Seth Tomchik

Seth Tomchik

@sethtomchik.bsky.social

Neuroscientist studying learning & memory and genetic disorders. Some photography on the side. Views are my own.

866 followers532 following197 posts

If you haven't yet submitted a comment on the new OMB rule re: federal funding of research and would like to, now is the time. Your voice matters!

Mark Peifer (He, him)@peiferlabunc.bsky.social

Here is the comment I posted commenting on the OMB Rules about federal funding. My is jut an example: It's key to personalize it and this tool from @faseborg.bsky.social helps one do so. Do it NOW--the future of American science is at stake www.faseb.org/science-poli...

Caught a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Riverside Theater in Iowa City on Thursday. The performers and production were amazing. What a gift to the community. No photos allowed during the performance so this will have to suffice.

Same with grant applications. The goal is, of course, to get the research funded. At the same time, preparing the application is a key time to really think and map out the whole project from start to finish. Farming that out to AI for smoother prose is a net loss.

It's akin to the purpose of a college education. Sure, the goals include learning some specific things, getting a degree, and ultimately a job. But the main point is learning how to really think. That is what underlies it all and carries forward even as the details become outdated.

Seth Tomchik reposted

Calling all Scientists! Research Administrators! Deans! Fans of Science! No one is coming to save us. Here is your assignment. I have written a step by step, easy to understand "how-to" document to help you comment on the proposed OMB rule. elizabethginexi.substack.com/p/what-we-ne...

elizabethginexi.substack.comWhat We Need to do NEXT: OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule (OMB 2026-10817)What OMB’s Proposed Federal Financial Assistance Rule Means in Practice

Seth Tomchik reposted

After 10 years, I am stepping down as chair of our department and we have an active search going on! Utah is a phenomenal place to live and work and it's been the honor of a lifetime chairing the department founded by Lou Goodman. #MedSky #Neuroskyence Repost! jobs.chronicle.com/job/37914733...

jobs.chronicle.comChair of Pharmacology and Toxicology - Salt Lake City, Utah job with The University of Utah | 37914733The University of Utah seeks a Chair of Pharmacology and Toxicology

Seth Tomchik reposted

Seth Tomchik reposted

Three high schoolers founded a book club that reads some of the country's most frequently banned books after a state law removing books with sexual content was signed in 2023. Two years later, many of the books have been reshelved and parts of the law can't be enforced.

n.prWhen books were being pulled from Iowa classrooms, these teens started an after-school club to read themThree Iowa City West high schoolers founded a book club that reads some of the country's most frequently banned books after a state law removing books with sexual content was signed in 2023. Two years later, many of the books have been reshelved and parts of the law can't be enforced.

The framing of the article (and others like it) is wildly misleading. Academia does not have a sweetheart deal and never did. Universities produce knowledge and educate students, and are funded to do those things. It is hard, undercompensated work, with extreme competition at all levels.

Bradford Vivian@bradvivian.bsky.social

The definition of “viewpoint diversity” that figures like this promote implies *censorship* (the “must” part): curbing some forms of expression to boost others. It’s an invention of orgs who advocate government censorship of teaching/research + restrictions on protected political speech in colleges.

Seth Tomchik reposted

Are you advancing #Drosophila neurogenetics? 🧠🪰 Nominations are open for the Hugo Bellen & Catherine Tasnier Drosophila Neurogenetics Lecture—$5,000 + present at #Dros26! 2025 recipient Qili Liu shared groundbreaking work on protein-specific appetite. Who’s next? Apply by Nov 6: buff.ly/kTdkONE

Seth Tomchik reposted

Some good advice in here but one critical piece I always give is this: Get a hobby. Preferably a mildly social one. One that has NOTHING TO DO WITH SCIENCE. NOTHING. You need friends. Not colleagues. FRIENDS. Friends who will love you no matter your research prospects...

Nature@nature.com

What's one piece of advice you'd give to someone considering a PhD? We asked 3785 doctoral candidates across 107 countries for their hard-won wisdom go.nature.com/4nDjJ7t

A new series of postdoc career development seminars launched this semester. The first, "Postdoc to PI" featured new Assistant Professors (i.e., with fresh experience) to coach postdocs looking to hit the academic job market soon. Keep an eye out for more upcoming events: uipda.grad.uiowa.edu

Seth Tomchik reposted

Despite These Times...my department is hiring! I really like my department, we have a good mix of disciplines and organisms and we're really low-drama. We also get pizza at faculty meeting. So if you're a computational and structural biologist, join us! 🧪 jobs.rutgers.edu/postings/260...

jobs.rutgers.eduAssistant Professor - Tenure Track FacultyThe Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is inviting applicants for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position. The position requires a doc...

