Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

The world’s first personalized gene therapy | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory How does science make life better? Here’s one example spanning eons. There’s an adaptive immune system called CRISPR that has existed in bacteria for billions of years. Thanks to fundamental biology r...

In this episode of At the Lab, Dr. Kiran Musunuru from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, and Dr. Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, discuss CRISPR, medicine, and the future of both fields. www.cshl.edu/podcasts/the...

School of Biological Sciences launches BioAI Ph.D. program | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory AI and machine learning have transformed science, enabling new discoveries and laying the groundwork for lifesaving treatments. Yet, as valuable as these tools may be for science and medicine, few if ...

The CSHL School of Biological Sciences has launched a new Ph.D. program in BioAI. Machine learning has transformed science. This new program will equip today’s students with the tools they’ll need to make the groundbreaking biomedical discoveries of the future. www.cshl.edu/school-of-bi...

Singing mice speak volumes | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory All mice squeak, but only some sing. Scotinomys teguina, aka Alston’s singing mice, hail from the cloud forests of Costa Rica. More than 2,000 miles north, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) neurosc...

Ever see a mouse stand on its hind legs and belt out a song?@xmikezheng20.bsky.social, @cliffscience.bsky.social, and @arkarupbanerjee.bsky.social track this behavior in Alston’s singing mice. See what it might say about the origins of communication. cshl.edu/singing-mice-speak-volumes/

CSHL Animal Resources team recognized by NY State | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory In 2023, the Viscardi Center (VC), a statewide nonprofit helping persons with disabilities find jobs and succeed in the workplace, assisted James Schaefer in securing a position at Cold Spring Harbor ...

Recognized for their commitment to inclusivity, CSHL’s Lab Animal Resources team recently received the National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) award for 2025 by the New York State Education Department. www.cshl.edu/cshl-animal-...

We’re excited to share that @jeremynigri.bsky.social, a postdoctoral fellow in the Tuveson Lab at CSHL, has been awarded the @pancan.bsky.social Catalyst Monahan Fellowship Award. This fellowship supports bold, innovative work that pushes #pancreaticcancer research forward.

Shapeshifting cancers’ masters, unmasked | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Some tumors are almost impossible to treat. That’s especially true for carcinomas, which don’t behave like other malignancies. Some of these tumors act as shapeshifters and start to resemble cells fro...

Two breakthroughs in one! Two new studies from CSHL molecular biologist Chris Vakoc, published in @natcomms.nature.com and @cp-cellreports.bsky.social, help explain the bizarre behaviors of pancreatic cancers and lung cancers that can change identities.

www.cshl.edu/shapeshiftin...

Is an AI singularity possible? | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory How close is artificial intelligence to matching biological intelligence? When will computers be able to think and act as humans do? If you ask one of the big tech companies currently developing AI, t...

CSHL NeuroAI Scholars Kyle Daruwalla and Christian Pehle joined our most recent episode of At the Lab to discuss how unlikely artificial superintelligence is to develop, despite an influx of research in the field. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. www.cshl.edu/podcasts/is-...

Cancer: A disease of genes and ... garbage? | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

What is a carcinogen, exactly? How do carcinogens impact our daily lives? Watch Assistant Professor Peter Westcott in action, teaching our audience about cancer on an environmental level.

www.cshl.edu/videos/cance...

“I’m blessed to have been able to carry out my research & ideas in the US, particularly at CSHL, a magical place to do science.”

www.cshl.edu/joshua-tor-j...

Photo credit: The American Academy of Sciences and Letters

Uplands Farm: Grounds for discovery | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory At first glance, Uplands Farm—12 carefully tended acres about a mile east of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) campus—resembles farms you might have seen before. Orderly rows of corn dominate t...

At CSHL's Uplands Farm, researchers are are cultivating corn, sorghum, and more to test the roles of different genes. Read more to discover CSHL's long history and exciting future in plant biology. www.cshl.edu/uplands-farm...

