Joseph Luna
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virologistjoe.bsky.social
Joseph Luna
@virologistjoe.bsky.social
1.9K followers 940 following 140 posts
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry | Case Western Reserve University | Viruses, RBPs, innate immunity and RNA tech | Views my own | 🇺🇸🇲🇽 | Lab website: lunalab.org
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virologistjoe.bsky.social
Finally finished this gorgeously written tome on mostly North American geology. What does one read next if they want to become a hobbyist rock person? Like birding but for rocks? I’m 100% serious
November 6, 2025 at 7:58 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
There are great in vivo and in vitro translation reporters, but here we invent the first “in morte” system 🎃
A carved pumpkin with a ribosome in the shape of a skull translating RNA made of pumpkin innards
October 30, 2025 at 9:33 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
Huge thanks to @karlaneugebauer.bsky.social for a superb keynote on nuclear RNA processing (block exons! nascent RNA folding!) The science presented across all levels, from undergrad to faculty, was truly spectacular. Next year's meeting will be in Pittsburgh. Already looking forward to it!
A panorama from the podium of the audience at the 2025 RRM.
October 28, 2025 at 3:59 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
This is a trainee-focused overnight meeting, where we can keep costs low through generous support from academia, industry, government, and philanthropy. The result is a fully offline meeting. No livestream, no virtual component. Just people in rooms sharing their science in a supportive environment.
October 28, 2025 at 3:59 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
A milestone worth celebrating: this past weekend I co-organized the 31st Rustbelt RNA Meeting (RRM) with @schafferlab.bsky.social. 324 scientists, 180 posters, and 23 talks spanning undergrads to faculty from across the Midwest and beyond. What an incredible community!
October 28, 2025 at 3:59 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
I made a sign for the lab with our informal lab motto, inspired by this convo between @itaiyanai.bsky.social and Martin Lercher: nightscience.buzzsprout.com/1744020/epis.... A good reminder that talking is among the best forms of thinking!
A plastic sign with a logogram of two people in conversation alongisde text that reads "There are no lone geniuses" Our new "There are no lone geniuses" sign mounted on the door to the lab.
September 30, 2025 at 4:54 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
I’m lucky to celebrate this RNA day by completing the West Highland Way. 96 miles in 8 days, and a ton of memories. Time for a pint!
August 1, 2025 at 4:39 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
Just finished reading Eco's "How to Write a Thesis" before adding it to the lab library. "First, writing a thesis should be fun. Second, writing a thesis is like cooking a pig: nothing goes to waste." So many gems of advice, clever sourcing ideas, and encouragement, even for modern scientists.
A picture of a book by Umberto Eco entitled "How to Write a Thesis"
June 26, 2025 at 7:09 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
Have a random Wednesday timeline cleanse in the form of this iridescent tRNA! 🤩🧬
June 25, 2025 at 9:50 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
As new PhDs graduate, I'm reflecting on the below convocation address I delivered at my own PhD ceremony about science's most essential question: "How do we know that?" Equal parts #NightScience meditation and a call to action. Sometimes we need to hear from our younger selves. #StandUpForScience
I’d like to begin by congratulating my fellow graduates in the Rockefeller Class of 2015. I’m proud to be among you, and as one of your peers there’s obviously not much I can say to you by way of advice. But I can address the important people seated with you, your parents and family. If they’re like mine, they’re probably wondering what exactly their son or daughter has been doing for the past five to seven years. Every path through a PhD is different. From a variety of experiences and educational backgrounds in Applied Physics or Zoology, we arrive here from the world over, don a white lab coat, and call ourselves scientists. Invariably, we all feel like impostors at first. Entering a busy laboratory, it is easy to feel overwhelmed, surrounded by people who know what they're doing, while you expend every ounce of mental effort trying to follow along. But this disorientation is by design. It is in truth, the first real taste of freedom. There are no departments here to define ourselves by, classes are minimal, and the support, from the Dean’s office, the library, or student housing, is so extraordinary, that your next experiment is your sole focus. You are encouraged to learn science the best possible way: by doing it, from day one, your curiosity all the fuel you’ll need. For there is a simple