Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Build more artificial reefs! This is a super encouraging result, and awesome work to synthesize this data. 000
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences @pnas.org · 27/08/2026Old-growth grasslands are slow to recover once destroyed. Characteristic plants of such grasslands are shorter and have smaller leaves with less nitrogen than plants in secondary grasslands, which are resource-acquisitive and more competitive. In PNAS: ow.ly/zOl950ZFVFu 03112
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 28/08/2026Postdocs are some of the most overexploited people in the academic process, barely making ends meet on 1-yr contracts, expected to produce research at record pace without any job security. But yeah, how DARE we want healthcare and workers rights??? www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...insidehighered.comWhy Postdoc Unionization Is a Bad Idea (opinion)Unionization disrupts the bespoke mentor-mentee relationships that are central to the advancement of science. 190
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaAnonymous Potato @anonymouspotato.bsky.social · 05/08/2026EcoEvoJobs 2026-27 just opened for business and we've already got 79 faculty / permanent jobs listed. Please repost! ecoevojobs.netecoevojobs.netecoevojobs.net 2026-27 1176210
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Good morning bluesky! Helping a friend with their syllabus, does anyone have an example Ai policy that they'd be willing to share? 000
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 03/08/2026Neat opportunity, awesome community! 10/10 would recommend applying! 120
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 03/08/2026Me: checking the manuscript portal every day *aghast* that reviewers have not immediately dropped everything to read my incredible manuscript. Also me: Continuing to ignore the paper I need to peer-review before next week because other things keep capturing my attention. 💀 080
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 24/07/2026Thrilled that the first paper of my postdoc is out now! tl;dr: Do students with disabilities have universal experiences in STEM? Nope. Want more? a🧵on what we found. journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...journals.asm.orgBeyond disability: how being twice-marginalized shapes the experiences of STEM undergraduates with disabilities | Journal of Microbiology & Biology EducationAlthough research into the experiences of students with disabilities has expanded in the last decade (1, 2), most studies focus solely on disability status (3) and do not consider how students’ educat... 141
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 09/07/2026First birthday in five years I didn't spend doing (or planning) field work felt SO weird, but i still managed to find some restored midwest prairies to admire! 040
Reposted by Dr. Riley Pizzatoxicojendron radicans @toxicoradica.northsky.social · 19/06/2026🌻 gray-headed coneflower 🌿 Ratibida pinnata #nativeplants #ecoregion71 2616
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaFrontRangeWildflowers @frwildflowers.bsky.social · 13/06/2026One year ago today 🌿 Gaillardia pulchella, our Indian Blanket, blooming at Picture Canyon #nativeplants 112415
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaJustin Luong, PhD 🏳️🌈🌾 @justinluong.com · 08/06/2026Local grassland restoration affects insect communities doi.org/10.1111/een.... Local scale grassland in coastal Santa Barbara, CA affects insects communities resulting in less hyper dominance of herbivorous pests like thrips, and higher abundance and possible refuge for native bumblebees 065
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaJustin Luong, PhD 🏳️🌈🌾 @justinluong.com · 04/06/2026HAPPY PRIDE from California Native Plants and the Luong Lab!!! 🤍🩷🩵🤎🖤❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 This 2026 Flag from our lab features 152 california native plants! Did you know California is a Biodiversity hotspot with over 6000 native plants? How many plants can you name or spot? 🧐 #CaliforniaNativePlants 47526
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaJonathan Tonkin @jdtonkin.bsky.social · 28/05/2026A heartfelt thank you to federal scientists of the USA. The authors of this piece reflect on the massive losses that occurred in 2025 — 10,109 PhDs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and health — either voluntarily or involuntarily. 17% of the workforce gone in a single year!esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.comFederal scientists, a great American invention: a letter to our federal colleaguesClick on the article title to read more. 26738
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 27/05/2026🚨New paper alert 🚨 In a 13-year experiment in longleaf pine savannas, we tested when passive recovery works, and how active interventions can help it along. 🧵 Read it here: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.comActive interventions accelerate native plant recolonization following agricultural abandonmentOur results show that combined canopy thinning and prescribed burning can accelerate natural recolonization in savanna systems. However, additional measures (e.g. seed addition) may be needed for wea... 1166
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaLars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 26/05/2026Congratulations to recent lab alum Aidan Edwards, whose undergraduate research was just published: Prescribed fire and canopy thinning reverse effects of mesophication in fire-suppressed oak savannas www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 1265
