catie profaci, phd

Apply | leadingedgesymposium Apply. The 2026 Leading Edge cohort application is now open! This cohort is named the Zara Weinberg Cohort, in honor of 2021 Leading Edge Fellow, Zara Weinberg. Applications are due February 2, 2026.

Applications are open for the 2026 Zara Weinberg cohort of Leading Edge, named in honor of the incredible, brilliant, fearless @weinberz.witchlab.org.

The LE community has been truly transformative for my scientific journey and my happiness. Please apply!! www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/

Apply | leadingedgesymposium Apply. The 2026 Leading Edge cohort application is now open! This cohort is named the Zara Weinberg Cohort, in honor of 2021 Leading Edge Fellow, Zara Weinberg. Applications are due February 2, 2026.

I have been blown away by the level of support (both practical and emotional support!) from the #LeadingEdge community. I feel so grateful to be a part of this group. Consider applying!!

www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/

Tomorrow is the last day to register for our in-person event!

Join us, and our incredible lineup of speakers, on the UCSD campus Nov 15 from 9am-1pm. Registration is free!

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Applying to faculty jobs 101 — Stories of WiN This episode features Dr. Monique Smith (Assistant Professor, UCSD) discussing faculty job applications with host Dr. Nancy Padilla-Coreano.

Applying for faculty jobs this cycle? Check out our latest special episode! @moeneuro.bsky.social and @drnancypadilla.bsky.social discuss when to apply, important considerations when preparing applications, and more! Listen below!

www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...

#AcademicBluesky #NeuroJobs

Induction of menstruation in mice reveals the regulation of menstrual shedding During menstruation, an inner layer of the endometrium is selectively shed, while an outer, progenitor-containing layer is preserved to support repeated regeneration. Progress in understanding this co...

Congratulations @karalmckinley.bsky.social & lab on their groundbreaking recent preprint establishing + characterizing a chemically inducible model of menstruation in mouse:

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

My jaw dropped when I heard this presented earlier this year. Incredible.

Coming to SD 🌴 for #SfN25 🧠?! Join @storiesofwin.bsky.social for our first in-person event 🤩. We’ll have a keynote, panels, & time for networking! Won’t be in SD? You can still register to receive a recording! Speaker/panelist announcements coming soon 👀

Register by Nov 1: forms.gle/CJPcKZNZY7uU...

Rocío is an amazing scientist, mentor, and person in general!!! Please share this job opening with anyone who might be interested 🤩🤩

PIEZO channels link mechanical forces to uterine contractions in parturition Mechanical forces are extensively involved in pregnancy and parturition, but their precise roles and mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we identify mechanically activated ion channels PIEZO1 a...

New preprint alert! The uterus expands ~500-fold in pregnancy, yet we know little about how pressures are sensed. Led by @yunxiao-dr.bsky.social, we show PIEZOs are required for contractions and birth in mice, with dual roles of PIEZO1 in muscle and PIEZO2 in neurons
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

My duck is on its way!

Thanks to Nicole for the highlight!! 🥹 this has been such a rewarding a labor of love for the last 6 (!!) years with @cprofaci.bsky.social and @drnancypadilla.bsky.social and our whole team of amazing volunteers!!! Always grateful to hear that it’s reaching a wider audience and having some impact ❤️

Hard to choose from >150 profiles! One that always sticks out is Huda Akil (ep 19)- www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202.... & some of my fave interview convos I’ve had are w @osmanaya.bsky.social (ep 58)- www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202... & Sally Temple (ep 73)- www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...

Thank you so much to @nicolecrust.bsky.social for taking the time to highlight our team and project on Bluesky!! We are so honored ☺️

Regional heterogeneity of the blood-brain barrier - Nature Communications The blood-brain barrier (BBB) regulates the extracellular composition of the central nervous system (CNS), but it is not known whether its properties differ across CNS regions. Here, the authors show ...

Thrilled to share this amazing work from Marie Blanchette & team in the Daneman Lab!!! We found that differences in the BBB across brain regions help regulate local brain function 🧠 Honored to have contributed to the study & to have had Marie as a mentor during my PhD💕
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Gregor Schuhknecht

Interested in a neuroscience PhD or postdoc position in Germany? Check out the Brain Algorithms and Circuits Group opening at MPI this Fall!!

And many congrats to my friend Gregor Schuhknecht on opening his lab 🥳

#Neuroscience #Zebrafish #NeuroJobs

brain.mpg.de/schuhknecht

It’s finally happening 🥹 save the date for our very first in-person event!! Fill out our interest form if you’ll be in SD for #sfn25 or otherwise, or fill it out even if you won’t be able to make it - we’re also gathering interest in a virtual streaming option!! Stay tuned for more details to come!!

