Photo of book “Thriving as an International Scientist” written by Sonali Majumdar

This book has never been more timely. Thanks to @sonali-m-19.bsky.social for writing it and for sending me a copy.

I hard co-sign this one.

Finally out, such an awesome piece of work, very proud of this one: www.cell.com/cell-systems... #MicroSky

The Sindbis virus nsP3 opal codon protects viral RNA and fitness by maintaining replication spherule integrity Most alphaviruses encode an in-frame opal stop codon between nsP3 and nsP4 in their nsP ORF. This opal stop codon mediates a temperature-dependent balance between viral polymerase production and prote...

New preprint alert! 🦟 <-> 🦠 <-> 🧑

I am thrilled to share our latest study on alphavirus host adaptation. More specifically, on how a single codon helps blunt alphavirus-induced host innate immune responses in mosquito and human cells. Continue reading for more!

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

Pitt is an absolutely amazing place for microbiology, particularly evolutionary microbiology. And they’re hiring!

YouTube video by ALBA Network ALBA-IBRO Diversity Podcast - Ep.5 - Redefining success: choosing your compass in academia

🎙️ ALBA-IBRO Diversity Podcast: From Postdoc to PI.
Ep.5 - Redefining success: choosing your compass in academia
🔗 youtu.be/wfIu0ahjpuM
🗣️ Hosts @lonelypipette.bsky.social
👥 Rachael Dangarembizi, Michaela Fenckova, @harmitmalik.bsky.social & @srikipedia.bsky.social
🌟 Supported by @ibroorg.bsky.social

www.axios.com/2025/09/20/t...

New H-1B visa fee will not apply to existing holders, official says

Inactivation of MexT in Pseudomonas aeruginosa destabilizes cooperation and favors the emergence of a unique quorum sensing variant Pseudomonas aeruginosa , an opportunistic gram-negative pathogen, uses a cell-cell signaling system called quorum sensing to coordinate group behaviors. Quorum sensing in P. aeruginosa is a model to s...

New lab preprint! We set out to explore interstrain differences in P. aeruginosa cooperation and discovered an interesting variant of the quorum sensing receptor LasR. — by Kiki Bellamoroso, Maxim Kostylev, and Nicole Smalley

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

Five Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Positions in Microbiology, Evolution, and Biological Clocks - College Station, Texas job with Department of Biology - TAMU | 675062 Texas A&M University (TAMU) invites applications for five full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor positions

We're hiring! 5 tenure track assistant professors. 2 #microbiology, 2 #Evolution, 1 #biologicalclocks

jobs.sciencecareers.org/job/675062/f...

T shirt says Human Support Machine with icons for Drosophila, Bacteria, Yeast, and DNA

My new favorite T-shirt

(Courtesy outgoing postdocs @ching-hochang.bsky.social & @hsiehyp.bsky.social)

Assistant Professor (Research and Education) in Bacterial Genomics at University of Birmingham Apply now for the Assistant Professor (Research and Education) in Bacterial Genomics role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.

We have a position for an Assist Prof in Microbial Genomics in our School of III.

Hod Joan Geoghegan will be happy to field questions if you are interested. No specific area of microbial genomics preferred so please do consider it

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOO184/a...

Rapid Response: Reinvesting in Racial and Indigenous Health Equity Research The purpose of this call for proposals is to meet the current moment by supporting timely, actionable health equity research that has been interrupted by shifts in federal funding.

More foundations should do this:

"Funding is exclusively available to applicants who have already received federal funding (e.g., from the NIH, CDC, NSF) for their health equity research, but have since had their funding rescinded due to federal administrative actions"

www.rwjf.org/en/grants/ac...

What Becomes of the CDC Now? From shaping global health policy to guiding my own path in medicine, the CDC’s legacy is too important to abandon.

The CDC shaped my career and saved countless lives around the world. To see it hollowed out and replaced by ideology is devastating. In my latest essay, I share my own CDC story and why its unraveling matters for all of us.
open.substack.com/pub/bktitanj...

Complex interactions in the life cycle of a simple parasite shape the evolution of virulence Author summary Classical expectations on parasite evolution assume a trade-off between transmission rate and harm to the host (virulence), favoring parasites with intermediate virulence. However, rece...

Very interesting paper!

We actually discussed your paper on our paper where we originally evolved the parasite lines (👇). Tho the experimental settings differed from urs :)

journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

Genomic constraints shape the evolution of alternative routes to drug resistance in prokaryotes Background Variation within the prokaryotic pangenome is not random, and natural selection that favours particular combinations of genes appears to dominate over random drift. What is less clear is wh...

