Alex DiFeliceantonio
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difeliceantonio.bsky.social
Alex DiFeliceantonio
@difeliceantonio.bsky.social
Assist. Prof. at Virginia Tech. My lab studies brain/metabolism interactions in food reward. Scifi reader. Plant killer. She/her
DONNUT: https://fbri.vtc.vt.edu/research/labs/difeliceantonio.html
Reposted by Alex DiFeliceantonio
There is NO FUCKING EXCUSE for this to be happening.

I had a baby die in my arms of pertussis some fifty years ago. It was a HORRIBLE death. But my fellow nurses said to me, "It's almost stamped out now, they're all getting the shots, we won't be seeing this again."

HOW THE FUCK ARE WE HERE. 😡
A third infant has died in Kentucky, KYDPH adds:

“These are Kentucky’s first pertussis deaths since 2018. None of the infants nor their mothers received the recommended pertussis vaccinations during pregnancy or early infancy.”

s3.amazonaws.com/nursing-netw...
November 25, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Reposted by Alex DiFeliceantonio
In a new @fralinbiomed.bsky.social study, 18- to 21-year-olds put on to a diet high in ultra-processed foods were more likely to overeat — even when full.

⬇️🔬Learn more.
All you can eat: Ultra-processed foods affect young adults differently
In a new study, 18- to 21-year-olds put on to a diet high in ultra-processed foods were more likely to overeat — even when full.
news.vt.edu
November 24, 2025 at 2:16 PM
And the full segment that aired last night!
The lab is at the end but the whole segment is interesting. Never stand next to me at a party, I will at some point rant about gras…

abcnews.go.com/Health/globa...
November 20, 2025 at 1:39 PM
@davybrenda.bsky.social and I’s UPF RCT is finally published!
We tested the effects of a eucaloric UPF vs no UPF diet on energy intake in young people.
Our age subgroup analysis found adolescents ate more in a buffet meal after the UPF diet. 🧵🧪
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Here’s the clip if anyone is interested! www.goodmorningamerica.com/video/127625...
November 18, 2025 at 5:11 PM
The lab was on Good Morning America! Absolutely surreal. Everyone did so great on the filming day. I work with the best people ever.
November 18, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Since I’m not at sfn, I can start Thanksgiving prep.
Don’t forget the bay leaf, it is both an act of faith and an offering to the capricious universe.
Will it impart flavor? Who knows? Just as our fates are unknowable.
November 16, 2025 at 2:49 PM
I forgot to add Lily won a poster prize for the Neuroscience section!!
November 15, 2025 at 5:44 PM
On the way to University of Michigan to give the biopsych colloquium. Dissertation flash backs in coming. If you are still in Ann Arbor let me know!
November 10, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Don’t forget to grab your coffee and come to our symposium!
On Thursday don’t miss the Blackburn Symposium at 10am. @kevinh-phd.bsky.social, Aviva Musicis, and I will be presenting on ultra-processed foods!
November 6, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Come by to after the plenary!!
November 4, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Get excited for Obesity Week! Today at 2:30 Zach Hutelin will be presenting on our work using indirect calorimetry and fMRI to measure acute responses to ultra-processed foods. It’s in the 1:30 Neuro Session.
November 4, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Germans, look at any animal: this is some kind of pig or bear.
Italians, looking at any fruit or vegetable: this is some kind of apple
November 1, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Our preprint is now a print print! rdcu.be/eK7wK
Interested in GLP-1s and alcohol? Take a look at the thread below and the link.
Thanks again to all the amazing people who worked on this project.
The anniversary of Warrens passing was just a few weeks ago. He is deeply missed. 🧪
October 15, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Also in this spirit and the people you can interact with on social media. Everything @amalelmohtar.com writes is insanely beautiful and if one day I write something a fraction as clear and evocative as even her NY times book reviews, I’ll be happy.
Give folks their flowers

No, I mean right now. Go tell someone you loved their work right now. They're on social media just say it, it has never been easier

"They know how much people love--" no they don't go say it right now to a composer or artist or game dev or writer or anyone AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH
October 14, 2025 at 11:44 PM
If you are from the Wilmington, NC area Kerr Avenue and Topsail Beach.
What’s the word where you’re from that, when pronounced exactly as it looks, identifies a tourist immediately?
October 8, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Reposted by Alex DiFeliceantonio
Hey everyone! Join our journal club on October 10th (12pm EST) to discuss two short papers on weight stigma and language.

JC is drop in format: come once, come when you can.

Reach out to @shanaadise.bsky.social or myself to get the zoom link and papers. Please share!

@ssibsociety.bsky.social
October 6, 2025 at 1:29 AM
It’s so wild that I just followed @diane.dianeduane.com on here. I’m pretty sure the So You Want To Be a Wizard series is the entire reason I love sci-fi and fantasy today. I loved it so much.
Give folks their flowers

No, I mean right now. Go tell someone you loved their work right now. They're on social media just say it, it has never been easier

"They know how much people love--" no they don't go say it right now to a composer or artist or game dev or writer or anyone AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH
September 30, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Are you going to Obesity Week? It starts on Election Day! If you are in VA that means you’re missing the Governors race. You can still apply for an absentee ballot! Or vote early at your local elections office.
September 20, 2025 at 1:48 PM
🧪here’s the VT news write up of the study I posted about yesterday.
September 3, 2025 at 4:42 PM
🧪 I might be the only author on Blueksy, so here we go.
Serotonin in the caudate while doing uniquely human things (a social game) provides information about movement disorder diagnosis.
This work started a long time ago with Ken (when he was at Wake Forest) working with Read at VT.
rdcu.be/eDDPf
Caudate serotonin signaling during social exchange distinguishes essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease patients
Nature Communications - Measurements of dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine in the caudate of conscious humans reveal a neurochemical boundary between patients with essential tremor and...
rdcu.be
September 2, 2025 at 2:00 PM
It’s guns. It’s guns. It’s guns. Regulate the guns.
August 28, 2025 at 1:52 PM
They told us the plan was Roe, Obergefell, Loving.
August 13, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I am once again asking manuscript central to actually be a central log in instead of 1,000 seperate log ins in a trench coat.
August 11, 2025 at 3:03 PM
It’s just as good at being confidently wrong. Got it.
“GPT-5 is the first time that it feels like talking to an expert in any topic — a Ph.D.-level expert,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said.
(real, one-shot :p )
August 7, 2025 at 10:23 PM