Katie Berry
@katieberry.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Biochemistry
Mount Holyoke College
Loves RNA, bacteria, gene regulation, molecular genetics, mentoring undergraduates, inclusive pedagogy, outdoor adventures, photography, sports, and being a mom!
tinyurl.com/berrylab
Mount Holyoke College
Loves RNA, bacteria, gene regulation, molecular genetics, mentoring undergraduates, inclusive pedagogy, outdoor adventures, photography, sports, and being a mom!
tinyurl.com/berrylab
Reposted by Katie Berry
Can a single cell learn? Even without a brain, some microbes show simple forms of cognition. Can this basal cognition be engineered? Check our new paper with @jordiplam.bsky.social on the minimal synthetic circuits & their cognitive limits. @drmichaellevin.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 10, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Can a single cell learn? Even without a brain, some microbes show simple forms of cognition. Can this basal cognition be engineered? Check our new paper with @jordiplam.bsky.social on the minimal synthetic circuits & their cognitive limits. @drmichaellevin.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Katie Berry
Asking my #DevBio @socdevbio.bsky.social & #Neuroscience @sfn.org colleagues to join me in donating to the ABRCMS conference poster award fund. I am sure there will be 🤩 posters on these topics @ ABRCMS 2025 in Nov, let's make sure there is award $ to recognize their work! abrcms.org/donate/stude...
August 21, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Asking my #DevBio @socdevbio.bsky.social & #Neuroscience @sfn.org colleagues to join me in donating to the ABRCMS conference poster award fund. I am sure there will be 🤩 posters on these topics @ ABRCMS 2025 in Nov, let's make sure there is award $ to recognize their work! abrcms.org/donate/stude...
Reposted by Katie Berry
“What a [sunburned] cell is trying to do is make decisions about whether to live or die based on how damaged the DNA is… but amazingly, it’s the RNA that signals that. That’s the remarkable observation.” — Rachel Green, biologist at Johns Hopkins University.
www.quantamagazine.org/rna-is-the-c...
www.quantamagazine.org/rna-is-the-c...
August 4, 2025 at 8:04 PM
“What a [sunburned] cell is trying to do is make decisions about whether to live or die based on how damaged the DNA is… but amazingly, it’s the RNA that signals that. That’s the remarkable observation.” — Rachel Green, biologist at Johns Hopkins University.
www.quantamagazine.org/rna-is-the-c...
www.quantamagazine.org/rna-is-the-c...
Reposted by Katie Berry
Hiring 4 postdocs — organismal biophysics, soft robotics, frugal Raman diagnostics, or your own bold idea.
3-year funding, $65K+ benefits. GT (Atlanta) now → CU Boulder BioFrontiers Institute in Fall ’26.
PDF/details in next post. Tag/share if someone comes to mind. 🧪🪲🪳#livingphysics
3-year funding, $65K+ benefits. GT (Atlanta) now → CU Boulder BioFrontiers Institute in Fall ’26.
PDF/details in next post. Tag/share if someone comes to mind. 🧪🪲🪳#livingphysics
July 30, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Hiring 4 postdocs — organismal biophysics, soft robotics, frugal Raman diagnostics, or your own bold idea.
3-year funding, $65K+ benefits. GT (Atlanta) now → CU Boulder BioFrontiers Institute in Fall ’26.
PDF/details in next post. Tag/share if someone comes to mind. 🧪🪲🪳#livingphysics
3-year funding, $65K+ benefits. GT (Atlanta) now → CU Boulder BioFrontiers Institute in Fall ’26.
PDF/details in next post. Tag/share if someone comes to mind. 🧪🪲🪳#livingphysics
Reposted by Katie Berry
New NIH Notice rescinding the no DEI, no Israeli boycott term and condition added to NIH grants (covers the whole university)
This is what Williams refused to sign and declined all federal funding.
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
1/2
This is what Williams refused to sign and declined all federal funding.
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
1/2
NOT-OD-25-124: Notice of Rescission of Civil Rights Term and Condition of Award
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Notice of Rescission of Civil Rights Term and Condition of Award NOT-OD-25-124. NIH
grants.nih.gov
June 9, 2025 at 2:36 PM
New NIH Notice rescinding the no DEI, no Israeli boycott term and condition added to NIH grants (covers the whole university)
This is what Williams refused to sign and declined all federal funding.
