Jason Shepherd
@jasonsynaptic.bsky.social
🇿🇦🇳🇿🇺🇸Neuroscientist/amateur virologist. Professor, University of Utah. Molecular mechanisms of memory, repurposed transposons, and virus-like intercellular signaling. Personal views.
Photography, travel, sports.
www.shepherdlab.org
Photography, travel, sports.
www.shepherdlab.org
Pinned
For obvious reasons, I've become fascinated with retrotransposons. So we ( @alexwhiteley.bsky.social and I) wrote an article now out in Neuron @cellpress.bsky.social on how we think retrotransposons influence brain function and health! kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...
Thanks Maureen! Been a fun meeting.
A great meeting on #extracellularvesicles in nervous systems and reprieve to McGill/Montreal.
Thank you @jasonsynaptic.bsky.social and @isev.org organizers
Thank you @jasonsynaptic.bsky.social and @isev.org organizers
October 31, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Thanks Maureen! Been a fun meeting.
When the sky matches the Fall foliage 😍
October 26, 2025 at 5:31 PM
When the sky matches the Fall foliage 😍
Reposted by Jason Shepherd
I'm so excited to see this Perspective with @jasonsynaptic.bsky.social out in Neuron! About 8% of our genome is made up of the remnants of LTR-containing retroelements - here, Jason and I explore the activities of retroTEs in neurological health and disease!
authors.elsevier.com/c/1lzTx3BtfH...
authors.elsevier.com/c/1lzTx3BtfH...
authors.elsevier.com
October 23, 2025 at 3:15 PM
I'm so excited to see this Perspective with @jasonsynaptic.bsky.social out in Neuron! About 8% of our genome is made up of the remnants of LTR-containing retroelements - here, Jason and I explore the activities of retroTEs in neurological health and disease!
authors.elsevier.com/c/1lzTx3BtfH...
authors.elsevier.com/c/1lzTx3BtfH...
My NIH study section will not meet tomorrow because of the government shutdown. This may seem trivial but rescheduling these meetings will delay funding decisions for months to even a year! Let alone the uncertainty of what the FY26 budget will be. Awful for US scientists! 😓
October 22, 2025 at 10:31 PM
My NIH study section will not meet tomorrow because of the government shutdown. This may seem trivial but rescheduling these meetings will delay funding decisions for months to even a year! Let alone the uncertainty of what the FY26 budget will be. Awful for US scientists! 😓
For obvious reasons, I've become fascinated with retrotransposons. So we ( @alexwhiteley.bsky.social and I) wrote an article now out in Neuron @cellpress.bsky.social on how we think retrotransposons influence brain function and health! kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...
October 20, 2025 at 8:00 PM
For obvious reasons, I've become fascinated with retrotransposons. So we ( @alexwhiteley.bsky.social and I) wrote an article now out in Neuron @cellpress.bsky.social on how we think retrotransposons influence brain function and health! kwnsfk27.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F...
Awesome program (booklet and speaker list) organized by our students for our annual symposium at Snowbird!
October 17, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Awesome program (booklet and speaker list) organized by our students for our annual symposium at Snowbird!
Looking forward to visiting Emory Cell Biology dept tomorrow! @basselllab.bsky.social @angalus.bsky.social @katzlab.bsky.social
October 14, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Looking forward to visiting Emory Cell Biology dept tomorrow! @basselllab.bsky.social @angalus.bsky.social @katzlab.bsky.social
Growing up in a country where there wasn’t much of a season change…it never gets old! Winter is almost here in the ‘hood. 📷 🌲 ❄️
October 12, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Growing up in a country where there wasn’t much of a season change…it never gets old! Winter is almost here in the ‘hood. 📷 🌲 ❄️
Reposted by Jason Shepherd
Thoughtful and well-informed op-ed from @ianlmorgan.bsky.social
Definitely worth a read!
www.the-scientist.com/nih-leadersh...
1/2
Definitely worth a read!
www.the-scientist.com/nih-leadersh...
