Karla Kaun
@karlakaun.bsky.social
Assoc. Prof. Neuroscience at Brown University. Neurogeneticist investigating the neural and molecular mechanisms of cravings. Loves trees🌲 and breaks boards 🥋. Tân’si 👋🏻!
🧬🪰🧠🥃💊🧪 https://www.kaunlab.com/about-5
🧬🪰🧠🥃💊🧪 https://www.kaunlab.com/about-5
The lab is hiring Research Assistants to look at how changes in gene regulation impact motivation for addictive stimulants. www.kaunlab.com/post/researc...
Research Assistant opening
The Kaun Lab is hiring new full-time Research Assistants!The position is ideal for someone interested in investigating how changes in gene regulation impact individual variation in addictive substance...
www.kaunlab.com
October 17, 2025 at 1:09 PM
The lab is hiring Research Assistants to look at how changes in gene regulation impact motivation for addictive stimulants. www.kaunlab.com/post/researc...
Are flies a good model to discover and investigate mechanisms of treatments for alcohol use disorder? We validated known treatments and suggest a potential new treatment: gamma secretase inhibitors.
Ever wonder how fruit flies can be used to help uncover novel therapies for #AlcoholUseDisorder? My new paper with @karlakaun.bsky.social describes a behavioral assay pipeline using #Drosophila that can be used to screen new treatments and to investigate the mechanism of currently available drugs.
Investigating pharmacotherapies for alcohol use disorder using Drosophila melanogaster
This study validates Drosophila melanogaster as a powerful model for alcohol use disorder (AUD) drug discovery. A pipeline to test drug effects on acute alcohol response, alcohol consumption, and mem...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 15, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Are flies a good model to discover and investigate mechanisms of treatments for alcohol use disorder? We validated known treatments and suggest a potential new treatment: gamma secretase inhibitors.
Reposted by Karla Kaun
Boom, congratulations Joel
Professor Joel Levine Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada - Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
The University of Toronto’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology is proud to announce that Professor Joel Levine has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC), the highest h...
eeb.utoronto.ca
September 29, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Boom, congratulations Joel
Reposted by Karla Kaun
presented my first data blitz on our MDMA-assisted therapy work at the first new england addiction neuroscience (NEAN) research conference, hosted at brown. thanks to the organizers for the opportunity! @karlakaun.bsky.social
August 15, 2025 at 9:48 PM
presented my first data blitz on our MDMA-assisted therapy work at the first new england addiction neuroscience (NEAN) research conference, hosted at brown. thanks to the organizers for the opportunity! @karlakaun.bsky.social
Reposted by Karla Kaun
So grateful to have been a part of organizing the first New England Addiction Neuroscience Research Conference alongside @karlakaun.bsky.social, @dgordonwinder.bsky.social , @mariedoyle.bsky.social, & John Hernandez. I learned so much from the wonderful talks and the discussions they sparked!
August 18, 2025 at 1:17 PM
So grateful to have been a part of organizing the first New England Addiction Neuroscience Research Conference alongside @karlakaun.bsky.social, @dgordonwinder.bsky.social , @mariedoyle.bsky.social, & John Hernandez. I learned so much from the wonderful talks and the discussions they sparked!
And that's a wrap! I had a ton of fun at the inaugural New England Addiction Neuroscience Research Conference Friday and am looking forward to seeing everyone next year, if not sooner! newenglandaddictionconsortium.wordpress.com/annual-confe...
August 18, 2025 at 2:13 PM
And that's a wrap! I had a ton of fun at the inaugural New England Addiction Neuroscience Research Conference Friday and am looking forward to seeing everyone next year, if not sooner! newenglandaddictionconsortium.wordpress.com/annual-confe...
Reposted by Karla Kaun
Coming up in just a few weeks! @karlakaun.bsky.social and colleagues have great things in store. Prizes available for trainee presentations. Spots are still available, so please consider attending! Looking forward to chatting about growing and connecting addiction neuroscience in the area.
Calling local addiction neuroscientists! I'm excited to be involved in @karlakaun.bsky.social's great brain child, this year's New England Addiction Neuroscience Conference, to be held on the Brown campus August 15th. Hope to see you there! See attached flyer for details and registration.
