Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
@ishmailsaboor.bsky.social
Associate Prof | Columbia Biology & Zuckerman Institute
Freeman Hrabowski Scholar | HHMI
We study how the skin-brain axis drives somatosensory behaviors
https://www.abdus-saboorlab.com/
Freeman Hrabowski Scholar | HHMI
We study how the skin-brain axis drives somatosensory behaviors
https://www.abdus-saboorlab.com/
Pinned
I am happy to share that I’ve been awarded tenure here at Columbia University. Alhamdulillah. I thank my wife, parents, mentors, colleagues, friends, and family. I thank my lab members, present and past, for entrusting their careers in my hands and making this a thrilling journey.
I enjoyed reading these 20 reviews in this special edition on interoception. This exciting field of brain-body signaling has many open questions – indicated by most articles written by PIs of labs opened within the past few years. Nice job authors and editors.
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
Current Opinion in Neurobiology | Interoception 2025 | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier
Read the latest articles of Current Opinion in Neurobiology at ScienceDirect.com, Elsevier’s leading platform of peer-reviewed scholarly literature
www.sciencedirect.com
January 9, 2026 at 2:09 PM
I enjoyed reading these 20 reviews in this special edition on interoception. This exciting field of brain-body signaling has many open questions – indicated by most articles written by PIs of labs opened within the past few years. Nice job authors and editors.
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
very cool work @sethblackshaw.bsky.social and team!
Nice summary on our paper on mechanisms controlling development and evolution of the cone-dominant ground squirrel retina, which is now in final form at eLife.
www.lifescienceeditors.com/2026/01/06/h...
www.lifescienceeditors.com/2026/01/06/h...
How ground squirrels enhanced their retinas - Scientific editing and writing experts - Life Science Editors
Scientific editing and writing experts for manuscripts and grants
www.lifescienceeditors.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:16 PM
very cool work @sethblackshaw.bsky.social and team!
Congratulations @flybottleescape.bsky.social and team on this impressive study. Greg, I still remember your job talk and you dreaming of doing things like this. You've made it happen!
Researchers identify the neurons involved in the emotional distress associated with pain
go.nature.com/4qIKkB8
go.nature.com/4qIKkB8
Chronic pain could be eased by uncoupling the sensory and emotional experiences
Researchers identify the neurons involved in the emotional distress associated with pain, and design a genetic approach that could soothe suffering without opioid drugs.
go.nature.com
January 8, 2026 at 1:02 PM
Congratulations @flybottleescape.bsky.social and team on this impressive study. Greg, I still remember your job talk and you dreaming of doing things like this. You've made it happen!
Congratulations @zurisullivan.bsky.social!! I'm so proud of you and MIT and Whitehead are so fortunate to have landed you. Looking forward to seeing some amazing science come from your lab.
Thrilled to start my lab at the @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social @mit.edu and to join such a special community of creative and inspiring colleagues. The Sullivan Lab asks (1) how and (2) why infections make us sick, bridging immunology and neuroscience to understand host defense at the organism scale
“I want everyone in my lab to be exposed to many ways of thinking about biology,” says Whitehead Institute’s newest Member, immunologist Zuri Sullivan. “Creative science often comes from making connections across systems, and Whitehead is uniquely well-suited for that.”
shorturl.at/EFsmh
shorturl.at/EFsmh
January 7, 2026 at 10:10 PM
Congratulations @zurisullivan.bsky.social!! I'm so proud of you and MIT and Whitehead are so fortunate to have landed you. Looking forward to seeing some amazing science come from your lab.
This really struck me too about this biography. Over and over in his career when people asked Crick what he did for a living he would respond: "I read and I think"
Loved this brilliant biography of Crick by @matthewcobb.bsky.social But what struck me from the start: it's also a portrait of a lost time in science: no grant applications or teaching, big travel budgets: the job only to think, talk & get science done. Future scientific biogs will be so different.
January 2, 2026 at 1:46 AM
This really struck me too about this biography. Over and over in his career when people asked Crick what he did for a living he would respond: "I read and I think"
incredible advice @arjunraj.bsky.social!!
Blog post: Just quit
Quitting projects in science is hard, but we should be doing a lot more of it.
open.substack.com/pub/arjunraj...
Quitting projects in science is hard, but we should be doing a lot more of it.
open.substack.com/pub/arjunraj...
Just quit
Quitting projects in science is hard, but we should be doing a lot more of it.
open.substack.com
December 30, 2025 at 6:34 PM
incredible advice @arjunraj.bsky.social!!
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
🎉 New Publication in @pnas.org
Excited to share our lab’s latest research article: PIP₂ Corrects an Endothelial Piezo1 Channelopathy
pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... (Open Access)
Excited to share our lab’s latest research article: PIP₂ Corrects an Endothelial Piezo1 Channelopathy
pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... (Open Access)
December 30, 2025 at 7:38 AM
🎉 New Publication in @pnas.org
Excited to share our lab’s latest research article: PIP₂ Corrects an Endothelial Piezo1 Channelopathy
pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... (Open Access)
Excited to share our lab’s latest research article: PIP₂ Corrects an Endothelial Piezo1 Channelopathy
pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1... (Open Access)
I read 22 books this year and these were my favorites.
