Mari Sosa
@marisosa.bsky.social
Assistant Professor, University of Colorado Boulder | Systems neuroscientist | BRAIN Initiative K99 | Leading Edge Fellow | Hippocampal memory and reward learning | She/her. All opinions my own.
Pinned
Mari Sosa
@marisosa.bsky.social
· Apr 25
Exciting news!! I’m joining the tenure-track faculty at University of Colorado Boulder this fall as an Assistant Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience!
The Sosa Lab will study how memory is shaped by cognitive and physiological demands, including during pregnancy and the postpartum period. 🧵
The Sosa Lab will study how memory is shaped by cognitive and physiological demands, including during pregnancy and the postpartum period. 🧵
Reposted by Mari Sosa
Thrilled to share our new paper, out now in @natneuro.nature.com, uncovering how estradiol, the most potent estrogen, modulates reinforcement learning and reward prediction errors across biological levels. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#blueprint 1/7
#blueprint 1/7
Estrogen modulates reward prediction errors and reinforcement learning - Nature Neuroscience
Dopamine encoding of reward prediction errors naturally fluctuates over females’ reproductive cycles with estrogenic signaling due to reduced expression of dopamine reuptake proteins.
www.nature.com
November 11, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Thrilled to share our new paper, out now in @natneuro.nature.com, uncovering how estradiol, the most potent estrogen, modulates reinforcement learning and reward prediction errors across biological levels. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#blueprint 1/7
#blueprint 1/7
A “promise of a vote” is no better than a “concept of a plan”
November 10, 2025 at 3:45 PM
A “promise of a vote” is no better than a “concept of a plan”
Reposted by Mari Sosa
This White House made a choice to pay ICE instead of SNAP and ATC - we could just as easily be flying just fine and feeding people instead of harassing them. Don't cave now
November 9, 2025 at 9:34 PM
This White House made a choice to pay ICE instead of SNAP and ATC - we could just as easily be flying just fine and feeding people instead of harassing them. Don't cave now
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 Mari Sosa
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/
Applications are open for the 2026 Zara Weinberg cohort of Leading Edge, named in honor of the incredible, brilliant, fearless @weinberz.witchlab.org.
The LE community has been truly transformative for my scientific journey and my happiness. Please apply!! www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
The LE community has been truly transformative for my scientific journey and my happiness. Please apply!! www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
Apply | leadingedgesymposium
Apply. The 2026 Leading Edge cohort application is now open! This cohort is named the Zara Weinberg Cohort, in honor of 2021 Leading Edge Fellow, Zara Weinberg. Applications are due February 2, 2026.
www.leadingedgesymposium.org
November 6, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Applications are open for the 2026 Zara Weinberg cohort of Leading Edge, named in honor of the incredible, brilliant, fearless @weinberz.witchlab.org.
The LE community has been truly transformative for my scientific journey and my happiness. Please apply!! www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
The LE community has been truly transformative for my scientific journey and my happiness. Please apply!! www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
Reposted by Mari Sosa
I have been blown away by the level of support (both practical and emotional support!) from the #LeadingEdge community. I feel so grateful to be a part of this group. Consider applying!!
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
Apply | leadingedgesymposium
Apply. The 2026 Leading Edge cohort application is now open! This cohort is named the Zara Weinberg Cohort, in honor of 2021 Leading Edge Fellow, Zara Weinberg. Applications are due February 2, 2026.
www.leadingedgesymposium.org
November 6, 2025 at 3:12 AM
I have been blown away by the level of support (both practical and emotional support!) from the #LeadingEdge community. I feel so grateful to be a part of this group. Consider applying!!
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
Reposted by Mari Sosa
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 Mari Sosa
Hi everyone! We are taking a look at the state of funding in the neuroscience field so we are looking for PIs to answer this survey. Please feel free to fill out and share with colleagues.
Ty!
Ty!
Quantifying funding sources across neuroscience labs
We want to hear from you about the sources of funding for your research.
www.thetransmitter.org
September 24, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Hi everyone! We are taking a look at the state of funding in the neuroscience field so we are looking for PIs to answer this survey. Please feel free to fill out and share with colleagues.
