TanentzapfLab
@tanentzapflab.bsky.social
A Cell & Developmental Biology lab @UBC. working on the role of cell junctions in development, stem cells, tissue homeostasis.
I love finding a paper published years ago (5, 10, 15, 20) that isn't famous or field changing or has a ton of citations but when you read it is just awesome. Like, beautifully designed & executed & written. Best part is that there are so many papers like that lurking in the literature.
November 6, 2025 at 6:13 PM
I love finding a paper published years ago (5, 10, 15, 20) that isn't famous or field changing or has a ton of citations but when you read it is just awesome. Like, beautifully designed & executed & written. Best part is that there are so many papers like that lurking in the literature.
This is your regular reminder to always always put scale bars on your figures & always always make sure you use properly scaled axis on your graphs
September 16, 2025 at 5:21 PM
This is your regular reminder to always always put scale bars on your figures & always always make sure you use properly scaled axis on your graphs
Reposted by TanentzapfLab
Venkatesh B, et al. (@tanentzapflab.bsky.social lab) Inside-out integrin activation is essential for early mammalian development. Mol Biol Cell. 2025 Sep 3;:mbcE25030106. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 40901728
September 4, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Venkatesh B, et al. (@tanentzapflab.bsky.social lab) Inside-out integrin activation is essential for early mammalian development. Mol Biol Cell. 2025 Sep 3;:mbcE25030106. [Epub ahead of print]. PMID: 40901728
The goal of a PhD is not to learn some facts or read a few papers or learn a bunch of techniques. The goal of a PhD is to learn independence, problem solving, how to finish things you start, resilience, & gain the ability to adapt & think creatively. Learning these things is hard.
August 13, 2025 at 5:28 PM
The goal of a PhD is not to learn some facts or read a few papers or learn a bunch of techniques. The goal of a PhD is to learn independence, problem solving, how to finish things you start, resilience, & gain the ability to adapt & think creatively. Learning these things is hard.
The basic problem in science funding in most countries is that the government decides how many scientists to support but universities/institutes decide how many scientists to hire & those #'s are incongruous. I'll never understand why they don't just talk to each other & coordinate.
August 12, 2025 at 11:19 PM
The basic problem in science funding in most countries is that the government decides how many scientists to support but universities/institutes decide how many scientists to hire & those #'s are incongruous. I'll never understand why they don't just talk to each other & coordinate.
I think a good rule of thumb is to spend at least as much time thinking about your data as you did obtaining it. It's common for people to spend a lot less time thinking than doing which gives rise to all kinds of problems.
August 8, 2025 at 1:29 PM
I think a good rule of thumb is to spend at least as much time thinking about your data as you did obtaining it. It's common for people to spend a lot less time thinking than doing which gives rise to all kinds of problems.
It's Friday it's summer, let's have some fun. Drop in the comments the meanest things a reviewer has ever said to you (bonus if it's on a manuscript you think is good & that you ended up publishing in a different journal). I'll start with the masterpiece below.
July 4, 2025 at 10:57 PM
It's Friday it's summer, let's have some fun. Drop in the comments the meanest things a reviewer has ever said to you (bonus if it's on a manuscript you think is good & that you ended up publishing in a different journal). I'll start with the masterpiece below.
Idea of the day: For every publication the first author prepares & records a 10-20 minute seminar talk about the work that gets posted on the journal website along with the manuscript.
July 4, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Idea of the day: For every publication the first author prepares & records a 10-20 minute seminar talk about the work that gets posted on the journal website along with the manuscript.
Friends in Los Angels. I am giving a seminar in UCLA tomorrow (Friday May 30th) at 3:30 at Boyer 159. I will be speaking about how stem cells make good decisions when seemingly every signaling pathway in the world is present in their environment telling them to do something totally different.
May 30, 2025 at 12:53 AM
Friends in Los Angels. I am giving a seminar in UCLA tomorrow (Friday May 30th) at 3:30 at Boyer 159. I will be speaking about how stem cells make good decisions when seemingly every signaling pathway in the world is present in their environment telling them to do something totally different.
