Sareen Fiaz
@sareenfiaz.bsky.social
Neurons, iPSCs, microtubules, pretty microscopy 🔬| PhD student in the Aiken Lab at Colorado State University 💚
Pinned
Sareen Fiaz
@sareenfiaz.bsky.social
· Jun 3
Microtubule comets in human iPSCs to kick off my first week of grad school! ☄️💫
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
In a new #openaccess PERSPECTIVE in #CYTOSKELETON, Ron Vale reflects on 40 years of #kinesin, from its serendipitous discovery to how this microscopic motor drove a revolution in single-molecule imaging. Read "Captivated by Kinesin" here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
August 26, 2026 at 4:27 PM
In a new #openaccess PERSPECTIVE in #CYTOSKELETON, Ron Vale reflects on 40 years of #kinesin, from its serendipitous discovery to how this microscopic motor drove a revolution in single-molecule imaging. Read "Captivated by Kinesin" here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
One year of the Aiken Lab! 🧫🔬🎉
It’s hard to believe how much we’ve built in our first year: new research directions, first papers, outreach initiatives, and an incredible team. Grateful to Sareen, Alejandra, Jacob, and Jay, and to our mentors and collaborators who have supported us along the way!
It’s hard to believe how much we’ve built in our first year: new research directions, first papers, outreach initiatives, and an incredible team. Grateful to Sareen, Alejandra, Jacob, and Jay, and to our mentors and collaborators who have supported us along the way!
August 28, 2026 at 11:29 PM
One year of the Aiken Lab! 🧫🔬🎉
It’s hard to believe how much we’ve built in our first year: new research directions, first papers, outreach initiatives, and an incredible team. Grateful to Sareen, Alejandra, Jacob, and Jay, and to our mentors and collaborators who have supported us along the way!
It’s hard to believe how much we’ve built in our first year: new research directions, first papers, outreach initiatives, and an incredible team. Grateful to Sareen, Alejandra, Jacob, and Jay, and to our mentors and collaborators who have supported us along the way!
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
A great day at the Front Range Cytoskeleton Meeting held this year at CU Boulder! Huge congratulations to @sareenfiaz.bsky.social and Alejandra for their fantastic poster presentations.🔬✨ #TeamScience #Cytoskeleton #LabLife
June 30, 2026 at 9:44 PM
A great day at the Front Range Cytoskeleton Meeting held this year at CU Boulder! Huge congratulations to @sareenfiaz.bsky.social and Alejandra for their fantastic poster presentations.🔬✨ #TeamScience #Cytoskeleton #LabLife
Microtubule comets in human iPSCs to kick off my first week of grad school! ☄️💫
June 3, 2026 at 10:40 PM
Microtubule comets in human iPSCs to kick off my first week of grad school! ☄️💫
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
This mesmerizing timelapse captures the nonstop motion inside an animal cell. Red/orange streaks are the growing ends of microtubules, tiny “highways” that can rapidly assemble and disassemble to move proteins & other molecules within the cell.
📸: Andy Moore, HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus
📸: Andy Moore, HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus
May 10, 2026 at 1:05 PM
This mesmerizing timelapse captures the nonstop motion inside an animal cell. Red/orange streaks are the growing ends of microtubules, tiny “highways” that can rapidly assemble and disassemble to move proteins & other molecules within the cell.
📸: Andy Moore, HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus
📸: Andy Moore, HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
The recent articles in our Immune Cell Biology collection explore how #macrophage #phagocytosis and #trogocytosis are regulated via target cell adhesion and how mechanotransduction affects the B cell immune synapse.
👉 rupress.org/jcb/collecti...
👉 rupress.org/jcb/collecti...
April 21, 2026 at 8:30 PM
The recent articles in our Immune Cell Biology collection explore how #macrophage #phagocytosis and #trogocytosis are regulated via target cell adhesion and how mechanotransduction affects the B cell immune synapse.
👉 rupress.org/jcb/collecti...
👉 rupress.org/jcb/collecti...
