Loren Looger lab
@loogerl.bsky.social
UCSD, HHMI
Neuroscience, protein design, climate change
Neuroscience, protein design, climate change
Reposted by Loren Looger lab
Nice! Thanks @lintianphd.bsky.social @loogerl.bsky.social @michaelzlin.bsky.social @rhodamine110.bsky.social Eric Schreiter + many other engineers for in vivo neuro.
Also: Thanks to the virus and transgenic engineers, like @hongkuizeng.bsky.social Viviana Gradinaru, Josh Huang, etc. 1/2
Also: Thanks to the virus and transgenic engineers, like @hongkuizeng.bsky.social Viviana Gradinaru, Josh Huang, etc. 1/2
Thanks to @nature.com for featuring our work in this piece on genetically-encoded sensors.
The article does a great job highlighting their importance for both basic research and translational impact, such as in our lab's research on serotonin.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The article does a great job highlighting their importance for both basic research and translational impact, such as in our lab's research on serotonin.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
How genetically encoded sensors have lit up neuroscience
Tools that track specific molecules in neurons have enabled researchers to probe previously unexplored aspects of neurobiology — although important caveats remain.
www.nature.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Nice! Thanks @lintianphd.bsky.social @loogerl.bsky.social @michaelzlin.bsky.social @rhodamine110.bsky.social Eric Schreiter + many other engineers for in vivo neuro.
Also: Thanks to the virus and transgenic engineers, like @hongkuizeng.bsky.social Viviana Gradinaru, Josh Huang, etc. 1/2
Also: Thanks to the virus and transgenic engineers, like @hongkuizeng.bsky.social Viviana Gradinaru, Josh Huang, etc. 1/2
Reposted by Loren Looger lab
Thanks to @nature.com for featuring our work in this piece on genetically-encoded sensors.
The article does a great job highlighting their importance for both basic research and translational impact, such as in our lab's research on serotonin.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The article does a great job highlighting their importance for both basic research and translational impact, such as in our lab's research on serotonin.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
How genetically encoded sensors have lit up neuroscience
Tools that track specific molecules in neurons have enabled researchers to probe previously unexplored aspects of neurobiology — although important caveats remain.
www.nature.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Thanks to @nature.com for featuring our work in this piece on genetically-encoded sensors.
The article does a great job highlighting their importance for both basic research and translational impact, such as in our lab's research on serotonin.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The article does a great job highlighting their importance for both basic research and translational impact, such as in our lab's research on serotonin.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Loren Looger lab
On the latest ep of the Climate Biotech Podcast, hear how synthetic biology legend @loogerl.bsky.social is turning his protein engineering expertise to developing tools to study methane monooxygenase, an enzyme that could unlock methane removal.
Listen in: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Listen in: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
August 21, 2025 at 9:08 PM
On the latest ep of the Climate Biotech Podcast, hear how synthetic biology legend @loogerl.bsky.social is turning his protein engineering expertise to developing tools to study methane monooxygenase, an enzyme that could unlock methane removal.
Listen in: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
Listen in: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
My absolute privilege to be interviewed by @homeworld.bsky.social: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/.... we talk methane, brains, tools, Alabama, you know - all the things. this is a fun and insightful podcast series. and HW is really getting it done in the granting/research space! check them out!
On the most recent episode of the Climate Biotech Podcast, we are joined by Loren Looger, Professor of Neurosciences at UC San Diego and Investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). | Homew...
On the most recent episode of the Climate Biotech Podcast, we are joined by Loren Looger, Professor of Neurosciences at UC San Diego and Investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Loren i...
www.linkedin.com
August 20, 2025 at 10:36 PM
My absolute privilege to be interviewed by @homeworld.bsky.social: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/.... we talk methane, brains, tools, Alabama, you know - all the things. this is a fun and insightful podcast series. and HW is really getting it done in the granting/research space! check them out!
what do ppl think is going to happen to this 6 NIH grant app maximum? will it stick? how are people interpreting the whole co-PI vs MPI thing?
August 4, 2025 at 8:52 PM
what do ppl think is going to happen to this 6 NIH grant app maximum? will it stick? how are people interpreting the whole co-PI vs MPI thing?
Reposted by Loren Looger lab
Thanks to Garden Grant co-funders
@sparkclimate.bsky.social sky.social and @granthamcsf.bsky.social, and to Quadrature Climate Foundation for making this possible through programmatic and regranting support.
@sparkclimate.bsky.social sky.social and @granthamcsf.bsky.social, and to Quadrature Climate Foundation for making this possible through programmatic and regranting support.
