Rebecca Seal

My campaign faces its first test: qualifying for the ballot.

From my work on gerrymandering, I know that New Jersey politicians play dirty. To beat their games, I need at least 1,000 signatures from Democrats and unaffiliated voters in the 12th District. To help, sign up at SamForNJ.org - or DM me!

Did you know that pathways activated by bone-innervating neurons post-injury might also be used for accelerating bone fracture repair? Check out @cahanlab.bsky.social et al.’s result in @science.org bit.ly/4rR7Ts7 #PapersoftheWeek #EditorsPick #PRF

Get in, dorks. We're ready for round two.

RALLY TO TAKE BACK SCIENCE! 🔬🧪✊
March 7th, 2026 in Washington, DC

Learn more at www.standupforscience.net/ma... (link in our bio.)

@jwoodgett.bsky.social
Pls see this 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

Please, NIH reviewers, if you do ONE thing, do this I’m finally getting around to completing a post-study section survey and I noticed a number of questions are related to the online / zoom review format. Questions such as “rate your att…

Please, NIH reviewers, if you do ONE thing, do this drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2026/01/21/p...

Murphy: The United States Congress should not fund a Department of Homeland Security that is not obeying the laws of the United States of America

Have you registered for tomorrow’s #webinar on neuropeptides in pain? This is the first in a series of monthly #PRF webinars, so do not miss out! Register now - bit.ly/49bCA4H

Read the latest preclinical and clinical papers published in the pain research field by visiting the painresearchforum.org! This week's editors are Drs. Qiufu Ma and Lanfranco Pellesi. Explore the latest discoveries and read the editors' perspectives. @usasp.bsky.social @iasp.bsky.social

Department Chair, Duke Neurobiology - Duke University, Durham job with Duke University - School of Medicine | 12852576 The Duke University School of Medicine (SOM) seeks a distinguished neuroscientist to serve as the next Chair of the Department of Neurobiology.

My department, Duke Neurobiology, is searching for a new chair. Ad below. Come work with me, @jmgrohneuro.bsky.social @ennatsew.bsky.social @jorggrandl.bsky.social @jnklab.bsky.social @sbilbo.bsky.social @neurocircuits.bsky.social and many other amazing folks! @dukemedschool.bsky.social

A Quantitative Benchmark of Visual Information in Human Brain Recordings Across fMRI, MEG, and EEG https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.11.698841v1

The Pain Research Forum is launching a new monthly Webinar Series. The first event is this Wednesday Jan 14th, 2026 at 12 PM ET. Register using the QR code or visit painresearchforum.org @usasp.bsky.social @dimacd.bsky.social @psalmotoxin.bsky.social @iasp.bsky.social @dimacd.bsky.social

PRF 24 November 2025

Have you heard of MDFIC2, the newly identified sensory neuron-enriched modulator of PIEZO channels? Check out Habib et al. in @pnas.org, one of this week’s #EditorsPick papers chosen by @rpseal.bsky.social bit.ly/4renN08 #PRF

Have you been wondering what the role is of non-neuronal cells in modulating sensory neuron activity? Check out this review from @psalmotoxin.bsky.social et al. in @sfnjournals.bsky.social’s #JNeurosci, one of this week’s #EditorsPick papers chosen by @rpseal.bsky.social bit.ly/3XEp2rE #PRF

B. Coste identified Piezos with Ardem and here Habib et al -paper from his group - identify a modulator of piezos that may be important in peripheral mechanisms of mechanical allodynia.

Have you heard of MDFIC2, the newly identified sensory neuron-enriched modulator of PIEZO channels? Check out Habib et al. in @pnas.org, one of this week’s #EditorsPick papers chosen by @rpseal.bsky.social bit.ly/4renN08 #PRF

As I spent more and more of my life under the care of doctors, nurses, and researchers striving to improve the lives of others, I watched as Bobby cut nearly a half billion dollars for research into mRNA vaccines, technology that could be used against certain cancers; slashed billions in funding from the National Institutes of Health, the world's largest sponsor of medical research; and threatened to oust the panel of medical experts charged with recommending preventive cancer screenings. Hundreds of N.I.H. grants and clinical trials were cancelled, affecting thousands of patients. I worried about funding for leukemia and bone-marrow research at Memorial Sloan Kettering. I worried about the trials that were my only shot at remission. Early in my illness, when I

Just an absolutely gutting essay by Tatiana Schlossberg, a writer, mother of two young children, and cousin of RFK Jr who is dying of leukemia.

www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

What is that?

