James Finley
Associate Prof. and Director of the Locomotor Control Lab at USC. Father x3, slow runner and cyclist, hip hop enthusiast.
- Join us on Monday for the first, joint ReproRehab and @daprdata.bsky.social Statistically Speaking seminar, What is Statistical Power on Monday at 12 pm Pacific.
- 📢 THIS MONDAY on our “Statistically Speaking” webinar: “What is statistical power?” with Dr. Ryan Pohlig. 🗓️ Join us on January 12 @ 3 pm EST! ✉️ RSVP here: docs.google.com/forms/d/1jn6... ❗️You do not need to RSVP for the individual sessions if you have already signed up for the webinar series.
- Reposted by James FinleyToday I made a small but momentous start to work in 2026 by changing a single number. I renamed the file “Papers to write and submit in 2025” to “Papers to write and submit in 2026”. Stay tuned for more file updates on 1st January 2027.
- Reposted by James FinleyBehind every cure, every breakthrough, every treatment — is someone who needed it. If NIH funding helped you, your research, or someone you love, your story can help protect it. Share your “why” and help defend the future of NIH & science. Fill out the form here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
- Reposted by James FinleyOur problem is not that our society does not sufficiently appreciate the economic return on investment in science. It is that we value education and knowledge generation only in economic terms.
- Reposted by James FinleyI am so heartened to this seriously AWESOME #SaveNSF website go up today!!!! Has a take action toolkit with: 1. Press outreach templates 2. Social media toolkit 3. Elected official outreach 4. Talking points Check it out and share widely!!!! Likely more to come. www.savensf.com
- Exciting start to this year's ASNR meeting! Looking forward to kicking off the first oral session in t-minus 30 min
- We're getting close to wrapping up our #ASNR2025 Professional Development Roundtables! So many great discussions and questions from attendees!
- Reposted by James FinleyAt ASNR 2025 @asnrehab.bsky.social and want to go for a morning run? We have a fun group that meets at 6:30 am in the hotel lobby, please feel free to join us tomorrow!
- Reposted by James FinleyMaking final preparations for your trip to Atlanta for #ASNR2025? Make sure to visit our website to browse the full conference program, check out the venue, and learn more about our sponsors and exhibitors! www.asnr.com/files/2025%2... #neurorehabilitation #rehabilitation #rehab #neuroscience
- Reposted by James Finley
- With every new announcement, it feels like we've somehow entered a race to the bottom in education, science, and health.
- NSF will award ~1,000 instead of their usual ~2,000 Graduate Research Fellowships this year. NSF slashes prestigious PhD fellowship awards by half www.nature.com/articles/d41...
- Reposted by James FinleyNSF will award ~1,000 instead of their usual ~2,000 Graduate Research Fellowships this year. NSF slashes prestigious PhD fellowship awards by half www.nature.com/articles/d41...
- Three years ago to the day. Still one of the best ever experiences in my life as a cycling fan.
- Reposted by James FinleyWe are recruiting trainees for the Integrative Movement Sciences Summer Institute. Students will gain research experience in dynamic muscular control of movement across organizational scales from molecular mechanisms to whole-body movement in complex environments. Learn more: tinyurl.com/5n7w6pey
- Wow. I just had a discussion about this very issue last week. One of the underappreciated goals of all the recent anti-DEI propaganda is to make you feel as if those who support DEI efforts are on the fringe. Don't believe the hype.
- Oof. My arch nemesis. Relative changes in the absence of baseline values. The key thing we'd like to know is how these values compare to what would be considered hazardous.
- A new CDC study shows that for several days during the fires, lead levels in the air just south of the Eaton Fire increased roughly 110-fold, compared with levels from a few days earlier. abc7.la/4k29iJb
- Reposted by James FinleyUpon learning that yesterday would be my last day as a program officer at the National Science Foundation, I shared this parting message with my colleagues. The next few months will be frenetic and stressful for them. Here are some things that you can do to help them with the mission ahead. (1)
- This is incredibly upsetting. While the effects of these cancellations are clear to academics, we need to ensure that the wider public is not only aware of what's happening, but also understands how much damage this will cause to health and medical infrastructure, tech innovation, and higher ed.
- Jumps into the line of fire
- Setting aside my beliefs about the current administration's long-term goals, is there a potential world in which a reduction in NIH indirect rates could result in more biomedical research? If (big if) the overall NIH budget remains constant, more funding could be allocated toward direct costs.
- One possible outcome of a reallocation is an increase in overall funding rates, and an increase in the number of funded investigators.
- Aside from assuming a constant NIH budget, the other core assumption here is that indirect rates are truly higher than what is strictly necessary for a given project. If anyone knows of a rigorous financial analysis of true f&a costs, please share.
- Perhaps the key question here is what should we, as biomedical researchers, be advocating for in the long run with regard to budgeting for direct/indirect costs?
- Reposted by James FinleyI know this site only reaches a subset of neuro/ cog professors. If you know a young professor in the area who would benefit from a week of targeted learning about doing good science, good mentoring, networking etc, it would be great if you could forward them: compneurosci.com/Neuro4Pros/i...
- Thanks for the shout-out @asnrehab.bsky.social! If you're reading this in the US, please reach out to your representatives to encourage them to support science and defend the federal workers who are critical contributors to the scientific enterprise.