Breast cancer case study could inform clinical trials | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory When researchers look for potential cancer therapy targets, they typically go after protein-coding genes that participate in disease progression. Disrupt them and negate whatever role they play in can...

CSHL Professor David Spector and grad student Disha Aggarwal examined tissue samples from a 59-year-old woman diagnosed with stage 1 triple-negative breast cancer. Their findings could help inform clinical trials of a drug targeting the long non-coding RNA MALAT1. www.cshl.edu/breast-cance...

In remembrance of Dr. James D. Watson | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Jim Watson made many contributions to science, education, public service, and especially Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). As a scientist, his and Francis Crick’s determination of the structure of...

It is with sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Dr. James Watson, Nobel prize-winning scientist and former Director and President of CSHL. We extend our sincere condolences to his wife Liz and family during this difficult time. www.cshl.edu/in-remembran...

Pediatric cancers: Rare, relentless, and real | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Pediatric cancer—two words that carry immense weight. For many, it’s a distant fear; for some, it’s a daily reality. And for my family, it became a devastating truth. After losing our teenage daughter...

In this episode of "At the Lab", Phil Renna and Chris Vakoc, CSHL Deputy Director of the Cancer Center, sit down to discuss the tireless work researchers are doing to help patients and families alike. Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts: www.cshl.edu/podcasts/ped...

Alexander wins Kidney Cancer Association Trailblazer Award | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Over 600,000 people in the United States are living with kidney or renal pelvis cancer. This year, over 80,000 new patients will be diagnosed. Could the speckles inside a tumor cell nucleus one day he...

Congratulations to CSHL’s Kate Alexander for winning the Kidney Cancer Association’s 2025 Trailblazer Award! Could a tumor cell’s nuclear speckles one day help doctors figure out the best course of treatment? Alexander aims to find out. Read more at the link:

www.cshl.edu/alexander-wi...

CSHL Press names David Crotty executive director | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has named David Crotty executive director of its publishing house, CSHL Press. He takes over for John Inglis, who founded the modern-day incarnation of CSHL Press ...

CSHL welcomes David Crotty (@dacrotty.bsky.social), new executive director of @cshlpress.bsky.social! Crotty, a 20+ year veteran of scientific publishing, succeeds founder John Inglis (@johninglis.bsky.social), who has led the Press since 1987. Read more at the link: www.cshl.edu/cshl-press-n...

This October, CSHL received a generous donation from the Friends of T.J. Foundation in support of sarcoma research. We are deeply grateful for their partnership and ongoing commitment to making life better through science.

A doorstop for the brain’s electrical gates | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory As information zings from cell to cell inside the brain, bursts of electricity spur its transmission. At Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), scientists have turned their attention to the tiny pores ...

A new study from the Furukawa lab (@lab-furukawa.bsky.social) identifies the neurological ‘doorstops’ that keep the brain’s NMDA receptors fully or partially open. The findings could have implications for treating neurodegenerative conditions like #Alzheimers disease. www.cshl.edu/a-doorstop-f...

Dicer: Life’s ancient repair tool | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Could yeast and humans be any more different? Going by looks alone, probably not. But peering into our genomes reveals surprising similarities. That’s because we share a common ancestor called LECA (l...

What do humans and certain yeasts have in common? More than meets the eye! CSHL Professor Rob Martienssen has discovered how a protein passed down by our last shared ancestor LECA protects our DNA when transcription and replication collide. Check out the full story here: www.cshl.edu/dicer-lifes-...

Cocktails and Chromosomes Unleash your inner scientist and join us for an exciting evening at the intersection of cocktails and cutting-edge research!

Discover how cancer turns normal biology toxic at our monthly Cocktails & Chromosomes event, featuring Assistant Professor Peter Westcott. Visit our Eventbrite for more information and to RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/cocktails-...

NAS Member Spotlight: Kornelia Polyak on the Future of Breast Cancer Research As we mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, we celebrate the work of Kornelia Polyak, a pioneering cancer biologist and member of the National Academy of Sciences. For more than two decades...

