Lori O'Brien
@llobrienlab.bsky.social
Dev bio, cell bio, stem cells, regen med, all things kidney. Punk rock and whisky enthusiast. Personal account and opinions. #firstgen
Pinned
Lori O'Brien
@llobrienlab.bsky.social
· Nov 19
Inaugural post showcasing our imaging and interests in the kidney from development to disease! Looking forward to building a great science community and network here.
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
Great things still happen all around us. Each your UNC Biology's Bob Goldstein and Art's Beth Grabowski co-teach ARTS/BIOL 409, that brings together artists and scientists to explore an intersection of two disciplines. It culminated this year with a remarkable show Friday 1/n
January 11, 2026 at 11:04 PM
Great things still happen all around us. Each your UNC Biology's Bob Goldstein and Art's Beth Grabowski co-teach ARTS/BIOL 409, that brings together artists and scientists to explore an intersection of two disciplines. It culminated this year with a remarkable show Friday 1/n
Pro tip: NEVER log into My NCBI with more than one 3rd party option. It creates a whole new account that can’t be deleted. I apparently did this once with the ORCiD login (as opposed to normal eRA login) and now I can’t link my ORCiD ID to my SciENcv. I have to ask the Help Desk to merge accounts. 🫠
January 9, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Pro tip: NEVER log into My NCBI with more than one 3rd party option. It creates a whole new account that can’t be deleted. I apparently did this once with the ORCiD login (as opposed to normal eRA login) and now I can’t link my ORCiD ID to my SciENcv. I have to ask the Help Desk to merge accounts. 🫠
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
Introducing Cyclically Multiplexed Expansion Microscopy (Cy-ExM): a workflow for 3D nanoscale, high-plex imaging in whole cells. Cryo-preserved ultrastructure + iterative labeling + expansion microscopy → 20 targets in one dataset with ~70 nm lateral resolution.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
January 2, 2026 at 6:18 PM
Introducing Cyclically Multiplexed Expansion Microscopy (Cy-ExM): a workflow for 3D nanoscale, high-plex imaging in whole cells. Cryo-preserved ultrastructure + iterative labeling + expansion microscopy → 20 targets in one dataset with ~70 nm lateral resolution.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
It’s certainly been a year, but I’m incredibly grateful that earlier in 2025 I was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure! Huge thanks to you all for promoting our work here and on the other site, for talk invites, for writing letters of support, and to the lab for all their contributions. 🥂
December 31, 2025 at 2:19 PM
It’s certainly been a year, but I’m incredibly grateful that earlier in 2025 I was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure! Huge thanks to you all for promoting our work here and on the other site, for talk invites, for writing letters of support, and to the lab for all their contributions. 🥂
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
Unfortunately the drop in ESI funding rates is not paired with changes in funding required to get tenure. It’s not just the next three years of our labs at risk, but the rest of our careers. We are also the cohort that started in the COVID pandemic- it’s been nothing but “unprecedented times”…
December 19, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Unfortunately the drop in ESI funding rates is not paired with changes in funding required to get tenure. It’s not just the next three years of our labs at risk, but the rest of our careers. We are also the cohort that started in the COVID pandemic- it’s been nothing but “unprecedented times”…
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
Most transcriptomics studies sample ~0.001% of a mouse. Which region do we choose? Often: we guess.
Meet DISCO-seq 🤗 flipping the order: RNA-preserving clearing → whole-organ/whole-body 3D imaging → pick ROIs in 3D → unbiased scRNA-seq.
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Meet DISCO-seq 🤗 flipping the order: RNA-preserving clearing → whole-organ/whole-body 3D imaging → pick ROIs in 3D → unbiased scRNA-seq.
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 18, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Most transcriptomics studies sample ~0.001% of a mouse. Which region do we choose? Often: we guess.
Meet DISCO-seq 🤗 flipping the order: RNA-preserving clearing → whole-organ/whole-body 3D imaging → pick ROIs in 3D → unbiased scRNA-seq.
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Meet DISCO-seq 🤗 flipping the order: RNA-preserving clearing → whole-organ/whole-body 3D imaging → pick ROIs in 3D → unbiased scRNA-seq.
Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
In a paper out this month in @jcb.org we present evidence implicating intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) as key to junctional assembly and function 2/n 🧪
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41099653/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41099653/
December 14, 2025 at 3:00 PM
In a paper out this month in @jcb.org we present evidence implicating intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) as key to junctional assembly and function 2/n 🧪
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41099653/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41099653/
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
Our new work Cilia.io is out on the Rxiv. Ece Atayeter and Jason Ho trained an ML computer vision transformer for detection and quantification of cilia morphology and dynamics. We will provide a GUI soon. Another great collaboration w/ @jbwallingford.bsky.social
December 13, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Our new work Cilia.io is out on the Rxiv. Ece Atayeter and Jason Ho trained an ML computer vision transformer for detection and quantification of cilia morphology and dynamics. We will provide a GUI soon. Another great collaboration w/ @jbwallingford.bsky.social
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
🚨 Preprint Friday! 🚨
Thrilled to highlight this collab with David Brown at Duke @cutitoutdave.bsky.social and Ken Poss at UW Madison/Morgridge @kenposs.bsky.social. By comparing 3(!!) regenerating models we identify a conserved role for Sp-family TFs in appendage regeneration (and more).....🧵
Thrilled to highlight this collab with David Brown at Duke @cutitoutdave.bsky.social and Ken Poss at UW Madison/Morgridge @kenposs.bsky.social. By comparing 3(!!) regenerating models we identify a conserved role for Sp-family TFs in appendage regeneration (and more).....🧵
Enhancer-directed gene delivery for digit regeneration based on conserved epidermal factors
Limb loss remains a significant clinical challenge, but regenerative medicine approaches such as gene therapy offer a promising strategy to trigger endogenous regeneration programs. Optimal vector con...
www.biorxiv.org
December 5, 2025 at 8:18 PM
🚨 Preprint Friday! 🚨
Thrilled to highlight this collab with David Brown at Duke @cutitoutdave.bsky.social and Ken Poss at UW Madison/Morgridge @kenposs.bsky.social. By comparing 3(!!) regenerating models we identify a conserved role for Sp-family TFs in appendage regeneration (and more).....🧵
Thrilled to highlight this collab with David Brown at Duke @cutitoutdave.bsky.social and Ken Poss at UW Madison/Morgridge @kenposs.bsky.social. By comparing 3(!!) regenerating models we identify a conserved role for Sp-family TFs in appendage regeneration (and more).....🧵
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
UNC's Center for Molecular Medicine has up to three open-rank positions for faculty conducting research with relevance to gene therapy, including: novel iPSC and animal models of disease and basic cell biology. Join us in beautiful Chapel Hill! Deadline 1/31/26: unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/309...
Open-Rank, Tenure-Track Faculty Positions, Center for Molecular Medicine
The Center for Molecular Medicine in partnership with Departments of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Cell Biology and Physiology, Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology and Pediatrics at the University of...
unc.peopleadmin.com
November 19, 2025 at 1:45 PM
UNC's Center for Molecular Medicine has up to three open-rank positions for faculty conducting research with relevance to gene therapy, including: novel iPSC and animal models of disease and basic cell biology. Join us in beautiful Chapel Hill! Deadline 1/31/26: unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/309...
Flashback #FluorescenceFriday to some of the first light-sheet imaging we were doing. Video shows the collecting duct system of the developing kidney labeled with a pan-cytokeratin antibody. Courtesy of former talented technician Deanna Hardesty.
November 7, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Flashback #FluorescenceFriday to some of the first light-sheet imaging we were doing. Video shows the collecting duct system of the developing kidney labeled with a pan-cytokeratin antibody. Courtesy of former talented technician Deanna Hardesty.
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
🆕 KidneyCure is committing up to $6 million over three years to help eligible NIH R01 applicants ranked in the top 15% continue their kidney research with a $100K award.
Learn more and explore every KidneyCure opportunity: https://bit.ly/kcgrantsfunding
Learn more and explore every KidneyCure opportunity: https://bit.ly/kcgrantsfunding
October 16, 2025 at 7:01 PM
🆕 KidneyCure is committing up to $6 million over three years to help eligible NIH R01 applicants ranked in the top 15% continue their kidney research with a $100K award.
