Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)

Congratulations to HHMI Investigator David Baker who has won The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on computational protein design! He shares the prize with Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper for protein structure prediction. https://lnkd.in/eCbYhffB

Although its nubby scales resemble rainbow corn, this chameleon’s tail tells a different tale. 🌽 🦎 The tail of a veiled chameleon is prehensile, meaning it can grasp and hold onto objects. In the wild, these lizards live most of their lives in the trees using their tails to help them climb and maintain their balance walking on thin branches. The veiled chameleon is native to Yemen and Saudi Arabia and is also often raised in captivity. HHMI’s Beautiful Biology showcases the intricate beauty of life on a microscopic level. Join us as we explore and share these hidden marvels every week. Credit: Igor Siwanowicz, HHMI's Janelia Research Campus Download this image and explore more: https://hhmi.news/3NuI0vT

🌟 Calling all future science leaders! The HHMI Gilliam Fellows Program is now open for applications. 🚀 Designed to support graduate students and their thesis advisors, this program provides funding, training, and resources aimed at cultivating equitable and inclusive scientific communities. Applications are due December 5, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. ET. Learn more and apply now: https://hhmi.news/3BOCthc

Join the AI CellMap Segmentation Challenge and compete to create the next, best, #AI-driven image segmentation model using hundreds of our meticulously annotated, high-resolution electron microscopy (EM) images as training data. With such a vast and well-annotated dataset, this AI challenge sets the stage for significant breakthroughs in EM image analysis, potentially transforming our understanding of cellular architecture and function. The competition starts at the end of October. Sign up today ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eFcMMYfG

🚨 Calling All AI Scientists ?? Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) has multiple #jobopenings as part of our new $500 million commitment to accelerate biomedical discovery by embedding artificial intelligence into every stage of the scientific process. Centered at our Janelia Research Campus in Virginia, which has been at the forefront of AI-driven biomedical research for more than 15 years, AI@HHMI aims to catalyze an explosion of knowledge about the complexities of life.   Visit https://ow.ly/8aRS50Tzhy9 to learn more about the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of this exciting project. #WorkAtHHMI #AIJobs

Join us for the world premiere of Turtle Walker at DOC NYC on Sunday, November 17 at the Village East by Angelika.  🎟: https://lnkd.in/d9VN4t66 Congratulations to director Taira Malaney, winner of the Jackson Wild Grand Teton Award, on her feature debut. Turtle Walker tells the story of the incredible Satish Bhaskar, who walked nearly every inch of India’s coastline to discover the nesting beaches of sea turtles so that they could be protected. Thank you Naman Ramachandran and Variety for the great article.  https://lnkd.in/dPpx32eY 

HHMI Investigator David Kingsley of Stanford University and his team identified the genes that allow a sea robin—a fish that walks on six legs—to sense vibrations and detect prey beneath the sand using repurposed taste receptors. “It was just astonishing to me to see a fish that looked like a composite of traits that incorporated the wings of a bird, the body of a fish, and the legs of crabs. I mean, it was like looking at the mythical centaur—except it was real.” – David Kingsley Read more: https://lnkd.in/eAsNFXbD 📷: Peter B. Kilian

Cell Division in 3D: A Look Inside the Process 👀 This week, Dr. Noah Green takes us inside the 3D world of cell division, revealing a stunning visualization of how a cell splits into two. In this video, you’ll see the intricate actin filaments (in orange) at work, helping prepare the cell for cell division and ultimately pinching off the membrane as the cell divides. Actin plays a critical role in cytokinesis, the final stage of cell division, ensuring two genetically identical daughter cells are formed. Credit: Andy Moore, HHMI Janelia

Atika Syeda is a graduate student at Janelia in the Stringer and Pachitariu labs where she uses AI to better understand the relationship between behavior and sensory information in mice. Syeda became interested in brain-computer interfaces in high school when she saw a TED talk where a machine interface was used to demonstrate how to “hack” the nervous system. This fascination developed further in undergrad. Interested in pursuing scientific questions at the intersection of computer science and biology, Syeda contacted Stringer and Pachitariu, who were performing large-scale neural recordings to understand brain activity. Syeda started as a remote research consultant for the two scientists after getting her MS in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. She then applied to the 2022 cohort of the Hopkins Neuroscience Graduate Program, a joint program with Janelia, so she could continue to do research at Janelia as a graduate student. Her first project focused on quantifying and characterizing activity in the visual areas of the brain related to mice movement, particularly facial movements, which Stringer and Pachitariu had previously detected. Syeda developed Facemap, a publicly available tool that uses machine learning to track different points on the mouse’s face and link those movements to neural activity, which could help researchers better understand brain-wide activity. Syeda says she enjoys the freedom to explore new ideas and questions at Janelia. She also likes knowing her work will have a positive effect across the scientific community. “I’ve always been interested in doing research that I know will have a major impact.” she says, “Facemap is already having an impact in hundreds of labs. I don’t think I could have pursued such ambitious goals in any other graduate program.” Outside the lab, Syeda enjoys reading, running, hiking, and traveling. Despite the distance from Hopkins, she has also been able to keep in touch with her student cohort through departmental events and activities. Janelia collaborates with Johns Hopkins on two graduate programs. Learn more about joint graduate programs at Janelia by visiting https://lnkd.in/dQYJGgs2.

📢 Janelia is #hiring Theory Fellows 💻 Janelia’s Computation & Theory research area is recruiting early-career scientists — including newly minted PhDs — with interest in computational and mathematical biology, biophysics, machine vision and learning, artificial intelligence, and theoretical neuroscience. 🧠 Theory Fellows will tackle fundamental questions in biology by maximizing the insight extracted from biological data. They will contribute to the interdisciplinary research environment at Janelia, receive mentorship from Computation & Theory group leaders, and collaborate broadly across our research areas. 🥼 Appointments are made for a term of three years, and Fellows receive a generous computer and travel budget, access to state-of-the-art computational infrastructure, and competitive salary and benefits. 🗓️ Applications for the Theory Fellow Program are due January 7. 🔗 Learn more and apply at https://lnkd.in/ezd-36rS