Congrats Everyone!

FIGURE 1!

It was quite a day here. Got word that the liver IRF3 paper helmed by Suraj Patel will be published in the next issue of Science Translational Medicine and our single nucleus atlas of human and mouse adipose, led by Margo Emont, went live at Nature!

So proud of Emont et al (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04518-2). It was truly a huge TEAM effort, from those waking up early to consent subjects and surgeons providing samples, to the lab team who figured out how to turn those samples into data, and to Margo and the bioinformaticians who figured out how to get beyond vague descriptions of the data to uncover exciting new biology.

Taking nothing away from Margo, who’s receiving the plaudits she deserves, I want to take a moment to single out a group of research assistants who don’t get enough credit because they’re stuck somewhere between Emont, M and Rosen, E, just part of et al. But figuring out how to go from adipose tissue to happy nuclei that were suitable for droplet-based rt-PCR was no small feat. What had been so easy in brain samples was frustratingly difficult, and took Tenen, D., Pant, D., Veregge, M., and Essene, A. two solid years of painful struggle to overcome. Despite my “It only took 2 years because you suuuuucked” rejoinders, this paper is all about the talent, hard work, persistence, organization, and attention to detail that Danielle, Deepti, Molly, and Adam brought to bear to overcome the many hurdles and false starts.

A much deserved cheers to them. Couldn’t be more proud to say I got to work with you guys.

Danielle, Deepti, Molly, and Adam in situ (L—>R)

Welcome Soumya!

Soumya Nagesh joins us after a Master’s in Bioinformatics at Northeastern University. A native of India and graduate of PES Institute of Technology in Bangalore with a Bachelor’s in Engineering in Biotechnology, she comes with rave reviews from her externship at EMD Serono. Interests are travel and snakes. The bioinformatician’s lair could use a pet, Soumya!

Congrats to Slobstah, G, and newly elected Congressman Allred!

Loh-sze has been putting in the work on Colin Allred’s campaign for Texas’s 32nd district vs. longtime incumbent Pete Sessions. Allred was raised by a single mother, attended Baylor, played for the Tennessee Titans, received Cal Berkeley law degree, and served in the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of General Counsel during Obama presidency. Dallas voters spoke loudly. Congrats and great work by Loh-Sze and G, who joined her this week for the final push!

Slobbie, clean up your hubbie and start your own campaign!

They did it! Loh-Sze, Colin, et al celebrating a lot of hard work tonight!

Last weekend block walking for the Allred campaign

Family Politics

Birthday (Adam) and half-birthday (Deepti) celebration

Requests were “something apple” (Apple Crumble, and a perfect choice for New England’s best fruit crop) and ice cream (Vanilla bean). Ages are need-to-know, but they’re real young.

CLS7 Pumpkin Carving

Jelena’s first non-orientation day. Building evacuation and pumpkin carving. Just a regular day in CLS.

Thanks to the Banks Lab, the newest members of our Division for organizing the floor Pumpkin carving contest. Smiles at work now allowed?

Rodents were clearly the theme for this year.

Somehow the Tsai selfie pumpkin didn’t place. I would have judged differently!

The ears are spot on. Seriously, how could that mug not win best pumpkin?

Maratos-Flier lab pumpkin Rorschach test: what do you see? Mouse in a witches hat? Hummingbird dropping a deuce?

#4 has got to be the winner!

Standard Disclaimer: Banks lab works on naked mole rats. BIDMC a harassment-free workplace.

Well actually the DREADD mouse pumpkin won first place. Congrats to the Lowell lab team!

Welcome Jelena!

Jelena joins us from Indiana University Center for Genomics and Bioinformatics to do single cell and all things -seq. You wouldn’t know it from her lab pics, but she claims she is no nonsense.

Congrats to Luhong and Shiwei on getting married!


恭喜他們結婚了 !

(or so google translate tells me)

So, totally forgot to grab pics a from celebratory lunch at Jojo… some pics of the food we ate is the best I could do.

Five spice beef in scallion pancake

pan-fried dumplings

Kong Xin Cai 空心菜 (Ong choy)

xiao long bao

Screen Shot 2018-10-30 at 10.10.54 PM.png

Spicy Beef noodle soup

Pigs ears (order this!)

Dan Dan noodles

Pork Belly buns

Egg in Scallion pancake

Welcome Luhong!

Luhong officially started today!

She comes to us from Suzanne Moenter’s lab where she worked on estradiol-mediated functional plasticity in hypothalamic kisspeptin neurons and their input onto gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons.

Already hard at work with Deepti on getting Dronc-seq up and running! As the first postdoc in the lab, she has no shoes to fill?