July 28, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Coming up in just a few weeks! @karlakaun.bsky.social and colleagues have great things in store. Prizes available for trainee presentations. Spots are still available, so please consider attending! Looking forward to chatting about growing and connecting addiction neuroscience in the area.
Please join us!
Coming up in just a few weeks! @karlakaun.bsky.social and colleagues have great things in store. Prizes available for trainee presentations. Spots are still available, so please consider attending! Looking forward to chatting about growing and connecting addiction neuroscience in the area.
Calling local addiction neuroscientists! I'm excited to be involved in @karlakaun.bsky.social's great brain child, this year's New England Addiction Neuroscience Conference, to be held on the Brown campus August 15th. Hope to see you there! See attached flyer for details and registration.
July 28, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Please join us!
Reposted by Karla Kaun
If you are a mentor for Native students, please keep in mind that some students are staying connected with their ways of life. Not all, bc forced assimilation has led to some Natives being removed from land and family, so not every Native needs time like this.
July 21, 2025 at 9:55 PM
If you are a mentor for Native students, please keep in mind that some students are staying connected with their ways of life. Not all, bc forced assimilation has led to some Natives being removed from land and family, so not every Native needs time like this.
Reposted by Karla Kaun
I spent most of 30 years in the Lower '48 earning my degrees and getting training. During grad school I only had the funding and time to return every 3 years, on average. I've only been home in the winter once in the last 20 years, when my aunt died. Subsistence living is year round. I missed a lot.
July 21, 2025 at 9:22 PM
I spent most of 30 years in the Lower '48 earning my degrees and getting training. During grad school I only had the funding and time to return every 3 years, on average. I've only been home in the winter once in the last 20 years, when my aunt died. Subsistence living is year round. I missed a lot.
Reposted by Karla Kaun
My university has announced a special international graduate fellowship for PhD students whose acceptance at a US university has been rescinded. Check it out: grad.uwo.ca/finances/wes...
US-CAN Doctoral Excellence Award
Western University, in vibrant London, Ontario, delivers an academic and student experience second to none.
grad.uwo.ca
July 8, 2025 at 3:14 PM
My university has announced a special international graduate fellowship for PhD students whose acceptance at a US university has been rescinded. Check it out: grad.uwo.ca/finances/wes...
Reposted by Karla Kaun
Calling local addiction neuroscientists! I'm excited to be involved in @karlakaun.bsky.social's great brain child, this year's New England Addiction Neuroscience Conference, to be held on the Brown campus August 15th. Hope to see you there! See attached flyer for details and registration.
June 26, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Calling local addiction neuroscientists! I'm excited to be involved in @karlakaun.bsky.social's great brain child, this year's New England Addiction Neuroscience Conference, to be held on the Brown campus August 15th. Hope to see you there! See attached flyer for details and registration.
Reposted by Karla Kaun
URGENT: FlyBase has lost practically all its funding overnight; even user fees are tied up in denied grant funding. 🤬🤯
Any lab using @flybase.bsky.social please donate using the link in post below.
This incredible community, on whose backs our #Drosophila labs depend, can't be left out to dry.
Any lab using @flybase.bsky.social please donate using the link in post below.
This incredible community, on whose backs our #Drosophila labs depend, can't be left out to dry.
My lab studies bacterial infections. We spend a lot of time looking at (or for) species-specific genetic and genomic databases for hosts and microbes. FlyBase is the best of all—there is literally no comparison. Its existence is under threat. Please donate.
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...
Drosophila Genetic Database
The Drosophila Genetic Database, FlyBase, is on the brink of collapse due to the sudden termination of the FlyBase NIH grant, which includes salaries for 5 literature curators based at the University ...
www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk
June 3, 2025 at 5:20 PM
URGENT: FlyBase has lost practically all its funding overnight; even user fees are tied up in denied grant funding. 🤬🤯
Any lab using @flybase.bsky.social please donate using the link in post below.
This incredible community, on whose backs our #Drosophila labs depend, can't be left out to dry.
Any lab using @flybase.bsky.social please donate using the link in post below.
This incredible community, on whose backs our #Drosophila labs depend, can't be left out to dry.
