Many of you have asked me about the mention of harassment in my "I'm leaving academia" announcement (see my pinned tweet). As recently as dinner last night, I insisted that these experiences weren't part of my decision, and that it's just been an annoyance. But I was lying. 1/5 Why? As a senior white, straight, cis prof, I have a lot of power. I have felt like I should be able to just let it roll off my back. And discussing it (even now) brings on big feelings of shame, even though I know I did nothing to cause it! 2/5

Ready for some personal news? Here goes. . . after a great deal of thought (and therapy), I’ve decided to close my lab down and leave academia. I know this type of thread is now verging on the predictable, so just a few details. 1/5 This is not in response to specific issues with our research program (#mechanobiology forever!), past or current lab members (they are ALL AWESOME), with my department, Wash U, or with my harasser. There are truly too many inter-related reasons to summarize them easily. 2/5

Here I offer a distraction from the terrible news coming from all directions this week—our new preprint! Read on if you like #mechanobiology #plantbiology #piezo channels #vacuoles or #moss. . . Thoughts/questions/RTs are welcome! 1/n biorxiv.org/content/10.110… We study mechanosensitive ion channels in plants, and one of the big questions we want to answer is how this mesmerizing 🤓class of proteins has been tailored through evolution to the unique mechanical environment of the plant 🌱 cell. 2/10