Rob Raphael

Biophysicist/Bioengineer researching cell membrane mechanics/transport and the auditory/vestibular system. Cochlear Implant Recipient

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

@khademh Everyone is telling me this. And I am convinced he would be good for Iran. The practical problem is he needs an army. The IR is not going to give up power any other way. How many able-bodied among the Iranian diaspora can be assembled? .General Ali K has a nice ring to it

[Rice University Bioengineering @Rice_BIOE]

Today is the day to join Rice Bioengineers in Rice University's 24-Hour Challenge! From next-gen biomaterials to new tools for drug delivery, your gift to the Bioengineering Excellence Fund helps advance cutting-edge bioengineering research. #1Day1Rice https://t.co/b1TX9u9dk6

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

@khademh Well said Ali! I hope that your country is finally liberated from the oppression of the past 47 years.

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

@eaalaei I hope your family is safe and that your country is finally liberated from the oppression of the past 47 years.

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

@manorlaboratory Do they even know that cochlear implants restore functional hearing? Many years ago I started saying “I could write a book about what they don’t know”. Perhaps it’s time …

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

@manorlaboratory Pretty sure the grants reviewed 1/22 won’t be considered until next council round

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

@manorlaboratory One thing I’ve learned in this business is to “rise above” our emotional reaction when these kinds of things happen - hard as it is. Remind me to tell you my reaction to my very first grant being triaged - it was quite a Sicilian eruption :)

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

@manorlaboratory I can make a guess as to what happened: I noticed one original reviewer had an approach of 5. If you did not modify the approach, or hit the nail on the head in your response, this could lead to a lower scores across the board. Discuss with your SRO.

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

@manorlaboratory But you are succeeding!

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

Read the latest on fast neurotransmission at vestibular synapses! We show extracellular potentials speed up spiking by reducing K+ currents on the outer face of calyx afferent neurons. Neural architecture matters - and helps you keep your balance!
https://t.co/CprFxCJzqQ

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

@delapuente_lab Congratulations! Well-deserved!

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

@SwingleKelsey @Rice_BIOE Welcome to the department! We are so lucky to have you! It was dinner at Marmo that sealed the deal, right?

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

Congratulations to my postdoc Aravind for winning the first place award for podium presentation at the Vestibular Oriented Research meeting in Boulder, CO. His research is advancing our understanding of how groups of vestibular hair cells work together to encode head motion.

[Rice University Bioengineering @Rice_BIOE]

Dr. Aravind Govindaraju of the Raphael Lab presents research on “Modelling Signal Generation in Vestibular Sensory Neuroepithelial Tissue” at the 2025 retreat!

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

@delapuente_lab @Rice_BIOE @ASIPath @MDAndersonNews @creinhartking @SanfordResearch Thanks for visiting - enjoyed your seminar!

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

@doc_tmp Anne is a gem! We miss her at Rice.

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

@ggeleoc @jonykipnis Stay and fight. As I recall you have some Irish ancestry …
“We're chosen of a fighting race
That never yet has known disgrace"
— From the English lyrics of "Amhrán na BhFiann"

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

@manorlaboratory When I was in grad school, we made PBS. Much cheaper. Plus it insures the next generation knows how to make solutions and use a pH meter. It should be a requirement for a PhD in Biological Sciences that you know how to make PBS :)

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

Sad to learn of the passing of Mike Sheetz, who contributed so much to our understanding of mechanical forces in biology. His early work on the bilayer couple hypothesis and membrane tethers were a great inspiration when I was writing my PhD thesis. He will be missed.

[Cynthia Reinhart-King @creinhartking]

We have lost a giant in the mechanobiology world. Mike Sheetz helped to define what we know of focal adhesion formation and their role as mechanotransducers. Sending his family, friends, and colleagues my warmest wishes.

[Rob Raphael @auditory_rob]

@kenneylj Dear Linda: So sorry to hear this news. I so enjoyed getting to know Mike better these past few years after you moved to Galveston. Always knew him as a great scientist; glad I got to know him as a warm person. His memory will always be an inspiration.