Absolutely thrilled to share that our first episode of the Stress Puzzle with
@Dr_Epel
and
@wendybmendes
is available now!🧩
We discussed acute vs. chronic stress responses, wearables, stress interventions, the future of stress science, & more!
Listen:
I’m so excited that I will be starting as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences
@TexasTech
this Fall!
Feeling very grateful to have this opportunity to start a lab & contribute to higher education in my home state. A dream come true!🤠
my dad sent me this email just over a year before he died. he loved science, writing, and esp ~science writing~ so it was always a joy to get to share my work with him
my master’s proposal was the last big doc he saw — thinking about him a lot as i’m finishing my dissertation 🤍
my dad died this morning, which means i lost my hero, best friend, and the coolest man i’ll ever know at the same time. he gave so much love to this world that i can’t imagine living in it without him 🖤
okay y’all Monday is my birthday & in the last day I reached my goal number of participants for my dissertation AND had a first-author paper accepted at Psychological Science!!!!!!
so yes, I will be celebrating this weekend! 🥳🥳
How does psychological stress make us more vulnerable to infections (like the common cold or COVID-19)?! 🧠💉
never thought i’d be talking about glucocorticoid receptor resistance on tiktok but here we are 🤷🏻♀️
#scicomm
#sciencetiktok
#COVID19
Excited to share that I’ll be starting as a T32 Postdoctoral Scholar in Psychology & Medicine
@UCSFPsychiatry
this fall working with
@AricPrather
&
@Dr_Epel
— a dream team! ✨
as someone who felt like an outsider through hs/college, the last few years have felt surreal finding incredibly rewarding adult friendships with new people in grad school, from twitter(!), and reconnecting with people from my childhood.
high school ryan wouldn’t believe it! 🥺
PSA to anyone who knows someone grieving: if you’re wondering if texts make a difference, they do.
always reach out.
i will never forget the people who reached out after my dad died and made me feel less alone. reach out — it is always better than saying nothing 🤍
@SusannaLHarris
i still love my uterus tattoo 🥰
it’s a daily reminder of the importance of reproductive freedom + i’m *so* fascinated by pregnancy/postpartum & pregnant people’s health 🤓
woke up to the intense “i miss dad” feeling + still some leftover guilt of not spending enough time w him. then i remembered he’s gone and the i miss my dad feeling got a lot worse.
here are my favorite pictures from when i surprised him a few years ago. i miss him so much.
dad has the best attitude around death and dying - it’s constantly inspiring
he was really sick with pneumonia (more risky w COPD) ~7 years ago and says that all the time since then “was just icing on top of the cake”
last night he said, “this is all very human”
he’s right 🖤
@SusannaLHarris
being in a hostile marriage dysregulates immune function 🤓
researchers gave people blister wounds in the lab & people in more hostile marriages healed at 60% the rate of people in less hostile marriages
also, Dr. Kiecolt-Glaser is a badass.
🚨 New paper published in Psychological Science!
We brought 111 bereaved older adults into the lab (~4 months post-loss) & measured IL-6 before, 45 min & 2 hrs after a stressor. Those w/ high grief symptoms had a 19% larger increase in IL-6.
Full video:
dad is in hospice care here at the house & I’d do just about anything to see him smile like this again
the second pic here is my all time favorite - I surprised him by coming home when he thought I was in another state 🖤
update: he does have a fractured hip so next we need to decide whether he goes through major surgery + rehab or gets palliative care
in the meantime, here’s a picture of him and Piper from last year - she is still taking very good care of him ❤️
regularly scheduled reminder that this is the core of me as a human —actively trying to get more of my silly energy back (has been a bit depleted throughout grad school) 🤪
say it with me:
i will start new projects in r markdown.
i will start new projects in r markdown.
i will start new projects in r markdown.
i will start new projects in r markdown.
i will start new projects in r markdown.
i will start new projects in r markdown.
missing dad a little extra lately & noticing that it really helps to be able to mention him/his thoughts/his advice casually in conversation. i really appreciate friends who make it feel natural & not at all awkward to hold space for those memories & the continued bond 💓
just sent a professional email with three smiley faces & lots of exclamation points…..but guess what?!
