* be largely invisible to the end user (hopefully just faster and less buggy). Please let me know if you find any issues as you use it! www.fpbase.org/spectra/
fpbase.org
FPbase Fluorescence Spectra Viewer
An interactive fluorescence spectra viewer to evaluate the spectral properties of fluorescent proteins, organic dyes, filters, and detectors.
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
Will be so fun to have you around!!
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
Proprioception and new function for two pharyngeal neurons!
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Piali Sengupta @senguptalab.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
Despite the mess, we are grateful to be funded, have exciting science happening, and have an opening for a postdoc! If you are interested in sensory biology and esp in cilia, thermosensation, or interoception, and would like to join an interactive & supportive group - please email. Please RT 🙏
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Meera Sundaram @meera-sundaram.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
Reaffirming the value of model organisms in training scientific minds @ishmailsaboor.bsky.social exactly what we were talking about re your #Celegans background setting you up for creative work in other systems! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Reaffirming the value of model organisms in training scientific minds - Nature Cell Biology
As biomedical research prioritizes human models and translational promise, classic model organisms are increasingly dismissed. Here we argue that they have a lasting value, both in enabling discovery and in cultivating scientific thinking, by training researchers in systems reasoning, integrative thinking and independent inquiry.
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Conrad Hackett @conradhackett.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Disease prevalence in US states before & after vaccine introduction 🧪 From Edward Tufte & graphics.wsj.com/infectious-d...
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
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Monika Scholz @monikakscholz.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
@leoboeger.bsky.social is our ambassador to this year's #BernsteinConference! He extended our recent work on behavioral states during predatory aggression to explicitly model latents and how they change in diverse neuronodulator mutants! As usual, joint work with the @jameslightfoot.bsky.social lab.
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