1/2
NIH Leadership Is Failing Early Career Researchers
Halted training programs, funding chaos, and hiring freezes jeopardize advancement options for early career researchers.
www.the-scientist.com
October 10, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Thoughtful and well-informed op-ed from @ianlmorgan.bsky.social
Definitely worth a read!
www.the-scientist.com/nih-leadersh...
1/2
Definitely worth a read!
www.the-scientist.com/nih-leadersh...
1/2
Reposted by Jason Shepherd
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
nyti.ms
October 8, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
I love this year’s selection for many reasons. 2 are not on any list of expected awardees. Science has become an industry dominated by metrics and $$. Most do science for the love of discovery and fulfilling our curiosity, but this *love* is in conflict with hypercompetition and poor incentives!
October 8, 2025 at 6:02 PM
I love this year’s selection for many reasons. 2 are not on any list of expected awardees. Science has become an industry dominated by metrics and $$. Most do science for the love of discovery and fulfilling our curiosity, but this *love* is in conflict with hypercompetition and poor incentives!
WORD
If Harvard bows down to this lawless president, it will cover itself in shame and betray its motto “Veritas.”
Don’t pretend to stand for truth if you’re going to surrender to this bully. Appeasement only feeds the beast and puts us all at greater risk.
Don’t pretend to stand for truth if you’re going to surrender to this bully. Appeasement only feeds the beast and puts us all at greater risk.
Trump Says a Deal With Harvard Is Close
www.nytimes.com
October 2, 2025 at 3:32 AM
WORD
He’s not wrong!
"What is happening in this country is happening because science is bad for tyrants, and always has been"
This moment from our latest episode with science writer @edyong209.bsky.social is 🔥
We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪
Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇
open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...
We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪
Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇
open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...
October 2, 2025 at 3:22 AM
He’s not wrong!
Finally had some time to process a few camera shots! This was a magical morning on the #Normandy coast in France...📷 🌄 @sonyalpha.bsky.social
September 30, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Finally had some time to process a few camera shots! This was a magical morning on the #Normandy coast in France...📷 🌄 @sonyalpha.bsky.social
Anniversary weekend at the place where it started!
September 27, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Anniversary weekend at the place where it started!
Heads up: It will be the 50th anniversary of the Park City Learning and Memory meeting next Jan (8-11th) 2026! We will have special guests, alumni, and historical reflection of the field. We hope you can join us! parkcitywinterconf.org
September 19, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Heads up: It will be the 50th anniversary of the Park City Learning and Memory meeting next Jan (8-11th) 2026! We will have special guests, alumni, and historical reflection of the field. We hope you can join us! parkcitywinterconf.org
Reposted by Jason Shepherd
I was going to write a whole post about all this incredible work with all these amazing scientists and organizations, but I’ll just leave @stellatecomms.bsky.social design sizzle reel here.
It speaks for itself.
youtu.be/x2O7DkpIoCA?...
It speaks for itself.
youtu.be/x2O7DkpIoCA?...
Stellate Communications Reel
YouTube video by Stellate Communications
youtu.be
September 16, 2025 at 1:20 PM
I was going to write a whole post about all this incredible work with all these amazing scientists and organizations, but I’ll just leave @stellatecomms.bsky.social design sizzle reel here.
It speaks for itself.
youtu.be/x2O7DkpIoCA?...
It speaks for itself.
youtu.be/x2O7DkpIoCA?...
Reposted by Jason Shepherd
Picked a good weekend for our annual lab retreat! We all needed it. Escaped to the “Caribbean of the Rockies”…Bear Lake!
September 15, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Picked a good weekend for our annual lab retreat! We all needed it. Escaped to the “Caribbean of the Rockies”…Bear Lake!
Timeline cleanse 📷 🏞️
September 11, 2025 at 12:32 AM
Timeline cleanse 📷 🏞️
We are not safe on Utah education campuses. State laws allow open carry guns and our politicians fan the flames of hate and division. The USA will never be a “free” country until something is actually done about gun violence! I fear for where we are heading 😢
September 10, 2025 at 9:36 PM
We are not safe on Utah education campuses. State laws allow open carry guns and our politicians fan the flames of hate and division. The USA will never be a “free” country until something is actually done about gun violence! I fear for where we are heading 😢