Megan Dennis
@mydennis.bsky.social
Assoc Prof & Assoc Director of Genomics @UCDavis Genome Center. Neurogenetics, evolution/function of gene duplications, human, zebrafish. Posts my own. #firstgen #jogger (mee-gun)
http://dennislab.org
http://dennislab.org
The lab is coming out strong with their "fishman" pumpkin-contest submission this year for the Halloween Symposium today @ucdgenomecenter.bsky.social !
Pumpkin credit: @nicholashaghani.bsky.social 👻🎃
Pumpkin credit: @nicholashaghani.bsky.social 👻🎃
October 24, 2025 at 6:03 PM
The lab is coming out strong with their "fishman" pumpkin-contest submission this year for the Halloween Symposium today @ucdgenomecenter.bsky.social !
Pumpkin credit: @nicholashaghani.bsky.social 👻🎃
Pumpkin credit: @nicholashaghani.bsky.social 👻🎃
😆
October 17, 2025 at 4:47 PM
😆
Excellent review from @silparacchini.bsky.social’s lab with a nice bluetorial
Great review on The Genetics of Human Handedness: Microtubules and Beyond www.cell.com/trends/genet... - handedness is such an interesting phenotype!
Genetics of human handedness: microtubules and beyond
Handedness (i.e., the preference to use either the left or the right hand for fine
motor tasks) is a widely investigated trait. Handedness heritability is consistently
estimated to be 25%. After decad...
www.cell.com
October 16, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Excellent review from @silparacchini.bsky.social’s lab with a nice bluetorial
Reposted by Megan Dennis
Happy to share a new @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social from the lab, led by talented postdoctoral fellow #MinhooKim: "Single-cell exploration of ovarian aging across vertebrate models", a meta-analysis study of public ovarian aging sc/snRNA-seq data! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... A 🧵, 1/5 🧬🖥️🧪 #GeroSky
October 16, 2025 at 10:07 AM
Happy to share a new @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social from the lab, led by talented postdoctoral fellow #MinhooKim: "Single-cell exploration of ovarian aging across vertebrate models", a meta-analysis study of public ovarian aging sc/snRNA-seq data! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... A 🧵, 1/5 🧬🖥️🧪 #GeroSky
Reposted by Megan Dennis
We are thrilled to share our new preprint entitled “The origin and molecular evolution of the mammalian liver cell architecture” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 15, 2025 at 12:51 PM
We are thrilled to share our new preprint entitled “The origin and molecular evolution of the mammalian liver cell architecture” www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Happy to share work spearheaded by former grad student Colin Shew testing shared duplicated cis regulatory elements (CREs) using an MPRA. While we find some high effect CREs, collectively paralog differences represent modest effects accounting for observed gene expression divergence.
Influence of cis-regulatory elements on regulatory divergence in human segmental duplications https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.03.680410v1
October 7, 2025 at 2:31 AM
Happy to share work spearheaded by former grad student Colin Shew testing shared duplicated cis regulatory elements (CREs) using an MPRA. While we find some high effect CREs, collectively paralog differences represent modest effects accounting for observed gene expression divergence.
Reposted by Megan Dennis
🔁 Please share - we remind the SMBE community that the Call for Symposia for SMBE2026 in Copenhagen is open.
We invite you to submit a symposium proposal to help shape the scientific content of our annual meeting.
🗓️ Deadline: October 15th
More information: smbe2026.org/symposia
#SMBE2026
We invite you to submit a symposium proposal to help shape the scientific content of our annual meeting.
🗓️ Deadline: October 15th
More information: smbe2026.org/symposia
#SMBE2026
October 1, 2025 at 8:33 AM
🔁 Please share - we remind the SMBE community that the Call for Symposia for SMBE2026 in Copenhagen is open.
We invite you to submit a symposium proposal to help shape the scientific content of our annual meeting.
🗓️ Deadline: October 15th
More information: smbe2026.org/symposia
#SMBE2026
We invite you to submit a symposium proposal to help shape the scientific content of our annual meeting.
🗓️ Deadline: October 15th
More information: smbe2026.org/symposia
#SMBE2026
Reposted by Megan Dennis
Really cool, conceptually simple approach here: cross-referencing grant proposal scores with literature citations and explicit acknowledgments in drug patents to identify patents linked to projects that wouldn't have been funded given a smaller budget
This may be the most important paper ever published about NIH funded research.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
What if NIH had been 40% smaller?
Replaying history with less NIH funding shows widespread impacts on drug-linked research
www.science.org
September 25, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Really cool, conceptually simple approach here: cross-referencing grant proposal scores with literature citations and explicit acknowledgments in drug patents to identify patents linked to projects that wouldn't have been funded given a smaller budget
While I'm sad our cover submission wasn't selected for our recent human duplication paper, check out the super cool illustration created with @lazaroillustration.bsky.social ! Certainly, you will be seeing Dennis lab members running around with "fishman" t-shirts at future meetings, inspired by Ohno
"Fishman", proposal for a journal cover.
