Chrystal Starbird

11 Nov 2024

Hi All! I’m a structural biologist who studies the structural basis of signaling via RTKs. I’m a new Assistant Professor at UNC and a #firstgen scholar who fights to make science accessible! I’m a bit spicy 😁, but try my best to lead with kindness. A recent lab outing:

Looking forward to Seattle meet up 2.0 next month at ABRCMS!!! We were all baby PIs here (now we’re exhausted baby PIs 😂)

lostwomenofscience.orgA Pioneer Behind X-ray Crystallography, Isabella KarleIsabella Karle, a chemist and x-ray crystallographer changed the course of science through her revolutionary, complex discoveries. Why did her husband get all the credit?

Latest podcast: This podcast highlights “Lost Women in Science”, and in this episode we talk about Isabella Karle and her work to solve the phase problem in crystallography www.lostwomenofscience.org/podcast-epis...

Chrystal Starbird reposted

Luis Cedeño-Rosario, PhD

@luisci22.bsky.social

Excited to share my new preprint from the @rutterlab.bsky.social! What sets a cell’s metabolic state? Using MPC1 as a readout in a CRISPR screen, we found that β-catenin regulates metabolic state in liver cancer cells, driving a switch from carbohydrate to fat oxidation. 🧵

Chrystal Starbird reposted

Kevin Pruitt

@dr-kevin-pruitt.bsky.social

Congrats to @dalimartinez.bsky.social who won the Joseph S. Pagano Award for her paper describing new roles of a regulator of development co-opted in cancer. The award honors UNC Lineberger Cancer Center's founding director. Thanks @unclineberger.bsky.social for making this possible! rdcu.be/ewwsZ

Chrystal Starbird reposted

Crystal D. Rogers

@rogerslabucd.bsky.social

It was a pleasure chatting with @stemcellpodcast.com and @waisman-ar.bsky.social! Thank you for inviting me to be a part of this episode!

Stem Cell Podcast@stemcellpodcast.com

🔔 Tune into this special live recording at the @alleninstitute.org with Drs. Crystal Rogers (@rogerslabucd.bsky.social) and Ariel Waisman (@waisman-ar.bsky.social) where they share their journey of navigating early-career hurdles and adapting to lab leadership. Listen now: https://bit.ly/47mVcwO

@amays-bwfund.bsky.social

Came back from my trip to find this in the mail! Applying to be a Keystone Fellow was one of the best things I’ve done as junior faculty. It’s a wonderful scientific community mixed with academic and industry partners. Thanks!

Chrystal Starbird reposted

Alfred M. Mays

Voices in Science! Can't thank this amazing team enough! Dr. George Langford and Dr. Sherilynn Black! Trail creation and trailblazing! #bwfenrichment

@rogerslabucd.bsky.social

22 years! #anniversary

Chrystal Starbird reposted

Crystal D. Rogers

I had a really fun time taping this episode live at the Symposium! I can’t wait to hear how it turned out! Huge thanks to @stemcellpodcast.com for having us on! 🤩

Stem Cell Podcast@stemcellpodcast.com

🎙️Next week, we drop a special live recording from the @alleninstitute.org! We invited two guests to discuss realities they face as early career researchers. Dr. Crystal Rogers (@rogerslabucd.bsky.social): https://bit.ly/46Lny3u Dr. Ariel Waisman (@waisman-ar.bsky.social): https://bit.ly/4hNKlBS

When you stop on the way to your anniversary vacation to help your son help his friend fix their car 🤷🏾‍♀️😂

My younger son types 200 wpm. These kids really are something else 🤯

Chrystal Starbird reposted

And… I am SO excited to share the first research preprint from my group! In this paper we determined several cryoEM structures to visualize the entire cell-to-cell bridging complex formed by TAM receptor and ligand, bringing into 3D a common graphical depiction. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

nobelprize.orgHow X-rays and crystals revealed the true nature of things - NobelPrize.orgThe story behind the 100-year-old discovery that continues to render Nobel Prizes.

