sarahejbowman
@xtalmaker.bsky.social
scientist, structural biologist, poet, reader, gardener, cat lover, all views my own
🧪🔬💎✒️📚🎨🌿🐾🏳️🌈
she/her
🧪🔬💎✒️📚🎨🌿🐾🏳️🌈
she/her
Pinned
sarahejbowman
@xtalmaker.bsky.social
· Nov 17
👋. Since there are so many new faces here on bluesky, a quick reintroduction. Structural biologist using X-Ray crystallography, XFEL, electron diffraction, spectroscopy.💎 Metals in biology. 🧪
Support DEI & women in science.
Scicomm & science art 🎨
Poet ✒️ Reader 📚 Gardener 🌿 Cat lover 🐾
Support DEI & women in science.
Scicomm & science art 🎨
Poet ✒️ Reader 📚 Gardener 🌿 Cat lover 🐾
Reposted by sarahejbowman
“The arrangement would give Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, a direct role in determining how NIH distributes its $48 billion in congressionally-appropriated money.”
Bypassing the many checks and balances at NIH on grant funding decisions.
Bypassing the many checks and balances at NIH on grant funding decisions.
Trump asked budget chief to draft order bringing health research funding under his control
Trump asked budget chief to draft order bringing health research funding under his control
The move came after the NIH director refused Trump’s request to cut Harvard grants in an Oval Office meeting.
dlvr.it
September 20, 2026 at 4:00 AM
“The arrangement would give Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, a direct role in determining how NIH distributes its $48 billion in congressionally-appropriated money.”
Bypassing the many checks and balances at NIH on grant funding decisions.
Bypassing the many checks and balances at NIH on grant funding decisions.
What an amazing and lovely surprise to be presented with a bouquet of flowers 💐 by the biochemistry student majors in the senior level course I teach in celebration of our recent grant news. I am so touched by their thoughtfulness & so grateful I get to teach them 🥰!
www.buffalo.edu/news/release...
www.buffalo.edu/news/release...
September 10, 2026 at 12:17 PM
What an amazing and lovely surprise to be presented with a bouquet of flowers 💐 by the biochemistry student majors in the senior level course I teach in celebration of our recent grant news. I am so touched by their thoughtfulness & so grateful I get to teach them 🥰!
www.buffalo.edu/news/release...
www.buffalo.edu/news/release...
I am beyond thrilled to announce the renewal of the National Resource R24 grant that supports the National Crystallization Center @getacrystal.bsky.social at the University at Buffalo! 🎉🍾💎
September 3, 2026 at 11:51 AM
I am beyond thrilled to announce the renewal of the National Resource R24 grant that supports the National Crystallization Center @getacrystal.bsky.social at the University at Buffalo! 🎉🍾💎
Reposted by sarahejbowman
Your Moment of Zen:
Martin Gregus Jr. captured this polar bear swimming alongside a pod of beluga whales on drone footage in the Arctic.
Polar bears are occasional predators of belugas (ambush at airholes), but they know they can easily outrun the bear in open water.
(📷: mywildlive on IG)
Martin Gregus Jr. captured this polar bear swimming alongside a pod of beluga whales on drone footage in the Arctic.
Polar bears are occasional predators of belugas (ambush at airholes), but they know they can easily outrun the bear in open water.
(📷: mywildlive on IG)
August 30, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Your Moment of Zen:
Martin Gregus Jr. captured this polar bear swimming alongside a pod of beluga whales on drone footage in the Arctic.
Polar bears are occasional predators of belugas (ambush at airholes), but they know they can easily outrun the bear in open water.
(📷: mywildlive on IG)
Martin Gregus Jr. captured this polar bear swimming alongside a pod of beluga whales on drone footage in the Arctic.
Polar bears are occasional predators of belugas (ambush at airholes), but they know they can easily outrun the bear in open water.
(📷: mywildlive on IG)
Reposted by sarahejbowman
Sad news. Yonath was/is a legend indeed. Now there are only 4 living female @nobelprize.org laureates in chemistry. There are 20 living Nobel Prize winners just at Stanford right now.
