Ivan Alcantara
@ivancalcantara.bsky.social
Currently interested in social behavior & physiology 🌎🧠
• CV Starr Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton Neuroscience Institute
• PhD in Neuroscience at NIH &
Brown University
• MSc in Cell Biology at MPI for Brain Research
he/him 🏳️🌈🇵🇭
• CV Starr Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton Neuroscience Institute
• PhD in Neuroscience at NIH &
Brown University
• MSc in Cell Biology at MPI for Brain Research
he/him 🏳️🌈🇵🇭
Baked this for my lab yesterday. Is there any way one can bake one’s way to a tenure-track faculty position? Asking for a friend.
November 22, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Baked this for my lab yesterday. Is there any way one can bake one’s way to a tenure-track faculty position? Asking for a friend.
Birthday cakes I made this month 🎂 Happy Halloween
October 31, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Birthday cakes I made this month 🎂 Happy Halloween
But what if there are two co-first authors and the first-first author is actually also co-corresponding author with the last author but the second-first author isn’t?
October 27, 2025 at 1:53 PM
But what if there are two co-first authors and the first-first author is actually also co-corresponding author with the last author but the second-first author isn’t?
No labor today
September 1, 2025 at 11:46 PM
No labor today
Ever wondered how fasting and lactation affect gene expression in the hypothalamus? Looking for a dataset to mine? Look no further! We performed single-cell RNA sequencing of the arcuate nucleus and medial preoptic area in 4 groups of female mice: zenodo.org/records/1531...
August 4, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Ever wondered how fasting and lactation affect gene expression in the hypothalamus? Looking for a dataset to mine? Look no further! We performed single-cell RNA sequencing of the arcuate nucleus and medial preoptic area in 4 groups of female mice: zenodo.org/records/1531...
This is probably my favorite comment from a reviewer. Sometimes, less is more 😉
Read the full transcript of the reviewers’ comments and our responses for our recent @nature.com publication here: static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10...
Read the full transcript of the reviewers’ comments and our responses for our recent @nature.com publication here: static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10...
July 31, 2025 at 3:28 PM
This is probably my favorite comment from a reviewer. Sometimes, less is more 😉
Read the full transcript of the reviewers’ comments and our responses for our recent @nature.com publication here: static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10...
Read the full transcript of the reviewers’ comments and our responses for our recent @nature.com publication here: static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10...
Last, stimulating AgRP neurons dampens the basal activity of BRS3 neurons, making them less responsive to pups. This AgRP-to-BRS3 circuit may therefore underlie the process through which hunger can redirect an animal’s motivations from caring for offspring to foraging for food.
July 30, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Last, stimulating AgRP neurons dampens the basal activity of BRS3 neurons, making them less responsive to pups. This AgRP-to-BRS3 circuit may therefore underlie the process through which hunger can redirect an animal’s motivations from caring for offspring to foraging for food.
Using single-cell RNA sequencing and neuronal manipulations, we identified an MPOA population important for parenting and satiety: bombesin receptor subtype-3 (BRS3) neurons. Activation of these neurons can even make some virgin males (which typically attack pups) more parental.
July 30, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Using single-cell RNA sequencing and neuronal manipulations, we identified an MPOA population important for parenting and satiety: bombesin receptor subtype-3 (BRS3) neurons. Activation of these neurons can even make some virgin males (which typically attack pups) more parental.
The shift from parenting to foraging can be mimicked by stimulating AgRP neurons (with light!) that talk to the medial preoptic area (MPOA). AgRP neurons are inhibitory, so this suggests that there might be MPOA neurons that control both parenting and satiety downstream of AgRP.
July 30, 2025 at 4:35 PM
The shift from parenting to foraging can be mimicked by stimulating AgRP neurons (with light!) that talk to the medial preoptic area (MPOA). AgRP neurons are inhibitory, so this suggests that there might be MPOA neurons that control both parenting and satiety downstream of AgRP.
But what if mice have to choose between feeding or caring for pups? Fasted virgin females prioritize feeding while fasted mothers prioritize parenting. However, hunger still reduces overall parenting behaviors in both groups, suggesting that it can suppress parenting neurons.