December 29, 2025 at 4:44 PM
I read 22 books this year and these were my favorites.
Just finished this thrilling, vulnerable, and inspiring book on friendship, loss, addiction, resilience, and editing memories by Prof Steve Ramirez. Neuroscientists and neuroscience enthusiasts should enjoy this one.
December 22, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Just finished this thrilling, vulnerable, and inspiring book on friendship, loss, addiction, resilience, and editing memories by Prof Steve Ramirez. Neuroscientists and neuroscience enthusiasts should enjoy this one.
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
Grateful to @pewtrusts.org for funding our snow fly work, in collaboration with Sebastian Brauchi at Universidad Austral de Chile.
We are now looking for post-docs to work on the biophysical mechanisms that allow snow fly neurons and muscles to function below zero.
newsroom.uw.edu/news-release...
We are now looking for post-docs to work on the biophysical mechanisms that allow snow fly neurons and muscles to function below zero.
newsroom.uw.edu/news-release...
Most insects slow down in bitter cold. Not snow flies. - UW Medicine | Newsroom
newsroom.uw.edu
December 18, 2025 at 10:48 PM
Grateful to @pewtrusts.org for funding our snow fly work, in collaboration with Sebastian Brauchi at Universidad Austral de Chile.
We are now looking for post-docs to work on the biophysical mechanisms that allow snow fly neurons and muscles to function below zero.
newsroom.uw.edu/news-release...
We are now looking for post-docs to work on the biophysical mechanisms that allow snow fly neurons and muscles to function below zero.
newsroom.uw.edu/news-release...
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
“Basic neuroscience hasn’t produced new drugs.” 💊
Not true - zuranolone (PPD), suzetrigine (pain), gepants (migraine), and more... were born out of a long arc of studies in the lab.
I wrote a Perspective on why this matters. @thetransmitter.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
Not true - zuranolone (PPD), suzetrigine (pain), gepants (migraine), and more... were born out of a long arc of studies in the lab.
I wrote a Perspective on why this matters. @thetransmitter.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
How basic neuroscience has paved the path to new drugs
A growing list of medications—such as zuranolone for postpartum depression, suzetrigine for pain, and the gepants class of migraine medicines—exist because of insights from basic research.
www.thetransmitter.org
December 15, 2025 at 3:15 PM
“Basic neuroscience hasn’t produced new drugs.” 💊
Not true - zuranolone (PPD), suzetrigine (pain), gepants (migraine), and more... were born out of a long arc of studies in the lab.
I wrote a Perspective on why this matters. @thetransmitter.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
Not true - zuranolone (PPD), suzetrigine (pain), gepants (migraine), and more... were born out of a long arc of studies in the lab.
I wrote a Perspective on why this matters. @thetransmitter.bsky.social
www.thetransmitter.org/drug-develop...
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
New paper alert!!...🤩 Led by @blogeman.bsky.social, we identify how cell type-specific hormonal responses in the hypothalamus tunes parenting behavior in males and females 🐭🧠🍼. Highlights in thread 👇 1/6
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Cell Type-Specific Hormonal Signaling Configures Hypothalamic Circuits for Parenting
Parenting behavior emerges from hormonally sensitive circuits, but how distinct circuit components are affected by, and contribute to, sex and state dependent changes in infant caregiving remains uncl...
www.biorxiv.org
December 13, 2025 at 2:03 PM
New paper alert!!...🤩 Led by @blogeman.bsky.social, we identify how cell type-specific hormonal responses in the hypothalamus tunes parenting behavior in males and females 🐭🧠🍼. Highlights in thread 👇 1/6
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
Ancient Plants Used Infrared Radiation to Attract Their Pollinators #research 🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social @science.org
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social @science.org
Ancient Plants Used Infrared Radiation to Attract Their Pollinators - Harvard University - Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology
Long before flowers painted the planet in brilliant colors, some of Earth’s earliest plants were glowing—not with pigment, but with heat. A new study from the lab of […]
www.mcb.harvard.edu
December 11, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Ancient Plants Used Infrared Radiation to Attract Their Pollinators #research 🧠 🧪🧬 #AcademicSky #higherEd
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social @science.org
www.mcb.harvard.edu/department/n... @nbellono.bsky.social @rachellegaudet.bsky.social @harvardoeb.bsky.social @science.org
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
gift article: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/s...
A Scientific Pipeline to the Nobel Prize Fueled by Immigrants
www.nytimes.com
December 11, 2025 at 11:27 AM
gift article: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/s...
Congratulations, glad to see this work out.
I am thrilled to share our latest work led by @zurisullivan.bsky.social in collaboration with @moffittlab.bsky.social ! We find that the brain encodes distinct, pathogen-specific sickness states across behavior, physiology, neural activity, and gene expression 1/6
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
December 9, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Congratulations, glad to see this work out.
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
The 1st NYC Area Pain Research Meetup was a roaring success! What started as an idea from @dr-lupo.bsky.social and myself turned into an incredible gathering with the help of @karapedsgastrodoc.bsky.social, and her team at @nyupainresearch.bsky.social.
