Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort) header
Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort) profile picture

Connor Dufort

@ConnorDufort

Student at the Center for Neuroscience at Pitt - Xiaoming Hu Lab | alum @stevens1lab | Colgate ‘17

 Pittsburgh, PA
Joined March 2019
  • Tweets92
  • Following329
  • Followers140
9Media
Photo by Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort)Photo by Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort)Photo by Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort)Photo by Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort)Photo by Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort)Photo by Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort)Photo by Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort)Photo by Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort)Photo by Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort)
Connor Dufort retweeted
John Lukens (@LukensJohnR) profile picture
John Lukens
@LukensJohnROct 27
New study from our group @Addie_E_Walsh 👇 Alzheimer’s genetic risk factor CASS4 controls microglial focal adhesion biology and amyloidosis @JExpMed rupress.org/jem/article/223/… #Alzheimer
Image from John Lukens (@LukensJohnR)
2
29
68
2,558
Connor Dufort retweeted
Waggoner Lab (@LabWaggoner) profile picture
Waggoner Lab@LabWaggonerFeb 16
Review @NatRevDrugDisc @Denalitx Therapeutic targeting of neuroimmune mechanisms in neurodegeneration nature.com/articles/s41573-0…
Image from Waggoner Lab (@LabWaggoner)
34
2
88
4,849
Since reading the remyelination paper with metformin from Robin Franklin's lab, I've been wondering why the whole world doesn't take metformin from age 50 on. Are there obvious downsides to be aware of clinically?
Eric Topol (@EricTopol) profile pictureEric Topol
@EricTopol31 Jul 2025
Metformin, the first line drug for Type 2 diabetes, has been used for 60 years without a clearcut mechanism of action. It turns out it's not just reducing glucose output from the liver. Metformin also works via the brain science.org/doi/10.1126/scia…
Low-dose metformin requires brain Rap1 for its antidiabetic action

Low-dose metformin requires brain Rap1 for its antidiabetic action

Metformin lowers blood glucose by inhibiting Rap1 in ventromedial hypothalamic neurons that regulate glucose balance.

science.org
1
145
The Hu lab had a taco party today to celebrate a certain graduate student's receipt of his F31 NoA after some delays. I feel blessed and motivated to keep working at this project!
Image from Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort)
2
95
NIH’s 2025 policy on animal testing grants worries neuroscientists. Organoids & in silico models can’t yet replicate glymphatic systems for brain implants or complex vision circuits. Strict animal model justifications may delay funding & discoveries. #Neuroscience #NIH
3
10
2
41
12,573
My poster is ready to go from 1:30-4:30PM today. Come and say hi and let’s talk about monocyte derived macrophages! #glia2025 #gliameeting
Image from Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort)
3
252
Can’t wait to check this out, this series of studies has been Illuminating
Eyo (@eyolab) profile pictureEyo@eyolab31 May 2025
To wrap up this series, this year (2025) in a soon-to-be-published study, @astrecyte is revealing that microglia (rather than BAMs) maintain basal capillary tone through vasodilatory COX1 signaling. A pre-print is available here: researchsquare.com/article/r….🤩#20YearsInVivoMGImaging
Image from Eyo (@eyolab)
1
132
We have a new paper out demonstrating that IL-33 acts on monocyte-derived macrophages to reduce BBB disruption after ischemic stroke! jneuroinflammation.biomedcen…
IL-33/ST2 signaling in monocyte-derived macrophages maintains blood-brain barrier integrity and...

IL-33/ST2 signaling in monocyte-derived macrophages maintains blood-brain barrier integrity and...

