Gord Fishell
labs at HMS Neurobiology and the Stanley center at the Broad, doing our best to understand cortical interneurons through developmental genetics and physiology.
- Excited to be on the organization meeting for the 6th annual NCM conference on Neural Circuits in Health & Disease. Terrific line up of speakers!
- Excited for the publication of our recent work on how pyramidal cells shape the identity of interneurons in the Cortex! Big shout out to @artofbiology and Sherry Jingjing wu! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Thrilled to see our PNAS paper featured in @giacomoi.bsky.social commentary. A fantastic recognition of how biologically grounded cortical microcircuits can accelerate the next generation of NeuroAI—and a meaningful step connecting it to neuroscience www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
- Excited to report the publication of LARIS, a program that can predict spatiotranscriptic LIgand-Receptor interactions. This work was led by @artofbiology (Min Dai in my lab) with Fei Chen's lab at the Broad. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- And now the Neuromorphic piece has been picked up a one of the 10 most notable AI papers this week! Exciting! Well done Suraj!! aiworld.eu/story/this-w...
- Well to complement my son's efforts here is some background into my own first foray into neuromorphic computing. The original article can be seen in PNAS! A big shout out to Suraj Honnuraiah, who made it all happen! www.growkudos.com/publications...
- Well when it rains it pours. My son Will @fishell_will , just published a paper on biorxiv, much closer to my heart with my lab member Suraj Honnuraiah on spiking neural networks and understanding why they struggle as LLMs. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- In a whimsical review of his arXiv.org paper, my son Will discusses the use of TempoBench in evaluating LLMs. I particularly enjoyed the faux ad for the TempoBench "product". You go Will! wfishell.github.io/landing.html
- Really excited to see my son Will @fishell_will publish his first work Tempobench that measures temporal causality and reasoning in LLMs. arxiv.org/abs/2510.27544
- New updated on how pyramidal neurons impact interneuron subtypes. Turns out spontaneous activity, Wnt signaling in PV Interneurons and integrin-signaling in SST neurons are the culprits! Also see how optimal transport tracks identity.https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.07.20.604399v2
- I am so excited about this combined analysis of the selective CRHR2 population within the lateral septum and how they control defensive behavior. Dionnet was truly a gifted graduate student. Keep your eyes on this one!
- Our new preprint: 𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐦 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. We describe how the LS guides defensive responses by forming critical computations built from functionally and molecularly distinct cells and their afferent inputs. www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
- At my last year of attending the McKnight conference. Such an amazing group of scientists. A big shout out to Lauren Orefice who gave an amazing talk this morning!
- Here is a chat with Bosilijka Tasic and myself about the enhancer-mediated AAVs that we were both centrally involved in publishing. I truly believe these approaches are fundamentally important for both basic and clinical approaches! braininitiative.nih.gov/news-events/...
- So I open up the NYtimes and there is my pal @ardemp.bskyverified.social saying that despite funding cuts he is staying in this country that he loves. Keep the faith you all!.... www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/u...
- Reposted by Gord Fishell
- Reposted by Gord Fishell"Exploring brain circuits, one cell type—or more— at a time" www.cell.com/neuron/fullt... Bosiljka Tasic & @gordfishell.bsky.social @cp-neuron.bsky.social
- Yep, glad people in europe are taking notice. Hey guys, we are having a giant fire sale! Top scientists looking for relocation to the other side of the pond. Sad!
- Our recent paper in Science was co-led by @sandehaan.bsky.social, former PhD student in a @ki.se -NIH project. NIH support for international projects is transformative, seeding dynamic collaborations, and looks like it may stop. It is with great sorrow that I watch the dismantling of US science.
- Reposted by Gord FishellOne thousand candidate enhancers tested in vivo in the mouse brain! A massive resource and oh so useful as validation set for genome-wide enhancer prediction methods. Super fun to be involved in one of the papers: ‘the prediction challenge paper’ by Nelson&Niklas et al www.cell.com/cell-genomic...
- Here is the collective effort of 12 labs, lead by my own at the Broad to target the range of cortical interneuron subtypes! These tools should be a game changer for all of you using NHP and other less genetically amenable species! Have at it! urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=htt...
- Check out the neuroview and all the great articles of new tools to target different cell types with enhancer-mediated AAVs!
- New Neuron issue! Discover methods for accessing neuronal and non-neuronal cell types in the CNS from the BRAIN Armamentarium Consortium. 🧠🔧 Read insights from Bosiljka Tasic & @gordfishell.bsky.social: www.cell.com/neuron/fullt... Explore the full issue here: www.cell.com/neuron/current
- Even though it is spring....it seems to have gotten dark lately...."Within the last several days, Harvard University has received letters from most federal agencies indicating that nearly all of HMS’s active, direct federal grants have been terminated."
- I will fly to anywhere in the United States on my own dime to talk to people about basic science! I encourage all of you, particularly senior scientists to make this commitment. If you are looking for material ask @karalmarshall.bsky.social She has put together an amazing basic talk!