#PainResearch #Neuroscience #Neuroskyence
#PainResearch #Neuroscience #Neuroskyence
December 8, 2025 at 4:04 PM
The 1st NYC Area Pain Research Meetup was a roaring success! What started as an idea from @dr-lupo.bsky.social and myself turned into an incredible gathering with the help of @karapedsgastrodoc.bsky.social, and her team at @nyupainresearch.bsky.social.
#PainResearch #Neuroscience #Neuroskyence
#PainResearch #Neuroscience #Neuroskyence
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
✨ Sponsor Spotlight! ✨
Huge shoutout to Tactorum — leading the way in improving preclinical pain research and pushing the field forward. We’re grateful for your support! 🔬💡
Huge shoutout to Tactorum — leading the way in improving preclinical pain research and pushing the field forward. We’re grateful for your support! 🔬💡
December 6, 2025 at 4:25 AM
✨ Sponsor Spotlight! ✨
Huge shoutout to Tactorum — leading the way in improving preclinical pain research and pushing the field forward. We’re grateful for your support! 🔬💡
Huge shoutout to Tactorum — leading the way in improving preclinical pain research and pushing the field forward. We’re grateful for your support! 🔬💡
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
A gathering that truly exceeded our wildest expectations! Excited to see what comes next!
Amazing start to the first NYC Area Pain Research Meeting with the Pain Research Center. More photos to come!
December 6, 2025 at 3:24 AM
A gathering that truly exceeded our wildest expectations! Excited to see what comes next!
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
A long delay between pre print and publication means this paper only got better and better. Congrats @rose-hill.bsky.social and all collaborators, including many in renal physiology. A role for PIEZO2 in sensing pressure in the kidney and regulating the renin pathway. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Renal PIEZO2 is an essential regulator of renin
The force-sensing ion channel PIEZO2 is an essential regulator of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone
system (RAAS), a pathway that controls blood volume. Loss of PIEZO2 in the kidney
cells that produce...
www.cell.com
December 4, 2025 at 11:27 PM
A long delay between pre print and publication means this paper only got better and better. Congrats @rose-hill.bsky.social and all collaborators, including many in renal physiology. A role for PIEZO2 in sensing pressure in the kidney and regulating the renin pathway. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
This was a fascinating and page-turning read on the life of Francis Crick by @matthewcobb.bsky.social. Crick was a scientific pioneer and prophet, but also a complex and imperfect human being. Cobb captures it all masterfully.
November 26, 2025 at 5:05 PM
This was a fascinating and page-turning read on the life of Francis Crick by @matthewcobb.bsky.social. Crick was a scientific pioneer and prophet, but also a complex and imperfect human being. Cobb captures it all masterfully.
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
Check out the newest Editors' (that would be me and Eunjoon Kim) Choice issue in Current Opinion in Neurobiology.
Superbly guest edited by Stephen Liberles and @zknight.bsky.social
>20 review articles on Interoception
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
Superbly guest edited by Stephen Liberles and @zknight.bsky.social
>20 review articles on Interoception
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
Current Opinion in Neurobiology | Interoception 2025 | ScienceDirect.com by Elsevier
Read the latest articles of Current Opinion in Neurobiology at ScienceDirect.com, Elsevier’s leading platform of peer-reviewed scholarly literature
www.sciencedirect.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Check out the newest Editors' (that would be me and Eunjoon Kim) Choice issue in Current Opinion in Neurobiology.
Superbly guest edited by Stephen Liberles and @zknight.bsky.social
>20 review articles on Interoception
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
Superbly guest edited by Stephen Liberles and @zknight.bsky.social
>20 review articles on Interoception
www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu...
I think I have a new favorite textbook. Cool to see.
November 21, 2025 at 9:28 PM
I think I have a new favorite textbook. Cool to see.
Ive seen this work from Prof Liqun Luo’s presented a few times now and its stunning and heroic.
Nature research paper: Rewiring an olfactory circuit by altering cell-surface combinatorial code
go.nature.com/3MbCoZT
go.nature.com/3MbCoZT
Rewiring an olfactory circuit by altering cell-surface combinatorial code - Nature
In Drosophila, changing the expression of a small set of cell-surface proteins in just one type of olfactory neuron rewires its connections almost entirely to a new postsynaptic partner neuron type, altering the fly’s odour response and courtship behaviour.
go.nature.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Ive seen this work from Prof Liqun Luo’s presented a few times now and its stunning and heroic.
Reposted by Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
Check out our latest issue where we interview Cassandra Extavour, who studies the evolution of the genetic mechanisms employed during early animal embryogenesis to specify cell fate, development, and differentiation at Harvard University. www.cell.com/current-biol...
Q & A
Interview with Cassandra Extavour, who studies the evolution of the genetic mechanisms
employed during early animal embryogenesis to specify cell fate, development, and
differentiation at Harvard Univ...
www.cell.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Check out our latest issue where we interview Cassandra Extavour, who studies the evolution of the genetic mechanisms employed during early animal embryogenesis to specify cell fate, development, and differentiation at Harvard University. www.cell.com/current-biol...