Carlo Barnaba 🇮🇹🇲🇽
@barnabalab.bsky.social
I lead a young, vibrant research group at the University of Kansas - Pharmaceutical Chemistry. My lab works on metabolic adaptation: how our cells rewire their metabolism when challenged by chemical and nutrient stressors.
What I have been seeing is that young PIs fail at being just professional. We train individuals to be masters in their field; we don't teach them how to behave with their peers, to meet a deadline, or to properly answer an email.
Honestly: last two months have been a series of 'WTF?!?'.
Honestly: last two months have been a series of 'WTF?!?'.
January 8, 2026 at 6:13 PM
What I have been seeing is that young PIs fail at being just professional. We train individuals to be masters in their field; we don't teach them how to behave with their peers, to meet a deadline, or to properly answer an email.
Honestly: last two months have been a series of 'WTF?!?'.
Honestly: last two months have been a series of 'WTF?!?'.
“As 2025 comes to a close…”, followed by 100% guaranteed AI bullshit. Totally losing interest in “content”.
December 31, 2025 at 4:57 PM
“As 2025 comes to a close…”, followed by 100% guaranteed AI bullshit. Totally losing interest in “content”.
Reposted by Carlo Barnaba 🇮🇹🇲🇽
ULK1 knockout suppresses pancreatic cancer progression by inhibiting autophagy and enhancing antitumor immunity 🧪 #PancreaticCancer www.nature.com/articles/s12...
ULK1 knockout suppresses pancreatic cancer progression by inhibiting autophagy and enhancing antitumor immunity - Experimental & Molecular Medicine
This study explores the role of a protein called ULK1 in pancreatic cancer. ULK1 is involved in autophagy. Researchers wanted to understand how ULK1 affects cancer progression, especially in pancreati...
www.nature.com
December 17, 2025 at 4:52 PM
ULK1 knockout suppresses pancreatic cancer progression by inhibiting autophagy and enhancing antitumor immunity 🧪 #PancreaticCancer www.nature.com/articles/s12...
Reposted by Carlo Barnaba 🇮🇹🇲🇽
KU’s Steven Soper was named to the 2025 Class of the National Academy of Inventors Fellows — the highest professional distinction awarded solely to academic inventors. Soper is the 8th faculty member to receive the honor while at the @universityofkansas.bsky.social.
news.ku.edu/news/article...
news.ku.edu/news/article...
Academy lauds third KU inventor in three years
Steven Soper is the eighth National Academy of Inventors fellow named while at KU.
news.ku.edu
December 11, 2025 at 3:18 PM
KU’s Steven Soper was named to the 2025 Class of the National Academy of Inventors Fellows — the highest professional distinction awarded solely to academic inventors. Soper is the 8th faculty member to receive the honor while at the @universityofkansas.bsky.social.
news.ku.edu/news/article...
news.ku.edu/news/article...
Grad students + PI at the annual KUCC Research Week.
December 8, 2025 at 3:49 AM
Grad students + PI at the annual KUCC Research Week.
oh wow.
Interesting story, particularly for all of us with wuffies!
Recommendation for all my peers without a dog in their lives:
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
Recommendation for all my peers without a dog in their lives:
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
Dog ownership during adolescence alters the microbiota and improves mental health
Microbiome; Psychology
www.cell.com
December 3, 2025 at 10:40 PM
oh wow.
Our lab was awarded both a Tina's Wish Team Science Award (with Godwin, Soper, and Whelan labs at KUMC-KU) and the inaugural KUCC Obesity, Metabolic Health, and Cancer Pilot project. Every penny counts. :-)
December 2, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Our lab was awarded both a Tina's Wish Team Science Award (with Godwin, Soper, and Whelan labs at KUMC-KU) and the inaugural KUCC Obesity, Metabolic Health, and Cancer Pilot project. Every penny counts. :-)
I have a strong feeling that science is being killed day by day by this. Oligarchs should keep their hands off science.
Gemini 3 created this figure in under 30 seconds from a couple reference images and a one sentence prompt
So I’m at a loss for words, honestly #MicroscopyMonday
So I’m at a loss for words, honestly #MicroscopyMonday
November 24, 2025 at 8:51 PM
I have a strong feeling that science is being killed day by day by this. Oligarchs should keep their hands off science.
Three years ago I was farming in Southern Italy to replace dad who had a terrible accident. Social media made me remember this picture: a detail in my dad’s workers van. It’s a tough life.
November 15, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Three years ago I was farming in Southern Italy to replace dad who had a terrible accident. Social media made me remember this picture: a detail in my dad’s workers van. It’s a tough life.
😒
NIH grant applicants:
October and November grant application submission *deadlines* will be rescheduled (🤯). Specific dates TBD.
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
October and November grant application submission *deadlines* will be rescheduled (🤯). Specific dates TBD.
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
NOT-OD-26-005: Interim Guidance on Reopening of NIH Extramural Activities
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Interim Guidance on Reopening of NIH Extramural Activities NOT-OD-26-005. NIH
grants.nih.gov
November 14, 2025 at 9:08 PM
😒
Jeff Tweedy warming our hearts yesterday evening.