The turmoil impacting NIH funding is a reminder how important it is that ALL countries have robust & well resourced research funding bodies to support science. The world of science can't rely on the US & the NIH to continue playing such a major role in funding key scientific work
April 18, 2025 at 6:39 PM
The turmoil impacting NIH funding is a reminder how important it is that ALL countries have robust & well resourced research funding bodies to support science. The world of science can't rely on the US & the NIH to continue playing such a major role in funding key scientific work
I've been doing this for 30 years & I still can't believe that when people ask me what I do for a living I get to tell them "I'm a scientist". It feels like a kid's fantasy career that they dress up as for Halloween, like "astronaut" or "pirate". I feel very lucky I get to do this day in & day out.
April 4, 2025 at 1:29 PM
I've been doing this for 30 years & I still can't believe that when people ask me what I do for a living I get to tell them "I'm a scientist". It feels like a kid's fantasy career that they dress up as for Halloween, like "astronaut" or "pirate". I feel very lucky I get to do this day in & day out.
1. I think a common misconception in science policy is that we need to convince regular tax payers that science is worth funding. But I think the data shows this has little effect on science funding.
March 10, 2025 at 1:07 AM
1. I think a common misconception in science policy is that we need to convince regular tax payers that science is worth funding. But I think the data shows this has little effect on science funding.
Over my career I learned that whenever there was a paper, or a technique, or a finding that I thought was totally wrong all I had to do was wait & it would go away. Alternatively, I found out that actually I was the one with the wrong opinion. Whatever the case, I learned that time is my friend.
March 10, 2025 at 12:28 AM
Over my career I learned that whenever there was a paper, or a technique, or a finding that I thought was totally wrong all I had to do was wait & it would go away. Alternatively, I found out that actually I was the one with the wrong opinion. Whatever the case, I learned that time is my friend.
Reposted by TanentzapfLab
Registration is still open to this exciting meeting! Besides cutting edge science and nice people, it’s also a fantastic location to take a bit of a break from it all!
A reminder to colleagues interested in Cell-Matrix adhesion & anything ECM related that registration is now open for the Fibronectin, Integrins & related molecules Gordon Research Conference. Incredible list speakers! incredible location! it will 🔥 🔥 🔥 Please join us! www.grc.org/fibronectin-...
2025 Fibronectin, Integrins and Related Molecules Conference GRC
The 2025 Gordon Research Conference on Fibronectin, Integrins and Related Molecules will be held in Lucca (Barga), Lucca Italy. Apply today to reserve your spot.
www.grc.org
March 5, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Registration is still open to this exciting meeting! Besides cutting edge science and nice people, it’s also a fantastic location to take a bit of a break from it all!
This week has been comically busy, I’ve been so under the cosh that I spent 10 minutes yesterday frantically searching the kitchen for the grater & turns out I randomly put it in the fridge in my absent mindedness. Please share your best "absent minded scientist" story in the comments below.
February 21, 2025 at 4:53 PM
This week has been comically busy, I’ve been so under the cosh that I spent 10 minutes yesterday frantically searching the kitchen for the grater & turns out I randomly put it in the fridge in my absent mindedness. Please share your best "absent minded scientist" story in the comments below.
Reading a nice polished CV is useful & everything but the most important part of my scientific training, the 18 months I spent on a project that failed, which taught me resilience, problem solving, humility, & other such wisdom, is nowhere to be found on my CV. So CVs have their limits.
February 20, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Reading a nice polished CV is useful & everything but the most important part of my scientific training, the 18 months I spent on a project that failed, which taught me resilience, problem solving, humility, & other such wisdom, is nowhere to be found on my CV. So CVs have their limits.
Another reminder. Deadline is approaching, this meeting is going to be awesome. Please join us!
A reminder to colleagues interested in Cell-Matrix adhesion & anything ECM related that registration is now open for the Fibronectin, Integrins & related molecules Gordon Research Conference. Incredible list speakers! incredible location! it will 🔥 🔥 🔥 Please join us! www.grc.org/fibronectin-...
2025 Fibronectin, Integrins and Related Molecules Conference GRC
The 2025 Gordon Research Conference on Fibronectin, Integrins and Related Molecules will be held in Lucca (Barga), Lucca Italy. Apply today to reserve your spot.
www.grc.org
February 19, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Another reminder. Deadline is approaching, this meeting is going to be awesome. Please join us!
