Abolfazl Arab (Abe)

PhD Candidate at the Shokat Lab (@kevansf), @UCSF || Past: Senior RA @LukeGilbertSF, @arcinstitute • Post-bac @HarvardDBMI • BSc MSc @UnivOfTehran

[Anshul Kundaje @anshulkundaje]

The model is quite simply a mess outside of coding DNA + proximal zones around them. It's a really poor model of most of the tree of life except maybe compact genomes like viruses & bacteria. 3/

[Abolfazl Arab (Abe) @abe_bio]

😎

[Hani Goodarzi @genophoria]

During the first travel ban, we raised awareness through signatures, op-eds, and interviews. This time is much worse and I think we also need something more concrete: real stories and real data.

I'm collecting accounts of how recent U.S. visa and immigration restrictions are affecting Iranians, specifically students, scholars, scientists, clinicians, and their families.

If this has affected you or someone you know, please share your experience here (and share this form with others): https://t.co/Mmmqd1chkv

Please do not include sensitive identifying details!

[Abolfazl Arab (Abe) @abe_bio]

"The" whole civilization doesn't die simply because it is alive. It has contributed to many other civilizations and will continue to do so. Better days will come to the motherland #Iran 💚🤍❤️

[Piero Carninci @carninci]

It was a pleasure to highlight Barbadilla-Martínez et al. (Nature). A powerful example of how integrative approaches uncover layers of genome regulation, linking mechanism to function and opening paths toward disease insights.
https://t.co/y1ZucjqQHU

[Abolfazl Arab (Abe) @abe_bio]

@anshulkundaje Once people of a nation are dehumanized kids in school and scientists in universities are not excluded from military targets. It’s very disappointing to see this happening live 😞

[Mehran Karimzadeh @MKarimzade]

Heartbreaking to see Iranian scientists and universities getting bombed every day. It used to be targeted assassination of nuclear scientists since 2007 (see the list https://t.co/wlTQAK2AMi) but it has expanded to other fields and their entire neighborhoods and departments.

[Abolfazl Arab (Abe) @abe_bio]

https://t.co/JcLwu8ouDW

[Abhinav Adduri @abhinadduri]

Excited to present @broadinstitute with @yusufroohani - if you're in Boston (April 1st) please reach out!

Yusuf will be sharing a vision for how AI-powered computational tools can deepen our understanding of cellular function and guide experimental design.

I'll dive deeper into the models, e.g. @arcinstitute's STATE and Stack models, what we've learned since, and what we're excited about next. The seminar will be recorded

https://t.co/ZxQaUckbZn

[Pejman Nozad @pejmannozad]

Mr. President, respectfully please consider the impact on everyday Iranian people. Targeting infrastructure like power or water makes life much harder for civilians.
Millions of families are simply trying to live their daily lives with dignity! 🙏 @POTUS

[Abolfazl Arab (Abe) @abe_bio]

@SharifiZarchi Just do it through @coursera and set up QA sessions. That’s easier and more scalable.

[Anshul Kundaje @anshulkundaje]

Check out a vetted Pytorch port of AlphaGenome by GenomicsxAI collaborative team. See QT thread (with links to code & blogpost). Various fine tuning modules + tutorials coming next. Community building announcements coming soon as well. Follow blog for latest updates.

[Abolfazl Arab (Abe) @abe_bio]

Must read paper 📝

[LukeGilbert @LukeGilbertSF]

We mapped gene interactions across different environmental conditions (GxGxE) at scale for the first time in human cells. These maps lead to the realization that many genes function in a context dependent manner which provides insight into how humans have relatively few genes but many cell types. Congratulations Ben!
Paper:
https://t.co/w5bYZUUK4n

[Abolfazl Arab (Abe) @abe_bio]

@mnemeth101 @tranvinq @ScienceMagazine Congratulations 🎉

[Abolfazl Arab (Abe) @abe_bio]

@genophoria @RuggeroDavide Highly recommended :)

[LukeGilbert @LukeGilbertSF]

I am so excited to see epigenetic editing (CRISPRoff) move forward as a new approach in medicine through this clinical trial. We hope to make a difference for folks with HBV. Congratulations on a big step forward to all who made this possible!
https://t.co/3Lkc7m3XL5

[Žiga Avsec @Avsecz]

AlphaGenome is out in @nature today along with model weights! 🧬

📄 Paper: https://t.co/1fHzSPiY1x
💻 Weights: https://t.co/z6JWLT4Mpv

Getting here wasn’t a straight path. We sat down @googledeepmind to discuss the story behind the model, paper & API: https://t.co/cT8CiXfnxQ

[Abolfazl Arab (Abe) @abe_bio]

I like to thank the teachers in Ukraine schools! Not many people can clearly distinguish the facts and describe it this clearly, including many of my Iranian friends. It's always helpful to keep our hearts open to learn from each other around the world on the fight for freedom.

[Open Source Intel @Osint613]

Zelensky: if the regime in Iran is allowed to survive, it will only teach other dictators that if you kill enough people, you can stay in power.

[Velocity Bio @velocitybio]

Our Co-founder and CTO, Ali Lashkaripour, will be presenting at the Microfluidics Consortium 2026 in San Francisco on January 22nd.

If you're attending, we’d love to connect!

[Abolfazl Arab (Abe) @abe_bio]

Truth is painful. Although hope is necessary but wishful thinking never solved any problem and that seems like what @PahlaviReza is walking us through. I wish we are not buying fake hopes in a Trump shit show that would only result in more innocent lives taken by the regime.

[Hani Goodarzi @genophoria]

From the looks of it, the Iranian regime is coming out of this crisis unscathed (and may be even stronger than it was going in): (1) they demonstrated the ability and willingness to shutdown all communications for an extended period of time... total blackout, with every telecom company under their control (even successfully jamming Startlink); (2) show extreme brutality in quelling the population while ensuring that no one across the world can see any footage of it (at least in the timeframe that would matter); (3) stare down Trump and get him to blink. Trump eviscerated Obama for not enforcing his red line with Assad's regime... it turns out, his own red line was more of an off-color pink.