Fritz Roth
@fritzroth.bsky.social
Opinions here are my own.
Day job: Professor and Chair,
Computational & Systems Biology,
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
https://rothlab.csb.pitt.edu/
Systematically testing impacts of genetic change & mapping protein interaction dynamics
Day job: Professor and Chair,
Computational & Systems Biology,
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
https://rothlab.csb.pitt.edu/
Systematically testing impacts of genetic change & mapping protein interaction dynamics
Reposted by Fritz Roth
Ah, Harvard colleagues—raise a taco with me tomorrow
February 3, 2026 at 2:25 AM
Ah, Harvard colleagues—raise a taco with me tomorrow
Reposted by Fritz Roth
Check out our new work now published in G3! We use proteomics and phosphoproteomics to study how cells cope with tRNA variants that mis-insert amino acids.
Using proteomics approaches, @matthewberg22.bsky.social et al. show how mistranslating tRNAs in #yeast alter the abundance and phosphorylation of proteins involved in proteostasis, cell cycle, and translation.
Learn more in #G3journal: buff.ly/7KW7m0K
Learn more in #G3journal: buff.ly/7KW7m0K
January 29, 2026 at 2:17 AM
Check out our new work now published in G3! We use proteomics and phosphoproteomics to study how cells cope with tRNA variants that mis-insert amino acids.
Reposted by Fritz Roth
We’re happy to share our 2025 Annual Report!
A year of "momentum and connections"!
➡️ zenodo.org/records/1833...
#AnnualReport #GlobalAlliance #FunctionalGenomics #VariantEffect #Community
A year of "momentum and connections"!
➡️ zenodo.org/records/1833...
#AnnualReport #GlobalAlliance #FunctionalGenomics #VariantEffect #Community
January 26, 2026 at 10:27 PM
We’re happy to share our 2025 Annual Report!
A year of "momentum and connections"!
➡️ zenodo.org/records/1833...
#AnnualReport #GlobalAlliance #FunctionalGenomics #VariantEffect #Community
A year of "momentum and connections"!
➡️ zenodo.org/records/1833...
#AnnualReport #GlobalAlliance #FunctionalGenomics #VariantEffect #Community
Reposted by Fritz Roth
We’re excited to share our latest preprint on the mechanism of excised linear intron stabilization in yeast! This work was led by PhD student @glennli.bsky.social and was a wonderful collaboration with @maxewilkinson.bsky.social. Link: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... (1/4)
January 23, 2026 at 4:14 PM
We’re excited to share our latest preprint on the mechanism of excised linear intron stabilization in yeast! This work was led by PhD student @glennli.bsky.social and was a wonderful collaboration with @maxewilkinson.bsky.social. Link: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... (1/4)
Reposted by Fritz Roth
Thanks for everything, Dr. Foege. May we all work to be more diligent stewards of the legacy you left us: to work every day to care for all of our neighbors, present and future, a bit better than we did yesterday.
A public health giant has passed. “Among public health professionals, Dr. Foege was almost without peer… In 2012, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest honor given to a civilian.”
William H. Foege, Key Figure in the Eradication of Smallpox, Dies at 89
www.nytimes.com
January 25, 2026 at 8:48 PM
Thanks for everything, Dr. Foege. May we all work to be more diligent stewards of the legacy you left us: to work every day to care for all of our neighbors, present and future, a bit better than we did yesterday.
Reposted by Fritz Roth
Pitt researchers are raising the bar for microprotein discovery.
By reassessing detection methods, Aaron Wacholder and Anne-Ruxandra Carvunis reveal why standardized protocols are essential for uncovering these elusive proteins' roles in health and disease.
tinyurl.com/NatureWachol...
By reassessing detection methods, Aaron Wacholder and Anne-Ruxandra Carvunis reveal why standardized protocols are essential for uncovering these elusive proteins' roles in health and disease.
tinyurl.com/NatureWachol...
Community benchmarking and evaluation of human unannotated microprotein detection by mass spectrometry based proteomics - PubMed
Thousands of short open reading frames (sORFs) are translated outside of annotated coding sequences. Recent studies have pioneered searching for sORF-encoded microproteins in mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics and peptidomics datasets. Here, we assessed literature-reported MS-based identificati …
tinyurl.com
January 21, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Pitt researchers are raising the bar for microprotein discovery.
