Orr laboratory

Tau pathology reprograms glucose metabolism to support glutamatergic activity and excitatory imbalance Alzheimer's disease (AD) is not only characterized by amyloid-beta (Aβ) and tau pathology, but also by early and progressive disruptions in metabolism. Neuronal excitability is tightly coupled with me...

🔥New preprint from the lab! Led by @rileyirmen.bsky.social

Tau pathology reprograms glucose metabolism to support glutamatergic activity and excitatory imbalance

📍 biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.25.666872v1

🧵 on how tau disrupts the metabolism–excitability balance in Alzheimer’s disease

Review @jem.org
Lipid metabolism and neuroinflammation: What is the link?
rupress.org/jem/article/...

Miami is hiring a neurobiologist! I am excited to welcome a new colleague to our Neuroscience community! Please share!

miamioh.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/miamio...

Astrocyte specification in the mouse septum is shaped by both developmental origin and local signals - Nature Neuroscience The relative contribution of intrinsic and extrinsic factors to astrocyte heterogeneity is unknown. Using heterotropic transplantation of septal astrocytes with distinct lineage origins, we show that ...

Astrocyte specification in the mouse septum is shaped by both developmental origin and local signals

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🧪BREAKING: NIH has laid out 5 options for funding publications costs on grants (yes, FIVE!). This is hugely impactful.

Make your opinions known by September 15, fellow scientists.
🧪
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Astrocyte specification in the mouse septum is shaped by both developmental origin and local signals - Nature Neuroscience The relative contribution of intrinsic and extrinsic factors to astrocyte heterogeneity is unknown. Using heterotropic transplantation of septal astrocytes with distinct lineage origins, we show that ...

Cool astrocyte paper!

Trump Administration Scraps Effort to Pause Health-Research Funding The administration halted and then restarted billions in new research grants flowing from the National Institutes of Health.

UPDATE: The pause was scrapped Tuesday evening after intervention by top White House officials. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Trump Administration Puts New Chokehold on Billions in Health-Research Funding The National Institutes of Health can’t award grants to outside researchers under a new White House restriction.

This is a catastrophe. There is nothing else to be said.

Picture of a smiling person holding up a copy of a book.

First copies of my book are here!! As a new faculty member, I realized that in addition to my research job, I also had a leadership job…and I wasn’t prepared for that.

This book is the guide I wish I’d had then, with the goal of helping others now.
 
jenheemstra.com/book

I'm thrilled that my lab at NYU is now supported by an NIH MIRA grant! I'm looking to hire 1-2 senior lab members (outstanding postdoc candidates or experienced staff scientists) with expertise in computational or statistical methods in human genetics or genomics. Please share!

A functional perspective on astrocyte heterogeneity Astrocytes are glial cells of the central nervous system (CNS) that perform an array of diverse functions that are essential for brain activity. Studies on the functional diversity of astrocytes sugge...

We have a new review out in TINS!

A functional perspective on astrocyte heterogeneity

www.cell.com/trends/neuro...

Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Neuroscience Title: Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Neuroscience Location(s): New York or Shanghai – Hybrid working model Application Deadline: August 18th About Springer Nature Springer Nature is one of the le...

We're hiring! Nature Neuroscience is hiring an Associate or Senior Editor with experience in cellular and molecular neuroscience, glia, and genomics to work in our New York or Shanghai office. Applications are due August 19.

springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Spring...

Every year SfN brings together thousands of researchers at every career stage to discover new ideas, share their research, and experience the best the field has to offer.

Register now to join the community at #SfN25 in San Diego!

🔗 vist.ly/3ys5s

#neuroskyence #neurosky

As Requested - A Starter Pack of PIs in Biology (or adjacent) fields who are recruiting POSTDOCS! Please don't hesitate to reach out if you wish to be added! go.bsky.app/4gbXXR3

Prof. Aleksandra Pękowska, our specialist in astrocyte genomics, will present groundbreaking insights into the genetic changes that contributed to the evolutionary development of astrocytes.

Astrocytic RIPK3 exerts protective anti-inflammatory activity in mice with viral encephalitis by transcriptional induction of serpins The kinase RIPK3 suppresses pathologic neuroinflammation in mouse models of flavivirus infection.

Excited to announce that our collaboration with @briandaniels.bsky.social has been published today! So happy for everyone involved, but especially me and Marissa 😆. Check it out if you're interested in #neuroinflammation and the #BBB www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🚨New lab publication is out!! 🚨

In this work we reveal that astrocytes, the most abundant glial cell type, are responsible for the effects of stress and that targeting these cells completely rescued the effects of stress on neuronal activity and behaviour!

