Angie Voyles Askham

This week we’re at #NASAKennedySpaceCenter preparing human brain tissue models for space, just in time for #WorldSpaceWeek! 🚀 Follow along to see how microgravity and radiation affect interactions across major brain cell types, with insights for astronauts and for neurodegeneration on Earth.

Blood vessels in the brain deteriorate in Alzheimer’s, especially in APOE4 carriers. But what drives this damage? Our new study, out now in @cellpress.bsky.social, uncovers a mechanism linking APOE4 to vascular fibrosis and amyloid accumulation in the brain. 🧠🧬

New website for @suthanalab.bsky.social at Duke. Neuroscience in motion — built by @stellatecomms.bsky.social to match the ambition of the science. suthanalab.com | stellatecomms.com/creative-portfolio

Applications are now open for our fall science reporting internship! This is an excellent opportunity for a beginning science journalist to report and write about the fast-moving field of neuroscience. Apply now: simonsfoundation.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/simonsfounda... #neuroskyence

Charlatans taking advantage of vulnerable people - just the lowest, most grotesque sort of behavior... www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

We're recruiting postdocs to study how people build structured knowledge from experience & use it to act flexibly. Behavioral work, fMRI, computational & AI models, with a lifespan focus. You don't need experience with every method; fit & curiosity matter most. Please repost & share! 🧠

Some big professional news! I'm so excited to be on this team!

The requested boost would help counter the planned sunsetting of one of the program’s long-standing funding streams, which will result in a $195 million drop in funding for fiscal year 2027. By @avaskham.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/funding/lett...

Explore “Brainstorming,” @thetransmitter.bsky.social’s new LinkedIn newsletter that looks at how neuroscientists are solving research challenges. The first edition features nontraditional model organisms that are well suited for studying certain behaviors or neurological conditions. bit.ly/4v6x506

“In her obituary, her mentee, Catherine Veil, says that [Marcelle Lapicque] fought against the prejudices of her time … it may be that the prejudices included race and not just sexism,” says @oligoclonalband.medsky.social. #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/history-of-n...

"The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) has so far not received approval to spend any of the research funding allocated in a budget bill signed into law on 3 February. " www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Functional MRI scans of more than 100 2-month-old infants suggest that they are capable of distinguishing among a variety of different objects. The findings challenge perceptions of cognitive development as a gradual process. By @helenak.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/cognitive-ne...

Thanks Angie! If you’re starting out your career in neuroscience check out our early career newsletter. It features articles catered towards early career researchers, job opportunities and much more!

The one gene that makes mice good dads—or infanticidal parents. By @natmesanash.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/social-behav...

Ken Catania's class at Vanderbilt that covered the neurobiology of fascinating animals like the star-nosed mole is one of the reasons I pursued a career in neuroscience! So fun to read this Q&A:

#neuroskyence

“As long as we can remain optimistic about the future of science and communicate that optimism to young people, we’re going to be fine,” says Walter Koroshetz, former NINDS director. By @avaskham.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/science-and-...

Former NINDS director Walter Koroshetz sat down with @avaskham.bsky.social to reflect on his tenure and share his thoughts on the "attempts at influence" from politicians www.thetransmitter.org/science-and-...

A letter signed by 40 neuroscience groups asks Congress to ensure that scientific expertise remains a priority in the search for a new director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. By @avaskham.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/science-and-...

The bill includes a 33 percent budget increase for the NIH’s BRAIN Initiative, which has faced significant funding cuts over the past two years. By @avaskham.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/funding/neur...

🚨 New from me: Grant review at more than half of NIH's institutes could be frozen by the end of the year. That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027. A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications. A short 🧵

A new method for delivering genes to the primate brain enables researchers to apply existing genetic tools across the monkey brain. By @avaskham.bsky.social www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/pre...

Good news from NIH! Michael Chiang has apparently been reappointed as Director of the National Eye Institute www.nei.nih.gov/about/our-mi...

