Heather Brown-Harding
@microscopyed.bsky.social
Imaging Scientist at Harvard Center for Biological Imaging. I help people do cool science. Lover of all
things microscopy & microbiology 🔬🦠
things microscopy & microbiology 🔬🦠
Pinned
I created a starter pack for Imaging Scientists that work in core facilities.
I'm sure I missed lots of people since I searched for those that have "core" or "facility" in their bios, so let me know who else should be added!
go.bsky.app/2bbgRQU
I'm sure I missed lots of people since I searched for those that have "core" or "facility" in their bios, so let me know who else should be added!
go.bsky.app/2bbgRQU
I get to help image a starfish today and I'm stoked! I love unusual samples
January 7, 2026 at 4:05 PM
I get to help image a starfish today and I'm stoked! I love unusual samples
We are hiring a specialist for Cryo-EM that will be shared between Harvard FAS and HMS. Check it out!
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15677
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15677
HMS - Research Associate (Cryo-EM Specialist) in Harvard Cryo-EM Center for Structural Biology, Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
We invite applications for a Research Associate (Cryo-EM specialist) position, jointly shared by Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and Harvard Medical School. This Research Associate position...
academicpositions.harvard.edu
January 5, 2026 at 10:31 PM
We are hiring a specialist for Cryo-EM that will be shared between Harvard FAS and HMS. Check it out!
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15677
academicpositions.harvard.edu/postings/15677
Reposted by Heather Brown-Harding
The dimensions on my crochet snake are giving "sperm" 😂
January 1, 2026 at 5:09 PM
The dimensions on my crochet snake are giving "sperm" 😂
Reposted by Heather Brown-Harding
Though I do paid work as an academic, that role has nothing to do with plants.
This project definitely could be published as a research paper (especially once I produce blue versions of runner beans or lima beans), but that is only likely if some lab decides to collaborate with me on it.
This project definitely could be published as a research paper (especially once I produce blue versions of runner beans or lima beans), but that is only likely if some lab decides to collaborate with me on it.
A few years ago, through luck and vibes, I managed to produce this blue colored bean variety.
This was an early step in trying to answer the question, [paraphrased] "Why isn't blue as common as red in beans, even though they're both anthocyanins and the plant has the genes for both?"
This was an early step in trying to answer the question, [paraphrased] "Why isn't blue as common as red in beans, even though they're both anthocyanins and the plant has the genes for both?"
December 29, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Though I do paid work as an academic, that role has nothing to do with plants.
This project definitely could be published as a research paper (especially once I produce blue versions of runner beans or lima beans), but that is only likely if some lab decides to collaborate with me on it.
This project definitely could be published as a research paper (especially once I produce blue versions of runner beans or lima beans), but that is only likely if some lab decides to collaborate with me on it.
Since they don't expect anyone to be working today, they have made our hallway look like a scene out of Dexter...
December 23, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Since they don't expect anyone to be working today, they have made our hallway look like a scene out of Dexter...
Reposted by Heather Brown-Harding
✨ Blinking #nanobodies that work for single-molecule localization 🔬
Our new preprint shows that the self-blinking dye JF635b restores robust, buffer-free blinking in #nanobodies, enabling reliable #dSTORM, #MINFLUX, and more, without chemical-switching buffers. Opening new possibilities for #ExM!
Our new preprint shows that the self-blinking dye JF635b restores robust, buffer-free blinking in #nanobodies, enabling reliable #dSTORM, #MINFLUX, and more, without chemical-switching buffers. Opening new possibilities for #ExM!
December 22, 2025 at 10:45 AM
✨ Blinking #nanobodies that work for single-molecule localization 🔬
Our new preprint shows that the self-blinking dye JF635b restores robust, buffer-free blinking in #nanobodies, enabling reliable #dSTORM, #MINFLUX, and more, without chemical-switching buffers. Opening new possibilities for #ExM!
Our new preprint shows that the self-blinking dye JF635b restores robust, buffer-free blinking in #nanobodies, enabling reliable #dSTORM, #MINFLUX, and more, without chemical-switching buffers. Opening new possibilities for #ExM!
