James Gagnon
I'm an associate professor @UofUBiology, Utah, USA
gagnonlab.org | fish stuff in and out of the tank
- Reposted by James GagnonIt gives me comfort that my weird science obsessions protect me from the algo. Like, sorry honey, you're gonna have to sort a whole bunch posts about hagfish slime before you figure out what brand of sweatpants I prefer.
- Reposted by James GagnonI’m recruiting new members to the Farrell Lab this summer. We will have space for 1 postdoc (since Abhinav is leaving to start his own lab at U Arizona!!) and 2 postbacs, since my current two will leave for PhD programs at the end of the summer. More details in thread:
- Is this the greatest thread in the history of science blue sky?
- Cow Tools! We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years. We breed them and exploit them It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS Here I describe our study (paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social with @auersperga.bsky.social
- Reposted by James GagnonShe uses the bristled end of a deck brush on her back and hindquarters, using repeated place-and-pull motions. For more sensitive areas such as the belly flap, udder, and anal region, she switches to the stick end, using careful, repeated poke-and-lift movements. See video link: youtu.be/bAk4PFEuWKQ
- Reposted by James GagnonDon't miss out. Apply to our 2026 Advanced Research Training Courses today!
- Reposted by James GagnonDefending PhD student, looking over their thesis: “If I knew then what I know now, I could’ve done all of this in like 9 months.” A thread about my favorite pioneering cave explorers and why I don’t think AI will ever “solve” biology.
- Reposted by James GagnonOver the past weeks I have been reading the earliest papers on zebrafish development, and came to realize that in the “canonized" version of zebrafish history we neglect some important people pre-Streisinger. I will try to correct here the record. Let’s start with Edward C. Roosen-Runge. (1/7)
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- Reposted by James GagnonHappy to highlight an essay I wrote together with @marcdemanuel.bsky.social, @natanaels.bsky.social and Anastasia Stolyarova, trying to think through what sets the mutation rate of a cell type in an animal species: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 1/n
- Reposted by James GagnonShe let me know that they recently received guidance that, ONLY for the January EI deadline (1/27/2026) and the February ESI deadline (2/3/2026), PIs can submit MIRAs even if their previous application (R35, R01, R15, R21, and R37) is still considered under review.
- Reposted by James GagnonI was today years old when I learned that there is a superb (freely available) documentary from 1961 on early zebrafish development by J.V. Durden. collection.nfb.ca/film/embryon... (1/2)
- FYI - if you already have a pending MIRA application, you need the summary statement in hand by Jan 27th to hit this first FOA deadline.
- I think some folks might be happy to see this. NIGMS MIRA R35 for EI/NI has been published. PAR-26-121 files.simpler.grants.gov/opportunitie...
- Reposted by James GagnonNeuro grad students! Applications for the 6th annual - Rising Stars in Neuroscience - due Jan 9! Don’t miss this chance to present research, sharpen science communication skills and connect with peers & faculty. Plus you’ll get to experience stunning Utah! medicine.utah.edu/neurobiology...
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- Reposted by James Gagnon***Important*** BIO will host a Virtual Office Hour (VOH) on Thurs, Dec 18th, 2025, 1 - 2 pm ET. In this VOH, we’ll be joined by leadership to outline updates to NSF’s review process & share news relevant to all areas of research funded by BIO. Register here: nsf.zoomgov.com/webinar/regi...
- Reposted by James GagnonApplications are open for @dev-journal.bsky.social 2026 Pathway to Independence (PI) programme, supporting postdocs applying for group leader positions: Mentoring Profile raising Leadership training Network building Spread the word... www.biologists.com/grants/devel...