Might see a familiar name in this article celebrating 100 years of crystallography 😉 🫶🏾

RCSB Protein Data Bank@rcsbpdb.bsky.social

How X-rays and crystals revealed the true nature of things The story behind the 100-year-old discovery that continues to render Nobel Prizes.

cell.comTransforming myself and academia for goodDr. Chrystal Starbird is the winner of the first Rising Black Scientist Award for a post-graduate scholar. For this award, we asked emerging Black scientists to tell us about the experiences that spar...

We are excited to share research, but I want to take some time to share a little about myself. I LOVE science, but I also spend a lot of time advocating for more inclusive science. This work is promoted by my own obstacles in pursuing science which I talk about here: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

@biorxiv-biophys.bsky.social

*prompted 🤦🏾‍♀️😁

Chrystal Starbird reposted

bioRxiv Biophysics

Structural basis of phosphatidylserine enhancement of Gas6 ligand-induced Axl activation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.30.755801v1

And, of course, being a Mom is my MOST important job. So, if you follow me, know that you will hear about all of the above. I LOVE science. I am a scientist. But I’ll never just focus on the science (couldn’t if I even tried, though I don’t want to try)

starbirdlab.comThe Starbird Lab – Structural Biology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Community

You can learn more about our lab and my amazing team of curious and hardworking scientists on our website (links below). We also have a page on my website where you can donate to support our lab’s efforts: starbirdlab.com

lifescienceeditors.orgWho we are - Life Science Editors FoundationWe are former journal editors, grant specialists, researchers and academics who want to achieve equity, inclusion, diversity.

Another initiative I am proud to be a small part of: lifescienceeditors.org/who-we-are/

cell.comShadow mentoring: a cost–benefit review for reformShadow mentoring relationships are those outside of traditional mentoring roles and are an unseen yet critical component of trainee retention that is rarely acknowledged. In this paper, we detail the ...

But most of my focus is on personal interactions: how I mentor my trainees, how I interact with colleagues, what values I emulate, etc. So most of the work I and many do to uplift others in STEM is invisible: www.cell.com/trends/cance...

open.spotify.comCrush that Interview Part 2: Climbing the Academic LadderSTEAM'D: The Podcast · Episode

Another example: open.spotify.com/episode/0Irv...

acd.od.nih.govACD Working Group on Re-envisioning NIH-Supported Postdoctoral TrainingEnsuring the future of U.S. competitiveness and innovation in biomedical research is of utmost importance to NIH.

I’ve put my advocacy to work in visible and less visible ways: acd.od.nih.gov/working-grou...

listennotes.comEpisode#27 X-Ray Chrystallography – Dr. Chrystal Starbird00:43:21 - Hello listeners, This week Dr. Crystal Starbird, Assistant Professor at UNC Chapel Hill will talk about X-Ray Crystallography, a rival to CryoEM. T…

And I speak often on podcasts both about my science: www.listennotes.com/podcasts/ner...

open.spotify.comStandard Deviation S2 E2: The Advocacy TaxOut of Patients with Matthew Zachary · Episode

And about how the systems in which science operates can exclude promising talent from non-traditional backgrounds: open.spotify.com/episode/20x4...

the-scientist.comFrom Nature Lover to Structural Biologist: A Scientist’s Journey | The ScientistA gift of medical books from an unlikely source spurred Chrystal Starbird’s scientific career. She talks about what motivates her research on cell surface receptors and the obstacles she has faced as ...

And here: www.the-scientist.com/from-nature-...

Chrystal Starbird reposted

Lorenzo Lorenzo-Luaces, PhD

@lluaces.bsky.social

Come be my colleague! We have a cluster hire including a Tenure-Track Assistant Prof Hire: indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/34485 and an Associate/Full hire: indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/34486, and a non-tenure track teaching hire (ad incoming). Please share, I'm happy to answer questions!

indiana.peopleadmin.comAssociate or Full Professor Faculty Position in Clinical PsychologyIndiana University Bloomington (IUB) invites applications at the associate or full professor rank for a cluster hire in clinical psychology in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Colle...