July 29, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Thanks to Garden Grant co-funders
@sparkclimate.bsky.social sky.social and @granthamcsf.bsky.social, and to Quadrature Climate Foundation for making this possible through programmatic and regranting support.
@sparkclimate.bsky.social sky.social and @granthamcsf.bsky.social, and to Quadrature Climate Foundation for making this possible through programmatic and regranting support.
so proud of this team!!! they're changing the way grants are sought, written, and funded. and such critical work - greenhouse gases this cycle, focused on methane. they funded us (+ Michael Konopka, USNA) to study methane monooxygenase (pMMO), potentially the key to remediating methane pollution.
We're excited to share that we're deploying ~$1.4M to 11 groundbreaking teams through our Greenhouse Gas Removal Garden Grants! Funded projects span from methane-eating microbes on tree surfaces to bio-enhanced rock weathering.
See the full announcement: www.homeworld.bio/blog/announc...
See the full announcement: www.homeworld.bio/blog/announc...
Announcing Our Greenhouse Gas Removal Garden Grant Awardees
Meet the 11 teams selected for Homeworld Collective’s Greenhouse Gas Removal Garden Grants, a $1.4M initiative accelerating breakthrough research in biological greenhouse gas removal through a novel p...
www.homeworld.bio
July 29, 2025 at 9:26 PM
so proud of this team!!! they're changing the way grants are sought, written, and funded. and such critical work - greenhouse gases this cycle, focused on methane. they funded us (+ Michael Konopka, USNA) to study methane monooxygenase (pMMO), potentially the key to remediating methane pollution.
ok rumors were true all along: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
steady slide into fascism.
what are ppl hearing about US-based researchers with foreign citizenship? I am hearing rumors that they are being targeted now. Sounds laughable but all too real in this hellhole
steady slide into fascism.
what are ppl hearing about US-based researchers with foreign citizenship? I am hearing rumors that they are being targeted now. Sounds laughable but all too real in this hellhole
Exclusive: NIH to suspend funds for research abroad as it overhauls policy
Move by US biomedical agency threatens thousands of projects on infectious diseases, cancer and more.
www.nature.com
May 1, 2025 at 5:13 PM
ok rumors were true all along: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
steady slide into fascism.
what are ppl hearing about US-based researchers with foreign citizenship? I am hearing rumors that they are being targeted now. Sounds laughable but all too real in this hellhole
steady slide into fascism.
what are ppl hearing about US-based researchers with foreign citizenship? I am hearing rumors that they are being targeted now. Sounds laughable but all too real in this hellhole
GABA imaging classifies amacrine cell types in mouse retina! Aki and
@keisukeyonehara.bsky.social
are amazing! future goals include Gly imaging, 2-color Glu/GABA, more complete scRNA-seq/MERFISH mapped onto functional classes.
Super-fun collaboration! @janeliagenie.bsky.social
@keisukeyonehara.bsky.social
are amazing! future goals include Gly imaging, 2-color Glu/GABA, more complete scRNA-seq/MERFISH mapped onto functional classes.
Super-fun collaboration! @janeliagenie.bsky.social
Our two-photon GABA imaging from mouse retina has been published! Akihiro Matsumoto in my lab spearheaded this project. I want to thank @loogerl.bsky.social for molecular clustering and @janeliagenie.bsky.social for the fantastic iGABASnFR2 sensor!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Functionally distinct GABAergic amacrine cell types regulate spatiotemporal encoding in the mouse retina - Nature Neuroscience
GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system. Using two-photon GABA imaging, Matsumoto et al. reveal over 40 GABA neuron types in the mouse retina, each uniquely filte...
www.nature.com
April 15, 2025 at 8:51 PM
GABA imaging classifies amacrine cell types in mouse retina! Aki and
@keisukeyonehara.bsky.social
are amazing! future goals include Gly imaging, 2-color Glu/GABA, more complete scRNA-seq/MERFISH mapped onto functional classes.
Super-fun collaboration! @janeliagenie.bsky.social
@keisukeyonehara.bsky.social
are amazing! future goals include Gly imaging, 2-color Glu/GABA, more complete scRNA-seq/MERFISH mapped onto functional classes.
Super-fun collaboration! @janeliagenie.bsky.social
hey, what are ppl hearing about NIH/NSF grants with international collaborators? A colleague has their NIH grant withheld bc it had intl collabs. are other ppl hearing this? any place to find info on this? thanks!
