Alexandra Lion, PhD

Our new collaborative paper with Cyndi Bradham's lab at BU, led by first author @alexandralion.bsky.social is out in @devbiol.bsky.social & featured on the Sept 2025 cover! 😀🥳

PFAS (PFOA & GenX) disrupt sea urchin embryo development!
Cover art: embryos + flow fields
👉 doi.org/10.1016/j.yd...

FDA-NIH Workshop: Reducing Animal Testing The FDA is hosting a workshop on reducing animal testing. The workshop is open to current FDA and NIH employees.

The NIH is asking scientists and the public to comment on plans to drastically limit animal model research. If you think animal models remain important tools for basic and clinical research tell them! Click the link below and scroll down to send your comments!

www.fda.gov/news-events/...

Ventral view of a two-headed zebrafish stained with a dye that marks collagen. You can see the developed structure of the jaw and head.

Alcian blue staining of cartilage in a two-headed zebrafish embryo. Credit to @jakeleyhr.bsky.social. #ZebrafishZunday 🧪

PhD Timeline xkcd.com/3081

My group is hiring a new Postdoc to work on gene regulation and chromatin in Nematostella. Please RT!
For more information see here:
gahanlab.com
tinyurl.com/34xke35d

Postdoctoral Scholar in Quantitative Marine Ecology University of California, Santa Cruz is hiring. Apply now!

it's a hard and sad time in science / higher ed in the US right now. on the other hand, lots of PhDs are looking for work, so I wanted to share—

I'm hiring a postdoc!

it's a two-year position at UCSC to do (preferably Bayesian) modeling of marine ecosystems: recruit.ucsc.edu/JPF01892

NSF GRFP Awards by the Year:
2021 - 2074
2022 - 2193
2023 - 2555
2024 - 2036
2025 - 1000

Again, these funding cuts will have drastic longterm effects on the scientific future of the US.......

@jeremymberg.bsky.social @altnih4science.bsky.social

When your kids ask you what you did to save US science in the crisis of ‘25, you will say that you showed up! Please spread the word and join us!!
@standupforscience.bsky.social

A table of books with a sign that says “each one of these books represents critical knowledge lost that would have driven US innovation and bolstered American security. 168 books and counting.

Inside the lobby at NSF…

Effects of Early-life PFAS Exposure on Child Neurodevelopment: A Review of the Evidence and Research gaps - PubMed Sixty-one studies in total were published from 2008 to March 2024, with 35 in the last five years. Findings primarily link early life PFAS exposure to reduced cognitive, motor, and language developmen...

A new analysis confirms links between early life #PFAS exposure and stunted “cognitive, motor, and language development” as well as “behavioral issues like hyperactivity.”

#foreverchemicals appear to be damaging children’s brains, and not only highly exposed kids.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39888511/

Thank you so much!!

Hi Erik! Requesting to be added again (now post- thesis defense!). I am a graduate researcher studying patterning in early embryonic development.
orcid.org/0000-0002-52...
www.bu.edu/mcbb/profile...

Congrats Kate!!!

All study section and council meetings suspended until at least 2/2

Thank you so much Mike!! I greatly appreciate it 😁

Congratulations!!!

Our second post, and it's another successful defense! Congratulations, @alexandralion.bsky.social 🎉 🎊

Congratulations Dr. Alex Lion!! So proud of you and your fantastic thesis defense on Wednesday! Excited for what's next on your horizons!!

Thank you so much Cyndi! I couldn't have done it without your support 😊

A woman standing at a podium in front of a large screen. Projected on the screen is a slide titled "Per- and Polyfluorylalkyl Substances (PFAS)" with a description of PFAS and accompanying images of items PFAS are utilized in such as rain wear, Teflon, food can linings, cosmetics, and fire fighting foam.

I'm very excited to announce that yesterday I successfully defended my dissertation "Sea Urchin Morphogenesis: Teratogenesis and P-bodies" at Boston University. I am extremely thankful for all of the love and support I have received, and am looking forward to this next phase of my career ❤️👩‍🔬🧪

#DBfeature #SeaUrchin🌊

Visualizing metabolic regulation using metabolic biosensors during sea urchin embryogenesis

by Aidan Furze, Ashley Waldron, Mamiko Yajima
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

There are so many #morphogenesis researchers here!
My first starter pack is full!
Here is Part 2: go.bsky.app/K6YYKeC

#devbio #cellbio #science

Tell me if I should add you but try to make sure, that you're not already in Part 1.
I cannot cross-reference everyone 😅

Part 1: go.bsky.app/RzDD9or

Would love to be added!

Thank you so much, we really appreciate you all joining us on this! It's been wonderful working with you 😁

These Friday lab critiques are awesome fun. Here are some views from a ct scan of a sea urchin and its feeding apparatus, Aristotle's lantern.
🧪🐡

Flyer describing the topics and techniques at the Embryology course

Deadline for applying to the Embryology Course at the MBL in Woods Hole, MA is near! 6 weeks of a unique hands-on experience. Substantial aid available. Due date: January 10. Apply here: www.mbl.edu/education/ad...

PFAS Compounds PFOA and Gen X are Teratogenic to Sea Urchin Embryos Per-and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals that are used to make fluoropolymer coatings found in many products, such as non-stick pans, clothing, cosmetics, and food packaging. ...

Excited for my first post on Bluesky to be a new preprint announcement! Read about the effect of PFAS chemicals PFOA and Gen X on sea urchin larval development; we characterize defects to skeletal patterning, neural development and function and more. 🧪👩‍🔬🌊
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Cover: Development of transgenic Lytechinus pictus, the first transgenic echinoderm lines, expressing cyan fluorescent protein fused to a nuclear marker (histone 2B) driven by a polyubiquitin promoter. Developmental stages expressing the transgene are depicted from blastula (12 h post-fertilisation) through the larval stages, to the competent larva (22 days post-fertilisation), and finally to the juvenile stage at center. The juvenile has an additional membrane stain (grey) for contrast. See Research article by Jackson et al. (dev202991). Image credit: Svenja Kling, Yoon Lee and Elliot Jackson; Hamdoun Laboratory.

Development’s Special Issue 'Uncovering Developmental Diversity' is now complete. #DevSIDiversity

Explore the full ToC, including review-type articles and research papers highlighting 32 different organisms from across the multicellular tree of life:

journals.biologists.com/dev/issue/15...

Hi Erik! Could I please be added to the science feed? I'm currently a PhD candidate at Boston University studying early embryonic pattern formation
www.bu.edu/mcbb/profile...