Sonya Widen

There are a couple of empty chairs at our table — want to sit with us?
Reach out to me or any lab member www.oeaw.ac.at/gmi/research... We’ll be hiring two postdocs in 2026.
We’re excited about ambitious and creative ideas and are committed to supporting future group leaders 1/2

Widespread and intron-rich mirusviruses are predicted to reproduce in nuclei of unicellular eukaryotes - Nature Microbiology Environmental metagenomic explorations show that Mirusviricota lineages lack essential replication and transcription genes and contain spliceosomal introns, suggesting nuclear reproduction.

Check out our latest paper on mirusviruses, one of the most remarkable new groups of protist viruses - extremely diverse, carry lots of spliceosomal introns (including new homing introns) and are at the evolutionary crossroads between tailed phages and herpesviruses! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This is a most excellent read. Reducing Rosalind Franklin to simply a victim in the discovery of the DNA double helix inadvertently strips her of her very real contributions.

Canada’s new budget aims to lure U.S. researchers to relocate Spending plan also calls for smaller research spending cut than feared

Canada makes pitch for US researchers to relocate with $1.7bn in new funding. My story for @science.org 🧪
www.science.org/content/arti...

Targeted genetic manipulation and yeast-like evolutionary genomics in the green alga Auxenochlorella Auxenochlorella, green algae shaped by evolutionary forces acting on vegetative diploids, are amenable to discovery research and bioengineering via efficie

Excited to introduce Auxenochlorella as a new algal reference organism for fundamental plant science and bioengineering. A paper in two parts: a genetic toolkit for site-specific genomic manipulation, paired with the most unusual genome I’ve ever worked on

academic.oup.com/plcell/artic...

There’s gotta be an inappropriate joke in here somewhere, I just know it

I rolled my eyes so hard I think I pulled a muscle

“Wow, that was a real forward primer thing to say, if I’m being honest”

Gonna find a way to use this naturally in conversation as a niche insult tomorrow. Updates to follow

Despite the mess, we are grateful to be funded, have exciting science happening, and have an opening for a postdoc!

If you are interested in sensory biology and esp in cilia, thermosensation, or interoception, and would like to join an interactive & supportive group - please email.

Please RT 🙏

Biological Laboratory | LEGO® Ideas This is a two-floor realistic Biological Laboratory building. In this design, I try to tell stories about biologists, introduce biology concepts to general publ…

I just made an account and voted for this biology laboratory made of LEGO to "promote biological research and inspire more people into the world of biology". They need 10K votes. Reposting and/or voting below would be helpful. 🤗
beta.ideas.lego.com/product-idea...

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT📣: 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!🙀🥳 (thread 👇)

What’s it like to tell someone she won a Nobel Prize? Science chats with photographer Lindsey Wasson, who captured how Nobel winner Mary Brunkow reacted to life-changing news

Science chats with photographer Lindsey Wasson, who captured how Nobel winner Mary Brunkow reacted to life-changing news. https://scim.ag/3IX1uuu

Thrilled to share that I’ll be joining @imbmainz.bsky.social in February 2026 to start my own group!
We will explore new mechanisms in eukaryotic gene expression, leveraging ‘evolutionary play’ to uncover how regulation, repurposing, and hijacking shape RNA biology.
PhD positions available!

Interested in stem cell/developmental biology AND working for a genuinely lovely person? Funded PhD positions are open! 🥳 can’t wait to see what Anzy does with her unreal amount of brain power. 💪🧠

Amazing news! Congrats Alex 🥳

Now that I'm settled in at @umasschan.bsky.social, I'm hiring at all levels: grad students, post-docs, and software engineers/bioinformaticians!

The goal of my lab is to understand the regulatory role of every nucleotide in our genomes and how this changes across every cell in our bodies.

10/10 science, 11/10 gifs 🙌

Picture of the title of the article and author list (2025 PI fellows) Chee Kiang Ewe, Max S. Farnworth, Anzy Miller, Joaquı́n Navajas Acedo, Marlies E. Oomen, Giulia Paci, Sonya A. Widen and Toshimichi Yamada

Pathway to Independence: a forecast for the future of developmental biology

In this Perspective, each of our 2025 Pathway to Independence Fellows discuss future outlooks for #DevBio and how their work will contribute to this exciting new era.

journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...

Very curious what they did for the person who won it for research showing that dogs poop preferentially facing along the N/S magnetic axis of the earth

Censorship has gone too far

Congratulations to Sakurako Nagumo Wong, former PhD student in Jürgen Knoblich’s lab, who was awarded the 2025 Rabitsch Award for her remarkable contributions to the study of human cortical development and neurodevelopmental disorders. Read more: https://imba.science/4gPHh6l

Saku, post-award talk, proudly holding her framed Rabitsch award certificate 👩🏻‍🔬

Saku on stage at the IMP for her Rabitsch award talk, with a packed acknowledgements slide because great science never happens in isolation!

So proud of Dr. Saku Wong (@saku-wong.bsky.social) for her beautiful doctoral work that this morning won her this year’s Kirsten P. Rabitsch award! Each year, this award recognises the most promising PhD student from @impvienna.bsky.social or @imbavienna.bsky.social and it is so well deserved 🥹🔬🧠

Sad to see this morning that it didn’t happen lol

My hero Jane Goodall. Text reads 1934-2025.

Jane Goodall comforts a frightened chimpanzee, early in her career, in Gombe National Park.

At a time when we need more of her and less of the rest, it is our great loss.

Eternally grateful for the kindness with which she lived by example, her revolutionary study of chimpanzees that shifted scientific understanding of animals and nature, and decades of advocating for a humane world.

Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, dies aged 91 Jane Goodall Institute says ‘tireless advocate’ for natural world died in California during US speaking tour

“Above all, we must realise that each of us makes a difference with our life. Each of us impacts the world around us every single day. We have a choice to use the gift of our life to make the world a better place - or not to bother.”

www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

Together with my wonderful cohort of @dev-journal.bsky.social PI fellows, we offer our perspectives about exciting questions to be tackled in the future of developmental biology! 🧬 🧪🔬Inspired by any of the ideas? Reach out to us!

The german word for turtle is literally translated “shield toad”. This pleases me frequently

Who defines the distinction between defect and difference?

This is an incredibly important conversation and one that is close to my heart. A moving and eloquent article, from top to bottom.

Thank you! 🥹