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Stacey Kigar

@staceykigar.bsky.social
649 followers 1.2K following 50 posts

Research Associate, University of Cambridge | Leading Edge fellow | first-gen academic | molecular biologist studying effects of stress across the lifespan 🧠🩸🧬

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Reposted by Stacey Kigar
Leading Edge Fellows Program @leadingedgeprogram.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
We are thrilled to announce the 2026 Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Fellows! 40 remarkable postdocs pursuing transformative research in biological/biomedical sciences. This is the 7th Leading Edge cohort and we are so excited to welcome them! www.leadingedgesymposium.org/fellows/
Congratulations to the 2026 Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Fellows! 
Airi Yoshimoto, Yijun Yang, Alexandra Wells, Simran Virdi, Archana Venkataraman, Emery Usher, Marianna Tannus Ruckert, Wenzhi Song, Kathryn Shelley, Selin Schamiloglu, Julia Peloggia de Castro, Ines Patop, Ruhi Patel, Suranjana Pal, Bernie Simone Owusu Yaw, LaShae Nicholson, Sivapratha Nagappan Chettiar, Dallas Mould, Jessica Moore, Deka Mohamed, Sierra Marable, Annie Ly, Xi (Lucy) Lu, Deirdre Logsdon, Anna Lipkin, Ellen Lesser, Mia Konjikusic, Veronika Kondev, Cayla Jewett, Lucia Ichino, Erin Huiting, Maggie Horst, Isabella Gaeta, Martha Echevarria-Andino, Natasha Claxton, Sarah Cherkaoui, Nikita Bhalerao, Merci Best, Meenakshi Asokan, Alicer Andrew
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
This work is an important first step toward refining psychiatric diagnoses, aligning them with biological processes, and empowering discovery of new treatment options.
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
i.e., anxious-depression, social withdrawal, compulsivity & intrusive thought - and the levels of different immune cells and plasma cytokines. These relationships varied with and without exposure to stress. Exposing white blood cells to an immune challenge revealed further symptom relationships
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
laying the groundwork to reveal common biological processes & to enable future therapeutic options. We used a laboratory-induced stressor, immunophenotyping, and comprehensive cognitive testing to profile healthy volunteers. We find relationships between transdiagnostic symptoms...
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
Defining psychiatric disorders is often 'fuzzy' - e.g., compulsivity is a symptom in substance addictions, OCD, hoarding disorder, et al., - which impedes diagnostics and treatment. Our newly published work examines these shared ('transdiagnostic') symptoms... www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
Inflammatory profiles of transdiagnostic symptom dimensions in healthy females
Psychiatric disorders are increasingly conceptualised as heterogeneous categories with transdiagnostic underlying mechanisms that cut across multiple …
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
“balanced on a toothpick labelled DNS” - @scalarmoon.bsky.social
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
this is shocking.
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Reposted by Stacey Kigar
Leading Edge Fellows Program @leadingedgeprogram.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
The Leading Edge Fellows gathered this week to celebrate Zara Weinberg, a beloved member of our community. Our 7th cohort of Leading Edge Fellows (2026) will be named in her honor. The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2. www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
Candid photo of Zara Weinberg. She has short red hair, bangs and glasses. She is laughing.
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Lex McMenamin (they/them) @lexmcmenamin.com · 03/11/2025
thank you for all the support; the statement from our union is now live here with some more reporting. now that this is public I can confirm that the majority of today’s layoffs were women of color. there are no longer any Black women working at Teen Vogue.
hollywoodreporter.com
As Condé Nast Folds Teen Vogue Into Vogue’s Website, NewsGuild Condemns the Plan
The union, which reps staffers, says the move was "clearly designed" to blunt the journalism of the brand, which has leaned in to progressive politics.
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
not taking #caturday for granted as our super senior (i.e., nearly 20y old) lady gave us a proper health scare this week. (thankfully she seems to be on the mend)
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
Zara was an incredibly inspiring scientist, activist, and leader within our community of Leading Edge Fellows. She will be deeply missed by all those who had the pleasure of interacting with her.