New preprint reveals bacteria can't just collect all resistance genes like Pokemon cards.
We found mutually exclusive evolutionary pathways to multidrug resistance in E. coli & P. aeruginosa - some resistance mechanisms actively prevent others from coexisting www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

You made me cry, Harmit. 😭😭😭 The mugs have been sent to Taiwan before all the crazy moving happens.

Harvard’s research is shrinking amid the Trump administration’s freeze Even if grants at Harvard are suddenly restored, there is deep-rooted uncertainty about the damage already done and the future of basic science research in the U.S.

shocking to read over and over the stories of close colleagues who can't run their lab anymore. I know Karen well and it's heartbreaking. Also #PIinthelab! www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

Evolution of polyamine resistance in Staphylococcus aureus through modulation of potassium transport | mSphere Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of infectious disease-related deaths globally. Understanding factors that govern adaptation and survival of S. aureus and other pathogens in the host environme...

Excited to share the latest work by outstanding PhD student @kdc509.bsky.social. This was one of our first forays into experimental evolution and uncovered some cool connections between potassium transport and antimicrobial resistance in S. aureus. Major kudos to Killian!

We are hiring! The Dept of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics is looking for faculty at the Assistant or Associate professor level (tenure track). Please consider joining our vibrant microbiology and immunology community at the University of Pittsburgh School of medicine

Department members sit at a very long table in the hallway eating a pre-Thanksgiving potluck feast.

Faculty search announcement 2025: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Microbiology at UT Southwestern. We seek candidates working in microbial pathogenesis (some preference may be given to bacterial pathogens). Come join our community! (1/5) www.utsouthwestern.edu/departments/...

Hypermutable hotspot enables the rapid evolution of self/non-self recognition genes in Dictyostelium Cells require highly polymorphic receptors to perform accurate self/non-self recognition. In the amoeba Dicytostelium discoideum, polymorphic TgrB1 & TgrC1 proteins are used to bind sister cells and e...

I'm excited to announce our new biorxiv preprint, wherein we investigate the evolution of the weirdest genetic locus I've ever seen! Behold the tgr genes of the social amoeba, which mediate self/non-self discrimination during facultative multicellularity 🐅 🧵 1/
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

HOME Visit the post for more.

This week we said farewell to the amazing @caitlinkowa.bsky.social as she moves to start her new lab at Dartmouth. So grateful for all her leadership and mentoring the last few years.

If you’re interested in all things skin microbes (especially fungi) check out her lab! I can’t recommend enough.

Very proud to have our lab’s first work published in @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social!

In this work, we use functional metagenomics to find phage defenses from human and soil microbiomes!

Congrats to first author @luis840alberto.bsky.social !

www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

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🌟 Exciting news! We’re launching three fully-funded postdoc positions for "New Horizons for Synthetic Phages”

Join us in tackling antimicrobial resistance with cutting-edge synthetic biology + AI bioinformatics. Based at Flinders Uni in vibrant Adelaide.

👇 Read on for details!
#Phage

🦠🧍‍♀️From bacterial to human immunity.

We report in @science.org the discovery of a human homolog of SIR2 antiphage proteins that participates in the TLR pathway of animal innate immunity.
Co-led wt @enzopoirier.bsky.social by D. Bonhomme and @hugovaysset.bsky.social

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

Tenure-track faculty search of the UCSF Biochemistry & Biophysics Department is open for applications!

We are looking for creative, innovative scientists asking fundamental questions in any area of biology.

Join our vibrant, collaborative, and supportive community!

aprecruit.ucsf.edu/JPF05702

I am seeking a postdoc for my group at UCLA. We work at the intersection of population genetics x microbiome (garud.eeb.ucla.edu). If interested, please message me!

Fold first, ask later: structure-informed function annotation of Pseudomonas phage proteins Phages, the viruses of bacteria, harbor an incredibly diverse repertoire of proteins capable of manipulating their bacterial hosts, inspiring many medical and biotechnological applications. However, t...

Fold first, ask later: structure-informed function annotation of Pseudomonas phage proteins

Structural predictions to improve #phage genome annotation!

@hannelorelongin.bsky.social @gbouras13.bsky.social y.social @susiegriggo.bsky.social @veravannoort.bsky.social

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

JSCBB Biotech Building in Boulder, CO

Are you bravely deciding to do a postdoc in the US? And also interested in some combination of genomics, immunology, and transposons? If so, consider applying to my lab at the BioFrontiers Institute in Boulder, Colorado!

jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...

🧪🧬 #TESky #interferosky

My quote of the day

A Video Quote

Medical miracles don't happen overnight. You have to invest in them. Our investments are in trouble.

(From Francis Collins on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, July 16, 2025)