end of 2022 news

whiteboard with drawings of marine animals

hello from the end of 2022, a big year of transitions and transformations. here are some highlights from the year: We published our manuscript on octopus steroid hormones. I am thankful to our fantastic collaborators in the Cologna Lab for their devotion to this work and for making this project so fun! [1] [2] [3]…

new preprint: bumblebee isolation

Fig 1 from Wang and McKenzie-Smith et al 2021

Our manuscript on early life social isolation in bumblebees is posted to bioRxiv! Wang & McKenzie-Smith et al: Isolation disrupts social interactions and destabilizes brain development in bumblebees. This project is the culmination of several years of work from many collaborators, including a former undergrad mentee, the amazing Hyo Jin (Jean) Cho. Thanks to everyone…

end of 2021 news

some lab-related announcements for the end of 2021--belated because the end of the year felt so weird. goodbye 2021, the year we normalized the pandemic. may 2022 bring gentleness. I was selected as an inaugural IMPACT Fellow by the National Postdoc Association for leadership advancement. [1] [2] I was selected to the Allen Institute's Next…

racism in neuroscience: a work in progress

I'm actively developing a course on racism in neuroscience. The ultimate form of the course will likely be a graduate/upper level undergraduate seminar, for neuroscientists, to debut perhaps in winter quarter 2023. I will make the class details (learning goals, syllabus, expectations, etc) public before then. In the meantime, here are books that I am…

new preprint: culturing Octopus chierchiae

baby octopuses

The first paper from the Octopus chierchiae consortium is out! Check out our preprint on the biology and mariculture of these amazing creatures: "The lesser Pacific striped octopus, Octopus chierchiae: an emerging laboratory model". This project was spearheaded by Anik Grearson and Ali Dugan, two awesome interns at the Marine Biological Laboratory, and is currently…