Eliza Bliss-Moreau
@eblissmoreau.bsky.social
Affective neuroscientist studying how & why we feel from womb-to-tomb.
Chancellor’s Leadership Professor of Psychology @ UC Davis
Core Scientist @ the California National Primate Research Center
blissmoreaulab.ucdavis.edu
CNY -> Chestnut Hill -> Yolo
Chancellor’s Leadership Professor of Psychology @ UC Davis
Core Scientist @ the California National Primate Research Center
blissmoreaulab.ucdavis.edu
CNY -> Chestnut Hill -> Yolo
Reposted by Eliza Bliss-Moreau
Thrilled that our paper is out today in Nature!
www.nature.com/articles/s4...
www.nature.com/articles/s4...
Sensory expectations shape neural population dynamics in motor circuits
Nature - Experiments with human volunteers and macaques show that expectations produced by probabilistic cueing of future sensory inputs shape motor circuit dynamics in order to increase the...
www.nature.com
October 29, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Thrilled that our paper is out today in Nature!
www.nature.com/articles/s4...
www.nature.com/articles/s4...
This, and also, create a food cupboard where you work to lower the barriers to accessing food. We just did this at our research center because, as illustrated in the thread below it's not just access to food, but efficient access to food. Having to wait in long lines makes the situation worse.
Friends, if you have the means to donate to a local food pantry financially via online giving, I highly encourage you to do that. But I don’t want to discount the importance of actually showing up at the pantry, even if it is just to drop off food. (1/5)
November 6, 2025 at 5:50 PM
This, and also, create a food cupboard where you work to lower the barriers to accessing food. We just did this at our research center because, as illustrated in the thread below it's not just access to food, but efficient access to food. Having to wait in long lines makes the situation worse.
Reposted by Eliza Bliss-Moreau
Our mistake when we wrote _Calling Bullshit_ was to assume that people would deliberately abuse the flexibility of quantitative metrics to mislead.
We devoted inadequate attention to people making up complete and utter nonsense with no possible grounding in fact.
We devoted inadequate attention to people making up complete and utter nonsense with no possible grounding in fact.
September 21, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Our mistake when we wrote _Calling Bullshit_ was to assume that people would deliberately abuse the flexibility of quantitative metrics to mislead.
We devoted inadequate attention to people making up complete and utter nonsense with no possible grounding in fact.
We devoted inadequate attention to people making up complete and utter nonsense with no possible grounding in fact.
Just got the unofficial news that a former lab member got tenure and alum wins are one of the best parts of my job.
September 19, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Just got the unofficial news that a former lab member got tenure and alum wins are one of the best parts of my job.
So super important and such top notch science from an incredible team!
A spatially resolved transcriptomic atlas of the primate amygdala (human, macaque, and baboon) now out in Science Advances (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...). The amygdala contains 32 types of neurons with many neuron types specific to particular subdivisions.
Lots of updates from the preprint!
Lots of updates from the preprint!
Transcriptomic diversity of amygdalar subdivisions across humans and nonhuman primates
Specialized cell types and links to psychiatric disorders are revealed by genetic mapping of primate amygdala neurons.
www.science.org
September 18, 2025 at 3:53 AM
So super important and such top notch science from an incredible team!
Reposted by Eliza Bliss-Moreau
been so long since i’ve seen a functional supreme court that i’d almost forgotten what one looks like
*BRAZIL COURT SENTENCES BOLSONARO TO 27 YEARS IN PRISON
September 11, 2025 at 10:46 PM
been so long since i’ve seen a functional supreme court that i’d almost forgotten what one looks like
Our department is hiring!
UC Davis is hiring! A tenure-track assistant professor of psychology, in human cognition or cognitive neuroscience #psychjobs recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07300
Assistant Professor of Psychology - Human Cognition or Cognitive Neuroscience
University of California, Davis is hiring. Apply now!
recruit.ucdavis.edu
September 9, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Our department is hiring!
Reposted by Eliza Bliss-Moreau
Rossiter coined the term "Matilda effect" for when women's scientific work is attributed to men.
It was a twist on the "Matthew effect," famously attributed to Robert Merton, but actually studied jointly by Merton and his wife Harriet Zuckerman, who was denied co-authorship
It was a twist on the "Matthew effect," famously attributed to Robert Merton, but actually studied jointly by Merton and his wife Harriet Zuckerman, who was denied co-authorship
Here's a #GiftLink for those who want to read the full NYT obit of historian of science & gender, Margaret Rossiter. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/s... #histSTM 🧪🗃️
August 30, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Rossiter coined the term "Matilda effect" for when women's scientific work is attributed to men.
