Leading Edge Fellows Program
@leadingedgeprogram.bsky.social
Leading Edge is an initiative to improve the gender diversity of life sciences faculty
http://leadingedgesymposium.org/
http://leadingedgesymposium.org/
Pinned
The Leading Edge Fellows gathered this week to celebrate Zara Weinberg, a beloved member of our community. Our 7th cohort of Leading Edge Fellows (2026) will be named in her honor.
The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2.
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2.
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
The Sosa Lab is going to #SfN25 and actively recruiting ✨postdocs✨ with systems neuroscience experience! We study both fundamental memory processes and how memory changes during pregnancy and postpartum.
If you are interested in meeting at SfN, please email me! www.sosaneurolab.com/join/postdoc...
If you are interested in meeting at SfN, please email me! www.sosaneurolab.com/join/postdoc...
Sosa Lab - Postdoctoral Researchers
We are seeking postdocs to start in 2026!
www.sosaneurolab.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:53 PM
The Sosa Lab is going to #SfN25 and actively recruiting ✨postdocs✨ with systems neuroscience experience! We study both fundamental memory processes and how memory changes during pregnancy and postpartum.
If you are interested in meeting at SfN, please email me! www.sosaneurolab.com/join/postdoc...
If you are interested in meeting at SfN, please email me! www.sosaneurolab.com/join/postdoc...
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Such a fitting honor for Zara! Her passion for science and Justice inspired us. Apply to join the 7th Cohort of LE, an amazing community of scientists that has given me tremendous support
The Leading Edge Fellows gathered this week to celebrate Zara Weinberg, a beloved member of our community. Our 7th cohort of Leading Edge Fellows (2026) will be named in her honor.
The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2.
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2.
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
November 6, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Such a fitting honor for Zara! Her passion for science and Justice inspired us. Apply to join the 7th Cohort of LE, an amazing community of scientists that has given me tremendous support
The Leading Edge Fellows gathered this week to celebrate Zara Weinberg, a beloved member of our community. Our 7th cohort of Leading Edge Fellows (2026) will be named in her honor.
The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2.
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2.
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
November 5, 2025 at 5:48 PM
The Leading Edge Fellows gathered this week to celebrate Zara Weinberg, a beloved member of our community. Our 7th cohort of Leading Edge Fellows (2026) will be named in her honor.
The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2.
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2.
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Zara was an incredibly inspiring scientist, activist, and leader within our community of Leading Edge Fellows. She will be deeply missed by all those who had the pleasure of interacting with her.
Zara Weinberg passed away earlier this week. She joined my lab earlier this year when her postdoc lab formally closed.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
November 1, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Zara was an incredibly inspiring scientist, activist, and leader within our community of Leading Edge Fellows. She will be deeply missed by all those who had the pleasure of interacting with her.
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Zara Weinberg was a brilliant light both in and out of science. She changed the lives of everyone she interacted and loved for the better. Her legacy will live on through all of us and we will fight for a better world on behalf of her memory.
October 30, 2025 at 1:43 AM
Zara Weinberg was a brilliant light both in and out of science. She changed the lives of everyone she interacted and loved for the better. Her legacy will live on through all of us and we will fight for a better world on behalf of her memory.
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Zara Weinberg was a brilliant, loving, and beautiful woman. She inspired everyone who she interacted with, and always strived to make the world a better place for everyone. Tho the world is a little less bright today without her, her memory will always be a blessing.
She was truly one of the best.
She was truly one of the best.
October 30, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Zara Weinberg was a brilliant, loving, and beautiful woman. She inspired everyone who she interacted with, and always strived to make the world a better place for everyone. Tho the world is a little less bright today without her, her memory will always be a blessing.
She was truly one of the best.
She was truly one of the best.
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Zara was an inspiration. We never met in person but became friends through Leading Edge. She zealously advocated for her ideals, but was also passionate about helping others realize why they should too. Her loss is gutting & the world is the worse for it. RIP, I'll do my best to continue the fight.
