TJ Firneno
tfirneno.bsky.social
TJ Firneno
@tfirneno.bsky.social
Asst Professor Juniata College
Evolutionary biology | speciation genomics | 🐸🦗
Reposted by TJ Firneno
Field botanist job with Virginia Natural Heritage, based in Roanoke, VA. $55-65K pay range. Please share widely! www.jobs.virginia.gov/jobs/field-b...
Field Botanist - Roanoke, Virginia, United States
Title: Field Botanist State Role Title: Scientist II Hiring Range: $55,000 - $65,000 Pay Band: 5 Agency: Dept Conservation & Recreation Location: Roanoke, VA Agency Website: www.dcr.virginia.gov R...
www.jobs.virginia.gov
December 10, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
"The N.S.F. started the year with funding delays...it lost about a third of its employees in layoffs or forced retirements. The agency ended the year awarding 25 percent fewer new grants."

The nuanced impacts of internal budget decisions made due to fiscal crisis.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine (Gift Article)
A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.
www.nytimes.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
Hello bluesky community!

I'm hiring a postdoc to do machine learning in population genetics.
Starting to build up a lab at Indiana University Bloomington where I just started a faculty position.
Apply with the below link: indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/30325
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
The department of Biology is a large, unified department with strong undergraduate degrees, nationally-ranked graduate programs, and world-class research spanning the breadth of biological questions a...
indiana.peopleadmin.com
August 11, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
Join us at CU Denver Biology! We have an open search for an assistant professor in cell and molecular biology to support our research and teaching mission. cu.taleo.net/careersectio...
November 17, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
Please pass along, I’m recruiting PhD students to join our Macroecology Lab @uofa-eeb.bsky.social We study phys ecology, macroecology, biodiversity - spanning scaling, trait-based ecology, theory, comparative biology & ecoinformatics. Several avenues for funding. Please reach out if interested🧪🌐🌾
October 21, 2025 at 5:13 AM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
Please pass along - Our CAMBIUM NSF NRT provides fellowships to support new PhD students at @uarizona.bsky.social To train & prepare a new generation of scientists to harness the revolution in biodiversity big data to adapt to & mitigate the impacts of climate change. cambium.arizona.edu 🧪🌐🌾
October 21, 2025 at 5:17 AM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
I'm recruiting PhD students for the Barker Lab @uofa-eeb.bsky.social We study plant evolutionary genomics - polyploidy, hybridization & machine learning for genome evolution. Work with Selaginella, Xanthisma, Brassica & more. Funding available via CAMBIUM Fellowships. Reach out if interested! 🧬🌵🤖
October 24, 2025 at 5:01 AM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
POSTDOC JOB AD: I'm hiring a Bayesian ecologist to build a (IMO, extremely fun) model of humpback whale spatiotemporal dynamics in California

2-year position starting fall 2026. in-person in Santa Cruz; collab w with Mevin Hooten's lab at UT Austin.

ask me Qs or apply: recruit.ucsc.edu/JPF02003
Fredston Lab: Postdoctoral Scholar
University of California, Santa Cruz is hiring. Apply now!
recruit.ucsc.edu
October 22, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
If you think that professors exist as repositories of knowledge that students ask for answers, you’re missing the entire point of a college education.

We’re here to teach students how to do research, how to analyze and argue, how to think for themselves — how to find the answers on their own.
Wow. Just wow.

"Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment."
When Knowledge is Free, What are Professors For?
Higher Education Must Stop Competing with AI on Information and Start Teaching What Machines Can’t Do
www.forbes.com
October 16, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
IMO this hasn't gotten enough attention: a recent memo at NIH announces that peer review will be devalued in determining which grants get funded, granting more power to political appointees to make decisions based on the admin's whims over scientific merit

kffhealthnews.org/news/article...
Changes at NIH Give Political Appointees Greater Power To Fund or Block Research - KFF Health News
The National Institutes of Health’s long-held standard of peer review for grantmaking has been subverted by President Donald Trump and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, who gave unprecedented power to po...
kffhealthnews.org
October 5, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
President Trump’s budget office lays out guidelines for mass lay-offs across the federal government

go.nature.com/4mGgJWn
This US government shutdown is different: what it means for science
President Trump’s budget office lays out guidelines for mass lay-offs across the federal government.
go.nature.com
October 1, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
The #NSF Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) will host a Virtual Office Hour for the #GRFP (Graduate Research Fellowship Program) on Thursday, October 16 at 1 pm ET:

nsf.zoomgov.com/webinar/regi...