Ty!
Ty!
The Sosa Lab website is now live!
www.sosaneurolab.com
We will be seeking a postdoctoral researcher to join the growing team! If you are a rodent neuroscientist and interested in doing systems neuro work in the mountains 🏔️, please check out the "Join" page.
www.sosaneurolab.com
We will be seeking a postdoctoral researcher to join the growing team! If you are a rodent neuroscientist and interested in doing systems neuro work in the mountains 🏔️, please check out the "Join" page.
Sosa Lab
www.sosaneurolab.com
September 22, 2025 at 9:23 PM
The Sosa Lab website is now live!
www.sosaneurolab.com
We will be seeking a postdoctoral researcher to join the growing team! If you are a rodent neuroscientist and interested in doing systems neuro work in the mountains 🏔️, please check out the "Join" page.
www.sosaneurolab.com
We will be seeking a postdoctoral researcher to join the growing team! If you are a rodent neuroscientist and interested in doing systems neuro work in the mountains 🏔️, please check out the "Join" page.
Reposted by Mari Sosa
New preprint alert! The uterus expands ~500-fold in pregnancy, yet we know little about how pressures are sensed. Led by @yunxiao-dr.bsky.social, we show PIEZOs are required for contractions and birth in mice, with dual roles of PIEZO1 in muscle and PIEZO2 in neurons
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
PIEZO channels link mechanical forces to uterine contractions in parturition
Mechanical forces are extensively involved in pregnancy and parturition, but their precise roles and mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we identify mechanically activated ion channels PIEZO1 a...
www.biorxiv.org
September 18, 2025 at 3:23 PM
New preprint alert! The uterus expands ~500-fold in pregnancy, yet we know little about how pressures are sensed. Led by @yunxiao-dr.bsky.social, we show PIEZOs are required for contractions and birth in mice, with dual roles of PIEZO1 in muscle and PIEZO2 in neurons
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Great news for science and for Stanford!! Laura’s research is amazing! 🤩
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 16, 2025 at 12:30 AM
Great news for science and for Stanford!! Laura’s research is amazing! 🤩
Reposted by Mari Sosa
The proposed budget slashes NIH by ~40%, devastating medical research, clinical trials, treatment breakthroughs—life-saving work.
Thousands of lives at risk for tax cuts for the rich? NO THANKS.
Tell your senators to oppose the cuts HERE:
zurl.co/qiKdX
zurl.co/RCR0y
#CutsCostLives
Thousands of lives at risk for tax cuts for the rich? NO THANKS.
Tell your senators to oppose the cuts HERE:
zurl.co/qiKdX
zurl.co/RCR0y
#CutsCostLives
Will the Senate Save NIH?
Rescuing biomedical research is every bit as important as saving Medicaid.
zurl.co
June 29, 2025 at 1:57 PM
The proposed budget slashes NIH by ~40%, devastating medical research, clinical trials, treatment breakthroughs—life-saving work.
Thousands of lives at risk for tax cuts for the rich? NO THANKS.
Tell your senators to oppose the cuts HERE:
zurl.co/qiKdX
zurl.co/RCR0y
#CutsCostLives
Thousands of lives at risk for tax cuts for the rich? NO THANKS.
Tell your senators to oppose the cuts HERE:
zurl.co/qiKdX
zurl.co/RCR0y
#CutsCostLives
Great piece from @thetransmitter.bsky.social about the field’s current understanding of the hippocampus! Honored for the nod to our recent paper among these many other excellent studies www.thetransmitter.org/memory/expan...
Expanded view of hippocampal function comes into focus
After decades of debate, the region’s role is being rewritten. Rather than using sensory input to simply log key points in time and space, the hippocampus may serve to contextualize our experiences…
www.thetransmitter.org
June 29, 2025 at 1:31 AM
Great piece from @thetransmitter.bsky.social about the field’s current understanding of the hippocampus! Honored for the nod to our recent paper among these many other excellent studies www.thetransmitter.org/memory/expan...