- Reposted by James GagnonSAVE THE DATE! Stoked to organize the 2026 Santa Cruz Developmental Biology Meeting with @rashmi-priya.bsky.social, @lowelab.bsky.social, and Shelbi Russell. Come learn about Biomedicine, Biomechanics, and the Biosphere, August 24-28, 2026. Registration dates, etc., coming soon! Please RT
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- Reposted by James GagnonI am so excited to share new work on a TE insertion that regulates iridescence in swordtails, led by fantastic grad student @nadiahaghani.bsky.social and with help from many coauthors! In a time that has been so difficult to navigate, this & other projects have kept my spirits up: shorturl.at/NE65A
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- Reposted by James GagnonNow published! Our paper on: (1) Accurate sequencing of sperm at scale (2) Positive selection of spermatogenesis driver mutations across the exome (3) Offspring disease risks from male reproductive aging [1/n] www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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- Reposted by James Gagnon💥OUR LAB IS HIRING!!💥 We are hiring a research assistant/lab manager to assist with managing our axolotl colony and enabling some kick-ass science! Looking for high levels of organization, collaboration, problem solving and curiosity. Application link: tinyurl.com/3tpvphpm #SciJob #JobAlert
- Reposted by James Gagnon1🧵 Excited to share my first PhD paper, published in @dev-journal.bsky.social What if fish gills —often overlook —hold secrets about development, patterning, and function? We uncovered how early patterning shapes adult gill architecture. journals.biologists.com/dev/article/... #DevBio #Zebrafish
- Reposted by James GagnonCome be my colleague in the department of neuroscience at OSU. We are hiring for an open rank tenure track faculty position in several focus areas. neurojobs.sfn.org/job/39081/te...
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- Reposted by James GagnonNow published @natecoevo.nature.com with @annika-nichols.bsky.social, our latest on the evolution of 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 across 𝟲𝟬 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 of cichlid fishes! doi.org/10.1038/s415... with members of the @schierlab.bsky.social and Salzburger labs, as well as the burgeoning Shafer lab @uoftcellsysbiol.bsky.social
- Reposted by James GagnonProposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation “would cause immense and largely irreversible damage to the successful American scientific enterprise,” write Jerry Kaplan and Dana Carroll in an op-ed.
- Reposted by James GagnonHappy to announce our paper comparing embryonic gene expression between C. elegans and C. briggsae, work led by Christopher Large with Rupa Khanal and in collaboration with Junhyong Kim and Bob Waterston. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by James GagnonWe are excited to announce the winner of the Chi-Bin Chien Award, Dr. Victoria Deneke! See more about Dr. Deneke and the CBC Award here: www.izfs.org/news/congrat... @impvienna.bsky.social @vdeneke.bsky.social
- To dissect the gene regulatory networks used to build organisms, we need Perturb-seq-like tools that work in whole animals. For this purpose, we developed MIC-Drop-seq, a tool that couples high-throughput CRISPR in zebrafish embryos with single-cell RNAseq. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- In one experiment, we mutated 50 transcription factors and measured the consequences to 74 cell types across ~1000 embryos. We found a lot of cool things, including many new phenotypes that we could confirm with other methods.
- Reposted by James GagnonThe Department of Human Genetics at the University of Utah is sponsoring the Rising Stars in Genetics and Genomics symposium! - We are seeking nominations bu June 1. - September 18-19, 2025 - Please share with the star postdocs that you know. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
- Reposted by James GagnonHappy to share a new preprint from my lab! We characterize the on/off kinetics, light dosage-dependence, and more for a suite of optogenetic signaling activators in zebrafish embryos 💡 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- This is an exciting time for reproductive research in fish, let's get together and talk about it at the Reproduction session!🪺 If you are on team germ cells and gonads, please RT and send in abstracts @marymullins.bsky.social @yanivelkouby.bsky.social @erezraz.bsky.social @zebrafishrock.bsky.social
- Reposted by James GagnonFeatured article: The lives of cells, recorded go.nature.com/4g2gRwG by Amjad Askary, Wei Chen, @choijunhong.bsky.social, Lucia Y. Du, @elowitzlab.bsky.social, @james-gagnon.bsky.social, @schierlab.bsky.social, @seidels.bsky.social, @jshendure.bsky.social, @tanjastadler.bsky.social & Martin Tran
- Reposted by James GagnonLetter from the SSE/SSB/ASN councils on the scientific understanding of sex and gender, pls RT
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- Reposted by James GagnonNew preprint out now! The history of some RNA virus lineages that infect vertebrates might date back to our invertebrate ancestors. Read more here: biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
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- Today is the final lecture of my 7th (and possibly last) time teaching undergraduate Cell Biology. Over the years 2,554 students have finished my class! 20+ years ago, this class convinced me to be a biologist, and I hope I passed that spark along to some of my students 🧬🔬🦠🧑🔬
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- I loved working on this future-focused review with an absolute Murderer's Row of smarties in the DNA recording field. Hope we can all meet in person some day!
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