Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

04/10/2026

The Behind the Name series spotlights the 50+ historic and cutting-edge buildings across CSHL’s campus.

Nestled on the eastern shore of Cold Spring Harbor, Knight House and Cutting House may not be as well-known as other buildings at the Lab, but they are no less important to CSHL’s research, graduate school programs, and close-knit community.

Knight House, named in honor of late CSHL Trustee Townsend Knight, was originally built in 1810 by CSHL’s earliest supporters—the Jones family. In 1998, CSHL purchased the historic three-story mansion and, with generous support from David H. Deming and Henry U. Harris, completed renovations in time to welcome the School of Biological Sciences’ inaugural class of 1999.

In 2005, the Laboratory expanded student housing with the purchase and renovation of nearby Cutting House. Named in honor of former CSHL Association President George Cutting, the residence initially housed postdoctoral fellows. Today, it serves as a second full-time residence for SBS graduate students.

04/10/2026

We asked our graduate students to pick their lab personality based on their coffee order.

Black donut & a plain coffee → The Overachiever
Iced coffee & 3 random donuts → The Chaos Experimenter
Puppucino → The Puppucino (obviously)
Triple espresso & a half-eaten donut → The Burnt-Out 5th Year

Happy Graduate Student Appreciation Week to all CSHL graduate students!

04/09/2026

Explore the historic campus of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on a 1.5-hour guided walking tour, starting this Saturday! Learn about the Laboratory’s Nobel Prize–winning legacy, its distinctive architecture, and the groundbreaking research in cancer, neuroscience, and plant biology happening here every day. Sign up using this link: https://CSHLPublicTour.eventbrite.com

If you can’t join us this week, dates are released on a rolling basis, typically 3–4 months in advance, with additional dates added throughout the season.

04/09/2026

Everyone that attends a course at CSHL leaves with more knowledge, more connections, and a cool new tee.

To make sure every t-shirt is better than the last, the Meetings & Course department has partnered with Spectrum Designs Foundation. Spectrum Designs is a Long Island-based custom branding and merchandise company that focuses on creating meaningful careers for adults on the autism spectrum. With their expertise, the Meetings & Courses team is able to provide uniquely designed shirts to over 25 courses.

Learn more about the partnership between CSHL and Spectrum Designs here, https://www.cshl.edu/ink-impact-and-inclusion/.

If you're interested in learning more about the Meetings & Courses program, visit here: https://meetings.cshl.edu/.

04/08/2026

🌱 Earth Day 2026 is on the horizon! 🌎

Celebrate Earth Day with CSHL plant biologist Dave Jackson. On Thursday, April 21, at Cold Spring Harbor Library at 6:30 pm, he will be discussing the domestication of crops over 10,000 years and how new tools will speed up our ability to produce healthier foods for the future. Q&A to follow.

All attendees will be entered into a free raffle for a DIY herb garden! Winner must be present to collect prize.

Registration can be found here: https://coldspringharbor.librarycalendar.com/event/hold-change-10000-years-crop-improvement-how-technology-can-speed-it-36074.

04/08/2026

In 2016, SFARI launched SPARK, the largest study of autism ever, with over 275,000 participants. Using SFARI family datasets, CSHL Professors Wigler and Iossifov have made a series of important discoveries.

In 2023, they found that siblings with autism share more of their father’s genome than previously thought.

To get a more in-depth explanation of their findings, watch the easy-to-follow motion-infographic here: https://www.cshl.edu/videos/autism-in-the-family-tree/.

04/07/2026

As supplements become increasingly popular, new research is challenging long-held assumptions about the benefits of one.

Fish oil supplements may not be as protective after traumatic brain injury as previously assumed.

A recent study co-authored by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Assistant Professor Semir Beyaz suggests that EPA, a fatty acid commonly found in fish oil supplements, may actually impair the brain’s ability to recover after traumatic injury. The findings indicate it could increase the risk of developing neurodegenerative conditions like CTE.

Read more: https://www.cshl.edu/fish-oil-may-increase-cte-risk-after-brain-injury/

04/06/2026

Happy National Tomato Day!

For CSHL Professor & HHMI Investigator Zach Lippman, every day is . Tomatoes are more than just a delicious fruit at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory—they're the topic of some of the hottest genetic research to date. 🍅

In his most recent tomato-related news, Lippman teamed up with CSHL Associate Professor David McCandlish to find out why some tomatoes had straight vines, while others were branched.

Can you see guess how these findings might impact both agriculture and medicine?

Learn how: https://www.cshl.edu/branching-out-tomato-genes-point-to-new-medicines/

04/03/2026

Maternal caregiving is essential for an infant's survival in many species, including humans. But why do these mothers care for their babies? Is it instinct, reward, hormonal, or a learned behavior?

These are the questions that Postdoctoral Fellow Katie Day examined in our most recent installation of Cocktails & Chromosomes. In her research, female mice experience a spike in dopamine levels every time they care for their young, making each experience sensationally rewarding. Katie explained to our audience that there is still a lot to learn about motherhood, but the mouse reward system can help inform us about human maternal caregiving.

Cocktails & Chromosomes is designed to make science accessible, while enjoying your favorite beverage. Check the link in our bio for upcoming events.

📸: CSHL's Shazar Kanhai

04/02/2026

Today, on World Autism Awareness Day, we’re kicking off Autism Acceptance Month with this 1:1 with Lucas Cheadle, Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory-- who is sharing an inside look at his newest preprint findings.

His lab is taking a unique approach to autism—looking beyond the brain to the role of the immune system.

Specifically, Cheadle's lab is exploring how inflammation during pregnancy may shape autism risk, especially in male embryos.

At CSHL, with 10+ scientists advancing autism research, this is just the beginning.

New questions.

New answers.

Follow along as we dive deeper into autism this month.

04/01/2026

Living with endometriosis today is where cancer was 60–70 years ago.

It affects hundreds of millions of women—yet we still don’t fully understand how it starts, spreads, or how to diagnose it early.

That’s why fundamental science matters.

At Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Dr. Semir Beyaz is leading this charge at the Seckin Endometriosis Research Center at CSHL—the first center dedicated to endometriosis within a basic science institution in the U.S.

Hear how his team’s latest research is building new models and new possibilities for the endometriosis community.

This is how breakthroughs begin.

This is how better diagnostics and treatments take shape.

This is how we bring hope.

Share with someone who's ready to follow the next frontier of

03/30/2026

To close out , we recognize women scientists making history every day, including the brilliant scientists at the center of CSHL's Microscopy Core led by Research Assistant Professor & Director, Microscopy, Erika Wee.

Get ready to geek out with us on optics, lasers, cameras, and detectors—take a peek inside our high-tech facility in this new video!

https://www.cshl.edu/videos/a-closer-look-cshls-microscopy-core/

A Closer Look: CSHL’s Microscopy Core 00:03:33 | March 30, 2026 cancer researchcell biologycore facilityCSHL Cancer Centermolecular biology Microscopes allow us to see the world on a scale unavailable to the naked eye. At 600,000× magnification, a transmission electron microscope can image the st...