Dr. Diana Li
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dianateuthis.bsky.social
Dr. Diana Li
@dianateuthis.bsky.social
1.7K followers 560 following 330 posts
✨ NYC Scientist, Educator, & #SciCommer
🧠 Public Engagement at Columbia
🦑 Ph.D. in squids from Stanford
🐦‍⬛ Always lookin for birbs
🦉 Let’s rock
😤 Opinions my own
(she/her/hers)
https://www.dianahli.com
Posts Replies Media Videos
dianateuthis.bsky.social
🐙🐙🐙
Happy world octopus day from me and these three fridge magnets that somehow perfectly encapsulate how I feel about the world these days 😱

🦑
Three octopus magnets lined up vertically on a table. There’s an orange one, blue, and sparkly grey. Their eyes look wide open and shocked. They are holding up two arms to touch their mantle and honestly look like the dude from Edvard Munch’s The Scream
October 8, 2025 at 5:51 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
I can’t stop laughing at the pic I took trying to capture the bright, radiant beauty of tonight’s full moon lol

This featureless, washed-out dot and I wish you a happy mid-autumn festival 🥮
A feeble attempt at photographing the majestic full moon tonight. Instead, it looks like a completely featureless small white circle against a pitch black sky.
October 7, 2025 at 3:59 AM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
‬It’s so bleak out here, but that doesn’t stop me from lookin for birbs

Take a bird, leave a bird 🪶
A male hooded merganser swims in Central Park’s reservoir
April 15, 2025 at 11:45 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
I think of this specific aloe plant at least once a week
Tumblr screenshot Moz-arent says: Quick! I need a good picture of Rachmaninoff’s hands! g-sharp-minor replies with a photo of them holding a gangly-appendaged aloe plant over a piano keyboard
March 16, 2025 at 2:05 AM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
Instead of spiraling about the NIH overhead news, I am taking a break to think about Hoolie, the sweetest, most darling bird ambassador I met at Three Rivers Avian Center in WV 🥹😤

Happy #SuperbOwlSunday 🦉

tracwv.org/ambassadors/...
Hoolie, a beautiful, magnificent, darling Great Horned Owl, perched on a little ledge covered in AstroTurf. There is a little leash attached to one of her feet. She is indoors. She is bird ambassador at the Three Rivers Avian Center, a bird rehabilitation and education center in West Virginia.
February 9, 2025 at 3:22 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
Them yelling “BUY BUY BUY” absolutely killed me 😂😂😂 and the way that socks adorned every part of these people’s outfits and accessories was *chef’s kiss* 💼🧦👔
February 2, 2025 at 3:42 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
Saw some delightful whimsy to counteract an upsetting, chaotic week: the New York *Sock* Exchange 🧦📈🤑📉
Nighttime. A man and a woman dressed in winter coats crossing the street pulling a shopping cart absolutely overflowing with unpaired socks. On top of the massive pile of socks is a replica of the New York Stock Exchange building entrance with four white columns supporting a triangular top. A digital banner shows New York Sock Exchange scrolling through the discreet.
February 2, 2025 at 3:42 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
I’m sure most ppl found me via the cephalopod, science, or EEB lists, but I *have* to aksjfhtkslaldjfksj about seeing FOUR harps yesterday 🤩

Where my fellow harpists at?? 🎶🎵Also the harp emoji can’t get here soon enough 😭
Photo of NY Philharmonic before the concert started for Wagner’s Ring Cycle (without words). Zoomed in view to show four harps on stage, behind the violin section. Two harps are gold. The other two are mahogany.
January 19, 2025 at 9:00 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
New year, new show! 🧪

I recently joined @storycollider.bsky.social to produce true, personal stories about science & have been LOVING working with this show's storytellers! The cherry on top is that I get to work with @paulacroxson.bsky.social again!! 🤩

🎟️: www.storycollider.org/tickets/2025...
Promo banner of the upcoming Story Collider Show ROOTS at Caveat in New York, NY January 13, 7pm ET Tickets at storycollider.org There are five story tellers, indicated by five circle-shaped photos of them. Their names are Josh Barber, Rhonda Hansome, Rollie Williams, Rita Rigano, and David Quang Pham
January 3, 2025 at 8:06 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
lmao solid choice, but it's THIS movie by the pythons that vindicated high-school me having taken nearly half a decade of Latin 😤

Recite 80% of a movie - what are you picking #filmsky
Still of the "Romanes eunt domus" scene from Monty Python's Life of Brian. The grammatically correct "Romani ite domum" is written all over the buildings in varying font sizes, including extremely huge. Brian is finishing up writing as the sun rises and two Roman soldiers are hurrying towards him.
November 30, 2024 at 5:18 AM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
So @dannastaaf.bsky.social’s out here promoting smol pygmy things but I’m here, 5’10” (with shoes on), dangling my arms to say:
😤IT’S MAGNAPINNA TIME 😤

