iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Angeline J. Dukes, PhD @heydrdukes.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

‼️Mentorship program APPLICATIONS OPEN‼️ Developing a Community of Neuroscientists (DCNS) •5-year mentorship program 👥 •for neuroscience grad students, postdocs & assistant profs 👩🏾‍🏫 •in-person sessions 3x/year ✈️ •professional development, mentoring, & research enhancement 🔬 •peer support network 💞

A cream flyer with yellow callout bubbles. The flyer header reads Developing a Community of Neuroscientists (DCNS) A Longitudinal Mentorship Program to Maximize Scientific Impact. There is a group photo of a diverse cohort 1 underneath the header. The left yellow bubble reads What is DCNS? Developing a Community of Neuroscientists is a five year longitudinal mentorship program designed to retain early-career researchers in the field. We aim to provide sustained mentoring and professional development for the next generation of neuroscience leaders. We seek to support people who have faced barriers along their journeys in pursuing academic research careers.

Who is eligible?
• Mid-to-late stage graduate students (who have advanced to PhD candidacy)
• Postdoctoral fellows (intending to apply for faculty positions)
• Assistant professors (with less than 2 years of experience)
DCNS is hosted by the University of Minnesota and supported by an NINDS R25 grant, but open to applicants nationwide.

The right yellow bubble reads Program Benefits:
• Annual $2000 stipend
• All travel & expenses to attend three in-person cohort meetings each year
• A supportive community as you navigate career transitions
• Expanding your mentoring network
• Unique professional development opportunities to grow your personal and career skills

There is another group photo underneath that bubble.

Then the bottom on the page has a timeline: August applications open, October 30 applications due, December interviews, and January program start. Questions? Please email DCNS@umn.edu

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Love it!!! So glad (what a weird due date on our part). I look forward to learning more!!

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Neurofrontiers @neuro-frontiers.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

So happy to hear that you liked it! I really enjoyed writing about your paper! For anyone interested in a more detailed presentation of the paper, check out the authors’ thread here: bsky.app/profile/viss...

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Check out UAB! @uabneuro.bsky.social is a great place to be and we are hiring. This ad neurojobs.sfn.org/job/39813/ne... says it ends tomorrow, but I know there are others in neuro but can’t find the right application websites…

neurojobs.sfn.org

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Ohmygoodness! @neuro-frontiers.bsky.social wrote a nice discussion essay about our paper! Thank you! Here's more info about the same paper: bsky.app/profile/viss...

linkedin.com

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

We are stronger when we show up for one another. I'm proud to be part of Indivisible’s massive voter protection initiative alongside thousands of volunteers. Every conversation is a step toward communities staying united. Join us at Indivisible.org. 🗳️✊✨

indivisible.org

Indivisible

Indivisible is a nationwide movement of millions of people working to stop the rise of authoritarianism in the United States and to demand a real democracy. We believe that politics is too important t...

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

By examining the idiosyncrasy of the connections, we can identify plasticity in connection patterns while recognizing that every brain is likely to adapt differently to its new environment.

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The field often examines neural plasticity by comparing the mean of one group to the mean of a control group. That ignores the knowledge that each person’s pattern of brain connections starts out distinct, and an experience is likely to perturb each system slightly differently.

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

We’re excited about the finding in part because it has opened our eyes to new ways of thinking about adult plasticity.

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The cortical representation of the PRL (red) shows much more idiosyncratic patterns of connections than a control region (blue). This suggests that the idiosyncratic connections are associated with experience, not development, since these patients developed vision loss in adulthood.

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

In people with central vision loss: We find that whole-brain patterns of connections of the visual cortex don’t change much for people with central vision loss. EXCEPT, in the cortical representations of the part of the retina which people use preferentially for attention-demanding tasks (PRL).

Hisstogram showing that the cortical representation of the PRL (red) shows much more idiosyncratic patterns of connections than a control region (blue).

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

On the other hand, when you look at whole-brain patterns of connections to representations of central vision, they are idiosyncratic, like people’s fingerprints. That is, “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen only one.” (teal in previous figure have low sim. scores)

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

In Central vs. Periph. vision: We find that the whole-brain patterns of connections to the cortical representations of peripheral vision are quite similar person-to-person (in healthy vision controls) – “if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all”. (Purple in the figure have high sim. scores)

Histogram showing high similarity scores for peripheral vision representations (purple) and low for central representations (teal)

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Second: People who have central vision loss often learn to use a 'preferred retinal locus,' which they use as a ‘pseudo fovea’ after central vision loss. This part of vision is used more often for attention-demanding tasks, whereas other parts of peripheral vision are not used for these tasks.

