Cathy Abbott's Avatar

Cathy Abbott

@cathyabbott.bsky.social

Professor, eEF1A2/neurological disorders. Mostly talks about research, EDI (tries hard to be a good ally) but sometimes veers off into crafts and photos of Scotland. She/her, views own.

4,383 Followers  |  1,938 Following  |  697 Posts  |  Joined: 23.08.2023
Posts Following

Posts by Cathy Abbott (@cathyabbott.bsky.social)

Beautifully clear recap of important findings πŸ‘

04.03.2026 10:51 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, for sure.

04.03.2026 10:11 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

That's quite the bucket (vat?)

Just when I thought I couldn't despair of UKRI any more. This is no way to run a call, let alone one with funding of this magnitude.

04.03.2026 09:33 β€” πŸ‘ 19    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0

❌Dear staff, here is your periodic reminder to do <thing>. Please do <thing> every period as it is incredibly important.

βœ…Dear staff, please periodically do <thing>. CLICK THIS LINK TO FIND OUT IF YOU ALREADY DID <thing> THIS PERIOD. If you haven't please do.

03.03.2026 14:15 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Wow, amazing- congrats to you both!

03.03.2026 14:20 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Young woman holding prize and certificate flanked by organisers of the meeting

Young woman holding prize and certificate flanked by organisers of the meeting

Congratulations to Nika Balkic, doing a PhD on the @epilepsyinst.bsky.social DTC
with me and @sulsergonzalez.bsky.social on winning the trainees talk prize at the Scottish Paediatric Epilepsy Network meeting on Friday πŸŽ‰

02.03.2026 12:15 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Upside down plug sockets on a train table to accommodate chunky chargers

Upside down plug sockets on a train table to accommodate chunky chargers

A simple but effective move- well played ScotRail πŸ‘

27.02.2026 08:48 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

'For example, in Edinburgh, the university sector's contribution is reckoned to be equivalent to ten Commonwealth Games as the University generates Β£7.52 billion per year to the UK economy compared with Β£740 million over seven years by the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games'.

26.02.2026 09:02 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
The impact of tightening finances on Scotland's universities This briefing considers the financial challenges faced by Scottish universities, examining the potential root causes of the current situation, the impact on university students and staff, and how the ...

"Universities are not peripheral to Scotland's economy, rather they are anchor institutions that can generate Β£28.30 billion in annual economic impact, support 34,000 jobs through research funding, and create employment multiplier effects..."

digitalpublications.parliament.scot/ResearchBrie...

26.02.2026 08:45 β€” πŸ‘ 25    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 3

I would probably have had the same problem with male authors to be fair! Dickens, Jonathan Coe, Patrick Gale and err..

23.02.2026 16:51 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Uni leaders: We stand at an inflection point of unprecedented possibility, where the convergence of exponential technologies, human-centered innovation, and courageously reimagined mindsets.

Us: Can we get toilet paper with tensile strength greater than the torque needed to rotate the roll?

23.02.2026 14:48 β€” πŸ‘ 37    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 1

This is so interesting. I have been reading a lot of references for several recruitment rounds and just read a few that were generically positive and supportive but somehow told me *nothing* about the actual applicant. I am certain they were LLM generated- so different from the human-penned ones 😒

23.02.2026 15:56 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

what even is the fucking point

23.02.2026 15:34 β€” πŸ‘ 2868    πŸ” 725    πŸ’¬ 213    πŸ“Œ 298

Five women authors by whom I’ve read (and loved) at least five books:
Elinor Lipman
Anne Tyler
Kate Atkinson
Nina Stibbe
Joanna Trollope

(I could do this for ages, especially if I included children's authors -Noel Streatfeild, LM Montgomery, and dozens more if we dropped to 4 books)

23.02.2026 15:44 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 2
In which we watch and wait | Mind the Gap

"Precarity is the one constant of academic science. Themes of instability thread themselves through everything we do."

A brief blog post from me about the @ukri.org funding pause and who the real victims will be.

occamstypewriter.org/mindthegap/2...

#AcademicSky

22.02.2026 15:35 β€” πŸ‘ 23    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2

If you want to tackle the "biggest problem holding neuroscience back right now" - comparing mechanisms of cognition across species - join us in @ox.ac.uk and @tcddublin.bsky.social . Please share!

3x Job Details below:

(fantastic article @suthanalab.bsky.social ) #neuroskyence #neurojobs

20.02.2026 11:26 β€” πŸ‘ 23    πŸ” 16    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1

hahaha, perfect!

20.02.2026 09:33 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

"innocently" πŸ˜€

20.02.2026 09:14 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

(I should add that I said this in response to Mandelson being cleverer, I don't think this is AMB's defining characteristic- I'd go more for arrogant, predatory...)

19.02.2026 13:52 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I knew someone at uni who had been at school with AMB- I asked her what he was like and her one word description was "thick"

19.02.2026 13:17 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Research Group Leader Tenure Track - Structural Studies - LMB 2775 - Medical Research Council Location: Cambridge. Vacancy: Research Group Leader Tenure Track - Structural Studies - LMB 2775. Closing Date: 16/03/2026, 23:55

Please spread the word: the Structural Studies Division @mrclmb.bsky.social is looking for a new tenure-track, independent group leader with an exciting plan in any area of Structural (Molecular & Cell) biology, in discovery biology and/or methods development. πŸ₯³

mrc.tal.net/vx/mobile-0/...

16.02.2026 12:09 β€” πŸ‘ 83    πŸ” 102    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2

I used to work beside a group who identified the testis determining gene in mice- they told me there was a bit of the sequence, MALE, that was mutated in sex reversed mice. I think they were absolutely serious (and I could of course check if I could be bothered...πŸ˜€)

16.02.2026 11:55 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Execllent meeting yesterday. Highlighted the pretty dsimal stats for progression for women academic staff but countered with a fantastic engagement session (I am barely visible above the monitor ☺️) and really superb talk from Omer @bayraktarlab.bsky.social

13.02.2026 11:47 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

It's international day of women & girls in science. Whilst there's lots to celebrate, there remains much work to do to increase representation of women in science. At our event on Thurs, we'll reflect on barriers to career progression and the lack of parity at senior levels.
#WomenInScience

11.02.2026 12:55 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Even aside from the immediate issues around this specific vaccine, imagine the chilling effect this will have on R&D in future. What drug company is going to take this level of financial risk, only to be undone by some sort of pathological political lunancy?

11.02.2026 13:05 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is definitely one to celebrate. We have come a long way, and the future is bright and hopeful. But to get there, we need to keep acknowledging the systemic biases that sadly still exist nowadays πŸ‘‡πŸ»

11.02.2026 10:00 β€” πŸ‘ 20    πŸ” 10    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2
A year of inaction: why has the Royal Society allowed itself to be hollowed out by Elon Musk? | Reciprocal Space

A year of inaction: why has the Royal Society allowed itself to be hollowed out by Elon Musk? occamstypewriter.org/scurry/2026/...

11.02.2026 08:21 β€” πŸ‘ 14    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0

Well, I would say this, but Edinburgh Neuroscience absolutely values ideas and it's an extraordinarily collaborative environment. More than happy to chat!

09.02.2026 14:18 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

(Anson, I feel I should explain, this is my other brother-in-law, not the one who had throat cancer- it is beginning to sound as though I make this stuff up!)

09.02.2026 13:55 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Yes, exactly his situation. Huge potential 🀞

09.02.2026 12:58 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0