truth behind what a PhD means here, and that is learning how to ask questions. And if I may, I’d like to posit that one question stands out as a key foundation, one that animates every scientist in this room on a daily basis, one that is the source of many of our adventures. It is the first question I asked here in earnest, and it is one that all of us scientist or not, can relate to. Here it is: “How do we know that?” I was in Bob Darnell’s office in my first year when I asked it. Bob had presented to the first year as part of the Seminars in Modern Biology. It’s one of only two mandatory courses here, and it consists entirely of Rockefeller faculty presenting their work to students as they sort out which lab to join. I arrived mainly interested in the cell biology of viruses with the terrific capacity invade cells many times their size and make us sick, from the common cold to Ebola. How did they manage that? However, Bob’s presentation was on a disease called paraneoplastic neurodegeneration and the role of a protein called NOVA in regulating RNA splicing in the brain…he might as well have been speaking in ancient Greek. What’s worse, I’m quite sure I fell asleep. The only thing I recall was him mentioning one of my favorite books on science, Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis, which was roughly based on the Rockefeller Institute in its early days. This prompted me to write him an email, and I soon found myself in his office learning what the lab was up to at a more relaxed pace so I could understand. <Lab description> And so I asked “How do we know that?” Without hesitation, Bob fired up his computer and showed me the data. He revealed to me a new cartography of our genomes, that long list of instructions that makes a person, with stunning depth and clarity. It dawned on me that I could take the solutions in one lab and bring them to address scientific questions I was interested in. After our discussion, which lasted the better part of two hours, I asked to rotate in his laboratory. I had found a mentor. “How do we know that?” It’s a powerful question for 5 words. It’s powerful precisely because it takes any explanation or observation and immediately, instinctively even, holds it up to scrutiny. No explanation for the workings of nature is immune to this question. And note that a satisfactory answer to this question is never “we know because I said so,” no matter who is speaking. Only verifiable experiment and careful observation can answer it. The egalitarian quality of this question contributes to a unique culture here. At Rockefeller, you’re surrounded by world-class professors, physicians, postdocs and staff, all of whom are your immediate peers. We share this beautiful campus, run into each other on the way to lunch or a lecture, and rub shoulders over drinks at the Faculty and Student’s Club, where there is little pretense between a Nobel prize winner and a first year student. That is because you are encouraged to question and to doubt, in the service of a better verifiable explanation. This refreshing attitude pervades campus life, such that on a daily basis it’s not President Tessier-Lavigne, Dean Strickland, or Professor Vosshall; it’s Marc, Sid, and Leslie. A fierce curiosity for the natural world is the only badge that is truly required. This curiosity led me to find the right virus to study, which brought me to Charlie Rice’s lab. And one meeting with Bob and Charlie together was all it took, I now had two outstanding mentors. Far from them balking at the idea of an untested first year graduate student taking on an independent project, bridging two laboratories, and requiring biochemical and computational skills he did not possess, they said go for it. Their trust showed me that they are as much students as I am. By asking “how do we know that?” we jolt ourselves into thinking, both critically and creatively, because the answer is often “we don’t”. And that’s okay. In fact that’s good. That’s when “How do we know that?" transforms into “How could we know that?” which we use to test made-up explanations known as hypotheses. It’s a call to action that is usually followed by its famous cousins “I wonder what would happen if…” and later “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” I know I’m not alone in saying that these questions help form the daily backbone of working on a PhD. Doubt plus curiosity is a powerful combination. Now, contrary to what you might think, I don't want it seem as if science is an all-encompassing panacea for every question worth asking. Knowledge is not the same as wisdom. Part of the reason "How do we know that?" is such an important question to ask in science, is because it’s easy to spot when it no longer applies. Standing in front of the many works of art that adorn this campus, this question is all but useless. It is utterly, perhaps comically, inept while falling in love. This question makes it clear that science is a means, a way of looking at the world, and should not be confused with being an end unto itself. And