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
Attention #MICROTUBULE fans!! A new TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES paper is out at #CYTOSKELETON. Visualizing Specific #Tubulin Isotypes and #Pathogenic Variants in #Cellular Microtubule Arrays. Check out the paper here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
April 22, 2026 at 3:04 AM
Attention #MICROTUBULE fans!! A new TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES paper is out at #CYTOSKELETON. Visualizing Specific #Tubulin Isotypes and #Pathogenic Variants in #Cellular Microtubule Arrays. Check out the paper here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
The latest #SPECIALISSUE of #CYTOSKELETON is now out! CYTOSKELETAL REGULATION OF MITOCHONDRIAL DYNAMICS. Check out the entire issue here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/19493592... . #openaccess #mitochondria #actin #septin
April 15, 2026 at 2:55 PM
The latest #SPECIALISSUE of #CYTOSKELETON is now out! CYTOSKELETAL REGULATION OF MITOCHONDRIAL DYNAMICS. Check out the entire issue here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/19493592... . #openaccess #mitochondria #actin #septin
So excited to have been awarded the ASCB COMPASS Outreach Grant for our proposal of “Beyond the Data” 🔬 The Aiken Lab will host a community-wide Graduate Science-Art Showcase & Reception in downtown Fort Collins, coming soon!🎉 @aikenlab.bsky.social @ascbiology.bsky.social
March 12, 2026 at 3:23 AM
So excited to have been awarded the ASCB COMPASS Outreach Grant for our proposal of “Beyond the Data” 🔬 The Aiken Lab will host a community-wide Graduate Science-Art Showcase & Reception in downtown Fort Collins, coming soon!🎉 @aikenlab.bsky.social @ascbiology.bsky.social
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
Fun to see this on the cover of Cytoskeleton!
Microtubule and actin filaments captured by @sareenfiaz in the Aiken Lab 🔬
#Cytoskeleton #CellBiology #Microscopy #LabLife
Microtubule and actin filaments captured by @sareenfiaz in the Aiken Lab 🔬
#Cytoskeleton #CellBiology #Microscopy #LabLife
Happy #microscopymonday. Today we have the front cover of our February issue of #CYTOSKELETON. You can check out issue here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/19493592...
March 6, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Fun to see this on the cover of Cytoskeleton!
Microtubule and actin filaments captured by @sareenfiaz in the Aiken Lab 🔬
#Cytoskeleton #CellBiology #Microscopy #LabLife
Microtubule and actin filaments captured by @sareenfiaz in the Aiken Lab 🔬
#Cytoskeleton #CellBiology #Microscopy #LabLife
So excited to be on the cover of Cytoskeleton’s latest issue!!! 🔬
Happy #microscopymonday. Today we have the front cover of our February issue of #CYTOSKELETON. You can check out issue here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/19493592...
March 6, 2026 at 2:35 AM
So excited to be on the cover of Cytoskeleton’s latest issue!!! 🔬
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
What happens when marine embryos are crowded instead of isolated?
They become materials.
Honored to write a @natphys.nature.com News & Views on excitable living solids discovered by Prof. Fakhri and colleagues at @mit.edu 😀
N&V: rdcu.be/e5gLm
Paper: nature.com/articles/s41...
They become materials.
Honored to write a @natphys.nature.com News & Views on excitable living solids discovered by Prof. Fakhri and colleagues at @mit.edu 😀
N&V: rdcu.be/e5gLm
Paper: nature.com/articles/s41...
A crowd of marine embryos self-assembles into a living solid
Nature Physics - Marine embryos are usually studied in isolation. But when starfish embryos are in a crowd, they self-assemble into living solids with unexpected dynamics, revealing how simple...
rdcu.be
February 23, 2026 at 4:32 PM
What happens when marine embryos are crowded instead of isolated?
They become materials.
Honored to write a @natphys.nature.com News & Views on excitable living solids discovered by Prof. Fakhri and colleagues at @mit.edu 😀
N&V: rdcu.be/e5gLm
Paper: nature.com/articles/s41...
They become materials.