By reassessing detection methods, Aaron Wacholder and Anne-Ruxandra Carvunis reveal why standardized protocols are essential for uncovering these elusive proteins' roles in health and disease.
tinyurl.com/NatureWachol...
By reassessing detection methods, Aaron Wacholder and Anne-Ruxandra Carvunis reveal why standardized protocols are essential for uncovering these elusive proteins' roles in health and disease.
tinyurl.com/NatureWachol...
Reposted by Fritz Roth
Wait. Armed militias search vehicles for evidence of US citizenship?
They will likely encounter the same situation if they return to the United States.
They will likely encounter the same situation if they return to the United States.
Oops.
“US citizens in Venezuela should leave the country immediately…
“There are reports of groups of armed militias, known as colectivos, setting up roadblocks and searching vehicles for evidence of US citizenship or support for the United States.”
“US citizens in Venezuela should leave the country immediately…
“There are reports of groups of armed militias, known as colectivos, setting up roadblocks and searching vehicles for evidence of US citizenship or support for the United States.”
January 10, 2026 at 11:24 PM
Wait. Armed militias search vehicles for evidence of US citizenship?
They will likely encounter the same situation if they return to the United States.
They will likely encounter the same situation if they return to the United States.
Reposted by Fritz Roth
"Science is doing okay..." according to NYT, choosing to highlight that unfortunate quote from somebody from AAAS.
We beg to differ.
Just look at some of those in: www.trumpactiontracker.info
h/t @chrischirp.bsky.social
We beg to differ.
Just look at some of those in: www.trumpactiontracker.info
h/t @chrischirp.bsky.social
January 10, 2026 at 8:06 PM
"Science is doing okay..." according to NYT, choosing to highlight that unfortunate quote from somebody from AAAS.
We beg to differ.
Just look at some of those in: www.trumpactiontracker.info
h/t @chrischirp.bsky.social
We beg to differ.
Just look at some of those in: www.trumpactiontracker.info
h/t @chrischirp.bsky.social
Reposted by Fritz Roth
Gratitutde to all NIH study section participants who are participating in rescheduled meetings now and in January. Thank you for your service and thanks also to the hard working NIH staff who are making these happen. 🥰🧪
December 5, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Gratitutde to all NIH study section participants who are participating in rescheduled meetings now and in January. Thank you for your service and thanks also to the hard working NIH staff who are making these happen. 🥰🧪
Reposted by Fritz Roth
Here are the curves for the number of non-competitive renewal (Type 5) awards.
The curve for fiscal 2026 lags behind earlier years. This lag is likely due to the extended government shutdown.
2/6
The curve for fiscal 2026 lags behind earlier years. This lag is likely due to the extended government shutdown.
2/6
January 8, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Here are the curves for the number of non-competitive renewal (Type 5) awards.
The curve for fiscal 2026 lags behind earlier years. This lag is likely due to the extended government shutdown.
2/6
The curve for fiscal 2026 lags behind earlier years. This lag is likely due to the extended government shutdown.
2/6
Reposted by Fritz Roth
Eric Green, the first NIH Director to be forced to retire by the Trump administration, has landed on this feet.
He is the new Chief Medical Officer at Illumina!
www.illumina.com/company/news...
He is the new Chief Medical Officer at Illumina!
www.illumina.com/company/news...
Illumina Appoints Dr. Eric Green as Chief Medical Officer
www.illumina.com
January 9, 2026 at 1:20 AM
Eric Green, the first NIH Director to be forced to retire by the Trump administration, has landed on this feet.
He is the new Chief Medical Officer at Illumina!
www.illumina.com/company/news...
He is the new Chief Medical Officer at Illumina!
www.illumina.com/company/news...
Reposted by Fritz Roth
We are thrilled to share our latest work uncovering the mechanistic basis of target-directed microRNA degradation (TDMD). This work was driven by @jakobfarnung.bsky.social and @elenaslo.bsky.social in a fantastic collaboration with Brenda Schulman's lab. tinyurl.com/E3TDMD (1/5)
January 6, 2026 at 3:16 PM
We are thrilled to share our latest work uncovering the mechanistic basis of target-directed microRNA degradation (TDMD). This work was driven by @jakobfarnung.bsky.social and @elenaslo.bsky.social in a fantastic collaboration with Brenda Schulman's lab. tinyurl.com/E3TDMD (1/5)
Reposted by Fritz Roth
Excited to see this out www.nature.com/articles/s41...! Nonparametric kernel-based tests for spatially variable isoform usage in spatial transcriptomics. So many interesting examples in the CNS and cancer, we're only scratching the surface!
