Ken Halvorsen
@halvorsenlab.bsky.social
Mostly posting science from our lab at RNA Institute, UAlbany.
Pinned
Ken Halvorsen
@halvorsenlab.bsky.social
· Feb 24
Tuning the Stability of DNA Tetrahedra with Base Stacking Interactions
DNA nanotechnology uses the programmable assembly of DNA to create nanoscale objects. Recent work from our laboratory suggested that terminal stacking interactions between adjacent strands could be a ...
pubs.acs.org
New lab paper out! We look into the effects of individual base stacking interactions on the stability of a DNA nanostructure (a tetrahedron in this case)...
@jibinpunnoose.bsky.social @thernainstitute.bsky.social
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
@jibinpunnoose.bsky.social @thernainstitute.bsky.social
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
Some really nice fundamental biophysics of DNA base stacking 🧬!
Well, it's been a minute but we have a new preprint to share! Final project in our lab by @jibinpunnoose.bsky.social, investigating strand polarity in base stacking. We measured experimentally with centrifuge force microscope and computationally with MD.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 26, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Some really nice fundamental biophysics of DNA base stacking 🧬!
Well, it's been a minute but we have a new preprint to share! Final project in our lab by @jibinpunnoose.bsky.social, investigating strand polarity in base stacking. We measured experimentally with centrifuge force microscope and computationally with MD.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 26, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Well, it's been a minute but we have a new preprint to share! Final project in our lab by @jibinpunnoose.bsky.social, investigating strand polarity in base stacking. We measured experimentally with centrifuge force microscope and computationally with MD.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
New editorial by Madhan Barathraj and me, discussing DNA nanostructures for nucleic acid delivery, is now online at Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
DNA nanocarriers for nucleic acid drug delivery
Published in Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery (Ahead of Print, 2025)
www.tandfonline.com
September 25, 2025 at 1:57 PM
New editorial by Madhan Barathraj and me, discussing DNA nanostructures for nucleic acid delivery, is now online at Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery.
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Yesterday we bid farewell to Jibin, who has been in the lab for 7 years and is starting as Assistant professor of chemistry at SUNY New Paltz. Congrats and best wishes - we were so fortunate to have you in the lab.
August 23, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Yesterday we bid farewell to Jibin, who has been in the lab for 7 years and is starting as Assistant professor of chemistry at SUNY New Paltz. Congrats and best wishes - we were so fortunate to have you in the lab.
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
We need a new microscope objective. A $1.6k tariff for something that you can hold in your hand and that is only manufactured in Germany
August 1, 2025 at 8:50 PM
We need a new microscope objective. A $1.6k tariff for something that you can hold in your hand and that is only manufactured in Germany
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
NEW: In an unprecedented move, the NIH will soon disinvite dozens of scientists about to take positions on advisory councils that make final decisions on grant funding.
NIH staff were told to select others aligned with the Trump administration and told to expect placements by political appointees.
NIH staff were told to select others aligned with the Trump administration and told to expect placements by political appointees.
Exclusive: NIH to dismiss dozens of grant reviewers to align with Trump priorities
The move would undo years of work, leaving advisory councils understaffed, and without the full expertise needed for reviews.
www.nature.com
July 14, 2025 at 11:25 PM
NEW: In an unprecedented move, the NIH will soon disinvite dozens of scientists about to take positions on advisory councils that make final decisions on grant funding.
NIH staff were told to select others aligned with the Trump administration and told to expect placements by political appointees.
NIH staff were told to select others aligned with the Trump administration and told to expect placements by political appointees.
This is so sad...plus I'm all in on science, there is no plan B
If you’re a US researcher, now is the time to establish a plan B www.nature.com/articles/d41...
If you’re a US researcher, now is the time to establish a plan B
The scale of funding cuts in the United States means that countless scientists will lose their jobs. It would be naive not to start thinking about alternative career paths.
www.nature.com
July 10, 2025 at 1:17 AM
This is so sad...plus I'm all in on science, there is no plan B
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
Wake up, losers - new giant rat testomcelles have just dissilced, and they have truly got their dck out.
If you go to Africa, here are some localities you should avoid:
GUTNED
CLINE LSOGLE
NAOZAWA V
GROSGRIVER
If you go to Africa, here are some localities you should avoid:
GUTNED
CLINE LSOGLE
NAOZAWA V
GROSGRIVER
June 20, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Wake up, losers - new giant rat testomcelles have just dissilced, and they have truly got their dck out.
