Dr. Nicola Smyllie
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nsmyllie.bsky.social
Dr. Nicola Smyllie
@nsmyllie.bsky.social
63 followers 74 following 5 posts
Investigator scientist at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Neurobiologist researching the circadian clock of the suprachiasmatic nucleus
STEM Ambassador
Passion for Science Public Engagement
All views are my own
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nsmyllie.bsky.social
Dr. Nicola Smyllie @nsmyllie.bsky.social · Apr 25
A nice summary about my latest paper, and I got to use this image that I had fun putting together (no AI in sight!)
mrclmb.ac.uk MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology @mrclmb.ac.uk · Apr 25
Uncovering the hidden complexity behind the brain’s master clock.
New research led by @nsmyllie.bsky.social, in Michael Hastings’s group, reveals that body clock proteins PER2 & CRY1 act more independently than previously thought:
www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/uncovering-t...
#LMBResearch 🧪 🕙 🧠
Artistic representation of the complex dynamics exhibited by “clock proteins” within the brain.
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
mrclmb.ac.uk
In June, LMB scientists teamed up with @bioclocksuk.bsky.social for a chronobiology outreach exhibit at #TheBigBangFair, engaging 3000 teachers and students over 3 days.

Read more about their exhibit here: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...

#LMBNews #PublicEngagement @nsmyllie.bsky.social
LMB scientists Exhibit with brain models and worksheets
July 7, 2026 at 9:12 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
mrc-lms.bsky.social
📢 Applications are open for our Science Technology Graduate Programme!

We're looking for recent graduates (with no postgraduate degree) to join our Proteomics and Metabolomics facilities.

If you're looking to gain experience in research, we'd love to hear from you.

🗓️ Applications close 9 August.
Science technology graduate programme
Our Graduate Programme develops fresh science graduates into highly sought after technicians.
lms.mrc.ac.uk
July 1, 2026 at 3:47 PM
nsmyllie.bsky.social
We had a great time representing @mrclmb.ac.uk and @bioclocksuk.bsky.social at #TheBigBangFair this week, bringing brains and body clocks to primary school students and teachers, with the aim of inspiring the next generation to pursue STEM careers.
June 11, 2026 at 2:51 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
mrclmb.ac.uk
New #LMBResearch led by @drbatmo.bsky.social in John O’Neill’s group (@cellbiol-mrclmb.bsky.social) has identified the molecular switch decides day or night.

Click here to read how the mTOR pathway controls when mammals are active and the role it’s played in evolution: mrclmb.ac.uk/news-events/...
Person on ladder adjusting clock hands against a sky transitioning from day to night.
February 27, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
drbatmo.bsky.social
Since I moved to @mrclmb.bsky.social I’ve been trying to answer this: Why are some mammals active at night and others in the day? Today our answer is out @science.org www.science.org/doi/10.1126/....
If you’re interested in circadian biology, evolution or how timing shapes physiology, take a look
A cellular basis for the mammalian nocturnal-diurnal switch
Early mammals were nocturnal while dinosaurs dominated the daytime. Mammalian transition to daytime activity accelerated after the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, but the underlying mechanisms remain...
www.science.org
February 27, 2026 at 11:29 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
feedbacklou.bsky.social
4yr MRC-funded postdoc position investigating circadian mechanisms in cardiometabolic disease, currently available @manchester.ac.uk

www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

Come and join our brilliant Centre for Biological Timing team!

@bioclocksuk.bsky.social #chronobiology #circadian #postdoc
Research Associate in Circadian Mechanisms in Cardiometabolic Disease:Oxford Road
Due to the nature of the funding, KTP Associates who have already completed a KTP are not eligible to apply.
www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk
November 10, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
bioclocksuk.bsky.social
Share you #chronobiology research at the upcoming #ClockClub in Nottingham on the 9th of January 2026. Only a few more days until the 14th Nov abstract submission deadline!
Send your abstract here: forms.office.com/e/cQDefteB7S
Microsoft Forms
forms.office.com
November 11, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
mrclmb.ac.uk
Considering the LMB for your PhD?
We’ve got over 25 projects available, covering a wide array of topics. Check them out here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/students/int...
Apply by 2nd DEC for Autumn 2026 admission.
Join the LMB's PhD programme! Applications now open for October 2026 Deadline 2nd December 2025
November 10, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
mrclmb.ac.uk
The M4S Competition has expanded its reach to Birmingham and Manchester, underscoring the programme's success in sparking scientific curiosity among primary students across the UK
#LMBNews
www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/m4s-expansio...
@mcrcnews.bsky.social @uom-dcs.bsky.social @unibirmingham.bsky.social
M4S collage with past winners and in action pictures
October 27, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
mrclmb.ac.uk
Join us at @pborostemfest.bsky.social on Oct 18 to test your detective skills in an interactive game, matching what you see under a microscope with different areas of LMB’s science #PSF2025

📍 ARU Peterborough
🕚 11:00 – 16:00 (Quiet time 9.30-11)

www.peterboroughstemfestival.co.uk/exhibitors/m...
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology - Beauty is in the detail - Peterborough STEM Festival
Have a go at coding with Peterborough CoderDojo!
www.peterboroughstemfestival.co.uk
October 13, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
mrclmb.ac.uk
Want to help inspire future generations of scientists? Are you passionate about #SciComm? We have a Public Engagement and Communications Officer (Maternity Cover) position in the LMB engagement & comms team:

www.reed.co.uk/jobs/public-...