Reposted by Karla Kaun
Great visit yesterday from @karlakaun.bsky.social to the University of Iowa to give a seminar in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Genetics' Current Topics in Genetics Seminar Series.
May 6, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Great visit yesterday from @karlakaun.bsky.social to the University of Iowa to give a seminar in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Genetics' Current Topics in Genetics Seminar Series.
Reposted by Karla Kaun
With support for mental health research under threat, clear communication is key to securing public understanding and support.
Thanks @ericjnestler.bsky.social, @karlakaun.bsky.social & Omar Abubaker for this insightful piece in @thetransmitter.bsky.social
Thanks @ericjnestler.bsky.social, @karlakaun.bsky.social & Omar Abubaker for this insightful piece in @thetransmitter.bsky.social
Neuroscientists need to do better at explaining basic #MentalHealthResearch. Opening lines of communication will help us understand people’s needs & identify barriers @ericjnestler.bsky.social @karlakaun.bsky.social Omar Abubaker via @thetransmitter.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/addiction/ne...
Neuroscientists need to do better at explaining basic mental health research
The knowledge gap between scientists, health-care professionals, policymakers and people with mental health conditions is growing, slowing the translation of basic science to new treatments.
www.thetransmitter.org
March 13, 2025 at 5:07 PM
With support for mental health research under threat, clear communication is key to securing public understanding and support.
Thanks @ericjnestler.bsky.social, @karlakaun.bsky.social & Omar Abubaker for this insightful piece in @thetransmitter.bsky.social
Thanks @ericjnestler.bsky.social, @karlakaun.bsky.social & Omar Abubaker for this insightful piece in @thetransmitter.bsky.social
Scientists turned out to Stand Up For Science at the State House in Providence. There’s power in numbers 💪.
March 7, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Scientists turned out to Stand Up For Science at the State House in Providence. There’s power in numbers 💪.
To all parents of school age kids: University labs train nearly all people going into science in the US, which is about 25% of the US workforce. These budget cuts to the NIH and NSF means your kids won’t be able to get trained to be scientists. This crisis is putting your kids’ future in peril.
February 8, 2025 at 1:37 PM
To all parents of school age kids: University labs train nearly all people going into science in the US, which is about 25% of the US workforce. These budget cuts to the NIH and NSF means your kids won’t be able to get trained to be scientists. This crisis is putting your kids’ future in peril.
Reposted by Karla Kaun
Dear All, I believe that this thread will become one of my most important contributions to the fly field (I hope I will make other contributions)! Here, I introduce the Soy Milk Machine Fly Food Method, a.k.a., DeepCook!#Drosophila#NewPI
February 6, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Dear All, I believe that this thread will become one of my most important contributions to the fly field (I hope I will make other contributions)! Here, I introduce the Soy Milk Machine Fly Food Method, a.k.a., DeepCook!#Drosophila#NewPI
Reposted by Karla Kaun
Federal restrictions & funding freezes threaten vital research and halts scientific progress that benefits all Americans.
Join fellow #NeuroAdvocates in urging Congress to protect congressionally approved funding & ensure uninterrupted support for the scientific workforce.
👇 #NeuroSky
Join fellow #NeuroAdvocates in urging Congress to protect congressionally approved funding & ensure uninterrupted support for the scientific workforce.
👇 #NeuroSky
February 6, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Federal restrictions & funding freezes threaten vital research and halts scientific progress that benefits all Americans.
Join fellow #NeuroAdvocates in urging Congress to protect congressionally approved funding & ensure uninterrupted support for the scientific workforce.
👇 #NeuroSky
Join fellow #NeuroAdvocates in urging Congress to protect congressionally approved funding & ensure uninterrupted support for the scientific workforce.
👇 #NeuroSky
Us scientists can advocate for how science brings hope in so many ways. I'm in awe of the advocacy work my colleagues at the Brown Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies do! carney.brown.edu/news/2025-01...
A Case for Addiction Science Advocacy
Karla Kaun argues that addiction researchers should talk about their work in their everyday lives. Those conversations can shape how drug, tobacco and alcohol use is studied in labs, taught in schools...
carney.brown.edu
January 24, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Us scientists can advocate for how science brings hope in so many ways. I'm in awe of the advocacy work my colleagues at the Brown Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies do! carney.brown.edu/news/2025-01...