Nobel Prize winner Ada Yonath sadly passed away today. She was a legend for her pioneering work on the structure of ribosomes.
August 31, 2026 at 9:28 PM
Sad news. Yonath was/is a legend indeed. Now there are only 4 living female @nobelprize.org laureates in chemistry. There are 20 living Nobel Prize winners just at Stanford right now.
Reposted by sarahejbowman
Structural biology postdoctoral position open in my lab--apply now!
For more information about the lab, see www.umassmed.edu/munsonlab/.
Interested candidates should apply through the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School jobs portal (www.ummsjobs.com/job/11668/).
For more information about the lab, see www.umassmed.edu/munsonlab/.
Interested candidates should apply through the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School jobs portal (www.ummsjobs.com/job/11668/).
Munson Lab | Home | BMB | UMass Chan Medical School
The Munson Lab researches the mechanistic basis for the regulation of spatial and temporal specificity in membrane trafficking in the Biochemistry & Molecular Biotechnology Department at UMass Chan Me...
www.umassmed.edu
August 26, 2026 at 12:13 AM
Structural biology postdoctoral position open in my lab--apply now!
For more information about the lab, see www.umassmed.edu/munsonlab/.
Interested candidates should apply through the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School jobs portal (www.ummsjobs.com/job/11668/).
For more information about the lab, see www.umassmed.edu/munsonlab/.
Interested candidates should apply through the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School jobs portal (www.ummsjobs.com/job/11668/).
Reposted by sarahejbowman
How your email finds me.
August 22, 2026 at 12:45 AM
How your email finds me.
Reposted by sarahejbowman
Part of the reason a lot of super rich people are so awful is that when normal people get an absurd amount of money, they immediately start looking around for who they can help.
Rachel Reid, who wrote the popular “Heated Rivalry” novel, has donated $300k to Annapolis Valley Regional Library, “one of the most significant private gifts” in their history.
“I credit my local library for being a huge part of the reason I’m a published author today,” Reid said
#Halifax #HaliSky
“I credit my local library for being a huge part of the reason I’m a published author today,” Reid said
#Halifax #HaliSky
‘Heated Rivalry’ author donates $300,000 to Nova Scotia libraries
Several Nova Scotia libraries that faced possible closures this summer are getting a major cash boost from one of the province’s most famous authors.
www.ctvnews.ca
August 18, 2026 at 9:24 PM
Part of the reason a lot of super rich people are so awful is that when normal people get an absurd amount of money, they immediately start looking around for who they can help.
Reposted by sarahejbowman
During these awful times it’s always great when something amazing like this pops up on the timeline to give you hope for better days ahead
August 19, 2026 at 1:58 AM
During these awful times it’s always great when something amazing like this pops up on the timeline to give you hope for better days ahead
Reposted by sarahejbowman
This plan will make peer review less transparent and more confusing to applicants and program staff.
Y'all killed it on the OMB proposal, you know what to do here. Comment deadline is October 13.
Y'all killed it on the OMB proposal, you know what to do here. Comment deadline is October 13.
Of course this RFI drops late on Friday.
NIH proposes to stop providing specific scores and instead bin grants into 3 broad categories: most competitive, competitive, not discussed.
A score would be calculated but not provided to the PI (or PO).
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
NIH proposes to stop providing specific scores and instead bin grants into 3 broad categories: most competitive, competitive, not discussed.
A score would be calculated but not provided to the PI (or PO).
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
NOT-OD-26-088: Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Changes to Reporting Outcomes from NIH Peer Review NOT-OD-26-088. NIH
grants.nih.gov
August 14, 2026 at 7:45 PM
This plan will make peer review less transparent and more confusing to applicants and program staff.
Y'all killed it on the OMB proposal, you know what to do here. Comment deadline is October 13.
Y'all killed it on the OMB proposal, you know what to do here. Comment deadline is October 13.