Finally a year that week before Christmas, I only have one training. And it's someone that has used the 880 weekly for the last year and wants to use the 980 over break when he doesn't have to compete with anyone to use it
December 22, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Finally a year that week before Christmas, I only have one training. And it's someone that has used the 880 weekly for the last year and wants to use the 980 over break when he doesn't have to compete with anyone to use it
Trying not to screw over 2026 Heather, but 2025 Heather wants to do the bare minimum until break 😂
December 19, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Trying not to screw over 2026 Heather, but 2025 Heather wants to do the bare minimum until break 😂
Reposted by Heather Brown-Harding
Thrilled to share our work on DISCO-seq, which combines RNA-preserving tissue clearing with whole-organ 3D imaging to enable anatomically unbiased single-cell transcriptomics, with applications in cancer and infection biology.
#SpatialBiology #DISCOseq
Preprint link
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#SpatialBiology #DISCOseq
Preprint link
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
December 18, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Thrilled to share our work on DISCO-seq, which combines RNA-preserving tissue clearing with whole-organ 3D imaging to enable anatomically unbiased single-cell transcriptomics, with applications in cancer and infection biology.
#SpatialBiology #DISCOseq
Preprint link
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#SpatialBiology #DISCOseq
Preprint link
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Heather Brown-Harding
Everyone else go home — this is the year we secure ABOLISH ICE on a Chicago Snowplow
chicagoshovels.org
chicagoshovels.org
December 17, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Everyone else go home — this is the year we secure ABOLISH ICE on a Chicago Snowplow
chicagoshovels.org
chicagoshovels.org
Reposted by Heather Brown-Harding
who has favorite ways to measure hypoxia in tissues using immunofluorescence/microscopy?
i guess maybe the gold standard is pimonidazole/hypoxyprobe- is there any reliable way that doesn't involve injecting anything in vivo? (like what do people do for human tissues?)
i guess maybe the gold standard is pimonidazole/hypoxyprobe- is there any reliable way that doesn't involve injecting anything in vivo? (like what do people do for human tissues?)
December 17, 2025 at 7:57 PM
who has favorite ways to measure hypoxia in tissues using immunofluorescence/microscopy?
i guess maybe the gold standard is pimonidazole/hypoxyprobe- is there any reliable way that doesn't involve injecting anything in vivo? (like what do people do for human tissues?)
i guess maybe the gold standard is pimonidazole/hypoxyprobe- is there any reliable way that doesn't involve injecting anything in vivo? (like what do people do for human tissues?)
Reposted by Heather Brown-Harding
If you don't believe this can happen, women didn't have the legal right to have their own credit cards without needing a male co-signer until 1974, when the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) was passed, a landmark law that made it illegal to discriminate in lending based on sex or marital status.
The regime is attempting to make it legal for banks and credit card companies to discriminate against women and minorities, making credit access harder. There's just 1 day left to comment. Reject this premise based on the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. Comment here: tr.ee/I9k7aFPzg3
whattheish | Instagram, TikTok | Linktree
Linktree. Make your link do more.
tr.ee
December 14, 2025 at 6:48 PM
If you don't believe this can happen, women didn't have the legal right to have their own credit cards without needing a male co-signer until 1974, when the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) was passed, a landmark law that made it illegal to discriminate in lending based on sex or marital status.
Help me come up with a story to tell today's users that's cooler than I fell on black ice 😝
December 11, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Help me come up with a story to tell today's users that's cooler than I fell on black ice 😝
I highly suggest putting random things on the microscope. I think I just took an image for the Nikon Small World image contest... if invertebrate sex doesn't disqualify it 😆
And no, I didn't realize it until after I finished an hour-long acquisition
And no, I didn't realize it until after I finished an hour-long acquisition
December 10, 2025 at 3:08 PM
I highly suggest putting random things on the microscope. I think I just took an image for the Nikon Small World image contest... if invertebrate sex doesn't disqualify it 😆
And no, I didn't realize it until after I finished an hour-long acquisition
And no, I didn't realize it until after I finished an hour-long acquisition
Check out our poster
#ASCB2025
#ASCB2025
#HappyMicroscpyMonday #microscopycommunity - Come see BINA at ASCB today!