If you go to Africa, here are some localities you should avoid:
GUTNED
CLINE LSOGLE
NAOZAWA V
GROSGRIVER
If you go to Africa, here are some localities you should avoid:
GUTNED
CLINE LSOGLE
NAOZAWA V
GROSGRIVER
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
Join the 22,339 people who have joined to support our NIH colleagues. Let's get this to 50,000 RT
The new leadership of NIH is dismantling long standing biomedical science programs & putting in their place scientifically questionable ideas. A courageous group of current NIH employees pushed back, publishing “The Bethesda Declaration” 1/2
www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
www.standupforscience.net/bethesda-dec...
Bethesda Declaration — STAND UP FOR SCIENCE
Support NIH Staff Now!
www.standupforscience.net
June 12, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Join the 22,339 people who have joined to support our NIH colleagues. Let's get this to 50,000 RT
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
Announcing an official fundraising campaign to support my lab’s research on APOE4 and Alzheimer’s disease: joinus.cuimc.columbia.edu/participant/.... This campaign is itself an experiment of sorts. But mostly, it's an attempt to save my lab during an unprecedented time of turmoil in academia. 1/9
June 10, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Announcing an official fundraising campaign to support my lab’s research on APOE4 and Alzheimer’s disease: joinus.cuimc.columbia.edu/participant/.... This campaign is itself an experiment of sorts. But mostly, it's an attempt to save my lab during an unprecedented time of turmoil in academia. 1/9
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
For non-scientists: the funding rate is somewhere between 7% to ~25% (rare) for NIH or NSF grants, depending on where you are applying. Grants are reviewed by a panel of peers who read the grants, score them, then debate the ratings for 1-2 days to rank them. It is INCREDIBLY competitive already.
Republican Senator Katie Britt: We need to create a system "where the beat idea wins... This is our opportunity to make a dollar go further and to make it have a greater impact."
(NIH already generates $2.56 for every $1 spent it spends on research.)
(NIH already generates $2.56 for every $1 spent it spends on research.)
June 10, 2025 at 5:07 PM
For non-scientists: the funding rate is somewhere between 7% to ~25% (rare) for NIH or NSF grants, depending on where you are applying. Grants are reviewed by a panel of peers who read the grants, score them, then debate the ratings for 1-2 days to rank them. It is INCREDIBLY competitive already.
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
🚨 NIH director Jayanta Bhattacharya is testifying before the US Senate Appropriations Committee today.
The hearing is bound to be spicy, after more than 300 agency staff wrote him a letter decrying his leadership and actions as director. 🔥
I'll be live-posting the hearing, so follow along here.
The hearing is bound to be spicy, after more than 300 agency staff wrote him a letter decrying his leadership and actions as director. 🔥
I'll be live-posting the hearing, so follow along here.
June 10, 2025 at 1:49 PM
🚨 NIH director Jayanta Bhattacharya is testifying before the US Senate Appropriations Committee today.
The hearing is bound to be spicy, after more than 300 agency staff wrote him a letter decrying his leadership and actions as director. 🔥
I'll be live-posting the hearing, so follow along here.
The hearing is bound to be spicy, after more than 300 agency staff wrote him a letter decrying his leadership and actions as director. 🔥
I'll be live-posting the hearing, so follow along here.
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
The NIH has not issued a single new call for proposals since the end of January.
June 9, 2025 at 10:07 PM
The NIH has not issued a single new call for proposals since the end of January.
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
Breaking news: Staff at the National Institutes of Health have issued a declaration calling on their director to depoliticize the agency and reverse spending cuts.
NIH staff and biomedical community sound alarm about agency politicization, funding slowdown
In test of NIH director’s support of dissent, NIH staff sign Bethesda Declaration urging reversal of grant cuts and freezes
scim.ag
June 9, 2025 at 12:13 PM
Breaking news: Staff at the National Institutes of Health have issued a declaration calling on their director to depoliticize the agency and reverse spending cuts.
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
Let's have some fun. In this NYT story, we see a picture of an OpenAI billboard on a college campus, suggesting the following prompt: "Give me a guide for mastering this Calc 101 syllabus. In two weeks. Small steps please."
What happens when we actually use ChatGPT to do this? THREAD!
What happens when we actually use ChatGPT to do this? THREAD!
June 7, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Let's have some fun. In this NYT story, we see a picture of an OpenAI billboard on a college campus, suggesting the following prompt: "Give me a guide for mastering this Calc 101 syllabus. In two weeks. Small steps please."
What happens when we actually use ChatGPT to do this? THREAD!