Huge congrats to Lewis!!

See his 🧵below

Intrigued about glial cell diversity across #evolution? ✨🪱🐟🐀🐒🐅🦍

Come to our symposium #S23 at 4 pm today at #GLIA2025 ! 🤩

Aleksandra Pekowska and I are honored to co-chair this session! Thanks to our speakers Carlos Diaz-Salazar and Shai Shaham👏👇👇👇

Barcoded viral tracing identifies immunosuppressive astrocyte–glioma interactions - Nature Using viral barcode tracing to detect interactions between glioblastoma cells and non-malignant astrocytes in patient samples, investigators discovered a pathway that reduces tumour-specific immunity ...

Our newest paper studying immunosuppressive astrocyte-GBM interactions using RABID-seq is out in ‪@nature.com today! Congrats to Brian Andersen and Camilo Faust Akl!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We are excited to report:
Cerebral blood flow is modulated by astrocytic cAMP elevation independently of IP3R2-mediated Ca2+ signaling in mice
Vittani et al. PNAS (2025)
pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

How we’re rebuilding the Weizmann Institute — and our hopes for a better future Scientific research is at the heart of Israel’s success and has worldwide benefits. Our work will continue despite adversity.

Scientific research is at the heart of Israel’s success and has worldwide benefits. Our work will continue despite adversity, says Alon Chen

https://go.nature.com/40wXMx6

Join us this Thursday to hear some pretty cool science by @vcoelhosantoslab.bsky.social‬
and @szewczyklukasz.bsky.social‬
😍👇👇👇

As usual, you need to subscribe to our mailing list to receive the link! Or email us at astrocytecafe@gmail.com ;)

@

How fast is your brain ageing? Ordinary scans reveal the pace Images hold clues to risk of dementia and various age-related diseases.

How fast is your brain ageing? Ordinary scans reveal the pace nature.com/articles/d41... @nature.com

Proposed cuts could have ‘catastrophic effect,’ 110 biomedical, health sciences industry leaders tell Congress Proposed cuts will have “a catastrophic effect on the advancement of biomedical and biotechnology capabilities in the United States,” more than 100 leaders of biomedical/health sciences companies tell...

Much appreciated support from biotech execs and investors 🙏

www.statnews.com/2025/06/27/b...

The R136S mutation in the APOE3 gene confers resilience against tau pathology via inhibition of the cGAS-STING-IFN pathway The Christchurch mutation (R136S) in the APOE3 (E3S/S) gene is associated with attenuated tau load and cognitive decline despite the presence of a cau…

🚨Our new paper is out!🚨 We uncover a protective mechanism of the rare APOE3 Christchurch (R136S) mutation against tauopathy—by suppressing microglial cGAS–STING–interferon (IFN) pathway, a key inflammatory axis triggered by tau. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Predicting and preventing Alzheimer’s disease With all the advances in both the science of aging and artificial intelligence (AI), we are in a propitious position to accurately and precisely determine who is at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s...

Predicting and preventing Alzheimer’s disease www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... #alzheimers #brain #neurology HT @erictopol.bsky.social

Postdoctoral Researcher in Psychoneuroimmunology Do you want to contribute to improving human health? Join a dynamic and inclusive research group at the forefront of psychoneuroimmunology, where we investigate the interplay between behavior, brain f

‼️🚨 postdoc position 🚨‼️
I am looking for a postdoc in psychoneuroimmunology - come join our group to work on sickness behavior in humans 🤒🦠 at Karolinska Institutet @ki.se !!

ki.varbi.com/en/what:job/...

deadline July 31st

@pnirs.bsky.social #neuroskyence #PsychSciSky #interoception

As per the NIH POs in our session just now: Columbia University is having funding freeze lifted. Nice to hear some good news for a change!

Bill Gates: I lost my father to Alzheimer’s. But I’m more optimistic than ever about fighting the disease Bill Gates writes: “We are on the cusp of turning the tide against dementia — which makes this an especially bad time to pull back on research.”

Thanks to Bill Gates for this touching Father's Day piece on Alzheimer's disease that highlights his optimism based in part due to a visit to Indiana University School of Medicine last summer! #ENDALZ #goteamstark
www.statnews.com/2025/06/17/b...

Transparent peer review to be extended to all of Nature’s research papers From today, all new submissions to Nature that are published will be accompanied by referees’ reports and author responses — to illuminate the process of producing rigorous science.

From today, all new submissions to Nature that are published will be accompanied by referees’ reports and author responses — to illuminate the process of producing rigorous science

https://go.nature.com/4kIRR01