Jim Van Deventer
@vandeventerjim.bsky.social
Chemical and Biological Engineering, Tufts University. Antibody engineering with expanded genetic codes, enhancing genetic code expansion in yeast, and more.
January 14, 2026 at 8:30 PM
Today, I'm grateful for Gojira and other death metal. Major score-driving reason: have you seen the news coming out of the US?!?!?
(Minor score-driving reason: I'm up against a deadline for grant reviews and death metal is keeping me awake and on task)
(Minor score-driving reason: I'm up against a deadline for grant reviews and death metal is keeping me awake and on task)
January 9, 2026 at 5:33 PM
Today, I'm grateful for Gojira and other death metal. Major score-driving reason: have you seen the news coming out of the US?!?!?
(Minor score-driving reason: I'm up against a deadline for grant reviews and death metal is keeping me awake and on task)
(Minor score-driving reason: I'm up against a deadline for grant reviews and death metal is keeping me awake and on task)
Great crash course in tumor dormancy (featuring quotes from Tufts faculty member Shelly Peyton. Ahem; Tufts bias at play here).
Understanding why cancers relapse - sometimes years or decades after successful treatment - is a major challenge in the cancer field
This perspective in Nature discusses several of the important recent advances and new studies in the field of tumor dormancy 🧪⚕️
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
This perspective in Nature discusses several of the important recent advances and new studies in the field of tumor dormancy 🧪⚕️
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Why cancer can come back years later — and how to stop it
Researchers are targeting dormant tumour cells that might explain why some cancers reappear long after successful treatment.
www.nature.com
January 7, 2026 at 2:40 PM
Great crash course in tumor dormancy (featuring quotes from Tufts faculty member Shelly Peyton. Ahem; Tufts bias at play here).
Can confirm that this is definitely happening in our house. Can also confirm that our kids are destined for infamy in middle school.
The children have been forbidden to call each other "noob," and so they're calling each other "you NEOPHYTE" instead
December 16, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Can confirm that this is definitely happening in our house. Can also confirm that our kids are destined for infamy in middle school.
Today, I'm grateful for some morning Norwegian Death Metal. I'm definitely awake as I put the finishing touches on a long overdue writing project...
December 10, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Today, I'm grateful for some morning Norwegian Death Metal. I'm definitely awake as I put the finishing touches on a long overdue writing project...
A lot of my recent posts express gratitude, but today I'm going to say that I am decidedly NOT grateful for FIFA (at least not in its current state...).
December 5, 2025 at 5:38 PM
A lot of my recent posts express gratitude, but today I'm going to say that I am decidedly NOT grateful for FIFA (at least not in its current state...).
Things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend:
--Kid 2 skips. A lot! It brings me joy every time I see it.
--Kid 1 has an incredible sense of humor.
--My brother drove up from DC to spend the holiday with us.
--My spouse made some stellar food (especially pies + stuffing).
--Kid 2 skips. A lot! It brings me joy every time I see it.
--Kid 1 has an incredible sense of humor.
--My brother drove up from DC to spend the holiday with us.
--My spouse made some stellar food (especially pies + stuffing).
November 29, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Things I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend:
--Kid 2 skips. A lot! It brings me joy every time I see it.
--Kid 1 has an incredible sense of humor.
--My brother drove up from DC to spend the holiday with us.
--My spouse made some stellar food (especially pies + stuffing).
--Kid 2 skips. A lot! It brings me joy every time I see it.
--Kid 1 has an incredible sense of humor.
--My brother drove up from DC to spend the holiday with us.
--My spouse made some stellar food (especially pies + stuffing).
Today, I'm grateful that Alanna Schepartz is visiting Tufts. Alanna's leadership of @cgemcci.bsky.social has led to impressive advances in genetic code expansion, including recently published work pushing encoding beyond alpha-amino acids.
#ChemSky #ChemChat
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#ChemSky #ChemChat
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Site-selective protein editing by backbone extension acyl rearrangements - Nature Chemical Biology
A post-translational backbone extension acyl rearrangement (BEAR) reaction has now been developed that converts a ribosomal protein product into a new product containing a β-peptide, γ-peptide or δ-pe...
www.nature.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Today, I'm grateful that Alanna Schepartz is visiting Tufts. Alanna's leadership of @cgemcci.bsky.social has led to impressive advances in genetic code expansion, including recently published work pushing encoding beyond alpha-amino acids.