What happens when we actually use ChatGPT to do this? THREAD!
uh-huh, LMK when its working so I can retire
FutureHouse aims to build an ‘AI scientist’ that can command the entire research pipeline, from hypothesis generation to paper production
https://go.nature.com/3HGQ6lf
https://go.nature.com/3HGQ6lf
Exclusive: Start-up FutureHouse debuts powerful AI ‘reasoning model’ for science
The model, called ether0, outperforms other advanced AIs at chemistry tasks and is a stepping stone towards automating the entire research pipeline.
go.nature.com
June 5, 2025 at 5:43 PM
uh-huh, LMK when its working so I can retire
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
"If the proposal is enacted, Americans today and tomorrow will be sicker, poorer, and die younger”
an $18 Billion cut
Only 3 NIH Institutes will remain in place, and even they will have their funds markedly reduced
www.statnews.com/2025/05/30/n...
an $18 Billion cut
Only 3 NIH Institutes will remain in place, and even they will have their funds markedly reduced
www.statnews.com/2025/05/30/n...
May 30, 2025 at 11:43 PM
"If the proposal is enacted, Americans today and tomorrow will be sicker, poorer, and die younger”
an $18 Billion cut
Only 3 NIH Institutes will remain in place, and even they will have their funds markedly reduced
www.statnews.com/2025/05/30/n...
an $18 Billion cut
Only 3 NIH Institutes will remain in place, and even they will have their funds markedly reduced
www.statnews.com/2025/05/30/n...
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
A Harvard scientist built a database of 2,100 NIH grant terminations. Then his own funding was cut, via @statnews.com
A Harvard scientist built a database of 2,100 NIH grant terminations. Then his own funding was cut
Harvard's Scott Delaney helped build a database of NIH grant terminations that is being used in litigation against the Trump administration.
www.statnews.com
May 27, 2025 at 11:54 AM
A Harvard scientist built a database of 2,100 NIH grant terminations. Then his own funding was cut, via @statnews.com
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
7.5 billion in NIH grants terminated. NIGMS leads the list of recently terminated grants (134). grant-watch.us/posts/700-ne...
May 22, 2025 at 4:48 PM
7.5 billion in NIH grants terminated. NIGMS leads the list of recently terminated grants (134). grant-watch.us/posts/700-ne...
Not surprised... I had JIT requests for a recent NIH application that seemed not written by program staff. In particular I had to explain how an S10 grant to purchase high-end equipment is not "DEI", and how a single-molecule study pulling an RNA is not "gain of function" research.
As the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) cuts billions of dollars of research grants and contracts, one entity has emerged as the driving force behind these unprecedented changes — billionaire Elon Musk’s US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
https://go.nature.com/4k8TJit
https://go.nature.com/4k8TJit
NIH killed grants on orders from Elon Musk’s DOGE
Court documents and internal correspondence show the cost-cutting force has broad control over the world’s largest public biomedical funder.
go.nature.com
May 21, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Not surprised... I had JIT requests for a recent NIH application that seemed not written by program staff. In particular I had to explain how an S10 grant to purchase high-end equipment is not "DEI", and how a single-molecule study pulling an RNA is not "gain of function" research.
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
Tariff surcharges become reality for doing science --coming to your appliance and grocery stores soon 🧪
May 19, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Tariff surcharges become reality for doing science --coming to your appliance and grocery stores soon 🧪
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
Northwestern has not received any NIH funds since March. No written communication about why or what can be done. Thank you Ben Singer for raising awareness at #ATS2025
May 18, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Northwestern has not received any NIH funds since March. No written communication about why or what can be done. Thank you Ben Singer for raising awareness at #ATS2025
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
#NIH is still termination grants, zeroing out budgets, and issuing stop-work orders. But they are hiding more and more of it from the public. More than ever we need people to report so researchers can advocate and organize. Please report at
grant-watch.us/submit-nih.h...
grant-watch.us/submit-nih.h...
Yesterday, the NIH R35 “Outstanding Investigator” grant to fund scientists in my lab studying antibiotic resistance was terminated for reasons not related to the content of the science, or any actions taken by me or members of my lab
May 14, 2025 at 11:51 AM
#NIH is still termination grants, zeroing out budgets, and issuing stop-work orders. But they are hiding more and more of it from the public. More than ever we need people to report so researchers can advocate and organize. Please report at
grant-watch.us/submit-nih.h...
grant-watch.us/submit-nih.h...
Reposted by Ken Halvorsen
You feel bad. But do not think you’re lucky it’s not you. It’s not you *yet*. Call your reps and senators. Push back. We need science. Don’t let them break NIH.
Yesterday, the NIH R35 “Outstanding Investigator” grant to fund scientists in my lab studying antibiotic resistance was terminated for reasons not related to the content of the science, or any actions taken by me or members of my lab
May 14, 2025 at 12:17 PM
You feel bad. But do not think you’re lucky it’s not you. It’s not you *yet*. Call your reps and senators. Push back. We need science. Don’t let them break NIH.