Reposted by Mari Sosa
I spoke with Jade Hindmon, host of @kpbssandiego.bsky.social Midday Edition, about the consequences of the current administration’s cuts to science funding. Please share to help spread the word and raise awareness.
www.kpbs.org/podcasts/kpb...
www.kpbs.org/podcasts/kpb...
Nobel laureate on how Trump's cuts are hurting science
Neuroscientist, biologist and 2021 Nobel Prize winner Ardem Patapoutian joined Midday Edition to talk about how the Trump administration's effort to cut back on science spending is impacting researche...
www.kpbs.org
June 19, 2025 at 12:27 AM
I spoke with Jade Hindmon, host of @kpbssandiego.bsky.social Midday Edition, about the consequences of the current administration’s cuts to science funding. Please share to help spread the word and raise awareness.
www.kpbs.org/podcasts/kpb...
www.kpbs.org/podcasts/kpb...
Add your name to our open letter condemning Trump’s latest Executive Order that appoints politicians — not scientists — to evaluate research.
Take action now! actionnetwork.org/petitions/op...
Take action now! actionnetwork.org/petitions/op...
Sign The Open Letter to Stand Up For Science Now!
Science is under siege. Join us in adding your name to our open letter condemning Trump’s escalated assault on science in America.
actionnetwork.org
June 18, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Add your name to our open letter condemning Trump’s latest Executive Order that appoints politicians — not scientists — to evaluate research.
Take action now! actionnetwork.org/petitions/op...
Take action now! actionnetwork.org/petitions/op...
Reposted by Mari Sosa
After ruling the NIH grant cuts were illegal yesterday, Judge Young, a Reagan appointee on the bench since 1985, ended the hearing with a blistering 15-minute speech.
I've cleaned up my notes — here are his remarks in full. 🧵
I've cleaned up my notes — here are his remarks in full. 🧵
Judge rules against NIH grant cuts — and calls them discriminatory
The decision means that the US biomedical agency has to restore funding to hundreds of research projects, but the government will likely appeal.
www.nature.com
June 17, 2025 at 1:47 PM
After ruling the NIH grant cuts were illegal yesterday, Judge Young, a Reagan appointee on the bench since 1985, ended the hearing with a blistering 15-minute speech.
I've cleaned up my notes — here are his remarks in full. 🧵
I've cleaned up my notes — here are his remarks in full. 🧵
Reposted by Mari Sosa
Neuroscience research and training has taken a $323 million hit in the form of grants rescinded by the U.S. NIH, according to an analysis by @thetransmitter.bsky.social.
By @claudia-lopez.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/funding/nih-...
By @claudia-lopez.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/funding/nih-...
NIH cuts quash $323 million for neuroscience research and training
“I am frightened for the state of the future of our field if this isn't reversed rapidly,” says Joshua Gordon, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and former director of the National…
www.thetransmitter.org
June 16, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Neuroscience research and training has taken a $323 million hit in the form of grants rescinded by the U.S. NIH, according to an analysis by @thetransmitter.bsky.social.
By @claudia-lopez.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/funding/nih-...
By @claudia-lopez.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/funding/nih-...
It's officially published!! In my main postdoc work with @markplitt.bsky.social and @lgiocomo.bsky.social, we found that the hippocampus simultaneously encodes an animal's spatial position and its experience relative to reward in parallel population codes. 🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A flexible hippocampal population code for experience relative to reward - Nature Neuroscience
Sosa et al. find that hippocampal neural activity in mice encodes both environmental location and experience relative to rewards, spanning distances far from reward, through parallel and flexible popu...
www.nature.com
June 12, 2025 at 5:24 PM
It's officially published!! In my main postdoc work with @markplitt.bsky.social and @lgiocomo.bsky.social, we found that the hippocampus simultaneously encodes an animal's spatial position and its experience relative to reward in parallel population codes. 🧵
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Mari Sosa
New paper from the lab officially out! Congratulations @marisosa.bsky.social - amazing work - and just before she sets off to UC Boulder to start her own lab!
How does the brain map where rewards are found?
Stanford researchers Lisa Giocomo and Mari Sosa found that mice form adaptable hippocampal maps that track reward locations, offering insight into how memory, dementia & addiction relate to place and reward.
neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/locatio...