It was a twist on the "Matthew effect," famously attributed to Robert Merton, but actually studied jointly by Merton and his wife Harriet Zuckerman, who was denied co-authorship
It was a twist on the "Matthew effect," famously attributed to Robert Merton, but actually studied jointly by Merton and his wife Harriet Zuckerman, who was denied co-authorship
Reposted by Eliza Bliss-Moreau
Firing and demoralizing feminized jobs as enemies of the state while brazenly bribing men with violent jobs that almost instantly puts them into the middle of middle class is very basic gendered warfare. Fulfilling the manosphere’s promise.
It is insane to me that the government can find money to pay ICE agents increasingly larger sums of money, yet teachers have to buy their own pencils.
August 15, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Firing and demoralizing feminized jobs as enemies of the state while brazenly bribing men with violent jobs that almost instantly puts them into the middle of middle class is very basic gendered warfare. Fulfilling the manosphere’s promise.
We call this “conversational riffing”in my family and the expectation is you keep track of your own brackets and those of everyone else in the conversation and are ready at any moment to jump back to a previous conversational melody at any point. It is one of my most important scientific skills.
I have recently learned that not everyone goes on 2-5 tangents in every thought they have, and keeps track of those tangents as if they are brackets which need to be closed
Troubling stuff
Troubling stuff
August 10, 2025 at 5:05 AM
We call this “conversational riffing”in my family and the expectation is you keep track of your own brackets and those of everyone else in the conversation and are ready at any moment to jump back to a previous conversational melody at any point. It is one of my most important scientific skills.
I've started blocking of time with different configurations of lab members to advance some of our papers and we work in a shared document. Just sat down for a session to work on one of our affect development papers. Coming back to gems like this makes me LOL.
July 31, 2025 at 8:24 PM
I've started blocking of time with different configurations of lab members to advance some of our papers and we work in a shared document. Just sat down for a session to work on one of our affect development papers. Coming back to gems like this makes me LOL.
If people have suggestions about how to get creatively scientifically inspired in these challenging times, I'm all ears.
I am having a hard time sitting down to write grants; it feels extremely futile.
Grant writing is important for bringing in $ to keep my lab going. But, the grant writing process itself is also part of my creative scientific process and helps me fuel the work that we're already doing.
Grant writing is important for bringing in $ to keep my lab going. But, the grant writing process itself is also part of my creative scientific process and helps me fuel the work that we're already doing.
New, from an anonymous NIH insider: Trump is being pushed to spend more NIH money. The White House is ordering NIH to do multi-year budgets for awards. This budget trick means fewer awards, fewer labs funded, and lower paylines for researchers. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/alert-the-...
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/alert-the-...
July 28, 2025 at 10:56 PM
If people have suggestions about how to get creatively scientifically inspired in these challenging times, I'm all ears.
I am having a hard time sitting down to write grants; it feels extremely futile.
Grant writing is important for bringing in $ to keep my lab going. But, the grant writing process itself is also part of my creative scientific process and helps me fuel the work that we're already doing.
Grant writing is important for bringing in $ to keep my lab going. But, the grant writing process itself is also part of my creative scientific process and helps me fuel the work that we're already doing.
New, from an anonymous NIH insider: Trump is being pushed to spend more NIH money. The White House is ordering NIH to do multi-year budgets for awards. This budget trick means fewer awards, fewer labs funded, and lower paylines for researchers. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/alert-the-...
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/alert-the-...
Alert: The Trump administration is quietly slashing new NIH grant awards, and it's not via the budget
NIH’s sudden move to multiyear grant funding is forcing shocking cuts in the number of grants funded. This is an effective budget cut. It's bad, folks.
donmoynihan.substack.com
July 28, 2025 at 9:31 PM
I am having a hard time sitting down to write grants; it feels extremely futile.
Grant writing is important for bringing in $ to keep my lab going. But, the grant writing process itself is also part of my creative scientific process and helps me fuel the work that we're already doing.
Grant writing is important for bringing in $ to keep my lab going. But, the grant writing process itself is also part of my creative scientific process and helps me fuel the work that we're already doing.
Also adding to the "jobs have changed": way more administrative burden. I was queued up to make progress on science this summer but a lot of my time has been sucked up by admin. It's not the work that generally brings me any joy...
