Fred Wolf
@fredwolf.bsky.social
Science is not engineering. UC Merced Prof - addiction, thirst, flies, genes, brains, behavior. Neuro/Dev at UCM: http://neurodevucmerced.com
Pinned
Fred Wolf
@fredwolf.bsky.social
· Feb 3
First ethanol experience memory-like states look like classical memories genetically and behaviorally, but use new circuits. Also distinct from spaced training ethanol reward circuits. Great work of former grad Cal Larnerd @qsb-uc-merced.bsky.social @ucmerced.bsky.social doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Activating peptidergic neurons is not necessarily equal to neuropeptide role, and pattern-wide and individual neuron manipulations differ in behavioral effect. Important insights for circuits in behavior research. Plus NPF!
Cellular source and circuit context organize functional specificity in the Drosophila NPF system
#Drosophila
#Drosophila
Cellular source and circuit context organize functional specificity in the Drosophila NPF system
#Drosophila
PubMed link
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
September 24, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Activating peptidergic neurons is not necessarily equal to neuropeptide role, and pattern-wide and individual neuron manipulations differ in behavioral effect. Important insights for circuits in behavior research. Plus NPF!
Reposted by Fred Wolf
🗓️ AQMHD 2026 reminder: Registration closes THIS FRIDAY, Sept. 25 at 6:00 PM!
Planning to join us Oct. 17–21 at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole? Now is the time to register!
aqmhd.org
🧵 1/3
Planning to join us Oct. 17–21 at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole? Now is the time to register!
aqmhd.org
🧵 1/3
AQMHD 2026 | Aquatic Models of Human Disease
12th Aquatic Models of Human Disease Conference, October 17–21, 2026, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA
aqmhd.org
September 22, 2026 at 3:51 PM
🗓️ AQMHD 2026 reminder: Registration closes THIS FRIDAY, Sept. 25 at 6:00 PM!
Planning to join us Oct. 17–21 at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole? Now is the time to register!
aqmhd.org
🧵 1/3
Planning to join us Oct. 17–21 at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole? Now is the time to register!
aqmhd.org
🧵 1/3
just deleted google maps from phone, ipad
August 30, 2026 at 7:27 PM
just deleted google maps from phone, ipad
Reposted by Fred Wolf
Right. Let’s give this another try….
My laboratory is looking for a motivated postdoc in the field of Neurobiology. We have multiple exciting projects, NIH funding. Experience using the Drosophila model is preferable.
Please share
Job ID: 60378
erecruit.umsystem.edu/psc/tamext/K...
My laboratory is looking for a motivated postdoc in the field of Neurobiology. We have multiple exciting projects, NIH funding. Experience using the Drosophila model is preferable.
Please share
Job ID: 60378
erecruit.umsystem.edu/psc/tamext/K...
July 17, 2026 at 7:56 PM
Right. Let’s give this another try….
My laboratory is looking for a motivated postdoc in the field of Neurobiology. We have multiple exciting projects, NIH funding. Experience using the Drosophila model is preferable.
Please share
Job ID: 60378
erecruit.umsystem.edu/psc/tamext/K...
My laboratory is looking for a motivated postdoc in the field of Neurobiology. We have multiple exciting projects, NIH funding. Experience using the Drosophila model is preferable.
Please share
Job ID: 60378
erecruit.umsystem.edu/psc/tamext/K...
Reposted by Fred Wolf
Presenting our research on the hidden norms and values of doctoral education at #HERDSA2026 today. PhD students learn unintended messages about academic norms through their experiences. Our study explored who sets academic norms and values and what those learned norms and values are. #AcademicSky
July 7, 2026 at 1:38 AM
Presenting our research on the hidden norms and values of doctoral education at #HERDSA2026 today. PhD students learn unintended messages about academic norms through their experiences. Our study explored who sets academic norms and values and what those learned norms and values are. #AcademicSky
Reposted by Fred Wolf
The Brock Lab is hiring a postdoc to help us study sensory ecology and sexual selection in urban reptiles! 🐍🦎🌆
Comes with a $5K travel stipend. App closes July 1!
careers-sdsurf.icims.com/jobs/20539/p...
Comes with a $5K travel stipend. App closes July 1!
careers-sdsurf.icims.com/jobs/20539/p...
Prospective Employees | SDSU
careers-sdsurf.icims.com
June 22, 2026 at 9:39 PM
The Brock Lab is hiring a postdoc to help us study sensory ecology and sexual selection in urban reptiles! 🐍🦎🌆
Comes with a $5K travel stipend. App closes July 1!
careers-sdsurf.icims.com/jobs/20539/p...