Mapping isoforms and regulatory mechanisms from spatial transcriptomics data with SPLISOSM - Nature Biotechnology
Differential isoform usage is identified with high statistical power from spatial transcriptomics data.
www.nature.com
January 6, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Excited to see this out www.nature.com/articles/s41...! Nonparametric kernel-based tests for spatially variable isoform usage in spatial transcriptomics. So many interesting examples in the CNS and cancer, we're only scratching the surface!
Reposted by Fritz Roth
Letter of resignation from @jennifer-troyer.bsky.social former Dir of Extramural Ops at NHGRI
"The NIH is not only no longer the organization that I love but is now an organization that I can no longer be a part of and retain my integrity and self-respect."
www.linkedin.com/posts/jennif...
1/6
"The NIH is not only no longer the organization that I love but is now an organization that I can no longer be a part of and retain my integrity and self-respect."
www.linkedin.com/posts/jennif...
1/6
Letter of resignation | Jennifer Troyer
Reposting: As many of you know, I recently chose to leave the position I worked hard to achieve, the work that I love, and the team of people that could not have been better to do this work with. It ...
www.linkedin.com
January 6, 2026 at 6:26 PM
Letter of resignation from @jennifer-troyer.bsky.social former Dir of Extramural Ops at NHGRI
"The NIH is not only no longer the organization that I love but is now an organization that I can no longer be a part of and retain my integrity and self-respect."
www.linkedin.com/posts/jennif...
1/6
"The NIH is not only no longer the organization that I love but is now an organization that I can no longer be a part of and retain my integrity and self-respect."
www.linkedin.com/posts/jennif...
1/6
Reposted by Fritz Roth
Yes: deleterious recessives aren’t completely recessive! An important study confirming intuitions from at least some of us.
Our latest preprint revisits the classic model of mutation-selection balance.
Do human recessive genes fit Haldane's 100-year old model?
This work is by the wonderful @jonj-udd.bsky.social, and co-mentored by @jeffspence.github.io
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Do human recessive genes fit Haldane's 100-year old model?
This work is by the wonderful @jonj-udd.bsky.social, and co-mentored by @jeffspence.github.io
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Allele Frequencies at Recessive Disease Genes are Mainly Determined by Pleiotropic Effects in Heterozygotes
The classic theory of mutation-selection balance predicts the equilibrium frequency of genetic variation under negative selection. The model predicts a simple relationship between the total frequency ...
www.biorxiv.org
December 13, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Yes: deleterious recessives aren’t completely recessive! An important study confirming intuitions from at least some of us.
Silently nodding
We won't retain major talent (Canadian or foreign) if Canadian funding stays at this rate. They will spend this cash and then leaving the country when they have to enter the reality of 15% success rate and smaller grants. This plan is shortsighted and we've already tried it.
December 12, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Silently nodding
Reposted by Fritz Roth
NIH Biosketches? Time to re-tool yet again.
1) Go to SciENcv if you have not yet set up your profile and do it.
2) Go to ORCID if you have not yet set up your profile and do it.
3) Prep a version of your Personal Statement and Contribution to Science in a separate document.
1) Go to SciENcv if you have not yet set up your profile and do it.
2) Go to ORCID if you have not yet set up your profile and do it.
3) Prep a version of your Personal Statement and Contribution to Science in a separate document.
December 7, 2025 at 12:05 AM
NIH Biosketches? Time to re-tool yet again.
1) Go to SciENcv if you have not yet set up your profile and do it.
2) Go to ORCID if you have not yet set up your profile and do it.
3) Prep a version of your Personal Statement and Contribution to Science in a separate document.
1) Go to SciENcv if you have not yet set up your profile and do it.
2) Go to ORCID if you have not yet set up your profile and do it.
3) Prep a version of your Personal Statement and Contribution to Science in a separate document.
Reposted by Fritz Roth
The USPS posting a NINE BILLION DOLLAR LOSS!!! sounds terrible. Certainly worse than if you said "USPS costs thirty dollars per person per year" even though that means the same thing and more accurately describes a government service
December 5, 2025 at 1:31 PM
The USPS posting a NINE BILLION DOLLAR LOSS!!! sounds terrible. Certainly worse than if you said "USPS costs thirty dollars per person per year" even though that means the same thing and more accurately describes a government service
Reposted by Fritz Roth
Imagine, if you will, that NASA updated its website to suggest gravity might not exist, prompting CalTech and CERN to release statements saying, "With great sadness, we can no longer recommend listening to NASA."