Honored to write a @natphys.nature.com News & Views on excitable living solids discovered by Prof. Fakhri and colleagues at @mit.edu 😀
N&V: rdcu.be/e5gLm
Paper: nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
What's happening during attention lapses after poor sleep?
A fluid wave. Your brain is trying to clean itself, to wash away waste products.
nature.com/articles/s41...
gift link
wsj.com/health/welln...
A fluid wave. Your brain is trying to clean itself, to wash away waste products.
nature.com/articles/s41...
gift link
wsj.com/health/welln...
February 14, 2026 at 5:12 PM
What's happening during attention lapses after poor sleep?
A fluid wave. Your brain is trying to clean itself, to wash away waste products.
nature.com/articles/s41...
gift link
wsj.com/health/welln...
A fluid wave. Your brain is trying to clean itself, to wash away waste products.
nature.com/articles/s41...
gift link
wsj.com/health/welln...
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
NSF's graduate research fellowship (GRF) program is designed to teach aspiring scientists how to write a winning grant proposal. So why are so many applicants being denied that learning experience? www.science.org/content/arti...
NSF’s flagship fellowship program is rejecting applicants without peer review
Students seeking graduate research scholarships speculate that biology is being disfavored
www.science.org
February 12, 2026 at 6:31 PM
NSF's graduate research fellowship (GRF) program is designed to teach aspiring scientists how to write a winning grant proposal. So why are so many applicants being denied that learning experience? www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
🏆UCSB ranked #1 public university in the US for scientific impact, and 3rd in universities overall!🎓
Congratulations to all of our researchers who are leading the global conversation.🌐🧵
@ucsantabarbara.bsky.social @ucsbengineering.bsky.social @uofcalifornia.bsky.social
Congratulations to all of our researchers who are leading the global conversation.🌐🧵
@ucsantabarbara.bsky.social @ucsbengineering.bsky.social @uofcalifornia.bsky.social
February 10, 2026 at 4:54 PM
🏆UCSB ranked #1 public university in the US for scientific impact, and 3rd in universities overall!🎓
Congratulations to all of our researchers who are leading the global conversation.🌐🧵
@ucsantabarbara.bsky.social @ucsbengineering.bsky.social @uofcalifornia.bsky.social
Congratulations to all of our researchers who are leading the global conversation.🌐🧵
@ucsantabarbara.bsky.social @ucsbengineering.bsky.social @uofcalifornia.bsky.social
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
Zombosomes, large vesicles with cell-like qualities, can spread alpha-synuclein protein clumps from astrocytes to other astrocytes, neurons, and lab-grown brain tissues.
Learn more: https://scim.ag/4qSd1vP
Learn more: https://scim.ag/4qSd1vP
February 5, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Zombosomes, large vesicles with cell-like qualities, can spread alpha-synuclein protein clumps from astrocytes to other astrocytes, neurons, and lab-grown brain tissues.
Learn more: https://scim.ag/4qSd1vP
Learn more: https://scim.ag/4qSd1vP
Our first successful launch of StoryLab, the Aiken Lab’s new scientific outreach program! This week we partnered with a local Fort Collins children’s center to introduce 3-5 year olds to their brain! 🧠
January 31, 2026 at 2:00 AM
Our first successful launch of StoryLab, the Aiken Lab’s new scientific outreach program! This week we partnered with a local Fort Collins children’s center to introduce 3-5 year olds to their brain! 🧠
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
Getting asked about how academics can continue to do science & inspire trainees even in the midst of a continued (escalated) assault on science, reason, truth, & human rights. I don’t have great answers.
I would love to hear from mentors about advice they’re giving to trainees/ colleagues.
I would love to hear from mentors about advice they’re giving to trainees/ colleagues.
January 17, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Getting asked about how academics can continue to do science & inspire trainees even in the midst of a continued (escalated) assault on science, reason, truth, & human rights. I don’t have great answers.
I would love to hear from mentors about advice they’re giving to trainees/ colleagues.
I would love to hear from mentors about advice they’re giving to trainees/ colleagues.
