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shannonfarris.bsky.social
Shannon Farris
@shannonfarris.bsky.social
160 followers 210 following 57 posts
Neurobiologist, boy mom, new here.
Assistant Professor @ Virginia Tech.
We study the molecular basis of memory.
Synaptic localization of mitochondria and RNA.
http://labs.vtc.vt.edu/farris/
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shannonfarris.bsky.social
Shannon Farris @shannonfarris.bsky.social · 7d
#sfn25 Come say in the late break poster section! Showing live mito calcium imaging data from our new collab with Sharon Swangers lab! #keepCA2weird 🧪
Reposted by Shannon Farris
owoolnough.bsky.social
As it's hiring season again I'm resharing the NeuroJobs feed. Add #NeuroJobs to your post if you're recruiting or looking for an RA, PhD, Postdoc, or faculty position in Neuro or an adjacent field.

bsky.app/profile/did:...
September 3, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
pratted.bsky.social
The 2025-2026 BME TT Faculty jobs list has 92 positions. #FacultySearch #BME #BMEJobsList

Add a job: forms.gle/bwEzwHAEehBj...
Jobs list: ericaprattlab.com/bme_jobs_list/
November 21, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
keunghui.bsky.social
Story updated with Durham Public Schools saying 21% of students were absent Tuesday amid the Border Patrol surge. Wake County Supt. Robert Taylor said he's highly concerned about the academic impact of parents keeping their kids home. www.newsobserver.com/news/local/e... #nced #ncpol #wcpss
Attendance drops in Wake, Durham, Chapel Hill schools during Border Patrol surge
Nearly 1 in 9 Wake County students were absent on Tuesday, far higher than the normal total.
www.newsobserver.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
lewislab.bsky.social
FFS people, look at the curves for the ICs with "no paylines." It's not like percentile is completely uncorrelated with funding. This looks exceptionally healthy to me. That study sections are adding a lot of value, but that ICs do not just rigidly follow their advice.
November 22, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
robertpatalano.bsky.social
Nursing, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, audiologist and more are no longer counted as a ‘Professional Degrees.’ It’s obvious that this is due to these fields being dominated by women.
Nursing is no longer counted as a 'professional degree' by Trump admin
The Department of Education has excluded nursing as a "professional degree" program as it implements various changes to student loans.
www.newsweek.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
elizabethjacobs.bsky.social
It used to be that NIH grant review panels had detailed discussions on about half of the grants submitted. The bottom 50% were triaged and not reviewed.

It’s rumored that now only 1/3 of grants will be discussed. Grants take so much time to write. This is going to be hard for researchers.
DrugMonkey
biomedical research, just another job...
drugmonkey.wordpress.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
hopkinslab.bsky.social
Just got an email from the SRO of my study section and trying to reschedule the missed October study section to early- or mid-January 2026.
November 17, 2025 at 2:50 PM
shannonfarris.bsky.social
🤣🤣
kathaschmack.bsky.social Katharina Schmack @kathaschmack.bsky.social · 6d
Introducing the 𝐏𝐈-𝐚𝐭-𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞! 🤯

When activated, it will auto-reply to your PI's frantic ideas for new experiments, analyses, and projects with "Great suggestion! Saving this for later" (aka: let's talk when you’re back and got some sleep)

#sfn2025 #sfn25
November 18, 2025 at 4:35 AM
shannonfarris.bsky.social
#sfn25 Come say in the late break poster section! Showing live mito calcium imaging data from our new collab with Sharon Swangers lab! #keepCA2weird 🧪
November 16, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
cajalclub.bsky.social
At Sfn? Join us at the Cajal Club Social! Sunday, Nov. 16th, 6:30PM–8:30PM. Salt & Whiskey bar@Horton Grand Hotel, www.hortongrand.com/dine-bar. We will learn about an exhibition on Cajal's Work and give out this year's awards to outstanding trainees and established scientists in our community!
Salt & Whiskey - Horton Grand Hotel
Serving elevated comfort foods and classic handcrafted cocktails, Salt & Whiskey at the Horton Grand Hotel pays homage to grandeur of the Victorian era.
www.hortongrand.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:49 AM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
dumpyunc.bsky.social
If it’s your dream job to map the brain using light microscopy we should talk at #sfn25. Multiple opportunities. DMs open.
November 14, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
jbyoder.org
This has gotten surprisingly little attention — it's not even on the front page of @science.org right now — but it's really hard to describe what the SAFE Research Act would do to US science and scientists without sounding insane

www.science.org/content/arti...
November 14, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
denisejcai.bsky.social
Are you at #SfN25 and want VIP access to the Cai-Tye Collective event on Nov 17?

Come by my lab members' posters for a bracelet!

Hailey Rosenblum: Nov 15, 1-5pm PSTR040.05/BB6
Zoé Christenson Wick: Nov 17, 8am-12pm PSTR192.01/RR13
Zach Pennington: Nov 17, 1-5pm PSTR234.05/CC7
November 14, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
needhibhalla.bsky.social
🧪
November 14, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
alt-nihscience4all.altgov.info
Have questions about application submissions and missed peer review meetings due to the shutdown??? Check out this notice.

grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
NOT-OD-26-005: Interim Guidance on Reopening of NIH Extramural Activities
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Interim Guidance on Reopening of NIH Extramural Activities NOT-OD-26-005. NIH
grants.nih.gov
November 14, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
wiringthebrain.bsky.social
New paper with @statsepi.bsky.social and @deevybee.bsky.social in which we show there's really no evidence for a link between the gut microbiome and autism www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...
Conceptual and methodological flaws undermine claims of a link between the gut microbiome and autism
Claims that the gut microbiome causally contributes to autism regularly appear in the scientific literature and popular press. Mitchell et al. critically examine influential studies underpinning these...
www.cell.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
markhisted.org
A bad thing is unfolding at NIH this week: It looks like the Trump administration is trying to replace key civil servant scientific leaders, the Institute Directors, with political hires. These directors control the NIH budget, tens of billions.