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 17/05/2026Is the peer review process broken? Yes. Do I also LOVE reviewing papers because it exposes me to the newest findings, up-and-coming junior scientists who I need to follow, and gets me to ACTUALLY read a paper top-to-bottom? Also yes. 060
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaResearch for Inclusive STEM Education Center @asurisecenter.bsky.social · 12/05/2026Excited to share our new article in Times Higher Education, written collaboratively with our RISE GenZ researchers, for their instructors. Read it here: www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/dear-...timeshighereducation.comDear educators, Gen Z here. Could you please teach us like it’s 2026?Learning has changed drastically in the past five years, but teaching practices haven’t caught up. From your students’ perspective, here’s how to adapt 102
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaMSU Plant Resilience Institute @msupri.bsky.social · 29/04/2026A new paper led by PRI grad student Asia Hightower introduces a powerful computational tool to examine the shape of any leaf across biological, ecological, evolutionary, and developmental scales. #PlantScience #Morphometrics #ComputationalBiology Read the full publication: doi.org/10.1002/aps3... 182
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 27/04/2026Monday Win: reviews are back on my third PhD chapter and they were overall positive! 🥳 040
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaEmily Josephs @emjo.bsky.social · 18/02/2026New work from the lab: Miles @milesroberts.bsky.social tried out machine learning to estimate sweep times to fixation and (spoilers) it didn't really help www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... As always, we'd appreciate any feedback!biorxiv.org 02312
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaJournal of Ecology @journalofecology.bsky.social · 23/04/2026🍃In a 5-year grassland experiment with >2,000 leaf trait measurements, authors show that fast-growing species destabilize productivity and that trait differences drive species asynchrony in ways that change with species richness 👉️ buff.ly/TTcrmjw 0124
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 14/04/2026OK y'all asking for advice: When i was a little grad student I always had 1 project in development, 1 project being written up, and 1 project in review. Now as a postdoc and finishing up my PhD stuff I have about 3x that many projects in all those stages. How do you stay on top of it all? 131
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 13/04/2026Starting off this week strong with a paper acceptance 👍 Stay tuned for some neat findings about natural recolonization of understory savanna species! 050
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 20/03/2026This is the reality that trans academics live in. You think the job market is bad for YOU? Imagine what it's like for someone who can't safely work in over half of the country. If you live in one of these red states, your department is missing out on amazing scientists. Science is political. 02710
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 20/03/2026Hot tip: When reviewing a paper, please try to be specific about what changes are needed to clarify something, or rectify a problem. Signed, someone who is about to hire a psychic to try and read the mind of reviewer #3 whose signature catchphrase is simply "Needs more detail". 😩 020
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 18/03/2026I'm doing interviews with students with ADHD and after the interview I told them that I had ADHD and the student was like "I've never seen an ADHD adult be so successful...I guess I really can become a doctor" 🥹🥹🥹 Tell your students about your struggles, I promise it has an impact. 0101
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaJaclyn A. Siegel, PhD @jacasiegel.bsky.social · 10/03/2026Universities you work for love to be like: 💖 ✨ YOU ARE INVITED ✨ 💖 🪩 🕺 to give us money 💃🏼 🪩 1021226
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 06/03/2026A student with ADHD forgets to book a testing center appt. and loses their accommodation. A student's anxiety keeps them from sharing accommodations with profs. If using accommodations requires skills make inherently harder by their disability, is the system working? tinyurl.com/yymn8cnetinyurl.comDo students need accommodations for their accommodations?Students with disabilities need accommodations so they can focus on learning. But when accessing those accommodations requires skills they don’t have, is the system really working? 161
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaResearch for Inclusive STEM Education Center @asurisecenter.bsky.social · 04/03/2026🎓 Science instructors — we’d love your help with a research study. If you identify as having depression and teach a large undergraduate science course (50+ students), we’re looking for participants. Interested? Learn more and sign up here lnkd.in/gSa4TeZx Please share with your networks! 001
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaMichael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 04/03/2026They are clearly trying to whip up a moral panic about disability accommodations but this article doesn't include any data on accommodations.nytimes.comColleges See Spike in Students With Disabilities, Including Elite Schools 661403187
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 26/02/2026OK y'all--has everyone just given up on providing critical peer reviews? The last two papers I've reviewed I've listed several points of feedback and the other reviewer has just said "no notes looks good 👍" Like, if we're not going to be good reviewers why bother doing it? 140