Stanford researchers Lisa Giocomo and Mari Sosa found that mice form adaptable hippocampal maps that track reward locations, offering insight into how memory, dementia & addiction relate to place and reward.
neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/locatio...
June 11, 2025 at 9:51 PM
New paper from the lab officially out! Congratulations @marisosa.bsky.social - amazing work - and just before she sets off to UC Boulder to start her own lab!
Many thanks to @stanfordbrain.bsky.social for this beautifully written feature of our latest work!!
How does the brain map where rewards are found?
Stanford researchers Lisa Giocomo and Mari Sosa found that mice form adaptable hippocampal maps that track reward locations, offering insight into how memory, dementia & addiction relate to place and reward.
neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/locatio...
Stanford researchers Lisa Giocomo and Mari Sosa found that mice form adaptable hippocampal maps that track reward locations, offering insight into how memory, dementia & addiction relate to place and reward.
neuroscience.stanford.edu/news/locatio...
June 11, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Many thanks to @stanfordbrain.bsky.social for this beautifully written feature of our latest work!!
Has anyone successfully tried to submit Form ITA-338P to request a tariff exemption for scientific instruments for nonprofit use? www.trade.gov/sites/defaul...
www.trade.gov
June 6, 2025 at 1:39 AM
Has anyone successfully tried to submit Form ITA-338P to request a tariff exemption for scientific instruments for nonprofit use? www.trade.gov/sites/defaul...
Reposted by Mari Sosa
I urge everyone to read Unbreaking’s new page on everything the govt is doing to destroy & diminish medical research funding.
It’s the best thing I’ve read on this topic: @lizneeley.bsky.social & co have such done an incredible job.
unbreaking.org/issues/medic...
It’s the best thing I’ve read on this topic: @lizneeley.bsky.social & co have such done an incredible job.
unbreaking.org/issues/medic...
Medical Research Funding — Unbreaking
How the administration is breaking the government, and what that means for all of us.
unbreaking.org
May 30, 2025 at 9:38 PM
I urge everyone to read Unbreaking’s new page on everything the govt is doing to destroy & diminish medical research funding.
It’s the best thing I’ve read on this topic: @lizneeley.bsky.social & co have such done an incredible job.
unbreaking.org/issues/medic...
It’s the best thing I’ve read on this topic: @lizneeley.bsky.social & co have such done an incredible job.
unbreaking.org/issues/medic...
Reposted by Mari Sosa
We're suing the Trump administration over its politically-motivated termination of research grants that has already harmed scientists and our communities.
Political ideology shouldn't dictate public health.
Political ideology shouldn't dictate public health.
‘Devastated’ and ‘Hopeless.’ Researchers Speak Out on Funding Cuts | ACLU
www.aclu.org
May 27, 2025 at 2:19 PM
We're suing the Trump administration over its politically-motivated termination of research grants that has already harmed scientists and our communities.
Political ideology shouldn't dictate public health.
Political ideology shouldn't dictate public health.
Reposted by Mari Sosa
1. It's Fustilarian Friday and today's drop is the "Restoring Gold Standard Science" executive order.
My read is that this is designed to (1) protect far-fringe figures such as the antvaxxers now heading our health agencies, and (2) kneecap efforts to use scientific evidence in regulatory policy.
My read is that this is designed to (1) protect far-fringe figures such as the antvaxxers now heading our health agencies, and (2) kneecap efforts to use scientific evidence in regulatory policy.
Restoring Gold Standard Science
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including section 7301 of title 5, United
www.whitehouse.gov
May 24, 2025 at 5:24 AM
1. It's Fustilarian Friday and today's drop is the "Restoring Gold Standard Science" executive order.
My read is that this is designed to (1) protect far-fringe figures such as the antvaxxers now heading our health agencies, and (2) kneecap efforts to use scientific evidence in regulatory policy.
My read is that this is designed to (1) protect far-fringe figures such as the antvaxxers now heading our health agencies, and (2) kneecap efforts to use scientific evidence in regulatory policy.