Lisa Girard
@lrgirard.bsky.social
Whitehead Institute comms director, posts are my own. Passionate about science, scientific literacy, open publishing.....and running and dogs.
Reposted by Lisa Girard
Friends! I am so happy to share our new preprint!
Hydrogen peroxide has been the most common reactive chemical threat to life forms since the Great Oxygenation Event 2.5 billion years ago.
How do animals like C. elegans sense it fast and escape?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread 1/
Hydrogen peroxide has been the most common reactive chemical threat to life forms since the Great Oxygenation Event 2.5 billion years ago.
How do animals like C. elegans sense it fast and escape?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread 1/
January 28, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Friends! I am so happy to share our new preprint!
Hydrogen peroxide has been the most common reactive chemical threat to life forms since the Great Oxygenation Event 2.5 billion years ago.
How do animals like C. elegans sense it fast and escape?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread 1/
Hydrogen peroxide has been the most common reactive chemical threat to life forms since the Great Oxygenation Event 2.5 billion years ago.
How do animals like C. elegans sense it fast and escape?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Thread 1/
Reposted by Lisa Girard
and the winner of the "2025 best thing on Internet" has just arrived
neal.fun/size-of-life/
@carlbergstrom.com
neal.fun/size-of-life/
@carlbergstrom.com
Size of Life
From an amoeba to a blue whale
neal.fun
December 23, 2025 at 4:07 PM
and the winner of the "2025 best thing on Internet" has just arrived
neal.fun/size-of-life/
@carlbergstrom.com
neal.fun/size-of-life/
@carlbergstrom.com
Reposted by Lisa Girard
The funds are approved! We're hiring a postdoc to build a CRISPRa toolkit to identify new aging mechanisms in C. elegans.
Email or DM me to find out more. Please share & repost!
Email or DM me to find out more. Please share & repost!
a man in a suit has a name tag on his jacket that says dennis
Alt: a man in a suit has a name tag on his jacket that says dennis
media.tenor.com
August 13, 2025 at 6:36 PM
The funds are approved! We're hiring a postdoc to build a CRISPRa toolkit to identify new aging mechanisms in C. elegans.
Email or DM me to find out more. Please share & repost!
Email or DM me to find out more. Please share & repost!
Reposted by Lisa Girard
Looking for new, local science podcasts to keep you up to date on research that matters?
Check out the two podcasts from the @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social: AudioHelicase and BioGenesis!
🎧 bit.ly/3J9Yw5p
Check out the two podcasts from the @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social: AudioHelicase and BioGenesis!
🎧 bit.ly/3J9Yw5p
July 29, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Looking for new, local science podcasts to keep you up to date on research that matters?
Check out the two podcasts from the @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social: AudioHelicase and BioGenesis!
🎧 bit.ly/3J9Yw5p
Check out the two podcasts from the @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social: AudioHelicase and BioGenesis!
🎧 bit.ly/3J9Yw5p
Reposted by Lisa Girard
From our latest episode of #AudioHelicase: four Whitehead Institute researchers gain unique insights into biological processes—from regeneration to organ function—by studying them within the rich context of their natural environment. Listen here: wi.mit.edu/multimedia/a...
July 31, 2025 at 5:55 PM
From our latest episode of #AudioHelicase: four Whitehead Institute researchers gain unique insights into biological processes—from regeneration to organ function—by studying them within the rich context of their natural environment. Listen here: wi.mit.edu/multimedia/a...
Reposted by Lisa Girard
“Developing this tool required combining diverse skillsets through the sort of ambitious interdisciplinary collaboration that’s only possible at a place like Whitehead Institute,” @weissmanlab.bsky.social says.
New tool reveals a detailed history of tumor growth: wi.mit.edu/news/mapping...
New tool reveals a detailed history of tumor growth: wi.mit.edu/news/mapping...
July 29, 2025 at 5:43 PM
“Developing this tool required combining diverse skillsets through the sort of ambitious interdisciplinary collaboration that’s only possible at a place like Whitehead Institute,” @weissmanlab.bsky.social says.
New tool reveals a detailed history of tumor growth: wi.mit.edu/news/mapping...
New tool reveals a detailed history of tumor growth: wi.mit.edu/news/mapping...
Reposted by Lisa Girard
How do proteins know where to go inside of a cell? Postdoc Henry Kilgore answers our latest #AskaScientist question. Learn how students can submit their own questions: wi.mit.edu/bionook/ask-...
July 25, 2025 at 6:43 PM
How do proteins know where to go inside of a cell? Postdoc Henry Kilgore answers our latest #AskaScientist question. Learn how students can submit their own questions: wi.mit.edu/bionook/ask-...