(Magnapinna’s arms are like 20 ft long)🥹🤩

🦑🌊🧪
Diana standing on a stage wearing a black T-shirt with a white Humboldt squid drawn on it and a pair of shorts with a dark green leg and an orange leg. She’s holding her left arm out and her forearm is dangling so that her elbow is at a right angle, just like the arm of Magnapinna squid. Her other hand is holding on microphone near her face. An image of a real Magnapinna squid by a remotely operated vehicle diving below the ocean surface during a 2021 NOAA expedition. Like it’s name suggests, the squid has two really large fins at the top of its body kind of like elephant ears, and it’s 10 arms and tentacles stick out from its body with a bend that looks like an elbow. They dangle very, very long below its body An image of a real Magnapinna squid by a remotely operated vehicle diving below the ocean surface during a 2021 NOAA expedition. A zoomed in view of the “elbows” the squid’s arms and tentacles appear to form.
September 20, 2024 at 2:34 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
When you gotta jet and it’s #Squidtember 🦑

Ft. @skypeascientist.bsky.social t shirt by @coreydanks.bsky.social & @sarahmackattack.bsky.social
Selfie of Diana on the plane. She has a green KN95 mask on and she’s wearing black over the ear headphones. Her shirt says Fill your skull with SQUID FACTS (but FACTS is cut off at the bottom). The shirt has a top-open skull on it with a squid lounging in the spot where the brain goes.
September 11, 2024 at 11:04 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
Omg @gabeeggers.bsky.social has brought this VERY difficult choice to my attention for today’s #Squidtember matchup!!

Sure, Architeuthis is lomng and we love a big boi, but Ommastrephes will ALWAYS steal my squid-locomotion heart bc it not only swims in the water but also FLIES THRU THE AIR!!!
🦑🌊🧪
Screenshot of Figure 1 from the paper by Muramatsu et al. (2013) titled “Oceanic squid do fly” in the journal Marine Biology. The photo shows 30-40 squids jetting in the air over the surface of the ocean. Their fins and arms are splayed out to create temporary “wings” and each squid is trailed by a jet of water its shot out through the siphon. A bird is seen flying in the foreground, above the squid. The caption reads; “squid in flight. Squid mantle length was estimated to be 122-135 mm based on the typical wing length of a red-footed booby (383 mm, Nelson 2005)”
September 4, 2024 at 7:40 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
lol thank you for truly seeing me
Meme of the farmer with the caption saying “it ain’t much, but it’s honest work” except work has been replaced by the phrase “squid doodles”
August 30, 2024 at 4:17 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
Yes @dannastaaf.bsky.social is 100% right about this ✅

Evidence: me describing bigfin squid on Tuesday with @funkminister.bsky.social during @scifri.bsky.social Cephalopod Week trivia night 🦑🐙🧪

Shirt by the one and only @invertebabe.bsky.social
Diana standing on stage with her arms outstretched. She’s holding a mic to her face with her right hand and her left hand is dangling due to her elbow bending at a right angle, imitating the “elbows” of the big fin squid. She is wearing a black shirt with a Humboldt squid drawn in white. Her shorts have one green leg and one orange leg.
June 23, 2024 at 5:42 AM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
Reposting to 🦑 & 🧪!!

Get your tickets for the June 20th Facts Machine show! Early bird pricing ends in 2 hours!! 😱

In person in NYC or tune into the livestream - plus, use the promo codes gradschool or postdoc for an additional $5 off! Y'all know who you are 😉

🎟️: www.caveat.nyc/events/facts...
Square image of multiple schools of fish that are all the colors of the rainbow swimming underwater in a blue background. Text reads: FACTS MACHINE OUR WETTER NATURE comedy, storytelling, and trivia inspired by MARINE BIOLOGY Thursday, June 20th, 7pm at Caveat Square image of multiple schools of fish that are all the colors of the rainbow swimming underwater in a blue background. Joshua and Diana's photos are inside their own circle frames
June 13, 2024 at 9:05 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
Don't forget to secure those tickets for the June 20th Facts Machine show! Early bird pricing ends in 2 hours!! 😱

Join in person in NYC or tune into the livestream, and use the promo codes gradschool or postdoc for an additional $5 off! Y'all know who you are 😉

🎟️: www.caveat.nyc/events/facts...
Square image of multiple schools of fish that are all the colors of the rainbow swimming underwater in a blue background. Text reads: FACTS MACHINE OUR WETTER NATURE comedy, storytelling, and trivia inspired by MARINE BIOLOGY Thursday, June 20th, 7pm at Caveat Square image of multiple schools of fish that are all the colors of the rainbow swimming underwater in a blue background. Joshua and Diana's photos are inside their own circle frames. Text reads: MEET OUR GUESTS: Joshua Barber Diana Li, PhD
June 13, 2024 at 8:56 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
🚨 Early bird pricing ends tonight!! 🚨

