Dr Laura Sanchez

Cells on gels!

How can a silly-putty-like substance help us understand cancer cells?

Allen Distinguished Investigators @drlaurasanchez.bsky.social and @lydia-kisley.bsky.social are stretching the limits of #FrontierScience by developing a new way to look inside of cells.

@ucscscience.bsky.social

Naming Challenge: Help Redefine the Glycopeptide Family! We are excited to launch a naming competition inspired by the recent preprint "Phylogenetic distance and structural diversity directing a reclassification of glycopeptide antibiotics" (https://www.bio...

⏰ Just 7 days left for our Glycopeptide Renaming Challenge!
💡 Share your best name idea and win 500€

👉 More info and submission here: docs.google.com/forms/d/1ym9...

#secmet #NaturalProducts #Antibiotics #NamingChallenge #Glycopeptides @gdwantibiotics.bsky.social @marghesosio.bsky.social

Spatial Metabolomics Reveals the Role of Penicillic Acid in Cheese Rind Microbiome Disruption by a Spoilage Fungus https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.08.674932v1

Why strong mentorship was essential for my career success in science JoAnn Trejo has turned mentoring into an evidence-based science, driven by her own exposure to inspiring mentors.

Our very own, @joann-trejo.bsky.social, on the Nature Careers Podcast! Dr. Trejo is featured in this eight-part Changemakers series and she speaks to the importance of mentorship in science careers! 🧪 🎉 👏

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

These are the most challenging times for early-career scientists and engineers.

My team is doing its bit to help by maintaining and even expanding our database of funding opportunities for early-career researchers.

We found 437 of them.

Download it freely here: research.jhu.edu/rdt/funding-...

The federal government’s demand of $1 billion from @UCLA would devastate the nation’s best public university, cut off life-saving care, halt tech and economic growth and reduce educational access.

Stand with UC to protect our vital mission: www.universityofcalifornia.edu/get-involved...

Having a blast #ASP2025 refreshed after catching up with friends and celebrating science

We’re pleased to share a significant development in the lawsuit challenging the rescission of MOSAIC and other NIH grants. MOSAIC grants support scientists from a wide range of backgrounds in transitioning to research careers. The First Circuit has denied the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal and formally granted ASM’s motion to file an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs. In a 34-page opinion, the court found that the government is unlikely to prevail on its argument that the case belongs in the Court of Federal Claims rather than federal district court. The court also affirmed that the grant cancellations are subject to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act and cast doubt on the government’s ability to justify the terminations under the arbitrary-and-capricious standard. The court acknowledged the serious consequences of abruptly canceling scientific research grants and emphasized that the public’s interest is aligned with the plaintiffs. The government may now seek an emergency stay from the Supreme Court, and ASM is prepared to continue its legal actions at that level. We will keep our community informed about the next steps in the legal process. This is a promising moment: our strategy is gaining traction and sending a clear signal about the importance of fairness, transparency and due process in federal research funding decisions.

Some good news from @asm.org about their efforts to fight unlawful grant terminations, such as MOSAIC

asm.org/press-releas...

Seeing between the lines: matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging advances for microbial interactions This review delves into the technical advancements of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) applications f…

Seeing between the lines: matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging advances for microbial interactions

-in Curr Opin Microbiol from @drlaurasanchez.bsky.social
#Microbiota_thematic_issue

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

ZiemertLab The Ziemert lab is interested in the evolution and distribution of bacterial secondary metabolites. These bioactive compounds are especially important in human medicine as the chemical scaffolds are t...