Zara Weinberg passed away earlier this week. She joined my lab earlier this year when her postdoc lab formally closed.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
October 31, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Zara was an inspiration. We never met in person but became friends through Leading Edge. She zealously advocated for her ideals, but was also passionate about helping others realize why they should too. Her loss is gutting & the world is the worse for it. RIP, I'll do my best to continue the fight.
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Zara Weinberg passed away earlier this week. She joined my lab earlier this year when her postdoc lab formally closed.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
October 31, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Zara Weinberg passed away earlier this week. She joined my lab earlier this year when her postdoc lab formally closed.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
I need to give the biggest shoutout to @leadingedgeprogram.bsky.social Fellows for teaching me how everything I know! It’s the most beautiful open community and yall should apply when applications are open!
We've added even more to our Applying to Faculty Jobs 101! Follow the link below to find tips from @drnancypadilla.bsky.social and @moeneuro.bsky.social on everything from where to find job ads, how to advocate for yourself, what goes into a research statement, and more!
Applying for faculty jobs this cycle? Check out our latest special episode! @moeneuro.bsky.social and @drnancypadilla.bsky.social discuss when to apply, important considerations when preparing applications, and more! Listen below!
www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
#AcademicBluesky #NeuroJobs
www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
#AcademicBluesky #NeuroJobs
October 21, 2025 at 4:15 PM
I need to give the biggest shoutout to @leadingedgeprogram.bsky.social Fellows for teaching me how everything I know! It’s the most beautiful open community and yall should apply when applications are open!
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Today in @nature.com, we present our work leveraging functional genomics and human blastoids to uncover a human-specific mechanism in preimplantation development driven by the endogenous retrovirus HERVK.
Special thanks to the reviewers whose comments improved our manuscript a lot! rdcu.be/eI3tD
Special thanks to the reviewers whose comments improved our manuscript a lot! rdcu.be/eI3tD
A human-specific regulatory mechanism revealed in a pre-implantation model
Nature - Genetic manipulation of blastoids reveals the role of recently emerged transposable elements and genes in human development.
rdcu.be
October 1, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Today in @nature.com, we present our work leveraging functional genomics and human blastoids to uncover a human-specific mechanism in preimplantation development driven by the endogenous retrovirus HERVK.
Special thanks to the reviewers whose comments improved our manuscript a lot! rdcu.be/eI3tD
Special thanks to the reviewers whose comments improved our manuscript a lot! rdcu.be/eI3tD
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Here's a movie from the 3D neuroimaging paper - this is the telencephalon of a 19 month old tg(kdrl:mCherry, mpeg1:eGFP) fish. We use imaris to strip the top layer (the skin and skull) off the projection so we can see just the tissue beneath the skull. This was taken with a Bruker 2P+ multiphoton.
September 26, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Here's a movie from the 3D neuroimaging paper - this is the telencephalon of a 19 month old tg(kdrl:mCherry, mpeg1:eGFP) fish. We use imaris to strip the top layer (the skin and skull) off the projection so we can see just the tissue beneath the skull. This was taken with a Bruker 2P+ multiphoton.
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Want to image the adult zebrafish brain? Here's a nifty design that I made with the help of a talented master's student, Corey Steinhauser.
Supporting files here!
morgridge.org/research/lab...
Supporting files here!
morgridge.org/research/lab...
September 26, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Want to image the adult zebrafish brain? Here's a nifty design that I made with the help of a talented master's student, Corey Steinhauser.
Supporting files here!
morgridge.org/research/lab...
Supporting files here!
morgridge.org/research/lab...
