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alexkwan.bsky.social
Associate Professor at Cornell BME. Studying the neurobiology of psychiatric #drugs including #ketamine and #psychedelics. https://alexkwanlab.org
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A new pile of these pins arrived yesterday. DM me an address along with a pledge or description of what you are doing to advocate for science and I'll do my best to send one your way. (Note: it's a bit tricky to do internationally but don't hold back; I'll see if I can solve that problem).

One of the remarkable things about #NIH is how rigorously its grants, research, and employees are reviewed. NIH science and scientists are held to a high standard by external reviewers — via study sections and councils, or BSC/site visit reviewers. And the reviews have teeth. 🧪

If the block on the Federal Register isn’t removed in the next few months, I fear a majority of labs will close within a year. This small procedural wrench has the power to kill US science indefinitely, losing an entire generation of discovery and innovation.

We wrote a short News & View piece to highlight the exciting work by Tina Kim and @deolsonlab.bsky.social at @ucdavisipn.bsky.social. Novel neuron-tagging techniques used to dissect the mechanism of psychedelics ⚡🧠🤯 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Took a break from #doomscroll to try the problem “Doomscroll” with K2 in the gym. That was fun. 💪

ATTENTION (PLEASE SHARE) If anyone has or knows of any positions that might be appropriate for the NIH staff members who were terminated, please post the information in this thread. There are lots of talented and accomplished people who may be looking for new opportunities.

Can whole-brain imaging of cellular c-Fos signals be used to classify #psychedelics? 🧠🔬💊 Our study by @aboharbf.bsky.social and @pashadavoudian.bsky.social, developing an imaging and machine learning pipeline to test a panel of psychoactive drugs. Paper here 👇 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

“Your work is your rebellion” 💪 www.reddit.com/r/labrats/co...

Helpful table to determine how much your University or health system is set to lose if the NIH indirect cap is suddenly lowered to 15%. For SJSU it is $374k which is on the smaller end but devastating considering our other budget issues. datawrapper.dwcdn.net/l0ZqA/8/

Neuropixels and Optogenetics are delighted to announce the birth of Neuropixels Opto Combining high-resolution electrophysiology and optogenetics Today in bioRxiv 960 sites, 28 emitters, 2 colors By Lakunina, @karolinazsocha.bsky.social, Ladd, et al www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... (1/2)

SOME GOOD NEWS ABOUT NIH FUNDING Closed sessions of institute and center Advisory Counsel meetings are now permitted. This is where grant applications are discussed and approved for potential funding. Open sessions where there are public presentations and discussions are still not allowed.

We are continuously accepting applications for the first Gordon conference on the neurobiology of #psychedelics We are at 160 people now, so expect to reach full capacity. Apply soon! #GRCPsychedelics

Sharing our new year tradition with an upside-down 福 on my office door. 🧧🐍

Just a gorgeous #Purkinje neuron all by itself in the cerebellum. Only with #lightsheet #microscopy on a whole #cleared sample could you ever hope to catch a lone reporter expressing cell in it’s entirety. #science 🧪

Academic workers across the country are organizing to call on our congressional representatives on Thursday, 1/30, at 3pm ET / 12pm PT to demand these restrictions be lifted immediately. There will be a training over zoom at the beginning of the event. Join us! form.jotform.com/250226137228...

What a great panel of basic and translational research! Also, big thank you to @mayoonthebrain.bsky.social for not hitting us with her unconditioned stimulus in the morning 🙏

A #FluorescenceFriday image from the lab to get past the rough week.. SST interneurons 🟢 among other cells 🔵 in the mouse medial frontal cortex, plus dye marking the recording silicon probe 🔴. From Quan Jiang in the lab. 🧪🔬🧠

The most beautiful neurons in the brain (fact), and also my villain origin story - #FluorescenceFriday 🧡 biocytin patched and filled Purkinje cell 💚 parvalbumin 💜 AnkG for axon initial segments

Our latest study is available as a preprint. We show that psychedelics induce subtle changes in gene expression but robust changes in alternative splicing lasting at least one month, suggesting that alternative splicing may represent a general mechanism for prolonged plasticity in neurons. #RNAsky

First time in Alabama and had a great day meeting everyone at UAB, including an afternoon break to check out the city view at Vulcan Park. 🌅

A last-minute trip to Hong Kong. The food is still amazing 🇭🇰😋 Anyone recognize these dishes… @csaviochan.bsky.social and @kwanlab.bsky.social?

Psychedelic mental health research is booming—but how do we keep up with rapidly evolving evidence? 🌱 Our team proposes a living evidence synthesis approach to ensure clinicians, policymakers, and the public have access to the latest, most reliable data. 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s44... 🧪🧵

New lab preprint ! There is a lot of excitement about the therapeutic potential of psilocybin but what is the mechanism? A beautiful body of work from @alexkwan.bsky.social shows that PFC plasticity is important. But how does this unfold and in which cell types? www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...