my dissertation data collection, transcription, and coding is COMPLETE ✅ so the 😃😃😃 was very warranted!!! 🥳🥳
so grateful to receive this university-wide mentorship award 🥺✨
in a dark & difficult year, mentorship has been a light & absolutely what i love the most about academia 💖💖
We are so proud of
@ryanlinnbrown
for receiving the Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Award this year! This award recognizes individuals who demonstrate exemplary mentorship to Rice undergraduate students in research, design, and creative work projects. Great job Ryan!
as some of you know, my dad is 79 and has been struggling with COPD + complications for >10 years. last night he had a really bad fall, may have a broken hip & his blood oxygen levels got as low as I’ve ever seen
Honored to receive the 2023 Psi Chi | APS Albert Bandura Graduate Research Award for my first-author paper “Grief Symptoms Promote Inflammation During Acute Stress Among Bereaved Spouses”. Thank you
@PsiChiHonor
&
@PsychScience
!!
today seems like a great day to get
@ravenscimaven
to 100k followers…
i started following her because of her aaaaamazing science music & scicomm generally but stay for the q’s, convos, fashion, & good vibes.
if you follow & enjoy her on twitter, maybe you can also share why?
i’m still blown away by the power of tiktok for
#scicomm
— i posted a short video about the findings from this paper last week & now it has 19k views, 70 comments from people truly engaged with the work(!!), AND 160 people have even saved the video 🤯
🚨 New paper published in Psychological Science!
We brought 111 bereaved older adults into the lab (~4 months post-loss) & measured IL-6 before, 45 min & 2 hrs after a stressor. Those w/ high grief symptoms had a 19% larger increase in IL-6.
Full video:
dad loved and felt responsible for every living thing on this planet. people, animals, plants, bugs, etc. he taught me to love nature and animals and, most importantly, never to settle for injustice in the world
there aren’t enough words to describe his goodness 🖤
so naturally I’m a mixture of grief & lots of other negative emotions rn but I’m trying to find some light as well
definitely grateful (now more than ever) for meditative runs and the ability to breathe through discomfort 🖤
yesterday was surreal! so much joy, excitement, & relief finishing this project that was *so close* to finished before being on hold for a year+ bc of covid — it truly took a village & i’m so grateful to my people for getting me through this last year & to this defense 🥰💐🥳
there’s a sadness to starting a new year, setting goals, and making plans after the loss of a close family member — in planning for a future & knowing that future won’t include someone you love.
dad wrote notes to me in his book starting before i was 13. the last thing he wrote, in 2015, was “i am so proud of you. about to get you back home & can’t wait!” 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
Congratulations to
@ryanlinnbrown
, now Dr. Ryan L. Brown, for successfully defending her PhD dissertation this morning! We are so proud of you and can't wait to see you make your mark in the fields of
#pni
and
#healthpsych
in the years to come!!
it’s been 5 weeks since i last hugged my dad and i miss him so fucking much — we’re doing a very small, socially distanced, no hugs allowed, mini-memorial for him tomorrow night but goddamn....it’s just not enough.
@OpenAcademics
hey friends! I study health psychology focusing on how psychological stress dysregulates the immune, autonomic, and endocrine systems.
This is my grad school bff, Piper!
Rescued after Hurricane Harvey in Houston, which was also the first semester of my phd 🤪
for my family, anticipating grief included planning how we would honor dad’s passing for years before he ultimately died in 2020 — i’m so grateful that 2 years later we’re finally in Ireland honoring his wishes by spreading his ashes where my parents fell in love 35 years ago 🤍
26.2 miles down! 🏃🏻♀️ this was my second marathon attempt & first marathon to finish (rescheduled from last year!) — i’m so proud of everything leading up to today & tbh can’t believe i felt strong through the whole race 💖
official time: 3:56:20 🤠
First week as a postdoc down! Huge thanks to all
@UCSFAME
/
@UCSFPsychiatry
for the incredibly warm welcome. Feeling inspired by the brilliance & vibrancy of my new colleagues (not to mention the *gorgeous* building!).
going through old photos and found this gem...
