Ashley Marquardt

Thanks for this article, Kristen -- as a current Baltimorean who grew up in Calvert County and attended public schools there from K-12, I appreciate the Banner covering this. The BOE's actions are shameful but sadly not surprising, but I'm glad to know how many folks were out there protesting.

Abstinence from cocaine self-administration promotes microglial pruning of astrocytes, which drives cocaine-seeking behavior Rodent drug self-administration leads to a compromised ability of nucleus accumbens astrocytes to maintain glutamate homeostasis as well as to reducti…

I am SO EXCITED to share this one! The latest paper from the lab is online in @cp-cellreports.bsky.social. We show microglia prune NAc astrocyte processes during abstinence from cocaine-self ad which drives later drug seeking behavior.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

awesome!!

A reminder about the importance of healthcare to every single state

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Timing matters: modeling the effects of gestational cannabis exposure on social behavior and microglia in the developing amygdala - Neuropsychopharmacology Neuropsychopharmacology - Timing matters: modeling the effects of gestational cannabis exposure on social behavior and microglia in the developing amygdala

Excited to see our most recent project published in @npp-journal.bsky.social !
We show that the timing of THC exposure during development—prenatal vs. postnatal—leads to opposite effects on social behavior and microglial function in the amygdala. Timing matters!

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

New paper from our group out in @npp-journal.bsky.social today on the effects of gestational cannabis exposure!

The Surprising Scientists Hit by Trump’s D.E.I. Cuts

Powerful story from Kate Zernike from the NYT

Covers the diversity of young scientists targeted by the anti-DEI BS. Definitely worth a read and a share.

[Gift link]
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/u...

Despite all the handwringing about “intellectual diversity” the reality is that higher ed exposes young people to a vastly different array of people and experiences than almost anything else you can do.

Exclusive: NIH still screens grants in process a judge ruled illegal Directives by the Trump administration are still being applied to grant applications despite court order.

SCOOP: NIH appears to be disregarding last week's court order to stop screening grants using a process a judge ruled illegal.

This has many NIH staffers confused and worried about the legality of their actions.

A treemap of terminated research grants at Harvard

We pored through more than 900 grants worth $2.6 billion that the Trump administration canceled at Harvard.

“This is larger than any individual grant,” a researcher told us. “What we are losing is a future.”

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

With @emmbadger.bsky.social and @ethansinger.bsky.social

250+ million acres of public lands eligible for sale in SENR budget reconciliation package The bill mandates disposal of over 2 million acres of BLM and National Forest lands; public lands eligible for sale in the bill encompass over 250 million acres, including local recreation areas, wild...

"The bill directs what is likely the largest single sale of national public lands in modern history to help cut taxes for the richest people in the country....all without hearings, debate or public input." wilderness.org/articles/med...

Baltimore’s homicide rate dropped to a historic low last month, defied racial trends Baltimore ended April with five homicides, the lowest monthly total in recent memory.

Mayor Brandon Scott appears to be doing something right, but somehow this remarkable, record setting decline in violence doesn't quite make national headlines the way the opposite does

www.thebaltimorebanner.com/community/cr...

BREAKING: A federal judge in Massachusetts (the Reagan-appointed William Young) has declared the Trump administration's cuts to NIH grants — ostensibly over Trump's EOs on gender ideology and DEI — are "illegal" and "void." He's ordering many grants restored.

For instance: If murders in Baltimore were UP 40%, then Mayor Brandon Scott would be a national figure. Instead it's gone down that amount so no one knows who he is.

entire block of crowd control barricades arranged to accommodate a long line of people at security, empty

One block over from the White House: the aspirational security line setup

@pegmccarthy.bsky.social @um-mind.bsky.social @cp-cellreports.bsky.social

The transcriptome of playfulness is sex biased in the juvenile rat medial amygdala: A role for inhibitory neurons Marquardt et al. explore the “transcriptome of playfulness” in the medial amygdala, demonstrating that the gene signatures associated with playfulness are largely distinct in male and female rats. Thr...

New paper from my PhD work out in Cell Reports today! We find that playfulness is associated with markedly distinct gene expression profiles in the medial amygdala of male vs. female rats and show that inhibitory neurons play a key role. Really proud of this one! www.cell.com/cell-reports...

NIH staff and biomedical community sound alarm about agency politicization, funding slowdown In test of NIH director’s support of dissent, NIH staff sign Bethesda Declaration urging reversal of grant cuts and freezes

Breaking news: Staff at the National Institutes of Health have issued a declaration calling on their director to depoliticize the agency and reverse spending cuts.

The Gutting of America’s Medical Research: Here Is Every Canceled or Delayed N.I.H. Grant Some cuts have been starkly visible, but the country’s medical grant-making machinery has also radically transformed outside the public eye.

"Tanner, a chemist at the Univ. of Mississippi working to develop a novel approach for treating glioblastoma, was notified in April that the grant was terminated.

“I would like to cure brain cancer,” Dr. Tanner said. “I think that's not particularly controversial.”

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Hi! I specialize in medication toxicity. All available, real-world data has proven mifepristone is actually even safer than many over the counter medicines.

Mortality rates:

Mifepristone: 0.65/100,000
Penicillin 2/100K
Viagra 4/100K

Pregnancy in the US: 22/100,000 (some states see rates >60/100K)

The MAHA Report Cites Studies That Don’t Exist The Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” report misinterprets some studies and cites others that don’t exist, according to the listed authors.

RFK Jr's "MAHA" report is filled with references to studies that literally do not exist, or that completely misinterpret the studies' findings.

“We did not publish a paper.. on this topic with that co-author group, or with that title,” says one cited researcher.

www.notus.org/health-scien...

Every single step of my career since I started grad school has involved a lot of “now do all this stuff you don’t know how to do, with minimal training.”

I tell my children that a PhD is really a degree in teaching yourself things.

I'm hiring a lab tech! If you know any talented college seniors or recent grads who'd enjoy doing cool neuroscience in Baltimore, please encourage them to consider applying: umb.taleo.net/careersectio...

Flyer for Neuro Networks Day, stating “Announcing our 2nd Annual UM-MIND Neuro Networks Day - Friday, May 16th 9:45am-5pm MSTF Leadership Hall - group workshops, student talks, mentor mentee partnership, art gallery

We are so excited to host Neuro Networks Day today, a dynamic and collaborative event designed to celebrate and elevate our vibrant neuroscience community. Join us in Leadership Hall today at 9:45am for this community event!

RFK Jr. said multiple times during his house and senate hearings today that no scientists have been fired from federal agencies. Our reporting has shown that hundreds, if not thousands, of scientists have been let go from NIH/CDC/FDA

So pleased to welcome Chase back home to Baltimore and @ummedschool.bsky.social!! Welcome to UM-MIND @phdsred.bsky.social 🧠 🚀

Behind every breakthrough, every innovation, every victory over cancer, there's a dedicated scientist.

NIH funding fuels their discoveries. This is why America is great. Let's keep it that way.

🔗Learn more: www.umaryland.edu/breakthroughs

#NIHSavesLives #BreakthroughsCantWait #NIH #FundingCuts

Welcome to @um-mind.bsky.social, @emilyaeryjones.bsky.social!! My Marylander self could not love this picture (and this news!) more! 🧠🎉

Sen. Ossoff: Who out there in the American public is sitting at home demanding that we shut down cancer research and Alzheimer's research?

“This doesn't feel like a strategic plan to reorganize and make the NIH better and more efficient. It feels like a wrecking ball,” says an NIH insider, who asked 60 Minutes to protect his identity due to his concern about reprisal. https://cbsn.ws/3EKcER9