"Ah, I am wandering! Strange how the brain controls the brain!" Neuroscientist. Data Sleuth. "Confoundoisseur". #ARM. Unquestionably eccentric. Views are my own
Ypsilanti / Univ. of Michigan
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Megan Hagenauer retweeted
A proposal from @MHagenauer and the Brain Data Alchemy Project at @UMich has reached its funding goal through our Neurodevelopmental & Neuropsychiatric Conditions RFP.
The $10K raised will support the project's trainees.
Here's what they're investigating, and why we funded it. 🧵
New funding opportunity on @ResearchHub!
We're offering $10K for research on neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric conditions: autism spectrum disorder, OCD, schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, PTSD...
If you're leading research advancing our basic understanding of these conditions or piloting novel therapies, we'd love to see your application.
🔗 researchhub.com/grant/32331
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Megan Hagenauer retweeted
Congrats to @MHagenauer and her team at @UM_MNI for hitting their funding goal on ResearchHub!
They’re combining public datasets to look at whether exercise, environment, and antidepressants hit the same molecular pathways in the brain. This $10k directly keeps their early-career researchers funded to continue their work.
A proposal from @MHagenauer and the Brain Data Alchemy Project at @UMich has reached its funding goal through our Neurodevelopmental & Neuropsychiatric Conditions RFP.
The $10K raised will support the project's trainees.
Here's what they're investigating, and why we funded it. 🧵
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🧠🧬Our paper is now published in the Journal of Neurochemistry🎉
dx.doi.org/10.1111/jnc.70502
During the review process, we received *exceptional guidance* from one of our reviewers, which led us to improve not only our paper, but the general Brain Data Alchemy analysis pipeline🙏💛
🧠🧬We still don’t know how antidepressants *actually* work.
Why does depression respond to treatments as diverse as SSRIs, TCAs, ECT, TMS, tianeptine, and ketamine?
What do these treatments have in common?
(hint: not serotonin)
See our new preprint!
doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.21.6…
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🧠🧬How do antipsychotics affect the brain?
We ran a meta-analysis of public transcriptional profiling data to reveal the converging effects of different antipsychotics on the frontal cortex.
Surprisingly, dopamine signaling was not our top finding(!).
biorxiv.org/content/10.64898…
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🧠🧬 This work was conducted by Mubashshir Ra’eed Bhuiyan (@raeedbhuiyan) as part of the Brain Data Alchemy Project, within the Wakil lab (@Huda_Akil1) in the Michigan Neuroscience Institute (@UM_MNI) at the University of Michigan.
protocols.io/view/brain-data…
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Megan Hagenauer retweeted
NIH grants have been under political scrutiny since 2025. But what does the screening process actually look like?
For @nature, I spent a month digging into leaked docs. We've published a list of 235 words being flagged by an internal AI tool. And so much more. 🧵
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🧬🧠📈🧪🧫
Is anyone looking for a highly talented research assistant?
One of my students, Duy Manh Nguyen, will be graduating in May'26 with a dual degree in Biochem & Stats and 6+ years of research experience (wet lab, genomics, clinical).
His dream is to pursue an MD/PhD
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🧬 🧠 While working with our lab ( w/ @Huda_Akil1 ) on bulk transcriptional profiling meta-analysis projects, Duy also spent a semester teaching himself single cell RNA-Seq analysis, which we then incorporated into a submitted preprint.
You should hire him.
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Within our lab, Duy completed two genomics meta-analysis projects (viral encephalitis, glioblastoma) and improved our analysis pipeline.
He won an award to present his work at the Society for Neuroscience Conference, and co-authored 3 papers, 1 preprint, & 3 protocols. 🌟
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More about Duy:
He is a talented scientific writer and public speaker, experienced coder, and careful researcher. He is completely comfortable teaching himself complex content and parsing the logic behind experimental designs.
Here's his LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/in/manhduynguye…
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🧠🧬Our paper is now live! 🎉
"A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Chronic Stress on the Prefrontal Transcriptome in Animal Models and Convergence With Existing Human Data"
by Xiong et al.
doi.org/10.1002/brb3.71197
w/@Huda_Akil1 @UM_MNI
Funding:@_HDRF @GrinnellCollege @NIDAnews❤️
🧠🧬 New preprint! Our meta-analysis of the effects of chronic stress on prefrontal cortex gene expression has gone live.😁
Jinglin Xiong is the first author. She completed this work *as an undergraduate* and is currently applying to PhD programs! 🎉
doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.23.6…
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Megan Hagenauer retweeted
PhD interview season is back, so here’s my advice:
For prospective PhD students, choosing a supportive mentor is 100 times more important than choosing a supervisor simply because they are at a top or famous institution.
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🧠 #SfN25 #SfN2025
You've shown us your beautiful posters and slides - now come to the anti-conference and tell us how your year *really* went!
The Confound Hour 7-9 PM
Marriott Marquis Ballroom Salon 9
🧠 Did you have an experiment that tanked this year?
Now is your time to shine!
Join us for The Confound Hour!
When: Tuesday 11/18, 7-9 PM at #SfN25 #SfN2025.
Where: The Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina in Marriott Grand Ballroom, Salon 9
Please share! 😁
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🧠 Neurofriends:
Who is going to SfN this year?
Would anyone like to help me run The Confound Hour on Tuesday night?
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Btw: The Confound Hour is one of the events mentioned in our recent paper:
"Promoting Open Discussions of Scientific Failure within the Annual Society for Neuroscience Conference" 😁
eneuro.org/content/12/3/ENEU…
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🧠🧬 New preprint! Our meta-analysis of the effects of chronic stress on prefrontal cortex gene expression has gone live.😁
Jinglin Xiong is the first author. She completed this work *as an undergraduate* and is currently applying to PhD programs! 🎉
doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.23.6…
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🧠🧬This work was completed at @UM_MNI with @Huda_Akil1 as part of the Brain Data Alchemy Program supported by @_HDRF.
Thanks to @GrinnellCollege Center for Careers, Life, and Service for supporting Jinglin's training and travel.❤️
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