Elisa Franco
@francolab.bsky.social
Franco Lab @UCLA Exploring how to program dynamic behaviors in biological self-assembly 💡✨ We’re harnessing DNA and RNA to build smart, adaptive materials 🔬🧬 #Biomaterials #DNA #RNA
NIH award reinstated 🧬 happy to be able to continue our work!
September 25, 2025 at 1:17 AM
NIH award reinstated 🧬 happy to be able to continue our work!
Come learn about UCLA research projects that have been suspended under the Trump administration, and why they matter for all of us.
🧪 Wednesday, Sept 10 | 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
📍 Northwest corner of Westwood & Le Conte
🧪 Wednesday, Sept 10 | 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
📍 Northwest corner of Westwood & Le Conte
September 3, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Come learn about UCLA research projects that have been suspended under the Trump administration, and why they matter for all of us.
🧪 Wednesday, Sept 10 | 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
📍 Northwest corner of Westwood & Le Conte
🧪 Wednesday, Sept 10 | 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM
📍 Northwest corner of Westwood & Le Conte
Reposted by Elisa Franco
Thrilled to share this new Adv. Sci. paper by @dianatanase.bsky.social with Dino Osmanovic @rogerrubiosanchez.bsky.social @laylamalouf.bsky.social @francolab.bsky.social. We demonstrate a modular approach to program internal phase separation in DNA condensates 1/n doi.org/10.1002/advs...
Internal Phase Separation in Synthetic DNA Condensates
The modular, programmable system of DNA nanostructures developed provides programmatic control over multiphase condensate behavior, enabling mapping onto a predictive Flory-Huggins model. This combin...
doi.org
August 12, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Thrilled to share this new Adv. Sci. paper by @dianatanase.bsky.social with Dino Osmanovic @rogerrubiosanchez.bsky.social @laylamalouf.bsky.social @francolab.bsky.social. We demonstrate a modular approach to program internal phase separation in DNA condensates 1/n doi.org/10.1002/advs...
Reposted by Elisa Franco
Simulations by Dino Osmanovic @francolab.bsky.social, based on Flory-Huggins, map well onto the experimental trends and allowed us to establish a link between the experimental order parameter and the F-H interaction parameter. Experimental (top) and simulated (bottom) snapshots below 4/n
August 12, 2025 at 11:34 PM
Simulations by Dino Osmanovic @francolab.bsky.social, based on Flory-Huggins, map well onto the experimental trends and allowed us to establish a link between the experimental order parameter and the F-H interaction parameter. Experimental (top) and simulated (bottom) snapshots below 4/n
200 engineering/life science/medical grants, including my lab's NIH MIRA, have been suspended. In case you are wondering, this means immediately stop spending = stop paying salaries for students & postdocs. www.latimes.com/california/s...
Trump freezes $200 million in UCLA science and medical research funding, citing antisemitism
The Trump administration has frozen roughly $200 million in National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and other federal agency-funded research at UCLA, citing allegations the school d...
www.latimes.com
August 1, 2025 at 9:01 PM
200 engineering/life science/medical grants, including my lab's NIH MIRA, have been suspended. In case you are wondering, this means immediately stop spending = stop paying salaries for students & postdocs. www.latimes.com/california/s...
We demonstrated how to make and dissolve #RNA #condensates through strand displacement using synthetic genes - excited to see this new paper out in @narjournal.bsky.social Collab w/ the Andersen group @esandersen.bsky.social academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Switchable RNA motifs for dynamic transcriptional control of RNA condensates
Abstract. RNA-driven phase separation is emerging as a promising approach for engineering biomolecular condensates with diverse functionalities. Condensate
academic.oup.com
June 26, 2025 at 2:53 PM
We demonstrated how to make and dissolve #RNA #condensates through strand displacement using synthetic genes - excited to see this new paper out in @narjournal.bsky.social Collab w/ the Andersen group @esandersen.bsky.social academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
Reposted by Elisa Franco
2025 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Course in Synthetic Biology - apply!
