Melanie D. White
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melaniedwhite.bsky.social
Melanie D. White
@melaniedwhite.bsky.social
ARC Future Fellow & Group Leader @IMBatUQ
Development biologist/ neuroscientist/ live imager passionate about understanding embryo morphogenesis.
It must be spring! Every spring for at least the last 3yrs, these crows have collected and stashed their favourite sticks outside my 6th floor office window. They collect them for 1-2 months and then one day, they all vanish! 🐦‍⬛🪹🪺
October 30, 2025 at 5:50 AM
Reposted by Melanie D. White
Funders must recognise that great discoveries often come from studies that seeks to advance knowledge for its own sake

go.nature.com/47zrzYZ
From MRI to Ozempic: breakthroughs that show why fundamental research must be protected
In these financially straitened times, funders must recognize that great discoveries often arise from work that was looking for something completely different.
go.nature.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Hey Mechanobiologists! Come and join us in sunny Brisbane for #MechBio2025 Nov 5-7. Registration is now open. Enjoy world-class science, a stellar speaker line-up, and relaxed Queensland vibes. 🧪🔬🌴
ausmb.org/meetings_202...
Mechanobiology2025
Join us for MechBio2025, the annual meeting of the Australian Society for Mechanobiology. November 5-7, 2025 at the University of Queensland, Brisbane. Featuring international keynote speakers and sho...
ausmb.org
September 25, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Bird’s eye view, literally. 🐦👁️ Glowing quail embryo eye for #FluorescenceFriday, #DevBio 🧪🔬
August 29, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Spring has sprung at the UQ Lakes! 😍
August 28, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Reposted by Melanie D. White
Register for the 12th Avian Model Systems Meeting www.stowers.org/events/avian.... We have now received funds from the @biologists.bsky.social to subsidise the travel/registration costs for students and early career researchers presenting their work from selected abstracts.
Research Organisms in Flight: Revealing the Roots of Vertebrate Form…
Organized by Tatjana Sauka-Spengler, Ph.D., and Ruth Williams, Ph.D.
www.stowers.org
August 19, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Reposted by Melanie D. White
We've enjoyed having Marise and Samara from the lab of @melaniedwhite.bsky.social here to image quail embryos on our MOSAIC system. We wish them safe travels home and happy data analyzing!
August 8, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Absolutely thrilled to be heading off soon to @stowersinstitute.bsky.social for this incredible meeting! The speaker lineup is stacked, and it’s all about the amazing potential of avian model systems. I’m travelling 25 hours to get there - can anyone top that? #devbio 🧪🐣✈️🔥
The power of birds in science is taking center stage. 🧬🕊 Join leading scientists at #AvianModels25 to advance #research across disciplines—from stem cells to #evolution.

Register and submit your abstract now: www.stowers.org/events/avian...
Research Organisms in Flight: Revealing the Roots of Vertebrate Form…
Organized by Tatjana Sauka-Spengler, Ph.D., and Ruth Williams, Ph.D.
www.stowers.org
August 7, 2025 at 1:06 AM
How long would you wait before contacting an editor to ask them to please either send your paper out for review or reject it so we can all move on with our lives?

1️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/5722GF/1" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">2 weeks
2️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/5722GF/2" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">3 weeks
3️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/5722GF/3" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">4+ weeks
4️⃣ <a href="https://poll.blue/p/5722GF/4" class="hover:underline text-blue-600 dark:text-sky-400 no-card-link" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-link="bsky">Never - don't poke the bear!