July 30, 2025 at 4:35 PM
But what if mice have to choose between feeding or caring for pups? Fasted virgin females prioritize feeding while fasted mothers prioritize parenting. However, hunger still reduces overall parenting behaviors in both groups, suggesting that it can suppress parenting neurons.
New mothers need more calories to produce milk. We found that lactating mice show increased activity of “hunger neurons” called agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons in the hypothalamus, which also express certain genes that mimic a state of fasting, even if animals are well fed.
July 30, 2025 at 4:35 PM
New mothers need more calories to produce milk. We found that lactating mice show increased activity of “hunger neurons” called agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons in the hypothalamus, which also express certain genes that mimic a state of fasting, even if animals are well fed.
First time having my own apartment! Crazy to think that until I was 17, we lived in a 1-bedroom as a family of 5.
June 7, 2025 at 10:48 PM
First time having my own apartment! Crazy to think that until I was 17, we lived in a 1-bedroom as a family of 5.
For a living, I got to study a sliver of the world that truly fascinated me. What a privilege. Here’s to more discoveries ✨
PhD in Neuroscience from Brown University ‘25
PhD in Neuroscience from Brown University ‘25
May 26, 2025 at 5:50 PM
For a living, I got to study a sliver of the world that truly fascinated me. What a privilege. Here’s to more discoveries ✨
PhD in Neuroscience from Brown University ‘25
PhD in Neuroscience from Brown University ‘25
Life update: moved to New Jersey! Excited to start my new gig as a postdoc at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute 🤩🧠
May 17, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Life update: moved to New Jersey! Excited to start my new gig as a postdoc at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute 🤩🧠
Had my thesis defense yesterday and got my PhD in Neuroscience! 😎 Thank you @mikekrashes.bsky.social for your mentorship and friendship
March 29, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Had my thesis defense yesterday and got my PhD in Neuroscience! 😎 Thank you @mikekrashes.bsky.social for your mentorship and friendship
Internally (and externally) screaming
March 12, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Internally (and externally) screaming
I woke’d and DEI’d too close to the sun yesterday on the other site and got so much hate. God these people are so vile and deranged.
February 7, 2025 at 10:44 PM
I woke’d and DEI’d too close to the sun yesterday on the other site and got so much hate. God these people are so vile and deranged.
Baked this for our last lab meeting of the year. Happy holidays! 🪵🌲
December 19, 2024 at 7:31 PM
Baked this for our last lab meeting of the year. Happy holidays! 🪵🌲
Happy Thanksgiving! Experimented a bit in the kitchen and made spiced chai cake with apple pie filling 🫖 🍎
November 28, 2024 at 9:48 PM
Happy Thanksgiving! Experimented a bit in the kitchen and made spiced chai cake with apple pie filling 🫖 🍎
Left: “oh wow pickleball is so easy”
Right: *30 seconds later*
Right: *30 seconds later*
November 25, 2024 at 12:14 AM
Left: “oh wow pickleball is so easy”
Right: *30 seconds later*
Right: *30 seconds later*
Boyfriend randomly showed up to lab! 👨🏻🔬
November 15, 2024 at 10:41 PM
Boyfriend randomly showed up to lab! 👨🏻🔬
Ah yes time to gather followers again on a new website
November 12, 2024 at 7:36 PM
Ah yes time to gather followers again on a new website
My PhD work is out!
How do mothers balance tending to their own needs, such as eating, and taking care of their offspring? We examined the link between feeding and parenting neural circuits and how they are modulated postpartum in mice. Read the preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
How do mothers balance tending to their own needs, such as eating, and taking care of their offspring? We examined the link between feeding and parenting neural circuits and how they are modulated postpartum in mice. Read the preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
September 3, 2024 at 9:50 PM
My PhD work is out!
How do mothers balance tending to their own needs, such as eating, and taking care of their offspring? We examined the link between feeding and parenting neural circuits and how they are modulated postpartum in mice. Read the preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
How do mothers balance tending to their own needs, such as eating, and taking care of their offspring? We examined the link between feeding and parenting neural circuits and how they are modulated postpartum in mice. Read the preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...