Ishmail Abdus-Saboor
@ishmailsaboor.bsky.social
Associate Prof | Columbia Biology & Zuckerman Institute
Freeman Hrabowski Scholar | HHMI
We study how the skin-brain axis drives somatosensory behaviors
https://www.abdus-saboorlab.com/
Freeman Hrabowski Scholar | HHMI
We study how the skin-brain axis drives somatosensory behaviors
https://www.abdus-saboorlab.com/
This was a fascinating and page-turning read on the life of Francis Crick by @matthewcobb.bsky.social. Crick was a scientific pioneer and prophet, but also a complex and imperfect human being. Cobb captures it all masterfully.
November 26, 2025 at 5:05 PM
This was a fascinating and page-turning read on the life of Francis Crick by @matthewcobb.bsky.social. Crick was a scientific pioneer and prophet, but also a complex and imperfect human being. Cobb captures it all masterfully.
I think I have a new favorite textbook. Cool to see.
November 21, 2025 at 9:28 PM
I think I have a new favorite textbook. Cool to see.
Incredible that Crick predicted that Biology would one day move towards comparative sequencing across species in 1957. No sequencing technology at the time and still wasnt clear that DNA made RNA, which makes protein.
November 18, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Incredible that Crick predicted that Biology would one day move towards comparative sequencing across species in 1957. No sequencing technology at the time and still wasnt clear that DNA made RNA, which makes protein.
new book & new coffee shop in battery park (nyc); the life
November 15, 2025 at 1:31 PM
new book & new coffee shop in battery park (nyc); the life
Abdus-Saboor lab retreat at Mohonk Mountain House was a blast! I’m fortunate to work with such a great team.
October 21, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Abdus-Saboor lab retreat at Mohonk Mountain House was a blast! I’m fortunate to work with such a great team.
Excited to share the final version of our paper, where we invented a robotic device (ARM) for pain and somatosensory testing in rodents. We are excited to see many groups already getting this device in their labs through our startup company Tactorum Inc.
elifesciences.org/articles/996...
elifesciences.org/articles/996...
October 20, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Excited to share the final version of our paper, where we invented a robotic device (ARM) for pain and somatosensory testing in rodents. We are excited to see many groups already getting this device in their labs through our startup company Tactorum Inc.
elifesciences.org/articles/996...
elifesciences.org/articles/996...
So proud of Jess Jones, an HHMI Gilliam Fellow, for defending her PhD today in @tuthill.bsky.social's lab! Jess was one of my lab's 1st hires in 2018. She was also 1st author of one of our first papers: elifesciences.org/articles/57258. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her contributions.
September 19, 2025 at 9:56 PM
So proud of Jess Jones, an HHMI Gilliam Fellow, for defending her PhD today in @tuthill.bsky.social's lab! Jess was one of my lab's 1st hires in 2018. She was also 1st author of one of our first papers: elifesciences.org/articles/57258. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her contributions.
Thanks @nicolecrust.bsky.social! Hanging out and talking about the past and future of neuroscience with you was also a highlight of my week. And these kind words you signed in my book were also memorable:
September 11, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Thanks @nicolecrust.bsky.social! Hanging out and talking about the past and future of neuroscience with you was also a highlight of my week. And these kind words you signed in my book were also memorable:
Nice! I just saw this Piezo hat in the Nobel Prize museum in Stockholm a few weeks ago.
August 19, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Nice! I just saw this Piezo hat in the Nobel Prize museum in Stockholm a few weeks ago.
Abdus-Saboor & @vabraira.bsky.social lab joint tenure celebration party. We opened our labs together in 2018 and got tenure together this July. Published papers together and writing up more as we speak.
July 25, 2025 at 12:48 AM
Abdus-Saboor & @vabraira.bsky.social lab joint tenure celebration party. We opened our labs together in 2018 and got tenure together this July. Published papers together and writing up more as we speak.
I am happy to share that I’ve been awarded tenure here at Columbia University. Alhamdulillah. I thank my wife, parents, mentors, colleagues, friends, and family. I thank my lab members, present and past, for entrusting their careers in my hands and making this a thrilling journey.
July 2, 2025 at 1:43 PM
I am happy to share that I’ve been awarded tenure here at Columbia University. Alhamdulillah. I thank my wife, parents, mentors, colleagues, friends, and family. I thank my lab members, present and past, for entrusting their careers in my hands and making this a thrilling journey.
Just finished this excellent new book from @nicolecrust.bsky.social. Although we have collected lots of facts about the brain, we still don't know how it functions, or how to fix it when it breaks. Nicole provides a Grand Plan, which views the brain as a complex dynamical system. Inspiring!
June 20, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Just finished this excellent new book from @nicolecrust.bsky.social. Although we have collected lots of facts about the brain, we still don't know how it functions, or how to fix it when it breaks. Nicole provides a Grand Plan, which views the brain as a complex dynamical system. Inspiring!