Reposted by Lisa Girard
New preprint! We solve a mystery you didn't know existed. Mitotic cells lack new transcription but require ongoing translation. Interphase mRNA half life is only 2-4 hrs. So how do cells arrest in mitosis for hours without depleting their transcriptomes?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Global inhibition of deadenylation stabilizes the transcriptome in mitotic cells
In the presence of cell division errors, mammalian cells can pause in mitosis for tens of hours with little to no transcription, while still requiring continued translation for viability. These unique...
www.biorxiv.org
July 23, 2025 at 10:57 AM
New preprint! We solve a mystery you didn't know existed. Mitotic cells lack new transcription but require ongoing translation. Interphase mRNA half life is only 2-4 hrs. So how do cells arrest in mitosis for hours without depleting their transcriptomes?
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Lisa Girard
Things you might see in Kendall Square: a giant image of a drosophila testis traveling a mile down the street
July 22, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Things you might see in Kendall Square: a giant image of a drosophila testis traveling a mile down the street
Reposted by Lisa Girard
We had so much fun at Expedition: Bio, Whitehead Institute's summer science program for middle school students! Here's everyone showing off what they learned at Friday's poster session. 🧬🌱🧫
July 22, 2025 at 3:03 PM
We had so much fun at Expedition: Bio, Whitehead Institute's summer science program for middle school students! Here's everyone showing off what they learned at Friday's poster session. 🧬🌱🧫
So nice to see another group of middle school students getting into the lab and out into the field as part of the Expedition:Bio summer program.
Science isn't about knowing all the answers - it's about being curious enough to ask questions. That's one lesson learned from Expedition: Bio, Whitehead Institute's summer science program for middle school students.
July 18, 2025 at 12:39 AM
So nice to see another group of middle school students getting into the lab and out into the field as part of the Expedition:Bio summer program.
Reposted by Lisa Girard
Just as cancer cells can co-opt other cell types to protect themselves, so can therapies co-opt various cell types to destroy the cancer. Read "The company we keep: Revealing cancer’s accomplices": wi.mit.edu/news/company...
July 14, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Just as cancer cells can co-opt other cell types to protect themselves, so can therapies co-opt various cell types to destroy the cancer. Read "The company we keep: Revealing cancer’s accomplices": wi.mit.edu/news/company...
Reposted by Lisa Girard
Sometimes it’s great to pause and appreciate the incredible work at #WhiteheadInstitute. It’s not every day you get to work alongside people pushing the boundaries of #CancerResearch and making real strides in understanding and treating cancer.
#MIT #BiomedicalResearch #Immunology #ResearchSky
#MIT #BiomedicalResearch #Immunology #ResearchSky
Just as cancer cells can co-opt other cell types to protect themselves, so can therapies co-opt various cell types to destroy the cancer. Read "The company we keep: Revealing cancer’s accomplices": wi.mit.edu/news/company...
July 15, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Sometimes it’s great to pause and appreciate the incredible work at #WhiteheadInstitute. It’s not every day you get to work alongside people pushing the boundaries of #CancerResearch and making real strides in understanding and treating cancer.
#MIT #BiomedicalResearch #Immunology #ResearchSky
#MIT #BiomedicalResearch #Immunology #ResearchSky
Reposted by Lisa Girard
Toxoplasma gondii divides by endodyogeny — a process in which two daughters form inside a mother cell, eventually consuming the mother cell. In special cases, as captured in this image, a single cell spawns a multitude of daughters. Credit: Dominic Schwarz. #WhiteheadWonders
July 11, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Toxoplasma gondii divides by endodyogeny — a process in which two daughters form inside a mother cell, eventually consuming the mother cell. In special cases, as captured in this image, a single cell spawns a multitude of daughters. Credit: Dominic Schwarz. #WhiteheadWonders
60 seconds of mitochondrial biology for lunchtime viewing!
Grad student Gayathri Muthukumar investigates how the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM), a hub for signaling proteins, helps regulate mitochondrial function. Her research aims to uncover how changes in the OMM’s protein makeup can fine-tune the behavior of individual mitochondria. #Sciencein60
July 7, 2025 at 3:56 PM
60 seconds of mitochondrial biology for lunchtime viewing!
Reposted by Lisa Girard
Someone told me what the world needs most is another podcast, & by the time I figured out that person was being facetious, it was too late.
Announcing the launch of "KOHN'S ZONE: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom About Education & Kids" (2 episodes posted; new ones due every 2 weeks): is.gd/JiaK2w
Announcing the launch of "KOHN'S ZONE: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom About Education & Kids" (2 episodes posted; new ones due every 2 weeks): is.gd/JiaK2w
July 2, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Someone told me what the world needs most is another podcast, & by the time I figured out that person was being facetious, it was too late.
