Melissa Bowerman

Book cover of This is Big by Marisa Meltzer showing a picture of the founder of Weight Watchers.

📖 40 of 2025 (8/10): This is Big by Marisa Meltzer. Part biography of the founder of Weight Watchers, part reflection on the author’s relationship with her body weight, it forces you to reflect on a society that too often associates how you look to your worth.
#Bluesky

a black and white drawing of an eye with a brain in the middle ALT: a black and white drawing of an eye with a brain in the middle

Last month, our member Claire Monroy had the fanstastic opportunity to give a talk on "Neural correlates of visual processing in deaf infants" at the Society for the Neurobiology of Language (2025.neurolang.org) meeting in Washington D.C. Well done!

Canal and boats

Canal and boats

My son had England ice hockey trials at Lee Valley ice rink in London so I took the opportunity to walk along the canals and wild nature reserves. Very windy but no rain!

Academic research poster

Congrats to Ian Holt, a Research Associate in our member Heidi Fuller's group, who won first prize at the Neuromuscular Study Group meeting in Stresa (Italy) for his poster on Characterising PMP22 proximal partners in a Schwann cell model of CMT1A. Well done!

a drawing of a chair with a speech bubble that says " committee work " ALT: a drawing of a chair with a speech bubble that says " committee work "

Congrats to our member Divya Chari who will be chairing the 2026 UK Multiple Sclerosis Society Career Development Awards round (PhD Fellowships & Early Career Fellowships)!

Research meeting attendees facing speaker Sharon Owen at the podium and title presentation slide.

Research meeting attendees facing speaker Sharon Owen at the podium and introduction slide on spinal muscular atrophy.

Our members Sharon Owen & Heidi Fuller were at the Neuromuscular Study Group meeting in Stresa (Italy) last week where Sharon delivered an excellent flash talk presentation on using omics to identify severity-specific differences in spinal muscular atrophy!

We’re hiring!
My new Gut–Brain Axis Lab at Northwestern is looking for a Research Technologist 2 to help build the lab and explore how the nervous system shapes gut health and disease.
🔬 Apply here: myhr.northwestern.edu/psp/hrnu/EMP...

This weekend I had the honour of attending the SMA UK's Big Weekend: Forty & Forward to update families on current pre-clinical research priorities in SMA. Clinical trials, exercise, newborn screening, access to education, sex & relationships were also discussed, showing there is still a lot to do!

Book cover of Poor by Katriona O’Sullivan showing a young female child climbing up a wall.

📖 39 of 2025 (8/10): Poor by Katriona O’Sullivan. A raw and honest account of a very difficult childhood and how our societal structures and behaviours make it difficult for kids that are born randomly in such circumstances don’t get afforded the same opportunities as others.
#Booksky

A huge congratulations to Katie, who has successfully passed her MPhil! Her research was aimed at understanding the role of authophagy in SMA and its potential as a therapeutic target. It was a real joy having her join our lab and we already miss her!

And here goes the start of another ice hockey season in the UK. Well done to my son’s team who started the season with a win! He played an excellent game and was awarded player of the match!

Book cover of The Other Mothers by Kettering Faulkner showing silhouettes of two women through a window.

📖38 of 2025 (5/10): The Other Mothers by Katherine Faulkner. Easy to read but not really a nail-biting page turner…
#Booksky

One of your future coworkers in the Currie Lab, an adorable axolotl.

💥OUR LAB IS HIRING!!💥

We are hiring a research assistant/lab manager to assist with managing our axolotl colony and enabling some kick-ass science! Looking for high levels of organization, collaboration, problem solving and curiosity.

Application link: tinyurl.com/3tpvphpm
#SciJob #JobAlert

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Closing Date: 09 October 2025

📣Job Opportunity: A postdoctoral research associate (PDRA) position that will focus on exploring the role of macrophages during salivary gland development in our Emmerson Lab.

Applications close 09 October 2025. Further information: edin.ac/42uTVlc

Powered by MHR

Come work with us @keeleuniversity.bsky.social ! We are recruiting a Research Assistant to work on an exciting project aimed at defining the role of brown adipose tissues in spinal muscular atrophy! Further details can be found here:
ce0639li.webitrent.com/ce0639li_web...

Nixon Lab is hoping to recruit a postdoctoral fellow interested in alcohol-microglia and/or alcohol-neural stem cell interactions in recovery from alcohol-induced brain and behavioral damage/dysfunction. Open fellowships on our NIAAA-funded T32! Please spread the word!

Book cover of Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo showing pictures of black women

📖 37 of 2025 (10/10): Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. Absolutely delightful read! Every woman in this book is different yet fully developed and the whole thing is brought together in the most heartwarming way.
#Booksky

Research poster

Excited to be presenting our research on the potential of muscle-specific extracellular vesicles as SMA biomarkers. In collaboration with Stephanie Duguez @florage.bsky.social & funded by @afm-telethon.bsky.social !

Picture showing slide show with presenter at podium.

Well done to our member Heidi Fuller who was an invited speaker at the Ottawa NMD 2025 meeting where she presented thoughts on precision medicine for SMA.

Picture of Ph.D. supervisor Rashmi Kothary and me.

One of my favourite things about the Ottawa NMD meeting is reconnecting with friends and colleagues. Great to come back to where my research career started and hang out with my Ph.D. supervisor @kotharylab.bsky.social !

🚨 Calling researchers, students, technicians in cognition 🚨

We’re running a 10-min anonymous survey on how animal cognition is defined and studied across disciplines (from ecology, ethology, psychology, neurology, etc). 🧠✨

Scan the QR code & share widely

#AnimalCognition #ResearchSurvey #Science

🚨 We're hiring, please share! The FMI seeks a tenure-track Group Leader (Assistant Prof) in Structural Biology 🔬
Innovative scientists in genome regulation, RNA metabolism, or protein homeostasis—especially using cutting-edge approaches—apply now at www.fmi.ch/education-ca...

Scientific research poster

After the Pre-Meeting, the official @asbmr.bsky.social Annual Meeting in Seattle begins! Our poster was selected for the plenary session. Come see & discuss our results showing sex-specific effects of an Acrodysostosis Type 2 causing mutation!

White pair of sneakers

It’s #WhiteSneaker day @asbmr.bsky.social Annual Meeting in Seattle. Ready to raise awareness about bone health & Acrodysostosis Type 2!

BIG news for Spinal Muscular Atrophy in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Newborn screening for #SMA has just been announced: smauk.org.uk/news/the-sco...

Public comment now open for the new NIH 2025 Muscular Dystrophy Coordinating Committee's (MDCC) Action Plan. Happy to be a part of this group. Comment here: grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Me standing beside our research poster

Proud PI moment as we present our characterisation of bone defects in our unique Acrodysostosis Type 2 mouse model for the first time at the @asbmr.bsky.social Pre-Meeting Symposium on Rare Bone diseases!

UAB and Children's of AL is looking for a new Division Director of Pediatric Neurology (come be one of my bosses!). We are consistently in the top 30 nationwide in Pediatric Neurology and have excellent subspecialties in: Epilepsy, Autism, and NMDs. Apply: tinyurl.com/y8d8duve

White sneakers inside a suitcase

Very excited to be attending my very first @asbmr.bsky.social annual meeting in Seattle! #whitesneakers at the ready to raise awareness of bone health and Acrodysostosis Type 2!

My colleague & I are looking for a motivated postdoc to apply for a Post Doctoral & Brain Entry Fellowship to study cognition in babies with spinal muscular atrophy. Contact me if interested.
guarantorsofbrain.org/grants/post-...