Gabriel Starrett

Investigator studying virus-associated cancers

[Gabriel Starrett @gstarrett]

@TripletStateGuy @AmandaLSmythers It's annoyingly inconsistent. I had a trainee apply this year and her "Below average" GPA (~3.4) was commented on, but nine years ago mine was funded with a GPA of 3.0? GPA should be thrown out altogether.

[Gabriel Starrett @gstarrett]

Speaking of virus integration, a couple months ago we published on numerous HPyV7-host integration junctions detected in a biopsy of a virus-associated rash. HPyV7 is not associated with cancer, but this suggests the PyV infections may broadly induce genome instability.

[Gabriel Starrett @gstarrett]

After a long road, our study on the genomics and transcriptomics of bladder cancers of solid organ tranplant recipients is published in @eLife. Nearly half of all tumors contained polyomavirus or papillomavirus DNA and many had evidence of integration!

[Gabriel Starrett @gstarrett]

Apologies, my Twitter account had been hacked. Hopefully no one clicked on any of the links from the last 48 hours.

[Gabriel Starrett @gstarrett]

@EGALL8 We lost our previous golden at nearly 8 from an undiagnosed hemangiosarcoma of the heart hemorrhaging, so we didn't want to take any risks. Unfortunately, no matter what action is taken with HS overall survival is short. We were lucky that Mia didn't have it.

[Gabriel Starrett @gstarrett]

In other good news, my dog Mama Mia does not have hemangiosarcoma! The incidentally found tumor on her spleen was just a marginal zone lymphoma. Her spleen has been removed and her blood work looks good, so prognosis is as favorable as can be!

[Gabriel Starrett @gstarrett]

@EGALL8 She was about 9 at the time. She's still doing great. We elected to do the splenectomy immediately because if it were hemangiosarcoma, research supports that this achieves best overall survival. HS metastasizes rapidly and hemorrhaging is the major risk of death for the dog.

[Gabriel Starrett @gstarrett]

@the_real_KVD Congrats!

[Gabriel Starrett @gstarrett]

@bielleogy

[Gabriel Starrett @gstarrett]

@bielleogy From my wife a PT

[Gabriel Starrett @gstarrett]

@the_real_KVD Hope Jimmy and Mia help

[Gabriel Starrett @gstarrett]

As I #newPI, I am finding myself very stressed with each application (funding/grad school/etc) that my trainees submit. I'm worried that I missed something during revision that will doom their application and therefore let them down. Does anyone else feel this way?

[Becca Schomer @becA_recA]

I am beyond excited to announce the Schomer Lab will be launching in January 2023 at the stunningly beautiful @UArizona @UAZPlantSciences! My lab will study the chemical ecology of the rhizosphere (the root-soil interface) & the role of chemosensing in plant-microbe interactions.

[Sonja Best @thebestviruslab]

Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigators | NIH Intramural Research Program. Applications due sept 30. I’m chairing the search in Virology so please RT and apply! https://t.co/mvQEhcSFjT

[Gabriel Starrett @gstarrett]

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to message me. 🧵 8/8

[Gabriel Starrett @gstarrett]

Are you looking for an investigator position with unparalleled flexibility? Consider applying to the NIH Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigator search. Applications are accepted until September 30th. 🧵 1/8
https://t.co/UimzMpcfvX

[Gabriel Starrett @gstarrett]

Lastly, since we don’t write grants, we can try higher-risk experiments and go in new directions fairly freely. However, NIH labs are evaluated every 4 years to assess that our research programs are in line with the NIH mission. 🧵 7/8