Jose Jimenez

Feel like doing a SynBio PhD in Spain? Check this offer, many fellowships available 👉🏻 lifehub.csic.es/synbio-cofund/

You are on the Epstein files! The impact factor must be stratospheric!!

"Are you not worried that engineered microbes can be released into the environment and eat all the plastic?" The answer is not really. Pleased to share our latest piece addressing this question by evaluating the current status of whole-cell plastic degradation: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Hierarchical buffering of cellular RNA polymerase II pools maintains transcriptional homeostasis RNA polymerase II (Pol II) abundance and transcriptional output are coordinated across diverse conditions to maintain mRNA homeostasis. To determine whether Pol II acts as a limiting factor for transc...

What happens when you suddenly remove half of an essential enzyme from cells? 🤔

We watched in real-time as cells deploy multiple backup strategies to buffer against changes in RNA Pol II abundance.

Our lab's new preprint 👇

bit.ly/4pyPgax

#CIBpapers

Researchers at the @cib-csic.bsky.social present a new bacterium capable of transforming plastic waste into high-value bioproducts

More info 🔗https://cib.csic.es/news/research/researchers-cib-margarita-salas-present-new-bacterium-capable-transforming-plastic

New year resolution: develop the strength and technique to do ONE bloody muscle-up. Not a lot to ask. That at the back is the Bay of Cadiz. Not a bad place to start 2026. Happy New Year!!

Really happy to see this paper out. It looks like Santa had us on the nice list!! Congrats to all authors, it's been such a joy to be involved!

Manchester Institute of Biotechnology is looking for a new Professor. There are a few priority areas including microbial engineering (broadly defined, from pathways to cells to microbiomes). Closing 12 Jan.
Join us in the best city in the UK 😜
www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

Quantitative profiling of millions of nucleotides reveals sequence-encoded interactions that govern plasmid propagation Plasmids are central to modern biotechnology, especially therapeutic development, yet their propagation in Escherichia coli remains difficult to predict. Although expression-induced burden is well und...

So you think your mammalian plasmids have nothing to fear from cloning and propagation in E.coli?
Quantitative profiling of millions of nucleotides by Tom Copeman will prove you wrong! Supervised with the amazing @proftomellis.bsky.social and AZ, now on BioRxiv:
doi.org/10.64898/202...

Using novel genomic tools to understand the evolution of Acinetobacter baumannii pathogenicity in clinical environments at University of Birmingham on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Using novel genomic tools to understand the evolution of Acinetobacter baumannii pathogenicity in clinical environments at University of Birmingham, listed on FindAPhD.com

- Using novel genomic tools to understand the evolution of Acinetobacter baumannii pathogenicity in clinical environments

Supervisors: David Grainger, Katie Hopkins, Jessica Blair, Willem van Schaik

www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

(4/7)

As the year comes close to an end, just wanted to thank all team members for making my everyday better. Really proud of this talented and selfless group of scientists!!

Description Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities ment...

We're advertising for a bacteriology technician and a post-doc to work on AI-guided antibiotic development as part of a large multidisciplinary Fleming Initiative project:
www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...

www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...

Our paper is out! Analysis of 30K+ genomes revealed that CPR bacteria assemble their ribosomes in unconventional ways, and that these assembly processes appear to have co-evolved with ribosome structure. doi.org/10.1093/molb... #Ribosome #Evolution #Patescibacteria #MBE

Official government definition of children in the UK

Just found this definition in the gov.uk webpage that thought might be useful for some. Btw, someone between 14 and 18 years old is sometimes called a Young Person, but is still legally a child.

The scariest thing I have seen this Halloween

The Wallace Lab is expanding in 2026, with five new Postdoctoral Research Associate positions now open. If you're passionate about engineering biology for sustainability, we'd love to hear from you! 🧬 ♻️

Deadline: 12th November 2025, details below ⬇️

1 week left to apply for a postdoctoral position in my group to lead the experimental component of a 5 year BBSRC project on synthetic microbial communities

www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

London SynBio Network 11 London SynBio afterwork talks and networking event on Thursday 23rd of September

Oct. 23, 6pm at UCL 🥳! Excited for:

🧬 Dirk Benzinger (Briscoe Lab)
Dissecting and engineering cellular signal processing with synthetic biology and optogenetics

🌍 Brooke Wain (Jimenez Lab)
Biocatalytic recycling of plastic: industrial viability and limitations
events.humanitix.com/london-synbi...

Death of the Endless. Such Sandman vibes! It looks amazing Ricard. Congratulations!!!

‘It’s a question of humanity’: how a small Spanish town made headlines over its immigration stance Mayor explains why Villamalea unanimously backed call to regularise undocumented migrants – across party lines

This is how Castilla La Mancha will conquer the world: blending tradition and empathy. I'd recommend all world leaders to complete a couple of grape harvests (vendimia) to develop thoughtful leadership. Great mix of cardio and strength exercise too!
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

Pseudomonas putida JM37 as a novel bacterial chassis for ethylene glycol upcycling Ethylene glycol (EG), one of the main monomers of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), is an attractive target for microbial upcycling. Despite this interest, there is a limited number of described organ...

New preprint this time through a fantastic collaboration with @jorgebarriuso.bsky.social and team. We have discovered the genetic basis behind the remarkable ability of Pseudomonas putida JM37 to use the PET #plastic monomer ethylene glycol as a growth substrate! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Metabolic interplay drives population cycles in a cross-feeding microbial community - Nature Communications Here the authors leverage a crossfeeding, engineered microbial community to demonstrate that strain abundance cycles are robust across environmental conditions. They pair this with a nonlinear dynamic model to elucidate population cycles.

Metabolic interplay drives population cycles in a cross-feeding microbial community

@natcomms.nature.com from @oventurelli2.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Independent research fellowships leading to tenured positions at the John Innes Centre.

Repost = nice. Thank you very much!!!

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Mapping the evolution of computationally designed protein binders [new]
Evolve comp. mini-protein binders *in vivo*. Maps seq-affinity.

PhD Scholarship project: Engineering biology approaches to mammalian cells at Imperial College London on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - PhD Scholarship project: Engineering biology approaches to mammalian cells at Imperial College London, listed on FindAPhD.com

PhD positions available in our group! Please share! www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Microbial stem cells support productivity in dedicated factory cells in an asymmetrically dividing E. coli system
doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Directed evolution and characterisation of light harvesting complexes with altered energy transfer dynamics in purple non-sulfur bacteria Purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNSB) are metabolically versatile microorganisms that inhabit diverse environments taking advantage of a remarkably efficient photosynthetic machinery. In this work, we des...

Preprint alert!! Delighted to share Eve Nery's work exploring the evolutionary landscape of light-harvesting complexes. She found a new variant shifted to the red that allows purple bacteria to grow faster under high intensity light www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Genetic controllers for enhancing the evolutionary longevity of synthetic gene circuits in bacteria - Nature Communications Engineered gene circuits often degrade over time due to mutation and selection. Here the authors use a host-aware modelling framework to develop genetic controllers to sustain synthetic gene expression. They identify a range of design trade-offs in production, robustness and long-term performance.

Genetic controllers for enhancing the evolutionary longevity of synthetic gene circuits in bacteria
doi.org/10.1038/s414...

Description Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities ment...

I am looking for a motivated #Postdoctoral #Researcher to join my group at Imperial @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social @imperiallifesci.bsky.social. The project focuses on #Antimicrobial #Materials & #Biomimetic #Interfaces
Please repost!

@imperialsci.bsky.social
www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...

Let's go with Pseulomonas for now...