Check out the Ziemert Lab’s new YouTube channel
m.youtube.com/@ZiemertLab
We’ve uploaded short tutorial videos on how to use our tools for genome mining and natural product discovery.
Thanks Semih, @martinaadamek.bsky.social @turgutmesut.bsky.social ! #GenomeMining #SecMet #naturalproducts

‘Need for speed: high throughput’ – mass spectrometry approaches for high-throughput directed evolution screening of natural product enzymes Covering: 2015 to 2024 Mass spectrometry (MS)-based methods have been implemented extensively for enzyme engineering due to their label-free nature, making them suitable for screening a wide range of…

🔓Read a #OpenAccess review by @drlaurasanchez.bsky.social‬ et al. from @ucsantacruz.bsky.social‬ in our MS Metabolomics themed collection covering mass spectrometry approaches for high-throughput directed evolution screening of natural product enzymes #secmet #natprod

Scientific Glassblower Position Title: Scientific Glassblower Job Group: Professional & Scientific Required Minimum Qualifications: High school diploma or equivalent and 5 years of related experience Preferred Qualifica...

#chemsky 🧪 ISU Department of Chemistry is hiring a scientific glassblower. Thrilled we are hiring for this position given the impending retirement of our current glassblower. isu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/IowaStateJob...

Tenured!

It’s been a remarkable six years at UC Santa Cruz full of many unexpected obstacles but even more triumphs! I’m incredibly proud of the phenomenal team that we’ve assembled and am excited to have the continued opportunity to grow and share our collective successes!

What? Some good news on a Friday?

Parent Fellowship Notices of Funding Opportunities are up!

F30, F31, F32, F33

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

The Extraordinary Benefit of Nature’s Chemistry to Health, Society, and the Economy The connection between humans and Nature’s chemistry is astonishing and built into the very fabric of our genetic code. In this Perspective, we focus on bioactive molecules from microbes, plants, and ...

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Two good follows for this evening

@jenna-m-norton.bsky.social
@ianlmorgan.bsky.social

Two of the leaders at NIH who wrote the #BethedaDeclaration and are standing up and speaking out for all of us.

@standupforscience.bsky.social

The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List

The 2026 Chemistry Faculty Jobs List has 4 tenure-track positions: docs.google.com/spreadsheets... #facultychemjobs #chemsky #chemjobs

Hope everyone made it home safely after #ASMS2025. Thanks all for making it another fun conference. Planning for #ASMS2026 San Diego started at 7:30am this morning. Don’t forget to fill in the post-conf survey when you get it. More ice cream and fruit? @asms.org

Group photo of participants at the 2nd Annual RCSA Fellows Conference in a desert garden landscape.

2nd Annual #RCSAFellows Conference is underway in Tucson! Congrats to 2024 & 2025 Fellows, and thanks to our speakers, Facilitators & advisors for giving their time and advice so generously to help prepare these outstanding postdoctoral scholars for the faculty search process and the professoriate.

UMN Medical school meeting with grim news from President Cunningham; federal grant pullbacks will result in 100’s of job losses. U will try to facilitate “respectful transition” but the losses will be in the 100’s 😳

This will be a dark 4 years for universities

Congrats Carli and Jason on your #ASMS2025 awards!! 🥳😎🤩 @ucscscience.bsky.social

Here Are the Nearly 2,500 Medical Research Grants Canceled or Delayed by Trump (Gift Article) Some cuts have been starkly visible, but the country’s medical grant-making machinery has also radically transformed outside the public eye.

New powerful article up in the New York Times on cancelled and delayed grants

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Dr Luu did a great job sharing our recent collaboration with @robbieshepherd.bsky.social check out the preprint for separating constitutional isomers from #MSImaging #Timaging www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #ASMS2025

You should check out Owl Bar if you get a chance!! It’s right around the corner from Brewer’s Art (I lived a block from Brewers Art in grad school). Owl Bar is an old speakeasy!

I love not having to make decisions about where to eat 💁🏽‍♀️ also super cool building too

Thanks for the social media recommendations @willfondrie.com we had our group dinner at Brewer’s Art last night! Excellent brews and tasty food 😋🤤 #ASMS2025 #Sluglife

While vibes are lower than normal at science conferences these days, its still nice and refreshing to catch up with friends. Introduced the lab to their Grandpapa #ASMS2025 #Sluglife @nlkproteomics.bsky.social

Group dinner @asms.org #sluglife #asms2025

The Spaceflight MS display at #ASMS2025 is so cool!