Ed Twomey
Scientist. Structure and function of cell-cell communication with a special interest in neurons & cryo-EM. All opinions are my own.
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyHappy to finally share the amazing results of our long-term collaboration with Karin Reinisch’s lab on how bridge lipid-transfer proteins (BLTPs) cooperate with partner proteins to orchestrate lipid delivery. A quick thread (1/7) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyWhat a breakthrough! Such a puzzle for 30 years, this is real progress! I wonder how general this mechanism of repression is for other systems where highly-selective expression is needed. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyThe Cordero Vásquez Lab is starting the year on a high wheel (see below) with our latest work on the C. elegans PIEZO channel: “Structures of invertebrate PEZO-1 isoforms with a compact architecture and a dispensable pore-distal N-terminal blade”: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 1/5
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyCalcium and magnesium in the pore of NMDA receptors! Lipids play an unexpected role. The hydration shells of Ca2+ and Mg2+ could be the difference between permeation and block. So much physiology in the energetics of H2O. Very stimulating work! Congrats @lab-furukawa.bsky.social #iglurs
- On the mechanism of calcium permeability and magnesium block in NMDA receptors - a central molecular paradigm in neuroplasticity biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyOur new Journal of Neuroscience paper "Cofilin Inhibition Ameliorates PIEZO2 and AMPA Dysfunction in a Mouse Model of Angelman Syndrome (AS)” is out: www.jneurosci.org/content/45/4... 1/6
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyDuring these uncertain times, I’m very happy to see that my institution, @scripps.edu has an open tenure-track Assistant Professor position. Any field in Chemistry or Biology is welcome. I’d especially love to see fellow neuroscientists apply. Please repost! apply.interfolio.com/174756
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyMy OpEd piece in US News & World Report, about not wanting my life to be book-ended by two fascist regimes and about the state of higher education in this country, www.usnews.com/opinion/arti... has now been republished in German translation by JOSHA: josha-journal.org/en/categorie...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyCongrats to the winners! Its notable that Omar Yaghi was a refugee. Refugees and immigrants once again making American science great!
- BREAKING: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi “for the development of metal-organic frameworks” Stay tuned for more. #NobelPrize
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyGreat Job - Great Colleagues - Great Science👍 Help us pick the next generation of @hhmi.org Investigators, Freeman Hrabowski Scholars, Hanna Gray Fellows, Gilliam Fellows Relocation to DC is required, perfect for academic PIs looking for their next chapter hhmi.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/External/job...
- Reposted by Ed Twomey#TeamTomo ❄️🔬 meets #MassSpec Imaging 🧬🔬. Super cool, and great potential for EM grids with mixes of different cell types. For example -- environmental samples! @embltrec.bsky.social 🌍 🧪
- Check out our new preprint on an integrated pipeline combining in situ #cryo-ET with MALDI #MSImaging for single-cell identification and classification from previously analysed EM-grids. Link: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyOur new PNAS paper "Enhanced PIEZO1 function contributes to the pathogenesis of sickle cell disease" is out: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... 1/3
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyCryo-EM snapshots of NMDA receptor activation illuminate sequential rearrangements | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyNew 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...
- Reposted by Ed Twomey
- 🚨🧠🔬 A major breakthrough in molecular neuroscience: I am excited to share a new story from our lab, published in accelerated format today by @nature.com: "Delta-type glutamate receptors are ligand-gated ion channels" Read more here (free article link): rdcu.be/eGIKz
- For decades, scientists have puzzled over the delta glutamate receptors (GluDs), mysterious proteins in the brain that are vital for synapse formation and maintenance, and are directly implicated in psychiatric and neurological disorders, but whose true function was unknown.
- Today, we report the solving of this mystery: delta receptors are actually ligand-gated ion channels - tiny biological switches that power brain activity and learning by turning neurotransmitters into electrical signal.
-
View full thread
- Post an image from your summer that confers peace. (from the Telluride ion channels workshop)
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyHappy to share a new preprint from the Clarke & Vallese (@fravallese.bsky.social) labs reporting #cryoem structures of two RBC stomatin complexes – with AQP1 & UT-B - continuing the SPFH theme from our recent vault preprint! This was a fun one and has been cooking for a while - read on for more! ⬇️
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyFirst pre-print from the Lucas Lab led by Matthew Giammar and @joshdcryoem.bsky.social online today! We develop a new, extensible Python implementation of 2DTM and apply it to build pixel size optimization, constrained search and characterize molecular motions in situ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyThis is not who we are. We must join together to call this out, to make more people understand what is happening and work to stop it.