A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
November 13, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
docbecca.bsky.social
Oof this is going to be rough for NIH-funded folks who’ve already been set back. And another shutdown in January on the way just in time for council
jasonsynaptic.bsky.social Jason Shepherd @jasonsynaptic.bsky.social · 10d
Just got an email from my SRO for the study section that was missed in October. Good news is that they are trying to reschedule ASAP (Dec/Jan). The bad news is that CSR is mandating that only the the top third (not half) of applications will get discussed for the next 2 rounds.
November 14, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
nihvigils.bsky.social
Can confirm.
jasonsynaptic.bsky.social Jason Shepherd @jasonsynaptic.bsky.social · 10d
Just got an email from my SRO for the study section that was missed in October. Good news is that they are trying to reschedule ASAP (Dec/Jan). The bad news is that CSR is mandating that only the the top third (not half) of applications will get discussed for the next 2 rounds.
November 14, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
cconstan.bsky.social
I got a similar message. My study section is being rescheduled for 2 partial days in January. Only 1/3 of grants will be discussed.
jasonsynaptic.bsky.social Jason Shepherd @jasonsynaptic.bsky.social · 10d
Just got an email from my SRO for the study section that was missed in October. Good news is that they are trying to reschedule ASAP (Dec/Jan). The bad news is that CSR is mandating that only the the top third (not half) of applications will get discussed for the next 2 rounds.
November 14, 2025 at 3:49 AM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
prasad.bsky.social
I’m begging institutions not to outsource your judgment of faculty to this ridiculous and useless scheme
jasonsynaptic.bsky.social Jason Shepherd @jasonsynaptic.bsky.social · 10d
Just got an email from my SRO for the study section that was missed in October. Good news is that they are trying to reschedule ASAP (Dec/Jan). The bad news is that CSR is mandating that only the the top third (not half) of applications will get discussed for the next 2 rounds.
November 14, 2025 at 2:59 AM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
jasonsynaptic.bsky.social
Just got an email from my SRO for the study section that was missed in October. Good news is that they are trying to reschedule ASAP (Dec/Jan). The bad news is that CSR is mandating that only the the top third (not half) of applications will get discussed for the next 2 rounds.
November 13, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
neurograce.bsky.social
How did I miss this? It's insane!
environmicrobio.bsky.social Roland Hatzenpichler @environmicrobio.bsky.social · 10d
“The prohibited activities would include joint research, co-authorship on papers, and advising a foreign graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The language is retroactive, meaning any interactions during the previous 5 years could make a scientist ineligible for future federal funding.”
U.S. Congress considers sweeping ban on Chinese collaborations
Researchers speak out against proposal that would bar funding for U.S. scientists working with Chinese partners or training Chinese students
www.science.org
November 14, 2025 at 3:06 AM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
ehekkala.bsky.social
🧪🔭🧬🔬🦠🌎😡👇
markhisted.org Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 10d
A bad thing is unfolding at NIH this week: It looks like the Trump administration is trying to replace key civil servant scientific leaders, the Institute Directors, with political hires. These directors control the NIH budget, tens of billions.

A bit of a video explainer here: 1/ 🧪
November 14, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Reposted by Shannon Farris
hansonmark.bsky.social
We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing:

a 🧵 1/n

Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
A table showing profit margins of major publishers. A snippet of text related to this table is below. 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year. A figure detailing the drain on researcher time. 1. The four-fold drain 1.2 Time The number of papers published each year is growing faster than the scientific workforce, with the number of papers per researcher almost doubling between 1996 and 2022 (Figure 1A). This reflects the fact that publishers’ commercial desire to publish (sell) more material has aligned well with the competitive prestige culture in which publications help secure jobs, grants, promotions, and awards. To the extent that this growth is driven by a pressure for profit, rather than scholarly imperatives, it distorts the way researchers spend their time. The publishing system depends on unpaid reviewer labour, estimated to be over 130 million unpaid hours annually in 2020 alone (9). Researchers have complained about the demands of peer-review for decades, but the scale of the problem is now worse, with editors reporting widespread difficulties recruiting reviewers. The growth in publications involves not only the authors’ time, but that of academic editors and reviewers who are dealing with so many review demands. Even more seriously, the imperative to produce ever more articles reshapes the nature of scientific inquiry. Evidence across multiple fields shows that more papers result in ‘ossification’, not new ideas (10). It may seem paradoxical that more papers can slow progress until one considers how it affects researchers’ time. While rewards remain tied to volume, prestige, and impact of publications, researchers will be nudged away from riskier, local, interdisciplinary, and long-term work. The result is a treadmill of constant activity with limited progress whereas core scholarly practices – such as reading, reflecting and engaging with others’ contributions – is de-prioritized. What looks like productivity often masks intellectual exhaustion built on a demoralizing, narrowing scientific vision. A table of profit margins across industries. The section of text related to this table is below: 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year. The costs of inaction are plain: wasted public funds, lost researcher time, compromised scientific integrity and eroded public trust. Today, the system rewards commercial publishers first, and science second. Without bold action from the funders we risk continuing to pour resources into a system that prioritizes profit over the advancement of scientific knowledge.
November 11, 2025 at 11:52 AM