JoeThornton

Evolution and biochemistry.
Reconstructing ancestral proteins.
"Training" scientists.
UChicago faculty.
Ambivalent about twitter.

[Carlos Cortez @carway2nar]

My first first-author paper is out! It was an amazing collaborative effort with a lot of amazing people including @ArvindSPillai1 and @JoeThorntonLab. Please read if you like things involving evolution and biochemistry.

https://t.co/DqmKCuIjED

[JoeThornton @JoeThorntonLab]

If a univ. increases stipend by 15k per year with no compensation to labs, it also gives itself a big raise in overhead costs (~10k per year per student), which it takes from our grants, too. Does it really cost the university more to administer a higher stipend?

[JoeThornton @JoeThorntonLab]

Scientists at universities that have raised graduate student stipends: What have your administrations done to mitigate the costs to lab budgets so that the science itself doesn’t have to be curtailed? Examples of best practices would be appreciated.

[JoeThornton @JoeThorntonLab]

@skryazhi @UCSanDiego I have been told that Caltech reduced the tuition they charge to lab budgets to compensate for increased stipends. (But this has not been independently verified.) See: https://t.co/5MPNbSzO9y

[Roberto Márquez @rmp033]

I am looking for *two* postdocs to join my lab at @VT_Biology next summer/fall. We work on the molecular basis of coloration and toxicity in poison-dart frogs. Please RT!!
Job ad: https://t.co/EE5BapOTqi
Application link: https://t.co/4YAOaqx3Tb

[JoeThornton @JoeThorntonLab]

@pastramimachine If you were helping to craft a statement for your department community, what would you want to say?

[JoeThornton @JoeThorntonLab]

@pastramimachine region.... Please contact our offices if you need support or assistance during this difficult time." It includes info about State Dept. travel advisory and contacts for student wellness.

[JoeThornton @JoeThorntonLab]

@pastramimachine has extended support to students affiliated with the region who may be directly affected. We recognize that the loss of life, casualties and escalating conflict bring pain and distress for those in our community, especially those with family members or other loved ones in the...

[JoeThornton @JoeThorntonLab]

Yeonwoo's second chapter introduces a new, improved method to dissect the genetic architecture of proteins - including the extent of epistasis - from deep mutational scans. The findings are very surprising. Stay tuned for the paper very soon. We are very proud of you, Yeonwoo!

[JoeThornton @JoeThorntonLab]

We are thrilled to congratulate our very own Yeonwoo Park @whatdoidohaha for winning UChicago's Best Dissertation Award across the entire Biological Sciences Division.

[JoeThornton @JoeThorntonLab]

In his first chapter, Yeonwoo discovered epistatic drift: the effects of most mutations wander gradually, randomly, and neutrally from their initial effects as proteins amass substitutions across long evolutionary timescales. https://t.co/hEhAjmYPhm

[JoeThornton @JoeThorntonLab]

Congratulations, Carlos! (And to all the awardees. This will be a great symposium.)

[Carlos Cortez @carway2nar]

So honored to have been selected! To all attending #smbe2023, I can’t wait to share my work with you.

[JoeThornton @JoeThorntonLab]

@3rdreviewer @WTF_R_species Here it is.

[JoeThornton @JoeThorntonLab]

@jbouie @MaryCatJude Yeah, free breakfast for school children = terrorism, apparently.

[Georg Hochberg @KaHochberg]

My lab works on the evolution of the proteins that enable microbial life. We resurrect ancient proteins and study their properties. If that sounds interesting to you, apply here - we are recruiting!

[JoeThornton @JoeThorntonLab]

@mashaals @ccg_unam Fantastic! Is the syllabus available?

[JoeThornton @JoeThorntonLab]

@jgschraiber @srikosuri But universities don't have to take on the role of capitalists. Their function is to produce and disseminate knowledge and beauty and to build the capacity of society and its citizens. Students could be treated as partners in that enterprise, not as labor for amassing wealth.

[JoeThornton @JoeThorntonLab]

Quick fix: Universities stop charging overhead on grad student stipends paid on government grants. Every student can then get an immediate 50-70% raise — revenue-neutral for PIs, science, and society.