Comes with a $5K travel stipend. App closes July 1!
careers-sdsurf.icims.com/jobs/20539/p...
Reposted by Fred Wolf
I am a neurodivergent neuroscientist. My bipolar brain brings struggle but it also helps me think off-the-map ideas.
To help others who are similarly different, I co-founded the Neurodiversity Innovation Center for Excellence in Neuroscience (niceinneuro.org) with Leah Blankenship and Lila Kaye.
To help others who are similarly different, I co-founded the Neurodiversity Innovation Center for Excellence in Neuroscience (niceinneuro.org) with Leah Blankenship and Lila Kaye.
June 18, 2026 at 3:53 PM
I am a neurodivergent neuroscientist. My bipolar brain brings struggle but it also helps me think off-the-map ideas.
To help others who are similarly different, I co-founded the Neurodiversity Innovation Center for Excellence in Neuroscience (niceinneuro.org) with Leah Blankenship and Lila Kaye.
To help others who are similarly different, I co-founded the Neurodiversity Innovation Center for Excellence in Neuroscience (niceinneuro.org) with Leah Blankenship and Lila Kaye.
Reposted by Fred Wolf
Zandawala lab is looking to recruit a postdoc to work on neuromodulation of feeding in Drosophila and other arthropods at KU Leuven (Leuven, Belgium).
Details for the position can be found here: www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...
Please share!
Details for the position can be found here: www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...
Please share!
Postdoctoral Researcher in Neuromodulation of Feeding
We are recruiting a postdoctoral scientist to join the recently opened Zandawala Lab at KU Leuven. The position is funded by an Odysseus grant from FWO (Research Foundation – Flanders). For more infor...
www.kuleuven.be
May 29, 2026 at 5:05 AM
Zandawala lab is looking to recruit a postdoc to work on neuromodulation of feeding in Drosophila and other arthropods at KU Leuven (Leuven, Belgium).
Details for the position can be found here: www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...
Please share!
Details for the position can be found here: www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jo...
Please share!
Reposted by Fred Wolf
New preprint alert! Led by @qsb-uc-merced.bsky.social grad student Po-Shu Tu from my and Stefan Materna's labs, we found that the receptor tyrosine kinase Met is required for directional migration of #endoderm cells in #zebrafish. But — plot twist! — Met's canonical ligand HGF is dispensable.
www.biorxiv.org
May 6, 2026 at 3:37 PM
New preprint alert! Led by @qsb-uc-merced.bsky.social grad student Po-Shu Tu from my and Stefan Materna's labs, we found that the receptor tyrosine kinase Met is required for directional migration of #endoderm cells in #zebrafish. But — plot twist! — Met's canonical ligand HGF is dispensable.
Reposted by Fred Wolf
Hey y’all - I need a big favour! If you’ve been hired into a biochem faculty role in the last ~3-5 years, could you send me a message? #ChemSky
April 29, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Hey y’all - I need a big favour! If you’ve been hired into a biochem faculty role in the last ~3-5 years, could you send me a message? #ChemSky
Reposted by Fred Wolf
Can a single brain cell decide whether to eat or not? 🧠🪰
Turns out... yes. And we found it in the fruit fly.
A pair of neurons called SELKs (subesophageal leucokinin neurons) can drive feeding behavior in both directions. They promote it or suppress it. Here's how: 🧵
Turns out... yes. And we found it in the fruit fly.
A pair of neurons called SELKs (subesophageal leucokinin neurons) can drive feeding behavior in both directions. They promote it or suppress it. Here's how: 🧵
April 20, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Can a single brain cell decide whether to eat or not? 🧠🪰
Turns out... yes. And we found it in the fruit fly.
A pair of neurons called SELKs (subesophageal leucokinin neurons) can drive feeding behavior in both directions. They promote it or suppress it. Here's how: 🧵
Turns out... yes. And we found it in the fruit fly.
A pair of neurons called SELKs (subesophageal leucokinin neurons) can drive feeding behavior in both directions. They promote it or suppress it. Here's how: 🧵
Reposted by Fred Wolf
Imprisoning children is child abuse. No matter how a child arrived in our country, we should not use government resources, taxpayer money, to abuse and traumatize children.
Maria is one of hundreds of children, who — like Liam Ramos — have been held at a Texas detention facility where parents say children languish as they’re served contaminated food, receive little education and struggle to obtain basic medical care.
Here's our attempt at telling their stories. 2/
Here's our attempt at telling their stories. 2/
Children trapped in Texas immigration facility recount nightmares, inedible food, no school
A photo of Liam Conejo Ramos, a scared 5-year-old, drew attention to a detention center in Dilley, Texas. Advocates say his experience reflects what hundreds of children have endured out of public vie...
www.nbcnews.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:43 PM
Imprisoning children is child abuse. No matter how a child arrived in our country, we should not use government resources, taxpayer money, to abuse and traumatize children.