March 23, 2025 at 5:10 PM
hey, what are ppl hearing about NIH/NSF grants with international collaborators? A colleague has their NIH grant withheld bc it had intl collabs. are other ppl hearing this? any place to find info on this? thanks!
Reposted by Loren Looger lab
February 27, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by Loren Looger lab
Critical ocean current AMOC weakest in 1,600 years and even without an imminent collapse its weakening will have a devastating impact on billions
Prof Niklas Boers
"in the short term, it doesn’t really matter if we have a strong weakening, say 80%, or a collapse.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Prof Niklas Boers
"in the short term, it doesn’t really matter if we have a strong weakening, say 80%, or a collapse.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
February 27, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Critical ocean current AMOC weakest in 1,600 years and even without an imminent collapse its weakening will have a devastating impact on billions
Prof Niklas Boers
"in the short term, it doesn’t really matter if we have a strong weakening, say 80%, or a collapse.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Prof Niklas Boers
"in the short term, it doesn’t really matter if we have a strong weakening, say 80%, or a collapse.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Loren Looger lab
Wondering if your study section cancelled? I update this sheet daily. As of today, 56/124 study sections that should have met since Jan 2, 2025 have "not met as scheduled." docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
2025 Study section tracking
docs.google.com
February 24, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Wondering if your study section cancelled? I update this sheet daily. As of today, 56/124 study sections that should have met since Jan 2, 2025 have "not met as scheduled." docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
does anyone have a gut feeling on when NIH/NSF grant reviews will resume? do ppl think they will? what are ppl doing - focusing on foundations and international opps right now? going into cost-saving mode? dos anyone have any advice for navigating this brave new world?
February 24, 2025 at 7:50 PM
does anyone have a gut feeling on when NIH/NSF grant reviews will resume? do ppl think they will? what are ppl doing - focusing on foundations and international opps right now? going into cost-saving mode? dos anyone have any advice for navigating this brave new world?
holy shit this seems real, posted by many ppl. It seems that @hhmi.bsky.social just killed its IE3 program. Does that kill Gilliam Fellows? lab member just applied. Freeman Hrabowski Scholars? is it all gone? I don't understand why @hhmi.bsky.social would be doing this; I look fwd to their statement
February 5, 2025 at 11:55 PM
holy shit this seems real, posted by many ppl. It seems that @hhmi.bsky.social just killed its IE3 program. Does that kill Gilliam Fellows? lab member just applied. Freeman Hrabowski Scholars? is it all gone? I don't understand why @hhmi.bsky.social would be doing this; I look fwd to their statement
“unis will freeze all non personnel spending at 5pm today, place orders in ASAP."
"Note that some university policies require orders to be delivered by the deadline to be covered, in which case a bulk order this afternoon might not do any good unless shipping is remarkably fast."
god help us all
"Note that some university policies require orders to be delivered by the deadline to be covered, in which case a bulk order this afternoon might not do any good unless shipping is remarkably fast."
god help us all
January 28, 2025 at 10:13 PM
“unis will freeze all non personnel spending at 5pm today, place orders in ASAP."
"Note that some university policies require orders to be delivered by the deadline to be covered, in which case a bulk order this afternoon might not do any good unless shipping is remarkably fast."
god help us all
"Note that some university policies require orders to be delivered by the deadline to be covered, in which case a bulk order this afternoon might not do any good unless shipping is remarkably fast."
god help us all
does anyone have any ideas how we're going to survive this? $ from state, companies, foundations? What can we do to support each other during this shit time? how can we fight back? it all feels so hopeless right now, I'm srsly looking into alternative careers.
January 27, 2025 at 10:10 PM
does anyone have any ideas how we're going to survive this? $ from state, companies, foundations? What can we do to support each other during this shit time? how can we fight back? it all feels so hopeless right now, I'm srsly looking into alternative careers.
Another epic announcement from the Homeworld team! Come look at Problem Statements, make a plan, and solve the world's most serious problem: greenhouse gas-driven warming and climate change. The grant process is easy, and creativity is encouraged! Spread the word!
🌱 Garden Grants is back — this round focused on GHGR.
Homeworld Collective is excited to launch our second Garden Grants program, offering $50k-$150k grants (up to $1M total) to de-risk innovative ideas intersecting biotechnology and GHGR.
📌 Learn more: www.homeworld.bio/grants-green...
Homeworld Collective is excited to launch our second Garden Grants program, offering $50k-$150k grants (up to $1M total) to de-risk innovative ideas intersecting biotechnology and GHGR.