#ChemSky #ChemChat
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#ChemSky #ChemChat
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Today, I'm grateful for my seven-year-old's rekindled excitement about engineering. We went to a local makerspace/playspace that specializes in building toys and engineering challenges, and now all the kid wants to do is build with K'Nex!
www.einsteinsworkshop.com
www.einsteinsworkshop.com
Einstein's Workshop – Einstein's Workshop is a hands-on STEAM learning center just outside Lexington, Massachusetts.
www.einsteinsworkshop.com
November 17, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Today, I'm grateful for my seven-year-old's rekindled excitement about engineering. We went to a local makerspace/playspace that specializes in building toys and engineering challenges, and now all the kid wants to do is build with K'Nex!
www.einsteinsworkshop.com
www.einsteinsworkshop.com
Shoot, I've fallen out of the habit of finding something to be grateful for. As the world (especially the US!) continues to burn, this habit of finding something to be grateful for has been centering for me. So, let's restart with two things today (1/3):
November 12, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Shoot, I've fallen out of the habit of finding something to be grateful for. As the world (especially the US!) continues to burn, this habit of finding something to be grateful for has been centering for me. So, let's restart with two things today (1/3):
Reposted by Jim Van Deventer
Our 7yo has coined a new word: "interrupdate."
I think he meant it as a fancier or more nuanced version of "interrupt," but I'm sure we can all see the possibilities.
I think he meant it as a fancier or more nuanced version of "interrupt," but I'm sure we can all see the possibilities.
November 10, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Our 7yo has coined a new word: "interrupdate."
I think he meant it as a fancier or more nuanced version of "interrupt," but I'm sure we can all see the possibilities.
I think he meant it as a fancier or more nuanced version of "interrupt," but I'm sure we can all see the possibilities.
Today, I'm grateful to have two PhD students presenting at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers annual meeting.
Briana Lino: release factor engineering to enhance noncanonical amino acid incorporation
Sean Williams: protein-small molecule hybrid discovery
(1/2)
#ChemSky
Briana Lino: release factor engineering to enhance noncanonical amino acid incorporation
Sean Williams: protein-small molecule hybrid discovery
(1/2)
#ChemSky
November 3, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Today, I'm grateful to have two PhD students presenting at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers annual meeting.
Briana Lino: release factor engineering to enhance noncanonical amino acid incorporation
Sean Williams: protein-small molecule hybrid discovery
(1/2)
#ChemSky
Briana Lino: release factor engineering to enhance noncanonical amino acid incorporation
Sean Williams: protein-small molecule hybrid discovery
(1/2)
#ChemSky
Today, I'm grateful for kid #2's excitement about Halloween. However, I am NOT grateful for the resulting inability to sleep past 3am and its effects on MY sleep...
October 31, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Today, I'm grateful for kid #2's excitement about Halloween. However, I am NOT grateful for the resulting inability to sleep past 3am and its effects on MY sleep...
Reposted by Jim Van Deventer
Today, I'm grateful for the International Genetic Code Expansion (GCE) Webinar.
gce4all.oregonstate.edu/tools-and-tr...
This series has done a really good job of featuring a wide range of speakers using noncanonical amino acids and GCE in creative ways! (1/2)
gce4all.oregonstate.edu/tools-and-tr...
This series has done a really good job of featuring a wide range of speakers using noncanonical amino acids and GCE in creative ways! (1/2)
International GCE Webinar | GCE4All
gce4all.oregonstate.edu
October 16, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Today, I'm grateful for the International Genetic Code Expansion (GCE) Webinar.
gce4all.oregonstate.edu/tools-and-tr...
This series has done a really good job of featuring a wide range of speakers using noncanonical amino acids and GCE in creative ways! (1/2)
gce4all.oregonstate.edu/tools-and-tr...
This series has done a really good job of featuring a wide range of speakers using noncanonical amino acids and GCE in creative ways! (1/2)
International GCE Webinar | GCE4All
gce4all.oregonstate.edu
October 16, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Today, I'm grateful for the International Genetic Code Expansion (GCE) Webinar.
gce4all.oregonstate.edu/tools-and-tr...
This series has done a really good job of featuring a wide range of speakers using noncanonical amino acids and GCE in creative ways! (1/2)
gce4all.oregonstate.edu/tools-and-tr...
This series has done a really good job of featuring a wide range of speakers using noncanonical amino acids and GCE in creative ways! (1/2)
Today, I'm grateful for Thundercat.
No, I will not be taking questions.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhVg...
No, I will not be taking questions.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhVg...
Thundercat: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
YouTube video by NPR Music
www.youtube.com
October 13, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Today, I'm grateful for Thundercat.
No, I will not be taking questions.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhVg...
No, I will not be taking questions.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhVg...
Today, I'm grateful for the Maria Flytzani-Stephanopoulos Symposium on Single-Site Catalysis at Tufts. This symposium celebrates Maria's legacy in the field by bring together current researchers in the field (1/2).
#ChemSky #Catalysis #SingleAtoms
sites.tufts.edu/mfscatalysis...
#ChemSky #Catalysis #SingleAtoms
sites.tufts.edu/mfscatalysis...
Maria Flytzani-Stephanopoulos Symposium on Single-Site Catalysis
sites.tufts.edu
October 10, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Today, I'm grateful for the Maria Flytzani-Stephanopoulos Symposium on Single-Site Catalysis at Tufts. This symposium celebrates Maria's legacy in the field by bring together current researchers in the field (1/2).
