Associate Professor @UCSD| HHMI Freeman Hrabowski Scholar| Research on rhomboid proteins|First Gen & Black in STEM| Proud mom|co-founder of @bummp_ucsd

Joined April 2010
189 Photos and videos
Double announcement I'm excited to share🩷 So proud to share a new paper led by my incredible graduate student @dagarwal99 . We highlight the real experiences of mothers in academia and the structural & cultural changes needed to retain them. febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com…
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On a personal note: I’m also expecting a baby this summer! I now find myself raising 3 kids across different stages of academia (grad school, pre tenure, post tenure) while navigating the demands of this career. This work is deeply personal.
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Proud of @dagarwal99 for leading this and grateful to contribute to pushing this conversation forward.
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Sonya Neal retweeted
By all means, if you're deciding, take the time you need. But if you're deciding between two places, and there are three others you've ruled out, let those three know as soon as possible, not once you've picked a school You could make a huge difference to someone else's life
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Sonya Neal retweeted
Grateful for an incredible time at #Cardiometabolism in Keystone šŸ‡ŗšŸ‡øā€ØHonored to present our work on DRP1, mitochondrial dynamics, lipid droplets & muscle oxygenation in PAD. @KeystoneSymp @czi @officialbiohub @BWFUND @VUBasicSciences
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New model: Rhbdl2 functions as an immune checkpoint for regeneration, restraining Rac2-dependent macrophage accumulation and preventing excessive tissue growth. This has implications for: • Chronic wounds • Fibrosis • Tumor–immune interactions Intramembrane proteases just entered the regeneration chat.
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Massive congrats to first author Saroj Gourkanti and the entire team & collaborators! So proud of this work , from CRISPR fish to live imaging to proteomics to mechanism.
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This week in Social Issues in Biology, we were honored to welcome @clairemlchapman , chair of @bummp_atucsd who shared the powerful impact of mentorship at @UCSD and facilitated amazing discussion with our students!
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13 Dec 2025
Happy Holidays from @Neal_Lab and @bummp_atucsd friends!!!!
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Sonya Neal retweeted
Replying to @hhmi_science
@HHMINEWS Summer Undergraduate Research Experience - #CechFellows named in honor of Prof Tom Cech Deadline to apply: 12/22/2025 Spend 9 weeks in a paid, mentored biomedical research experience in an HHMI lab. See you next summer!!! hhmi.org/programs/cech-fello…
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Sonya Neal retweeted
3 Dec 2025
Congratulations to ASBMB member Eric Jordahl, who has been named a 2025 Gilliam Fellow by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Jordahl is a #PhD candidate in the @Neal_Lab at @UCSanDiego & will receive three years of funding to support his thesis research. asbmb.org/asbmb-today/people…
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24 Nov 2025
The #ABRCMS2025 conference was my first scientific meeting as an undergrad, and it was the experience that propelled me into science. Being back this week, surrounded by brilliant, aspiring young scientists, has been incredible. #Seeingisbelieving
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27 Oct 2025
Amazing turn out for @bummp_atucsd Welcome Lunchā™„ļøā™„ļøā™„ļø
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Sonya Neal retweeted
BIG ANNOUNCEMENTšŸ“£: I haven’t been this excited to be part of something new in 15 years… Thrilled to reveal the passion project I’ve been working on for the past year and a half!šŸ™€šŸ„³ It started from my frustration with the depressing effect that the current publishing system has on the well-being of myself, my team, and pretty much every scientist I know (maybe you’ve noticed from my stupid jokes… :) I was exhausted of dealing with the huge delays, reviewers that can be abusive, and how arbitrary it all is. Unfortunately, the most important factors are often WHO your reviewers are and who YOU are... It’s clear we need alternatives or at least ways to improve the situation. So, together with a really special and talented team we worked to develop this idea into ā€œqedā€ a platform where you can get CONSTRUCTIVE feedback on your own work or CRITICALLY assess other people’s papers. It can be a real difference maker if many of you join us (thousands have tried it already, but today we release a NEW and much stronger version ;) Let’s harness qed to put the power back in the scientists’ hands, to do, to read & to publish science on our own terms. I’m dying for you to TRY IT, and it’s very simple - just drop a paper (the link to the website is in the repliesšŸ‘‡) - it’s completely secure, private, and free, and you get results fast. Please show your support, SHARE, tell your friends, and let’s be the revolution 🫵!
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Sonya Neal retweeted
New @UCSanDiego BioSci @NobelPrize Winner Announced! The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to BioSci alumnus Fred Ramsdell, a graduate in biochemistry/cell biology. He is being honored for transformative research on the immune system. go.ucsd.edu/3KFy18P
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Sonya Neal retweeted
feeling very thankful for the opportunity to present my work at our annual phd program retreat at @UCLAArrowhead and to have received the award for best student speaker 🐟🐟 thank you to all who came out to listen and to my lab and mentor for all of their support!
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Sonya Neal retweeted
I received an Alstrosmeria award in plant biology at the annual retreat for UCSD School of Biological Sciences. Thanks my mentor, lab members, and collaborators for their supports.
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16 Sep 2025
Got my run in earlier at @ucsdbiosciences retreat in Lake Arrowhead. Now indulging in amazing science from our PhD program!
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