Amanda Kentner

Computational Urban Ecology of New York City Rats Urban rats are highly adaptable, thriving in the dynamic and often inhospitable conditions of modern cities. Despite substantial mitigation efforts, they remain an enduring presence in urban environme...

New preprint!



tl;dr — We ran around late at night to record wild rats in NYC and figured out how to quantify their behavior and environment. 🧵

w/ Dima Batenkov, @zamakany.bsky.social, Emily Mackevicius

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Excited to have this little @npp-journal.bsky.social "hot topics" article out with my dear friend and collaborator @jbeehner.bsky.social. Even more excited for the opportunity to jump into field research and explore some of these ideas. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Morning thoughts on how the current federal funding crisis is going to make everything worse in more ways than people seem to be openly discussing....So big news broke this week in distance running (this will get back to science, I promise!)

Breastfeeding and early Bifidobacterium-driven microbial colonization shape the infant gut resistome - Nature Communications In this work, authors show that exclusive breastfeeding reduces antimicrobial resistance gene burden in infants by promoting Bifidobacterium, counteracting C-section and antibiotic effects, and suppor...

🄸🄼🄿🄾🅁🅃🄰🄽🅃

Anna Samarra et al in 𝑵𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔

Exclusive breastfeeding in the first month reduces antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in infants by enriching 𝑩𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒅𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒖𝒎, offsetting the increased ARG load from C-section delivery and/or early antibiotics

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

🐾 Just out & open access!
Exploring Animal Behavior Through Sound, Vol. 2 🎶
From insects to elephants and whales—how animals use & are affected by sound.
Thanks to Christiane Erbe & all co-authors (me included)!
👉 link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

Congratulations, the first one is always exciting!!

Developmental PBDE exposure impairs histamine release dynamics in adult male and female mice via disrupted granule maturation and calcium mobilization Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are synthetic flame retardants once widely used in furniture, electronics, and other consumer products. Although phased out in the early 2000s, their chemical pe...

The 1st manuscript from my lab is online! This study, led by 2nd y PhD student Jared Franges (w/ key contributions from grad and 4! UG students), shows that developmental exposure to PBDEs drives persistent impairment of histamine+serotonin release by mast cells www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/... 1/n

Excitatory-neuron-derived interleukin-34 supports cortical developmental microglia function Neuron-microglia interactions dictate the development of neuronal circuits in the brain. However, the factors that regulate these processes across dev…

Excited to share this new paper from the lab, now out in @cp-immunity.bsky.social! Led by the talented @bendevlin.bsky.social and in collab with @anneschaefer.bsky.social. a brief 🧵

New NIGMS undergraduate training program is forecasted. simpler.grants.gov/opportunity/...

Iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia in women of reproductive age: Sex- and gender-based risk factors and inequities Iron deficiency (ID) is a serious public health problem that affects 20–25 % of the population and 52 % of pregnant people worldwide. Biologically fem…

Women are disproportionately affected by #irondeficiency & #anaemia

We undertook a comprehensive review of

🔑 role of iron in women's health across the lifespan
✅ factors affecting iron bioavailability, ID/IDA
🚫 limitations of interventions
🙋🏽‍♀️need 4 better diagnosis & acceptable treatments 4 women

Staff Research Associate in Los Angeles, California | The Regents of the University of California on behalf of their Los Angeles Campus UCLA is hiring a Staff Research Associate in Los Angeles, California. Review all of the job details and apply today!

The Brain & Body Lab at UCLA is hiring a Staff Research Associate to work on a productive and dedicated team under the NIMH funded Teen Bugs study - investigating brain-gut communication in teens. Send your best and brightest! jobs.ucla.edu/jobs/8072

Neurobiology of resilience to early life stress - Neuropsychopharmacology Neuropsychopharmacology - Neurobiology of resilience to early life stress

📢 Don't miss our recent review on the "Neurobiology of resilience to early life stress", published in @npp-journal.bsky.social!
Alessandro Bortolami, @cate-cholamine.bsky.social, @ericjnestler.bsky.social, and I highlight evidence from rodent studies...
👇 👇 👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Manufacture and use of allogrooming tools by wild killer whales The manufacture and use of tools, while widespread in terrestrial animals1, has been less frequently reported in marine taxa2. In cetaceans, clear exa…

We did some science. We found some things.
Killer whales get by with a little kelp from their friends.

