Jason Shepherd

🇿🇦🇳🇿🇺🇸Professor of Neurobiology @UUtah. Molecular mechanisms of memory, repurposed transposons, and virus-like intercellular signaling. Personal opinions.

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

Very excited for our new paper, now out in @CellCellPress! /🧵The protein Tau forms intracellular toxic tangles in neurons in Alzheimer’s disease and Tauopathies. Tau pathology slowly spreads from cell-to-cell but the mechanisms of Tau transmission are not clear. /1

[Hoover Institution @HooverInst]

US visas issued to international students fell by roughly a third in 2025. Today, DHS finalized changes to a rule known as "Duration of Status" — a move that will help lock that decline in place. The fallout for the STEM workforce, innovation, and economic growth could be severe.

A sustained one-third decline in foreign STEM graduates entering the US labor force would shrink the high-skill STEM workforce by 6.2% overall and by 11.5% at the PhD level. Over a decade, that would cut annual US GDP by $240 billion to $481 billion, comparable to losing an entire state's economy.

That's the estimate from @AmyMNice, in a guest research brief for Hoover's Immigration Initiative, drawing on research she co-authored with @m_clem and @JeremyLNeufeld.

Read the full brief: https://t.co/zo8NmEsI4x

[Ismail Ahmed @iaahmed123]

Excited to announce we got an @NIDAnews AVENIR DP1 grant.

We are looking for a postdoc to join the group!

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

https://t.co/uq3uiY76im

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

Great write-up on our recent paper on tau transmission! This is just the beginning...the intersection with viral infections is an emerging causal route to neurodegeneration IMO. Another preprint that just came out suggests Arc capsids may ALSO transfer TDP-43 🤯 See link below.

[Alzforum @alzforum]

Arc, a protein that helps regulate synaptic plasticity, escorts tau into extracellular vesicles, linking neuronal activity to tau propagation. Lentiviruses also package seed-competent tau. @UUtah @MPI_Biochem https://t.co/cfPdG2K3JZ

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

Super useful clarification/info on the new F1 student visa rule.

[Furong Huang @furongh]

While FIFA has captured everyone’s attention, something consequential happened in academia this week, especially for international students in PhD programs.

DHS issued a final rule changing how long F-1 students may remain in the United States.

A thread on what it means and what students and universities can do. 🧵

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

@philippzross @okaysteve *Kandel

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

@philippzross @okaysteve Lander wrote a good one. In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind by Eric R. Kandel https://t.co/V9AzL7yRil

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

@YSPTSPS @Deer_Valley @NutritionNerd Definitely!

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

Beautiful night out @Deer_Valley for Beethoven’s 9th with this cutie!

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

Well done Spain! No idea how Argentina was able to hang on so long.

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

That was a fun halftime show. The Muppets lol

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

Why is Tom Cruise giving a speech on the pitch right now lol. Oh America.

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

@TheFigen_ What is this AI shit?! Ugh.

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

@mediocrates_1 @galosgann Nah. You see the reason why I posted in the first place is precisely because I want the US and US universities to continue being the best in the world. But idiots like you are doing your ignorant best to kill it for racist and xenophobic nationalism.

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

Everyday there's a new self-own with this admin....now a new attack on science in the US...this time capping student visas to 4 years. Most PhDs in Biology, for example, take 5-7 years. Cue the "we don't need international students taking our slots" crowd 😑

[Andreas Karch @karch_andreas]

Lengths of Student Visas Capped Under New Homeland Security Rule https://t.co/1dJsbBuqVd via @NTDNews

They actually quoted me exactly the way I said it. Thanks. For a while was worried they would take me out of context. According to the article existing students would be capped at 4 years from now. Not 4 years from when they entered. That will give us at least some time to adjust. I hope this is correct.

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

@mediocrates_1 @galosgann Because they came here on a student visa and became citizens AFTER they arrived (like me). Idiot.

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

@mediocrates_1 @galosgann Hahaha because these are American institutions and America claims these Nobels. And let me tell you a secret, most of these immigrants are American citizens you. Idiocy.

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

@mediocrates_1 @galosgann God you all are intolerable. https://t.co/NibAjKsG2J

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

@AdamRochussen @JohnStreicher1 That guy constantly has bad takes and bloviates at will. Not surprised that he’s blaming victims via some weird logic that it’s the institution’s fault.

[Jason Shepherd @JasonSynaptic]

@galosgann @mediocrates_1 I wouldn’t even bother with these weird anon accounts that have no idea how a PhD works.