Deadline: April 14, 2025
Financial Aid: Stipend awards are available.
Notifications: Applicants will be notified by May 15, 2025.
meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx...
Deadline: April 14, 2025
Financial Aid: Stipend awards are available.
Notifications: Applicants will be notified by May 15, 2025.
meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx...
Synthetic Biology
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Meetings & Courses -- a private, non-profit institution with research programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology, genomics, bioinformatics.
meetings.cshl.edu
March 31, 2025 at 6:45 PM
2025 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Course in Synthetic Biology - apply!
Deadline: April 14, 2025
Financial Aid: Stipend awards are available.
Notifications: Applicants will be notified by May 15, 2025.
meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx...
Deadline: April 14, 2025
Financial Aid: Stipend awards are available.
Notifications: Applicants will be notified by May 15, 2025.
meetings.cshl.edu/courses.aspx...
Reposted by Elisa Franco
Unlike a lot of other universities right now, we are still hiring for new faculty here at Imperial in London
🎉🚨🇬🇧🫖
If you want to come and run a research group in the theme of bioengineering then apply to be my colleague before the end of April. www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
🎉🚨🇬🇧🫖
If you want to come and run a research group in the theme of bioengineering then apply to be my colleague before the end of April. www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
Description
Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities ment...
www.imperial.ac.uk
March 20, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Unlike a lot of other universities right now, we are still hiring for new faculty here at Imperial in London
🎉🚨🇬🇧🫖
If you want to come and run a research group in the theme of bioengineering then apply to be my colleague before the end of April. www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
🎉🚨🇬🇧🫖
If you want to come and run a research group in the theme of bioengineering then apply to be my colleague before the end of April. www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
Michael Faraday was the father of electromagnetism. He changed our world experiment by experiment, without any formal education, and without ever writing equations - now you can check out his original "lab books"! www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Unearthed notebooks shed light on Victorian genius who inspired Einstein
Michael Faraday’s illustrated notes that show how radical scientist began his theories at London’s Royal Institution to go online
www.theguardian.com
March 17, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Michael Faraday was the father of electromagnetism. He changed our world experiment by experiment, without any formal education, and without ever writing equations - now you can check out his original "lab books"! www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Reposted by Elisa Franco
Bluetorial: Non-Competitive Renewal (Continuation) Awards
Normally, multiyear NIH grants are paid with awards each year, pending administratively reviewed progress reports. “NIH” has been slow in making these awards. This has led to $1.83 B being withheld from institutions through February 2025.
Normally, multiyear NIH grants are paid with awards each year, pending administratively reviewed progress reports. “NIH” has been slow in making these awards. This has led to $1.83 B being withheld from institutions through February 2025.
a cartoon of homer simpson holding a card
ALT: a cartoon of homer simpson holding a card
media.tenor.com
March 17, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Bluetorial: Non-Competitive Renewal (Continuation) Awards
Normally, multiyear NIH grants are paid with awards each year, pending administratively reviewed progress reports. “NIH” has been slow in making these awards. This has led to $1.83 B being withheld from institutions through February 2025.
Normally, multiyear NIH grants are paid with awards each year, pending administratively reviewed progress reports. “NIH” has been slow in making these awards. This has led to $1.83 B being withheld from institutions through February 2025.
Reposted by Elisa Franco
Seriously. If you are that good you shouldn’t have to work so much. Get over this BS bro culture.
The celebration of "hardcore" work culture is keeping us from gender equality.
If men can only be "successful" by working so much they're eating every meal at the office, then they have incentive to avoid any care work that might pull them away. Which means pushing all the care onto women instead.
If men can only be "successful" by working so much they're eating every meal at the office, then they have incentive to avoid any care work that might pull them away. Which means pushing all the care onto women instead.
