Margaret Gardel
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squishycell.bsky.social
Margaret Gardel
@squishycell.bsky.social
250 followers 260 following 8 posts
Prof. of Physics, Cell Biology and Molecular Engineering @ UChicago. Passionate about all the squishy matter driving dynamics and function from sub-cellular to tissue scales.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
dvavylonis.bsky.social
We invite abstracts for “Physics of the Cytoskeleton” at the 2026 APS Global Summit in Denver. Join speakers Margaret Gardel @squishycell.bsky.social (Univ of Chicago) and Colm Kelleher (Syracuse)! This is @aps-dbio.bsky.social and @apsdsoft.bsky.social Session 04.01.03 with deadline Oct 23, 2025.
October 15, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
seppekuehnlab.bsky.social
Schmidt AI + Science. Amazing fellowship opportunity at UChicago! apply.interfolio.com/173322
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
September 26, 2025 at 9:47 PM
squishycell.bsky.social
Lab Clean Up 2025- a decade of posters to be removed to make way for new. So fun to spend time looking at work in progress from awesome alumni for a few minutes!
August 13, 2025 at 8:09 PM
squishycell.bsky.social
Teaching at MBL physiology was such a gift! @mblscience.bsky.social
amandajohnz.bsky.social Amanda Johnson @amandajohnz.bsky.social · Jul 31
Final presentations for Physiology 2025 were last weekend; the students did an awesome job. @sseethar.bsky.social, @andyletzhang.bsky.social, @squishycell.bsky.social, and I were all very proud 🤩.
July 31, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
mblscience.bsky.social
We're thrilled to announce the largest private gift in our 137-year history: a $25 million unrestricted donation from MBL Whitman Scientist Mark Terasaki.

His extraordinary generosity will bolster our renowned research and education programs. 🔬

Learn more: bit.ly/452WL1m
MBL Announces Largest Ever Gift for Its Renowned Biological Education and Research Programs | Marine Biological Laboratory
Cell Biology Researcher Mark Terasaki’s $25 Million Unrestricted Gift Will Support Operations and Infrastructure Contact: Samantha Cummis [email protected]; 973.800.4119
bit.ly
July 28, 2025 at 6:46 PM
squishycell.bsky.social
We will miss Shailaja, but are very excited for her to launch a new mechanobiology lab!
sseethar.bsky.social Shailaja Seetharaman @sseethar.bsky.social · Jul 9
Excited to be starting my research group as a tenure track Presidential Young Professor at the Mechanobiology Institute @mbisg.bsky.social, and the Dept of Physiology at @nusingapore.bsky.social in the fall! More about our work on vascular mechanobiology in health & disease mechano-medicine-lab.com
July 9, 2025 at 11:30 PM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
clauswilke.com
I set up a substack. What better topic to start with than the question of whether we're overproducing PhD students.
clauswilke.substack.com/p/are-we-ove...
Are we overproducing PhD students?
Every few years, reliably like clockwork, somebody claims that we’re producing too many PhD students.
clauswilke.substack.com
June 24, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
sciencehomecoming.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades
The lag in funding extends far beyond D.E.I. initiatives, affecting almost every area of science: chemistry, computing, engineering, materials and more.
www.nytimes.com
May 22, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
peiferlabunc.bsky.social
The fantastically successful NIGMS MIRA R35 "expired" on May 17, after the most recent deadline--these removals are the most aggressive attack on American science in the current series of devastating actions 🧪
gserratomarks.bsky.social Gabi Serrato Marks @gserratomarks.bsky.social · May 20
NIH moved up the expiration date for some funding opportunities, effectively *canceling* the next application date without removing it from the standard table. I can't even imagine how many people are still prepping these grants.

👀 List of impacted opportunities:
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
Screenshot of NIMH BRAINS funding opportunity. The expiration date is now before the next application due date.
May 20, 2025 at 11:18 PM
squishycell.bsky.social
Here is how NIH is communicating with graduate students who applied for the now discontinued K99 program designed to support students from underrepresented backgrounds. It is disgusting.