Learn more and explore every KidneyCure opportunity: https://bit.ly/kcgrantsfunding
Learn more and explore every KidneyCure opportunity: https://bit.ly/kcgrantsfunding
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
We present multi-immersion Oblique Plane microscope (miOPM), a light-sheet platform that can be adapted to a wide range of applications, from sensitive live cell imaging to imaging organs and cleared tissues.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 6, 2025 at 5:52 PM
We present multi-immersion Oblique Plane microscope (miOPM), a light-sheet platform that can be adapted to a wide range of applications, from sensitive live cell imaging to imaging organs and cleared tissues.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Sharing this excellent review now out from postdoc Sarah McLarnon! Lots of useful info on 3D imaging, quantification of imaging data, and how this has been applied to the kidney. And since it's #FluorescenceFriday, sharing a figure with our own imaging data!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
October 3, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Sharing this excellent review now out from postdoc Sarah McLarnon! Lots of useful info on 3D imaging, quantification of imaging data, and how this has been applied to the kidney. And since it's #FluorescenceFriday, sharing a figure with our own imaging data!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
For #FluorescenceFriday, RhoA (blue) and the actin cytoskeleton (magenta) are shown in a set of primary microglia 🔬 #Neuroscience #Microscopy
October 3, 2025 at 1:07 PM
For #FluorescenceFriday, RhoA (blue) and the actin cytoskeleton (magenta) are shown in a set of primary microglia 🔬 #Neuroscience #Microscopy
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
My entry for today’s #FluorescenceFriday: a pupal #Drosophila testis with muscles expressing
🔵 lifeact &
🔴 RFP-nls
Honored & grateful to receive an honorable mention at @healthcare.nikon.com Nikon Small World 🌍🔬✨
🔗 www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/20...
#NikonSmallWorld #Microscopy #ScienceArt
🔵 lifeact &
🔴 RFP-nls
Honored & grateful to receive an honorable mention at @healthcare.nikon.com Nikon Small World 🌍🔬✨
🔗 www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/20...
#NikonSmallWorld #Microscopy #ScienceArt
October 3, 2025 at 9:06 AM
My entry for today’s #FluorescenceFriday: a pupal #Drosophila testis with muscles expressing
🔵 lifeact &
🔴 RFP-nls
Honored & grateful to receive an honorable mention at @healthcare.nikon.com Nikon Small World 🌍🔬✨
🔗 www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/20...
#NikonSmallWorld #Microscopy #ScienceArt
🔵 lifeact &
🔴 RFP-nls
Honored & grateful to receive an honorable mention at @healthcare.nikon.com Nikon Small World 🌍🔬✨
🔗 www.nikonsmallworld.com/galleries/20...
#NikonSmallWorld #Microscopy #ScienceArt
For this #FluorescenceFriday, a gorgeous image of an adult mouse kidney labeled with AQP2 and alpha SMA antibodies. AQP2 (green) marks the collecting duct and distal connecting segment while SMA marks the arterial tree. Courtesy of talented postdoc Sarah McLarnon.
September 26, 2025 at 5:51 PM
For this #FluorescenceFriday, a gorgeous image of an adult mouse kidney labeled with AQP2 and alpha SMA antibodies. AQP2 (green) marks the collecting duct and distal connecting segment while SMA marks the arterial tree. Courtesy of talented postdoc Sarah McLarnon.
Rescued these two beauties today, one stuck in the parking garage stairwell and one from inside the house (and rescued from 3 very interested cats)
September 26, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Rescued these two beauties today, one stuck in the parking garage stairwell and one from inside the house (and rescued from 3 very interested cats)
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
Sensory neurons drive pancreatic cancer progression through glutamatergic neuron-cancer pseudo-synapses @cp-cancercell.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cancer-cell/...
www.cell.com/cancer-cell/...
September 25, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Sensory neurons drive pancreatic cancer progression through glutamatergic neuron-cancer pseudo-synapses @cp-cancercell.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cancer-cell/...
www.cell.com/cancer-cell/...
This is me, one of those 211. My A1 R01 renewal would have been funded otherwise, and I was even initially told they planned to fund it. Now very unlikely. No more chances with this one. We had so many good things going-how do we keep moving forward? A question many of us will be asking.
“This isn’t just about 211 missing R01 grants. This is about the 211 PIs (or multi-PI groups) that are not getting a new grant. This is about at least 422-844 non-PI level investigators who are not having their salaries covered.”
Adding up the NIH R01s lost to Multi-Year Funding drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2025/09/09/a...