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
Incredible new work from the McKinley Lab @karalmckinley.bsky.social describing menstruating mice and stem cell renewal in the uterus! Congrats to an amazing team 🐭🧬🔬
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ImmuNoah's Ark (Noe Rodriguez) @immunoah.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
📣📣We're seeking a postdoc to join us at the @mrclmb.bsky.social to investigate neuroimmune interactomes in tumour & viral immunity. If you find fascinating & want to learn about #neuroscience & #immunology, tracing neurons, molecular biology & #flowcytometry, apply! 🧠🫁👀🩸🔬 mrc.tal.net/vx/mobile-0/...
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Congrats to Varun, Xinhe, and the team on this very important work
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
Thank you! That is certainly the hope, though there’s much work ahead re: translating these results from rodent to human.
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NPR @npr.org · 01/10/2025
JUST IN: Jane Goodall, primatologist who transformed our understanding of the lives of apes, has died, according to an announcement from the Jane Goodall Institute.
n.pr
Jane Goodall, legendary primatologist, has died at age 91
Jane Goodall, primatologist who transformed our understanding of the lives of apes, has died, according to an announcement from the Jane Goodall Institute.
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Medicine at Cambridge @medcambridge.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
Upcoming seminar: 🎓Dr Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social @medcambridge.bsky.social 📢"Chronic stress-mediated effects on the immune system: links to mental health" 📅 1-2PM, Thur 2 October 📍JCBC @cambridgebiocampus.bsky.social buff.ly/ggnAwDO #CITIID #MedSky #ImmunoSky 🧪
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Gergo Porkolab @gergoporkolab.bsky.social · 12/09/2025
Happy to share our new preprint on BBB mechanobiology on bioRxiv: www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/... We describe an exciting new link between tight junctions and cell-matrix adhesions during BBB maturation and in epileptic BBB dysfunction.
biorxiv.org
Endothelial tight junctions and cell-matrix adhesions reciprocally control blood-brain barrier integrity
Brain endothelial cells (ECs) rely on mechanical cues to provide a physical barrier that protects the brain. Yet how ECs integrate forces to establish and maintain the blood-brain barrier (BBB) remain...
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Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ @olivia.science · 08/09/2025
There are a lot more people than one might think who refuse this tech but are shamed by users. Once the space for their opinions and voices opens up, the scene will change. These stats, 18k views, are not a coincidence for example on this preprint. People want to not, yup. zenodo.org/records/1706...
zenodo.org
Against the Uncritical Adoption of 'AI' Technologies in Academia
Under the banner of progress, products have been uncritically adopted or even imposed on users — in past centuries with tobacco and combustion engines, and in the 21st with social media. For these col...
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
Check out this nice write-up of our work, out today in @natcomms.nature.com! 🧠🐁💉
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Arghavan Salles, MD, PhD @arghavansallesmd.medsky.social · 01/09/2025
If you’ve ever compared unvaccinated kids to vaccinated kids, you’ve seen the former are more likely to die.
Figures showing deaths from smallpox and polio and cases of measles before and after vaccines were introduced for each respective disease. All three figures show declining rates after vaccine introduction
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Abby Polter @ampolter.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
One of my former students sent me an update letting me know she got into medical school and included a picture of her white coat ceremony. It made my day! Send your professors updates on what you're doing, it's a real highlight in this job.
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
I am so grateful to everyone involved in bringing this paper to fruition, and am especially grateful to the NIH and @cambridgebrc.bsky.social for supporting me throughout. To read a summary of the project, please check out this summary by Craig Brierley here: www.cam.ac.uk/research/new...
cam.ac.uk
Depression linked to presence of immune cells in the brain’s protective layer
Immune cells released from bone marrow in the skull in response to chronic stress and adversity could play a key role in symptoms of depression and anxiety,
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
It involved lots of hard work from my brilliant co-authors, including co-first author @maryellenlynall.bsky.social and others who as far as I know aren’t on blue sky. Data collection took place during Covid lockdown, and involved coordinating teams transatlantically, requiring lots of grit/tenacity!