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
1/2
This is what Williams refused to sign and declined all federal funding.
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
1/2
Reposted by Katie Berry
Reposted by Katie Berry
All of my NIH grants terminated this afternoon along with those of all of my colleagues including big (and extremely successful) P01 grants.
May 15, 2025 at 10:09 PM
All of my NIH grants terminated this afternoon along with those of all of my colleagues including big (and extremely successful) P01 grants.
Reposted by Katie Berry
The Spencer Foundation is offering rapid response bridge funding for those who lost NSF research grants.
www.spencer.org/grant_types/...
www.spencer.org/grant_types/...
Rapid Response Bridge Funding Program
In the face of recent abrupt shifts in federal funding for education research, including large-scale terminations of National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant awards, we have developed a rap...
www.spencer.org
May 2, 2025 at 9:07 PM
The Spencer Foundation is offering rapid response bridge funding for those who lost NSF research grants.
www.spencer.org/grant_types/...
www.spencer.org/grant_types/...
Reposted by Katie Berry
Hey #RNA world, we are excited to share our RNA design engine #pyFuRNAce - an integrated tool for RNA origami experts and novices alike. Kudos to @monari-luca.bsky.social @floppleton.bsky.social et al! Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Try it out at pyfurnace.de Feedback welcome!
PyFuRNAce: An integrated design engine for RNA origami
To realize the full potential of RNA nanotechnology and RNA origami, user-friendly design tools are needed. Here, we present pyFuRNAce, an open-source, Python-based software package with a graphical u...
www.biorxiv.org
April 20, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Hey #RNA world, we are excited to share our RNA design engine #pyFuRNAce - an integrated tool for RNA origami experts and novices alike. Kudos to @monari-luca.bsky.social @floppleton.bsky.social et al! Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Try it out at pyfurnace.de Feedback welcome!
Reposted by Katie Berry
BREAKING: NIH planning to prohibit funds going to institutions with DEI initiatives or engage w/ boycotts of Israel, according to internal documents
www.statnews.com/2025/04/21/t...
www.statnews.com/2025/04/21/t...
NIH moving to ban all future grants to universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts, document suggests
NIH appears to be preparing to prohibit the awarding of new grants to institutions that have DEI programs or boycott Israeli companies
www.statnews.com
April 21, 2025 at 4:13 PM
BREAKING: NIH planning to prohibit funds going to institutions with DEI initiatives or engage w/ boycotts of Israel, according to internal documents
www.statnews.com/2025/04/21/t...
www.statnews.com/2025/04/21/t...
Reposted by Katie Berry
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Alan Garber, Harvard’s president, said about President Trump's demands. nyti.ms/4jzSS9W
April 14, 2025 at 8:46 PM
“No government — regardless of which party is in power — should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which areas of study and inquiry they can pursue,” Alan Garber, Harvard’s president, said about President Trump's demands. nyti.ms/4jzSS9W
Reposted by Katie Berry
Reposted by Katie Berry
I am thrilled to share this new preprint from our lab!
We find (>800!) 30S binding sites in hundreds of 5'UTRs, but also new dynamic steps of translation initiation.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Congrats to all co-authors at the RNA control of gene expression lab, IBPC CNRS
(Thread, 1/6)
We find (>800!) 30S binding sites in hundreds of 5'UTRs, but also new dynamic steps of translation initiation.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Congrats to all co-authors at the RNA control of gene expression lab, IBPC CNRS
(Thread, 1/6)
30S-seq redefines the bacterial Ribosome Binding Site
The translation initiation step is rate limiting for the efficiency of gene expression in all organisms. However, the mechanism of ribosome recruitment to mRNA start sites strikingly differs between e...
www.biorxiv.org
April 6, 2025 at 7:53 AM
I am thrilled to share this new preprint from our lab!
We find (>800!) 30S binding sites in hundreds of 5'UTRs, but also new dynamic steps of translation initiation.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Congrats to all co-authors at the RNA control of gene expression lab, IBPC CNRS
(Thread, 1/6)
We find (>800!) 30S binding sites in hundreds of 5'UTRs, but also new dynamic steps of translation initiation.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Congrats to all co-authors at the RNA control of gene expression lab, IBPC CNRS
(Thread, 1/6)
Reposted by Katie Berry
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/o...