Commissioned by MY Dennis' lab @mydennis.bsky.social for a study focused on identifying human-specific gene duplications and their role in brain evolution using genomics and zebrafish as model. @dcsoto.bsky.social
#art #digitalart #sciart #fish
Commissioned by MY Dennis' lab @mydennis.bsky.social for a study focused on identifying human-specific gene duplications and their role in brain evolution using genomics and zebrafish as model. @dcsoto.bsky.social
#art #digitalart #sciart #fish
September 25, 2025 at 8:19 PM
While I'm sad our cover submission wasn't selected for our recent human duplication paper, check out the super cool illustration created with @lazaroillustration.bsky.social ! Certainly, you will be seeing Dennis lab members running around with "fishman" t-shirts at future meetings, inspired by Ohno
Reposted by Megan Dennis
Excited to share our recent study on human-specific features of the cerebellum and the unexpected, novel role of zona pellucida protein 2 (ZP2) in synapse development. Grateful to the Sestan lab and all our collaborators for their outstanding contributions. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Human-specific features of the cerebellum and ZP2-regulated synapse development
Understanding the unique features of the human brain compared to non-human primates has long intrigued humankind. The cerebellum refines motor coordination and cognitive functions, contributing to the...
www.biorxiv.org
September 9, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Excited to share our recent study on human-specific features of the cerebellum and the unexpected, novel role of zona pellucida protein 2 (ZP2) in synapse development. Grateful to the Sestan lab and all our collaborators for their outstanding contributions. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Megan Dennis
New preprint alert! The uterus expands ~500-fold in pregnancy, yet we know little about how pressures are sensed. Led by @yunxiao-dr.bsky.social, we show PIEZOs are required for contractions and birth in mice, with dual roles of PIEZO1 in muscle and PIEZO2 in neurons
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
PIEZO channels link mechanical forces to uterine contractions in parturition
Mechanical forces are extensively involved in pregnancy and parturition, but their precise roles and mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we identify mechanically activated ion channels PIEZO1 a...
www.biorxiv.org
September 18, 2025 at 3:23 PM
New preprint alert! The uterus expands ~500-fold in pregnancy, yet we know little about how pressures are sensed. Led by @yunxiao-dr.bsky.social, we show PIEZOs are required for contractions and birth in mice, with dual roles of PIEZO1 in muscle and PIEZO2 in neurons
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Megan Dennis
New lab preprint! Vahid Fard looked across mammals and found that species with more recently active LINE and SINE retrotransposons in their genomes also get more cancer, supporting a model where genome instability promotes neoplasia and malignancy
September 5, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Reposted by Megan Dennis
Jasmin Rees PhD chapter as a paper just out at the AJHG @ajhgnews.bsky.social, with Sergi Castellano, who first envisioned the study. Jas investigated signatures of human local genetic adaptation in hundreds of micronutrient-associated genes.
📣New from @aidaandres.bsky.social & co
📄Global impact of micronutrients in modern human evolution
📄Global impact of micronutrients in modern human evolution
Global impact of micronutrients in modern human evolution
In this study, Rees et al. evaluate the role of dietary micronutrients in driving
local genetic adaptation and population differentiation in humans. The authors find
evidence that micronutrient-associ...
www.cell.com
September 10, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Jasmin Rees PhD chapter as a paper just out at the AJHG @ajhgnews.bsky.social, with Sergi Castellano, who first envisioned the study. Jas investigated signatures of human local genetic adaptation in hundreds of micronutrient-associated genes.
Reposted by Megan Dennis
Privileged to have had the opportunity to advocate for biomedical research funding in #Congress yesterday! It was an honor to represent the @geneticssociety.bsky.social alongside my amazing colleagues @gregorylab.bskyverified.social and #JillFahrner! 🔬 🧠🧬
#ASHG #Genetics #ResearchMatters
#ASHG #Genetics #ResearchMatters
July 25, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Privileged to have had the opportunity to advocate for biomedical research funding in #Congress yesterday! It was an honor to represent the @geneticssociety.bsky.social alongside my amazing colleagues @gregorylab.bskyverified.social and #JillFahrner! 🔬 🧠🧬
#ASHG #Genetics #ResearchMatters
#ASHG #Genetics #ResearchMatters
Reposted by Megan Dennis
A recent paper reveals a surprising insight. The length of the cell cycle in a particular tissue determines the oncogenic transformation capacity of particular oncogenes, with tissues with shorter cell cycles most susceptible 3/n
July 26, 2025 at 2:14 PM
A recent paper reveals a surprising insight. The length of the cell cycle in a particular tissue determines the oncogenic transformation capacity of particular oncogenes, with tissues with shorter cell cycles most susceptible 3/n
Reposted by Megan Dennis
Happy Birthday, Rosalind Franklin. She captured an X-ray diffraction image of DNA and stated that a helical structure was probable. Watson and Crick then created a detailed model based on her results. They initially received credit for the discovery and were awarded the Nobel Prize after her death.🧪
July 26, 2025 at 6:05 AM
Happy Birthday, Rosalind Franklin. She captured an X-ray diffraction image of DNA and stated that a helical structure was probable. Watson and Crick then created a detailed model based on her results. They initially received credit for the discovery and were awarded the Nobel Prize after her death.🧪
Reposted by Megan Dennis
In work led by @lalli.bsky.social, we present recombination maps and a diverse haplotype reference panel (1000 Genomes Project) for the T2T-CHM13 human reference genome. These resources improve the accuracy of phasing and imputation, especially around common CNVs. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A T2T-CHM13 recombination map and globally diverse haplotype reference panel improves phasing and imputation
The T2T-CHM13 complete human reference genome contains ~200 Mb of newly resolved sequence, improving read mapping and variant calling compared to GRCh38. However, the benefits of using complete refere...