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
Systemic depletion of type I interferon signaling improved depressive behavior in chronically stressed mice, and may hold promise as a future target for depression treatment. This project was a labor of love, stemming from work done many years ago now while I was still a postdoc at the NIH campus…
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
A unique population of neutrophils that are regulated independently of neutrophils derived from other bone marrow stores, like tibia. Our single cell RNA sequencing analysis of meningeal tissue showed type I interferons as a plausible candidate triggering movement of neutrophils into the meninges…
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
However, we found neutrophils increased in the meninges—a protective tissue layer surrounding the brain. We were surprised to find that neutrophils did not seem to enter the meninges from the bloodstream, but instead entered from nearby skull bone marrow. The skull bone marrow appears to host..
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
It is not clear what if any relationship blood neutrophils have with mood disorders like depression. We hypothesized that neutrophils increased by stress could exert an effect on mood from within the brain or its surrounding/supporting tissues. We found no evidence that neutrophils enter the brain..
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
We used a combination of bioinformatics, immuno-, and behavioral assays to show “first responder” immune cells (neutrophils) accumulate around the brain following prolonged stress exposure. While it is well known that acute exposure to stress causes release of neutrophils into the bloodstream…
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
‼️ New manuscript alert ‼️ I’m thrilled to share this work examining chronic stress-related “depression” and immune cells at the blood brain barrier: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Chronic social defeat stress induces meningeal neutrophilia via type I interferon signaling in male mice
Nature Communications - Chronic stress is a risk factor for depression, yet the mechanisms are unclear. Here, the authors show in mice that stress drives interferon-mediated neutrophil recruitment...
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
It’s also factually incorrect that other countries lack mail-in voting: www.idea.int/news/how-us-...
idea.int
How the US stacks up against global voting by mail trends
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Fredrik Jutfelt 🐠 @jutfelt.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Associate Professor position in animal physiology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (to replace me basically). An amazing permanent position at a great university! Please spread widely 🙏 www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
jobbnorge.no
Associate Professor in molecular/cellular animal physiology (281754) | NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Job title: Associate Professor in molecular/cellular animal physiology (281754), Employer: NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Deadline: Monday, September 1, 2025
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Will Ratcliff @wcratcliff.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
Not sure how many scientists here have tried Claude Code or similar command line coding assistants. I had a complicated family property tax problem that was best solved by a brute force Monte Carlo simulation approach, so I spent a few days coding up and analyzing a model with Claude Code.
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PBS @pbs.org · 07/08/2025
An update from us here at PBS 💙
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
this is so beautifully done 👀🧬
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Harmit Singh Malik @harmitmalik.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
I spoke to Renaud Pourpe (of @lonelypipette.bsky.social fame with @epigenetique.bsky.social) about the unique challenges faced by postdocs and early-career PIs worldwide on the transition from postdoc to PI. Lots of useful advice shared (by others): www.alba.network/diversity-po... Check it out.
alba.network
ALBA-IBRO Diversity Podcast - Season 2
Episode 4 is out. In season 2, we focus on the transition from postdoc to PI, highlighting the unique challenges faced by postdocs and early-career PIs worldwide. Hosted by the Lonely Pipette.
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Seth Trueger @mdaware.org · 31/07/2025
one cool thing about Scandinavian countries with comprehensive public health insurance is places like Denmark can do a study on… everybody and conclude that yes COVID vaccines are safe
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michelle⁷ @poisonivy47.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
is your workplace trying to force ai on you? is a family member giving ai too much power in their life? are you sick of billionaires destroying the environment and making life worse for everyone? here's a list of resources 10+ pages long to help you fight back: docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
Questioning AI Resource List
Excellent summary of major problems with companies’ focus on AI written by expert in machine learning: https://ludic.mataroa.blog/blog/i-will-fucking-piledrive-you-if-you-mention-ai-again/ Another g...