🎉 Congratulations to Gabrielle Budziszewski for being awarded the 2026 Sidhu Award from the Pittsburgh Diffraction Society! 🎉
Gabby is so deserving of this award recognizing her as an emerging leader in the structural biology field.
Gabby is so deserving of this award recognizing her as an emerging leader in the structural biology field.
August 14, 2026 at 5:05 PM
🎉 Congratulations to Gabrielle Budziszewski for being awarded the 2026 Sidhu Award from the Pittsburgh Diffraction Society! 🎉
Gabby is so deserving of this award recognizing her as an emerging leader in the structural biology field.
Gabby is so deserving of this award recognizing her as an emerging leader in the structural biology field.
Deadline for the August 2026 run for high throughput crystallization is tomorrow!
💎💎💎💎💎 1536 conditions to find your sample’s crystallization hotspots 💎💎💎💎💎
💎💎💎💎💎 1536 conditions to find your sample’s crystallization hotspots 💎💎💎💎💎
August 2026 HT crystallization deadline coming up!
⏰ Reservation deadline for August is Friday 7/31/26! ⏰
📦 Acceptance & Plate Setup:
💎 Tues 8/4-Thurs 8/6
💎 Mon 8/10-Thurs 8/13
Send us your sample to set up in 1536 different crystallization conditions to help find 💎s!
www.getacrystal.org
⏰ Reservation deadline for August is Friday 7/31/26! ⏰
📦 Acceptance & Plate Setup:
💎 Tues 8/4-Thurs 8/6
💎 Mon 8/10-Thurs 8/13
Send us your sample to set up in 1536 different crystallization conditions to help find 💎s!
www.getacrystal.org
July 30, 2026 at 5:54 PM
Deadline for the August 2026 run for high throughput crystallization is tomorrow!
💎💎💎💎💎 1536 conditions to find your sample’s crystallization hotspots 💎💎💎💎💎
💎💎💎💎💎 1536 conditions to find your sample’s crystallization hotspots 💎💎💎💎💎
Reposted by sarahejbowman
August 2026 HT crystallization deadline coming up!
⏰ Reservation deadline for August is Friday 7/31/26! ⏰
📦 Acceptance & Plate Setup:
💎 Tues 8/4-Thurs 8/6
💎 Mon 8/10-Thurs 8/13
Send us your sample to set up in 1536 different crystallization conditions to help find 💎s!
www.getacrystal.org
⏰ Reservation deadline for August is Friday 7/31/26! ⏰
📦 Acceptance & Plate Setup:
💎 Tues 8/4-Thurs 8/6
💎 Mon 8/10-Thurs 8/13
Send us your sample to set up in 1536 different crystallization conditions to help find 💎s!
www.getacrystal.org
July 30, 2026 at 1:59 AM
August 2026 HT crystallization deadline coming up!
⏰ Reservation deadline for August is Friday 7/31/26! ⏰
📦 Acceptance & Plate Setup:
💎 Tues 8/4-Thurs 8/6
💎 Mon 8/10-Thurs 8/13
Send us your sample to set up in 1536 different crystallization conditions to help find 💎s!
www.getacrystal.org
⏰ Reservation deadline for August is Friday 7/31/26! ⏰
📦 Acceptance & Plate Setup:
💎 Tues 8/4-Thurs 8/6
💎 Mon 8/10-Thurs 8/13
Send us your sample to set up in 1536 different crystallization conditions to help find 💎s!
www.getacrystal.org
Reposted by sarahejbowman
We already do this and companies who want them are happy to pay for PhD student interns. Why do precious and limited NSF funds need to be deployed for this? Most PhD student pursue industry jobs anyways - that has always been true. Use NSF funds to support basic science that industry wont support!
With academic jobs few and far between, the NSF is testing a new approach to graduate education: Giving Ph.D. students industry experience — and dollars — as part of their training. For more, see my latest for @statnews.com.
www.statnews.com/2026/07/29/h...
www.statnews.com/2026/07/29/h...