Get your tickets for @scifri.bsky.social Cephalopod Week Trivia Night on June 18th!! 🦑🐙🌊🧪

Nautilus-en (not to listen) to this warning would be a bad idea! 😉

🎟️ link: www.caveat.nyc/events/cepha...
Rectangular image with a blue background and faint white gridlines. White bordered sticker images of octopus, squid, nautilus, flamboyant cuttlefish, and striped pajama squid adorn the perimeter. Text reads: #CEPHALOPOD WEEK TRIVIA NIGHT! June 18, 9:30pm, CAVEAT Compete to win and cephalo-brate everyone's favorite invertebrates! Science Friday + Columbia's Zuckerman Institute
June 11, 2024 at 9:57 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
Cephalopod Week is coming up this month!! 🦑🧪 Join me:

June 18 (NYC): Trivia Night w/ @scifri.bsky.social
Tix: www.caveat.nyc/events/cepha...

June 20 (NYC + virtual): Facts Machine science & comedy show. I've got a fun new talk about neuroscience & giant squids!
Tix: www.caveat.nyc/events/facts...
Square image with a blue background and faint white gridlines. White bordered sticker images of octopus, squid, nautilus, flamboyant cuttlefish, and striped pajama squid adorn the perimeter. Text reads: #CEPHALOPOD WEEK TRIVIA NIGHT! June 18, 9:30pm @ CAVEAT Compete to win and cephalo-brate everyone's favorite invertebrates! Science Friday + Columbia's Zuckerman Institute Square image of multiple schools of fish that are all the colors of the rainbow swimming underwater in a blue background. Text reads: FACTS MACHINE OUR WETTER NATURE comedy, storytelling, and trivia inspired by MARINE BIOLOGY Thursday, June 20th, 7pm at Caveat
June 8, 2024 at 10:50 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
Show me a picture on your phone that has your energy that isn’t a selfie
A square image with a humanoid black crow, who is upper half is crow with arms that look like talons and lower half an implied human, but they are wearing a long black dress obscuring their lower half. They are side-eyeing you with a displeased expression. The scene behind them is outside with a few tall trees and a black sun in the sky. White text on the bottom says: “that look you get when they interrupt your shapeshifting”
June 5, 2024 at 12:45 AM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
If you see this post, post a vampire.

Throwback to the day I got to meet a real life vampire squid 🥹

Spoiler: the vampire is NOT on the left side of this pic hehe 🧛 🦑
Diana in a grey hoodie with her head rested on her crossed arms. She looks lovingly and with adoration at a live vampire squid in a clear collection container. The vampire squid is larger than Diana’s head and is a very very deep shade of red. Photo: MBARI
May 26, 2024 at 3:12 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
Flopping as a successful survival strategy?

You and me both, salmon. You and me both. 😌
Screenshot of the New York Times email newsletter. An image of a pile of silver-colored fish spread across the grassy rocks by a stream. Text says: About 100,000 live salmon spilled off a truck in Oregon, but most survived by flopping into a nearby creek. They are heading toward the ocean.
April 5, 2024 at 6:27 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
So does this mean the red line campus bus won’t arrive til….Easter Sunday?? 🤔
Screenshot of the Columbia University bus map. Red, blue, and green bus routes are overlaid on the map. White text at the bottom on a red banner, shows an important schedule update: Red line is experiencing delays due to religious holiday.
March 30, 2024 at 1:13 AM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
Come to the next Nerd Nite NYC for trivia & fun science! 🧪

I'll be talking about why I believe the Toyota RAV4 is the cephalopod of cars 🦑🧐

🗓️ 7pm. Sat, Jan 6 (the best way to celebrate the anniversary of the insurrection is... with knowledge?? 🥴)
📍 Littlefield in Brooklyn
🎟️ Tix: nyc.nerdnite.com
Underwater photo of California market squid taken by Diana during her PhD research on these animals. Six squid are mostly in frame. They are pearlescent and translucent with brownish and iridescent spots along their mantle. They have large, inquisitive eyes. The tank is a rich pastel blue behind them and small patches of pink encrusting bryozoans are on the tank surface.
December 29, 2023 at 4:58 PM
dianateuthis.bsky.social
Come on by to learn how we are training the next generation of neuroscientists at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute!

I’ll be talking about our BRAINYAC high school research internship program 🧠🎓 Chat with me anytime this morning. Poster is up all day!

Halls A-C: #WW70

#Neuroskyence #SfN
Photo of Diana in a white shirt smiling next to her team’s poster!
November 12, 2023 at 1:11 PM