📌 Learn more: www.homeworld.bio/grants-green...
Garden Grants GHGR — Homeworld Collective
Garden Grants: Funding to grow climate biotech
www.homeworld.bio
January 15, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Another epic announcement from the Homeworld team! Come look at Problem Statements, make a plan, and solve the world's most serious problem: greenhouse gas-driven warming and climate change. The grant process is easy, and creativity is encouraged! Spread the word!
have ppl found any funders that support toolmaking? I want to keep making tools for people, but there is a seemingly irresistible force pushing us towards hypothesis-driven research. In my experience, funders don't want to hear about tech dev. Any insights? for both neuro & climate would be great tx
December 19, 2024 at 11:32 PM
have ppl found any funders that support toolmaking? I want to keep making tools for people, but there is a seemingly irresistible force pushing us towards hypothesis-driven research. In my experience, funders don't want to hear about tech dev. Any insights? for both neuro & climate would be great tx
hey who has big-picture knowledge about trees? specifically vaccinating them against various pathogens. what are regulations and economics on large-scale tree vaccination programs? for tree planting efforts, can saplings be easily vaccinated, vs. large adults that require deep injection? are GMO
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November 27, 2024 at 10:40 PM
hey who has big-picture knowledge about trees? specifically vaccinating them against various pathogens. what are regulations and economics on large-scale tree vaccination programs? for tree planting efforts, can saplings be easily vaccinated, vs. large adults that require deep injection? are GMO
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help please! anyone know good grantwriters to help with R01s, etc.? idea is start with 1 grant per person/entity to see how we work together, then long-term deals/employment options. open to any working arrangement. need help framing things in fundable fashion. will pay well for good stuff. thanks!
November 24, 2024 at 6:39 PM
help please! anyone know good grantwriters to help with R01s, etc.? idea is start with 1 grant per person/entity to see how we work together, then long-term deals/employment options. open to any working arrangement. need help framing things in fundable fashion. will pay well for good stuff. thanks!
Reposted by Loren Looger lab
Tune into the latest episode of "Synaptic," and hear more about @lintianphd.bsky.social, the optimization of the GCaMP calcium indicator, and the lessons Tian's father taught her. Available wherever you stream podcasts.
By Brady Huggett
www.thetransmitter.org/synaptic/bio...
By Brady Huggett
www.thetransmitter.org/synaptic/bio...
Biosensors and being fearless with Lin Tian
Tian discusses protein function and structure, and the historic city in China where she was born.
www.thetransmitter.org
September 19, 2024 at 4:01 PM
Tune into the latest episode of "Synaptic," and hear more about @lintianphd.bsky.social, the optimization of the GCaMP calcium indicator, and the lessons Tian's father taught her. Available wherever you stream podcasts.
By Brady Huggett
www.thetransmitter.org/synaptic/bio...
By Brady Huggett
www.thetransmitter.org/synaptic/bio...
Excited to talk at the 1st Gene Therapy Initiative Symp at @ucsandiego.bsky.social next week! genetherapy.ucsd.edu/symposium-20... #gtiUCSD Will be talking about AAV engineering - 2.0 #AAVretro variants and other designed serotypes for basic research and human gene therapy!
Symposium 2024
genetherapy.ucsd.edu
September 13, 2024 at 6:02 PM
Excited to talk at the 1st Gene Therapy Initiative Symp at @ucsandiego.bsky.social next week! genetherapy.ucsd.edu/symposium-20... #gtiUCSD Will be talking about AAV engineering - 2.0 #AAVretro variants and other designed serotypes for basic research and human gene therapy!
This is that preliminary in vivo polyamine signaling data i was hinting at! we'll really tighten it up but there are pretty clearly some cool signals in the mouse brain
August 24, 2024 at 3:50 PM
This is that preliminary in vivo polyamine signaling data i was hinting at! we'll really tighten it up but there are pretty clearly some cool signals in the mouse brain
Paper alert! So happy to share the 1st paper entirely from our new home at UCSD Neurosciences- sensors for polyamines: spermidine, spermine, etc. What are those, you ask? (Autocorrect suggested "trampolines.") Polyamines (PAs) are ubiquitous: redox buffers, part. in endo/lysosomes..
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August 22, 2024 at 6:18 PM
Paper alert! So happy to share the 1st paper entirely from our new home at UCSD Neurosciences- sensors for polyamines: spermidine, spermine, etc. What are those, you ask? (Autocorrect suggested "trampolines.") Polyamines (PAs) are ubiquitous: redox buffers, part. in endo/lysosomes..
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