Closes 21 SEP
#SciCommJobs
Images of children and young people taking part in Public Engagement activities
September 4, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
mrclmb.ac.uk
We’re looking for a #postdoc to join Michael Hastings’ group, studying diet-induced neuroinflammation in the hypothalamus and its modulation by circadian clock mechanisms, in collaboration with John O'Neill's group.
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Closes 08 SEP
#ScienceJobs #PostdocJobs
Michael Hastings in a light pink shirt stands with arms crossed in front of scientific research posters filled with charts and graphs.
August 20, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
bioclocksuk.bsky.social
☀️ Summer is a great time to observe biological rhythms in action. Look at the insect life around you - do they come out at a particular time of day?

🐝 If so, you've found their 'temporal niche'!

🔗 Learn more through our factsheets here: www.bioclocks.uk/factsheets

#SciComm #Ecology 🧪
August 11, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
nature.com
To be successful, policymakers need to consider diverse perspectives

go.nature.com/3H7XR3X
Could bridging science and the arts be the key to better policies?
To be successful, policymakers need to consider diverse perspectives. Here’s how we’re reimagining policy process.
go.nature.com
July 30, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
mrclmb.ac.uk
Are you creative? Curious? Science-savvy?
We have a unique opportunity to join the LMB’s VisLab as a Photographer / Videographer where you’ll help communicate ground-breaking research with dynamic visuals.
Apply now: mrc.tal.net/vx/mobile-0/...
#CambridgeJobs #PhotographyJobs #ScienceCommunication
We're Hiring! Science Photographer/Videographer VisLab, MRC LMB Bring science to life through stunning visuals. Apply Today
July 22, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
mrclmb.ac.uk
Is the next step of your career at the LMB?
Come and find us at the @cambridgebiocampus.bsky.social Campus Jobs and Career Fair this Saturday 21st June at the Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology!
More details here: cambridge-biomedical.com/event/cbc-jo...
June 17, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
bioclocksuk.bsky.social
What does the evidence say about beating #jetlag? It depends which way you’re going!

Check out our full factsheet on Jetlag here: www.bioclocks.uk/factsheets

#chronobiology #scicomm 🧪
June 16, 2025 at 3:49 PM
nsmyllie.bsky.social
Thanks to Michael Brunner for writing this #news&views article for @embojournal.org about our recent research on #circadian clock protein dynamics in the SCN: www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
CRYing for balance: a repressor lingers through peak circadian transcription | The EMBO Journal
EMBO Press is an editorially independent publishing platform for the development of EMBO scientific publications.
www.embopress.org
June 10, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
mrclmb.ac.uk
The LMB is committed to being open & honest about why & how we use animals in our research.
Our Biological Services Group provide excellent care to our colonies of rodents – our fantastic animal technicians explain why they work with mice in this video: youtu.be/V7CHmPGjvSo
#BOARD25 @eara.eu
Why I Work with Mice in Research - An Animal Technician's Point of View
YouTube video by MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
youtu.be
June 3, 2025 at 8:30 AM
nsmyllie.bsky.social
A nice summary about my latest paper, and I got to use this image that I had fun putting together (no AI in sight!)
mrclmb.ac.uk MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology @mrclmb.ac.uk · Apr 25
Uncovering the hidden complexity behind the brain’s master clock.
New research led by @nsmyllie.bsky.social, in Michael Hastings’s group, reveals that body clock proteins PER2 & CRY1 act more independently than previously thought:
www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/uncovering-t...
#LMBResearch 🧪 🕙 🧠
Artistic representation of the complex dynamics exhibited by “clock proteins” within the brain.
April 25, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
mrclmb.ac.uk
Uncovering the hidden complexity behind the brain’s master clock.
New research led by @nsmyllie.bsky.social, in Michael Hastings’s group, reveals that body clock proteins PER2 & CRY1 act more independently than previously thought:
www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/uncovering-t...
#LMBResearch 🧪 🕙 🧠
Artistic representation of the complex dynamics exhibited by “clock proteins” within the brain.
April 25, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
drbatmo.bsky.social
If anyone is interested, I've updated our take on a cellular basis of the mammalian nocturnal-diurnal switch @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social

We've refined the paper (for the better, hopefully!) - my fave updates are the results from a collab with Zoonomia (Fig 3)

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A cellular basis for the mammalian nocturnal-diurnal switch
Early mammals were nocturnal until the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction enabled diurnal niche expansion. Diurnality evolved multiple times independently, but the mechanisms driving this shift remain un...
www.biorxiv.org
April 24, 2025 at 10:29 AM
nsmyllie.bsky.social
Very pleased to see my latest paper out in @embojournal.org Go check it out!
embojournal.org The EMBO Journal @embojournal.org · Apr 22
Quantitative measures of clock protein dynamics in the mouse suprachiasmatic nucleus extends the #circadian time-keeping model
Michael Hastings, Nicola Smyllie @nsmyllie.bsky.social et al @mrclmb.bsky.social
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
April 24, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
embojournal.org
Quantitative measures of clock protein dynamics in the mouse suprachiasmatic nucleus extends the #circadian time-keeping model
Michael Hastings, Nicola Smyllie @nsmyllie.bsky.social et al @mrclmb.bsky.social
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
April 22, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Reposted by Dr. Nicola Smyllie
mrclmb.ac.uk
LMB scientists showcased their work at the @cambridgefestival.bsky.social with a hands-on activity about the scale of biology and an artistic piece about body clocks.

Read about the event here: www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/lmb-highligh...

#LMBNews #CamFest @nsmyllie.bsky.social
Girl and woman looking under a microscope in an outreach activity
April 4, 2025 at 2:35 PM