BlotBitch5000™, PhD

If you can't eat the fluorescent proteins why did they give them delicious names like mCherry

@RhysLivingstone @PDA_PhD …while somatically-translated GFP-SynGAP1a will form homomeric trimers with itself in the soma)

@RhysLivingstone @PDA_PhD …translation of endogenous SynGAP1 vs exogenous GFP-SynGAP1a influences the composition of SynGAP1 trimers? (i.e., locally-translated SynGAP1 isofoms will form heteroneric trimers with each other in dendrites…

To the day, two years later, we have published our preprint describing what we found Contrary to the current model, SynGAP1 dispersion appears to be largely a GFP-tagging artefact. Instead, SynGAP1 may gate plasticity via translational repression. biorxiv.org/content/10.648…

@jdpereira Happened to me too (different journal)! I was so flattered to be asked to review because I was just a grad student at the time. I put SO much hard work into writing the best review possible just to be told (a few days before due date) that they didn’t need my review 😢

Nature journal 1/14; “Here is a review request, please have it done by 1/24” Me: Ok. Nature journal 1/22: “We have made an editorial decision and you don’t need to review it anymore.” ??? What a. Waste. Of. Time. Want to know how you don’t get reviewers? This is how.

@CUPharmacology Heck yeah! Way to go, Anna!

#StaffSpotlight! Meet Anna Castano, senior research services professional in the Benke Lab here in the Department of Pharmacology. Anna dedicates her time to advancing research in epilepsy and CDKL5 deficiency disorder, but when she’s not in the lab, she’s crushing records as a professional powerlifter. Please join us in congratulating Anna on placing 3rd nationally in her event and earning a spot at the world competition in Seoul, South Korea! We’re incredibly proud of all she’s achieved and can’t wait to cheer her on as she takes the global stage.

It’s wild how much change is possible in this life. From relearning to talk post-TBI, to full blown heroin addiction, to a life beyond anything I could have imagined. Im very fortunate to not only be alive, but to have been selected to speak at 2025 TEDxBoulder!

My thesis work from @Aoto_Lab is out! Here, we show that acute stress causes sex-specific adaptations to ventral subiculum synapses and behaviors. Critically, these sex-specific changes were driven by distinct signaling pathways. nature.com/articles/s4146…

Congratulations to Associate Professor Kate Smith, PhD, on receiving the CU Anschutz Graduate School 2025 Dean’s Outstanding Doctoral Mentoring Award! We are so proud of Dr. Smith and grateful for the exceptional mentorship she provides to our students. Join us in celebrating this well-deserved honor!

Today, we highlight an exciting publication from @KSmithLab: Release Your Inhibitions: The Cell Biology of GABAergic Postsynaptic Plasticity by Theresa M. Welle, PhD, and Kathe Smith, PhD. This publication provides insights into how inhibitory synapses adapt and regulate brain activity—shaping learning, memory, and cognition. 🧠🔬 Read more: bit.ly/41b5DkU #Neuroscience #BrainPlasticity #Pharmacology #CUAnschutz

We're looking for a postdoc with a strong interest in the structure, function and cell biology of glutamate receptors and excitatory synapses. nature.com/naturecareers/…

🧠 Exciting Research News! 🧬 Congratulations to Katie Zent, PhD, and Mark Dell'Acqua, PhD, on their newly published paper in the Journal of Neuroscience! This groundbreaking study, which represents Dr. Zent's PhD thesis research, unravels the mechanisms behind long-distance communication in neurons—a critical process that supports the brain's plasticity and adaptability. Dr. Zent recently began her postdoctoral work here in the Department of Pharmacology, making this publication a remarkable milestone in her academic journey. 💡 Learn more and read here: bit.ly/4hpHM6i

My labmate, Nikki, just won the pharmacology postdoc research excellence award! Yay Nikki!!!! So well deserved 👏🏻

Student 🪩 spotlight! Our student, Eric, is on that THOT sh**!! That Huge accomplishments Over There ✨Eric was recently invited to the Emerging Scholars Program by @SinaiBrain 🔬 He also just published his thesis work in J Neuroscience: jneurosci.org/content/44/41/… ...

Check out this new review by my PI, Ulli Bayer, and Karl Peter Giese... Is molecular memory truly mediated by sustained pT286 of CaMKII? Probably not! Read more about this and other fundamental revisions to the CaMKII model of learning and memory here: rdcu.be/d0z6P

Interested in doing your postdoc with the Department of Pharmacology at @CUAnschutz? Join us for our Postdoctoral Education & Knowledge Summit with @cuanschutz_dpb and the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics! Applications close December 1st. bit.ly/CU-PEAKS

EEK ITS TODAY

Please join us tomorrow at 1pm for @proteinaceousB 's thesis defense!

🎃 Congratulations to the Coco characters of @ErnstLaboratory and Nicole Brown, dressed as Benjamin Franklin Gates from National Treasure, for winning our costume contest at the 2024 Fall Fest! Thank you to all who participated. @proteinaceousB

@igreger1 Thank you, Ingo 😊

@proteinaceousB congrats Nicole!

After 5 long years, the day has finally come! I will be defending my PhD Thesis on Thursday, November 7 1pm (Denver time) and celebrating after the private defense (~5pm). Everyone is welcome to the public presentation at 1pm and the celebration afterwards! DM for zoom link