Iain Cheeseman
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iaincheeseman.bsky.social
Iain Cheeseman
@iaincheeseman.bsky.social
Whitehead Institute and Department of Biology, MIT. Lover of cell biology and cell division. Aspiring to do good science and do good.
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
🌍Open call: Junior Group Leader positions!

Join a world-class biomedical research institute at the heart of the Vienna BioCenter, where curiosity drives discovery.

Lead your own lab, pursue bold ideas, and shape the future of science at the IMP: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...
November 10, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
Bluetorial-Jim Watson

I met Jim Watson a few times but did not know him well. However, I was greatly influenced by his book “The Double Helix”. He was a complicated human being with some very, very bad features, but some good contributions.

What follows is my personal perspective.

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a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on
ALT: a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on
media.tenor.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
4. A new publication in @natsmb.nature.com from ACS postdoctoral fellow Dr. Eric M. Smith and past ACS grantee Dr. @iaincheeseman.bsky.social at the #WhiteheadInstitute revealing two newly identified, unique subunits of the RNase MRP complex.

Read the paper here: lnkd.in/eTNkJhBW
November 7, 2025 at 11:47 PM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
I'm honoured to be working with some very smart people at #WhiteheadInstitute! Research from @iaincheeseman.bsky.social, @jimmy-ly.bsky.social and co. shows proteins from the same gene can act very differently - shaping health and rare disease in unexpected ways.
#Genetics #CellBiology #ResearchSky
November 7, 2025 at 5:44 PM
From an accidental discovery of hidden biology to a new framework to understanding and diagnosing rare disease. Thrilled to share the most recent work from our lab and the amazing Jimmy Ly.

wi.mit.edu/news/alterna...
Alternate proteins from the same gene contribute differently to health and rare disease | Whitehead Institute
Iain Cheeseman and colleagues reveal the underappreciated role of single genes producing multiple proteins in atypical presentations of rare disease, and present case studies of affected patients thro...
wi.mit.edu
November 7, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
Personal good news alert: I’ve been promoted to associate professor and it’s time to update the ol’ bio! Launching my lab at UCSF has been a privilege + I’m so grateful to my team and community here. More exciting science ahead! 🚀
November 6, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
The Leading Edge Fellows gathered this week to celebrate Zara Weinberg, a beloved member of our community. Our 7th cohort of Leading Edge Fellows (2026) will be named in her honor.

The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2.

www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/
November 5, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
Well reported story on the PBS News Hour about science cuts and the ongoing and potential brain drain.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLvO...

Thanks to Terrance Tao and other scientists at various career stages for having the courage to speak out.

Watch and share!

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Top researchers consider leaving U.S. amid funding cuts: 'The science world is ending'
YouTube video by PBS NewsHour
www.youtube.com
October 30, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
A short Bluetorial on the dismantling of the National Center of Research Resources

A demonstration that my email's to Director Bhattacharya is not new behavior.
a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on
ALT: a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on
media.tenor.com
October 22, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
This was not the first example of writing to my bosses or other leaders to express my candid views that they were making or were about to make a serious mistake (nor will it be the last).

As a leader, I have also appreciated it when others did the same to (for) me.

/fin
elmo from sesame street is standing in front of a wall and saying at least i tell the truth .
ALT: elmo from sesame street is standing in front of a wall and saying at least i tell the truth .
media.tenor.com
October 23, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
To be honest, just use Perplexity.ai - faster, mostly accurate citations, and it uses the "best" model for the task (or tries to). I still stand by cross-validation using multiple LLMs if you are going down this road. In the end, expert knowledge of the user is the best filter...
a man in a suit and tie is sitting in front of a window .
ALT: a man in a suit and tie is sitting in front of a window .
media.tenor.com
October 20, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
Will definitely check out Claude with pubmed integration. This might actually help Pubmed survive... i.e. if AI projects see it as important training data.
Today @anthropic.com released PubMed integration for Claude. No hallucinations. Just real science, real data. As a beta tester, this has been game changing— a supercharged research tool. Here are 6 prompts that will transform how you search the literature. A 🧵

www.anthropic.com/news/claude-...
Claude for Life Sciences
Discover how Claude accelerates life sciences research with new scientific connectors, skills, and improved performance for drug discovery and clinical work.
www.anthropic.com
October 20, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
Dear all, A scientist from UNC Chapel Hill, Paul Maddox, is running for congress in NC for a seat currently held by a republican. If you care about science (and democracy) please consider donating to his campaign #Standupforscience secure.actblue.com/donate/paul-...
Donate to Paul Maddox for Congress in NC 11
Paul is running for Congress because there’s a sickness in Washington, and no one is working to cure it.
secure.actblue.com
October 20, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Today @anthropic.com released PubMed integration for Claude. No hallucinations. Just real science, real data. As a beta tester, this has been game changing— a supercharged research tool. Here are 6 prompts that will transform how you search the literature. A 🧵