This NAS Spotlight features Kornelia Polyak—renowned cancer biologist, newest member of CSHL’s Scientific Advisory Council, and Co-chair of CSHL’s Cancer Center’s External Advisory Committee.

Read her insights on #BreastCancerResearch and mentorship: www.nasonline.org/news/breast-...

Exciting new work coming out of the dos Santos lab at CSHL!

Special edition: Breast Cancer Awareness Month | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Today, the five-year survival rate for early-stage breast cancer is about 99%. Awareness drives detection. But what about those breast cancers that aren’t caught early? What about those that evade com...

In this special edition of At the Lab, CSHL Professor and Cancer Center member David Spector shares his lab’s most recent research and how collaborations with Northwell Health have been instrumental in his lab’s success. www.cshl.edu/podcasts/spe...

Breast cancer discovery could help prevent recurrence | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Know someone who’s been diagnosed with breast cancer? There’s a good chance that person has received hormone therapy. Estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancers account for about 75 percent of ca...

Breast cancer can sometimes come back with a vengeance. A new discovery from CSHL’s Camila dos Santos lab could one day help prevent recurrence and keep breast tumors susceptible to common hormone therapy. www.cshl.edu/breast-cance... #BreastCancerAwareness

CSHL wins Long Island Business Development Council award | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has received the Long Island Business Development Council’s 2025 Business Award. The distinction recognizes CSHL’s role as a regional economic driver and beacon of...

And the 2025 #LIBDC Business Award goes to...CSHL! The award recognizes CSHL’s role as a regional economic driver and beacon of discovery, innovation & community development. Read more here: www.cshl.edu/cshl-wins-lo...

The journey: One lab’s long winding road to cancer discovery | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory As many as one in eight men in America will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives. About one in 44 will die from it. “Prostate cancer is very common,” Cold Spring Harbor Labor...

“We could have published more if we had a more aggressive, short-term vision. And we would’ve failed the prostate cancer community if we’d given them something that sounded great but didn’t last.” www.cshl.edu/the-journey-... #ProstateCancer

YouTube video by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory The hitchhiker's guide to the smelliverse with CSHL's Alexei Koulakov, Ph.D.

Synesthesia, shipwrecks, and African elephant all await you in the smelliverse! Get a guided tour from CSHL Professor Alexei Koulakov in our Cocktails & Chromosomes video. @alexkoulakov.bsky.social #NeuroSkyence youtu.be/b5i0gUz3O1I?...

Why does cancer keep growing? | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Why do cancer cells keep dividing over and over? The answer can be found in fundamental biology breakthroughs of the late 20th century. In 1982, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) geneticist Michael...

Why is breast cancer no longer a death sentence? The answer lies with fundamental biology discoveries of the 20th century. Join us as we revisit one of these breakthroughs: www.cshl.edu/why-does-can...

#BreastCancerAwarenessMonth

City of Science: Venki Ramakrishnan in Conversation with David Jeruzalmi Elebash Recital Hall

Join us in person or online! Wed, 10/15, 6:30p - Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel-winning chemist & author of “Why We Die,” joins in conversation with Prof. @djeruzalmi.bsky.social of CCNY & CUNY Graduate Center – presented with @cshlnews.bsky.social – reserve now! www.gc.cuny.edu/events/city-... #science

Kate Alexander wins NIH Director’s New Innovator award | Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) Assistant Professor Katherine Alexander has been awarded a 2025 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. The grant provides Alexander with $475,000 per year for five ye...

CSHL Assistant Professor Katherine Alexander has been awarded a 2025 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, which financially supports early career researchers to pursue creative, high-impact projects. www.cshl.edu/kate-alexand...

Congratulations to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, & Shimon Sakaguchi, awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries that reshaped our understanding of immune regulation. CSHL is proud to have hosted & published work by these pioneering scientists!