- Looking to expand your network by connecting with others doing great work in #neurorehabilitation? Follow ASNR Member Dr. @jamesmfinley.bsky.social to learn more about research in his Locomotor Control Lab and other important topics in rehabilitation. #FollowFriday #gait #science #motorcontrol 🧠📈
- Reposted by James FinleyI hope you will all join me in expressing your thanks to the NIH and NSF staff who are working in an impossibly difficult and chaotic environment to keep science going in our country.
- "Now you're under control. And now you do what they told ya."
- Reposted by James FinleyTo our many American friends. The National Academies have assembled a package of resources for researchers facing threats or attacks in the US www.nationalacademies.org/chr/resource...
- Reposted by James FinleyReflective piece by Eve Marder – "What happened to the pursuit of truth" rupress.org/jgp/article/...
- Everyone needs at least one colleague to routinely remind them that sometimes less is more. Do fewer things better. You don't need to solve every interesting problem or answer every interesting question you encounter.
- Reposted by James FinleyAirbnb offers temporary housing to people impacted by Los Angeles wildfires
- Status update for those wondering what things are like in the LA area right now. There are ~4 major fires burning in the region, last I checked, and they've all started in the dry hills and mountains in the area.
- We live in Pasadena, where the Eaton fire has devastated much of the local community (see map at the link below to get a sense of the scale of the damage). maps.app.goo.gl/fPQn22sYWa8P... This a.m., the evacuation area was extended to within a few blocks of us, so we packed the essentials and ✌🏾.
- On the way out, I captured this video less than 3 mi from our house. So far, our local neighborhood is still some distance from the fire, but we now know that at last 7 close friends have lost their homes.
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View full threadI sincerely hope that those who've lost their homes will be able to rebuild, but I'm particularly afraid that the aftermath will involve a permanent mass displacement of an already shrinking black population in the area. This whole thing is hard to comprehend and incredibly sad all around.
- Reposted by James FinleyIf your home or business was damaged or destroyed in a wildfire, California Insurance Commissioner Richard Lara says don't sign anything right away. Here's what you need to know:
- Reposted by James FinleyA really nice special issue in @jphysiol.bsky.social by Dr. Chris Sundberg “Physiology of ageing skeletal muscle and the protective effects of exercise” feat. some work by our lab and many others! Check it out @myoblue.bsky.social physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/14697793...
- Reposted by James Finleynot sure if some people understand that part of what makes creating so rewarding is the fact that it *is* hard. It doesn’t matter if you’re been painting or writing for 80 years— every piece will have problems that need solving, and few things feel better than figuring it out.
- I love this idea. A couple of years ago, I did a personal inventory to estimate how much time I was spending annually on service-related endeavors and it was very eye-opening. Had to step away from some ongoing commitments to try and do better in the areas of my job that I felt were most important.
- As we start a new year and new semester, it's a good time to think about how we spend our time. Years ago I made a little check-in with myself to help do this. In the past it's proved useful! github.com/jpeelle/peri...
- Reposted by James FinleyAgreed that these can be extremely useful! And I'm often surprised how many colleagues aren't always aware of their own uni's agreements. Here's OSU's: library.osu.edu/transforming...
- Are my fellow members of #academicsky aware that many universities have agreements with select publishers to allow authors to publish open access articles at no cost (to the authors)? Here's an example of USC's agreement. libguides.usc.edu/openaccess/t...
- Are my fellow members of #academicsky aware that many universities have agreements with select publishers to allow authors to publish open access articles at no cost (to the authors)? Here's an example of USC's agreement. libguides.usc.edu/openaccess/t...
- This can be a wonderful way to retain funds for research expenditures that have a positive ROI.
- Dear journal publishers, why, in the year 2025, are we still reviewing manuscripts with line numbers that aren't aligned with the text?
- Reposted by James FinleyFind out more about JEB's new article type, Theory & Modelling, allowing scientists to publish research leveraging modelling and theory to address new biological questions, in Sheila Patek, Monica Daley, Matt McHenry & Sanjay Sane's Editorial journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/...
- Perfect way to close out academicsky for the year. I'll be saving the term reply-allmageddon for future use.
- Reposted by James FinleySummer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) are invaluable opportunities for undergraduates to gain research experience, career development and mentorship! Join us Friday, Jan 10 at noon ET for an information session with universities on the application process. Register 👉🏽 tinyurl.com/4mzjyz9 🧪
- Reposted by James Finley🚨New WP🚨 We examine news sharing on 7 platforms: 1)Right-leaning platforms=lower quality news 2)Echo-platforms: Right-leaning news gets more engagement on right-leaning platforms, vice-versa for left-leaning 3)But low-quality news gets more engagement EVERYWHERE, even BlueSky! osf.io/preprints/ps...
- Where do people stand on the use of active vs passive voice in scientific writing? I've worked with people who exclusively use active voice, and I subscribed to this approach in the past, but I actually prefer something like an 80-20 balance to reduce the monotony.
- Reposted by James Finley[This post could not be retrieved]
- Dear Netflix, we need the Snyder Cut of Arcane.
- Reposted by James FinleyThe strain on scientific publishing: we set out to characterise the remarkable growth of the scientific literature in the last few years, in spite of declining growth in total scientists. What is going on? direct.mit.edu/qss/article/... A 🧵 1/n #AcademicSky #PhDchat #ScientificPublishing #SciPub
