Ashley Peer

US PhD admissions shrink as fears over Trump’s cuts take hold Some doctoral programmes are admitting no students at all amid uncertainty about federal science funding.

Fewer grad students means less science, but many STEM PhD programs in the US are cutting back on admissions this year due to federal funding uncertainties. Words by me for @nature.com:

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

@emsque.bsky.social @ucsdcooperlab.bsky.social @julieposselt.bsky.social 🧪

Incredible stuff! Here’s hoping they can use this technology for other diseases such as ones caused by prions! 🤞

Dear #microbiology and #immunology community- I took a break from social media after I deleted my Twitter account, but am back here. Please help me rebuild my community by following me and amplifying this message- I will follow you back. Thank you and I look forward to our many interactions!

Monocyte-specific aryl hydrocarbon receptor deficiency leads to microbiota-mediated tonic cytokine response via STING pathway 🧪 www.jci.org/articles/vie...

UChicago Microbiology is searching for tenured or tenure-track faculty working in host-pathogens interactions, viral and bacterial pathogenesis, and emerging infectious diseases. Come join our vibrant Department! microbiology.uchicago.edu
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/174404

On the left - western blot of B16F10 cells wt and KO for CDK8. Our in house produced antibodies give a lot of unspecific bands. On the right same probes with antibodies preincubated with fixed CDK8 KO cells - there is a specific band and faint unspecific bands, which can be probably eliminated with increase of amount of KO cells.

Neat trick if you polycolonal ab's suck. Incubate them with fixed cells with a KO of your protein of interest, then spin. Protocol here: www.med.upenn.edu/markslab/ass...
I was amazed how well it worked on first try (I'm sure that I can completely eliminate unspecific bands)
#WesternBlot #cellsky

Interested in metabolism? So are we! My lab has been exploring the cell biology of energy metabolism in the nervous system, and we are looking for postdocs. Cool sensors and microscopy, great work environment. Please help me spread the word!

Are you still adding people to this? My entire thesis is based on immunometabolism :) TIA!

Working on immunometabolism? Or looking for people who do? Then here’s the starter pack for you! 😊 #Immunosky

go.bsky.app/MvxkA4Q

Mitoquinol improves phagocytosis and glycolysis in ethanol-exposed macrophages via HIF-1α-PFKP axis Abstract. Alcohol use disorder increases sepsis mortality. Acute ethanol exposure impairs pathogen clearance in the macrophages via dampened glycolysis and

A history of alcohol use disorder increases the risk of death from sepsis. Researchers found that the HIF-1α-PFKP axis regulates glycolysis and phagocytosis in ethanol-exposed macrophages and is a potential therapeutic target in ethanol with sepsis: ow.ly/S5AQ50WOgnB.

Respiratory viral infections awaken metastatic breast cancer cells in lungs Nature - Mouse models show that respiratory infections from viruses such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2 can trigger metastasis of dormant breast cancer cells in the lungs, a finding supported by...

Respiratory viral infections awaken metastatic breast cancer cells in lungs

Note: This concerns many infections (inflammation, trauma), including respiratory viruses and is NOT specific for SARS-CoV-2 as some claim.

www.nature.com/artic...
1/9

Species-specific serine metabolism differentially controls natural killer cell functions Nature Metabolism, Published online: 14 August 2025; doi:10.1038/s42255-025-01348-0Li et al. characterize overlapping and divergent metabolic requirements of human and murine NK cells in response to activation, with a focus on serine metabolism

ICYMI:

I’m not sure how much help this may be if they need physical samples, but Michigan State’s herbarium has a load of archived plant data that may be useful if they are looking for data collection.

More info on the herbarium can be found here: herbarium.natsci.msu.edu/collections/...

It was a pleasure to watch Ben grow as a scientist over these few months with us. I am fully confident he will succeed in his future endeavors and hope he isn’t a stranger in the future. :)

If you are interested in the specifics of his research, the PDF of his poster is on his LinkedIn profile!

Five months ago, I shared that I'd be working with Dr. | Benjamin Hoover Five months ago, I shared that I'd be working with Dr. Derrick Samuelson at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in the Internal Medicine Department as a part of the Summer Undergraduate Research...