This. Not just the summer, but also the year(s) ahead. I've been having conversations with fellow academics about the push to do the same or more with less (as funding cuts set it). It's not sustainable. At some point we will just have to do less.
We need to decide what is essential, and what's not
We need to decide what is essential, and what's not
July 25, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Also adding to the "jobs have changed": way more administrative burden. I was queued up to make progress on science this summer but a lot of my time has been sucked up by admin. It's not the work that generally brings me any joy...
I'm slowly working my way through this FDA shit show, pulling refs as I go to confirm the absolute bullshitery.
Link is here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nha...
Kicks off by calling this "a show". That says... a lot.
1/who knows how many
Link is here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nha...
Kicks off by calling this "a show". That says... a lot.
1/who knows how many
July 22, 2025 at 7:58 PM
I'm slowly working my way through this FDA shit show, pulling refs as I go to confirm the absolute bullshitery.
Link is here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nha...
Kicks off by calling this "a show". That says... a lot.
1/who knows how many
Link is here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Nha...
Kicks off by calling this "a show". That says... a lot.
1/who knows how many
I didn't put our pool up this year because at 16 months my toddler was clearly able to propel himself into the pool by standing on these straps (and our version isn't recalled...).
Def a safety hazard.
www.npr.org/2025/07/22/n...
Def a safety hazard.
www.npr.org/2025/07/22/n...
Over 5 million pools sold in the U.S., Canada under recall after reports of 9 deaths
More than 5.2 million aboveground swimming pools sold across the U.S. and Canada over the last two decades are being recalled after nine drowning deaths were reported.
www.npr.org
July 22, 2025 at 6:58 PM
I didn't put our pool up this year because at 16 months my toddler was clearly able to propel himself into the pool by standing on these straps (and our version isn't recalled...).
Def a safety hazard.
www.npr.org/2025/07/22/n...
Def a safety hazard.
www.npr.org/2025/07/22/n...
Reposted by Eliza Bliss-Moreau
🧪 Win for NIH researchers:
An appeals court just effectively upheld an earlier order to reinstate terminated NIH grants.
Full opinion here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
SCOTUS may be next (see next post) 1/3
An appeals court just effectively upheld an earlier order to reinstate terminated NIH grants.
Full opinion here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
SCOTUS may be next (see next post) 1/3
storage.courtlistener.com
July 21, 2025 at 12:52 AM
🧪 Win for NIH researchers:
An appeals court just effectively upheld an earlier order to reinstate terminated NIH grants.
Full opinion here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
SCOTUS may be next (see next post) 1/3
An appeals court just effectively upheld an earlier order to reinstate terminated NIH grants.
Full opinion here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
SCOTUS may be next (see next post) 1/3
Reposted by Eliza Bliss-Moreau
RF1 Watch at the NIH drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2025/07/21/r...
RF1 Watch at the NIH
I will note as per usual that I have no special inside information, and the following is entirely speculation from the available evidence. Some have been wringing their hands about the slowdowns in…
drugmonkey.wordpress.com
July 21, 2025 at 7:37 PM
RF1 Watch at the NIH drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2025/07/21/r...
This whole thread is worth a read.
As an expert in gender and emotion: I note a whole lot of sexist dogwhistles that were really dominant in lay lexicon years ago but waned some and now appear to be back?
As an expert in fetal neural development and mood across the lifespan: WTAF.
As an expert in gender and emotion: I note a whole lot of sexist dogwhistles that were really dominant in lay lexicon years ago but waned some and now appear to be back?
As an expert in fetal neural development and mood across the lifespan: WTAF.
Holy shit the FDA panel on antidpressants seems wild to me. I am not an expert, but apparently depression is a useless term and that is preventing us from feeling emotional distress. We should experience everything as a signal and learn to pay attention to it.
July 21, 2025 at 9:30 PM
This whole thread is worth a read.
As an expert in gender and emotion: I note a whole lot of sexist dogwhistles that were really dominant in lay lexicon years ago but waned some and now appear to be back?
As an expert in fetal neural development and mood across the lifespan: WTAF.
As an expert in gender and emotion: I note a whole lot of sexist dogwhistles that were really dominant in lay lexicon years ago but waned some and now appear to be back?
As an expert in fetal neural development and mood across the lifespan: WTAF.
Reposted by Eliza Bliss-Moreau
When a network lays off one of America’s greatest satirists, it’s not because he failed. It’s because he succeeded too loudly.
