Will Sheeran
@wmsheer.bsky.social
MD/PhD student @ University of Colorado. Washed-up runner, fledgling neuroscientist. he/him
Reposted by Will Sheeran
My favorite from an @hhmi.org scientist: “the great thing about optogenetics is it keeps the riff raff out of the field.”
Heard an established successful neuroscientist dismissing junior scientists as "people at the bottom" 🤦♀️
You folks with lots of research funds & power: young scientists more than ever need our respect and support even if you don't agree with their ideas and approaches
#sfn2025
You folks with lots of research funds & power: young scientists more than ever need our respect and support even if you don't agree with their ideas and approaches
#sfn2025
November 23, 2025 at 3:27 PM
My favorite from an @hhmi.org scientist: “the great thing about optogenetics is it keeps the riff raff out of the field.”
Reposted by Will Sheeran
Our newest preprint! Work led by Ben Dykstra (co-mentored by @gordonberman.bsky.social). Some of the first recordings from the iCA3 region during social behaviors. Ben found that iCA3 neurons more strongly represent social recognition information relative to iCA1 . www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
www.biorxiv.org
October 28, 2025 at 2:15 AM
Our newest preprint! Work led by Ben Dykstra (co-mentored by @gordonberman.bsky.social). Some of the first recordings from the iCA3 region during social behaviors. Ben found that iCA3 neurons more strongly represent social recognition information relative to iCA1 . www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
Reposted by Will Sheeran
Same for neuroscience. The lack of ability to measure many neurons’ activity, perturb them, and measure intracellular processes and connections is what limits understanding the brain.
The key barriers are not algorithms or AI.
🧪#neuroscience 🧠🤖 #MLSky
The key barriers are not algorithms or AI.
🧪#neuroscience 🧠🤖 #MLSky
November 15, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Same for neuroscience. The lack of ability to measure many neurons’ activity, perturb them, and measure intracellular processes and connections is what limits understanding the brain.
The key barriers are not algorithms or AI.
🧪#neuroscience 🧠🤖 #MLSky
The key barriers are not algorithms or AI.
🧪#neuroscience 🧠🤖 #MLSky
Single most incomprehensible result I’ve ever seen in my life. Rudisha’s record is in play for this kid. Incredible.
Cooper Lutkenhaus had the same reaction as all of us watching that race 😱
August 5, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Single most incomprehensible result I’ve ever seen in my life. Rudisha’s record is in play for this kid. Incredible.
Reposted by Will Sheeran
New paper from the lab, from Jeremy Biane and team, out today, characterizing the principles of stimulus feature coding in populations of ventral CA1 neurons.
July 30, 2025 at 7:45 PM
New paper from the lab, from Jeremy Biane and team, out today, characterizing the principles of stimulus feature coding in populations of ventral CA1 neurons.
Reposted by Will Sheeran
The “deal” that Brown made with the Trump admin is much more extreme than is being reported. It includes government oversight of course evaluations and no barrier to government interference in faculty hiring.
Read it for yourself here:
www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...
Read it for yourself here:
www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...
www.brown.edu
July 30, 2025 at 11:46 PM
The “deal” that Brown made with the Trump admin is much more extreme than is being reported. It includes government oversight of course evaluations and no barrier to government interference in faculty hiring.
Read it for yourself here:
www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...
Read it for yourself here:
www.brown.edu/sites/defaul...
Reposted by Will Sheeran
I loved Brown University. I flourished at Brown University. I met friends and my future spouse at Brown University. I stayed to get an extra degree. I played in the band at commencement. I raised $50k (most of it my own) to endow a UTAship for women in CS at Brown University.
Fuck Brown University.
Fuck Brown University.
July 31, 2025 at 2:19 AM
I loved Brown University. I flourished at Brown University. I met friends and my future spouse at Brown University. I stayed to get an extra degree. I played in the band at commencement. I raised $50k (most of it my own) to endow a UTAship for women in CS at Brown University.
Fuck Brown University.
Fuck Brown University.
Reposted by Will Sheeran
Just read the Brown University agreement and this really jumped out.
"The University will not perform gender reassignment surgery or prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to any minor child for the purpose of aligning the child's appearance with an identity that differs from his or her sex."
"The University will not perform gender reassignment surgery or prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to any minor child for the purpose of aligning the child's appearance with an identity that differs from his or her sex."
July 30, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Just read the Brown University agreement and this really jumped out.
"The University will not perform gender reassignment surgery or prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to any minor child for the purpose of aligning the child's appearance with an identity that differs from his or her sex."
"The University will not perform gender reassignment surgery or prescribe puberty blockers or hormones to any minor child for the purpose of aligning the child's appearance with an identity that differs from his or her sex."
Reposted by Will Sheeran
I’m excited to share my final co-first author paper from my postdoc in Dan Dombeck's lab!