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyHappy to share the my lab's latest preprint, where we investigated sensorimotor circuit formation in the developing spinal cord. We show that proprioceptive axons target motor neurons in neighboring spinal segments to give rise to intersegmental reflex responses. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyKainate receptor modulation by Neto including an open state. Surprising, to me: I would never have imagined that Neto works like a membrane-tethered lectin (ConA). Auxiliary proteins influence dimer-dimer interactions, as we and others also showed in AMPARs. #iGluRs www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyNew Story in The Atlantic about NIH www.theatlantic.com/health/archi... 1/3
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyCongratulations 2025 Gilliam Fellows and Advisors! 🎉 The Gilliam Fellows Program launches promising PhD students into impactful scientific research careers while fostering inclusive training environments. Through this program, HHMI supports both graduate students and their faculty thesis advisors.
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyNo matter where you went to school, the Trump admin has targeted YOUR college/university for cuts and obedience. If you've got your alumni association's contact info, let them know where you want your alma mater to stand. www.americanprogress.org/article/mapp...
- Checkout this preprint - they find that fever induces long-term synaptic enhancement through AMPARs. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Quite interesting to consider along with our finding that temperature enhances AMPAR activation: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyLink here! guide.cryosparc.com/processing-d...
- Working with symmetric or pseudosymmetric particles in #cryoEM? This TRPV5 and CaM case study includes practical considerations for using symmetry relaxation and 3D classification when analyzing a pseudosymmetric particle in #CryoSPARC!
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyYour participation in the election of the Society's leaders is vital to our future. Exercise your right as a Society member to vote by casting your ballot by August 1 for president-elect and council
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyCome work at Nature Methods! A dream job. I know from experience 😄
- Nature Methods is hiring! We are seeking a new editor with expertise in microscopy, imaging technology, and/or cell biology. The position is available in NYC/Jersey City or Shanghai/Beijing on a hybrid working model. Apply by August 3! springernature.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/SpringerNatu...
- The DEI research cuts we are facing in the US are far-reaching. Proud of a PhD student in my lab, Lucas Dillard, for sharing his story with @nytimes.com (gift link): www.nytimes.com/2025/07/10/u...
- Here is our foray into the biophysics of cation permeation in AMPA receptors, now available as a preprint on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Led by former student Dr. Alejandra Montaño Romero, in collaboration with Albert Lau!
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyWow, just wow! www.nature.com/articles/s41... I was working on that at the MRC-LMB from 2017-2019...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyWow, Raimund does it again. What a super paper. Tweety grabbing the APOE frisbee! #membranes #biophysics
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyAttending the NYC #CryoEM meeting today - looking forward to a fantastic day of science! Thanks @fravallese.bsky.social & Bill Rice for organizing a great meeting, and looking forward to a keynote from Ed Twomey @cryoet.bsky.social this arvo! 🗽❄️🔬
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyCheck out our latest preprint with the Qi lab on the structure and disease physiology of the human ERAD complex. Outstanding work by Leo, a cell physiologist whom we successfully tempted into structural biology! Preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyNYT story about Judge Young’s ruling
- A federal judge on Monday declared the Trump administration’s move to cut hundreds of grants issued by the National Institutes of Health illegal, accusing the government of discrimination against minorities and L.G.B.T.Q. individuals. nyti.ms/4jSIjOG
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyInteresting results. Perampanel (AMPA blocker approved for epilepsy) has a big effect on T-cell mobilisation. Perhaps an off-target effect? Maybe I missed a KO control using the floxed GluA123 mouse. But useful either way, given that Pmp is quite mild. #iGluRs www.science.org/doi/epdf/10....
- Here's our new preprint led by @wdhale.bsky.social with @rhuganir.bsky.social: "Architecture, Activation, and Conformational Plasticity in the GluA4 AMPA Receptor" www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #iGluRs #cryoEM Some key points below that Dylan discovered:
- -Assembly flexibility: GluA4 subunits can substitute for A2 subunits to enable canonical "Y" Shape assemblies where A2 subunits may be absent (e.g., interneurons)
- -Asymmetric gating: GluA4 opens its ion channel asymmetrically across all subunits.
- Conformational plasticity and subconductance: We show that even when all four LBDs are glutamate-bound conformational plasticity in GluA4’s LBDs tunes M3 helix gating. This conformational plasticity may be a way for subconductance to occur in saturating conditions of glutamate.
