Petra Dersch

Thank you all for the invitation to Tübingen, I really enjoyed the great discussions, exchanges and the super nice dinner at the Wurstküche!!

Biased sampling driven by bacterial population structure confounds machine learning prediction of antimicrobial resistance Machine learning methods have emerged as promising tools to predict antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and uncover resistance determinants from genomic data. This study shows that sampling biases driven b...

Our preprint on predicting drug resistance in bacteria is now out in @plosbiology.org. We show ignoring phylogenetic structure in genome collections leads to overly optimistic evaluations of machine learning methods for AMR prediction. Work from @yanyingyu.bsky.social with @nwheeler443.bsky.social.

YouTube video by DFG bewegt Faces: The Walter Benjamin Programme of the DFG

Yesterday, our #ResearchCareers team gave an online presentation on DFG funding in the Walter Benjamin Programme. If you missed it, don't worry. We have a film about funded researchers and general information on this programme available: www.dfg.de/walter_benja...
youtu.be/wLe8xCMSpLA?...

Two group leader positions available in the broader areas of RNA science, RNA technologies, and RNA medicine. Attractive packages and a great environment. Come and join us at Helmholtz RNA Würzburg, Bavaria.

Die Infektionsforscherinnen Anja Lührmann, Sandra Reuter, Gabriele Pradel und Bärbel Stecher stehen stolz vor den Werbebannern von Infect-Net, Verband Deutscher Infektionsforscherinnen.

🔎 Find us at the 77th #DGHM Meeting in #Jena! Gabriele Pradel, Anja Lührmann, Sandra Reuter, Bärbel Stecher and others are happy to tell you more about our German network for women in infection research! 💜
👩‍🔬@gabrielepradel.bsky.social @sandrareuter.bsky.social @baerboletta.bsky.social

A broad-spectrum antibiotic targets multiple-drug-resistant bacteria with dual binding targets and no detectable resistance - Nature Communications Through a synthetic-bioinformatic natural product approach combined with peptide optimization, a nature inspired antibiotic, paenimicin, was identified from Paenibacillaceae family. Paenimicin feature...

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

#MicroSky

Group Leader – Molecular Systems Biology Unit Are you ready to lead groundbreaking research in Molecular Systems Biology? Join us at EMBL! We are seeking a motivated scientist to lead an independent research group, addressing original biological ...

Ready to lead pioneering research that bridges systems-level investigations of biological systems to molecular mechanism? The EMBL Molecular Systems Biology Unit in Heidelberg is hiring a Group Leader!

🦠 New @nature.com study finds that respiratory viruses like flu & COVID can wake up dormant breast cancer cells in the lungs, triggering metastatic growth within days. This IL‑6‑driven inflammation correlated w/ higher metastasis & mortality risk in cancer survivors.

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

Der Schwarze Tod, mit dem die größte Pandemie in der Menschheitsgeschichte ihren Ausgang nahm, wütete in Europa zwischen 1346 und 1353. Vor dem Schwarzen Tod hatten bereits die Steinzeit- (grün) und die Justinianische Pest (orange) Europa heimgesucht. Die Hongkong-Pest breitete sich später von Europa nach Ostasien aus (blau).

Ein Team um Johannes Krause vom Max-Planck-Institut für evolutionäre Anthropologie hat den Ort entdeckt, an dem der Schwarze Tod seinen Ausgang nahm. Diese #Infografik veranschaulicht die Ausbreitungswege der #Pest.

The review process for the individual grants programmes – how it works

Why is the DFG asking me to provide a review? Our Head Office invites suitably qualified and renowned national and international experts to review proposals submitted on specific research topics. We have compiled key reasons and practical information:
www.dfg.de/en/research-...

The hunt for the next CRISPR: how warring microbes are inspiring new technology Gene editing and many other useful biotechnology tools came from studies of bacteria fighting off viral invaders. But scientists have only begun to unlock the secrets of this ancient arms race.

The field of bacterial immunity is incredibly vibrant with many novel discoveries and fantastic new biology.
Here is a nice summary of some of the work done recently!

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Stem cells to treat Parkinson's? Two small studies hint at success Two new studies suggest that Parkinson's disease can potentially be treated with stem cells placed in a patient's brain.

Two new studies suggest that Parkinson's disease can potentially be treated with stem cells placed in a patient's brain.

Social Media-Template: Je 200.000 Euro Preisgeld 4 Forscherinnen und 6 Forscher erhalten den Heinz-Maier-Leibnitz-Preis DFG Verleihung 3. Juni Template zeigt einen Pokal liegend und Konfetti und Geschenke verstreut davor.

📣Ausgezeichnet!
Diese 10 Forscher*innen stechen mit exzellenten Arbeiten heraus. Die #DFG würdigt das mit dem Heinz Maier-Leibnitz-Preis #HML2025, der Wissenschaftler*innen in der frühen Karrierephase fördert. Die Preise werden am 3. Juni in #Berlin verliehen.👏 1/6
🔽 www.dfg.de/de/service/p...

www.research-in-germany.org/en/your-goal...

DFG Vicepresident Matthias Koenig at the members’ dialogue on #FP10 "Beyond an Investment" talking into the microphone looking to the lefthand side.

At the members’ dialogue on #FP10 "Beyond an Investment" the photo shows the audience listening to one of the speakers on the front stage. A projection with the FP10 logo and conference keyvisual is seen in the background on a screen to the speaker's right.

Our VP Matthias Koenig took part in @scienceeurope.org conference for the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation. His messages to the Commission: To increase Europe‘s innovation and competitiveness we also need a significantly higher investment in excellent and open-topic basic research.1/2

Host-Microbe Symbioses- Our favorite summer school is back! Help us spread the word!

