Alexander Ophir
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alexophir.bsky.social
Alexander Ophir
@alexophir.bsky.social
father of 3, husband of 1, mentor to some, student of most. works on mechanisms of social behavior and reproductive decision making. jack of some trades. he/him
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
Science news article about 2nd year grad students being unceremoniously dropped from the GRFP eligibility with no explanation or warning:
www.science.org/content/arti...
‘Completely shattered.’ Changes to NSF’s graduate student fellowship spur outcry
The announcement comes months later than usual, leaving many would-be applicants stranded
www.science.org
September 27, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
Please RT
2 new positions in the lab as postdoc & PhD!

Interested in stress, pain, or reward? This project has it all!

We are a friendly but ambitious group. Oslo is a capital city on the fjord & bordered by forest, great urban & outdoors opportunities: 💃 ⛷️ 🚣 🎭 🎶

www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (286516) | University of Oslo
Job title: Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (286516), Employer: University of Oslo, Deadline: Wednesday, October 15, 2025
www.jobbnorge.no
September 24, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
A POSTDOCTORAL POSITION ON THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION IN A CHANGING ENVIRONMENT: We are recruiting a postdoctoral fellow to work on a Neurobiology in Changing Ecosystems (NiCE) award from NSF and the Kavli Foundation (www.kavlifoundation.org/news/kavli-a...).
Kavli and NSF Announce New Grant Awards to Advance Neurobiology in…
An initiative to explore how nervous systems function and evolve in dynamic natural environments
www.kavlifoundation.org
September 19, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
🚨Job alert!🚨

We are looking for a new lab manager to join our group at the University of Oregon! Applicants with experience in microbiology, evolutionary genetics, or protein biochemistry are especially encouraged to apply. See the link below for more information: barberlab.org/contact/
Contact
View of the University of Oregon campus from nearby Hendricks Park Lab Address:322 Pacific Hall5289 University of OregonEugene, OR 97403 Lab Phone:541-346-1537 Joining the lab Lab Manager: We are c…
barberlab.org
September 12, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
Awesome faculty position alert! Tenure-track assistant professor position in Evolutionary Biology, with a focus on organismal responses to environmental change.

Please help spread the word!
apply.interfolio.com/173889
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
September 12, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
The GRFP lives!! (due end of October)
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
www.nsf.gov
September 8, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲
Title of section 1 summarizes it:
"The problem: Reductionism and control vs natural behavior: from Descartes and Bacon to Natural Neuroscience"
The brain as a complex network.
Looks like a fantastic book.
#neuroskyence
June 23, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
must be incredibly frustrating and disheartening to have federal funding that was promised to you for important work suddenly and arbitrarily ripped away
“In light of the President's statement about cancellation of my government contracts, @SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft immediately”
June 5, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
My Canadian university, Queen's, is offering TWENTY 4-year funded PhDs (40k CAD/yr) for a student of ANY citizenship who has been accepted at a top 100 US university but have had offer rescinded OR are reconsidering offer due to US policy.
Details found here👇

www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...
Queen’s Special U.S. Doctoral Recruitment Initiative | School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral AffairsDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown...
Queen’s University is a globally engaged, research-intensive institution dedicated to attracting and supporting exceptional PhD students who will significantly advance our research mission.
www.queensu.ca
June 5, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
Lateral septum enthusiast? Interested in learning more about how LS projection populations and their inputs are organized. Check out our preprint in which @jennisisaac.bsky.social and @soniakarkare.bsky.social map out brain wide inputs to 6 LS projection populations. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Organization of brainwide inputs to discrete lateral septum projection populations
The lateral septum (LS) is anatomically positioned to play a critical role in directing information from the hippocampus and cortex to downstream subcortical structures, such as the hypothalamus. In f...
www.biorxiv.org
April 29, 2025 at 2:33 PM
TACOs… they’re delicious, they’re nutritious, and evidently they piss off authoritarian regimes.