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
My pre-print from the Shikanov Lab is live! We detail oocyte and somatic transcriptome, and whole follicle proteome signatures driving folliculogenesis in vitro towards improved ART. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Transcriptomic and proteomic dynamics of ovarian follicle group culture resemble in vivo folliculogenesis
The prohibitively low yield of fertilizable oocytes obtained from cultured ovarian follicles limits clinical translation of in vitro follicle maturation for fertility preservation. This is in part due...
www.biorxiv.org
September 26, 2025 at 5:35 PM
My pre-print from the Shikanov Lab is live! We detail oocyte and somatic transcriptome, and whole follicle proteome signatures driving folliculogenesis in vitro towards improved ART. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Very excited and proud to share my postdoctoral research with @neurrriot.bsky.social looking at the context-specific encoding of social behavior 💃🕺 in hormone-sensitive, large-scale brain networks in mice!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#neuroskyence #compneurosky 🧪
1/12
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#neuroskyence #compneurosky 🧪
1/12
September 25, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Very excited and proud to share my postdoctoral research with @neurrriot.bsky.social looking at the context-specific encoding of social behavior 💃🕺 in hormone-sensitive, large-scale brain networks in mice!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#neuroskyence #compneurosky 🧪
1/12
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#neuroskyence #compneurosky 🧪
1/12
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Feeling grateful for everyone who supported me during my PhD and post-doc training: my incredible mentors David Julius and Vanessa Ruta, my wonderful lab mates, and the amazing communities @leadingedgeprogram.bsky.social @ucsfhealth.bsky.social @rockefelleruniv.bsky.social and HHWF
September 15, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Feeling grateful for everyone who supported me during my PhD and post-doc training: my incredible mentors David Julius and Vanessa Ruta, my wonderful lab mates, and the amazing communities @leadingedgeprogram.bsky.social @ucsfhealth.bsky.social @rockefelleruniv.bsky.social and HHWF
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
I'm excited to share that I've started my lab @stanford.edu in the Neurobiology Department! neurobiology.stanford.edu/who-we-are/f...
#stanford #newPI #neuroscience
#stanford #newPI #neuroscience
Faculty
neurobiology.stanford.edu
September 15, 2025 at 4:51 PM
I'm excited to share that I've started my lab @stanford.edu in the Neurobiology Department! neurobiology.stanford.edu/who-we-are/f...
#stanford #newPI #neuroscience
#stanford #newPI #neuroscience
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Excited to announce the opening of the @fitzsimmonslab.bsky.social at @michiganstateu.bsky.social dept. of biochemistry & molecular biology! (1/3)
August 25, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Excited to announce the opening of the @fitzsimmonslab.bsky.social at @michiganstateu.bsky.social dept. of biochemistry & molecular biology! (1/3)
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
@accorsi-alice.bsky.social studies how freshwater apple snails regrow their eyes—with the goal of helping to restore vision in people with eye injuries. Her team developed methods for editing the snail’s genome, allowing them to explore the genetic and molecular mechanisms behind eye regeneration.
August 22, 2025 at 6:24 PM
@accorsi-alice.bsky.social studies how freshwater apple snails regrow their eyes—with the goal of helping to restore vision in people with eye injuries. Her team developed methods for editing the snail’s genome, allowing them to explore the genetic and molecular mechanisms behind eye regeneration.
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
I’m honored to serve on @dystoniafoundation.bsky.social ‘s medial and scientific advisory board for the next four years.
news.vt.edu/articles/202...
news.vt.edu/articles/202...
Meike van der Heijden appointed to Dystonia Foundation’s medical and scientific advisory council
Council members are international leaders in dystonia care and research. They review research grants for funding and attend workshops to discuss the most pressing research directions.
news.vt.edu
August 22, 2025 at 7:05 PM
I’m honored to serve on @dystoniafoundation.bsky.social ‘s medial and scientific advisory board for the next four years.
news.vt.edu/articles/202...
news.vt.edu/articles/202...
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Excited to share our new preprint co-led by @jnoms.bsky.social!
Here we reveal an exceptional diversity of viral 2H phosphodiesterases (PDEs) that enable immune evasion by selectively degrading oligonucleotide-based messengers. This 2H PDE fold has evolved striking substrate breath & specificity.
Here we reveal an exceptional diversity of viral 2H phosphodiesterases (PDEs) that enable immune evasion by selectively degrading oligonucleotide-based messengers. This 2H PDE fold has evolved striking substrate breath & specificity.