Seth Tomchik reposted

One month left to apply! The Department of Biology at the University of Iowa is hiring an assistant professor in genetics whose research focuses on a fundamental mechanism that can be applied to cancer. Apply at: jobs.uiowa.edu/faculty/view.... Come join our vibrant department!🧪

jobs.uiowa.eduFaculty Requisition Details - Jobs@UIOWA: Search and Apply for Jobs at The University of IowaJobs@UIOWA: The official place to search and apply for jobs at The University of Iowa.

Lab get-together at Wilson's Orchard on the outskirts of Iowa City. The day included live music, sampling apple cider donuts and pizza and picking apples from the orchard. We sampled several varieties in season now, including Song of September, Honeygold, Chieftain, and Jonafree.

Great week in the lab, including the Carver College of Medicine Investiture. Thank you to the Roy J. Carver Charitable Foundation for supporting our research. It was an honor to reflect on, and speak about, the influence of my mentors, and the work of our lab members, past and present (pictured).

Seth Tomchik reposted

Ed Kravitz passed away yesterday. He was a remarkable scientist and mentor- brilliant, curious, creative, and kind. I am grateful to have learned from him. His legacy will endure through his science and through the many people he inspired. We will miss you, Ed.

Seth Tomchik reposted

Some moments from the Fine2Day Fest at Codfish Hollow Barnstormers. A bunch of great bands performing in a barn-turned-music-venue in Maquoketa, Iowa. Pics here are Susto Stringband, She Returns From War, and Johnny Delaware.

Seth Tomchik reposted

The buff-tip moth (Phalera bucephala) has mastered a very particular kind of camouflage. When they close their wings up, they resemble a broken twig. Native to large parts of Europe, there's regional pattern variation that reflects the local tree species. This one best resembles birch twigs?

Seth Tomchik reposted

Researchers have spent 10 years improving the massive detectors they use to catch shockwaves from colliding black holes, and now the science is precise enough to test one of Stephen Hawking's key ideas.

n.prAfter 10 years of black hole science, Stephen Hawking is proven rightResearchers have spent 10 years improving the massive detectors they use to catch shockwaves from colliding black holes, and now the science is precise enough to test one of Stephen Hawking's key ideas.

Seth Tomchik reposted

On Monday, September 15, our two iBio Graduate Student Seminar speakers will be Brady Williquett (Manak Lab) and Kelsi Mann (Houston Lab). The first seminar will begin at 3:30pm in Kollros Auditorium (BBE101). All are welcome, and we hope to see you there supporting our incredible graduate students!

Seth Tomchik reposted

Amazing work: transient developmental hyperexcitation leads to autism phenotypes in mice. Huge amount of cross-disciplinary work by this team!

Alessandro Gozzi@gozziale.bsky.social

🚨 Excited to share the latest preprint form the lab ➡️https://tinyurl.com/32d3be9f Here we tackle a long-standing chicken-or-egg 🐣🥚question in #autism and developmental neuroscience ➡️ Is excitation–inhibition (E:I) imbalance a "cause" or a "consequence" of #autism? Check out what we found! 🧵1/n

Seth Tomchik reposted

#ScienceJobs !! 🧪🧠

Seungwon (Sebastian) Choi | 최승원@ssebastianchoi.bsky.social

Our department at UT Southwestern Medical Center has openings for TT faculty position! Our Neuroscience Research Division has diverse research programs, from genes to neural circuits to human brain imaging. UTSW has a vibrant/growing neuroscience community! www.nature.com/naturecareer...

Seth Tomchik reposted

My MCDB dept is accepting applications for a faculty position at the Assistant Professor level! Applications Due by October 15, 2025 We welcome applications from all areas of physiology and neuroscience, spanning molecular, cellular, systems, and organismal levels. lsa.umich.edu/mcdb/news-ev...

lsa.umich.eduMCDB Opens Search for Faculty | U-M LSA Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology (MCDB)MCDB welcomes applications at the Assistant Professor level from outstanding biological scientists in all areas of physiology and neuroscience, spanning molecular, cellular, systems, and organismal le...