Dr. Nicola Smyllie
nsmyllie.bsky.social
Dr. Nicola Smyllie
@nsmyllie.bsky.social
Investigator scientist at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Neurobiologist researching the circadian clock of the suprachiasmatic nucleus
STEM Ambassador
Passion for Science Public Engagement
All views are my own
Pinned
A nice summary about my latest paper, and I got to use this image that I had fun putting together (no AI in sight!)
Uncovering the hidden complexity behind the brain’s master clock.
New research led by @nsmyllie.bsky.social, in Michael Hastings’s group, reveals that body clock proteins PER2 & CRY1 act more independently than previously thought:
www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/uncovering-t...
#LMBResearch 🧪 🕙 🧠
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
4yr MRC-funded postdoc position investigating circadian mechanisms in cardiometabolic disease, currently available @manchester.ac.uk

www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

Come and join our brilliant Centre for Biological Timing team!

@bioclocksuk.bsky.social #chronobiology #circadian #postdoc
Research Associate in Circadian Mechanisms in Cardiometabolic Disease:Oxford Road
Due to the nature of the funding, KTP Associates who have already completed a KTP are not eligible to apply.
www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk
November 10, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
Share you #chronobiology research at the upcoming #ClockClub in Nottingham on the 9th of January 2026. Only a few more days until the 14th Nov abstract submission deadline!
Send your abstract here: forms.office.com/e/cQDefteB7S
Microsoft Forms
forms.office.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
Considering the LMB for your PhD?
We’ve got over 25 projects available, covering a wide array of topics. Check them out here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/students/int...
Apply by 2nd DEC for Autumn 2026 admission.
November 10, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
The M4S Competition has expanded its reach to Birmingham and Manchester, underscoring the programme's success in sparking scientific curiosity among primary students across the UK
#LMBNews
www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/m4s-expansio...
@mcrcnews.bsky.social @uom-dcs.bsky.social @unibirmingham.bsky.social
October 27, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
Join us at @pborostemfest.bsky.social on Oct 18 to test your detective skills in an interactive game, matching what you see under a microscope with different areas of LMB’s science #PSF2025

📍 ARU Peterborough
🕚 11:00 – 16:00 (Quiet time 9.30-11)

www.peterboroughstemfestival.co.uk/exhibitors/m...
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology - Beauty is in the detail - Peterborough STEM Festival
Have a go at coding with Peterborough CoderDojo!
www.peterboroughstemfestival.co.uk
October 13, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
Want to help inspire future generations of scientists? Are you passionate about #SciComm? We have a Public Engagement and Communications Officer (Maternity Cover) position in the LMB engagement & comms team:

www.reed.co.uk/jobs/public-...

Closes 21 SEP
#SciCommJobs
September 4, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
We’re looking for a #postdoc to join Michael Hastings’ group, studying diet-induced neuroinflammation in the hypothalamus and its modulation by circadian clock mechanisms, in collaboration with John O'Neill's group.
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Closes 08 SEP
#ScienceJobs #PostdocJobs
August 20, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
☀️ Summer is a great time to observe biological rhythms in action. Look at the insect life around you - do they come out at a particular time of day?

🐝 If so, you've found their 'temporal niche'!

🔗 Learn more through our factsheets here: www.bioclocks.uk/factsheets

#SciComm #Ecology 🧪
August 11, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
To be successful, policymakers need to consider diverse perspectives

go.nature.com/3H7XR3X
Could bridging science and the arts be the key to better policies?
To be successful, policymakers need to consider diverse perspectives. Here’s how we’re reimagining policy process.
go.nature.com
July 30, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
Are you creative? Curious? Science-savvy?
We have a unique opportunity to join the LMB’s VisLab as a Photographer / Videographer where you’ll help communicate ground-breaking research with dynamic visuals.
Apply now: mrc.tal.net/vx/mobile-0/...
#CambridgeJobs #PhotographyJobs #ScienceCommunication
July 22, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
Is the next step of your career at the LMB?
Come and find us at the @cambridgebiocampus.bsky.social Campus Jobs and Career Fair this Saturday 21st June at the Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology!
More details here: cambridge-biomedical.com/event/cbc-jo...
June 17, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
What does the evidence say about beating #jetlag? It depends which way you’re going!

