Elysse

The only Bromance I’ll ever need is King of the Hill.

Is Azenta/Genewiz the Bermuda Triangle of RNAseq? I sent them samples in June and still no results. 🧪

This is absolute perfection. Thank you John Darnielle for finding the words and stringing them together so beautifully.

Damn I could have used this a few months ago! Don’t need to be added, but following for community with fellow postdocs! Good luck everyone!

Hey bat/virus folks, does anyone know of any papers that report TOTAL RNAseq of SARS-CoV-2 infected bat cells and have their raw RNAseq data in a repository? All I can seem to find is mRNA transcriptome papers. TIA! 🦇 🧪

Thanks for always showing up for this run! Although we missed your sequin jacket this year!

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You got this!

Looks like last of us special edition cornbread

👏👏👏

May they rest in power.

I did not know Helen, but I followed their journey on this platform and always appreciated their candidness with what they were experiencing. We are so used to people hiding away when struggling with terminal illness and facing death, but Helen went against the grain, and I appreciated that so much.

Thank you for sharing! Very similar to my own story growing up in the Bay Area. Happy Pride, Mary!

Congratulations!

Thinking about the FDA approval of Lenacapavir today, during #pride month. I wonder what pride month, & our society as a whole, would look like today if the millions that have died were still alive today?

🦠🧪🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

www.gilead.com/news/news-de...

Congratulations!!!

Oh, and GOOD LUCK!! There’s tons of us 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ in academia. Lean on the community! We want you to succeed!

Most importantly, going back to school later in life is FUN. Yes, challenging, but different. It’s such a privilege. You’ll find your supporters if you pick the program that’s right for you. I encourage you to be YOU. It’s the only way, IMO. DM me if you want to chat about apps or interview prep!

Also, I found that many programs responded to the fact that I had thought about what I wanted out of a program. I phrased it as “I’m looking for growth/opportunity in xx area, how does this program approach xx?” It shows you have a goal and growth mindset, and are serious about it.

They should see that. I took 10 years off after my MS, and had shit grades before that. The programs that were open to applicants from diverse backgrounds/experiences wanted to know how I was different now, and why I was making this choice. I’m sure you’ve thought about it. Just be honest!

Yes! I have so many thoughts. Don’t frame your life as something to justify or be embarrassed of. So many things in academia are framed around productivity, but your life experience shapes you! Plus taking time off for you should give you the maturity and skills to succeed in grad school.

Thank you! And congrats to you!

A smiling nonbinary person, wearing a leopard print jumpsuit under doctoral regalia (graduation tam and gown), stands in front of a lawn with the Stanford University oval (main campus) in the background.

23 years ago, I dropped out of high school after sophomore year because I was bullied for being queer, & was suicidal. Yesterday, I served as the 2025 PhD speaker for the Stanford School of Medicine graduation. This was not my dream, because I had no dreams. Now I’m almost 40 & full of hope. 🎓 🦠🧪🔬🧬

This is exactly why I made a campy horror inspired movie trailer/preview short film about my thesis and sent it out to my entire department before my defense last week. It’s so stupid and fun. More silliness in #science and #academia, please!

It’s thesis defense day!!!

A friend turned me onto a “1001 albums to listen to before you die” generator that gives you a different album each day, and instead of introducing me to a ton of new stuff, I’m hearing a lot of stuff that sounds exactly the same. The person who generated the list clearly has some biases.

I took Modern Stats for Modern Biology in my first year as a grad student, and it changed everything for me. She was teaching from abroad via zoom, so she could take care of her mom during the pandemic. Even with all those barriers, it was the best class I’ve taken at Stanford. Susan is incredible.

That album is my go-to writing soundtrack. It never fails. It is so good.

Another thing: take pronoun usage in reference letters from mentors with a grain of salt. Always default to what the applicant says. If a mentor misgenders them in a letter, it could be a mistake, or it could show that the trainee was in an unsafe environment where they felt they couldn’t be out.

If you have questions about LGBTQ+ stuff, ask and I’ll do my best to answer. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ happy #pride!