Announcing the launch of "KOHN'S ZONE: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom About Education & Kids" (2 episodes posted; new ones due every 2 weeks): is.gd/JiaK2w
Announcing the launch of "KOHN'S ZONE: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom About Education & Kids" (2 episodes posted; new ones due every 2 weeks): is.gd/JiaK2w
Reposted by Lisa Girard
Animals that enter states of dormancy, such as daily torpor or hibernation, live much longer compared to closely related species. But why is that so? And what does it reveal about aging? Whitehead Institute Member Siniša Hrvatin shares how his research probes these questions.
June 26, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Animals that enter states of dormancy, such as daily torpor or hibernation, live much longer compared to closely related species. But why is that so? And what does it reveal about aging? Whitehead Institute Member Siniša Hrvatin shares how his research probes these questions.
Interesting glimpse into Sinisa Hrvatin's work studying hibernation and torpor and how their discoveries can inform our understanding of aging and disease progression.
Animals that enter states of dormancy, such as daily torpor or hibernation, live much longer compared to closely related species. But why is that so? And what does it reveal about aging? Whitehead Institute Member Siniša Hrvatin shares how his research probes these questions.
June 26, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Interesting glimpse into Sinisa Hrvatin's work studying hibernation and torpor and how their discoveries can inform our understanding of aging and disease progression.
Reposted by Lisa Girard
. @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social researchers developed Perturb-Multimodal, a powerful new approach that simultaneously measures how genetic changes affect both #GeneExpression and cell structure in intact liver tissue.
📰: bit.ly/440TrVi
📝 @cellpress.bsky.social: bit.ly/3TEs2ST
📰: bit.ly/440TrVi
📝 @cellpress.bsky.social: bit.ly/3TEs2ST
June 25, 2025 at 8:08 PM
. @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social researchers developed Perturb-Multimodal, a powerful new approach that simultaneously measures how genetic changes affect both #GeneExpression and cell structure in intact liver tissue.
📰: bit.ly/440TrVi
📝 @cellpress.bsky.social: bit.ly/3TEs2ST
📰: bit.ly/440TrVi
📝 @cellpress.bsky.social: bit.ly/3TEs2ST
Reposted by Lisa Girard
Researchers in the Oni lab study how pancreatic cancer cells manipulate their microenvironment to escape immune attack. Read how the Oni lab and others at Whitehead are studying cancer in context: wi.mit.edu/news/company...
June 25, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Researchers in the Oni lab study how pancreatic cancer cells manipulate their microenvironment to escape immune attack. Read how the Oni lab and others at Whitehead are studying cancer in context: wi.mit.edu/news/company...
Reposted by Lisa Girard
This article is part of our series, “Biology in its natural habitat: studying cellular processes in context”. View the entire collection here: wi.mit.edu/series/biolo... #WhiteheadStoryArc
Whitehead Institute of MIT
Much of biology becomes more clear when looking at biological components within the context of their typical surroundings and interactions. This is why Whitehead Institute researchers often tackle the...
wi.mit.edu
June 24, 2025 at 8:21 PM
This article is part of our series, “Biology in its natural habitat: studying cellular processes in context”. View the entire collection here: wi.mit.edu/series/biolo... #WhiteheadStoryArc
Reposted by Lisa Girard
Humans don't regrow body parts after an injury, but certain animals can and do. The planarian, a tiny, water-dwelling flatworm, is one such organism. This multipart video explainer explores what we know about planarian regeneration, and what it could mean for human health: wi.mit.edu/news/how-neo...
June 24, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Humans don't regrow body parts after an injury, but certain animals can and do. The planarian, a tiny, water-dwelling flatworm, is one such organism. This multipart video explainer explores what we know about planarian regeneration, and what it could mean for human health: wi.mit.edu/news/how-neo...
Reposted by Lisa Girard
A researcher can learn a lot from studying a single gene or cell type in isolation. But study a component within the context of its environment, and the picture becomes even more clear. Read our latest #WhiteheadStoryArc: wi.mit.edu/series/biolo...
June 17, 2025 at 2:20 PM
A researcher can learn a lot from studying a single gene or cell type in isolation. But study a component within the context of its environment, and the picture becomes even more clear. Read our latest #WhiteheadStoryArc: wi.mit.edu/series/biolo...
Interesting new collection of stories highlighting the importance of studying biology "in its natural habitat."
A researcher can learn a lot from studying a single gene or cell type in isolation. But study a component within the context of its environment, and the picture becomes even more clear. Read our latest #WhiteheadStoryArc: wi.mit.edu/series/biolo...
June 17, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Interesting new collection of stories highlighting the importance of studying biology "in its natural habitat."
Reposted by Lisa Girard
New pre-print! Ryan Kim et al distinguish the roles of the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint as a surveillance pathway only triggered by mitotic errors vs a mitotic timer that is required in every cell division.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
June 16, 2025 at 10:54 AM
New pre-print! Ryan Kim et al distinguish the roles of the Spindle Assembly Checkpoint as a surveillance pathway only triggered by mitotic errors vs a mitotic timer that is required in every cell division.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...