Check out our full factsheet on Jetlag here: www.bioclocks.uk/factsheets

#chronobiology #scicomm 🧪
June 16, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Thanks to Michael Brunner for writing this #news&views article for @embojournal.org about our recent research on #circadian clock protein dynamics in the SCN: www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
CRYing for balance: a repressor lingers through peak circadian transcription | The EMBO Journal
EMBO Press is an editorially independent publishing platform for the development of EMBO scientific publications.
www.embopress.org
June 10, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
The LMB is committed to being open & honest about why & how we use animals in our research.
Our Biological Services Group provide excellent care to our colonies of rodents – our fantastic animal technicians explain why they work with mice in this video: youtu.be/V7CHmPGjvSo
#BOARD25 @eara.eu
Why I Work with Mice in Research - An Animal Technician's Point of View
YouTube video by MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
youtu.be
June 3, 2025 at 8:30 AM
A nice summary about my latest paper, and I got to use this image that I had fun putting together (no AI in sight!)
Uncovering the hidden complexity behind the brain’s master clock.
New research led by @nsmyllie.bsky.social, in Michael Hastings’s group, reveals that body clock proteins PER2 & CRY1 act more independently than previously thought:
www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/uncovering-t...
#LMBResearch 🧪 🕙 🧠
April 25, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
Uncovering the hidden complexity behind the brain’s master clock.
New research led by @nsmyllie.bsky.social, in Michael Hastings’s group, reveals that body clock proteins PER2 & CRY1 act more independently than previously thought:
www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/uncovering-t...
#LMBResearch 🧪 🕙 🧠
April 25, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
If anyone is interested, I've updated our take on a cellular basis of the mammalian nocturnal-diurnal switch @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social

We've refined the paper (for the better, hopefully!) - my fave updates are the results from a collab with Zoonomia (Fig 3)

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A cellular basis for the mammalian nocturnal-diurnal switch
Early mammals were nocturnal until the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction enabled diurnal niche expansion. Diurnality evolved multiple times independently, but the mechanisms driving this shift remain un...
www.biorxiv.org
April 24, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Very pleased to see my latest paper out in @embojournal.org Go check it out!
Quantitative measures of clock protein dynamics in the mouse suprachiasmatic nucleus extends the #circadian time-keeping model
Michael Hastings, Nicola Smyllie @nsmyllie.bsky.social et al @mrclmb.bsky.social
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
April 24, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
Quantitative measures of clock protein dynamics in the mouse suprachiasmatic nucleus extends the #circadian time-keeping model
Michael Hastings, Nicola Smyllie @nsmyllie.bsky.social et al @mrclmb.bsky.social
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
April 22, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
LMB scientists showcased their work at the @cambridgefestival.bsky.social with a hands-on activity about the scale of biology and an artistic piece about body clocks.

Read about the event here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/lmb-highligh...

#LMBNews #CamFest @nsmyllie.bsky.social
April 4, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
LMB @cambridgefestival.bsky.social engagement team ready to go! Join us at CAST today 11-4 to explore the tiny scale of our research, play our mutant matching game & see @nsmyllie.bsky.social Sci-Art collaboration.
More details: www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/molec...
March 22, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
Looking for something to do next weekend? Join us at
@cambridgefestival.bsky.social
We’ll be at CAST from 11AM-4PM on 22nd March
Discover how scientists unlock the mysteries of life by studying its constituent parts at vastly different scales

More details: www.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/molec...
March 17, 2025 at 2:48 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
We will also display the sci-art collaboration between the contemporary artist Laura Pearson-Clark and Nicola Smyllie @nsmyllie.bsky.social in the LMB's Neurobiology Division
March 17, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
📣 Last week to apply to our work experience placements
🧪🔬 Aimed at local Y12 students from state schools interested in a science career
🗓️ 28/07 – 1/08
Eligibility and selection criteria apply
Applications by 09/03

Info: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/students/wor...
#STEM #WorkExperience #BiologyCareers
March 3, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
📣 Applications are open for our work experience placements
🧪🔬 Aimed at local Y12 students from state schools interested in a science career

🗓️ 28/07 – 1/08
Eligibility and selection criteria apply
Applications by 09/03

www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/students/wor...

#STEM #WorkExperience #BiologyCareers
February 13, 2025 at 3:03 PM