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyAs the United States cuts budgets and restricts immigration, China and Europe are offering researchers money and stability. Article Link: www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/u...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyThe 3rd Berlin Single Molecule Biophysics Course will run from 8th to 12th September at the HU-Berlin, Institute of Biology. Learn about single channels, single molecule TIRF, theory and analysis. Apply by 7th July at bsmbc@icloud.com. Fee waivers and bursaries available. ! Please share widely !
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyPolitical appointees controlling what constitutes truth or fact in science? Not a great idea. Why not, you ask? Give the HBO show Chernobyl from a few years ago a watch: www.imdb.com/title/tt7366...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyKilmar Abrego Garcia was illegally abducted and is being held in a notorious prison in El Salvador — barred from contacting his family or lawyers. I’m speaking to the press now after we were denied access to the prison to check on his condition. Tune in:
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyHarvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions - rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope others follow suit.
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyThere we go. Support this man.
- Where is Abrego Garcia? @alsobrooks.senate.gov @vanhollen.senate.gov need to rally Congress together ASAP for justice and rule of law. And in this video is clear evidence of intent to expand this disgusting practice.
- Holy shit. Video posted by President Bukele’s team on X shows the moments before his press conference with Trump in which Trump tells him: “We want to do homegrown criminals next. You gotta build about five more places.” (h/t @titonka.bsky.social @michelekelemen.bsky.social)
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyI hope other universities follow suit...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeySo proud of friend & colleague @britshmit.bsky.social for standing up for science. Thank you for all you’re doing to safeguard America’s biomedical research!
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyHopkins researchers use cryoEM microscopy to advance understanding of glutamate AMPA receptor action. Article link: www.oneneurojhu.org/2025/04/02/b...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyGlutamate gating of AMPA-subtype iGluRs at physiological temperatures | Nature #ionchannels www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyPeople/organizations with means and a vision for the future of biomedical science - we need an “Arc Institute” equivalent in the DMV area to sponge up all the incredible talent, opportunity of a lifetime for a visionary entrepreneur, I will help! @mcuban.bsky.social
- As someone who grew up in NJ, and an American, I am so proud of @corybooker.com for making a stand. I would love to see my current representation in the Senate @vanhollen.senate.gov @alsobrooks.senate.gov do the same.
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyStructural Insights into Kainate Receptor Desensitization biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/202…
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyMultiple tenure track positions at @uofguelph.bsky.social! A fantastic 🇨🇦 University with a long history of excellence in biological research. + in Guelph, Ontario (a progressive town of 150k people only 1 hour from Toronto). I have very fond memories of doing my undergrad there just a few years ago
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyWriting an op-ed is not illegal activity. They are revoking visas for thought crimes and for constitutionally protected expression.
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyIt does not work like this. Very very hard to do 'more with less' especially when the culling & slashing has been so careless. Similarly, Vitamin A is not the answer to measles. Vaccines are.
- Reposted by Ed TwomeySo Rumeysa Ozturk is arrested in MA on Tuesday. Her lawyers rush to federal court on Tuesday night and obtain an order—ON TUESDAY NIGHT—not to move her out of MA. All day yesterday, ICE won’t say where she is. And now, on Thursday, they say she’s in Louisiana.
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyNew preprint! @tatilab.bsky.social imaged the honeybee GABAA RDL receptor. ~10% of insecticides target insect GABAA receptors. She found a new allosteric modulation pocket, a PIP2 site, a closed avermectin-bound conformation, and maybe an unusual desensitized state. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Here's our newest study: we reveal the molecular principles of neuronal excitation by glutamate, and how physiological temperatures influence this process. www.nature.com/articles/s41... www.nature.com/articles/d41... Led by @anish-mondal07.bsky.social, published in @natureportfolio.nature.com
- We thought that we could use temperature as a tool to capture the glutamate-activated state of these neuronal receptors. Indeed, we found that physiological temperatures increase the receptor activation probability.
- By preparing our samples for #cryoEM at elevated temperature (e.g., 37 ˚C or 42 ˚C), we were able to capture the glutamate-activated state of the receptor for the first time.
-
View full threadThis study would not be possible without another great collaboration with the Jayaraman lab at UT Health Houston!
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyClosing the gender pay gap would add billions to our economy. Women are paid 75 cents for every $1 paid to a man - that's $14,170/year that could help hardworking families. Let's pass the Paycheck Fairness Act – and do it now when our economy needs all the help it can get.
- Reposted by Ed TwomeyYes, our Midwest AViDD Center just received the termination notice Justification is that 'covid is over' but we worked against viruses with pandemic potential too, including Ebola, Marburg, Zika, Dengue