March 9, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Seriously. If you are that good you shouldn’t have to work so much. Get over this BS bro culture.
Reposted by Elisa Franco
Francis Collins, the NIH Director for 12 years, led the Human Genome Project and other NIH efforts for 32 years, resigned today. Key words from his resignation letter
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...
March 1, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Francis Collins, the NIH Director for 12 years, led the Human Genome Project and other NIH efforts for 32 years, resigned today. Key words from his resignation letter
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...
Reposted by Elisa Franco
2025-02-23 Issue of #engineeredlivingmaterials feed:
biomed.news/bims-enlima/...
@biomednews.bsky.social
includes, metabolite-responsive control (h/t wilfriedweber.bsky.social), light-modulated self-assembly (h/t francolab.bsky.social), single-protein quant (h/t naturemethods.bsky.social), & more 🧪
biomed.news/bims-enlima/...
@biomednews.bsky.social
includes, metabolite-responsive control (h/t wilfriedweber.bsky.social), light-modulated self-assembly (h/t francolab.bsky.social), single-protein quant (h/t naturemethods.bsky.social), & more 🧪
![The figure shows Crystal structure and elastic bending properties of bis(acetylacetonato)copper(II) ([Cu(acac)2]. Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-025-02133-w](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:s7xhkrul2vrts5la2mrqmqlg/bafkreicejpvc7xgnzek5jjm7z2ypy2eo3plw4lscnrupsd36tnin3ca4yy@jpeg)
February 23, 2025 at 10:20 AM
2025-02-23 Issue of #engineeredlivingmaterials feed:
biomed.news/bims-enlima/...
@biomednews.bsky.social
includes, metabolite-responsive control (h/t wilfriedweber.bsky.social), light-modulated self-assembly (h/t francolab.bsky.social), single-protein quant (h/t naturemethods.bsky.social), & more 🧪
biomed.news/bims-enlima/...
@biomednews.bsky.social
includes, metabolite-responsive control (h/t wilfriedweber.bsky.social), light-modulated self-assembly (h/t francolab.bsky.social), single-protein quant (h/t naturemethods.bsky.social), & more 🧪
Reposted by Elisa Franco
Deeply concerned about NSF. They fired more people than they needed and now leadership is illegally reclassifying employees as probationary. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
US science agency reclassifies hundreds of workers as probationary, US lawmaker says
National Science Foundation administrators reclassified hundreds of employees from permanent to probationary status in violation of labor contracts, according to a U.S. lawmaker and agency employee.
www.reuters.com
February 22, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Deeply concerned about NSF. They fired more people than they needed and now leadership is illegally reclassifying employees as probationary. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
How can complex dynamics emerge from phase-separated matter? 🤔 Simple chemical reactions can trigger periodic or chaotic behavior in dense phases! Cool simulations by Dino Osmanovic 💥 w/ support by @sloanfoundation.bsky.social
#PhaseSeparation #Matter2Life
journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...
#PhaseSeparation #Matter2Life
journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...
February 18, 2025 at 8:43 PM
How can complex dynamics emerge from phase-separated matter? 🤔 Simple chemical reactions can trigger periodic or chaotic behavior in dense phases! Cool simulations by Dino Osmanovic 💥 w/ support by @sloanfoundation.bsky.social
#PhaseSeparation #Matter2Life
journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...
#PhaseSeparation #Matter2Life
journals.aps.org/pre/abstract...
Reposted by Elisa Franco
1/ I am seeing a lot of comments on the slashing of NIH support along the lines of “universities should just spend their huge endowments.”
I’m the last person to cheer on the institutional stratification rising endowments have contributed to. But let me explain why this is not a solution.
I’m the last person to cheer on the institutional stratification rising endowments have contributed to. But let me explain why this is not a solution.
February 18, 2025 at 1:48 PM
1/ I am seeing a lot of comments on the slashing of NIH support along the lines of “universities should just spend their huge endowments.”