Really enjoyed reading this fascinating review today on the neurobiology of tickle at lunch overlooking the Hudson River.
May 27, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Really enjoyed reading this fascinating review today on the neurobiology of tickle at lunch overlooking the Hudson River.
Another week, another ARM device installed. This time in the lab of HHMI Investigator Richard Palmiter. They are doing cool long-term pain studies and this device is perfect for their needs.
May 27, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Another week, another ARM device installed. This time in the lab of HHMI Investigator Richard Palmiter. They are doing cool long-term pain studies and this device is perfect for their needs.
Congrats to my undergrad student Amanda on graduating yesterday. She even got to bring her family by the lab to see where she's been working. We also recently learned that Amanda has been awarded a Fulbright!
May 22, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Congrats to my undergrad student Amanda on graduating yesterday. She even got to bring her family by the lab to see where she's been working. We also recently learned that Amanda has been awarded a Fulbright!
Excited to see Jeff Mogil getting an ARM device in his lab for automated and remote mechanical stimulation for use in pre-clinical pain & somatosensation studies.
May 21, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Excited to see Jeff Mogil getting an ARM device in his lab for automated and remote mechanical stimulation for use in pre-clinical pain & somatosensation studies.
Just finished Natural Neuroscience – a book I think will become an instant classic. This book can do for neuroscience what Schrodinger’s ‘What is Life’ did to usher in the golden age of molecular biology. Nachum Ulanovsky has given us a compelling call to arms to truly understand the brain.
May 16, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Just finished Natural Neuroscience – a book I think will become an instant classic. This book can do for neuroscience what Schrodinger’s ‘What is Life’ did to usher in the golden age of molecular biology. Nachum Ulanovsky has given us a compelling call to arms to truly understand the brain.
Fun lunch with my lab’s four graduating seniors. We will miss these amazing scientists. Leah is off to an internship at Pfizer, Amanda is off to a tech position with Vanessa Ruta at Rockefeller, Sofia is off to work at a NYC tech startup, and Simon will remain in our lab as a tech.
May 5, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Fun lunch with my lab’s four graduating seniors. We will miss these amazing scientists. Leah is off to an internship at Pfizer, Amanda is off to a tech position with Vanessa Ruta at Rockefeller, Sofia is off to work at a NYC tech startup, and Simon will remain in our lab as a tech.
Congratulations to an amazing postdoc in my group @yukihaba.bsky.social on being selected as a Leon Levy Scholar in Neuroscience. This funding will support Yuki’s exploration into genetic and neuronal mechanisms for naked mole rat social behavior.
April 29, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Congratulations to an amazing postdoc in my group @yukihaba.bsky.social on being selected as a Leon Levy Scholar in Neuroscience. This funding will support Yuki’s exploration into genetic and neuronal mechanisms for naked mole rat social behavior.
And the Abdus-Saboor lab has two new PhD candidates this week! Congrats to Wes and Viviana on masterful defenses of their qualifying exams. Both off to incredible starts on very cool projects.
April 25, 2025 at 3:56 PM
And the Abdus-Saboor lab has two new PhD candidates this week! Congrats to Wes and Viviana on masterful defenses of their qualifying exams. Both off to incredible starts on very cool projects.
Groundbreaking talk from Prof. Kaf Dzirasa today at Cold Spring Harbor. Thanks @cheadlelab.bsky.social for allowing me to crash Kaf’s talk and your lab meeting. Feeling inspired!
April 24, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Groundbreaking talk from Prof. Kaf Dzirasa today at Cold Spring Harbor. Thanks @cheadlelab.bsky.social for allowing me to crash Kaf’s talk and your lab meeting. Feeling inspired!
Excited to share that I’ve recently been named a Kavli-Grossman Scholar at Columbia University. This funding will support our efforts to combine peripheral somatosensory manipulations with large scale brain recordings using Neuropixels.
March 17, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Excited to share that I’ve recently been named a Kavli-Grossman Scholar at Columbia University. This funding will support our efforts to combine peripheral somatosensory manipulations with large scale brain recordings using Neuropixels.
I'm so excited to finally meet Prof Weizhe Hong in person and host him for a seminar. After our 1:1 meeting, I now have so many new ideas (lab members time to hide from me lol). In these crazy times, getting protected time to think about science is awesome.
February 24, 2025 at 3:54 PM
I'm so excited to finally meet Prof Weizhe Hong in person and host him for a seminar. After our 1:1 meeting, I now have so many new ideas (lab members time to hide from me lol). In these crazy times, getting protected time to think about science is awesome.
Eagles bringing us some much needed joy! One more half to go
February 10, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Eagles bringing us some much needed joy! One more half to go
Superbowl bound! Turn up Philly! Lets go Eagles🦅🦅🦅
January 26, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Superbowl bound! Turn up Philly! Lets go Eagles🦅🦅🦅