Tamara Stawicki, PhD
@tamarastawicki.bsky.social
I study hair cells & cilia genes in zebrafish and disappear into the woods in my free time. Views are my own and do not represent those of my employer.
Pinned
It seems we're doing intros given all the people either coming over or returning here from the bad place. So here's a little about new followers. I'm a Neuroscience Faculty member at Lafayette College, a small liberal arts college in eastern PA.
Reposted by Tamara Stawicki, PhD
Adding more signs of how NIH science is/was broken: my lab team could not show up for 3 more accepted talks at scientific conferences, totaling 9 for the year now. If you interview current NIH trainees for grad or med schools please understand that we are giving them the best experience we can.
While the government was shut down, 379 NIH study section meetings (containing 24,380 grant applications) were postponed. NIH is committed to getting these reviewed, but please be patient and understanding with staff, as this is a complex and heavy lift.
November 13, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Adding more signs of how NIH science is/was broken: my lab team could not show up for 3 more accepted talks at scientific conferences, totaling 9 for the year now. If you interview current NIH trainees for grad or med schools please understand that we are giving them the best experience we can.
Given we’re in the middle of our second 12+ hour power failure in about a week maybe we should figure out powering the now first
November 10, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Given we’re in the middle of our second 12+ hour power failure in about a week maybe we should figure out powering the now first
I was going to order a new UV bulb for my fish rack from Aquaneering and it looks like the shipping alone is going to be $212. I don't know how universal UV bulbs are if I could order it from some other random source to get around this. Do others know? #zebrafish
November 6, 2025 at 5:55 PM
I was going to order a new UV bulb for my fish rack from Aquaneering and it looks like the shipping alone is going to be $212. I don't know how universal UV bulbs are if I could order it from some other random source to get around this. Do others know? #zebrafish
I live in a swing district in a swing state. Democrats won every race they were in... Our two Republican incumbent township supervisors...replaced with Democrats, 3 Democrats and 2 Republicans had terms ending on the County Council...5 Democrats won. Judicial races at all levels...the Democrats won.
November 5, 2025 at 7:10 PM
I live in a swing district in a swing state. Democrats won every race they were in... Our two Republican incumbent township supervisors...replaced with Democrats, 3 Democrats and 2 Republicans had terms ending on the County Council...5 Democrats won. Judicial races at all levels...the Democrats won.
Well I was able to rock my sticker for about 10 minutes before it fell off. Make sure to get out and vote today everyone!
November 4, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Well I was able to rock my sticker for about 10 minutes before it fell off. Make sure to get out and vote today everyone!
Don’t love that are campus power issues are such that now when I type “the power is out on campus” I my phone autofills with AGAIN
November 1, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Don’t love that are campus power issues are such that now when I type “the power is out on campus” I my phone autofills with AGAIN
A great resource to folks on the job market. Though I'll note to the point of only applying for jobs you fit, my current position was looking for someone doing "behavioral research" and that is not me, but it otherwise seemed like a great position and here I am. www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Applying to faculty jobs 101 — Stories of WiN
This episode features Dr. Monique Smith (Assistant Professor, UCSD) discussing faculty job applications with host Dr. Nancy Padilla-Coreano.
www.storiesofwin.org
October 21, 2025 at 2:57 PM
A great resource to folks on the job market. Though I'll note to the point of only applying for jobs you fit, my current position was looking for someone doing "behavioral research" and that is not me, but it otherwise seemed like a great position and here I am. www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...
Reposted by Tamara Stawicki, PhD
No words
May 30, 2025 at 12:23 PM
No words
I voted!! Remember PA folks control of the State Supreme Court is on the ballot and PA’s richest man is trying to buy the election. Vote yes to retain all 3 justices if you don’t want him to succeed.
October 10, 2025 at 2:03 PM
I voted!! Remember PA folks control of the State Supreme Court is on the ballot and PA’s richest man is trying to buy the election. Vote yes to retain all 3 justices if you don’t want him to succeed.
It seems every time I log onto Bluesky there is a new story of video of ICE doing something horrible. Its all so horrific and I can't help but feel hopeless, having no idea how to stop it. So I'll do one of the few things I can, share some of what is happening to make sure folks are aware.
October 3, 2025 at 9:04 PM
It seems every time I log onto Bluesky there is a new story of video of ICE doing something horrible. Its all so horrific and I can't help but feel hopeless, having no idea how to stop it. So I'll do one of the few things I can, share some of what is happening to make sure folks are aware.
I shall never understand the obsession with mums when we have such spectacular fall blooming #nativeplants
September 28, 2025 at 2:05 PM
I shall never understand the obsession with mums when we have such spectacular fall blooming #nativeplants
I missed World Dense Breast Day. I have a family history of breast/ovarian cancer & extremely dense tissue. I am lucky to have insurance that covers supplemental screening with no copay/deductible. Though we recently switched to self insured which exempts us from state law, so 🤞 that remains true.
Proud to be featured on WTAE-TV Pittsburgh: DBI's @drwendieberg.bsky.social on #WorldDenseBreastDay & why breast density awareness matters.
🎥 Watch here: www.wtae.com/article/pitt...
🎥 Watch here: www.wtae.com/article/pitt...
Pittsburgh doctor designates Sept. 24 as World Dense Breast Day
About 40% of cancers are missed on the mammogram in dense breasts, and it's a risk factor for developing breast cancer. That's about four times as much risk if you have a dense breast compared to the ...
www.wtae.com
September 26, 2025 at 5:39 PM
I missed World Dense Breast Day. I have a family history of breast/ovarian cancer & extremely dense tissue. I am lucky to have insurance that covers supplemental screening with no copay/deductible. Though we recently switched to self insured which exempts us from state law, so 🤞 that remains true.