July 18, 2025 at 8:37 PM
When a network lays off one of America’s greatest satirists, it’s not because he failed. It’s because he succeeded too loudly.
This.
The only reason I am here as a scientist is bc I had a spell where I submitted lots and lots of grants so that a few would hit. That won’t be allowed anymore.
The only reason I am here as a scientist is bc I had a spell where I submitted lots and lots of grants so that a few would hit. That won’t be allowed anymore.
I don’t care how good your grant prep is, nor whether the panel has 100 or 80 R01 proposals to review, the less common idea (methods, etc) struggles. By definition the majority of the panel leans a different way. You don’t beat this by grantsmithing. You beat it with numbers.
July 19, 2025 at 5:39 PM
This.
The only reason I am here as a scientist is bc I had a spell where I submitted lots and lots of grants so that a few would hit. That won’t be allowed anymore.
The only reason I am here as a scientist is bc I had a spell where I submitted lots and lots of grants so that a few would hit. That won’t be allowed anymore.
This (and the QTed thread).
I assign what I decent amount of reading for my upper div elective but about 1/4 of what was required of me in university (25 years ago - same topic) and the complaints are endless.
I assign what I decent amount of reading for my upper div elective but about 1/4 of what was required of me in university (25 years ago - same topic) and the complaints are endless.
I've been teaching at Princeton over the same period and the drop-off in reading stamina has been staggering.
I'm not sure of the cause -- some blame K-12 shifts to "chunk reading" while others pin it on COVID -- but it's undeniable.
I'm not sure of the cause -- some blame K-12 shifts to "chunk reading" while others pin it on COVID -- but it's undeniable.
July 15, 2025 at 11:06 PM
This (and the QTed thread).
I assign what I decent amount of reading for my upper div elective but about 1/4 of what was required of me in university (25 years ago - same topic) and the complaints are endless.
I assign what I decent amount of reading for my upper div elective but about 1/4 of what was required of me in university (25 years ago - same topic) and the complaints are endless.
I don’t think people realize how this isn’t just 🦆 ing us now, it’s 🦆 ing our future. Today’s ECRs are not just tomorrow’s mid-career researchers, they are also tomorrow’s deans, directors, administrators, teachers and so on.
If Congress approves the cuts proposed by the White House, the number of early-career researchers it supports could fall by 78%: from 95,700 students and postdocs this year to 21,400 in 2026 www.science.org/content/article/it-s-nightmare-u-s-funding-cuts-threaten-academic-science-jobs-all-levels
‘It’s a nightmare.’ U.S. funding cuts threaten academic science jobs at all levels
“There is a lot of pressure to essentially leave the country or not pursue research,” one Ph.D. student says
www.science.org
July 11, 2025 at 10:02 PM
I don’t think people realize how this isn’t just 🦆 ing us now, it’s 🦆 ing our future. Today’s ECRs are not just tomorrow’s mid-career researchers, they are also tomorrow’s deans, directors, administrators, teachers and so on.
I’m almost done watching Monday’s ~ 4 hr FDA/NIH 💩. FDA head starts by saying that scientists torture animals & then the zealot states that the goal is to shut down animal labs and ensure that no new ones open in their place…
I really hope, but am not confident, DM is right about the NOFOs.
I really hope, but am not confident, DM is right about the NOFOs.
Journalist freaks out researchers because of incomplete understanding of how NIH works drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2025/07/09/j...
Journalist freaks out researchers because of incomplete understanding of how NIH works
The socials blew up yesterday over a recent article in Drug Discovery & Development posted by Brian Buntz. With good reason. The subhead reads “NIH announces end to funding for animal-onl…
drugmonkey.wordpress.com
July 10, 2025 at 6:48 AM
I’m almost done watching Monday’s ~ 4 hr FDA/NIH 💩. FDA head starts by saying that scientists torture animals & then the zealot states that the goal is to shut down animal labs and ensure that no new ones open in their place…
I really hope, but am not confident, DM is right about the NOFOs.
I really hope, but am not confident, DM is right about the NOFOs.
Reposted by Eliza Bliss-Moreau
Another evening spent writing to Dr. Bhattacharya about important issues, in this case, the importance of animal models in fundamental and mechanistic research.
1/n
1/n
a woman says please help me understand on a netflix advertisement
ALT: a woman says please help me understand on a netflix advertisement
media.tenor.com
July 10, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Another evening spent writing to Dr. Bhattacharya about important issues, in this case, the importance of animal models in fundamental and mechanistic research.
1/n
1/n