iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Keshav Subramanian showing an effective once weekly injectable for obesity and T2B without aversive effects #SSIB2026

000

‪Elayna Seago on comparisons between sweetened and unsweetened beverage consumption‬ ‪#SSIB2026

Ahmed Bouteldja on integrating internal and external signals to optimize food decision making. #SSIB2026 @ssibsociety.bsky.social

Michele Serra on early phase ingestive microstructure as a behavioral marker of semaglutide response #SSIB2026 @ssibsociety.bsky.social

101

NITA Symposium at #SSIB2026 First with Justin Sung with great work on food uncertainty @ssibsociety.bsky.social

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Amazing first keynote lecture at #ssib2026 from Camilla Nord, a masterclass on interoception and the intersection between metabolism and psychiatry. @ssibsociety.bsky.social

LifeCanvas Technologies @lifecanvastech.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Reposted by Sarah Stern

In @sarahstern.bsky.social's lab @mpfneuro.bsky.social, Sébastien Bullich + Elisa Mizrachi study the #neurobiology of how chronic stress contributes to eating disorders, and why they impact men & women differently. What did they learn from a mouse model of sustained stress hormone exposure? 🧵 (1/4)

121

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Yes, these were anomalous times for Florida and we’re looking for better options to maintain humidity when it goes this low. Anecdotally, there were no adverse effects observed.

000

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Really? That’s so interesting. Do you have any data on this? I’ve never seen it reported.

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

We noticed something interesting (and frustrating) this winter because we had a number of cold spells here in Florida - when humidity drops, the food in our cages loses moisture and therefore weight, artificially increasing our food consumption measures. Curious if anyone else has noticed this?

3128

Reposted by Sarah Stern

Neuropsychopharmacology @npp-journal.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Circuit mapping of PKCdelta–expressing neurons in the lateral capsule of the CeA identified opioid-sensitive inputs, implicating central amygdala protein kinase C-delta neurons as key mediators of the somatic features of opioid withdrawal

nature.com

Central amygdalar PKCδ neurons mediate fentanyl withdrawal

Neuropsychopharmacology - Central amygdalar PKCδ neurons mediate fentanyl withdrawal

052

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

So excited to finally be on this list!! Third time’s a charm 😜 Thanks to all those who wrote me letters, gave advice and extended meeting invites over the years!

1100

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

Thrilled that we could play a small role in this very exciting work! Congratulations Yoav and team!

0122

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Second Stern Lab escape room outing. Even when things feel difficult, I’m so grateful to be able to work with these fantastic people every day!

060

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Today, after two years, I can finally remove the yellow ribbon from my profile. A huge sense of relief with an almost unbearable sadness for everything in between. שהחינו וקימנו והגיענו לזמן הזה

0270

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Episode 3 of Science Amplified is up now! I talk to Dr. Rachel Marsh about her pioneering research on mother-baby outcomes from prenatal covid exposure and the consequences of terminating her funding for that project. Please share and give us a rating! open.spotify.com/episode/0rCp...

Science Amplified with Rachel Marsh

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

042

Shameless plug 1: looking for someone who could make me some intro music for the podcast Shameless plug 2: looking for more scientists to interview! I know it’s a really challenging time, but you never know when a little time could have a big impact down the road!

000

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

We had a really fun conversation about her unconventional path to science, how her projects are contributing towards improving human health and we demystify the concept of indirect funds. Enjoy and please share with your friends and colleagues!

100

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Heading into the weekend by sharing the second episode of my podcast Science Amplified, where I interview scientists like @ScienceYael whose funding has been cut, either temporarily or permanently. open.spotify.com/episode/1YZT...

Science Amplified with Ya'el Courtney

I-75 Scientist @flscitriguy.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

171

Reposted by Sarah Stern

Please double check the expiration date on any NOFO you are applying do. They are updated on the form, (Expiration date) with a link to the notice, but other aspects aren't edited.

0715

Reposted by Sarah Stern

Grace Lindsay @neurograce.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

The number of people who qualify for this is growing everyday. Have your voice, and your science, heard!

0139

There are lots of other interesting results and tidbits in the full manuscript and we are excited to hear your feedback!