Supposed to be talking about DNA cloning in my Gene Editing FYS tomorrow, but... students are working on a misinformation paper, so how do we not talk about Autism and Tylenol?!?!? Then the Huntington's Gene Therapy news dropped, and how amazing is that... So much to talk about, so little time.
September 25, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Supposed to be talking about DNA cloning in my Gene Editing FYS tomorrow, but... students are working on a misinformation paper, so how do we not talk about Autism and Tylenol?!?!? Then the Huntington's Gene Therapy news dropped, and how amazing is that... So much to talk about, so little time.
Would normally wait until later in fall but didn’t want to chance ACIP further restricting COVID vaccine access so got my flu and COVID shots today. They came with free goodies and now I want snacks with shots to be a regular thing.
September 15, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Would normally wait until later in fall but didn’t want to chance ACIP further restricting COVID vaccine access so got my flu and COVID shots today. They came with free goodies and now I want snacks with shots to be a regular thing.
I am at a PUI where faculty have limited funds to pay for publications. That fact has not caused our institution to consider alternatives to peer reviewed publication when reviewing our scholarship, rather we're expected to find a way to publish anyway. bsky.app/profile/prac...
Right now is the best chance the scientific community has ever had to end the artificial scarcity of academic journals.
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September 15, 2025 at 2:05 PM
I am at a PUI where faculty have limited funds to pay for publications. That fact has not caused our institution to consider alternatives to peer reviewed publication when reviewing our scholarship, rather we're expected to find a way to publish anyway. bsky.app/profile/prac...
What I did over summer vacation... Part 1. A 4 day mule-supported trek through the Sierras.
September 13, 2025 at 7:53 PM
What I did over summer vacation... Part 1. A 4 day mule-supported trek through the Sierras.
What a week to have been teaching about the horror of the eugenics movement, and whether its still alive and well...Though, as far as I know, I'm not being cancelled. I feel grateful to be at a place where we can have difficult conversations in the classroom.
September 13, 2025 at 2:05 PM
What a week to have been teaching about the horror of the eugenics movement, and whether its still alive and well...Though, as far as I know, I'm not being cancelled. I feel grateful to be at a place where we can have difficult conversations in the classroom.
We've reached the week where I teach eugenics in my FYS. I always poll the students to see how many have learned about the US eugenics movement prior to our class...only 1 student had this semester, and she came upon it on her own working on a research project. It's always only been 1 or 2 if that.
September 10, 2025 at 11:57 AM
We've reached the week where I teach eugenics in my FYS. I always poll the students to see how many have learned about the US eugenics movement prior to our class...only 1 student had this semester, and she came upon it on her own working on a research project. It's always only been 1 or 2 if that.
I made the mistake of going off script and managed to reach the voicemail length limit because I had things to say bsky.app/profile/bach...
Here is a script. Please, please call. We cannot sit by and we cannot let our representatives sit by as our nation’s public health infrastructure is destroyed.
Stop the Anti-Vaccine Takeover of the CDC ⭑ 5 Calls
The Trump administration is continuing to undermine public health and scientific integrity by firing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) …
5calls.org
August 29, 2025 at 8:18 PM
I made the mistake of going off script and managed to reach the voicemail length limit because I had things to say bsky.app/profile/bach...
Thank you Google for this gem to use for Tuesday’s AI chat with the students
August 25, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Thank you Google for this gem to use for Tuesday’s AI chat with the students
What I did over summer vacation... Part 1. A lovely weekend in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.
August 21, 2025 at 10:17 PM
What I did over summer vacation... Part 1. A lovely weekend in Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.
Reposted by Tamara Stawicki, PhD
Jim Hudspeth has died 💔
I am so sad. He was probably my favorite hearing researcher of all time. Absolute genius and also generous - he spent hours on the phone advising me on my career even tho we barely knew each other.
May his memory be a blessing.
www.ted.com/talks/jim_hu...
I am so sad. He was probably my favorite hearing researcher of all time. Absolute genius and also generous - he spent hours on the phone advising me on my career even tho we barely knew each other.
May his memory be a blessing.
www.ted.com/talks/jim_hu...
Jim Hudspeth: The beautiful, mysterious science of how you hear
Have you ever wondered how your ears work? In this delightful and fascinating talk, biophysicist Jim Hudspeth demonstrates the wonderfully simple yet astonishingly powerful mechanics of hair cells, th...
www.ted.com
August 18, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Jim Hudspeth has died 💔
I am so sad. He was probably my favorite hearing researcher of all time. Absolute genius and also generous - he spent hours on the phone advising me on my career even tho we barely knew each other.
May his memory be a blessing.
www.ted.com/talks/jim_hu...
I am so sad. He was probably my favorite hearing researcher of all time. Absolute genius and also generous - he spent hours on the phone advising me on my career even tho we barely knew each other.
May his memory be a blessing.
www.ted.com/talks/jim_hu...
I didn’t know him personally but certainly knew his science. His passing is a loss to the hearing research community bsky.app/profile/rock...
We are deeply saddened to share that our friend and colleague Jim Hudspeth passed away on Saturday. We will remember and continue to be inspired by Jim’s integrity, his humility, and his unwavering commitment to discovery.
A. James Hudspeth, neuroscientist who unlocked secrets of hearing, has died - News
A. James Hudspeth, a Rockefeller neuroscientist who discovered how sound waves are converted into electrical signals in the ear's cochlea, died Saturday at his home in Manhattan. A pioneering scientist and dedicated mentor, he was the university's F.M. ...
www.rockefeller.edu
August 18, 2025 at 11:33 PM
I didn’t know him personally but certainly knew his science. His passing is a loss to the hearing research community bsky.app/profile/rock...
Some July photos from my #NativePlants garden
August 3, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Some July photos from my #NativePlants garden