Really important piece to share widely. Too many Americans don’t know how severe a threat this Administration poses to our scientific infrastructure, global leadership, and health security
Really important piece to share widely. Too many Americans don’t know how severe a threat this Administration poses to our scientific infrastructure, global leadership, and health security
Opinion | The Uncertain Fate of the Young American Scientist (Gift Article)
Young researchers are choosing between staying in science and staying in the United States.
www.nytimes.com
April 4, 2025 at 7:32 AM
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/o...
Really important piece to share widely. Too many Americans don’t know how severe a threat this Administration poses to our scientific infrastructure, global leadership, and health security
Really important piece to share widely. Too many Americans don’t know how severe a threat this Administration poses to our scientific infrastructure, global leadership, and health security
Reposted by Katie Berry
Excited to share our new preprint on an RNA sponge counteracting sibling sRNAs in Caulobacter!
Laura Vogt and @mvelascogomariz.bsky.social used RILseq, RNA biochemistry and great commitment to work out this story!
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
Laura Vogt and @mvelascogomariz.bsky.social used RILseq, RNA biochemistry and great commitment to work out this story!
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
March 28, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Excited to share our new preprint on an RNA sponge counteracting sibling sRNAs in Caulobacter!
Laura Vogt and @mvelascogomariz.bsky.social used RILseq, RNA biochemistry and great commitment to work out this story!
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
Laura Vogt and @mvelascogomariz.bsky.social used RILseq, RNA biochemistry and great commitment to work out this story!
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
Reposted by Katie Berry
They are cutting cancer research. They are cutting cancer research. They can deny it all they want, but they are cutting cancer research. These are the cuts being made the DoD CDMRP cancer funding mechanism www.fightcancer.org/sites/defaul...
March 27, 2025 at 10:11 AM
They are cutting cancer research. They are cutting cancer research. They can deny it all they want, but they are cutting cancer research. These are the cuts being made the DoD CDMRP cancer funding mechanism www.fightcancer.org/sites/defaul...
Reposted by Katie Berry
NSF grantees and awardees can learn from a *new report* how they might respond to grant changes like termination! 🔬 Like @davidimiller.bsky.social says, prepare now.
I helped edit this with the amazing @isaackamola.bsky.social at AAUP and other great colleagues. Posted w/ other CDAF resources here:
I helped edit this with the amazing @isaackamola.bsky.social at AAUP and other great colleagues. Posted w/ other CDAF resources here:
March 25, 2025 at 4:50 PM
NSF grantees and awardees can learn from a *new report* how they might respond to grant changes like termination! 🔬 Like @davidimiller.bsky.social says, prepare now.
I helped edit this with the amazing @isaackamola.bsky.social at AAUP and other great colleagues. Posted w/ other CDAF resources here:
I helped edit this with the amazing @isaackamola.bsky.social at AAUP and other great colleagues. Posted w/ other CDAF resources here:
Now is a critical time for colleges and universities to coordinate a collective fight to protect our missions and freedom of expression.
Please consider signing in solidarity with colleagues at UMass Amherst and other universities targeted by recent threats.
sites.google.com/umass.edu/we...
Please consider signing in solidarity with colleagues at UMass Amherst and other universities targeted by recent threats.
sites.google.com/umass.edu/we...
Home
March 20, 2025
Dear Presidents, Chancellors, and Boards of Trustees of the 60 Universities that received a March 10th warning letter from the U.S. Department of Education:
You are on the frontlines ...
sites.google.com
March 24, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Now is a critical time for colleges and universities to coordinate a collective fight to protect our missions and freedom of expression.
Please consider signing in solidarity with colleagues at UMass Amherst and other universities targeted by recent threats.
sites.google.com/umass.edu/we...
Please consider signing in solidarity with colleagues at UMass Amherst and other universities targeted by recent threats.
sites.google.com/umass.edu/we...
Reposted by Katie Berry
A friend drove two hours today for her breast cancer chemotherapy only to learn it was canceled due to NIH cuts. Clinical trial ended midstream. No treatment, no restart, no plan, no information. Her bro-in-law's chemo was also canceled.
