GutMichaelBiome

Nice. Nearly there 💪 definitely long, but sneaks up on you faster than you’d expect

Ty! Almost there! Soon I’ll be able to live up to all the spam emails already calling me Dr :)

I hope your PhD journey is going well

Thanks, Paul! Thankfully they don’t require a printed copy, but maybe I’ll hide some stickers in the Pernot Library instead 😉

Screenshot of all the pages included in my dissertation in one view.

My entire PhD dissertation.

5 years. 45k words. Countless laughs and tears :)

What a journey

My thought was to only include the most important supplementary tables and figures, and point to where all of the others are hosted on their respective GitHub repositories. Has anyone else done something similar to that?

Does anyone have any tips or advice for how to include supplementary tables and figures into your dissertation when you have 100's of them?

For example, my first two research chapters I have all of mysupplementary tab/fig in supplementary docs, but how do people incorporate these?

#PhD #Gradschool

PhD defense flyer that reads: “Defining the context dependence of how the zebrafish gut microbiome responds to environmental stressors” Michael Sieler PhD Defense Sharpton Lab ALS 4000 AUG 25th, 2025 10:00 A.M., PST Zoom: DM me for Zoom link Oregon State University #zebrafish #microbiome #microsky

~25 days until I defend my PhD!

“Defining the context dependence of how the zebrafish gut microbiome responds to environmental stressors”

Aug 25, 10am PST

Please message me if you’d like to attend virtually!

#zebrafish #microbiome #microsky

We are on the lookout for postdocs for two different projects at the intersection of ecology, evolution, and the human microbiome.

See thread for more information and reach out!

A conversation about the human gut microbiome Still working on my next post, so I thought I’d share a recent conversation with Dr.

This week's #substack is a recent podcast conversation, where we chat about the human microbiome, health, and some new work from the lab that involves predicting diet from poop DNA. gibbological.substack.com/p/a-conversa...

It’s finally published! Yay 🎉

Check the thread to get the gist or check the article in the link 👇👇

🔊🔊🔊 *Fart Sound Effect* 🔊🔊🔊

This 4:30am post brought to you by our sponsors at Anxiety and Looming Deadlines.

Now back to our regular programming of tossing and turning.

https://microbesandsocialequity.com/events/mse-summit-2025.html MICROBES AND SOCIAL EQUITY Virtual Conference MSE Summit 2025: Pathways to Microbiome Stewardship 7 - 10 July 2025 + Add to calendar -..========- Virtual (Zoom Webinars + Zoom Meetings) Overview Registration Organizing Team Virtual Access BOOK NOW

MICROBES AND SOCIAL EQUITY The 2025 Microbes and Social Equity (MSE) Summit: Pathways to Microbiome Stewardship will be held online from July 7-10, 2025. This virtual summit convenes experts in microbiology, policy, public and environmental health, and social justice to discuss, refine, and expand the draft working definition and guiding principles of microbiome stewardship. A core concept of the Microbes and Social Equity (MSE) group is recognising the links between microbiomes, social equity, and environmental health. Our ability to develop practices and advocate for policy reform that address societal inequities is limited without a strong microbiome stewardship framework. Led by MSE and the Microbiome Stewardship working group, participants will co-develop this framework and use it to plan a pathway to bring their own work in line with principles of conservation and stewardship. Participants will also design case studies or future research which provide tangible and meaningful outcomes relevant to their area of focus. Originally planned as an in-person gathering at the University of Maine, the summit has transitioned to a fully virtual format and opens new opportunities to engage a wider, more global audience in this essential conversation.

MICROBES AND SOCIAL EQUITY Why Attend? • Webinars and Case Studies (Monday and Tuesday): Open to everyone, these sessions will feature insightful presentations from leading researchers, policymakers, and community leaders. Join us to hear the latest in microbiome science, social equity, and public health, and leave with new perspectives and ideas to help shape future efforts. • Interactive Workshops (Wednesday and Thursday): Selected participants will come together in these collaborative sessions to co-develop case studies that integrate research, practice, and policy. With a focus on actionable outcomes, these workshops provide an opportunity to work closely with experts and contribute directly to the development of a global microbiome stewardship framework. Participation is by application, ensuring a diverse group of voices and expertise.

I’m really enjoying the critical discussions happening already at the @microsocequity.bsky.social Microbiome Stewardship Summit!

It’s not too late to join the Summit and workshops this week!

microbesandsocialequity.com/events/mse-s...

#MicrobiomeSky #MicroSky #Microbiomes #Microbiology 🧪🧫

July Opportunities for Aspiring MD/PhDs & PhDs! Are you an undergrad or grad student interested in STEM careers? Check out these opportunities!

July will have some very cool opportunities for folks interested in #STEM! Check out some of them on my #Substack newsletter.

For more updates and regular opportunities in your inbox, subscribe for free ☺️❤️ microbephd.substack.com/p/july-oppor...

#scicomm #academicsky #academia #research

Definitely 😭

Woke up today with a dozen new grey hairs in my beard.

Also, definitely unrelated, I have 58 more days until I defend 😳

The virtual Summit on Microbiome Stewardship is just two weeks away!!!

Program details and free registration can be found here.  Please note, the webinars and the workshop each require registration to help us manage attendance. Who should attend? Students, and professionals from any discipline,…

You can quote me on it 😆

Microbiome stool tests are full of 💩

Sign that says “woodstocks library and water station”. A “home is where the bidet is” sticker sits tucked into the frame of the sign.

Close up of the “home is where the bidet is” sticker tucked into a sign frame.

Left a couple stickers at the Piedmont Station food cart pod in Portland, Or this weekend.

Awww poor baby! Wish you all the best! I hope it helps

Like peas in a pod

Contingency and determinism in evolution: Replaying life’s tape The evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould once dreamed about replaying the tape of life in order to identify whether evolution is more subject to deterministic or contingent forces. Greater influen...

This book became a must read after coming across it in this paper about historical contingency and determinism in evolution by Blount, Lenski, and Losos

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Photo of: “WONDERFUL LIFE The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History” By STEPHEN JAY GOULD

Did I finish the last book I posted about on here? No.

Am I starting a new book and posting about here? Yes.

SciCom folks! Where do y’all buy stickers now? I remember there were suggestions when all the bad stuff about sticker 🫏 came out but I can’t remember any of them! 🧪

Photo of a stack of stickers made by Sticker Ninja (Portland, Or). The sticker is rectangular shaped with a white border. The sticker features text that says “greetings from your microbiome. Remember to eat your fiber!” The ‘your gut microbiome’ text is formatted in the style of a vintage postcard with different gastrointestinal elements filled into the text. The background is a pink and purple view of inside a gastrointestinal tract showing villi.

I get my stickers made by my friends at @stickerninja.bsky.social. Their prices are a little higher than others, but your paying for fair employee wages and high quality materials that last forever. I can’t recommend them more highly.

Below is a sticker they printed for me.

stickerninja.com

I absolutely will! August 25th at 10am PST. It should be recorded too

Oops. I forgot:
- Apply to jobs
- Write multiple postdoc fellowship proposals

😩

T-minus 90 days to PhD defense and all I gotta do is:
- Revise peer review edits to manuscript
- Complete dissertation 4th chp analysis and write
- Write intro and conclusion for diss
- Prepare defense presentation
- Assist a microbiome analysis workshop
- Try not to lose my mind

I think that's all

Using museum specimens for microbiome analyses?

We tested it out - and it seems these samples could be an untapped resource for understanding host-microbe interactions! ⬇️