"This application responded to a discontinued program that no longer effectuated NIH priorities
May 20, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
beattylab.bsky.social
I'm the 1st scientist in my family. My parents were amazed I could attend @caltech.edu, an elite private school, for my PhD studies FOR FREE. In fact, I was paid to become a PhD chemist. STEM is a pathway to a good career. I study TB- a disease that impacts millions. Fund NIH.
May 13, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
baym.lol
Yesterday, the NIH R35 “Outstanding Investigator” grant to fund scientists in my lab studying antibiotic resistance was terminated for reasons not related to the content of the science, or any actions taken by me or members of my lab
A screenshot of the termination notice showing "Outstanding Investigator Grants" A screenshot of the termination notice with "This award is terminated effective the date of this award, due to unsafe antisemitic actions that suggest the institution lacks concern for the safety and wellbeing of Jewish students." highlighted
May 13, 2025 at 11:37 PM
squishycell.bsky.social
US researchers must stand up to protect freedoms, not just funding | Nature
Curtailment of freedoms and disregard for the rule of law in the United States is destroying the ability of science to serve the nation’s, and the world’s, interests. Researchers can take action. Curtailment of freedoms and disregard for the rule of law in the United States is destroying the ability of science to serve the nation’s, and the world’s, interests. Researchers can take action.
www.nature.com
May 13, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
zaniclab.bsky.social
Join us for the exciting Cell Dynamics Symposium at Vanderbilt! Poster deadline coming up May 12th. Everyone welcome - please repost!
May 7, 2025 at 7:58 PM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
carajgottardi.bsky.social
"If NIH budget money, designated by Congress to be spent on medical cures, doesn’t go out over the next few months, all US scientists are looking at budget cuts that will not just take away cures but harm local economies." donmoynihan.substack.com/p/the-nih-bu...
donmoynihan.substack.com
April 30, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
labonnelab.bsky.social
Yes this is true. The last dispersement to Northwestern was on March 27th. This is insance and is impacting important research and may cause the US to lose a generation of young scientists who would have made tomorrows important discoveries
maxkozlov.bsky.social Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · May 6
FWIW, NIH had already silently barred Harvard and four other schools from receiving funds — and agency staff were forbidden from telling applicants and grantees about it.

bsky.app/profile/maxk...
maxkozlov.bsky.social Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · Apr 18
Per source, NIH has been instructed to hold off from issuing ALL awards to Harvard, Cornell, Columbia, Brown, and Northwestern (including med schools)

Agency staff have also been instructed to not speak about this funding freeze to grantees and applicants
May 6, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
krishnanyamuna.bsky.social
Harvard may have a lot of issues, but none of the accusations in this acid-tripping letter are it. Don't know whether to laugh or cry as I watch monkeys tear up pearl strings.
ericcolumbus.bsky.social Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · May 6
🚨🚨 Deranged letter from Education Secretary Linda McMahon to Harvard’s president, cutting off federal funding for any new grants.