- OK inspired by @karalmarshall.bsky.social I am reaching out to the public where ever I can. Traditionally Republicans have been incredibly supportive of science. We as scientists need to reach out to people across the spectrum to rally their support for basic science!
- OK inspired by @karalmarshall.bsky.social I am reaching out to the public where ever I can. Traditionally Republicans have been incredibly supportive of science. We as scientists need to reach out to people across the spectrum to rally their support for basic science!
- Ask Kara for this talk! It is an amazing walk through for the general public.mmI am going to give a general talk to the public every time I am traveling through the USA. I have had a wonderful career. It is my students and postdocs I am worried about 🥺. Come help out!
- 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
- Reposted by Gord FishellGave 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
- Given all that is going on consider this quote from Bertram Russell's 1930 book The conquest of Happiness: “The man who can be interested in the structure of atoms or the way in which a beetle navigates, is likely to get a joy in life which no amount of success in the pursuit of power can give. ”
- Heads up: A ton of papers from my group at the Broad, Pittsburgh, Irvine, Caltech, Duke, Berkeley and especially the Allen are on deck for a big consortium publication on new methods to target range of specific neuronal and non-neuronal cells coming out in Neuron and associated journals May 20th!
- Nuff said...https://www.harvard.edu/president/news/2025/the-promise-of-american-higher-education/
- Color in the lines of your favorite proteins....can't wait to see David Ginty's full chest tattoo of a Pacinian corpsule!!!
- The time has come for all of America to reflect where they stand on the question of academic freedom...
- Take a look at the harvard web site...We have our break-throughs and next generation drugs on full display! Come take a look at the new wonders of medicine! So proud to be a part of it!!! Harvard.edu
- Reposted by Gord FishellHarvard 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.
- And so the fight begins in earnest!
- As Sun Tzu said "Do not press a desperate enemy too hard. Leave him a way of escape." After what happened to Columbia, it's pretty clear capitulation is not a viable option.
- Harvard takes a stand, although after Columbia it is not clear what other choice they had.
- We all owe america so much! I arrived in NYC from Canada in 1989 with ambition and a dream! I hope America keeps letting us all keep paying it forward!
- Published an op-ed for @cnn.com: “Nobel laureate: I owe America my success. Today, its scientific future is in danger.” A personal reflection on what’s at stake as science funding gets slashed. I’d be grateful if you could amplify both in and beyond the science world. www.cnn.com/2025/04/09/h...
- Great idea! Let's see more people follow @imprida.bsky.social lead
- This should be a trend! Everyone can post their very first paper—let’s celebrate where our journeys began and revive that early science forever! #MyFirstPaper
- Following up on @lmprida.bsky.social with my very first paper on striatal patch cells during development from 1987: starting my 38 year journey to explore how cells create pattern. c.f. this to my latest biorxiv on interneurons. www.jneurosci.org/content/7/7/... www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- I love the retrospective of our lives. The journey from Physics to brain function. Got to love it!!❤️
- 30 years ago, my first paper with @ricardsole.bsky.social was published. I was a curious student trying to understand how the 🧠 works. Still chasing neurons… and loving the ride! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- Me too. This storm may take all of us down but I came to the United States for science and have never lived without democracy. Keep the faith!!
- Was happy to sign this letter: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/s...
- To reiterate: without democracy and science....what do we really have left?
Proud to be a signatory of this statement from 1900 members of NASEM: We call on the administration to cease its wholesale assault on U.S. science, and we urge the public to join this call. docs.google.com/document/d/1...
- If democracy and science go away, what do we have left?
- And then sent on to others “Hi All, I received this like many or all of you. Personally, I was on the fence about signing onboard but in discussing this with Alex Schier we went over the words of Martin Niemöller “First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out” and decided to sign."
- I was asked to sign a letter by a bunch of national academy of science people arguing against Trump’s attacks on science and after a bit of hesitation did.
- Posted a lot about my concerns about science in the USA. I am going to take a break and focus on questions. Just posted two things that puzzle me on GRNs and non-autonomous signaling and quantitive analysis of cortical circuits. Take a breath and consider some tough questions!
- With regards to GRNs...We find that interneurons alter their identity when apposed to different pyramidal neurons (Wu et al. Biorxiv 2024). How do surface signals alter TF expression to change GRNs? Linking this will explain a lot of how cortical circuits are so precise!
- Working on understanding the diversity of neuronal circuits. Myh8 SST interneurons qualitatively target 66% ET and 33% IT but how much variance is there in specific individual neurons....we need a quantitive answer to this for distinct neuronal types.
- So it seems the newspapers paid scant attention to the "stand up for science". Led by @jmgrohneuro.bsky.social a letter by the NIMH BSC reversed the termination of three young scientists. Your voice for science matters. Make yourself heard.
- Reposted by Gord FishellBusy day. Prospective students visiting @scripps.edu and Standing up for Science especially for the next generation of scientists!
- Well, some good news. Determination of Soohyun Lee, Mark Histed, Toby Merton seems to have been reversed and all three of them have been rehired. Not the end of the journey but a good first step.