1. There is increasingly a trend to tell politicians & the public that there are magic solutions to make science be quick & efficient ("moon shots", "AI", whatever is the got rend of the day). That if we only found some technique or the right funding mechanism it will speed up & be efficient
February 14, 2025 at 5:58 PM
1. There is increasingly a trend to tell politicians & the public that there are magic solutions to make science be quick & efficient ("moon shots", "AI", whatever is the got rend of the day). That if we only found some technique or the right funding mechanism it will speed up & be efficient
Top 10 ways American Science can survive the 15% indirect cap:
1. Breed special transgenic mice that can run for days in tiny hamster wheel turbines to keep lights on.
2. Get athletic program staff to donate 1% of their salaries to the research thus raising 100 billion dollars a year.
1. Breed special transgenic mice that can run for days in tiny hamster wheel turbines to keep lights on.
2. Get athletic program staff to donate 1% of their salaries to the research thus raising 100 billion dollars a year.
February 11, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Top 10 ways American Science can survive the 15% indirect cap:
1. Breed special transgenic mice that can run for days in tiny hamster wheel turbines to keep lights on.
2. Get athletic program staff to donate 1% of their salaries to the research thus raising 100 billion dollars a year.
1. Breed special transgenic mice that can run for days in tiny hamster wheel turbines to keep lights on.
2. Get athletic program staff to donate 1% of their salaries to the research thus raising 100 billion dollars a year.
You can be a PI, you can be on the job for many decades, you can think deeply & thoroughly about how you do things, you can have much wisdom & experience. You can be all of that & still make big dumb painful errors. And as painful as these errors are you pick yourself up, fix things, & go on.
February 11, 2025 at 7:19 PM
You can be a PI, you can be on the job for many decades, you can think deeply & thoroughly about how you do things, you can have much wisdom & experience. You can be all of that & still make big dumb painful errors. And as painful as these errors are you pick yourself up, fix things, & go on.
Look I'm no expert on the intricacies of the US or any other research ecosystem but my basic philosophy is that any funding structure that encourages & incentivises institutions to hire the people who get the most grant funding rather than those who do the best research is inherently bad for science
February 9, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Look I'm no expert on the intricacies of the US or any other research ecosystem but my basic philosophy is that any funding structure that encourages & incentivises institutions to hire the people who get the most grant funding rather than those who do the best research is inherently bad for science
The email inequality principle states that you expect people to reply to your messages immediately but you will not reply to a simple message in your inbox that you just totally know someone is waiting for impatiently.
February 8, 2025 at 7:06 PM
The email inequality principle states that you expect people to reply to your messages immediately but you will not reply to a simple message in your inbox that you just totally know someone is waiting for impatiently.
I love that when RNA splicing was discovered the title of the paper was "An amazing sequence arrangement at the 5′ ends of adenovirus 2 messenger RNA". I think every scientist should get one paper in their career where they get to call their discovery something like "amazing" in the title.
February 8, 2025 at 12:27 AM
I love that when RNA splicing was discovered the title of the paper was "An amazing sequence arrangement at the 5′ ends of adenovirus 2 messenger RNA". I think every scientist should get one paper in their career where they get to call their discovery something like "amazing" in the title.
1. A thread about the value of doing "slow science": When I was in grad school I heard this (likely apocryphal) story about one of my favourite scientists: Barbara McClintock.
January 31, 2025 at 6:20 PM
1. A thread about the value of doing "slow science": When I was in grad school I heard this (likely apocryphal) story about one of my favourite scientists: Barbara McClintock.
1. A viable scientific ecosystem provides a great variety of environments for scientists to thrive. Some need to be left alone & work best in a small group, some like large multidisciplinary consortia, some build a body of work slowly & incrementally over many years, others seek a few big findings
January 31, 2025 at 6:12 PM
1. A viable scientific ecosystem provides a great variety of environments for scientists to thrive. Some need to be left alone & work best in a small group, some like large multidisciplinary consortia, some build a body of work slowly & incrementally over many years, others seek a few big findings