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Kristy Townsend, PhD

@neuroadipo.bsky.social
1.3K followers 1K following 175 posts

ktownsendlab.com Neuroscience 🧠 PhD; PI- Neurobiology & Energy Balance Lab ⚖️ & Professor at Ohio State Dept Neurosurgery, formerly faculty UMaine & Joslin Diabetes; @neuroadipo all platforms ; opinions own

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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
Waggoner Lab @labwaggoner.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Perspective @natrevdrugdiscov.nature.com The cellular landscape of druggable RNA-binding proteins www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
Zoe McElligott @nanopharmnc.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Winter Brain enthusists! Today is the last day to submit your panels and applicaitons for Travel Fellowships! Submissions close at midnight so get thee going!!! #WCBR2027 winterbrain.org
submissions close at midnight for panels and travel fellowships! Don't delay!
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
Nikolai Slavov @slavov-n.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
bioRxiv has a dedicated section for negative results. Use it. Share negative results. Your colleagues will appreciate it.
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Save the date! Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy is hosting a neuropathy symposium open to scientists, clinicians, trainees, industry and non-profit, sponsors and patients. New Orleans, Oct 5-6 2027. Sign up for updates here: tinyurl.com/8ycc2up2 #neuropathy
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Fourth journal cover by Jake Willows (& second where he was first author of the accompanying paper). Such complexity in #ADIPOSE #CellReportsMethods 🧪🧪
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Studying up for my son’s fifth grade science test. Hard agree w the “important characteristics of a scientist” 😂🤩 🧪🧪
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
New paper from the lab - a deeper dive into what happens in subcutaneous white adipose with sympathetic denervation, including multi-omics data. Plot twist: sensory goes UP! ⬆️ 🧪 dom-pubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
Science Magazine @science.org · 07/08/2026
Inspired by seaweed and seagrass, researchers designed microplastics cleaners in the form of biodegradable meshes that capture tiny particles by physically binding them to the “fluffy” surface. Learn more in this week’s issue of #ScienceAdvances: scim.ag/3RLgvUH
A range of pollutant microplastic particles, from large plastic fragments to easily ingestible, smaller ones, seen as white specs. Removing such particles from aquatic environments can prove difficult for conventional methods, like filtration and centrifugation, due to the wide range of particle sizes. Inspired by seaweed and seagrass, Hong et al. designed microplastics cleaners in the form of biodegradable meshes that capture tiny particles by physically binding them to the “fluffy” surface, while also trapping larger pieces in the net openings. This effective and sustainable design could inspire the creation of similar techniques for removing microplastics from aquatic environments.

Credit: Haeleen Hong and Orlin Velev, NC State University
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Interested in targeting PNS nerves w AAV tools? Not so simple; adipose PNS tropism is trickier than brain. Our team led by Jake Willows and our collaborators at CLOVER and CPP optimized a system & tested DREADD, tetbow and shRNA. Out now @cp-cellrepmethods.bsky.social 🧪https://tinyurl.com/5pd5xwmd 🧪
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Interested in learning more about neuromodulation as therapy for peripheral neuropathy? In this review, Larson, Dalm, and I cover the modalities, the data already in the literature and the need for more research beyond pain mitigation. 🧪 www.frontiersin.org/journals/neu...
frontiersin.org
Frontiers | Neuromodulation therapies for diabetic neuropathy: mechanisms, efficacy, and impacts on nerve health: a narrative review
Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) is a highly prevalent complication characterized by progressive nerve degeneration and often refractory neuropathic pain...
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Memory lane while organizing my office! This was summer 2001, with a formative mentor, the late Dr David Towle, dissecting the green crab endocrine organ for genetic analysis as an undergrad. 🧪Great memories of my time @mdibl.org and how important UG research is!
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
The Bark app is now on my teen’s new iPhone. (We did the “wait ‘til 8” - 8th grade). It prompted us to take a quiz on the euphemisms for drugs the “kiddos” might use. Disturbed to find that the 🧪🧪 symbol we all use here @bsky.app for science posts is apparently meth?? Sigh.
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Science is international and that’s one of its best things 💚 (seen in my building last week) 🧪🧪
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
International timekeeping authorities are preparing to vote on a proposal to make the leap second—an extra second that is occasionally added to the year to keep UTC in tune with Earth’s rotation—into a leap hour by 2027. www.scientificamerican.com/article/inte...
scientificamerican.com
Exclusive: International timekeepers to vote on changing the leap second to a leap hour
To align Coordinated Universal Time with Earth’s rotation, a second occasionally gets added to the year. That may change in 2027
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
Ya’el Courtney, PhD @scienceyael.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
HHMI released the official 2027 Gilliam Fellowship details, and a lot changed. Deadline's earlier this cycle: Oct 27. Int'l & MD-PhD students now eligible. Stipend up to 50K. New postdoc pathway adds up to 7 yrs of support. No Journal names!!!! www.yaelcourtney.com/resources-an...
yaelcourtney.com
2027 HHMI Gilliam Fellowship: New Deadline, Eligibility, and Award Changes — Ya'el Courtney
HHMI's 2027 Gilliam Fellowship guide is out. What changed: an earlier October 27 deadline, expanded eligibility, a higher stipend, and a new postdoc pathway.