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 11/02/2026My advisor is pretty freakin neat y'all! If you teach, or are wondering what the data say about creating inclusive spaces in higher education, the research coming out of the Brownell lab is a great place to go! 021
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaMadeleine Becker @mabscientist.bsky.social · 06/02/2026it's the AI PRFB now 🙃 23414
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaJeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 04/02/2026These are the curves for new and competitive renewal grants. The number of new awards is increasing slightly, but only slightly. 17 out of 25 institutes and centers with funding authority have now made awards. 3/4 24429
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaJeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 04/02/2026These are the curves for non-competitive renewal grants. The curve for fiscal year 2026 is still lagging behind, in part because of the government shutdown and in part because of what appears to be a somewhat lower rate of grant issuance. 2/4 1125
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaDr Pierre Mariotte @pierremariotte.bsky.social · 27/01/2026⚠️ New paper out in Nature Ecology & Evolution 🌱 #Grasslands #SoilCarbon @natecoevo.nature.comdoi.orgThe global extent of the grassland biome and implications for the terrestrial carbon sink - Nature Ecology & EvolutionBy combining satellite observations with ground-based data and expert validation, this analysis demonstrates considerable misestimation of grassland extent and thereby carbon stock estimates in previo... 04826
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaOlivia M. Smith @oliviamsmith.bsky.social · 23/01/2026Excited to see continued coverage of our recent article on how American kestrels can improve food safety and reduce crop damage on cherry farms: insideclimatenews.org/news/2201202...insideclimatenews.orgOn Michigan Cherry Farms, Small Falcons Are Improving Food Safety - Inside Climate NewsKestrels are already abundant on local cherry farms, but a new study suggests their presence might lower the risk of food-borne illnesses caused by pathogens from other birds. 021
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaChhaya Werner, PhD @restoration.bsky.social · 23/01/2026So excited about this incredible fellowship program designed to empower students interested in tackling issues like climate change, wildfires, and more. Open to all majors, because all perspectives and skillsets are important to engage with these challenges! 031
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaInside Higher Ed @insidehighered.com · 21/01/2026Opinion | Gaming the System? Extended Time on Tests Is Often a Waste of Time Extra time on a well-designed college exam rarely benefits anyone. bit.ly/49RKoHP #EDUSky #HigherEd #AcademicSky 012
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 21/01/2026Extra time on exams has become the default accommodation in higher ed—but evidence suggests it often doesn’t help anyone: not students “gaming the system,” and more concerningly, often not students with disabilities either. Read our opinion piece here: url-shortener.me/8R70insidehighered.comExtra Time on Tests Is Often Waste of Time (opinion)Extra time on a well-designed college exam rarely benefits anyone. 161
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 20/01/2026Submitted my very first DBER research paper today!!! So excited for y'all to see the final product (these may be my prettiest figures yet!) 060
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaDr. K. Lotterhos @drk-lo.bsky.social · 19/12/2025I'm excited to share memes that my students made this year in my undergraduate #Evolution class #popgen #consgen #evolbiol . "When a batesian mimicry species comes to the party: hello fellow harmful species" "I found on all-encompassing way to define species" 283611
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaMark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 31/12/2025Take-home lesson we ALL need to learn: Resistance works and capitulation doesn't! 012426
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaScience Magazine @science.org · 03/12/2025"No one should be made to feel inferior or that they do not belong in science because of their origins." #ScienceWorkingLife scim.ag/48JF6Pg 013042
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaHana Ayoob @hanaayoob.co.uk · 03/12/2025It’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities and I am currently on a hellish and agonising journey across London to get home. So much of the world is exclusionary & harmful for so many of us. If *you* can create communities, spaces, interactions which can reduce that harm, please do ❤️ 1144
Reposted by Dr. Riley PizzaMSU Plant Resilience Institute @msupri.bsky.social · 02/12/2025PRI is seeking a postdoctoral researcher with strong computational and data science skills to join a project focused on identifying causal environmental drivers of crop resilience and yield. 🧬 Learn more and apply: careers.msu.edu/jobs/researc... #PlantSciJobs #PlantScience 058
Dr. Riley Pizza @rileypizza.bsky.social · 02/12/2025What is actually more concerning as someone who does research in this field is that NOBODY is talking about the effectiveness of extra testing time for students with disabilities (not here to argue over whether students are *actually* disabled because TBH doesn't really matter to me) 150