www.cnn.com/2025/05/30/p...
Why Trump got visibly angry at the ‘TACO’ question | CNN Politics
There was a reason for President Donald Trump’s particularly caustic response when a reporter asked him Wednesday about a new term coined about the president’s tariffs: TACO, or Trump Always Chickens ...
www.cnn.com
May 30, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
BREAKING: NSF has frozen all grant funding, as of yesterday. It's unclear when they will resume funding awards, or why the pause has been put in place. www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: NSF stops awarding new grants and funding existing ones
US science funder also plans to screen grant applications for compliance with ‘agency priorities’.
www.nature.com
May 1, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
All new research grants have been frozen at the National Science Foundation, Nature reports, as DOGE considers canceling 200 existing grants flagged for terms associated with diversity, equity and inclusion. Story by @dangaristo.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: Trump team freezes new NSF awards — and could soon axe hundreds of grants
The National Science Foundation is the latest US agency to be disrupted by Elon Musk’s DOGE.
www.nature.com
April 18, 2025 at 2:59 PM
What our world needs now is more punk rock and more Billy Bragg @billybragg.bsky.social
April 13, 2025 at 3:05 PM
those that want to kill ‘woke’ just want you to sleep
April 12, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
New report shows that NIH grants fueled $95 billion in economic activity and 407,782 jobs in 2024.

That's not to mention the countless lives that biomedical research has saved.

Show me a better investment than that.
www.forbes.com/sites/michae...
NIH Grants Fueled $95 Billion In FY 2024 Economic Activity, Finds New Report
National Institutes of Health grants generated almost $95 billion in economic activity nationwide in FY 2024 according to a new report by United for Medical Research.
www.forbes.com
March 12, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
Is everyone on schedule? #2025MMM
You are right on schedule. From the official MMM calendar in the #2025MMM bracket guide:
March 10, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
🚨 The official What's the Deal with Birds? trailer has dropped!!! Yes, it's real, and it's spectacular. COMING SOON! www.instagram.com/reel/DG3g5Ol...
Login • Instagram
Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.
www.instagram.com
March 6, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
Very happy to share the newest work from our lab, led by postdoc @xinzhao322.bsky.social, with help from many past and present undergrad RAs.

elifesciences.org/articles/94924
Short-term social isolation acts on hypothalamic neurons to promote social behavior in a sex- and context-dependent manner
A population of neurons in the hypothalamus promotes social behaviors in female mice following a period of short-term social isolation.
elifesciences.org
March 6, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
Please share!
Hey! We’re looking for a woman in science who is actively promoted and supported women in biology to give a talk or lead a workshop. Let me know if you have any recommendations! #womeninstem
February 28, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
This what MLK’ s daughter has suggested we do.

Great list.
November 17, 2024 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
Some good news:

"The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation will increase its giving over the next two years in response to what it calls a 'crisis' prompted by the Trump administration’s freeze..."

www.philanthropy.com/article/maca...
MacArthur Foundation to Increase Giving for Two Years in Response to ‘Crisis’
The move was prompted by the Trump administration’s freeze on federal foreign aid and the now-suspended freeze on federal grants.
www.philanthropy.com
February 27, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
Hi, BlueSky! We are trying to be more active on here. If any SBN members are out there who are interested in joining the social media committee, please drop us a line!
February 17, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
NEW: We obtained the directions NSF program officers are following to review all grants for compliance with the Trump EOs and the turmoil it has created in an agency mandated to broaden STEM participation. Our story: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Exclusive: how NSF is scouring research grants for violations of Trump’s orders
The US National Science Foundation has unfrozen grant funding, but it continues to scrutinize research projects, sowing turmoil.
www.nature.com
February 3, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Reposted by Alexander Ophir
🚨BREAKING. From a program officer at the National Science Foundation, a list of keywords that can cause a grant to be pulled. I will be sharing screenshots of these keywords along with a decision tree. Please share widely. This is a crisis for academic freedom & science.
February 4, 2025 at 1:26 AM