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Great Medscape piece on recent mouse imaging approaches that reveal again that obesity promotes broad neuropathy across the body, with potential clinical implications that warrant more research. Quotes from me included. #adipose #neuropathy www.medscape.com/viewarticle/... 🧪🧪
medscape.com
New AI Imaging Detects ‘Striking’ Obesity-Related Neuropathy
Fascinating nervous system imaging reveals previously unseen obesity-related nerve damage in mice and humans — and some of it may be linked to GLP-1 use.
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
BWJones @bwjones.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Science peeps, particularly trainees: When reviewing grants, it really, really helps if you have a Google Scholar page, an ORCID account, or a website that makes getting information about you, easy. Some sort of web presence. I'm begging you. Make it easier for study sections to give you money.
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Congrats Jake Willows on winning the Peripheral Nerve Society cover image competition! 2yrs of membership awarded and a full year on the Journal of PNS cover. We accepted the award for him today at the annual mtg. 🎉🎉 #dorsalrootganglia #peripheralnerves 🧪🧪
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Cloth posters are the BEST invention for international conferences. No wrinkles, high resolution even for fluorescent images, and lightweight in a carry on. 🎉 looking forward to re-connecting with this great PNS community 🎉 #PNSociety #PNS2026 🧪🧪
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
🧪 Inspiring first annual Women’s Health Summit yesterday - women’s health talks and discussions among industry, investors, patients, scientists and clinicians - organized by Pillar in Boston. Energizing optimism in the room all day! #womenshealth
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
For a clear description of what is in the new OMB grant-making regulations, see elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/summary-of... 1/2
elizabethginexi.substack.com
Summary of Key Changes in OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule
Russell Vought is going to destroy American Science
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Huge congrats to newly minted Dr Jake Willows (yesterday) & Dr Tianyi Tao (today)!! Fantastic job! As tough as things are in science right now, it’s the PEOPLE who make it all worth it. 🎉🎉 🧪🧪
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
More on the destruction of US science. www.chronicle.com/article/they...
chronicle.com
They Got the Best NIH Scores of Their Careers. A Year Later, They Still Don’t Have Funding.
The NIH’s spending on new medical research is significantly slower than in previous years, leaving confused scientists in the lurch.
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
🧪 Sometimes you just need to knock-out a gene in adipose tissue. Not whole body, not a certain cell type driven by a cre-line. We share our novel approach employing light-inducible cre to target gene knockout to inguinal sc adipose www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
A non-invasive method for light-inducible knockout across all cell types in mouse subcutaneous adipose tissue
Cre recombination is a widely used technique for mechanistic insights in physiology and disease. However, available constitutive and inducible Cre systems present challenges that can be prohibitive...
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
🧪Sharing negative data & technical challenges w the research community is hugely important. Issues w Rax-Cre in adult KO were shared at conferences, but we show our findings here in print. Thank you @faseborg.bsky.social for a journal outlet for this type of finding! tinyurl.com/2t5htaz5
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Methodological Challenges for Ablation of BMPR1A in Hypothalamic Tanycytes—A Cautionary Tale
The hypothalamus coordinates energy‐balance regulation and is also a neurogenic/plastic region in the adult brain. Tanycytes, a specialized population of radial glial‐like cells lining the third ventr...
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
Jess Cardin @jess-cardin.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Do brain circuits really sit in a 'soup' of neuromodulators? Are neurons like soggy bits of bread soaked in signaling factors? Is the whole brain just squelching around in one big pool of warm modulators?
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
Deborah Blum @deborahb.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
In the last couple weeks, we've seen a remarkable number of food recalls due to salmonella contamination. So many, in fact, that it's worth our time to take a deeper look at some of the reasons why. 1/10
nbcchicago.com
Dozens of popular snacks recalled due to salmonella contamination. See the growing list
The salmonella concerns have led to a number of popular products pulled from grocery store shelves, including popcorn, chips, nuts and more.
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Happening today! We hope to see you there 🧪🧪 us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
Nature Reviews Endocrinology @natrevendo.nature.com · 27/04/2026
In this Review, the authors discuss the current understanding of adipose progenitor subtypes, the plasticity of these cell types and their roles in metabolic health and disease (£) bit.ly/4ugB09p #EndoSky #MedSky
Figure showing a comprehensive view of the putative functions of the adipose progenitor cells within white adipose tissue.
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Always been a fan of lifelong learning and adult learner programs at universities. Just learned about the national OLLI program when I gave a talk for OLLI Denver last week. Wow!! More here and see if one is near you: 🧪🧪https://www.osherfoundation.org/olli.html
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
Overdue but excited to see this!
