This week the Ackerman lab traveled to beautiful Pierre Marquette to hear all of the latest research in Genetics, Genomics, Computational Biology and more at WashU! In our free time, we a hike to see some beautiful views of the river. Who said the Midwest is flat?!

Welcome new undergraduate member, Katie Schneider! Katie is a sophomore at WashU and will be working with us to study how astrocytes regulate synapse development along with SLU undergraduate Hallie Youker.

The Ackerman received all 600+ stocks of their flies after they had been carefully kept by the Doe lab for the last 2 months. Can't wait to start using them to test our exciting hypotheses!

Today the Midwest cohort (Mohini Sengupta, Clarissa Durie, and I) of the leading edge fellows (https://www.leadingedgesymposium.org/fellows/) convened at Urban Chestnut in Saint Louis to share life and science advice. So fun to meet in person after years(!!) of chatting online!

The Ackerman lab has established a fiscal partnership with the nonprofit CDG CARE, a patient organization for true, patient-driven research into the contribution of glia to the ALG8 congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG). In brief, we will model ALG8 CDG in zebrafish to 1) understand the cellular basis of neurological dysfunction in these patients and 2) to screen for potential therapeutic interventions. For more, or to contribute to this cause, click the following link: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/cdg-care/project-grace-glial-research-in-alg8-cdg

The Ackerman lab is in full swing, which means it's time for a celebratory lunch. Here, Mika, Michael, and I are enjoying our first lab lunch at Songbird in the Central West End. Food is always a good way to bring people together :) So excited to get to work with this awesome team!

The Ackerman lab is open as of July 1, 2022! We are thrilled to get our start at the fabulous BIG Center at WashU, and look forward to many years of exciting science, friendships, and growth!

Our trainee Sonja submitted her NSF GRFP. Congratulations and we wish her good luck!!

First day of ephys was a success! Thanks to the Dickman lab at USC for the training!

Sarah officially signs the offer. The Ackerman lab will be opening at WashU in July 2022!