www.biorxiv.org
March 3, 2025 at 2:24 PM
In work led by @lalli.bsky.social, we present recombination maps and a diverse haplotype reference panel (1000 Genomes Project) for the T2T-CHM13 human reference genome. These resources improve the accuracy of phasing and imputation, especially around common CNVs. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Megan Dennis
Evolutionary molecular biology paying dividends again - this time in finding new modulators of innate immunity - www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A human homolog of SIR2 antiphage proteins mediates immunity via the Toll-like receptor pathway
Key actors of mammalian immunity originated from bacterial antiphage systems. The full extent of immune system conservation between bacteria and eukaryotes is unknown. Here, we show that the silent in...
www.science.org
July 26, 2025 at 1:39 AM
Evolutionary molecular biology paying dividends again - this time in finding new modulators of innate immunity - www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Megan Dennis
So excited to see this paper out in Cell from the group of my good friend @mydennis.bsky.social It's been so exciting to see this story progress progress. www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Human-specific gene expansions contribute to brain evolution
A complete human genome and functional modeling in zebrafish pinpoint gene expansions
that may underlie the evolutionary innovations of the human brain.
www.cell.com
July 25, 2025 at 4:56 PM
So excited to see this paper out in Cell from the group of my good friend @mydennis.bsky.social It's been so exciting to see this story progress progress. www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...
Reposted by Megan Dennis
Thrilled that our study on human gene duplications and brain evolution is out! It was a true labor of love, with special shout-outs to my co-first author @jmuribescr.bsky.social and my PhD mentor @mydennis.bsky.social. Huge thanks as well to @aidaandres.bsky.social for all the popgen wisdom!
Check out our latest work co-led by @dcsoto.bsky.social and @jmuribescr.bsky.social identifying hundreds of human duplicated gene families using the new T2T-CHM13 assembly, with a focus on those potentially contributing to brain evolution 🧪: authors.elsevier.com/a/1lTQtL7PXu...
authors.elsevier.com
July 21, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Thrilled that our study on human gene duplications and brain evolution is out! It was a true labor of love, with special shout-outs to my co-first author @jmuribescr.bsky.social and my PhD mentor @mydennis.bsky.social. Huge thanks as well to @aidaandres.bsky.social for all the popgen wisdom!
Reposted by Megan Dennis
Thrilled to see this story out today! Such a fascinating topic with lots still to discover 🥳
Check out our latest work co-led by @dcsoto.bsky.social and @jmuribescr.bsky.social identifying hundreds of human duplicated gene families using the new T2T-CHM13 assembly, with a focus on those potentially contributing to brain evolution 🧪: authors.elsevier.com/a/1lTQtL7PXu...
authors.elsevier.com
July 21, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Thrilled to see this story out today! Such a fascinating topic with lots still to discover 🥳
Check out our latest work co-led by @dcsoto.bsky.social and @jmuribescr.bsky.social identifying hundreds of human duplicated gene families using the new T2T-CHM13 assembly, with a focus on those potentially contributing to brain evolution 🧪: authors.elsevier.com/a/1lTQtL7PXu...
authors.elsevier.com
July 21, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Check out our latest work co-led by @dcsoto.bsky.social and @jmuribescr.bsky.social identifying hundreds of human duplicated gene families using the new T2T-CHM13 assembly, with a focus on those potentially contributing to brain evolution 🧪: authors.elsevier.com/a/1lTQtL7PXu...
Omg I’ve never laughed so hard in my life. Tonight my husband set out a fly trap in our backyard. The kind that smells like dead animal and poop to attract flies. Shortly after, we get these emails on our neighborhood listserv. Coincidentally, we had put out a fly trap a couple weeks ago too 👀
July 18, 2025 at 6:07 AM
Omg I’ve never laughed so hard in my life. Tonight my husband set out a fly trap in our backyard. The kind that smells like dead animal and poop to attract flies. Shortly after, we get these emails on our neighborhood listserv. Coincidentally, we had put out a fly trap a couple weeks ago too 👀
Reposted by Megan Dennis
"Writers have been using me long before the advent of AI. I am the punctuation equivalent of a cardigan—beloved by MFA grads, used by editors when it’s actually cold, and worn year-round by screenwriters. I am not new here."
The Em Dash Responds to the AI Allegations
“In recent months, a curious fixation has emerged in corners of academia: the em dash. More specifically, the apparent moral panic around how it is...
buff.ly
July 17, 2025 at 6:20 PM
"Writers have been using me long before the advent of AI. I am the punctuation equivalent of a cardigan—beloved by MFA grads, used by editors when it’s actually cold, and worn year-round by screenwriters. I am not new here."