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

First context: Typically, people with healthy vision do not use peripheral vision for attention-demanding tasks, preferring to use the central vision of their fovea for such tasks (like reading, recognizing faces, sewing, etc).

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

We examined this in two contexts where different parts of primary visual cortex are used for more (or less) attention-demanding visual tasks. We rely on the amazing retinotopic organization of the visual cortex: central vision is processed by different cortical tissue than peripheral vision.

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I am excited to do a little explainer about the latest publication by Pinar Demirayak ( www.linkedin.com/in/p%C4%B1na... ) in our lab – it suggests that when a brain region is used for attention-demanding tasks, its connection patterns become more idiosyncratic.

linkedin.com

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I wrote this quickly at a bus stop and didn't realize it would go viral, or else I would have worded it better. But the point is that the media is too credulous about AI killing everyone in 10 years (how?) when climate change is killing people now and will only get worse (we know exactly how).

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Joyce White Vance @joycewhitevance.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

“The United States will no longer limit the planet-warming pollution that power plants pump into the air while burning coal and gas” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/13/c...

nytimes.com

E.P.A. Will Erase Limits on Climate Pollution From Power Plants (Gift Article)

Generation of electricity is the second largest source of carbon dioxide and other planet-warming gases in the United States.

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

You may have seen this, but UAB is hiring in Neuroscience: neurojobs.sfn.org/job/39813/ne... It's a great place to be! www.uab.edu/medicine/cnc/

neurojobs.sfn.org

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Saganism @sagan.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

“The public has a distorted view of science, because children are taught in school that science is a collection of firmly established truths. In fact, science is not a collection of truths. It is a continuing exploration of mysteries.” — Freeman Dyson

A portrait of Freeman Dyson standing in front of a large chalkboard filled with handwritten mathematical and scientific notes. He is wearing a blue and white striped button-down shirt and light-colored trousers. Stacks of books are on the floor to his left.

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SfN Journals @sfnjournals.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

#JNeurosci: Demirayak et al. found that regions of the visual cortex used more frequently develop increasingly individualized patterns of communication, highlighting the brain's remarkable ability to adapt to changes in visual experience. doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2178-25.2…

Infographic showing visual perception in MD, retinal assessments, and brain maps.

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Reposted by Kristina Visscher

Ardem Patapoutian @ardemp.bskyverified.social · 31/08/2026

NIH's Aug 2026 proposal would scrap exact scores and percentiles for three broad bins (top = top 25%). With funding rates at 5% or lower, too much then rides on administrative discretion. It devalues peer review and is a deterrent to engage. Tell NIH before Oct 13. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

grants.nih.gov

NOT-OD-26-088: Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review

NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review NOT-OD-26-088. NIH

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Great story about the Neuroscience for all program! Love this picture of Ava Piper with her favorite Brain Snack demo!

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TarZangief @tarzangief.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

"Neutral in the culture war"

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Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Public comments about a proposal that would make science funding decisions open to political influence are removed from the record, but not by the submitters. A number mentioned that OMB Director Russell Vought's family has benefited from federally funded research. www.statnews.com/2026/08/25/r...

statnews.com

Comments on OMB research rule mysteriously removed from federal website

Some comments on a proposed OMB research rule have been mysteriously removed from a public-facing government webpage.

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Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com · 25/08/2026

Dolly Parton's family asked that, in lieu of flowers, fans make a donation to the singer's Imagination Library. Here's what the charity does ⬇️ www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

rollingstone.com

Turning Pages: Inside Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Core team of 15 staff and thousands of volunteers and partners help the country-music philanthropist deliver books to kids around the world.

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Jason Lee Guthrie @jasonleeguthrie.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

That same relationship is how the good Dr’s son Jad, best known as the host of Radiolab, came to create the excellent podcast series Dolly Parton’s America: www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/dol...

wnycstudios.org

Dolly Parton's America : Episodes | WNYC Studios | Podcasts

The story of a legend at the crossroads of America’s culture wars.

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Abilu Tangwa. @abilutangwa.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Every single second, the world hands $6,000 to the fossil fuel industry in subsidies. That’s $5 TRILLION every year. Renewables? Barely a fraction of that. We are literally paying to cook our own planet. When does this madness stop? 🌍💸 #ClimateCrisis #FossilFuels

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Society for Neuroscience @sfn.org · 17/08/2026

Planning to submit a late-breaking abstract for #SfN26? Here are 2 things to keep in mind. 👇 #neurosky #neuroskyence #scisky #medsky

People at a conference gather around research posters, engaged in discussions.