December 8, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Check out our poster
#ASCB2025
#ASCB2025
It is 9F/-13C out, so time for dino santas knit sweater.
December 5, 2025 at 1:23 PM
It is 9F/-13C out, so time for dino santas knit sweater.
Reposted by Heather Brown-Harding
We mapped the whole human fallopian tube in 3D and at single-cell resolution via our CODA workflow.
More about this work here: biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
More about this work here: biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
December 3, 2025 at 2:24 AM
We mapped the whole human fallopian tube in 3D and at single-cell resolution via our CODA workflow.
More about this work here: biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
More about this work here: biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Heather Brown-Harding
Looking for another 25-35 responses from PCOS patients to give this student at least 50 to analyze in their honors research. We've had no luck with physician/provider responses, it may be too tough out there in 2025, but the patient responses are interesting. #MedSky
Help out an undergraduate student researcher with their survey project on patients' and providers' perspectives on treatments for PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome). Further description and contact info in opening page at the survey URL or QR code. Thank you!
December 2, 2025 at 3:32 AM
Looking for another 25-35 responses from PCOS patients to give this student at least 50 to analyze in their honors research. We've had no luck with physician/provider responses, it may be too tough out there in 2025, but the patient responses are interesting. #MedSky
Rafiki voice: It is time!
[to begin wearing obnoxious sweaters]
[to begin wearing obnoxious sweaters]
December 2, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Rafiki voice: It is time!
[to begin wearing obnoxious sweaters]
[to begin wearing obnoxious sweaters]
Reposted by Heather Brown-Harding
Interested in Zebrafish brain imaging? We released a 3D printed mold that's is super helpful for us. Check it out
Customizable FDM-based zebrafish embryo mold for live imaging
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Work by Marcela and Jaakko in the lab
Customizable FDM-based zebrafish embryo mold for live imaging
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Work by Marcela and Jaakko in the lab
November 27, 2025 at 6:53 AM
Interested in Zebrafish brain imaging? We released a 3D printed mold that's is super helpful for us. Check it out
Customizable FDM-based zebrafish embryo mold for live imaging
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Work by Marcela and Jaakko in the lab
Customizable FDM-based zebrafish embryo mold for live imaging
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Work by Marcela and Jaakko in the lab
Reposted by Heather Brown-Harding
A specialized appendage responds to female sex hormones, allowing male octopuses to find their sex organs in the dark. https://scim.ag/4roFry3
‘Superarm’ helps male octopuses deliver sperm to females
Specialized appendage responds to female sex hormones, allowing males to find sex organs in the dark
scim.ag
November 26, 2025 at 11:12 PM
A specialized appendage responds to female sex hormones, allowing male octopuses to find their sex organs in the dark. https://scim.ag/4roFry3
I might finish my Power App in the next few weeks, so HCBI users can report problems. It sends an email to our joint email, and then they can check the status of any problems without getting constant emails. Wish me luck! (Because every time I fix one thing, a new thing breaks 😆)
November 25, 2025 at 8:30 PM
I might finish my Power App in the next few weeks, so HCBI users can report problems. It sends an email to our joint email, and then they can check the status of any problems without getting constant emails. Wish me luck! (Because every time I fix one thing, a new thing breaks 😆)
I had a new coworker who had worked with us for 2 weeks. We were at a holiday party, and they asked, "Do they have anything other than beer and wine?" My response was, "they don't do liquor at work parties." She stared at me until I realized the question. "Oh, soda and seltzer." 😬
November 24, 2025 at 3:38 PM
I had a new coworker who had worked with us for 2 weeks. We were at a holiday party, and they asked, "Do they have anything other than beer and wine?" My response was, "they don't do liquor at work parties." She stared at me until I realized the question. "Oh, soda and seltzer." 😬