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
🚨The Neurocyto lab is branching out in our latest preprint! We used tubulin microinjection to directly visualize microtubule turnover in developing hippocampal neurons, demonstrating the presence of in-lattice repair and a selective stabilization in the nascent axon. Check below, or read on 🧵 1/9
Direct labeling of microtubule turnover reveals in-lattice repair and stabilization patterns in developing neurons
The microtubule cytoskeleton is the backbone of neuronal morphogenesis, driving the development of the dendrites and axon, and supporting trafficking to distant compartments. How neuronal microtubules...
www.biorxiv.org
January 12, 2026 at 7:14 PM
🚨The Neurocyto lab is branching out in our latest preprint! We used tubulin microinjection to directly visualize microtubule turnover in developing hippocampal neurons, demonstrating the presence of in-lattice repair and a selective stabilization in the nascent axon. Check below, or read on 🧵 1/9
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
#HappyNewYear !
Let's start 2026 with a @cellcommlab.bsky.social paper
How many branches is OK during #CellMigration?
It depends on the #cell: for ex. immune cells are just fine.
In collab. w. #NirGov @hfspo.bsky.social
Full www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@focalplane.bsky.social @science.org 🧪🔬
Let's start 2026 with a @cellcommlab.bsky.social paper
How many branches is OK during #CellMigration?
It depends on the #cell: for ex. immune cells are just fine.
In collab. w. #NirGov @hfspo.bsky.social
Full www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@focalplane.bsky.social @science.org 🧪🔬
January 1, 2026 at 8:59 PM
#HappyNewYear !
Let's start 2026 with a @cellcommlab.bsky.social paper
How many branches is OK during #CellMigration?
It depends on the #cell: for ex. immune cells are just fine.
In collab. w. #NirGov @hfspo.bsky.social
Full www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@focalplane.bsky.social @science.org 🧪🔬
Let's start 2026 with a @cellcommlab.bsky.social paper
How many branches is OK during #CellMigration?
It depends on the #cell: for ex. immune cells are just fine.
In collab. w. #NirGov @hfspo.bsky.social
Full www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@focalplane.bsky.social @science.org 🧪🔬
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
Macrophage fireworks 🎆 from Miller et al. of the @mmorrissey.bsky.social lab (doi.org/10.1083/jcb....) showing a #macrophage expressing Vav1-mCherry (magenta) interacting with IgG (yellow) on a supported lipid bilayer containing ICAM-1. More in JCB's December issue: rupress.org/jcb/issue/22...
December 15, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Macrophage fireworks 🎆 from Miller et al. of the @mmorrissey.bsky.social lab (doi.org/10.1083/jcb....) showing a #macrophage expressing Vav1-mCherry (magenta) interacting with IgG (yellow) on a supported lipid bilayer containing ICAM-1. More in JCB's December issue: rupress.org/jcb/issue/22...
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
Time-lapse movie of mitochondria (blue) transport within neurons (green) in the tail of a transgenic #zebrafish larva. Credit to @paquetlab.bsky.social. #ZebrafishZunday 🧪
December 14, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Time-lapse movie of mitochondria (blue) transport within neurons (green) in the tail of a transgenic #zebrafish larva. Credit to @paquetlab.bsky.social. #ZebrafishZunday 🧪
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
New from Silvia Caballero, Stefania Castagnetti and friends - Embryonic development of the Mediterranean starfish Hacelia attenuata
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
December 9, 2025 at 12:15 PM
New from Silvia Caballero, Stefania Castagnetti and friends - Embryonic development of the Mediterranean starfish Hacelia attenuata
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Sareen Fiaz
Malina Iwanski @mkiwanski.bsky.social, Lukas Kapitein and colleagues discover that stable microtubules reverse their polarity during neuronal development.
journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
#OpenAccess #ReadandPublish
journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
#OpenAccess #ReadandPublish
December 8, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Malina Iwanski @mkiwanski.bsky.social, Lukas Kapitein and colleagues discover that stable microtubules reverse their polarity during neuronal development.
journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
#OpenAccess #ReadandPublish
journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
#OpenAccess #ReadandPublish