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Dr Craig R McClain @drcraigmc.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
I've wanted to write this article for years. About my and other's struggles to even survive sometime in #academia. Thank you to the amazing editors at @plosbiology.org that gave me the forum to write this piece. #science
journals.plos.org
Too poor to science: How wealth determines who succeeds in STEM
From student to researcher, a career in science can come with a high price tag. This Perspective explores how persistent financial barriers limit who can succeed in science, revealing how wealth shape...
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Dr. Erin Giglio 🏳️‍🌈 @eringiglio.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
the thing that *really* gets me about the pivot penalty is that pivoting is one of the easiest ways to escape a toxic supervisor by fleeing the "area", at least temporarily. academia is so relational and trainees have few options if their supervisors become hostile. adding costs to this one sucks.
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Ricardo Henriques @henriqueslab.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
It's here! ✨ The #ExSRRF protocol paper is out 😍. Full details for merging Expansion Microscopy with our eSRRF analysis. From cells to tissue. A partnership with @puellesv.bsky.social's lab. Lead by Dominik Kylies and @hannah-superres.bsky.social + colleagues. #ExM #eSRRF ➡️ Open link: rdcu.be/euvEw
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Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
Now I've looked more closely at these two recent papers in Nature, and they are both excellent examples of why we need new narratives for talking about molecular biology to non-specialists. 🧵 www.nature.com/articles/s41... www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Deciphering disordered regions controlling mRNA decay in high-throughput - Nature
Using high-throughput functional profiling, how disordered regions control mRNA stability and translation is explored.
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Damien Fair @drdamienfair.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
Alert! ... for the child development world! @fluxsociety.bsky.social @fitngin.bsky.social ‪ The Healthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study has released its first data wave - it’s massive. Check here: docs.hbcdstudy.org and here: nbdc-datahub.org Here’s why it matters 🧠🍼
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Patricia Zengerle @reuterszengerle.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
Curious what Virginia's Republican governor has to say about this. UVa is a crown jewel for the state.
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Julie Lasselin @julielasselin.bsky.social · 21/06/2025
‼️🚨 postdoc position 🚨‼️ I am looking for a postdoc in psychoneuroimmunology - come join our group to work on sickness behavior in humans 🤒🦠 at Karolinska Institutet @ki.se !! ki.varbi.com/en/what:job/... deadline July 31st @pnirs.bsky.social #neuroskyence #PsychSciSky #interoception
ki.varbi.com
Postdoctoral Researcher in Psychoneuroimmunology
Do you want to contribute to improving human health? Join a dynamic and inclusive research group at the forefront of psychoneuroimmunology, where we investigate the interplay between behavior, brain f
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @aoc.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Rewording my earlier post. RFK Jr will be testifying before Congress. I am interested in what experts and others think would be the best way to leverage this time and opportunity for the public good. If you were behind the dais for this hearing, what would you do? What do you want to see asked?
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stephen @stephanoplis.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
I’m looking for a postdoctoral scholar to join me in the Self & Society Laboratory at UC Riverside! Sharing would be much appreciated! aprecruit.ucr.edu/JPF02104
aprecruit.ucr.edu
Postdoctoral Scholar in Social/Personality Psychology
University of California, Riverside is hiring. Apply now!
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 01/06/2025
If you see this, post a flower 🌷 Lovely tulips from a recent trip to the Netherlands
field of pink and white tulips
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Ed Boyden @eboyden3.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Just published, expansion in situ genome sequencing, where you can sequence DNA while still inside the cell, mapping its organization relative to proteins and other markers, with the help of expansion microscopy! Led by @jbuenrostro.bksy.social. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Stacey Kigar @staceykigar.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Congratulations and welcome to the newest cohort of fantastic Leading Edge Fellows!!
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