www.anthropic.com/news/claude-...
Claude for Life Sciences
Discover how Claude accelerates life sciences research with new scientific connectors, skills, and improved performance for drug discovery and clinical work.
www.anthropic.com
October 20, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
We are hiring an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Weill Cornell Medicine. Come join our collaborative research environment with state-of-the-art facilities in NYC! Application review starts Oct 22.
biochem.weill.cornell.edu/join-our-fac...
Join our Faculty | Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics
Call for applications:We invite applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the newly established Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. We are conducting an open search for ou...
biochem.weill.cornell.edu
September 29, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
15 years in the making, we confirmed that mitochondria - the powerhouse of the cell - have an unusual localization in patients who experience psychosis (including schizophrenia and bipolar disorders). You’ll never guess what kind of patient cells we used to make this discovery… 🧵
October 10, 2025 at 4:47 PM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
The @crick.ac.uk is recruiting Early Career Group Leaders

- Lab set-up, research costs, salaries for up to 5 researchers
- Support for up to 12 years
- Access to our core facilities
- Competitive salary
- Fantastic colleagues
- All areas of biology

Deadline 27 Nov

www.crick.ac.uk/careers-stud...
Early career group leaders
We appoint researchers from across biology and biomedicine to set up their first groups at the Crick.
www.crick.ac.uk
October 10, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
I’m thrilled to share my postdoc work and the first paper from the McKinley Lab! 🎉
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
Induction of menstruation in mice reveals the regulation of menstrual shedding
During menstruation, an inner layer of the endometrium is selectively shed, while an outer, progenitor-containing layer is preserved to support repeated regeneration. Progress in understanding this co...
www.biorxiv.org
October 10, 2025 at 12:50 PM
An epic story and a must read. This is really beautiful work to understand the most amazing monthly regeneration event - menstruation. The authors reconstitute this process in mice (which don’t normally menstruate) allowing important new insights. Will also be a powerful model for future work.
Lab’s 1st preprint!

Menstruation is understudied due to societal taboos + a biological challenge: mice (a key system for research + drug discovery) don’t menstruate.

@cagricevrim.bsky.social made menstruating mice + used them to discover early events in menstruation.

He is on the job market!
I’m thrilled to share my postdoc work and the first paper from the McKinley Lab! 🎉
@karalmckinley.bsky.social
We built the first transgenic model of menstruation in mice.
We used it to uncover how the endometrium organizes and sheds during menstruation. 🧪
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵
October 10, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
Just a reminder about our faculty search at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine. Applications due Oct. 15. @dartmouthbcb.bsky.social
My department at Dartmouth Medical School is hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor. We are looking broadly for a biochemist or cell biologist. Please share this add! apply.interfolio.com/171438
@dartmouthbcb.bsky.social @futurepislack.bsky.social
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
October 8, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
Congratulations to Drs. Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi, recipients of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Brunkow and Ramsdell—cell biologists by training—prove once again: it’s all about the cell.
October 6, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
Honoured to receive the IMP Birnstiel Award this year! So grateful to my mentor @iaincheeseman.bsky.social for all of his help and encouragement!! Very thankful to the @whiteheadinstitute.bsky.social community and the wonderful collaborations within the institute—especially @bartellab.bsky.social 😊🥳
Exciting news! We're thrilled to announce the six outstanding laureates of the International Birnstiel Award for Doctoral Studies in Molecular Life Sciences 2025!

🏆Congratulations to all awardees and honourable mentions! 🎉 1/ ➡️ www.imp.ac.at/news/article...
September 10, 2025 at 9:29 PM
New preprint! Graduate student Océane Marescal leverages quiescence - proliferative hibernation - to reveal unexpected dynamics for “constitutively”-localized centromere proteins. To understand the logic of cell division, you need to consider non-dividing cells.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
The dynamics of centromere assembly and disassembly during quiescence
Quiescence is a state in which cells undergo a prolonged proliferative arrest while maintaining their capacity to reenter the cell cycle. Here, we analyze entry and exit from quiescence, focusing on h...
www.biorxiv.org
September 9, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Reposted by Iain Cheeseman
My department at Dartmouth Medical School is hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor. We are looking broadly for a biochemist or cell biologist. Please share this add! apply.interfolio.com/171438
@dartmouthbcb.bsky.social @futurepislack.bsky.social
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
August 27, 2025 at 8:50 PM