here again our question has something to offer, because it is best phrased as "how do WE know that?" As a distinctly human creation, science is a great big "WE.” It is less a collection of facts and figures than a riveting history of brave souls who've asked "how do we know that?" devised an experiment, and shared the results with others. It is a history of invention and entrepreneurship, of engagement with public leadership to action, of articulating the need for research, of pointing out uncomfortable truths, and of providing life-saving cures. This is the legacy we formally inherit today, and it hinges on a great responsibility: for as much as we learn to doubt by asking “how do we know that?”, we have an equal if not more pressing responsibility to inspire everyone to ask it. What makes “how do we know that?” so special is that it is the best of Socratic doors. It’s an invitation to bring others in close, to show, to teach, and to nurture face-to-face the very human desire to know. And so, friends and family, I have a challenge for you. Ask your son or daughter, or their advisor, or a passerby later at the reception, who’s carrying and constantly glancing at a timer. They’re probably a student or postdoc in the middle of an experiment, enjoying a brief snack. Ask them what they work on. And when they make a declaration on their subject, ask them, “how do we know that?” I guarantee that the first response is likely to be “it’s complicated,” but if you wait, the follow-up response can move you. And if they're really good, you might just want to head to the lab to ask and see for yourself.
May 5, 2025 at 10:56 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
This right here is some must see TV courtesy of the @thenrao.bsky.social 📡🌌
February 6, 2025 at 4:03 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
The TC hood odometer has reached 1000 days. Just had to mark this #labmilestone
February 4, 2025 at 8:30 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
Found one!
February 1, 2025 at 9:43 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
Plenty of bread baking up here in OH!
February 1, 2025 at 9:10 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
After a quite the week, it’s time to bake
January 25, 2025 at 1:20 AM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
Check out the vintage patina on this Fisher timer, circa early 2000s is my guess. New timer shown for reference. There’s something oddly charming about old lab plastic. And yes it still works!
January 21, 2025 at 5:13 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
We have a fully accessible space, corner views, and superbly organized. And all supported by school facilities planning who’ve been responsive throughout. In the cheap / fast / good decision matrix, this was not fast, but was at reasonable cost and good. That’s a win. Fin/
January 11, 2025 at 2:59 AM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
Renovation started with the lab next door (where we’ve just moved into), and our old space is on deck next. In the meantime, this provided us with a a clean organization slate to Marie Kondo anything that doesn’t bring us lab joy / isn’t useful 5/n
January 11, 2025 at 2:52 AM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
The effort provided a rationale to redo more than just our space by providing incentive to renovate space that will be used by future RNA colleagues. “Leave it better than you found it” was something we could work towards 4/n
January 11, 2025 at 2:48 AM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
Now this was something I saw coming, so when I arrived I started laying the groundwork for a renovation. I knew this would take time, but it was worth it to learn how to work with admins for such necessary infrastructure that could never go on grants. 3/n
January 11, 2025 at 2:45 AM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
It’s amazing how something small can have a big impact. In this case lab drawers. Our drawers had no slides which meant they were difficult to open. As a result we wouldn’t use them or if we did, we’d forget what was in them. 2/n
January 11, 2025 at 2:35 AM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
We moved the lab this week, literally one door over. Why? Some thoughts on removing speed bumps for effective science -> 🧵
January 11, 2025 at 2:29 AM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
The departmental holiday party is about to rock🎄 🎸
December 19, 2024 at 3:17 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
Finally back on the grid after an unplugged Thanksgiving holiday in the Land of Enchantment. A good reminder that arrays come
in all sizes from micro to Very Large. 📡
A radio antenna at the Karl Jansky Very Large Array Signage for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
December 5, 2024 at 12:20 PM
virologistjoe.bsky.social
I labeled my favorite discontinued stock of nitrocellulose membranes “Western Reserve” and then CWRU hired me, so anything is possible!
November 19, 2024 at 7:49 PM