The deadline for Life Sciences is November 10.
Webinar Registration - Zoom
nsf.zoomgov.com
September 30, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
Please share with anyone who cares about NSF support for graduate students and take 30 seconds to sign and leave a comment.

The deadline for the 2025 Graduate Research Fellowship Program is about one month away and literally no one can apply. #NSFGRFP

jasonjwilliamsny.github.io/grfp2025/
An Open Letter to U.S. STEM Leadership on the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
An Open Letter to U.S. STEM Leadership on the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program
jasonjwilliamsny.github.io
September 25, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
How far can NSF bend before it breaks? Science looks at what's happened to the agency under Trump. www.science.org/content/arti...
Under Trump, NSF faces worst crisis in its 75-year history
Political directives have undermined agency's independence and record of supporting the best basic research
www.science.org
September 19, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
Seeking scientist volunteers for this fall! Want to practice science communication and help author a 🌟comic🌟 about your research? I need collaborators for the next cohort of SciComm & Comics art and design students. All countries and scientific fields eligible.
August 20, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
🚨🚨We’re hiring a postdoc!🚨🚨

Min two year contract; start in 2026 (flexible) & contribute to this project focused on understanding the link between bleaching recovery and disease in cnidarians!! Opportunities to work on side projects too!

Deadline Nov 1!

Info here: tinyurl.com/y2abjsem
August 12, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
Fun news: I'm hiring a postdoc in ichthyology!

Please spread the word #TeamFish, and message me if you have questions.

(Job requisition id is R00107333 if LSU link below takes you elsewhere.)

lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/LSU/de...
Postdoctoral Researcher
All Job Postings will close at 12:01a.m. CST (1:01a.m. EST) on the specified Closing Date (if designated). If you close the browser or exit your application prior to submitting, the application progre...
lsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
August 8, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
This is a really, really important story, which is why I provided a gift link. Many people, when they think of higher education, think of elite universities. But most higher education is nonselective (i.e., they admit everyone), and a lot of it is community colleges.
August 4, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
Applications now open for the SSE GREG Rosemary Grant Advanced Awards! These grants provide up to $3500 to expand your dissertation work. Submit your proposal by September 15!
www.evolutionsociety.org/content/soci...
July 15, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
"Save The NSF" - a little blogpost I wrote to amplify the #SaveTheNSF mission.

The National Science Foundation is one of the world’s premier funders of basic science research; proposed federal cuts would derail how we do science in the U.S.

aguidetoacademia.blogspot.com/2025/07/save...
Save the NSF
The National Science Foundation is one of the world’s premier funders of basic science research (i.e. the fundamental di...
aguidetoacademia.blogspot.com
July 20, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
All of Public Broadcasting needs help to weather the Trump CPB rescission, but if you're already a regular donor in a big media market, maybe pick a vulnerable station in a less-resourced region to support
President Trump’s proposal to eliminate federal funding for public broadcasters threatens scores of radio and TV stations across the U.S. Here is where the cuts threaten access to PBS and NPR.
Where Congress’s Cuts Threaten Access to PBS and NPR
The loss of federal funding threatens scores of public TV and radio stations across the United States.
trib.al
July 18, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
I am recruiting PhD students to join my lab at MSU starting Fall 2026! Please spread the word and reach out if you are interested and/or want to learn more!
July 8, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
🧪 BREAKING (good news): Senate subcommittee says NO! to Trump's proposed slashes to NASA & NSF funding.

Today, the subcommittee said to keep NASA + NSF funding at $33.9 billion, the same as in FY24.

See 7:15 below. Full Senate appropriations committee meets tomorrow about it.

🧵 1/3
Subcommittee Markup of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act | United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
www.appropriations.senate.gov
July 10, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Reposted by TJ Firneno
BREAKING: Scientists are staging a “science fair” in the lobby of a Congressional building to tell elected officials about the critical knowledge the US will lose because their research grants have been canceled.
July 8, 2025 at 3:31 PM