Evidence of tool manufacture and use in resident killer whales - check it out!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Maternal immune activation during the lactational period alters offspring behavior, reproductive development, and immune function in mice Exposure to infection during early life can lead to lasting neurodevelopmental changes. Animal models of maternal immune activation (MIA) typically as…

Our new #OpenAccess Hormones & Behavior paper has dropped, featuring undergrad Jailyn. Maternal immune activation during the lactational period alters offspring behavior, reproductive development, & immune function in mice: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #OpenScience #BrainResearch #NeuroSky

The SURE-First (R16) and SURE NOFOs have been published. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Also be sure to read the instructions a Forms I SF424. These Fs will have the new format/review instructions so there are different components from the previous NOFOs.

This will be an amazing meeting! Wish I could go 😭

Everyone who can travel, submit your abstracts, it’s a great conference and wonderful people!

Thank you Tom, we’re excited about this project. Hope you and the family are well!

Thanks Natalia, hope you’re well!

Investigating milk derived extracellular vesicles as mediators of maternal stress and environmental intervention Parental communication signals are transmitted through nursing and critically shape neurodevelopmental trajectories. Mirroring some well characterized effects of gestational challenges in rodents, mat...

Hello friends, our 🆕 lab preprint w/ @jordanmarrocco.bsky.social is here; please enjoy!

Investigating milk-derived extracellular vesicles as mediators of maternal stress and environmental intervention www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
#Neuroscience #Brain #STEM, #OpenScience #Neurosky #BrainResearch

Purinergic receptor activation rectifies autism-associated endothelial dysfunction Early cerebrovascular alterations affect brain maturation by impacting trophic support and energy supply. Recent evidence in a 16p11.2 deletion mouse model of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) revealed b...

Happy to share the current version of our latest story, currently under peer review. Cool collab with @dablab.bsky.social @manickam-lab.bsky.social and others. We are not only understanding endothelial deficits in an #autism model, but now also capable of rescuing them! #16p11.2 #treatment #P2Y2

Congrats!!

G4 (Kp 8)/SEVERE Geomagnetic Storming is POSSIBLE tomorrow as a large CME is expected to hit Earth on June 1 around midday UT (morning North America). What is going on? Who will see aurora and when? How can you track this anticipated event? Read on!

#heliophysics #spacenews #aurora #northernlights

‘Death is not a mystery’: what happens to your body when you’re dying? Experts say knowing more about death – or ‘death literacy’ – can actually help quell fears of dying

‘Death is not a mystery’: what happens to your body when you’re dying? www.theguardian.com/wellness/202...

Investigating the Polygenic Relationship Between Cannabis Use and Schizophrenia in the All of Us Research Program Objective Decades of research have identified a strong association between heavy cannabis use and schizophrenia, with evidence of correlated genetic factors. However, many studies on the genetic relat...

Excited to share another piece of the chicken-or-egg puzzle: Investigating the Polygenic Relationship Between Cannabis Use and Schizophrenia in the All of Us Research Program
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

Notice on extension of ESI status for NIH grant applications. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

A rat model of volitional mutual social interactions Neuropsychopharmacology - A rat model of volitional mutual social interactions

The Venniro Lab developed a novel rodent model of mutual social interaction to investigate the behavioral and neurobiological mechanisms motivating social peers simultaneously to engage in and maintain social interaction

www.nature.com/artic...

What an honor it was to attend the 20th anniversary of Brains & Behavior, see former professors and friends, and give the keynote address.

Congratulations to @epfl-brainmind.bsky.social professor @carmensandi10.bsky.social on winning the 2025 ECNP Neuropsychopharmacology Award - www.ecnp.eu/news/press-o...

A few #bridgefunding opportunities in child health and development 👇👇