Geflüchtete Wissenschaftler*innen: DFG unterstützt

Die #DFG unterstützt weiterhin promovierte, geflüchtete Wissenschaftler*innen, indem sie kurzfristig in das dt. #Wissenschaftssystem integriert werden. Etwa durch Einbindung in bestehende Projekte oder durch Förderung eigener Forschungsvorhaben (Walter Benjamin-Stelle).
➡️ www.dfg.de/de/aktuelles...

SAMPL-seq reveals micron-scale spatial hubs in the human gut microbiome - Nature Microbiology Split-And-pool Metagenomic Plot-sampling sequencing (SAMPL-seq) can be applied to complex microbial communities to reveal spatial co-localization of microbes at the micron scale.

Happy to share our new paper in @naturemicrobiol.bsky.social on mapping spatial relationships of the human gut microbiome. We identified distinct spatial hubs between gut bacteria that reflect sub-community assemblies at the micron-scale. Led by Miles Richardson & co.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Der Doppelschlag

Die Wissenschaftsminister der Länder fordern Bund-Länder-Programme für #Hochschulbau, für #KI-Infrastruktur und für neue Tenure-Track-Professuren. Realitätsfern? Mutig? In jedem Fall: die Selbstermächtigung der #Wissenschafts-MK.

Im WiardaBlog: www.jmwiarda.de/2025/01/31/d...

Klebsiella pneumoniae emerging anti-immunology paradigms: from stealth to evasion Klebsiella pneumoniae (KP) is a global threat to human health due to the isolation of multidrug-resistant strains. Despite advancements in understandi…

Last work from the lab in @cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social !
We review the most recent evidence on the strategies deployed by Klebsiella to counteract host defences. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... The co-evolution with the immune system has taught the bug a couple of tricks!!!

2025 Förderentscheidungen der DFG: 27.-28.03. Senat / Hauptausschuss 19.-22.05. Entscheidungen Förderlinie EXC 27.-28.05. Senat / Bewilligungsausschuss SFB 12.-13.06. Senat / Bewilligungsausschuss GRK 30.06.-02.07. DFG-Jahresversammlung 30.06.-01.07. Senat / Hauptausschuss 02.07. Bekanntgabe neue/verlängerte FOR 02.07. Mitgliederversammlung 02.07. Erscheinen DFG-Jahresbericht 2024 24.-25.09. Senat / Hauptausschuss 19.-20.11. Senat / Bewilligungsausschuss SFB 25.-26.11. Senat / Bewilligungsausschuss GRK 10.-11.12. Senat / Hauptausschuss

Die DFG-Gremien tagen turnusmäßig vier Mal im Jahr. An folgenden Daten entscheiden sie 2025 über Anträge u. a. in der #Einzelförderung. An gesonderten Terminen wird zudem über Entscheidungen in der #Exzellenzstrategie (EXC), zu #Graduiertenkollegs (GRK) und Sonderforschungsbereichen (SFB) beraten.

Aufruf zu Vorschlägen für eine Großgeräteinitiative 2026

Die #DFG ruft zur Einreichung von Vorschlägen für eine Großgeräteinitiative im Jahr 2026 auf. Vorschläge können aus allen Bereichen der #Wissenschaft kommen. Ziel ist, besonders vielversprechender Technologie für die Forschung zugänglich zu machen. Alle Infos: ⬇️ www.dfg.de/de/aktuelles...

Publishing Developments - #mikrosky
bsky.app/profile/scie...

Biased sampling confounds machine learning prediction of antimicrobial resistance Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a growing threat to human health. Increasingly, genome sequencing is being applied for the surveillance of bacterial pathogens, producing a wealth of data to train...

Interested in predicting AMR in bacteria? We show ignoring phylogenetic structure in genome collections leads to overly optimistic evaluations of machine learning methods for AMR prediction. With @nwheeler443.bsky.social and former PhD student Yanying Yu. 🦠🧫🧬🖥️🧪

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

📢 Stellenausschreibung: Christina Karsten sucht eine:n wissenschaftliche:n Mitarbeiter:in für ihre #HIV-Forschung an der Uniklinik Essen! Bitte teilen 👩‍⚕️
karriere.ume.de/job-finder/?...

Kongresse und Tagungen

📌 Schon in den Kalender eingetragen? 📅 Jeden Monat informieren wir über die verschiedenen DFG-geförderten Kongresse und Tagungen zu wissenschaftlichen Themen – nun stehen die Termine für März. Die wichtigsten Infos gibt es hier: 👇 www.dfg.de/de/aktuelles...

ESKAPE pathogens are outsmarting us. Our latest paper in @naturemicrobiol.bsky.social reveals alarming ease of resistance evolution to antibiotics in development. Collaborative work with @csabapallab.bsky.social‬
and Kintses Lab

Composite of the paper header showing all authors and an equation showing phylogenetic trees plus plasmids give a complex plasmid picture.

📣Our latest paper is out now in mSystems: Not quite as it may seem - investigating #plasmid diversity and evolution in #Klebsiella pneumoniae at a single institution over time. A short thread 🧵 @zaminiqbal.bsky.social

The German Research Foundation also moved from X to Bluesky - great to meet you again here

ESKAPE pathogens rapidly develop resistance against antibiotics in development in vitro - Nature Microbiology An extensive experimental analysis of resistance to antibiotics in development or introduced post-2017 in ESKAPE bacteria reveals the dynamics of resistance acquisition, mutational targets and the pre...

💊🦠OUT NOW - comprehensive analysis of the propensity of ESKAPE pathogens to evolve resistance to new and in development antibiotics by Csaba Pal, Balint Kintses, Balazs Papp and colleagues. Dive in here...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...