@unmc.bsky.social SUARP program ended yesterday, and our undergraduate student who was such a pleasure to have with us this summer presented a wonderful poster on how alcohol affects the metabolic capacity of the gut microbiome! See more about his experience here: www.linkedin.com/posts/benjam... 🧪

Just submitted my application and working model for my NIH F31 for #BioRenderForGrants! This model has implications not only in alcohol research, but also in various other fields. If we can force cells to “reroute” to a different metabolic pathway, we may be able to restore effector function.

‘Congress has your back’: US senators tell scientists they want to protect NIH budget Senate budget bill includes small increase for the health-research agency — but faces a long road before being signed into law.

A US Senate committee endorsed maintaining the NIH's structure and increasing its funding by US$400 million, or about 1%

go.nature.com/4mg193S

If you've ever *benefitted* from NIH research (big population), CALL YOUR SENATOR now to let them know.

⏰ Tmrw morning, Senate appropriators will mark up NIH's FY26 budget.

Personal examples help.

My own case: decades of *sustained* investment in NIH-funded cancer research saved my life.

— microbiome suggest that rotavirus vaccine administration does not majorly alter the gut microbiome in a detrimental way; in fact, neonatal administration of one rotavirus vaccine modulates the microbiome in a way that allows for protection from actual infection. Hopefully this helps!

Association Between Maternal Breastmilk Microbiota Composition and Rotavirus Vaccine Response in African, Asian, and European Infants: A Prospective Cohort Study Breastmilk microbiota composition differed significantly between cohorts in India, Malawi, and the UK. No consistent associations were identified between b

Maybe these might help answer your question?

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/sre...
academic.oup.com/jid/article/...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Not all necessarily related to maternal antibodies and breastmilk, but many studies assessing the neonatal/infant —

HOW COOL IS THIS? Researchers have developed a DENTAL FLOSS that can DELIVER vaccines THROUGH the gums, a method that could one day offer a NEEDLE-FREE alternative for vaccination. This approach effectively stimulated immunity AND provided FULL protection against a lethal strain of influenza. 🧪🧵⬇️

The Role of the Microbiome in Allergy, Asthma, and Occupational Lung Disease - Current Allergy and Asthma Reports Purpose of Review The human commensal microbiota is now widely accepted as a key regulator of human health and disease. The composition of the mucosal associated microbiota has been shown to play a cr...

My first review paper got its first citation today! To celebrate, I’m putting it back on everyone’s feed: an overview of the microbiome in allergy, asthma, and occupational lung disease: link.springer.com/article/10.1... #ImmunoSky #MicrobiomeSky #AllergySky 🧪

🚨🚨🚨PUI TT Job Alert!!

My dept at TCNJ is hiring a tenure track cell and molecular biologist. Come join my supportive colleagues, helpful staff, & fabulous students!

We're surprisingly well resourced w/excellent equipment (confocal, SEM etc) and research w/students counts towards our teaching load!

US-CAN Doctoral Excellence Award Western University, in vibrant London, Ontario, delivers an academic and student experience second to none.

My university has announced a special international graduate fellowship for PhD students whose acceptance at a US university has been rescinded. Check it out: grad.uwo.ca/finances/wes...

Rubella and measles: The beginning of the endgame Benchmarks must be established and progress tracked to set a global target and take action

As the US breaks a 3-decade milestone for measles cases in one year, I'm reflecting on my worst timed paper ever.

I still stand by the points made here. The world, but one leader, remains ready for the endgame. The resonance of the abdication of US leadership is deafening.

We’re doing a July 4 feature all week highlighting how funding science is patriotic (and the incredible researchers doing life changing, tax payer funded research!) Give us a follow!

Microbial Tryptophan Metabolism Activates Host Lysosomal Activity to Facilitate Lipid Breakdown and Ameliorate Hepatic Steatosis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.28.662086v1

Multiomics Approach to Regionally Profile Zinc-Driven Host-Gut Microbiome Interactions in the Intestinal Tract https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.02.662895v1

Human gut bacteria bioaccumulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances - Nature Microbiology Human gut bacteria bioaccumulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as forever chemicals, in intracellular aggregates. Colonization of gnotobiotic mice with bioaccumulating bac...

Human gut bacteria bioaccumulate PFAS in dense cluster aggregates; PFAS levels in gnotobiotic mouse GI tract & feces is microbiota-dependent

Via @natmicrobiol.nature.com 🧪

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

Preprint: PD-L1 ligation on NK cells induces a metabolic shift from glycolysis to fatty acid oxidation, enhancing tumor infiltration and control
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...