Reposted by Fred Wolf
Author spotlight thread!
This study was heroically led by @qsb-uc-merced.bsky.social grad student Jesselynn LaBelle who consistently pushed for our work to be quantitatively rigorous. She is looking for a postdoc position! Her interests are mathematical biology, image analysis, and microscopy. 1/6
This study was heroically led by @qsb-uc-merced.bsky.social grad student Jesselynn LaBelle who consistently pushed for our work to be quantitatively rigorous. She is looking for a postdoc position! Her interests are mathematical biology, image analysis, and microscopy. 1/6
New paper alert! We report that #zebrafish endodermal cells use contact inhibition of locomotion as a dispersal and spacing mechanism. It’s a neat example of large-scale patterns emerging from local interactions using a simple set of rules. Summary in the thread below 1/9
doi.org/10.1016/j.is...
doi.org/10.1016/j.is...
December 8, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Author spotlight thread!
This study was heroically led by @qsb-uc-merced.bsky.social grad student Jesselynn LaBelle who consistently pushed for our work to be quantitatively rigorous. She is looking for a postdoc position! Her interests are mathematical biology, image analysis, and microscopy. 1/6
This study was heroically led by @qsb-uc-merced.bsky.social grad student Jesselynn LaBelle who consistently pushed for our work to be quantitatively rigorous. She is looking for a postdoc position! Her interests are mathematical biology, image analysis, and microscopy. 1/6
Reposted by Fred Wolf
No NCE button for R15s nearing their end date—1st NCEs need prior approval through the NIH Prior Approval Module. More steps, delays, and stress since active R15 PIs can’t be PIs on other NIH grants. Nothing I submitted in 2025 has even been reviewed/decisioned. I guess it was nice having a lab.....
December 5, 2025 at 4:48 PM
No NCE button for R15s nearing their end date—1st NCEs need prior approval through the NIH Prior Approval Module. More steps, delays, and stress since active R15 PIs can’t be PIs on other NIH grants. Nothing I submitted in 2025 has even been reviewed/decisioned. I guess it was nice having a lab.....
Reposted by Fred Wolf
New paper alert! We report that #zebrafish endodermal cells use contact inhibition of locomotion as a dispersal and spacing mechanism. It’s a neat example of large-scale patterns emerging from local interactions using a simple set of rules. Summary in the thread below 1/9
doi.org/10.1016/j.is...
doi.org/10.1016/j.is...
December 5, 2025 at 8:08 PM
New paper alert! We report that #zebrafish endodermal cells use contact inhibition of locomotion as a dispersal and spacing mechanism. It’s a neat example of large-scale patterns emerging from local interactions using a simple set of rules. Summary in the thread below 1/9
doi.org/10.1016/j.is...
doi.org/10.1016/j.is...
Hungover and awake Monday morning? Been daydrinking?? Come to Lina Garcia's poster #SfN2025 to learn how the first drink creates memories and impacts your sleep (well, if you are a fruit fly)! LBP167 (program LBP051.08) late-breaking poster session H.08 – Drugs of Abuse and Addiction.
November 16, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Hungover and awake Monday morning? Been daydrinking?? Come to Lina Garcia's poster #SfN2025 to learn how the first drink creates memories and impacts your sleep (well, if you are a fruit fly)! LBP167 (program LBP051.08) late-breaking poster session H.08 – Drugs of Abuse and Addiction.
Reposted by Fred Wolf
Sad that even biorxiv is falling victim to AI slop
Excited to launch an openRxiv partnership with the scientist-run AI review service qed (@qedscience.bsky.social), the brainchild of @odedrechavi.bsky.social 1/n
openrxiv.org/enabling-rev...
openrxiv.org/enabling-rev...
Enabling options for review: from training and transparency to author-centered AI tools - openRxiv
Peer review is widely viewed as a critical aspect of biomedical communication. Ideally, it provides authors with feedback so they can improve manuscripts and gives readers, particularly nonspecialists...
openrxiv.org
November 7, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Sad that even biorxiv is falling victim to AI slop
Reposted by Fred Wolf
UC Merced biologist Néstor Oviedo is exploring how the brain may hold the key to controlling cancer.
Supported by a $2 million NIH grant, his lab is studying how molecular signals influence the earliest stages of cancer development. 🔗 ucm.edu/orzdvg
Supported by a $2 million NIH grant, his lab is studying how molecular signals influence the earliest stages of cancer development. 🔗 ucm.edu/orzdvg
November 4, 2025 at 7:02 PM
UC Merced biologist Néstor Oviedo is exploring how the brain may hold the key to controlling cancer.