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Society for Neuroscience @sfn.org · 17/08/2026

1. Late-breaking abstracts will be accepted Tuesday, September 8–Tuesday, September 15, or until the 2,500 submission cap is reached, whichever comes first. #neurosky #neuroskyence #scisky #medsky

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UAB Comprehensive Neuroscience Center @uabneuro.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Applications are open for the 2027 Scholar and Neurobiology of Brain Disorders Awards from the McKnight Foundation. Recent UAB awardees include Dr. Lillian Brady (2026 Scholar) and Dr. Jeremy Day (2022 NBDA awardee). Apply here: www.mcknight.org/programs/the...

mcknight.org

Neurobiology of Brain Disorders Award

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 07/08/2026

I am absolutely thrilled to present to you: How to Build a Universe (Theoretically Speaking) available for pre-order now, wherever you buy your books! www.simonandschuster.ca/books/How-to...

Cover of the book "How to Build a Universe (Theoretically Speaking)" by Katie Mack. The top right corner says "Author of The End of Everything" and the bottom left says "Brilliant and thrilling! - John Green". The cover motif is a space image made of puzzle pieces.

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UAB Comprehensive Neuroscience Center @uabneuro.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

New work from CNC faculty member @andrewhardaway.bsky.social provides insight into the mechanisms by which GLP-1 drugs work in the brain. www.uab.edu/medicine/new...

uab.edu

Hardaway study sheds light on how the brain responds to GLP-1 drugs | Heersink School of Medicine News

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OHBM Trainees @ohbmtrainees.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

If you're still reminiscing about OHBM in Bordeaux, check out Andrew Jahn's OHBM 2026 recap video www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhyF.... Andrew Jahn is a committed educator in neuroimaging and we highly recommend checking out his videos and Andy's Brain Book (andysbrainbook.readthedocs.io/en/latest/)

youtube.com

OHBM 2026 Recap

YouTube video by Andy's Brain Tube

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Kristina Visscher @visscherlab.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Somehow I can’t respond to that post. But I have been using Sciwheel for annotations and it works well (some caveats).

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UAB Comprehensive Neuroscience Center @uabneuro.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Join us for Brain Chats this Saturday! Dr. Clay will present, "An Introduction to the UAB Alzheimer's Disease Research Center: The Importance of Brain Aging Research." Come learn why brain aging research matters and how you can help advance Alzheimer's research! Free & open to all! 🧠📚

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turrigiano.bsky.social @turrigiano.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Some good news! Not a done deal, but important step. If you wondered if submitting your comments on the OMB rules change mattered, the answer is a resounding YES

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Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 25/07/2026

Admirable clarity @science.org

The Trump administration hates academic science funding, full stop. They hate where that money goes, and they hate who it goes to. They want to keep all that money for themselves, to hand out to favored cronies who can help them get elected and to steer yet more money and more power back into their hands.

That’s it. That’s the story

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BIDS (Brain Imaging Data Structure) @bidsstandard.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

📣 BIDS seeks a volunteer Communications Maintainer to keep our community informed, connected, and engaged. Learn more: bids.neuroimaging.io/blog/2026/07... #BIDS #OpenScience #Neuroimaging

bids.neuroimaging.io

📣 BIDS is looking for a volunteer Communications Maintainer - The Brain Imaging Data Structure

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Gavin Buckingham @drgbuckingham.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Great visual illusion, accompanied by a lovely variation on Shepard Tones if you have the sound on Posted on Reddit by bigjobbyx, who is a bit of an artist genius

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Caterina Gratton @caterinagratton.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

A special highlight of our work on precision fMRI of the prefrontal cortex

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Society for Neuroscience @sfn.org · 23/07/2026

The public comment period for the proposed OMB rule closed Monday, July 13. Thank you to everyone who took the time to engage in this important process and submit their public comments. View SfN’s submitted comments here: vist.ly/5c9q4 #neurosky #neuroskyence #scisky

Person writing in a notebook at a table with a document labeled 'Meeting Briefing'.

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Jenny G. Rankin, PhD @jennygrankin.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

🧠BRAIN FACT: Your sense of time is not kept by one tiny clock. Time perception involves distributed networks including frontal areas, basal ganglia, cerebellum, and parietal regions. #Science4Policy #learning #Polarization

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The Women In Science Archive @wisarchive.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Neuroscientist Brenda Milner turns an incredible 108 years old today! In the 1950s she uncovered the role the hippocampus plays in consolidating memories, and in the 1970s she published her seminal studies of speech lateralization. Wishing her all the best today! tinyurl.com/3am8syhf #WomenInSTEM

tinyurl.com

Building a Kingdom in the Brain’s Unfashionable District: Brenda Milner’s Century of Neuropsychology

There are scales and metrics you use to evaluate the lives of most neuropsychologists, and then there are those you have to invent in order to speak with any degree of justice about people like Brenda...

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