NSF testing new Ph.D. model giving trainees academic and industry experience
Young life scientists have been increasingly abandoning academia, a seismic shift that has fueled calls for rethinking graduate education. On Wednesday,
www.statnews.com
July 30, 2026 at 12:07 AM
We already do this and companies who want them are happy to pay for PhD student interns. Why do precious and limited NSF funds need to be deployed for this? Most PhD student pursue industry jobs anyways - that has always been true. Use NSF funds to support basic science that industry wont support!
Reposted by sarahejbowman
I submitted my comment for this RFI about limiting the number of RPGs/PI, due 8/3/2026, next Monday
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
NOT-OD-26-086: Request for Information: Proposal to Cap the Number of Simultaneous Research Project Grants per Principal Investigator to Support More Researchers and Maximize Scientific Productivity a...
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Request for Information: Proposal to Cap the Number of Simultaneous Research Project Grants per Principal Investigator ...
grants.nih.gov
July 27, 2026 at 8:35 PM
I submitted my comment for this RFI about limiting the number of RPGs/PI, due 8/3/2026, next Monday
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
Reposted by sarahejbowman
I have two preprints out (and under review/revision) and another coming soon (linked below), and I go up for tenure next spring. So if your department is looking for a speaker - call me! (Actually do not. Email me. I am a millennial and unexpected phone calls give me anxiety). 🧪
July 27, 2026 at 6:42 PM
I have two preprints out (and under review/revision) and another coming soon (linked below), and I go up for tenure next spring. So if your department is looking for a speaker - call me! (Actually do not. Email me. I am a millennial and unexpected phone calls give me anxiety). 🧪
Reposted by sarahejbowman
If you're a UK scientist depending on national facilities like Diamond Light Source, please consider signing this letter!
openletter.earth/open-letter-...
openletter.earth/open-letter-...
Open Letter in Response to Funding Pressures Affecting Diamond Light Source
openletter.earth
July 24, 2026 at 3:03 PM
If you're a UK scientist depending on national facilities like Diamond Light Source, please consider signing this letter!
openletter.earth/open-letter-...
openletter.earth/open-letter-...
Reposted by sarahejbowman
Berg Curves in the wild!
These funding curves--first created by @jeremymberg.bsky.social last year--continue to be one of the more impactful pages on Grant Witness' webpage.
Hard to argue that NIH is healthy when the facts are so stark and staring at you in the face.
These funding curves--first created by @jeremymberg.bsky.social last year--continue to be one of the more impactful pages on Grant Witness' webpage.
Hard to argue that NIH is healthy when the facts are so stark and staring at you in the face.
July 23, 2026 at 12:27 PM
Berg Curves in the wild!
These funding curves--first created by @jeremymberg.bsky.social last year--continue to be one of the more impactful pages on Grant Witness' webpage.
Hard to argue that NIH is healthy when the facts are so stark and staring at you in the face.
These funding curves--first created by @jeremymberg.bsky.social last year--continue to be one of the more impactful pages on Grant Witness' webpage.
Hard to argue that NIH is healthy when the facts are so stark and staring at you in the face.
Reposted by sarahejbowman
East Oxford’s all-women punk band The HorMones are releasing their debut singles this month. The band, aged between 52 and 80, first took up their instruments in 2023, and have been shaking up the Oxford music scene with their fierce blend of anger, humour and cheekiness - the epitome of punk.
July 19, 2026 at 5:59 AM
East Oxford’s all-women punk band The HorMones are releasing their debut singles this month. The band, aged between 52 and 80, first took up their instruments in 2023, and have been shaking up the Oxford music scene with their fierce blend of anger, humour and cheekiness - the epitome of punk.
Reposted by sarahejbowman
Reposted by sarahejbowman
Speaking of using your own words, don't forget that the NIH's RFI on limiting the number of RPG awards per PI/MPI is open for comment. I will remind you that the RPG designation includes everything from R03 ($50k direct, 2 y limit) to P01, huge U mechs and DPetc.
rfi.grants.nih.gov?s=6a1f200c6e...
rfi.grants.nih.gov?s=6a1f200c6e...
