CourtneyClarkHachtel

Assistant Professor of Biology at UNC Asheville. Investigating mechanisms of DNA stability in tardigrades. Also maintaining my passion for insects and evo-devo.

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

So happy to share the final version of this manuscript with you all! Live today in Current Biology. Free access here: https://t.co/IMtqitmYXu

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

Hello Science Twitter (are we still here?)! I am excited to share the product of my PD work up on @biorxivpreprint today!
The hook: How are tardigrades able to withstand extremely high levels if ionizing radiation (IR)? A 🧵
https://t.co/aAqtLrfwSu

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

#SICB2025 Today is the day! If you want to hear about how tardigrades survive beyond lethal-to-humans levels of ionizing radiation (and if you are still here 😅), check out my talk today at 2 pm in room A707. Hope to see you there! #tardigrades

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

Continuing the tradition of playing hooky and taking a break from #SICB2025 to do something extra fun by taking my students to @GeorgiaAquarium today. We had a BLAST!

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

They did great! Their poster was super busy every time I pretended to not be hovering 😅

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

Checks mic... Are we still here? If so, and you are at #SICB2025 and want to hear about cool tardigrade research from my amazing undergraduates, check their poster this afternoon (P1-208). #tardigrades #PUIScience

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

@oyster_doctor @NSF @UncAvl Hi Lehman, our methods are super preliminary right now. But we will publish them as soon as we are confident that the animals are thriving! We are only a month into some cultures.

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

So proud of my @NSF REU and @UncAvl summer research students and all that we accomplished this summer! We successfully found, ID'd, and are growing local tardigrade species! We learned a ton and had lots of fun doing it ☺️! #tardigrades #research

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

Lots of firsts for the Clark-Hachtel lab this past week. First wild tardigrade field collection (we found some!) and first PCR (it worked!). The views for our field work are absolutely terrible around here 😉. @UNCABiology @UncAvl #tardigrade

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

It was lovely to chat about our recent paper with @coumoulx. I was a bit under the weather when we recorded, but I think the end result is still great! Check it out!

[FEBS @FEBSnews]

The transatlantic tardigrade talk!🎞️
Watch an interview between FEBS Network co-chair Xavier Coumoul @coumoulx and Courtney Clark-Hachtel @ArthropodQueen @UncAvl on her work on tardigrades' capacity to repair their DNA after ionizing radiation exposure:
https://t.co/54ABlwb5zL

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

Wait a second...didn't we do this already 😅. First graduation ceremony as a faculty member @UncAvl. Grateful for my new faculty cohort that helped make this year way more fun! @AcademicChatter #graduation2024

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

Pro tip: bake your students cookies 😅. This was a lovely student email to wake up to today. A nice reminder of the impact we can have as educators and mentors ☺️. @AcademicChatter @WomenInSTEM @UncAvl

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

A little surprising to open your email and see your own face 😅. Honored to be highlighted in the @UncAvl monthly newsletter ☺️.

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

I still have to submit grades, but I gave my last final of my first year as a professor this afternoon! I think I can now say I survived my first year! Excited to shift gears into research for the summer, but first...a cruise 🚢 #womeninSTEM @Momademia @AcademicChatter

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

@ArthropodAbbey That outfit is 🔥! I hope the interview went well. Clearly they should hire you!

[U.S. National Science Foundation @NSF]

#NSFfunded researchers @UNC have discovered an aspect of tardigrades’ genetic makeup that helps them withstand >1000x more radiation than humans can; the discovery could aid in medical treatments and environmental remediation. https://t.co/tH4j95cbQn

📷: Bob Goldstein/Vicky Madden, UNC-Chapel Hill

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

Student art gifts never fail to make me smile! This is from my research student for this summer. I promise no humans were harmed in my fighting for her 😅. #SciArt

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

Oh you know, just some casual tardigrade stickers as awards for my genetics lab bacterial art competition. NBD, students won't be fighting over these 😅. #tardigrades #Stickers

[Popular Science @PopSci]

We learned 60 years ago that "water bears" can survive radiation 1,400 times more intense than humans can. Now we know why. https://t.co/q5Kup0icNu

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

@UncAvl published a press release on our recent paper. Peep one of my first undergraduate researchers in the featured photo 👀. It was so fun to look for tardigrades from samples we collected from campus and the Asheville area for this photoshoot!
https://t.co/TvMKtA01yD

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

@ArthropodLegs Congratulations! So happy to see you land somewhere amazing (and gorgeous!). Wishing you the best of luck with transitioning and moving. The first year(s?) can be tough, reach out if you need to chat with someone else who is going through it ☺️.

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

@oscarpog777 Some are actually pretty clear. Some have more pigment and you can't see through as much.

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

Found some! Apparently my entirely moss lawn is a tardigrade oasis!

[CourtneyClarkHachtel @ArthropodQueen]

What am I doing? All guesses welcome, wrong ones encouraged! #Science