I’m the last person to cheer on the institutional stratification rising endowments have contributed to. But let me explain why this is not a solution.
I’m the last person to cheer on the institutional stratification rising endowments have contributed to. But let me explain why this is not a solution.
Happy #Valentine's day with some colorful #DNA #condensates that decided to assemble into a heart ❤️ 💚 ❤️ 💚 ❤️ 💚
February 14, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Happy #Valentine's day with some colorful #DNA #condensates that decided to assemble into a heart ❤️ 💚 ❤️ 💚 ❤️ 💚
🚨 New Preprint Alert! 🚨
Dose-response curves measure how cells react to inputs, but what about how long the input stays high? Our latest work shows that some circuits can flip the script of temporal dose: short stimuli can trigger sustained responses & vice versa!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Dose-response curves measure how cells react to inputs, but what about how long the input stays high? Our latest work shows that some circuits can flip the script of temporal dose: short stimuli can trigger sustained responses & vice versa!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
February 12, 2025 at 3:38 AM
🚨 New Preprint Alert! 🚨
Dose-response curves measure how cells react to inputs, but what about how long the input stays high? Our latest work shows that some circuits can flip the script of temporal dose: short stimuli can trigger sustained responses & vice versa!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Dose-response curves measure how cells react to inputs, but what about how long the input stays high? Our latest work shows that some circuits can flip the script of temporal dose: short stimuli can trigger sustained responses & vice versa!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
NIH to implement a 15% indirect cost rate. "This policy shall be applied to all current grants for go forward expenses from February 10, 2025 forward as well as for all new grants issued." Devastating for US scientific institutions.
Am I understanding this right?
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
Am I understanding this right?
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
NOT-OD-25-068: Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates NOT-OD-25-068. OD
grants.nih.gov
February 7, 2025 at 11:47 PM
NIH to implement a 15% indirect cost rate. "This policy shall be applied to all current grants for go forward expenses from February 10, 2025 forward as well as for all new grants issued." Devastating for US scientific institutions.
Am I understanding this right?
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
Am I understanding this right?
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
Reposted by Elisa Franco
If you’ve been directly impacted by a pause or cancellation of an NIH study session, we @forbes.com would like to talk to you
All NIH study sections canceled indefinitely. This will halt science and devastate research budgets in universities.
January 22, 2025 at 10:59 PM
If you’ve been directly impacted by a pause or cancellation of an NIH study session, we @forbes.com would like to talk to you
Reposted by Elisa Franco
Abstract submission for FNANO is now open! They’re due Feb 1! Join us at molecular programming’s annual celebration of design, interfaces and applications (and also skiing) 🧬
www.fnano.org
www.fnano.org
Foundations of Nanoscience
www.fnano.org
January 7, 2025 at 12:04 AM
Abstract submission for FNANO is now open! They’re due Feb 1! Join us at molecular programming’s annual celebration of design, interfaces and applications (and also skiing) 🧬
www.fnano.org
www.fnano.org
The coolest thing about the @bluesky experiment? It shows that no social network is indispensable! 💡 When users have a real reason to make the switch, they can move together to better, more open platforms - happy to find so many colleagues here 🚀 #SocialMedia #AcademicSky #Xodus
December 7, 2024 at 7:02 AM
The coolest thing about the @bluesky experiment? It shows that no social network is indispensable! 💡 When users have a real reason to make the switch, they can move together to better, more open platforms - happy to find so many colleagues here 🚀 #SocialMedia #AcademicSky #Xodus
To accelerate the X-odus, I created a DNA & RNA nanotech starter pack :) Comment if you want to be added!
go.bsky.app/7LUeJ61
go.bsky.app/7LUeJ61
November 20, 2024 at 10:42 PM
To accelerate the X-odus, I created a DNA & RNA nanotech starter pack :) Comment if you want to be added!
go.bsky.app/7LUeJ61
go.bsky.app/7LUeJ61