#ChemSky #Catalysis #SingleAtoms
sites.tufts.edu/mfscatalysis...
#ChemSky #Catalysis #SingleAtoms
sites.tufts.edu/mfscatalysis...
I have been trying to get this published as an op-ed, but I am going to post it here since I think it is timely in light of the "consent" extortion events.
Deafening Quiet from the Scientific Establishment
jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g...
1/14
Deafening Quiet from the Scientific Establishment
jeremymberg.github.io/jeremyberg.g...
1/14
jeremymberg.github.io
October 8, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Today, I'm grateful for a seminar and visit from Michael Wong, Rice University Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, to Tufts ChBE. Excellent seminar and creative ideas about PFAS. Time to revisit my long-dormant fluorinated protein expertise?
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#ChemSky
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#ChemSky
Hydration dynamics at fluorinated protein surfaces | PNAS
Water-protein interactions dictate many processes crucial to protein function including
folding, dynamics, interactions with other biomolecules, an...
www.pnas.org
October 7, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Today, I'm grateful for a seminar and visit from Michael Wong, Rice University Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, to Tufts ChBE. Excellent seminar and creative ideas about PFAS. Time to revisit my long-dormant fluorinated protein expertise?
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#ChemSky
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
#ChemSky
Today, I'm grateful for the background information associated with Nobel Prizes. I enjoy reading about the scientific foundations that led to the prizes. The popular science information is accessible even when I don't have background in a prize area (1/n).
www.nobelprize.org
#ChemSky #NobelPrize
www.nobelprize.org
#ChemSky #NobelPrize
The official website of the Nobel Prize - NobelPrize.org
The Nobel Prize rewards science, humanism and peace efforts. This is one of the central concepts in the will of Alfred Nobel, and it also permeates the outreach activities that have been developed for...
www.nobelprize.org
October 6, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Today, I'm grateful for the background information associated with Nobel Prizes. I enjoy reading about the scientific foundations that led to the prizes. The popular science information is accessible even when I don't have background in a prize area (1/n).
www.nobelprize.org
#ChemSky #NobelPrize
www.nobelprize.org
#ChemSky #NobelPrize
Today, I'm grateful for "Office Hours," a podcast supported by the Biomedical Engineering Society. Host Liz Wayne @lizwaynephd.bsky.social is doing tremendous work here. I especially enjoy the discussions surrounding why Liz and her guests have chosen careers in academia (1/2).
#BMES #ChemSky
#BMES #ChemSky
October 3, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Today, I'm grateful for "Office Hours," a podcast supported by the Biomedical Engineering Society. Host Liz Wayne @lizwaynephd.bsky.social is doing tremendous work here. I especially enjoy the discussions surrounding why Liz and her guests have chosen careers in academia (1/2).
#BMES #ChemSky
#BMES #ChemSky
Reposted by Jim Van Deventer
🚨New manuscript alert!🚨We show that a natural, bacterial-derived, #antimicrobial #AMP can be used and engineered for targeted manipulation of specific species in a microbial community from the top-down! #microbiome. Thanks to @vandeventerjim.bsky.social for helping!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Engineered antimicrobial-derived peptides to manipulate mixed microbial systems
Due to complexity of microbial communities and coarseness of currently available manipulation techniques (e.g. transplantation, antibiotic-treatment), it is often difficult to fully elucidate the inte...
www.biorxiv.org
October 1, 2025 at 12:39 PM
🚨New manuscript alert!🚨We show that a natural, bacterial-derived, #antimicrobial #AMP can be used and engineered for targeted manipulation of specific species in a microbial community from the top-down! #microbiome. Thanks to @vandeventerjim.bsky.social for helping!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Today, as the shutdown of the US government draws closer, I'd just like to express my gratitude for the program officers, scientific review officers, and other employees of US granting agencies (1/2).
September 30, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Today, as the shutdown of the US government draws closer, I'd just like to express my gratitude for the program officers, scientific review officers, and other employees of US granting agencies (1/2).
Okay, I'm grateful for something else today: excellent seminar by Ben Woolston, Asst. Professor, Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University (not sure if he's on Blue Sky). Crazy microbes doing C1 metabolism, and microbes producing + sensing hydrogen sulfide. #ChemSky
woolstonlab.org
woolstonlab.org
Woolston Lab
Learn about the Woolston lab's cutting-edge metabolic engineering research in gas fermentation, C1 metabolism, and the gut microbiome
woolstonlab.org
September 29, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Okay, I'm grateful for something else today: excellent seminar by Ben Woolston, Asst. Professor, Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University (not sure if he's on Blue Sky). Crazy microbes doing C1 metabolism, and microbes producing + sensing hydrogen sulfide. #ChemSky
woolstonlab.org
woolstonlab.org
