Kourtney Sloan, MS (They/Them)

Promotional graphic for the DisabledInSTEM 2026 Mentorship Program. The background is a dark blue gradient with flowing wave-like patterns in blue and gold. At the top, white text reads: “DisabledInSTEM 2026 Mentorship Applications Now Open.” Below, a yellow box with black text says: “Seeking Disabled Mentees and Dedicated Mentors to Champion Inclusion in STEM.” At the bottom, white text states: “Applications due December 5th.” In the lower right corner, there is the DisabledInSTEM logo.

It's that time of year again... time for #DisabledInSTEM 2026 Mentorship applications! I'm so excited to be running this program for the sixth year and seeing the growth over the years!

Mentee form: forms.gle/um5DvYnBi3tn...
Mentor form: forms.gle/BvaxnQm8uhUR...

Applications due December 5th!

For my fellow mammalian geneticists 🧬🐀: follow @i-m-g-s.bsky.social

I had the privilege of attending the 38th annual conference in Glasgow 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and got to give my first international talk 🎙️

IMGS conferences have trainee opportunities, including a trainee symposium, mentor lunch, and more!

IMGS is 😀 excited to announce 🎉 the 39th annual conference in Reykjavíc, Iceland 🧊 from April 7-10th, 2026. Follow for the latest IMGS news!
#IMGS #IMGC2026

I look forward to the Buddy Walk every year! This year was even more special since the lab came together to make ribbons ahead of time 💝

Thank you to Linnea for the idea and gathering the materials 🧶

Magenta t-shirt with the following text “The Adventures of Indiana Bones, Researchers of the Extra Chromosome Produced by Trisomy 21 Studios and the Roper Lab.” The t-shirt image features an orange archway with yellow and magenta DNA helixes and a mouse as Indiana Jones with a pipet and DNA whip fleeing as a brain-boulder chases.

Roper lab t-shirts for 2025 are live! This year’s theme is Indiana Bones and the Researchers of the Extra Chromosome. Thank you to the artist, Ava Tankersley (akt.jpeg on Insta) for bringing our idea to life!

Get them by Monday, September 25 here: bit.ly/4pn0HDq

Thank you for the spotlight!

A screenshot featuring the Science On Tap logo, a chalkboard-esque design with a bar tap filling up a glass as the “I” in science and a world globe as the “O” in on, and information on the speaker, Randall J. Roper, Ph.D., and the title of his talk “Of Mice and Men and Women too! How differences between sexes influence improving lives of individuals with Down syndrome”.

My PI is speaking at Science on Tap! If you want to join us, register here: events.iu.edu/science-indi...

‘Unrecognizable and highly toxic’: NIH staffers speak out ahead of Senate hearing on budget cuts - The Boston Globe More than 300 staffers signed a letter to the NIH director urging him to stop politically motivated cuts to research grants.

"...the workers behind the letter said grants are being terminated based on political preferences and without input from scientific staff or Congress, which amounts to censorship of critical research."

zurl.co/zEzKM
#StandUpForScience
#BethesdaDeclaration

Publishing in this climate is crucial, as it is one of the key products of scientific funding. Use this as a means of communicating not only with other scientists, but also with the public on why we need continued funding.

Largest Trans Survey Ever: Top Reason Trans People Stop Transitioning Is Transphobia “In almost every single case, the reason was anti-trans discrimination in the form of pressure to ‘detransition’ from one’s family, friends, or community.”

1. The US Transgender Survey has finally been released, and the results are stunning.

- <1% of people are less satisfied after HRT.
- The most common reason for detransition, pausing transition, or stopping transition is transphobia.

The latest from S. Baum.

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If anyone you know is 13-24, in the US, and is LGBTQ+, please have them complete the Trevor Project survey this year.

Their last survey has been integral to protecting LGBTQ+ rights globally.

I can't understate how big an impact it has. Multiple publications come from the data.

Share widely.

After reading this notice and the Final Scientific Integrity Policy, it appears they will likely remove the language surrounding DEIA and, even more concerningly, protections from political interference

grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...