#SfN25 Wednesday 2:30 Sensory and motor spinal cord. Allen Institute, Seal lab, Pool lab and Pfenning labs. Symposium.

Have you wondered what it’s like creating a special journal issue is like? Listen to Episode 2 of the Pain Exchange #podcast from @iasp.bsky.social with @karenddavis.bsky.social discussing the 50th Anniversary supplement of @painthejournal.bsky.social bit.ly/4ox3B7i #PRF #academicpublishing

Public engagement: building common ground How can we help to bridge this divide? Simply producing more excep­ tional science will not be enough to rebuild public trust. Rather, we must adopt a new model that recognizes communication and advocacy as core pillars of science, on a par with rigor and reproducibility. Public engagement efforts should be valued for faculty promotions, much like obtaining grants and publishing our findings in scientific journals. Researchers should be recognized and rewarded for activities such as giving public talks, working with local schools, engaging with policy­ makers, developing social media campaigns and platforms or writing accessible articles for general audiences. Developing these skills must be an integral part of scientific training, reinforcing the notion that the responsibility to champion science lies with us. Courses that teach graduate students and postdocs to communicate complex ideas clearly, to use social media effectively and to advocate for evidence­based policies must be deemed critical and supported by our universities. These efforts should not be viewed as distractions from research but woven into the fabric of what we do as scientists. Rebuilding public trust requires a cultural paradigm shift: scientists must see themselves not just as producers of knowledge, but also as its ambassadors and translators. Such a fundamental change will occur only if it is embraced by our scientific leaders and institutions, emphasizing the critical role of public engagement for science to succeed.

A thought-provoking piece in Nature Neuroscience by many neuroscience colleagues: "Science must break its silence to rebuild public trust". Lots to think about here.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

You can post this on PRF.
Painresearchforum.org/announcements

Hey pain scientist, if you are looking for a condensed list of the top pain literature released each week, come check out #PRF's new #PapersoftheWeek selections from Greg Scherrer and
@drjerinmathew.bsky.social,
who also commented on the latest Editor's Picks painresearchforum.org/paper/preval...

Hey pain scientist, if you are looking for a condensed list of the top pain literature released each week, come check out #PRF's new #PapersoftheWeek selections from Greg Scherrer and @drjerinmathew.bsky.social, who also commented on the latest Editor's Picks painresearchforum.org/paper/preval...

Yes!!! ‼️

This is incredible and so inspiring on so many levels. This is what science can do.

Gut microbiota and metabolites drive chronic sickle cell disease pain in mice Brandow et al. describe how the gut microbiome drives chronic sickle cell disease (SCD) pain. SCD guts contain excessive heme catabolites, fewer bacteria that metabolize bilirubin, and low levels of A...

1st paper from Sadler Lab is out!! Highlights: 1) A. muciniphila reverses sickle cell (SCD) pain, 2) fecal transplant from SCD mice induces pain via bilirubin-TRPM2 vagal signaling, 3) BilR+ bacteria less abundant in SCD patient poo, 4) RNAseq on HUMAN nodose ganglia! www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

Try asking on pain research forum —- pain researcher. You’ll need to register but it’s free. Alex Chamessian made the site.

My editor’s pick:

painresearchforum.org/paper/mitoch...

“...the findings suggest that nociceptors have evolved to “dial down” the ETC pathway, enabling them to be unusually resilient to oxidative and other intracellular stresses.“

The latest papers published in pain research are now on PRF! Dr. Alex Chesler provides a curated list for Aug. 22-28, 2025 and a commentary on his pick for Paper of the Week! painresearchforum.org/paper @utdpaincenter.bsky.social @nyupainresearch.bsky.social @iasp.bsky.social @usasp.bsky.social

SLC45A4 is a pain gene encoding a neuronal polyamine transporter - Nature The SLC45A4 gene encodes a neuronal polyamine transporter and is linked to pain response in humans and mice.

We've found a new gene linked to chronic pain in humans! The gene SLC45A4 encodes (the long-awaited) neuronal polyamine transporter, which is important for pain signalling in nerves. We hope this discovery might lead to new chronic pain treatments in the future!

www.nature.com/articles/s41...