Dr. Micky Marinelli receives NINDS Rigor Champion Award

March 28, 2024

Congratulations to Dr. Marineli on receiving the NINDS Rigor Champion Award! The NINDS lauched the Rigor Champions Award in 2023 in an effort to promote research rigor and transparent reporting and to foster a culture of reserach quailty withing the scientific ecosystem. The goal of this prize is to help recognize and reward those individuals and small teams who have championed rigor and transparency practices above and beyond their normal job duties and who have helped cultivate a culture that promotes robust, high-quality neuroscience research.

Five

(87), I Wallach, A Morrison, .., .., B Medellin, .., .., Y. Jessie Zhang, .., and A Heifets. “AI is a Viable Alternative to High Throughput Screening: a 318-Target Study.” Scientific Reports, 14, Pp. 7526. Publisher's Version

Wenli Wang and Sibum Sung. “Chromatin sensing: Integration of environmental signals to reprogram plant development through chromatin regulators.” J. Exp. Bot. , Pp. erae086. Publisher's Version

(89), Miller LG, Kim W, Schowe S, Taylor K, Han R, Jain V, Park R, Sherman M, Fang J, Ramirez H, Ellington AD, Tamamis P, Resendiz MJE, Y. J. Zhang (co-corresponding), and Contreras L. “Selective 8-oxo-rG stalling occurs in the catalytic core of polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase) during degradation.” PNAS.

(88), Panina SB, Schweer JV, Zhang Q, Raina G, Hardtke HA, Kim S, Yang WJ, Siegel D, and Zhang YJ. “Targeting of REST with rationally-designed small molecule compounds exhibits synergetic therapeutic potential in human glioblastoma cells.” BMC Biology, 22, 83. Publisher's Version

Transitioning to an Empty Nest

In late summer/fall 2024, we will begin a new grant funded project examining couples' experiences as their children move out of the home and they start to transition into an "empty nest". We want to recruit 300 couples whose 1) last/only child is beginning their senior year of high school this fall or 2) first child is beginning their senior year of high school. If you think you might be eligibile to participate, please stayed tuned for more information on how to enroll!

On empiricism and falsification

March 18, 2024

Angus Deaton, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2015, has written a fascinating essay about his changing views on economics. I thought the following quote has great relevance to ecology: "The credibility revolution in econometrics was an understandable reaction to the identification of causal mechanisms by assertion, often controversial and Read more about On empiricism and falsification

INS Grad Student Kevin Zhou receives fellowship from the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation

March 18, 2024

Congratulations to INS Grad Student Kevin Zhou (Bittner Lab) for receiving a fellowship from the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation! This fellowship will support Kevin's research on peripheral nerve repair by providing funds for his education and research expensis that traditional NIH undergraduate fellowships may not provide.

The Lee Lab publishes in The Journal of Neuroscience and is featured on the cover

March 15, 2024

Josue Lopez and colleagues from the Lee Lab published a reserach article in The Journal of Neuroscience entitled "Caldendrin Is a Repressor of PIEZO2 Channels and Touch Sensation in Mice". This study investigated the role of the calmodulin-like Ca²⁺ sensor, caldendrin, in the regulation of mechanically activated ion channels and their roles in touch sensation.

Philomena Alapatt

Research Associate

2500 Speedway MBB 2.210AA

p: 512-471-4778

March 2024