I am excited to announce that in March, I will start my lab in the Department of Cancer Biology (@Penn_CBIO) at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine (@PennMedicine). Stevens.bio

Congratulations to Robert Bowman (@Penn_CBIO), recipient of the Jane M. Glick Graduate Student Teaching Award! Learn more Dr. Bowman & his work here➡️ bowmanlab.org/ #PSOMAOE

Rockefeller's C. David Allis revolutionized our understanding of how genes are expressed. His discoveries ushered in the modern era of chromatin biology and epigenetics and laid the foundation for new approaches to treating cancer and other diseases. #125YearsofRockefeller

Our lab's first preprint! The antiphage protein Tiamat is an ATPase and DNase with homologs across the tree of life. What started as undergrad Shirley Yuan's summer project grew into a paper and a collaboration with @jpkbravo's group. Link: biorxiv.org/content/10.64898…

Princeton postdoctoral fellowship opportunity to work in my lab & others! This opportunity is part of a new NSF-funded center here, and is focused on candidates who are interested in biomolecular condensates and programmable soft materials. Deadline Nov 1. apply.interfolio.com/193107

Excited to share our new preprint! We asked how inducible SynNotch-CAR circuits can better discriminate on-target from off-target cells when they share similar antigens. biorxiv.org/content/10.64898… Congratulations to Daniel Hoces, Jaclyn Ng and Julian Perez!

We are searching candidates for two positions in the lab (@GurdonInstitute& @GeneticsCam,@Cambridge_Uni ): Research assistant (starting Sep 2026 shorturl.at/3wUvK) and Postdoc(shorturl.at/HuUXu). Please visit University's webs for details and apply. Please spread!

🚨What if we could reliably program macrophage polarization state?🚨 biorxiv.org/content/10.64898… Macrophages are highly plastic immune cells that perform critical functions by polarizing into distinct cellular states. The polarization state of macrophages can substantially influences the progression of cancers, infections, and autoimmunity. (1/11)

Our lab is expanding and hiring both a postdoc and staff scientist! We study how metabolism and cell cycle states drive tumor progression, therapy response, and immune interactions. Philly is a great place to live and do research! See more at: airdlab.com.

AI and synthetic biology are revolutionizing bioengineering. We're now in a time when these technologies are synergizing to create "living" drug delivery vehicles. @BashorLab and I discuss this at Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews: sciencedirect.com/science/ar…

Very pleased that after a rigorous (and lengthy) review process, our paper visualizing how myosin generated forces modulate actin filament structure for mechanosensitive recogntion by α-catenin has appeared in @Nature nature.com/articles/s41586-0…

Incredibly proud of lead author Dr. Yanyu Zhu @YanyuZhu_Chem for this comprehensive and insightful review on CRISPR imaging of the genome. Honored to collaborate with Prof. W.E. Moerner on this. #CRISPR #GenomeDynamics #Imaging #3DGenomics #Biophysics #GeneRegulation #DNARepair #Enhancer #Promoter #Cancer #NeurologicalDisorders #Microscopy #CRISPRImaging @Stanford @bioe_stanford @Stanford_ChEMH @czbiohub @NatureRevGenet @NaturePortfolio nature.com/articles/s41576-0…

We got the cover of @BloodPortfoli! But most importantly, do not forget to contribute to our campaign to become Visionary or the Year for @BloodCancerUtd !! Donate here: pages.lls.org/voy/epa/philly…

We are looking for a Research Specialist to join the lab. Please apply directly through the careers@penn portal using the link below: wd1.myworkdaysite.com/en-US/…

Looking for a postdoc position and attending AACR in San Diego? I'll be there, too, and the lab is actively recruiting! Send me an email with your CV and cover letter, and I’ll follow up if there is a mutual fit. See more about our research at airdlab.com.

New piece on the mechanics of squamous epithelial shape transition highlighting the role of tensile forces, force transmission by Dumpy & elastic resistance by the ECM in the developing wing. Terrific work from Stefan Harmansa with Alex Erlich🍾👏: tinyurl.com/2p58b3w3

Our very first work from the lab is up on BioRxiv biorxiv.org/content/10.64898…

ft. @TomZhendong, S. Yu, Y. Liu, L. Liu, @junwei_s (@Penn_CBIO/ @PennEpiInst), @jackiejpeng (@UPennGCB), D. Barrett, J. Sussman, C. Chen, A. Thadi, F. Alikarami, J. Xu, @cdktmw, @kathrinbernt (@CHOP_Research) & Martin Carroll (@PennCancer) @CAMBUpenn cell.com/molecular-cell/full…

I’m pleased to share our lab’s first paper (a review), highlighting new insights into macrophages, their mechanobiology, and cancer therapeutic potential through both genetic and non-genetic approaches. @UCSDJacobs @ucsdbe nature.com/articles/s44385-0…

CLASSIC!

We are pleased to share a paper from our lab out in this week’s issue of @Nature, where we show that HT + ML can dramatically speed up the synbio DBTL cycles, profiling gene circuit design spaces at unprecedented scale: nature.com/articles/s41586-0… (1/16)