Maria Geffen

Why We Still Need Animal Research in a World of AI and Organoids The portrayal of uncaring scientists without any thought for the animals being used in their research is far from the truth.

While I’m a big fan of new technologies that help us study human biology…there’s still no replacement for animal research! See my article in Gen News. www.genengnews.com/topics/trans...

#NIH colleagues fight for true #HHS leadership. Health has no political affiliation. Sign the #BethesdaDeclaration if you agree.

NEW: Democracy is alive in Philly!

Amazing scenes in Philadelphia as thousands hit the streets for the anti-Trump protest.

#NoKings #50501Movement

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and family donate $50 million to CHOP and Penn for autism institute The purpose of the new Lurie Autism Institute is to expand research already being done at CHOP and Penn, form a global hub for research, and attract more scientists to the field.

A great deal of hope in these uncertain times for the autism community— Jeffrey Lurie and family announced a large gift to create the Penn-CHOP Lurie Autism Research Institute to support cross-disciplinary and collaborative research. Let’s go do it! www.inquirer.com/health/upenn...

Thank you @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social for standing up. We all appreciate you and your colleagues for your courage!

Today, my NIH colleagues and I did something scary but really important. We spoke up about egregious harms we are seeing happen to research participants and public health through thoughtless and politicized policies at NIH. 🧵1/3

apnews.com/article/nih-...

"We are speaking on behalf of hundreds of NIH staff who are standing up together to say: WE DISSENT.

I am so scared about doing this but I am trying to be brave for my kids because it's only gonna get harder to speak up."

Thank you to Dr. Jenna Norton and NIH scientists for your courage!

If you weren't angry enough already, here are the rates of non-competitive renewals through May.

4008 Non-competitive renewals were due to be funded in May.

The total funded was 99!

Some is due to terminations, but most is due to slow grant making due to DOGE review and other impediments.

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Sign on to support the NIH staff in their demand to restore funding and infrastructure for life-saving research!

Your Neighborhood Scientist cultivating community-based conversations around science, science policy, and scientists

Also—I direct the science communication nonprofit @your.neighborhoodscientist.org ! Check us out at neighborhoodscientist.org 😊

Your talk was fabulous!

Huge thanks to all my colleagues for your generous contributions! The Eagles Autism Challenge 5K was a blast! It was amazing to end the run at the stadium. And it’s not too late to donate to the foundation that does so much for autism research and accommodations through the link below!

So sad to hear this @hhmi.org program that supports talented young scientists is cancelled, especially after the application deadline. Audrey came up with a really exciting project and worked so hard on her application!

Thanks for another fabulous EARS season. As we're preparing for next year's edition, we are soliciting feedback and suggestions. Please fill out this survey with your suggestions by 5/20/25: forms.gle/R64F9V3Wz7uf...

Tune it at 1 pm ET today!

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

EARS seminar tomorrow, Tuesday, May 13 1 pm ET:

Maria Chait (the Ear Institute, UCL)
@mariachait.bsky.social
“Inferring Instantaneous Auditory Attention from Ocular Dynamics”
pennmedicine.zoom.us/j/96672201477.

Everybody has that one VIP friend who boosts you up by dragging all your other buddies down.

Excited to share my PhD paper is out! We studied how motion vision is processed beyond the optic lobes to help flies walk straight. It has been a wonderful collaboration with @michaelreiser.bsky.social, @dddavi.bsky.social and many others not in bluesky!
Paper + digest here: bsky.app/profile/cham...

Congrats! This is huge!!!

Congratulations to Adrienne Fairhall, Prof. of Neurobiology and Biophysics, Adjunct Prof. of Applied Mathematics, and Adjunct Prof. of Physics, who has just been elected to the National Academy of Sciences! 🍾 🎉

Maria and her son at the Eagles Superbowl celebration.

Please support me in the 5K to benefit the Philadelphia Eagles Autism Foundation and help me reach my goal! The Eagles Foundation supports neuroscience research and sets up wonderful initiatives around Philly to help children like my son.
fundraisers.eaglesautismfoundation.org/maria-geffen

Eight tangible things you can do: 1. call congressional representatives 2. push universities to advocate against cuts 3. activate professional associations 4. attend a protest 5. follow researchers working in these areas 6. educate your neighbors and friends 7. join a group that supports science 8. demand federally funded research be free of partisan interference

Censoring mis/disinformation research is just the beginning. All scientific research in the US is under threat. Now is the time for scientists in all fields to act. Some small steps each of us can take:

As a mother of a wonderful, talented, and quirky autistic child and as a circuits neuroscientist, I am immensely grateful to the Simons Foundation for the opportunity to launch a research program on identifying the neuronal circuits that underlie auditory processing differences in autism.

a cartoon of a man holding a frying pan and a spoon with red alert written above him ALT: a cartoon of a man holding a frying pan and a spoon with red alert written above him

ATTENTION: NSF GRANT RECIPIENTS

We received a heads up from a trusted source that you should proactively download/print/screen shot any documentation on research.gov pertaining to your NSF awards, both those that are current and any that have closed in the last 5-6 years.

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Simons Foundation Launches Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience Simons Foundation Launches Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience on Simons Foundation

We are excited to announce our new Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience (SCENE)! This program will unite experts in experimental and computational #neuroscience approaches to investigate how the brain represents sensorimotor interactions. www.simonsfoundation.org/2025/04/24/s... #science

The canceled grands are shock and awe, but the real damage will come from the long-term (massive) reductions in funding to the entire US research ecosystem and the defunding of entire fields and initiatives for training, growing, and diversifying the research workforce.

Xiaomao defending.

The Geffen lab having a picnic to celebrate the defense of Dr Ding and Dr Collina.

Dr Collina popping open sparking wine.

Dr Ding cutting the cake while Dr Collina watches.

The Geffen lab jumping.

Celebrating two PhD defenses this week: Congrats, Dr. Ding and Dr. Collina! You both did a terrific job and I feel very grateful for the privilege of serving as your mentor!