Björn F.C. Kafsack

Find me at @kafsacklab.bsky.social.
Working at the intersection of chromatin, metabolism, and differentiation in apicomplexan parasites/

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

I feel extremely grateful to have been part of our amazing parasitology community for the last 25+ years and for the many friends, collaborators, and colleagues I met along the way. ♥️

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

After 10 years, my position at Weill Cornell has officially come to an end at the begging of the month. I am so grateful for the amazing people who spend time in my lab during the last decade and extremely proud of their work.

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

The government shutdown and the administration’s continued antipathy towards higher education and research, especially on infectious disease & global health, have severely limited the chances for funding here.

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

While Weill Cornell has always been supportive during my time there, this meant that there was no bridge funding available from the university and as an Associate Professor I didn’t yet have tenure at Cornell.

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

Unfortunately, my grants ran out right while Weill Cornell Medicine had a $100M+ annual deficit followed by Trump’s subsequent suspension of NIH & NSF payments to Cornell.

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

None of this would have been possible for the amazing mentorship over the last 25 years from @VernCarruthers, @LlinasLab, @deitschkirk, and many others.

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

I came to the US as an exchange student when I was 16 and have been here ever since. Finally got my citizenship earlier this year, so at age 47, I got to vote for the first time today. #immigrantstory

[Tom Morello @tmorello]

Surprise, surprise! #GTFO ICE

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

@elenagomezdiaz It's checking the work and makes the science better ? Otherwise you might as well just write a blog.

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

Great collaboration between @GSK Tres Cantos, @WeillCornell and the Sanders Tri-I Therapeutics Discovery Institute. Co-led by Irene Molina at GSK and @RPMansell in @KafsackLab.

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

As standard screens for new antimalarials yield diminishing new targets & chemotypes, GSK Tres Cantos used media that mimics nutrients in serum & found many new hits. We then id'ed the targets and, amazingly, all 29 new chemotypes block PSAC!🤯 https://t.co/hs1PbroUH2

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

Migrating to @kafsacklab.bsky.social .... See you over there.

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

Are the @veupathdb blast servers down?
Simple searches that normally take seconds, are still running after 5-10 min.

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

It has now joined the wall

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

Put my 3D printer to work for this mosquito costume.

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

@wjsullivan What me worry?

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

Prepared for years putting on the extra weight just so the abdomen looks distended with the blood meal! 😂

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

Happy to see this story out in Pathogens today.
Not bad for summer internship project.
Well done Hermela and @Riward!
https://t.co/eWfbkGYu0N

[Björn F.C. Kafsack @KafsackLab]

Malaria parasites have multiple 47S ribosomal RNA genes that differ in length, sequence & expression. Our @WeillCornell ACCESS Summer Student Hermela Samuel & @Riward found that their promoters have very really different responses to RNA Pol I inhibitors 🤯https://t.co/OSn0Rsd49E