The @hypothesisfund.bsky.social retreat has been beautiful, inspiring, and restorative all at the same time. What they are doing: bringing together some of the world’s most innovative, creative, and successful scientists to support emerging scholars to pursue their boldest ideas, is groundbreaking.

They are giving people literal seats at the table, and allowing people to fail in the most wonderfully scientific of ways. If you aren’t already watching the Hypothesis Fund and what they are doing, you should be. Excited to see all that continues to come from this exceptional community.

@rogerslabucd.bsky.social

Grants submitted, two papers submitted, abstracts submitted…it’s been a week! But a beautiful and unforgettable meal with great company was an excellent finish 🙏🏾

Chrystal Starbird reposted

Crystal D. Rogers

It has been an amazing @hypothesisfund.bsky.social retreat ending at a dinner at Tonnemaker Farm. I shared the findings from work we have been doing over the past year and heard so many other phenomenal awardees speak. Huge thanks to everyone involved and to my scout, @drkhaynes.bsky.social! 🤩

We determined structures with and without activating membrane lipid, phosphatidylserine (PS). Working with the Smith lab, we use a combination of methods to propose a mechanism whereby PS stabilizes and induces conformational changes in receptor:ligand complexes to promote kinase domain activation.

biorxiv.orgStructural basis of phosphatidylserine enhancement of Gas6 ligand-induced Axl activationTAMs (Tyro3, Axl, and MerTK) are receptor tyrosine kinases with primary roles in apoptotic clearance and immune suppression. In apoptosis, bridging complexes form between TAM receptors on phagocytic c...

I am so incredibly proud of my team, including co-first authors Nicole Fournier and @biophysgal.bsky.social ! They have been working hard and there is more to come from the Starbird Lab soon, so stay tuned! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

@leslievosshall.bsky.social

Ending a social media break to share two exciting pieces of news: First, my postdoc paper was accepted! We share the first structure of a TAM receptor ECD, fully glycosylated, and insights into TAM receptor ectodomain organization. portlandpress.com/biochemj/art...

Chrystal Starbird reposted

Tigist Tamir

@phosphotig.bsky.social

Extra! Extra! Read all about the new paper from @drstarbird.bsky.social ! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Chrystal Starbird reposted

Leslie B Vosshall PhD

18 Sept

Transformative opportunity for early career faculty @hhmi-science.bsky.social #FreemanHrabowski Scholars competition opens 11/3/2026 but you can get started NOW: view application components, establish eligibility, and unlock example applications and other resources www.hhmi.org/programs/fre...

hhmi.orgEarly Career Faculty Program | Freeman Hrabowski Scholars | HHMIThe Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program offers comprehensive support to outstanding early career faculty committed to scientific excellence in their own research, and to fostering labs that expand the ...

Chrystal Starbird reposted

Parkinson's Foundation Research

@pfresearchteam.bsky.social

10 Sept

Replying to @pfresearchteam.bsky.social

📢 Congratulations to 2026 Impact Awardee, Danielle Schmitt at the University of California, Los Angeles, whose project focuses on functional imaging of PINK1 activity dynamics. @parkinsondotorg.bsky.social

2 Sept

Double THIS 👇🏾

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31 Aug

Two surgeries, two with colds (including me), a busy time at work/school, and a college drop off in Boston 😭 Just another Starbird fam week! Grateful for friends who helped us manage it all 😍🫶🏾

26 Aug

This timeline has GOT to be kidding. Dolly and then Tim Curry in the same week!

17 Aug

When the committee picks the one poll time to meet you are not available 😂

14 Aug

Apparently I should go on vacation more often. Congratulations @biophysgal.bsky.social on your well-deserved F31 NOA!!! 🎉🎉🎉 Super proud!!!!

13 Aug

Great times in ATL!

10 Aug

Another wonderful new PI retreat in the books in beautiful Asheville, NC! Thankful to have such great colleagues in the NC/TN area.