Jeff Bourgeois, PhD

Molecular dissection of Class A PBP function uncovers novel features of the non-canonical Clostridioides difficile divisome complex Author summary Bacterial cell division is an ancient and essential process, but our molecular understanding of this process is primarily based on studies in a select few model systems. Recent work fou...

Excited to share my latest postdoctoral work in the Shen Lab at Tufts! In this study, we follow up on an exciting finding by former grad student @shailab.bsky.social that C diff uses its Class A PBP (PBP1) to drive cell division (unlike previously studied bacteria)! journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...

Thanks Brian!!

Excited to announce that The Bourgeois Lab and our WPI collaborators are officially funded by @bayarealyme.bsky.social to investigate treatments for Lyme disease. We are immensely grateful and humbled to be funded through donations made by the Lyme disease community for the Lyme disease community.

The O'Neal Lab in @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social is hiring a Lab Manager to work on ticks and tick-borne diseases! You can apply here: jobs.jhu.edu/job-invite/1...

I hate that the em dash has become a sign of using generative AI. I've known how to use them since forever! It's stolen valour!

UMass Amherst Microbiology is hiring a tenure-track virologist. Come work with me! 🦠🧪
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...

Watching this unfold in real time across our department has been incredibly sad to watch. Encouraging any second year students who had been working on their GRFP to focus on self-care this weekend…

First undergrad experiment in the lab worked, meaning our graduate students, undergrads, and technicians are all producing data three months in! So proud of them 🤩

Now Open for Submissions

🎉ASM is pleased to launch ASM Animal Microbiology🎉 Submit your original research & reviews now! The journal's EiC is José Vázquez-Boland, DVM, Ph.D., Chair of Infectious Diseases at the University of Edinburgh! @edinuni-irr.bsky.social

➡️ Read PR: brnw.ch/21wVUHf
➡️ Submit Now! brnw.ch/21wVUHe

Acquired tick resistance in Peromyscus leucopus alters Ixodes scapularis infection | Infection and Immunity The incidence of tick-borne disease in the United States has been on the rise over the last decade, with 50,865 cases reported in 2019 increasing to 73,384 cases in 2022 (1). However, passive surveill...

Happy to share the latest pub from our lab!

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...

We found that reservoir host species, Peromyscus leucopus, develop acquired tick resistance against larval Ixodes scapularis, which reduces tick feeding success and affects pathogen ingestion by larvae.

Nope. It’s one of those “has a built in screen instead of eyepieces” ones and seems like the screen died…………. But! I found out it’s under warranty!

Update: The inverted microscope is dead.

Happy last new piece of equipment day to those who celebrate!!

Google's Gemini AI tells a Redditor it's 'cautiously optimistic' about fixing a coding bug, fails repeatedly, calls itself an embarrassment to 'all possible and impossible universes' before repeating 'I am a disgrace' 86 times in succession

I'll admit, I was skeptical when they said Gemini was just like a bunch of PhDs. But I gotta admit they nailed it.

She’s Jewel! She’s our lab manager and has been supporting my science career since grad school :)

Bourgeois Lab v001

Those of us in STEM must vocally affirm that the humanities are our allies, and no department is expendable. Arguing we can survive by cutting whole disciplines isn’t just inhumane, it’s nonsensical. The humanities tell us why we’re here in the first place, and what to do about it! This isn’t hard!

I’ve been trying to buy things that I knew like to break new to get into that sweet 0-10 years of nothing going wrong. I think I just slightly overestimated how many computers are involved in these glorified crockpots. The good news is at this rate they’ll be no startup left for admin to usurp :)

Me two months ago: Buying used equipment is great! I have a fancier lab than Linden and have barely touched my startup package!

Me now: Okay so none of my incubators hold temperature and two of them think atmospheric air is 5% CO2. Also why is the water bath smoking?

OpenAI: we’re giving you PhD-level expertise in your pocket!

Everyone with PhDs: I know exactly who you’re automating and I hate him

Please don’t use any tool that claims it can accurately predict the IQ of your kid… Trying to do eugenics is a beautiful example of being both morally atrocious and really, really dumb.

NIH wants to hear from you. No really.

Request for Information on Maximizing Research Funds by Limiting Allowable Publishing Costs
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Hygromycin A treatment of Borrelia burgdorferi-infected Peromyscus leucopus suggests potential as a reservoir-targeted antibiotic Lyme disease spirochetes are maintained in natural reservoirs before spilling over into human populations.

Hygromycin A treatment of Borrelia burgdorferi-infected Peromyscus leucopus suggests potential as a reservoir-targeted antibiotic

✅ Just Accepted
#IDSky

We’re about two weeks away from being able to do our first experiments!

Happy First Deliveries to the Lab Day to those who celebrate!

These high risk, high reward projects are only possible through partnerships between government, academic, and patient-backed entities. The DoD does a great job including many voices during review. Defending public funding is critical for continued progress in tick-borne disease research.

I am grateful to my advisors Linden Hu (@tuftslyme.bsky.social) and Dennis Ko for their help during the submission of the grant and for continuing to serve as mentors for the duration of the award. Also thank you to collaborators Tanja Petnicki-Ocwieja, Klemen Strle, and @wallacewly.bsky.social.

As of today the Bourgeois Lab has been award a DoD CDMRP TBDRP Idea award to identify a genetic basis for severe acute Lyme disease and PTLDS using the novel “msHOST” platform. This award has an emphasis on “career development” and will help the Bourgeois Lab find its footing in the field.

IRE1α promotes phagosomal calcium flux to enhance macrophage fungicidal activity McFadden et al. find the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress sensor inositol-requiring enzyme 1α (IRE1α) is activated by C-type lectin receptor signaling during Candida albicans infection without protei...

I finally decided to be more active here after missing the science side of twitter. Please check out my paper, "IRE1α promotes phagosomal calcium flux to enhance macrophage fungicidal activity" with @drbadbug.bsky.social and @teresaomeara.bsky.social!

www.cell.com/cell-reports...

I'm also excited to share some recent observations with @teresaomeara.bsky.social about how the growth phase of the emerging fungal pathogen Candida auris influences its pathogenesis:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...