#AcademicTwitter
are you ready?
i was in stressed out, phd mode by age 12!!!! also lmao bc i emailed
@Harvard
around this time from this spot to ask what books i should read for the best chances of getting in....and they replied!🥰
some professors are really surprised when i say how much i’ve learned from twitter but look at how many ~amazing resources~ kind & collaborative people share here!!!
i bookmark them all 💖
I have updated the material for my R Markdown workshop.
200+ slides, 40+ exercises, and more — for those interested in switching to R Markdown for writing papers. Have a look.
@OpenAcademics
Hey friends!
I’m Ryan and I research how psychological stress affects health outcomes! I mostly focus on stress around major life events (like pregnancy or the death of a spouse), but i’m also interested in acute infections (like the common cold)!
hey twitter friends, thanks for all the support here in the past few months.
talking about grief is uncomfortable, but suffering in silence is SO much worse. i’m grateful to all of you who have sent messages, animal pictures & good vibes.
let’s normalize talking about grief 🖤
@PixScienceCo
I’m a scientist who studies how psychological stress (e.g., loss and trauma) affect the immune, autonomic, and endocrine systems.
I have an adorable fluff ball named Piper who helps get me through grad school (and also sleeps on me during road trips 🥰)
less than 2 weeks until my grant is due, which means i’m definitely just procrastinating on tiktok 🤪
this one is for all the research assistants who keep projects & labs running - we appreciate you! 💖💖
#academictiktok
#AcademicTwitter
@OpenAcademics
eeeek i wore my
@SmartyPantsGear
for an important zoom meeting today & a professor that i respect soooooo much immediately saw & LOVED the scientist bling necklace - i love it too!
there are still a few available on their website... i ~highly recommend~ 💖
good morning to everyone except
@ltisdschools
who denied remote teaching requests to 70% of teachers WITH MEDICAL CONDITIONS and plan to reopen (despite county orders). 🤬
friends in lake travis, dm me for more info on how to contact the school board before they meet tomorrow.
Absolutely thrilled to share that our paper, "Lexical markers of cognitive reappraisal, bereavement, and proinflammatory cytokine production" was selected as an Editor's Choice article by
@APA
! Huge congrats to
@AnnyShahane
who led this innovative research.
driving back to houston for the beginning of this semester felt a lot different bc it was the first time i didn’t leave wondering if it was the last time i’d ever see my dad again or feel the guilt of leaving him behind.
that said, i miss him so fucking much. 💔
Eras nails for the very first night 🪩💗 so incredible to get to see
@taylorswift13
perform the music I grew up with all the way through the music that helped me through the most difficult parts of the pandemic. Storyteller of our generation 🫶🏼
@taylornation13
#TSTheErasTour
Leading up to the summer before my senior year of college, I cold emailed professors who I thought I would apply to for grad school with the goal of working in their lab for that summer &
@ChrisPFagundes
replied ➡️ 6+ years later I was hooded by him — send those cold emails! ✨
i’ve had ~2 months completely off from work after my dad died.
today i opened a project for the first time & loved having all of the intellectual curiosity just pour out (bc the topic is so interesting)
+ bonus: actually felt like i’m pretty good at this!
#AcademicMentalHealth
My favorite photo from living in the Bay (so far!): a gorgeous sunset at the Golden Gate Bridge with a view of San Francisco and the Bay Bridge in the distance 💌
attending the first day of a (free!!) 3-day Intro to SEM webinar hosted by
@curranbauer
, drinking a ~very~ large cup of coffee, and messaging my lab mates with a ridiculous amount of stats hype for a Monday morning 🤓🤗
I’ve absolutely loved running in the Bay and am signing up for as many races as I can before the big move back to Texas!
Golden Gate Half Marathon Trail Run ✅, Napa Half Marathon this weekend!
Here are a few of my favorite views (thanks to
@thejakenixon
for the first pic!) 🌁
made two new ribbed shirts this weekend!🪡🧵 it was my first time working from a YouTube tutorial to draft a pattern with my measurements — i learned a lot & am so happy with the final product!