November 9, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Jeff Tweedy warming our hearts yesterday evening.
You have a dozen active grants, half of them the size of an R01. You have committed 100% of your effort to them. Your >300k damn salary is covered. Is it even ethical to ask for more $$? At what point this becomes just a greedy game?
November 8, 2025 at 1:19 PM
You have a dozen active grants, half of them the size of an R01. You have committed 100% of your effort to them. Your >300k damn salary is covered. Is it even ethical to ask for more $$? At what point this becomes just a greedy game?
Reposted by Carlo Barnaba 🇮🇹🇲🇽
This is something I have often wondered about - how DNA damage alters genome architecture and if it is heritable across the cell cycle even after repair?
Well here is a nice study addressing this fundamental question 👇👇👇😍
Well here is a nice study addressing this fundamental question 👇👇👇😍
𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗗𝗡𝗔 𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗲?Excited to share our new study “Repair of DNA double-strand breaks leaves heritable impairment to genome function”, revealing DNA repair’s hidden cost, out now @science.org tinyurl.com/5n6zw3ye. Led by @sbantele.bsky.social and Jiri Lukas.🧵👇1/n
Repair of DNA double-strand breaks leaves heritable impairment to genome function
Upon DNA breakage, a genomic locus undergoes alterations in three-dimensional chromatin architecture to facilitate signaling and repair. Although cells possess mechanisms to repair damaged DNA, it is ...
tinyurl.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:33 PM
This is something I have often wondered about - how DNA damage alters genome architecture and if it is heritable across the cell cycle even after repair?
Well here is a nice study addressing this fundamental question 👇👇👇😍
Well here is a nice study addressing this fundamental question 👇👇👇😍
Reposted by Carlo Barnaba 🇮🇹🇲🇽
Lactate biosensor
A red fluorescent genetically encoded biosensor for in vivo imaging of extracellular l-lactate dynamics - Nature Communications
l-lactate is a key metabolite supporting neuronal activity, but methods to monitor l-lactate dynamics alongside neuronal activity in vivo have been limited. Here, authors report R-eLACCO2.1, a red flu...
www.nature.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Lactate biosensor
Thanks @freudlab.bsky.social for the kind invitation at @kumedcenter.bsky.social BMB. 😁
November 1, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Thanks @freudlab.bsky.social for the kind invitation at @kumedcenter.bsky.social BMB. 😁
As a reviewer, please don't overuse AI to write your grants. I understand the need for a quick editing/grammar check, but the structure of the paragraphs and the logic is absolutely awful. I can spot it in a nanosecond.
October 29, 2025 at 5:20 PM
As a reviewer, please don't overuse AI to write your grants. I understand the need for a quick editing/grammar check, but the structure of the paragraphs and the logic is absolutely awful. I can spot it in a nanosecond.
🖤
Remembering Lou Reed, who passed away this day in 2013.
October 28, 2025 at 12:52 AM
🖤
Reposted by Carlo Barnaba 🇮🇹🇲🇽
I still contend that >90% of the benefit of writing a review isn't the audience. It's for the author going through the literature, finding gaps in knowledge, learning how experiments are done, etc. It really isn't about writing a review. It's about doing the review yourself. AI can't do that for you
October 21, 2025 at 5:28 PM
I still contend that >90% of the benefit of writing a review isn't the audience. It's for the author going through the literature, finding gaps in knowledge, learning how experiments are done, etc. It really isn't about writing a review. It's about doing the review yourself. AI can't do that for you
This was a great meeting, with outstanding speakers.
The 4th Regional Chemical Biology Symposium was held on Oct. 10-11, 2025. The symposium seeks to provide a forum for Graduate Training in Chemical Biology trainees and Chemical Biology of Infectious Disease researchers to present their work in chemical biology. @KUMolBio
October 17, 2025 at 6:11 PM
This was a great meeting, with outstanding speakers.
On LinkedIn, everybody is “thrilled”.
October 7, 2025 at 7:54 PM
On LinkedIn, everybody is “thrilled”.
Oops...that happens when your inner rocker forgets you have an important and formal Zoom meeting...😶
September 26, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Oops...that happens when your inner rocker forgets you have an important and formal Zoom meeting...😶
Reposted by Carlo Barnaba 🇮🇹🇲🇽
@FehrLab has new research on the antiviral functions of PARP14 which shows PARP14 represses both coronavirus and herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) replication.
Learn more at journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.02299-25
Learn more at journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.02299-25
PARP14 is an interferon-induced host factor that promotes IFN production and affects the replication of multiple viruses | mBio
The antiviral response is largely regulated by post-translational modifications (PTM),
including ADP-ribosylation. PARP14 is an ADP-ribosyltransferase that is upregulated
by interferon and is under po...
journals.asm.org
September 15, 2025 at 3:35 PM
@FehrLab has new research on the antiviral functions of PARP14 which shows PARP14 represses both coronavirus and herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) replication.
Learn more at journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.02299-25
Learn more at journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mbio.02299-25