September 9, 2025 at 10:40 PM
This is me, one of those 211. My A1 R01 renewal would have been funded otherwise, and I was even initially told they planned to fund it. Now very unlikely. No more chances with this one. We had so many good things going-how do we keep moving forward? A question many of us will be asking.
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
How can cells self-organize rapidly into complex patterns during development?
Let’s explore a powerful and underappreciated mechanism: Directed Cell Migration (DCM).
Preprint @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social : doi.org/10.1101/2025...
👇Thread 🧵(1/11)
Let’s explore a powerful and underappreciated mechanism: Directed Cell Migration (DCM).
Preprint @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social : doi.org/10.1101/2025...
👇Thread 🧵(1/11)
July 30, 2025 at 7:00 AM
How can cells self-organize rapidly into complex patterns during development?
Let’s explore a powerful and underappreciated mechanism: Directed Cell Migration (DCM).
Preprint @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social : doi.org/10.1101/2025...
👇Thread 🧵(1/11)
Let’s explore a powerful and underappreciated mechanism: Directed Cell Migration (DCM).
Preprint @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social : doi.org/10.1101/2025...
👇Thread 🧵(1/11)
Intermediate mesoderm isn't the sole contributor to nephrons in zebrafish-new manuscript out showing somites are a source of nephron progenitors! Very cool, dogma challenging study led by Alan Davidson's group. Many fun discussions were had-grateful for the inclusion! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Somites are a source of nephron progenitors in zebrafish - Nature Communications
This study reveals that cells of the zebrafish kidney can originate from the somites, structures traditionally held as precursors to the skeletal muscle, challenging a century-old paradigm and prompti...
www.nature.com
July 29, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Intermediate mesoderm isn't the sole contributor to nephrons in zebrafish-new manuscript out showing somites are a source of nephron progenitors! Very cool, dogma challenging study led by Alan Davidson's group. Many fun discussions were had-grateful for the inclusion! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
New, from an anonymous NIH insider: Trump is being pushed to spend more NIH money. The White House is ordering NIH to do multi-year budgets for awards. This budget trick means fewer awards, fewer labs funded, and lower paylines for researchers. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/alert-the-...
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/alert-the-...
Alert: The Trump administration is quietly slashing new NIH grant awards, and it's not via the budget
NIH’s sudden move to multiyear grant funding is forcing shocking cuts in the number of grants funded. This is an effective budget cut. It's bad, folks.
donmoynihan.substack.com
July 28, 2025 at 2:21 PM
New, from an anonymous NIH insider: Trump is being pushed to spend more NIH money. The White House is ordering NIH to do multi-year budgets for awards. This budget trick means fewer awards, fewer labs funded, and lower paylines for researchers. 🧵
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/alert-the-...
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/alert-the-...
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
The NIH was healthiest when pay lines were in the 20th percentile range.
We are headed into an environment where pay lines are in the 5% range.
In my entire career, I’ve only had 3 grants that scored better than 5%. And my lab is considered a successful one.
This is going to destroy science.
We are headed into an environment where pay lines are in the 5% range.
In my entire career, I’ve only had 3 grants that scored better than 5%. And my lab is considered a successful one.
This is going to destroy science.
July 28, 2025 at 8:12 PM
The NIH was healthiest when pay lines were in the 20th percentile range.
We are headed into an environment where pay lines are in the 5% range.
In my entire career, I’ve only had 3 grants that scored better than 5%. And my lab is considered a successful one.
This is going to destroy science.
We are headed into an environment where pay lines are in the 5% range.
In my entire career, I’ve only had 3 grants that scored better than 5%. And my lab is considered a successful one.
This is going to destroy science.
Reposted by Lori O'Brien
A beautiful tour through an AAV-PHP.B-GFP-transduced intact cochlea as visualized via lightsheet microscopy after tissue clearing. Magenta is a hair cell marker, yellow is a neuron marker, and green is AAV-GFP (relatively low hair cell transduction rate in this specific sample).
July 24, 2025 at 3:59 PM
A beautiful tour through an AAV-PHP.B-GFP-transduced intact cochlea as visualized via lightsheet microscopy after tissue clearing. Magenta is a hair cell marker, yellow is a neuron marker, and green is AAV-GFP (relatively low hair cell transduction rate in this specific sample).