We explored how behavior, senses, and neurons influence how much information in the brain changes over time.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#science #research #neuroscience #hippocampus #placecells
We explored how behavior, senses, and neurons influence how much information in the brain changes over time.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#science #research #neuroscience #hippocampus #placecells
Hippocampal representations drift in stable multisensory environments - Nature
Tracking of individual place cells in mouse CA1 shows that representational drift is not influenced by changes in environment or behaviour, and is lower for more excitable place cells.
www.nature.com
July 23, 2025 at 4:12 PM
I’m excited to share my final co-first author paper from my postdoc in Dan Dombeck's lab!
We explored how behavior, senses, and neurons influence how much information in the brain changes over time.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#science #research #neuroscience #hippocampus #placecells
We explored how behavior, senses, and neurons influence how much information in the brain changes over time.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#science #research #neuroscience #hippocampus #placecells
Reposted by Will Sheeran
My heart breaks for trans kids, who do not deserve this obsessive animus that adults are directing at them.
June 18, 2025 at 2:58 PM
My heart breaks for trans kids, who do not deserve this obsessive animus that adults are directing at them.
Reposted by Will Sheeran
That is 54, 5-year NIH biomedical research grants.
Or 270 years worth of biomedical research.
Or 270 years worth of biomedical research.
Trump’s deployment of troops to Los Angeles amid mass deportation protests will likely cost $134 million, the Pentagon’s acting budget chief said.
Troops deployed to LA will cost $134M, Pentagon official says
The acting budget chief said the estimate covers costs such as travel, housing and food.
www.politico.com
June 10, 2025 at 5:19 PM
That is 54, 5-year NIH biomedical research grants.
Or 270 years worth of biomedical research.
Or 270 years worth of biomedical research.
Reposted by Will Sheeran
A ventral hippocampal-lateral septum pathway regulates social novelty preference. Version of record - now available on @elife.bsky.social check it out doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
A ventral hippocampal-lateral septum pathway regulates social novelty preference
Projection-specific optogenetic and chemogenetic experiments reveal a hippocampal-lateral septal pathway that potentially acts via the ventral tegmental area to regulate social novelty preference beha...
doi.org
June 5, 2025 at 5:57 PM
A ventral hippocampal-lateral septum pathway regulates social novelty preference. Version of record - now available on @elife.bsky.social check it out doi.org/10.7554/eLif...
Reposted by Will Sheeran
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. 🧵
April 25, 2025 at 5:17 PM
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 Will Sheeran
I have confirmation from several sources now that all T32s, many F30s and F31s, and most or all Center awards (P30, P50) have been terminated at Columbia.
This is quite damaging to research and to individuals.
This is pure terrorism and cannot be legal. But litigation will take time...
This is quite damaging to research and to individuals.
This is pure terrorism and cannot be legal. But litigation will take time...
March 11, 2025 at 2:30 PM
I have confirmation from several sources now that all T32s, many F30s and F31s, and most or all Center awards (P30, P50) have been terminated at Columbia.
This is quite damaging to research and to individuals.
This is pure terrorism and cannot be legal. But litigation will take time...
This is quite damaging to research and to individuals.
This is pure terrorism and cannot be legal. But litigation will take time...
Reposted by Will Sheeran
Colorado out in force to support US science!
March 7, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Colorado out in force to support US science!
Bit late to the game here, but had a really fun time writing this perspective piece with @neurozoe.bsky.social about a couple of fascinating papers now out in Science. Massive kudos to the Hong and Zhang groups for their work www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
An innate drive to save a life
In mice, two brain regions drive the impulse to revive an unconscious companion
www.science.org
February 25, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Bit late to the game here, but had a really fun time writing this perspective piece with @neurozoe.bsky.social about a couple of fascinating papers now out in Science. Massive kudos to the Hong and Zhang groups for their work www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Will Sheeran
1/12 How do animals build an internal map? In our new paper, we tracked thousands of mouse CA1 neurons over days/weeks as they learned a VR navigation task. @nspruston.bsky.social & co-1st author @johanwinn.bsky.social
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw_4...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw_4...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Learning produces an orthogonalized state machine in the hippocampus
YouTube video by Weinan Sun
www.youtube.com
February 12, 2025 at 7:36 PM
1/12 How do animals build an internal map? In our new paper, we tracked thousands of mouse CA1 neurons over days/weeks as they learned a VR navigation task. @nspruston.bsky.social & co-1st author @johanwinn.bsky.social
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw_4...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw_4...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Will Sheeran
How does the brain work in natural scenarios, in multi-animal societies of wild animals? 🧠 🧪 🦇
doi.org/10.1126/scie...
(1/n)
doi.org/10.1126/scie...
(1/n)
January 30, 2025 at 7:20 PM
How does the brain work in natural scenarios, in multi-animal societies of wild animals? 🧠 🧪 🦇
doi.org/10.1126/scie...
(1/n)
doi.org/10.1126/scie...
(1/n)
Reposted by Will Sheeran
Oh hey, they're actually afraid of this messaging. Run with it
The White House sent out an email to all reporters on its press list, calling our story “fake news.”
We stand by our story.
We stand by our story.
February 10, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Oh hey, they're actually afraid of this messaging. Run with it