Request For Information
rfi.grants.nih.gov
July 14, 2026 at 10:32 PM
Speaking of using your own words, don't forget that the NIH's RFI on limiting the number of RPG awards per PI/MPI is open for comment. I will remind you that the RPG designation includes everything from R03 ($50k direct, 2 y limit) to P01, huge U mechs and DPetc.
rfi.grants.nih.gov?s=6a1f200c6e...
rfi.grants.nih.gov?s=6a1f200c6e...
Reposted by sarahejbowman
Write a comment to the copy-cat NSF proposal to follow the OMB rules 3/n
bsky.app/profile/drk-...
bsky.app/profile/drk-...
OUR WORK IS NOT DONE. In unusual move, NSF issued a request for information on plan to conform grant policies to the proposed (unfinalized) OMB rule. Plan includes changes to grant termination provisions & disallowing publication costs. Comments due August 24. www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...
Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; National Science Foundation Proposal/Award Information-NSF Guidance on Financial Assistance
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to renew and revise its collection for its financial assistance policies and procedures. In accordance with the requirements of the Paper...
www.federalregister.gov
July 14, 2026 at 11:48 AM
Write a comment to the copy-cat NSF proposal to follow the OMB rules 3/n
bsky.app/profile/drk-...
bsky.app/profile/drk-...
Reposted by sarahejbowman
If you did that, step 2 is to call and write Congress. You have the language already written for your comment. point out the importance of science to your state and nation, and the fact that scientists uniformly oppose the OMB proposal. Congress must act 2/n
fight2win.standupforscience.net
fight2win.standupforscience.net
Stand up for Science
Stand up for Science
fight2win.standupforscience.net
July 14, 2026 at 11:46 AM
If you did that, step 2 is to call and write Congress. You have the language already written for your comment. point out the importance of science to your state and nation, and the fact that scientists uniformly oppose the OMB proposal. Congress must act 2/n
fight2win.standupforscience.net
fight2win.standupforscience.net
Submitted an op-ed to Buffalo News about the pending OMB rule changes.
🚨 We all have an opportunity to register a comment on these proposed changes, but only until July 13. Comments must be submitted at regulations.gov, Docket OMB-2026-0034. 🚨
Gift link:
buffalonews.com/opinion/arti...
🚨 We all have an opportunity to register a comment on these proposed changes, but only until July 13. Comments must be submitted at regulations.gov, Docket OMB-2026-0034. 🚨
Gift link:
buffalonews.com/opinion/arti...
Another Voice: Proposed federal changes will upend expert review of science grants
If the new proposed OMB rule is implemented, every federal grant would instead be subject to review by political appointees, instead of by expert reviewers.
buffalonews.com
July 10, 2026 at 1:30 PM
Submitted an op-ed to Buffalo News about the pending OMB rule changes.
🚨 We all have an opportunity to register a comment on these proposed changes, but only until July 13. Comments must be submitted at regulations.gov, Docket OMB-2026-0034. 🚨
Gift link:
buffalonews.com/opinion/arti...
🚨 We all have an opportunity to register a comment on these proposed changes, but only until July 13. Comments must be submitted at regulations.gov, Docket OMB-2026-0034. 🚨
Gift link:
buffalonews.com/opinion/arti...
Reposted by sarahejbowman
We are hosting a serial crystallography workshop aimed at early career researchers at Diamond in September - have a look! This involves practical sessions as well as some introductory talks.
Serial Crystallography Workshop 2026 - - Diamond Light Source
A two-day workshop covering the basics of serial crystallography at Diamond including: sample preparation (focus on batch crystallisation) and characterisation, sample delivery methods, data collectio...
eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
July 9, 2026 at 8:45 AM
We are hosting a serial crystallography workshop aimed at early career researchers at Diamond in September - have a look! This involves practical sessions as well as some introductory talks.