March 20, 2025 at 8:24 PM
A friend drove two hours today for her breast cancer chemotherapy only to learn it was canceled due to NIH cuts. Clinical trial ended midstream. No treatment, no restart, no plan, no information. Her bro-in-law's chemo was also canceled.
Reposted by Katie Berry
Prof Amy Weeks, a Clinton, Massachusetts native 🫖, explains: funding cuts don’t just hurt labs—they hurt families seeking cures for fatal diseases & kids from Clinton like her who might grow up to find them.
@amyweeks.bsky.social
www.clintonitem.com/writes-cuts-...
@amyweeks.bsky.social
www.clintonitem.com/writes-cuts-...
March 14, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Prof Amy Weeks, a Clinton, Massachusetts native 🫖, explains: funding cuts don’t just hurt labs—they hurt families seeking cures for fatal diseases & kids from Clinton like her who might grow up to find them.
@amyweeks.bsky.social
www.clintonitem.com/writes-cuts-...
@amyweeks.bsky.social
www.clintonitem.com/writes-cuts-...
Reposted by Katie Berry
It feels like the resumption of study section posting on the federal registrar, while continuing to block advisory council, was an attempt to quell the news cycle while still keeping funds frozen.
March 13, 2025 at 11:21 AM
It feels like the resumption of study section posting on the federal registrar, while continuing to block advisory council, was an attempt to quell the news cycle while still keeping funds frozen.
Reposted by Katie Berry
Dear all, Because of your help shining light on this all 15 were reinstated today. This is a huge win for science - When We Fight We Win!!!
On Valentine’s day, 15 Assistant Professors at NIH who had started their research labs in the last 2 years were fired. Their scientific expertise was built over 10-12 years of training, most if not all of which was supported by NIH. The start up funds for their laboratories were paid by NIH
March 13, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Dear all, Because of your help shining light on this all 15 were reinstated today. This is a huge win for science - When We Fight We Win!!!
Reposted by Katie Berry
New report shows that NIH grants fueled $95 billion in economic activity and 407,782 jobs in 2024.
That's not to mention the countless lives that biomedical research has saved.
Show me a better investment than that.
www.forbes.com/sites/michae...
That's not to mention the countless lives that biomedical research has saved.
Show me a better investment than that.
www.forbes.com/sites/michae...
NIH Grants Fueled $95 Billion In FY 2024 Economic Activity, Finds New Report
National Institutes of Health grants generated almost $95 billion in economic activity nationwide in FY 2024 according to a new report by United for Medical Research.
www.forbes.com
March 12, 2025 at 8:47 PM
New report shows that NIH grants fueled $95 billion in economic activity and 407,782 jobs in 2024.
That's not to mention the countless lives that biomedical research has saved.
Show me a better investment than that.
www.forbes.com/sites/michae...
That's not to mention the countless lives that biomedical research has saved.
Show me a better investment than that.
www.forbes.com/sites/michae...
Reposted by Katie Berry
This is my institution. These are the people I work with making these decisions. The situation is heartbreaking. Public medical schools have no other choice; there is no other source of funding, and everyone in academia is at extreme risk right now.
March 12, 2025 at 8:49 PM
This is my institution. These are the people I work with making these decisions. The situation is heartbreaking. Public medical schools have no other choice; there is no other source of funding, and everyone in academia is at extreme risk right now.
Reposted by Katie Berry
Susan Gottesman and Gisela Storz, pioneers in regulatory RNA research, reflect on their personal scientific journeys and the evolution of their groundbreaking group research in two compelling articles.
Gigi:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Susan:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#RNA
Gigi:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Susan:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#RNA
Unexpected Richness of the Bacterial Small RNA World
I stumbled onto a small RNA (sRNA) induced by oxidative stress when I did the “wrong” northern blot experiment as a second-year graduate student. I wa…
www.sciencedirect.com
March 9, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Susan Gottesman and Gisela Storz, pioneers in regulatory RNA research, reflect on their personal scientific journeys and the evolution of their groundbreaking group research in two compelling articles.
Gigi:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Susan:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#RNA
Gigi:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Susan:
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
#RNA