Deepti, Luhong and Adam checking out droplet occupancy

Deepti and the Jordan GOAT sweatshirt. Luhong approves.

Chris in a Tie

Adam, Chris, and Deepti representing

BNORC core presenting a poster at BIDMC Research Core Fair.

Not sure there were enough people who came by to warrant the time, but worth seeing Chris get gussied up.

Welcome Banks Lab

Alex Banks and lab just joined the Division, and will be our direct neighbors. They arrive from across the street at the Brigham and are bringing their experience in running and analyzing CLAMS, metabolic physiology, and interest in genetics and pharmacological treatments for obesity and type 2 Diabetes to the division.

And more importantly, they bring a tradition of early-and-often champagne celebrations for great achievements such as joining the division!

Yuchen, June, Deepti, Jess, and Alex

Yuchen, June, Deepti, Jess, and Alex

Alex christening the lab

Seeking Research Assistant/Associate with next generation sequencing experience (Position Filled!)

We are lookiing to fill a position ranging from Research Assistant-Senior Research Associate (Position title and compensation commensurate with experience).  Please contact ltsai(at)bidmc.harvard.edu if interested

Job Description

The Boston Nutrition and Obesity Research Center (BNORC) Functional Genomics and Bioinformatics core is housed at BIDMC within the labs of Evan Rosen (www.evanrosenlab.net) and Linus Tsai (www.tsailab.com). The purpose of this core is to provide next generation sequencing services to investigators within BNORC and the Boston area looking to expand their research capabilities. We utilize cutting-edge next generation technologies and sequencing platforms to better understand the genetic, epigenetic, and tissue/cell type bases of metabolic disease. In particular, the Rosen/Tsai labs study the biological circuits and gene regulatory networks underlying obesity and type 2 Diabetes in human and rodent models. Our labs and core provide a vibrant research environment with close links to top academic institutions and hospitals across the Boston area and provides the potential for contributions to be used and recognized worldwide. We are currently seeking a talented, motivated research assistant with a background in next generation sequencing library construction to join our team to perform ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, and single cell/nucleus RNA-seq experiments.

 

OVERALL RESPONSIBILITY

The individual will work under guidance of Drs. Rosen and Tsai to conduct bench level experiments to support 1) ongoing core projects from BNORC clients (RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq) and 2) development and execution of ongoing single cell RNA-seq production work in adipose tissue from mouse and human samples.

Key Responsibilities:

  • Perform nucleic acid extractions and amplifications from clinical and research samples.

  • Perform standard molecular biological techniques, including PCR, RT-PCR

  • RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, ATAC-seq NGS library construction

  • Generation of single cell libraries by Drop-seq/10X genomics platforms

  • Operate and maintain laboratory equipment

  • Prepare, order, and maintain stocks of necessary reagents, solutions and supplies

  • Record experimental designs, results, and conclusions in both electronic and paper format. Prepare summary reports.

  • Troubleshoot as necessary and identify areas for improvement.

  • Consult with other senior scientists or scientific literature as needed. Maintain contact with target vendors for new products, applications, or product issues.

 

Qualifications:

  • BA/BS 2+ years’ experience or MS with requisite knowledge/skills

  • Experience with next generation sequencing library construction (e.g. ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, bisulfite and DNA sequencing)

  • A minimum of one year of experience in a high throughput sequencing library construction (e.g. ChIP-seq, RNA-seq, ATAC-seq, bisulfite and DNA sequencing)

  • Expertise and good knowledge of RNA technique

  • Single cell experience would be a plus

  • Working knowledge of computers and databases within a Windows/Mac environment.

  • Strong critical thinking and analytical skills including basic data analysis.

  • Must demonstrate initiative in continuous technical advancement.

  • Ability to handle a variety of tasks amid shifting priorities.

  • Strong attention to detail, excellent organization and time management skills.

  • Excellent communication skills and the ability to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team.

  • Expertise and good knowledge of next-generation sequencing.

  • Ability to work independently, good organizational skills, attention to detail, the ability to multi-task, and good communication skills are required.

  • Must possess a high level of initiative and the ability to work with a moderate level of supervision.

 

  • Highly preferred research experience includes: single cell RNA-seq, protocol development. Experience with operating liquid handler is ideal.

 

 

Rosen/Banks/Tsai Kayaking 2018

Deepti and Maynara making waves

Yuchen, Jun (Banks), and Hyun (Rosen) back on dry land. (This may be the only time I’ve ever seen Hyun in shorts?!?)

Our summer outing this year with the Rosen and Banks labs. Kayaking on the Charles River followed by lunch at Za in Kendall. Forced bonding via double kayaks. Beautiful day with just a little sunburn. PI team of Banks/Tsai won the race btw (Banks is a beast and Tsai is a cheat).