We at @storiesofwin.bsky.social have dreamt of hosting an in-person event for years… and it’s finally happening!!!! 🧠💕

Fill out the interest form even if you won’t be in SD for SfN—we’re gauging interest in a virtual option too!

FDA-NIH Workshop: Reducing Animal Testing The FDA is hosting a workshop on reducing animal testing. The workshop is open to current FDA and NIH employees.

The NIH is asking scientists and the public to comment on plans to drastically limit animal model research. If you think animal models remain important tools for basic and clinical research tell them! Click the link below and scroll down to send your comments!

www.fda.gov/news-events/...

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.

⚖️ HUGE day today in the NIH terminations cases

There's a trial (of sorts) at 10a ET in Boston today for arguments that NIH unlawfully terminated 100s of grants.

It's a 3 hour hearing and I'll post periodic updates.

Of note: this is the 1st lawsuit filed against the Trump Admin to go to trial.

Sen. Alex Padilla was just removed from Kristi Noem's press conference in Los Angeles (video: Bill Melugin/Fox News)

Happening today!!!

A summary of LGBTQ+ friendly mental health resources Trans Lifeline is a trans-led organization that connects trans people to the community, support, and resources they need to thrive. Available at https://translifeline.org or 1-877-565-8860 LGBT National Hotline serves the community by providing free & confidential peer support, information, and local resources through national hotlines and online programs. Available at https://lgbthotline.org or 1-800-246-7743 National Suicide Crisis Lifeline: Available at https://988lifeline.org or 988. Text PRIDE to 988 for LGBTQ+ services. "At the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, we understand that life's challenges can sometimes be difficult. Our caring counselors are here for you. You are not alone." Crisis Text Line serves anyone, in any type of crisis, providing access to free, 24/7 support via mediums people already use and trust. Available at https://www.crisistextline.org/ or text HOME to 741-741 For LGBTQ+ young people: The Trevor Project, available at https://www.thetrevorproject.org or text START to 678-678 For queer BIPOC community: BlackLine, available at https://www.callblackline.com/ or 1-800-604-5841 For queer South Asian community: DeQH, available at https://www.deqh.org/ or 908-367-3374 For LGBT older adults >50 years: SAGE, available at https://www.sageusa.org or 1-888-234-SAGE

Friends, as much fun as it is to play "Goon, fiend, or wanker? with the Trump regime, the sad reality is that this regime is actively attacking the LGBTQ+ community. Please share this LGBTQ+ friendly one-pager of mental health resources widely #PrideMonth #MentalHealth #AltComms

Didn't get into grad school, what now? — Stories of WiN Dr. Maribel Patino, co-Founder of Colors of the Brain, about what to do if you didn’t get into grad school

Special Episode! Didn't get into your dream grad program? Don't give up! Colors of the Brain (@colorsofthebrain.bsky.social) co-founder Dr. Maribel Patino (‪@maribel-patino.bsky.social‬) shares tips to strengthen your application #AcademicTwitter #GradSchoolTips

www.storiesofwin.org/profiles/202...

We love to see multiple #StoriesOfWiN team members in the 2025 Leading Edge cohort! 💜 Congratulations to @cprofaci.bsky.social, @megkirch.bsky.social, and @hannahelam.bsky.social!

Every day I am so heartbroken for all the brilliant, curious, and promising young scientists that have passed through my lab and classrooms, now having their futures stolen just to serve some guy’s ego.

Very excited to be among the newest cohort of Leading Edge Fellows!! It’s an incredibly supportive community of scientists, and I can’t wait to get to know all of them better ☺️

While I was unsuccessful with HG, I got my start in research in an HHMI-funded undergrad program. Funding people at early stages matters immensely!!!

I kinda feel like putting all journal titles back in my talk slides in defiance 😈

(I know I know, journal elitism is also bad. Just so disappointed)

💔 for this year’s HG applicants. I applied twice (unsuccessfully) and I remember really pouring my heart and soul into last year’s app. The new application format is so much intellectual and emotional work! So awful this year’s apps are all just getting thrown away

I truly do not understand this @hhmi.org decision. Why go to all the trouble to make big changes to several awards to keep them “legal” (open to everyone) only to then terminate them??? And at a time when ECRs are the most desperate??? I think a public explanation is much needed

This is so demoralizing. We are losing critical ECR funding from all sources..and in doing so, losing the future of science. Who will stand up for these vulnerable communities?!