This is what's happening in epidemiology.
This is what's happening in epidemiology.
November 21, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Imagine, if you will, that NASA updated its website to suggest gravity might not exist, prompting CalTech and CERN to release statements saying, "With great sadness, we can no longer recommend listening to NASA."
This is what's happening in epidemiology.
This is what's happening in epidemiology.
Reposted by Fritz Roth
Thrilled to announce that I'm on Curious Cases tomorrow at 10am on BBC Radio 4!
The episode - Immortal Jellies - looks at some remarkably long-lived species and what they can teach us about ageing. This is a key area of focus for our lab.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
The episode - Immortal Jellies - looks at some remarkably long-lived species and what they can teach us about ageing. This is a key area of focus for our lab.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Curious Cases - Series 24 - Immortal Jellies - BBC Sounds
Hannah Fry and Dara Ó Briain ask whether a tiny jellyfish holds the secret to immortality.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 21, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Thrilled to announce that I'm on Curious Cases tomorrow at 10am on BBC Radio 4!
The episode - Immortal Jellies - looks at some remarkably long-lived species and what they can teach us about ageing. This is a key area of focus for our lab.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
The episode - Immortal Jellies - looks at some remarkably long-lived species and what they can teach us about ageing. This is a key area of focus for our lab.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Reposted by Fritz Roth
We highlight the power of iPSC-SGE by identifying sarcomere dependent variant effects of MYBPC3 in cardiomyocytes. Additionally, we identified dominant negative and LOF variant effects in POLG by assaying variants in multiple genetic backgrounds. Please see our preprint for more exciting results!
November 22, 2025 at 1:49 AM
We highlight the power of iPSC-SGE by identifying sarcomere dependent variant effects of MYBPC3 in cardiomyocytes. Additionally, we identified dominant negative and LOF variant effects in POLG by assaying variants in multiple genetic backgrounds. Please see our preprint for more exciting results!
Reposted by Fritz Roth
It is a great honour to be part of this study! Congratulations to Daniel Tabet, @fritzroth.bsky.social and the entire team!! This is a huge step forward regarding functional studies of LDLR!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@helsinki.fi @eassociety.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@helsinki.fi @eassociety.bsky.social
The functional landscape of coding variation in the familial hypercholesterolemia gene LDLR
Variants in the familial hypercholesterolemia gene LDLR—the most important genetic driver of cardiovascular disease—can raise circulating low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations and i...
www.science.org
October 31, 2025 at 9:27 AM
It is a great honour to be part of this study! Congratulations to Daniel Tabet, @fritzroth.bsky.social and the entire team!! This is a huge step forward regarding functional studies of LDLR!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@helsinki.fi @eassociety.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@helsinki.fi @eassociety.bsky.social
About yesterday's NIH notice...
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
Does anyone know whether those who submitted a new R01 app BEFORE the shutdown, and all those who submitted apps via the NIH system that was OPEN during the shutdown will need to resubmit??
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
Does anyone know whether those who submitted a new R01 app BEFORE the shutdown, and all those who submitted apps via the NIH system that was OPEN during the shutdown will need to resubmit??
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 15, 2025 at 12:41 PM
About yesterday's NIH notice...
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
Does anyone know whether those who submitted a new R01 app BEFORE the shutdown, and all those who submitted apps via the NIH system that was OPEN during the shutdown will need to resubmit??
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
Does anyone know whether those who submitted a new R01 app BEFORE the shutdown, and all those who submitted apps via the NIH system that was OPEN during the shutdown will need to resubmit??
Reposted by Fritz Roth
Deepest coverage of the administrative leave for @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social from @aniloza.bsky.social at STAT
www.statnews.com/2025/11/14/n...
1/4
www.statnews.com/2025/11/14/n...
1/4
NIH abruptly places outspoken critic of Trump administration on leave
Jenna Norton, a vocal critic of Trump administration actions at the NIH, was abruptly placed on administrative leave this week.
www.statnews.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Deepest coverage of the administrative leave for @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social from @aniloza.bsky.social at STAT
www.statnews.com/2025/11/14/n...
1/4
www.statnews.com/2025/11/14/n...
1/4
Reposted by Fritz Roth