Supported by a $2 million NIH grant, his lab is studying how molecular signals influence the earliest stages of cancer development. 🔗 ucm.edu/orzdvg
Supported by a $2 million NIH grant, his lab is studying how molecular signals influence the earliest stages of cancer development. 🔗 ucm.edu/orzdvg
The incredible @doc-brock.bsky.social, @qsb-uc-merced.bsky.social @ucmerced.bsky.social alumni, is guest teaching my grad prof skills class today!
October 27, 2025 at 5:45 PM
The incredible @doc-brock.bsky.social, @qsb-uc-merced.bsky.social @ucmerced.bsky.social alumni, is guest teaching my grad prof skills class today!
Reposted by Fred Wolf
Excited to announce our new pre-print (www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...)!
This collaborative work (co-led by Adriane Otopalik and Gerry Rubin) examines how neuronal circuits regulate social behaviors, like courtship🫶 and aggression🥊, across sexes. #neuroscience #Drosophila #WomenInSTEM 🧪1/
This collaborative work (co-led by Adriane Otopalik and Gerry Rubin) examines how neuronal circuits regulate social behaviors, like courtship🫶 and aggression🥊, across sexes. #neuroscience #Drosophila #WomenInSTEM 🧪1/
October 23, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Excited to announce our new pre-print (www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...)!
This collaborative work (co-led by Adriane Otopalik and Gerry Rubin) examines how neuronal circuits regulate social behaviors, like courtship🫶 and aggression🥊, across sexes. #neuroscience #Drosophila #WomenInSTEM 🧪1/
This collaborative work (co-led by Adriane Otopalik and Gerry Rubin) examines how neuronal circuits regulate social behaviors, like courtship🫶 and aggression🥊, across sexes. #neuroscience #Drosophila #WomenInSTEM 🧪1/
Reposted by Fred Wolf
Grew up under a dictatorship, they attacked expertise first. This is alarmingly familiar. Trust in expertise is the foundation of modern civilization. Even as a researcher, I rely on expert knowledge I could never master in a lifetime. Rejecting that isn’t freedom, it’s how societies collapse!
RFK Jr: We need to stop trusting the experts... Trusting the experts is not a feature of science or democracy, it's a feature of religion and totalitarianism.
October 19, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Grew up under a dictatorship, they attacked expertise first. This is alarmingly familiar. Trust in expertise is the foundation of modern civilization. Even as a researcher, I rely on expert knowledge I could never master in a lifetime. Rejecting that isn’t freedom, it’s how societies collapse!
Happy to be hosting NeLLi scientist Frederik Schulz for a QSB grad program @qsb-uc-merced.bsky.social JGI/RENEW seminar here at @ucmerced.bsky.social today! And you should sign up for this excellent symposium too.
Join experts at our Sequences to Cultures Jamboree Nov. 6–7 to help develop recommendations for cultivating new bacteria and archaea—revealed by a recent genome census. A key outcome will be a a compelling position paper: jgi.doe.gov/sites/defaul...
More: jointgeno.me/NeLLi
@biosci.lbl.gov 🖥️🧬 🦠
More: jointgeno.me/NeLLi
@biosci.lbl.gov 🖥️🧬 🦠
2025 NeLLi Symposium | Joint Genome Institute
Las Vegas, NV Nov. 4-5. Immediately followed by 1.5-day jamboree on November 6-7
jointgeno.me
October 16, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Happy to be hosting NeLLi scientist Frederik Schulz for a QSB grad program @qsb-uc-merced.bsky.social JGI/RENEW seminar here at @ucmerced.bsky.social today! And you should sign up for this excellent symposium too.
Just in time for the Cold Spring Harbor Neurobiology of Drosophila meeting - read up on the receptor for the best neuropeptide, ever, NPF/NPY, and thirsty water seeking.
A single NPFR neuropeptide F receptor neuron that regulates thirst behaviors in Drosophila
#Drosophila
#Drosophila
A single NPFR neuropeptide F receptor neuron that regulates thirst behaviors in Drosophila
#Drosophila
PubMed link
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
October 10, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Just in time for the Cold Spring Harbor Neurobiology of Drosophila meeting - read up on the receptor for the best neuropeptide, ever, NPF/NPY, and thirsty water seeking.
Reposted by Fred Wolf
NSF GRFP solicitation is finally up. Life Sci deadline extended to Nov 10 but 2nd year grad students no longer eligible www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
www.nsf.gov
September 26, 2025 at 8:00 PM
NSF GRFP solicitation is finally up. Life Sci deadline extended to Nov 10 but 2nd year grad students no longer eligible www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...