Reposted by Karla Kaun
Neuroscientists need to do better at explaining basic #MentalHealthResearch. Opening lines of communication will help us understand people’s needs & identify barriers @ericjnestler.bsky.social @karlakaun.bsky.social Omar Abubaker via @thetransmitter.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/addiction/ne...
Neuroscientists need to do better at explaining basic mental health research
The knowledge gap between scientists, health-care professionals, policymakers and people with mental health conditions is growing, slowing the translation of basic science to new treatments.
www.thetransmitter.org
January 23, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Neuroscientists need to do better at explaining basic #MentalHealthResearch. Opening lines of communication will help us understand people’s needs & identify barriers @ericjnestler.bsky.social @karlakaun.bsky.social Omar Abubaker via @thetransmitter.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/addiction/ne...
Omar Abubaker, Eric Nestler and I spoke about how science brings hope for those suffering from alcohol and substance use disorders at an Advocacy forum @sfn.org #SfN24. Our message is that as scientists we need to be better at communicating this. @ericjnestler.bsky.social
A challenge for basic scientists is to guarantee that the future generation of health-care professionals and policymakers understands the importance of addiction and mental health research.
By Omar Abubaker, @karlakaun.bsky.social, @ericjnestler.bsky.social
bit.ly/42oULRu
#neuroskyence
By Omar Abubaker, @karlakaun.bsky.social, @ericjnestler.bsky.social
bit.ly/42oULRu
#neuroskyence
Neuroscientists need to do better at explaining basic mental health research
The knowledge gap between scientists, health-care professionals, policymakers and people with mental health conditions is growing, slowing the translation of basic science to new treatments.
bit.ly
January 21, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Omar Abubaker, Eric Nestler and I spoke about how science brings hope for those suffering from alcohol and substance use disorders at an Advocacy forum @sfn.org #SfN24. Our message is that as scientists we need to be better at communicating this. @ericjnestler.bsky.social
Reposted by Karla Kaun
FlyBoard elections are open through Feb. 16, 2025. Please look for Genetics Society of America email: Select future FlyBoard leadership! Here is a link to access the candidate statements and ballot: genetics-gsa.org/2025-fly-boa...
Please repost.
#Dros25 @GeneticsGSA
Please repost.
#Dros25 @GeneticsGSA
2025 Fly Board Election - Genetics Society of America
Visit our website to learn more.
genetics-gsa.org
January 16, 2025 at 5:23 PM
FlyBoard elections are open through Feb. 16, 2025. Please look for Genetics Society of America email: Select future FlyBoard leadership! Here is a link to access the candidate statements and ballot: genetics-gsa.org/2025-fly-boa...
Please repost.
#Dros25 @GeneticsGSA
Please repost.
#Dros25 @GeneticsGSA
Reposted by Karla Kaun
Human embryo editing against disease is unsafe and unproven — despite rosy predictions rdcu.be/d5Cqr- critical commentary by @shaicarmi.bsky.social, @hankgreely.bsky.social and myself
Human embryo editing against disease is unsafe and unproven — despite rosy predictions | Nature
Mathematical modelling suggests that it is theoretically possible to reduce risk of common diseases using heritable genome editing. Scientists argue that the technology involves considerable risk and uncertain benefits. Pitfalls of heritable genome editing undermine theoretical benefits.
rdcu.be
January 8, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Human embryo editing against disease is unsafe and unproven — despite rosy predictions rdcu.be/d5Cqr- critical commentary by @shaicarmi.bsky.social, @hankgreely.bsky.social and myself
Reposted by Karla Kaun
Apply to "Drosophila genetics and genomics": experienced experts will teach you hands-on in classical strategies and cutting-edge experimental techniques to enhance your use of this powerful model organism for research, whilst connecting to scientists in your field.
www.embl.org/about/info/c...
www.embl.org/about/info/c...
Drosophila genetics and genomics
www.embl.org
December 20, 2024 at 7:34 AM
Apply to "Drosophila genetics and genomics": experienced experts will teach you hands-on in classical strategies and cutting-edge experimental techniques to enhance your use of this powerful model organism for research, whilst connecting to scientists in your field.
www.embl.org/about/info/c...
www.embl.org/about/info/c...