Brendan Manning

Join us for the 2026 NYAS Cancer Metabolism conference on March 24th at NYU Langone! The poster deadline is rapidly approaching. Speakers include @airdlab.bsky.social @bensahralab.bsky.social Javier Garcia-Bermudez, Marcus Goncalves, @naama-kanarek.bsky.social @bdmanning.bsky.social Erika Pearce,

Growth factor-independent mTORC1 signaling promotes primary cilia length via suppression of autophagy Molecular physiology; Cell biology

Clear evidence from Josh Shin in our lab that mTORC1 signaling and autophagy reciprocally influence the length of primary cilia. Question remains how do changes in length affect cilia signaling and function in the largely quiescent cells comprising our brains and bodies. www.cell.com/iscience/ful...

I Was Just About To When My Grant Was Cut. We ask researchers to send us their stories of what they were working on when their research grant was cut. Today, we share the stories of Tashara and Brendan.

Just two of thousands of such stories. substack.com/home/post/p-...

I still can’t believe that all NIH grants to my colleagues at Harvard and Harvard Medical School have been nullified. And that, as a nation, we’re somehow okay with this illegal, arbitrary, and petty act. Just think of the consequences: scientists, students, and patients will all suffer.

Thanks Christian. Sadly, it appears that your favorite protein, TBC1D7, is just a fancy molecular zipper.

Inspired predominantly by insightful cryo-EM structures from Yanhui Xu’s lab and @drellisdon.bsky.social on the TSC protein complex, which we have been focused on the regulation of upstream of mTORC1 for 23 years and counting. Enjoy!

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...

Thanks Christian.

Ah, the pace of discovery.....Stay tuned for the tissue-specific models to follow in the coming year.

Congrats to Yann Cormerais and the entire lab for this publication on a new mouse model that disconnects the primary signal from PI3K to mTORC1, involving Akt-mediated phosphorylation of TSC2, which I discovered as a postdoc in Lew Cantley's lab 23 years ago. authors.elsevier.com/a/1lDFh5Sx5g...

Demonstrating the power of AI tools, WHEN coupled to robust basic science.

Congrats to @harperlabhms.bsky.social and colleagues in @harvardcellbio.bsky.social for this tour de force dissection of endosomes

EndoMAP.v1 charts the structural landscape of human early endosome complexes - Nature A study presents EndoMAP.v1, a resource that combines information on protein interactions and crosslink-supported structural predictions to map the interaction landscape of early endosomes.

Nature research paper: EndoMAP.v1 charts the structural landscape of human early endosome complexes

https://go.nature.com/3Z6mJ1X

Newly discovered mechanism of mitochondrial dysfunction in obesity may drive insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health A newly discovered mechanism that leads to liver dysfunction may be a key factor in type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders in individuals with obesity, according to a new study led by Harvard C...

From @hsph.harvard.edu Hotamışlıgil Lab, @renata-goncalves.bsky.social identifies an important mechanism that leads to liver dysfunction in obesity—defective coenzyme Q metabolism. This finding paves the way for more targeted diabetes & metabolic disease treatments. Read more:
hsph.me/mitoT2D

Brendan Manning: Unraveling the cell’s inner workings For Brendan Manning, PhD, today’s advances in basic science are the stepping stones to the next breakthrough in treating tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Manning has spent the last 25 years researchi...

For 25 years, Dr. Manning & his lab have advanced TSC research, uncovering how the mTOR pathway shapes cell growth—and unlocking insights across cancer, diabetes & more. Research that until recently was supported by taxpayers through the NIH. #TSC #science #ResearchMatters

Medical Research Funding — Unbreaking How the administration is breaking the government, and what that means for all of us.

I urge everyone to read Unbreaking’s new page on everything the govt is doing to destroy & diminish medical research funding.

It’s the best thing I’ve read on this topic: @lizneeley.bsky.social & co have such done an incredible job.

unbreaking.org/issues/medic...

Tracing the Path from Basic Research to Transformative Therapies

28 of the most important drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) between 1985 and 2009. They found that 80 percent stemmed directly from basic discoveries made in the lab, often by scientists trying to understand a biological process or disease

bit.ly/4jLCfbC

Why?

I thank the taxpayers of the United States for supporting this research designed to better understand and treat the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells over the past 10 years.

Indeed, our Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Cancer Institute, which funded all research personnel and activities in my modest-sized lab of 5 has been unceremoniously terminated.

With nearly all of Harvard Chan School’s direct federal grants terminated, we are relying on philanthropy to power our research and support our educational programs. Every gift, regardless of size, advances our vision of health, dignity, and justice for every human. Support our work: hsph.me/whygive

A reminder that for next month’s BCDI in place of our regular discussion, we encourage you to attend the Cutter Distinguished Lecture @met-hsph.bsky.social by the great Scott Dixon!

See you there: Monday May 12, 2025, Kresge Building at HSPH, G1 auditorium, 12:00-1:00pm

Looking forward to it! Might be my last seminar ever….

From Nobel prize winning cancer researcher Bill Kaelin
Killing the Science Golden Goose - The American Journal of Medicine www.amjmed.com/article/S000...

Trump administration freezes $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health The Trump administration announced late Monday that it was moving to freeze $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard University. The federal freeze came hours after Harvard rejec...

Our partnership with the federal government has powered discoveries and solutions that have saved tens of millions of lives around the world. 🌎 The funding has enabled breakthrough research on deadly diseases from cancer to Alzheimer’s to stroke to HIV. 🦠 hsph.harvard.edu/news/trump-a...

Harvard University Harvard University is devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, and research, and to developing leaders who make a difference globally.

Check out the new homepage for Harvard!! Love it !!
www.harvard.edu

Federal funding drives groundbreaking research at Harvard Chan School | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Harvard Chan faculty conduct groundbreaking research that has led directly to lifesaving vaccines, treatments, policies, and programs.

With support from federal funding, @hsph.harvard.edu faculty have conducted groundbreaking research that has led directly to treatments, policies, and programs that have saved lives by the millions, in the US and around the world.

Here are just three examples: hsph.harvard.edu/news/federal...

Tough day on the slopes trying to keep up with these guys. But beats watching the news.

Of course not! Enjoy the beat down. Congrats to you and all die-hard Eagle’s fans. Go birds!

There it is! The end of academic science in the US. grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...