Reposting with comments. NIDDK budget appears to be cut because there is a separate fund for diabetes, elsewhere in the bill. NINDS budget is increased because of funds transferred from the Office of the Director (OD) for ALS, Alzheimer's. NIEHS seems like a real cut. OD cut is related to NINDS.

A mathematical glitch means that lesion network mapping, which aims to find condition-specific dysfunctional networks, produces strikingly similar results regardless of the condition being studied:

What can the Brain Knowledge Platform do for you? 🧠📈 Join us on Jan. 14, 11am-12pm PT for a webinar on the new features and data in world's most comprehensive brain cell atlas. 🔗 https://alleninstitute-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Le5E4CXGSA2clMJ2VesyBw#/registration

“It’s giving mechanistic insight into how estrogen modulates reinforcement learning—all the way down to the molecular mechanism,” says Ilana Witten. By @avaskham.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/sex-hormones...

Given the issues facing neuroscience around government policy and funding, the naming of an outsider to SfN’s top position caught some neuroscientists by surprise. By Natalia Mesa #neuroskyence #SfN2025 #SfN25 www.thetransmitter.org/teaching/kev...

While I was out on maternity leave, the Transmitter team produced this incredibly rich and informative special report on the state of neuroscience as a field. It's out now — go explore it here!! #neuroskyence

Join us on Dec. 2 for a webinar on the major advances in basal ganglia mapping, including cross-species cellular mapping and open-access visualization tools. 📅 Dec. 2, 9-10:30am PT 📍 Online 🔗 Register: https://alleninstitute.org/events/neuroscience-cell-types-webinars/ #studyBRAIN #neuroskyence

The U.K. has released its plan to phase out animal testing in research, as a number of countries move toward reducing the use of animals. www.statnews.com/2025/11/11/u...

“This neural configuration before amputation remains after the amputation. And it’s not ‘use it or lose it,’” says John W. Krakauer. By @avaskham.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/plasticity/a...

The Trump administration violated impoundment law by canceling NIH grants, slowing new awards, a scathing report by GAO finds. Story via @mmolteni.bsky.social and @aniloza.bsky.social for @statnews.com www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/g...

Thanks @avaskham.bsky.social & @thetransmitter.bsky.social for including me in this discussion of why individual differences matter. My work & others show that tracking individual behavior can reveal circuits & mechanisms that group averages miss #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/animal-behav...

Our award-winning news team is looking for an enthusiastic trade journalist to join our fast-paced newsroom in NYC. This is an excellent opportunity for a science journalist to develop a beat in the field of neuroscience. For more info, please visit: bit.ly/4nvAy4k #neuroskyence

In a head-spinning pair of announcements on Wednesday, the National Institutes of Health told staff that it would lift its monthslong freeze on all research funding to Columbia University — then reversed its reversal, emails show. New from me: www.chronicle.com/article/colu...

I'd like to make a list of PhD programs that (1) are in Europe (which does include the UK); (2) offer opportunities in systems neuroscience; and obviously (3) pay a stipend. Please share and/or respond to add your suggestions?

Great reporting from @claudia-lopez.bsky.social:

For black-capped chickadees, looking out at a location activates the same place cells as actually being there, a study from Columbia University shows. By @martajhill.bsky.social #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/hippocampus/...

In this excerpt, I fast forward to the end of Elusive Cures to explain why I am so unequivocally optimistic about the next steps for brain research. For those of you who (like me) like to listen, I've narrated this clip (~10 min). The text is there too. Thank you @thetransmitter.bsky.social team.

For news, perspectives and more to help you navigate the early stages of your neuroscience career, visit our Early-Career Neuroscientists Resource Center: www.thetransmitter.org/early-career...

In the background over the past few weeks, I wrote an obituary of Peter Lax for Nature. He was one of my dad's best friends and one of my favorite people in the world. He was also an incredibly influential mathematician. [Gift Link thanks to Nature] rdcu.be/eqmiR

Democrat Jeff Merkley says "it's my understanding no existing [Alzheimer's grants] have been cancelled." That's not true. Tens of millions of dollars in Alzheimer's grants — many of them for training — have been cut. See @scott-delaney.bsky.social & @noamross.net's Grant Watch database here.