000

We are very excited about the idea that the insular cortex has direct access to information about internal states, and in the future we hope to understand more about how the insula integrates this internal state information with exteroceptive information to control behavior.

Lastly, although we find that most LepR connections are local, they make a projection to the BLA, which also controls latency to pellet retrieval in an operant learning task.

100

Moreover, we found that administering leptin reshapes the transcriptome in the insula, and particularly in neurons that have previously been associated with food intake control. Leptin also reshapes overall insular cortex neural activity in response to feeding.

100

We also found that this effect is specific to food restriction compared to water restriction, suggesting that LepR neurons receive information specifically about hunger states.

100

What do these neurons encode? Through a series of calcium imaging experiments we found that LepR neurons encode feeding bouts, but they are particularly responsive to hunger states, and alter their responsivity to food during food restriction.

100

This is quite consistent with what we know about the insular cortex, where broad inhibition impacts learned feeding behaviors, but not normal food intake. (See Stern et al 2021, Livneh 2017)

100

Interestingly, activation & inhibition of LepR neurons broadly had little impact on homeostatic food intake. However, it DID decrease 📉 pellets retrieved in an operant learning task and induced place aversion, suggesting that LepR is responsible for regulating learned feeding

100

Many previous studies assumed that cortical LepR neurons are nonfunctional. We show that these LepR neurons are responsive to leptin and become more excitable. And what about behavior?

100

We identified a small population of leptin receptor (LepR) neurons in the insula that we hypothesized might receive direct information from the periphery about hunger states.

100

The insular cortex has long been hypothesized as an interoceptive hub. But how does information about bodily states arrive at the insula? Some studies suggest that there may be direct interoceptive input, but how?

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

Thrilled to share our latest preprint and first major project from the lab, where we show a mechanism for direct interoceptive input to the insular cortex. Work by the incredible @zhezhao2017 with help from many others including @stefanoberto83.bsky.social

3349

Still ironing out some kinks, like getting onto Apple Podcasts, but we have two more episodes coming soon, with Ya’el Courtney and Rachel Marsh. Please share, especially with your non-scientists friends and family. I would love to keep interviewing, so please keep in touch if interested!

010

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

You can listen to Episode 1 with Dr. Paul Bieniasz here. We discuss a wide range of topics, including his research on SARS-CoV-2, how to restore trust in science, and why basic research is still necessary. open.spotify.com/episode/2pWn...

Science Amplified with Paul Bieniasz

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 18/05/2025

120

As grants started getting cancelled a few months ago, I felt compelled to give a voice to scientists whose work has been targeted & share with the public what they do and why it’s so vital. Happy to announce the start of my new podcast, Science Amplified open.spotify.com/episode/6aUZ...

Science Amplified: Intro

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

1225

Celebrating the first major paper submitted from our lab, with a Herculean effort from our postdoc Zhe, and many colleagues! Can’t wait to share more once the preprint posts!

0232

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

If you’re a scientist whose funding has recently been cut or impacted, I would love to interview you and amplify your work! Hoping to release our first two podcast episodes next week. Please share widely!

15339

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Highly recommend for stress relief. A little progress every day.

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

I was told that prices were gonna come down, but my eggs are $6, the entire American scientific enterprise is in jeopardy and now we can’t even get on an airplane without worrying? What am I missing.

0161

Reposted by Sarah Stern

Ardem Patapoutian @ardemp.bskyverified.social · 13/02/2025

😳🤯. Dr. Laurer was the coauthor of the memo yesterday acknowledging that the NIH funding freeze was illegal and directing staff to resume issuing grants.

29031

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Is it odd that I’m sort of like “well, if my R01 that’s been reviewed today is not discussed, at least I won’t have to worry about whether or not it will actually be funded” 🤷‍♀️

Daniel Gorelick @danielgorelick.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Reposted by Sarah Stern

Trainees who applied for an NIH diversity fellowship whose applications were withdrawn/not being reviewed, there's a NYTimes reporter who wants to talk, especially interested in applicants with disabilities. DM me & I'll put you in touch, will keep all contact confidential. Please amplify

8210191

Sarah Stern @sarahstern.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Thank you Mark. Means so much coming from you. Gotta keep looking for the light at the end of the tunnel.