📊 Show results
August 3, 2025 at 10:49 PM
Night time in the lab
July 26, 2025 at 2:38 AM
Sunset in the lab @aicjanelia.bsky.social 😍
July 23, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Today was a super fun first day of imaging @aicjanelia.bsky.social with @vanderspuy.bsky.social and @samarar.bsky.social.
All hail the quail!🧪🔬#DevBio
July 21, 2025 at 11:44 PM
I’m so excited to wake up at Janelia @hhmijanelia.bsky.social this morning! Ready for some awesome quail imaging over the next few weeks #DevBio 🤗🔬🧪
July 21, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Reposted by Melanie D. White
12th Avian Model Systems Meeting bit.ly/3ZBw2qS @stowersinstitute.bsky.social. We will be joined by Marianne Bronner, Olivier Pourquié, Megan Davey, Julie Elie, @jeromegros.bsky.social, Carols Lois, Peter Lwigale, Alan Rodrigues, Marcos Simoes-Costa, @melaniedwhite.bsky.social and YOU!
Research Organisms in Flight: Revealing the Roots of Vertebrate Form…
Organized by Tatjana Sauka-Spengler, Ph.D., and Ruth Williams, Ph.D.
bit.ly
July 11, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Love this power crew of UQ #ARC Future Fellows (former, current and the newly minted @vessel-integrity.bsky.social)!
My commiserations to those who missed out today. It’s a truly brutal system. Be kind to yourselves 💕
Welcome to the #UQ ladies #ARC Future Fellowship club @vessel-integrity.bsky.social - I can’t think of a more deserving scientist. 💕
(Throw back photo)
July 9, 2025 at 5:47 AM
I’m excited for this! 🧪
The 12th Avian Model Systems Meeting is happening this fall!! tinyurl.com/2s3mynw6 We hope you can join us at the Stowers Institute @stowersinstitute.bsky.social, Kansas City to talk all things birds, biology and breakthroughs!! 🐣🐔🪶
Research Organisms in Flight: Revealing the Roots of Vertebrate Form…
Organized by Tatjana Sauka-Spengler, Ph.D., and Ruth Williams, Ph.D.
tinyurl.com
June 25, 2025 at 9:19 PM
In these turbulent times, beautiful microscopy always cheers me up 😍. Here's a quail neural tube just doing its thing for #FluorescenceFriday. Imaged by the very talented
@vanderspuy.bsky.social
#devbio 🧪🔬👩‍🔬
June 20, 2025 at 5:04 AM
Wonderful to watch @brettcollins.bsky.social giving his @anzscdb.bsky.social President’s Medal talk. So well deserved! #HunterMeetingOz 🧪
June 4, 2025 at 7:54 AM
My cat is channelling today’s vibe #CatsOfAcademia
May 1, 2025 at 3:38 AM
Reposted by Melanie D. White
Time change season is here! While most Australian states fall back from DST, QLD, WA & NT don't practice it. @benweger.bsky.social and I break down why this might be a win in our latest piece for The Conversation. ⏰☀️ @emcra-imb.bsky.social

theconversation.com/daylight-sav...
Daylight saving time ends Sunday. Why do we change our clocks? And how does it affect our bodies?
Here’s how your body might respond when you turn your clock back an hour on Saturday night.
theconversation.com
April 4, 2025 at 10:22 PM
Reposted by Melanie D. White
Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com reporting on the proposed changes to the ARC grants system.

There’s concern that getting rid of standalone fellowships will have lots of unintended consequences, especially for Early-Career Researchers.

By @donnadlu.bsky.social
Changes to ARC grants will make it harder for Australia to combat Trump chaos, researchers warn
Plan to cut most standalone positions in favour of shorter fellowships will hurt international recruitment, critics say
www.theguardian.com
April 1, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Reposted by Melanie D. White
The total Australian Research Council budget is $1bn.
Always remember - budgets are about choices
www.theguardian.com/business/gro...
March 20, 2025 at 12:40 AM
A sombre #FluorescenceFriday this week. This (developing quail) heart goes out to my fellow scientists & their students in the US. Science can be a brutal career at the best of times but watching from afar as your system struggles, I can only imagine how you feel. Dark times. We see you. Hold on. 🧪
February 7, 2025 at 7:21 AM
Reposted by Melanie D. White
A cell undergoing cell division photographed through a microscope. Actin filaments (red) and myosin II filaments (cyan) are shown. #Science #Biology #CellBiology #microscopy
February 4, 2025 at 7:46 PM
Happy #FluorescenceFriday to those who celebrate! Here's a beautiful quail neural tube and somites labelled for microtubules 🟠 and actin 🔵. Imaged by Power-RA Siew Zhuan Tan. #devbio 🧪🔬👩‍🔬
January 24, 2025 at 12:52 AM