Worth reading in full. It is NUTS.
THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION WASHINGTON, DC 20202 May 5, 2025 Dr. Alan Garber Office of the President Harvard University Massachusetts Hall Cambridge, MA 02138 Dr. Garber, The Federal Government has a sacred responsibility to be a wise and important steward of American taxpayer dollars. Harvard University, despite amassing a largely tax-free $53.2 billion dollar endowment (larger than the GDP of 100 countries), receives billions of dollars of taxpayer largess each year. Receiving such taxpayer funds is a privilege, not a right. Yet instead of using these funds to advance the education of its students, Harvard is engaging in a systemic pattern of violating federal law. Where do many of these "students" come from, who are they, how do they get into Harvard, or even into our country—and why is there so much HATE? These are questions that must be answered, among many more, but the biggest question of all is, why will Harvard not give straightforward answers to the American public? Harvard University has made a mockery of this country's higher education system. It has invited foreign students, who engage in violent behavior and show contempt for the United States of America, to its campus. In every way, Harvard has failed to abide by its legal obligations, its ethical and fiduciary duties, its transparency responsibilities, and any semblance of academic rigor. It had scrapped standardized testing requirements and a normalized grading system. This year Harvard was forced to adopt an embarrassing "remedial math" program for undergraduates. Why is it, we ask, that Harvard has to teach simple and basic mathematics, when it is supposedly so hard to get into this "acclaimed university"? Who is getting in under such a low standard when others, with fabulous grades and a great understanding of the highest levels of mathematics, are being rejected? Harvard has even been embroiled in humiliating plagiarism scandals, exposed clearly and plainly in the media, with respect to your then… running the institution in a totally chaotic way. Harvard alumnus and highly successful hedge fund manager Bill Ackman noted that, under her leadership, Harvard has become "a political advocacy organization for one party." Ackman has called for the resignation of Pritzker, concluding that the "[t)he mismanagement here is Penny Pritzker" and noting that any serious corporation would have removed her after a litany of recent failings and the fact that, incredibly, "Harvard is not in a good financial position." According to Ackman, one of the world's foremost finance experts, Harvard's so-called S53 billion endowment is "massively overstated as far as what it's really worth," and Harvard has irresponsibly taken out $8 billion in debt. If this is true, it is concerning evidence of Harvard's disastrous mismanagement, indicating an urgent need for massive reform-not continued taxpayer investment. If Harvard prefers not to change, then Harvard should have no problem using its overflowing endowment to fund its bloated bureaucracy. At its best, a university should fulfill the highest ideals of our Nation, and enlighten the thousands of hopeful students who walk through its magnificent gates. But Harvard has betrayed this ideal. Perhaps most alarmingly, Harvard has failed to abide by the United States Supreme Court's ruling demanding that it end its racial preferencing, and continues to engage in ugly racism in its undergraduate and graduate schools, and even within the Harvard Law Review itself. Our universities should be bastions of merit that reward and celebrate excellence and achievement. They should not be incubators of discrimination that encourage resentment and instill grievance and racism into our wonderful young Americans. The above concerns are only a fraction of the long list of Harvard's consistent violations of its own legal duties. Given these and other concerning allegations, this letter is to inform you that Harvard should no longer seek GRANTS from the fede… Federal Agencies. The Administration's priorities have not changed and today's letter marks the end of new grants for the University. These requests will advance the best interests of Harvard University, so it can reclaim its status as a respected educational institution for the future leaders of America. Thank you for your attention to this matter! Sincerely, Linda E. McMahon Secretary of Education
May 6, 2025 at 1:13 AM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
karalmarshall.bsky.social
Gave a talk at my parents’ retirement community to describe how science is done, and what is at stake. There was a ton of interest, and anyone can do this. Get the word out about how science affects everyone. I’m happy to share slides with anyone who asks- just get in touch! youtu.be/BY_SFgi-Cig
Kara Marshall PHD-History of Science in America - Trilogy at Tehaleh 04/27/25
YouTube video by Steve Lawson
youtu.be
May 3, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
vaikuntsuri.bsky.social
check out new work by Deb in collaboration with Martin, @squishycell.bsky.social , Aleks Walczak and Thierry Mora : arxiv.org/abs/2504.15107 o on how simple mechanosensitive agents can enable learning mechanisms
Learning via mechanosensitivity and activity in cytoskeletal networks
In this work we show how a network inspired by a coarse-grained description of actomyosin cytoskeleton can learn - in a contrastive learning framework - from environmental perturbations if it is endow...
arxiv.org
April 22, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
peiferlabunc.bsky.social
Only 29 slots left out of 200--register now!
peiferlabunc.bsky.social Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · Dec 18
Cell and developmental biologists: as you start looking at conferences in 2025, consider joining us at the 2025 Cell Contact & Adhesion GRC. We've assembled a strong and diverse program of speakers at the cutting-edge of science in our field 1/n Please repost
www.grc.org/cell-contact...
Poster for the meeting including speaker list and location
April 21, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
costasamaras.com
The NYT wants you to think universities became dependent on government. This is false.

The government invested in the national research infrastructure by competitive grants to universities. The taxpayers built this. It got us to the moon. Won the Cold War. Created Silicon Valley. Made the McRib.
April 19, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
malindalo.bsky.social
Harvard redid its whole homepage to push back against the administration’s demands. I mean, this is just a website but I think it’s kind of a great PR move: www.harvard.edu
Harvard University
Harvard University is devoted to excellence in teaching, learning, and research, and to developing leaders who make a difference globally.
www.harvard.edu
April 14, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
rburdine1.bsky.social
Here's is my experience from the financial crisis of 2008 (and Covid). Even though the whole way we are doing and funding science has changed significantly, people's shortcuts for determining whether or not you are "succeeding" will take longer to recalibrate. /1
jdpereira.bsky.social Joao Pereira @jdpereira.bsky.social · Apr 13
I wonder, for those of us on a tenure clock, how will this situation factor in?

We’re not playing the same game we set out to play.
a man in a suit and tie with nbc written on the bottom right
ALT: a man in a suit and tie with nbc written on the bottom right
media.tenor.com
April 13, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Reposted by Margaret Gardel
robertltsai.bsky.social
Nearly a 1,000 student visas invoked by Sec. of State Rubio and counting.
April 12, 2025 at 9:52 PM