Divergent viral phosphodiesterases for immune signaling evasion
Cyclic dinucleotides (CDNs) and other short oligonucleotides play fundamental roles in immune system activation in organisms ranging from bacteria to humans. In response, viruses use phosphodiesterase...
www.biorxiv.org
August 22, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Excited to share our new preprint co-led by @jnoms.bsky.social!
Here we reveal an exceptional diversity of viral 2H phosphodiesterases (PDEs) that enable immune evasion by selectively degrading oligonucleotide-based messengers. This 2H PDE fold has evolved striking substrate breath & specificity.
Here we reveal an exceptional diversity of viral 2H phosphodiesterases (PDEs) that enable immune evasion by selectively degrading oligonucleotide-based messengers. This 2H PDE fold has evolved striking substrate breath & specificity.
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Excited to share our recent viewpoint with @storerlab.bsky.social led by Kirsten Sadler, on epigenetic mechanisms of regenerative resilience.
Ageing versus developmental silencing: Answers from the epigenome - Sadler - The FEBS Journal - febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Ageing versus developmental silencing: Answers from the epigenome - Sadler - The FEBS Journal - febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
FEBS Press
It is easier for young animals to regenerate damaged or missing tissues. In this Viewpoint, we propose that this is, in part, attributed to epigenetic changes, with chromatin becoming more closed and....
febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 22, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Excited to share our recent viewpoint with @storerlab.bsky.social led by Kirsten Sadler, on epigenetic mechanisms of regenerative resilience.
Ageing versus developmental silencing: Answers from the epigenome - Sadler - The FEBS Journal - febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Ageing versus developmental silencing: Answers from the epigenome - Sadler - The FEBS Journal - febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
Happy to get to contribute to this perspective in JEM!
#WomenInSTEM becoming independent: People should feel free to be themselves and do great science. We asked ten women researchers about their science and the process of setting up a lab as an independent researcher: rupress.org/jem/article/...
August 15, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Happy to get to contribute to this perspective in JEM!
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
This #MicroscopyMonday is a developing Apple Snail embryo. On the left is the shell, the middle the body & the foot at the bottom. On the right the head with the eye (green circle) & the tentacle bud. (@planaria1.bsky.social lab) #ResearchSky #SciSky
July 28, 2025 at 3:26 PM
This #MicroscopyMonday is a developing Apple Snail embryo. On the left is the shell, the middle the body & the foot at the bottom. On the right the head with the eye (green circle) & the tentacle bud. (@planaria1.bsky.social lab) #ResearchSky #SciSky
Reposted by Leading Edge Fellows Program
🐌👀What do apple snails have to do with human vision?
Stowers scientists took a chance on a tiny creature, with big results. Learn how @planaria1.bsky.social & then postdoc @accorsi-alice.bsky.social brought apple snails to the Institute. ⬇️ #ResearchSky #SciSky
Learn more: youtu.be/U-yQ7z1e6nA
Stowers scientists took a chance on a tiny creature, with big results. Learn how @planaria1.bsky.social & then postdoc @accorsi-alice.bsky.social brought apple snails to the Institute. ⬇️ #ResearchSky #SciSky
Learn more: youtu.be/U-yQ7z1e6nA
How Apple Snail research began at the Stowers Institute: unlocking the secrets of eye regeneration
YouTube video by Stowers Institute for Medical Research
youtu.be
August 6, 2025 at 2:59 PM
🐌👀What do apple snails have to do with human vision?
Stowers scientists took a chance on a tiny creature, with big results. Learn how @planaria1.bsky.social & then postdoc @accorsi-alice.bsky.social brought apple snails to the Institute. ⬇️ #ResearchSky #SciSky
Learn more: youtu.be/U-yQ7z1e6nA
Stowers scientists took a chance on a tiny creature, with big results. Learn how @planaria1.bsky.social & then postdoc @accorsi-alice.bsky.social brought apple snails to the Institute. ⬇️ #ResearchSky #SciSky
Learn more: youtu.be/U-yQ7z1e6nA