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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · 7d

Excited to contribute to this beautiful study led by @yukihaba.bsky.social and @lindymcbr.bsky.social!

How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?

Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.

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@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515

Ancient origin of an urban underground mosquito

Understanding how life is adapting to urban environments represents an important challenge in evolutionary biology. In this work, we investigate a widely cited example of urban adaptation, Culex pipie...

www.science.org

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · 7d

I'm happy that I could contribute even a small part to this fantastic and monumental study! Huge shoutout to @oliviagoldman.net @nadavshai.bsky.social and @leslievosshall.bsky.social for their incredible leadership in organizing this massive project!

Olivia Goldman PhD @oliviagoldman.net · 12d

Excited to announce the final version of the Mosquito Cell Atlas is out now in @cellpress.bsky.social!! 🦟🩸

There is SO much left to find & investigate in this dataset (& the rich biology of the Aedes aegypti mosquito)! We hope this helps scientists in many fields!
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

A single-nucleus transcriptomic atlas of the adult Aedes aegypti mosquito

A comprehensive single-nucleus RNA-seq atlas of >367,000 nuclei from male and female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes reveals sexual dimorphism in sensory systems and brain cell types and widespread co-expres...

www.cell.com

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · 18d

Since my study section meeting was postponed, I am able to submit my own grant a few days earlier than expected. I just wish that my outlook for the entire system was better than at present.

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Reposted by Ryan Smith

Trends in Parasitology @cp-trendsparasitol.bsky.social · Aug 13

David Hall & @vectorimmunity.bsky.social highlight @merklinglab.bsky.social & colleagues’ Cell Genomics article on #mosquito cellular responses in #midgut & #fatbody after #bloodfeeding. #Aedes #aegypti #scRNAseq #Metabolomics @iastateresearch.bsky.social‬ ‬

authors.elsevier.com/a/1lbEr5Eb1x...

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · Aug 6

Congrats Becky!

a man in a red robe is dancing in a living room with his arms in the air .

ALT: a man in a red robe is dancing in a living room with his arms in the air .

media.tenor.com

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · Jul 5

Celebrating the holiday weekend with another bang! Our work describing roles of TNF signaling on mosquito immune cell function and in limiting malaria parasite infection is now published. Big shout out to @georgesaman.bsky.social and others for their contributions! journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

TNF signaling mediates cellular immune function and promotes malaria parasite killing in the mosquito Anopheles gambiae

Author summary Mosquito innate immunity is a major determinant of vector competence with significant implications in malaria transmission. During infection with the Plasmodium parasite, mosquitoes mou...

journals.plos.org

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Reposted by Ryan Smith

brackneylab @brackneylab.bsky.social · Jul 1

Despite all the shit going on, we have to celebrate our victories. New publication with @entomososwin.bsky.social and @vectorimmunity.bsky.social showing that hemocytes play a central role in disseminating flaviviruses to secondary tissues potentially functioning as a Trojan Horse(TBD)
rdcu.be/euj4g

Mosquito immune cells enhance dengue and Zika virus infection in Aedes aegypti

Nature Communications - Infection of mosquito immune cells by dengue and Zika virus enhances the spread of virus infection to mosquito tissues, such as the salivary glands, to promote virus...

rdcu.be

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · Jul 3

Excited to share our latest collaborative work with @entomososwin.bsky.social @brackneylab.bsky.social looking at the role of mosquito immune cells in virus infection. It turns out that these cells help disseminate virus infection, increasing the potential for virus transmission rdcu.be/euiZt

Mosquito immune cells enhance dengue and Zika virus infection in Aedes aegypti

Nature Communications - Infection of mosquito immune cells by dengue and Zika virus enhances the spread of virus infection to mosquito tissues, such as the salivary glands, to promote virus...

rdcu.be

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · Jun 29

I wouldn’t say unhinged, but it was fun. I would say it was more of a show than a concert. We still had a great time

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · Jun 28

Heading out for a night of weirdness with the family

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · Jun 13

It's nice to start off your day with "We are delighted to accept your manuscript..."

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · May 16

The phone calls are soooo much better...

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · May 13

It's the time of the year when a student can be genuinely excited about getting a D-. D's get degrees.

Only the best and brightest are ready to hit the workforce!

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Reposted by Ryan Smith

Dr. Becca @docbecca.bsky.social · Apr 28

This is a great explainer of just how much trouble NIH-funded scientists are about to be in. 😨

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · Apr 28

New at Can We Still Govern: An anonymous NIH employee maps out the GOP budget gameplan to permanently gut our most important science agency.
Impoundment, delay and red tape will create artificial "savings" that become the new benchmark for NIH budgets.
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-nih-bu...

The NIH budget is on a fast track to disaster

An NIH insider explains what Republicans are likely to do next, and what we can do

donmoynihan.substack.com

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Reposted by Ryan Smith

Malinda Lo @malindalo.bsky.social · Apr 14

Harvard redid its whole homepage to push back against the administration’s demands. I mean, this is just a website but I think it’s kind of a great PR move: www.harvard.edu

Harvard University

Harvard University is devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, and research, and to developing leaders who make a difference globally.

www.harvard.edu

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · Apr 3

Does anyone have recommendations for a preferably free or low-cost software platform for cloning, plasmid design, and curation for the lab. I "grew up" scientifically with VectorNTI. Is SnapGene the best current option? Any other alternatives that you might recommend?

a cartoon character from south park says please in front of a sign that says south park

ALT: a cartoon character from south park says please in front of a sign that says south park

media.tenor.com

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · Mar 25

a woman wearing a hoodie and sunglasses is sitting in a crowd of people making a peace sign .

ALT: a woman wearing a hoodie and sunglasses is sitting in a crowd of people making a peace sign .

media.tenor.com

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · Mar 4

When it rains it pours

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · Mar 3

New

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · Mar 3

Got the NoA on a R01 through NIAID last Monday. Full award with normal IDCs.

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Reposted by Ryan Smith

Mother Jones @motherjones.com · Feb 17

The cost-saving claims don’t hold up. Every dollar in NIH research grants generates $2.46 in economic activity, research shows—a total of $93 billion in 2023 alone.

“It’s incredible to me that we would give up this thing that has such obvious societal benefits,” says biologist Mark Peifer.

America will pay dearly for the NIH’s mindless war on wokeness and DEI

Colleges, businesses, patients, students, workers, and US excellence will all suffer—and for what?

www.motherjones.com

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Reposted by Ryan Smith

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · Feb 17

The biggest hit to extramural program staff appears to be grants management specialists (GMSs). It appears that 15-20% of GMSs were terminated.

This is quite concerning since these folks have already missed essentially a month of getting-grants-out time and have lots to do. They already work hard.

kermit the frog has his hand on his mouth

ALT: kermit the frog has his hand on his mouth

media.tenor.com

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · Feb 6

🚨 We are recruiting for two post-doc positions!🚨

1) Development of genetic tools to study mosquito immune cells isu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/IowaStateJob...

2) Role of mosquito immune cells in immune recognition and priming isu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/IowaStateJob...

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Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · Jan 17

Thanks Greg! Much appreciated!

Ryan Smith @vectorimmunity.bsky.social · Jan 17

For the sake of transparency, this particular grant took four submissions and about 3 years to get it across the finish line:
-Submission #1: 50th %
-Submission #2: 26th %
-Submission #3: 29th %
-Submission #4: 12th %

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