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
The somatic signals impacting consciousness…entering the mainstream with @michaelpollan.bsky.social 🧪 🧠 youtu.be/hYrgLn7pWp8?...
youtu.be
The More You Study Consciousness, the Weirder It Gets | The Ezra Klein Show
YouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
More evidence that neuropathy is widespread - here sympathetic neuropathy of the aged thymus. 🧪
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 18/03/2026
AI executives and researchers “readily admit that they have not yet released a model that writes well,” Jasmine Sun writes. She speaks with AI experts about why LLMs are built in a way that is antagonistic to great writing:
bit.ly
The Human Skill That Eludes AI
Why can’t language models write well?
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Proud to advocate for patients, clinicians and researchers who want to see better treatments and a cure for #peripheralneuropathy. The Foundation for PN has had massive growth over the last year, and moving toward an exciting 2027 symposium! 🧪🧪
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Indianapolis is a biotech/biomed research powerhouse. Enjoyed my visit at IU and Lilly this week, the scientific discussions were so uplifting. Thanks to Jon Flak for hosting me! 🧪🧪
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 05/03/2026
Two neurobiologists who helped decipher how the somatosensory system detects touch and pain have won this year’s Brain Prize, the largest award in neuroscience. By @helenak.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/somatosensat...
thetransmitter.org
Two neurobiologists win 2026 Brain Prize for discovering mechanics of touch
Research by Patrik Ernfors and David Ginty has delineated the diverse cell types of the somatosensory system and revealed how they detect and discriminate among different types of tactile information.
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
Patricia González-Rodríguez #NoScienceNoFuture👩🏻‍🔬 @pgonzalezrodriguez.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
🚨 REGISTRATION NOW OPEN – CAJAL CONFERENCE 2026 “Novel Insights Into Brain Energy Metabolism in Health and Disease” 📍 April 15–17, 2026 | Cádiz, Spain 🔔 SENC Fellowships available
🔔 20 slots for Oral Communications 👉🏻 Register here: amconferences.eventsair.com/senc-cajal-c...
 👇🏻 SPEAKERS
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Translation of scientific discovery in action! Our Keenan iCORPs team - 2 Fisher MBA students (Bria, Chase) + Gargi (postdoc our research group) - did a great job w early customer discovery - our new treatments for metabolic & nervous system (obesity, neuropathy). 🧪
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Oh wow! It finally got warm! Outdoor goodbye celebration with the lab for Karierah and Holly tonight.
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
A bit late for V-day this year, but from our lab to all of you: a flower bouquet (neuromuscular junction) by Magda, and a green heart (dorsal root ganglion) by Gargi 💐💚🧪
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
A study of millions of life science papers revealed that manuscripts with women in key authorship roles spent longer between submission and acceptance 🧪🧪https://t.co/uhQFaNCW3W
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Love this tradition @ohiostatepress.bsky.social. Promoted faculty pick a book and write a dedication. 🧪💚🧪 Here is mine from my promotion to Professor in 2025.
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Speech blurs together unless you know the language; scientists found the brain signal that separates the words
scientificamerican.com
Speech sounds are a blur—here’s how your brain sorts them out
Speech blurs together unless you know the language; scientists found the brain signal that separates the words
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Grateful to be at NIH (or the “mothership” as a fellow speaker called it today), to support the next generation of new @dknet.org (NIDDK) investigators. Glad to pay it forward, and remembering how impactful this event was for me after my first R01. Still learning from colleagues!
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Sharing our latest paper in Molecular Metabolism, led by Jake Willows w our dental school collaborator Sarah Peters. A semaphorin 7a KO had altered adipose innervation, especially across development, showing Sema acts on the nerves, not just adipocytes. tinyurl.com/3x8x6yy2 🧪🧪
tinyurl.com
Semaphorin 7A Regulates Axon Outgrowth in Subcutaneous White Adipose Tissue
Adipose tissue innervation is critical for regulating lipolysis, adipogenesis, and thermogenesis, yet the mechanisms that establish and maintain these…
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Reposted by Kristy Townsend, PhD
Scientific American @sciam.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
An “extraordinary” brain network discovery shows that Parkinson’s disease may not be a movement disorder after all
scientificamerican.com
Scientists discover brain network that may cause Parkinson’s disease
An “extraordinary” brain network discovery shows that Parkinson’s disease may not be a movement disorder after all
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
💚🧪
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Kristy Townsend, PhD @neuroadipo.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
Join us for an educational webinar with Peripheral Nerve Society on April 29 (register below) “Metabolic Disease and Peripheral Neuropathy – Mechanistic Insights from Bench to Bedside” with me, Chris Gibbons (Harvard), and Brian Callaghan (UMichigan). 🧪https://tinyurl.com/mvjs5xjc
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