Journal of Neuroinflammation - Brain microglia and infiltrating monocyte-derived macrophages are vital in preserving blood vessel integrity after stroke. Understanding mechanisms that induce immune...

link.springer.com
1
1
4
268
This is the first of a series of projects where we demonstrate the ability of HSC-derived cells to limit brain injury after ischemic stroke. I'm excited to learn more!
57
Highlight of the 2023 CNUP Retreat: meeting @manoliskellis
Image from Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort)
2
1
6
682
Expert photobomb from Adam and @ct_potter
1
107
Connor Dufort retweeted
Alec Walker (@AlecJWalker) profile picture
Alec Walker@AlecJWalker27 Sep 2023
I’m thrilled to share the results of a phenomenal collaboration with Lasse Dissing-Olesen in the @stevens1lab. If you’re hungry for microglial biology and looking for a new set of utensils with which to dig in, please read on. nature.com/articles/s41467-0… 1/n
12
55
4
208
44,075
Connor Dufort retweeted
Villeda Lab (@VilledaLab) profile picture
Villeda Lab@VilledaLab16 Aug 2023
Super thrilled to share our most recent work, published today in @Nature! Adam Schroer and Brit Ventura led this tour de force study, which shows that a platelet factor in blood plasma – PF4 – can attenuate inflammation and rescue cognition in aging: nature.com/articles/s41586-0…
18
29
5
141
15,478
Connor Dufort retweeted
Mike Dolan (@dolanmjg) profile picture
Mike Dolan@dolanmjg28 Jul 2023
Delighted to announce our work developing an approach to understand the function of human microglial states. @MartineTherrie4 and I will guide you through our work, a collaboration with @sasajereb from @macosko and @stevens1lab ! nature.com/articles/s41590-0…
Exposure of iPSC-derived human microglia to brain substrates enables the generation and manipulat...

Exposure of iPSC-derived human microglia to brain substrates enables the generation and manipulat...

Nature Immunology - Stevens and colleagues show that human stem-cell-differentiated microglia can be used to model the extensive transcriptional diversity of human brain microglia.

nature.com
11
46
4
157
39,854
Connor Dufort retweeted
John Lukens (@LukensJohnR) profile picture
John Lukens
@LukensJohnR28 Jul 2023
Neuronal DAMPs exacerbate neurodegeneration via astrocytic RIPK3 signaling biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…
Image from John Lukens (@LukensJohnR)
7
75
6,849
Our understanding of how the brain and immune system interact has changed substantially over the past years and decades. On #WorldBrainDay, check out a #ScienceReview on recent discoveries that are transforming our understanding of brain immunity: scim.ag/3rO
Image from Science Magazine (@ScienceMagazine)
6
308
9
842
235,102
Connor Dufort retweeted
Nikola Grujic (@neuro_nik) profile picture
Nikola Grujic@neuro_nik19 Jun 2023
Pupil size is used in many many studies as a readout of behavioural arousal. In our new work in @NatureNeuro we add to the literature on neural control of pupil size by demonstrating a strong impact of orexin neurons. (1/3) nature.com/articles/s41593-0…
Control and coding of pupil size by hypothalamic orexin neurons

Control and coding of pupil size by hypothalamic orexin neurons

Nature Neuroscience - The biological meaning of eye pupil size is a subject of intense research. This study shows that pupil fluctuations reveal information about hypothalamic orexin cells, which...

nature.com
1
18
1
120
12,386
🧵🪡A thread on our paper out in today’s @Dev_Cell issue, featuring one of my images on the cover 🤩
Image from Giulia Casal giuliacasal.bsky.social (@giulia_casal)
12
21
2
164
28,411
Good luck in China, Chunling!!
Image from Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort)
Image from Connor Dufort (@ConnorDufort)
2
157
Connor Dufort retweeted
Soyon Hong (@soyonhonglab) profile picture
Soyon Hong@soyonhonglab6 Feb 2023
Lab’s 1st paper out: SPP1 immune-immune crosstalk at the synapse @NatureNeuro! @SebastiaanDeSc2 perfectly summarizes below so won’t add but just this very happy photo of us after 🥂🥂🍾🥳 ! 1st paper esp post Covid is extra meaningful- so proud & grateful for @SebastiaanDeSc2 ..
Image from Soyon Hong (@soyonhonglab)
Sebastiaan De Schepper (@SebastiaanDeSc2) profile pictureSebastiaan De Schepper@SebastiaanDeSc26 Feb 2023
Started off almost 4 years ago in the @soyonhonglab lab ordering pipettes and a centrifuge, now happy to present the lab's first paper! We found that in early AD models, perivascular cells signal to microglia and instruct elimination of synapses nature.com/articles/s41593-0…
31
23
352
70,502
Load more