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KSQA: Drs. Joseph P. Zackular & Mariana X. Byndloss (Beyond Antibiotics)
β° Last chance to save $250! Register for Beyond Antibiotics by 11:59pm MST on March 5.
Join @joeyzacks.bsky.social, @kimingeneva.bsky.social, @dariavantyne.bsky.social & @maribyndloss.bsky.social to spark new collaborations.
π₯ youtu.be/8Ppjx-MnvxA
keysym.us/KSBeyondAnti...
#KSBeyondAntibiotics26
27.02.2026 16:30 β
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Microbial Evolution: Impacts on Human Health
Call for Papers
A defining characteristic of infectious diseases is that they evolve. The consequences of this evolution are among the most pressing medical issues facing humanity, including emerging pandemics, antibiotic resistance, and the success or failure of vaccines. Pathogen evolution profoundly influences virulence, transmission, and responses to a broad array of human interventions. While the evolutionary dynamics of pathogens have historically been challenging to study, large-scale genomic sequencing, novel computational tools, and experimental methods are rapidly changing the field. We encourage submissions on the broad topic of the evolution of infectious diseases.
This Special Issue aims to feature research that blends evolutionary approaches to understanding pathogen heterogeneity and ongoing genetic change in clinical samples and models of human infection. It also seeks to highlight opportunities to design treatment and prevention strategies that remain effective in the face of ongoing pathogen evolution.
Submission β open until January 31, 2027
Guest editors
Robert Woods, MD PhD, University of Michigan
Camilo Barbosa, PhD, University of Michigan
Silvie Huijben, PhD, Arizona State University
π¨Call for papersπ¨
Microbial Evolution: Impacts on Human Health
in the society journal Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health
Guest Editors: Bob Woods, Silvie Huijben & Camilo Barbosa
EIC: me
This will be great, please submit and share!
academic.oup.com/emph/pages/m...
09.01.2026 16:49 β
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Submission deadline for short talks and scholarships is Wednesday! Come join us in Breckenridge in May!
06.01.2026 00:55 β
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So incredibly proud of this work, and thankful to everyone who makes it possible!
23.12.2025 17:57 β
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Holiday card with cookies shaped like microbes
From our lab to yours, Happy Holidays!!
20.12.2025 13:38 β
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Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection | Keystone Symposia
Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection, May 2026, in Breckenridge, with field leaders!
We're just 6 months away from @keystoneSymposia.bsky.social Beyond #Antibiotics : Emerging Strategies Combating #BacterialInfection, May 2026 in Breckenridge! πScholarship and short talk abstract deadlines are Jan 7! π§ keysym.us/KSBeyondAntibiotics26 #KSBeyondAntibiotics26
04.11.2025 14:47 β
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Fabulous study - congrats!!
29.10.2025 23:03 β
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Congrats @jakechoby.bsky.social!!
02.07.2025 23:38 β
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Come join us in Breckenridge next May!
09.05.2025 13:23 β
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Big shoutout to @olayarendueles.bsky.social @julielebris.bsky.social , @nathaliechen.bsky.social, @dariavantyne.bsky.social and Adeline Supandyβsuch an awesome team effort from the #VanTyneLab at Pitt! π« Great to see phage work move forward together! #PittsburghPhageProgram
09.04.2025 12:03 β
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π¬ The spotlight continues!
Weβre excited to introduce the next incredible member of the #PittsburghPhageProgram team β meet Dr. @dariavantyne.bsky.social, whose work is helping push the boundaries of whatβs possible in #phagetherapy. #InfectiousDiseases #P3 #VanTyneLab
07.04.2025 15:05 β
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Behind every patient story, every discovery, and every #phage, thereβs a dedicated team making it happen.
Over the next few weeks, weβre excited to introduce the people who power the #PittsburghPhageProgram β starting with Dr. Ghady Haidar.π§«β¨
28.03.2025 14:04 β
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A superbug rose to the top after gaining a chemical weapon
A newfound ability to produce an antibiotic helped a strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria to take over a hospital.
Emerging strains of a deadly βsuperbugβ seem to have picked up an advantage over other micro-organisms: a chemical weapon that kills competing bacteria
https://go.nature.com/4lb8279
26.03.2025 17:22 β
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Shoutout to @dariavantyne.bsky.social, our Head of Phage Biology and Discovery, for her leadership in #phagetherapy. P3's latest clinical impact was given the spotlight in Contagion Live! Read more on how phage therapy is transforming treatment options: π tinyurl.com/Contagion-Live
21.03.2025 16:50 β
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Finally, we wondered whether the strain replacement we observed at our hospital was a widespread phenomenon by examining over 15,000 publicly available VREfm genomes. We found that what is happening at UPMC is also happening all over the world. Global genomic surveillance for the win!
21.03.2025 13:45 β
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To test whether bacteriocin T8 could help VREfm colonize the intestine, we phoned a friend @joeyzacks.bsky.social. The Zackular lab performed a mouse colonization study, which showed that bacteriocin T8 provided a strong competitive advantage in the mammalian gut.
21.03.2025 13:45 β
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We observed large-scale strain replacement just in the 6 years of our study, and Emma figured out that this was likely due to production of a bacteriocin called T8, which is carried on a plasmid, kills enterococci, and was previously studied as a probiotic for the treatment of intestinal dysbiosis.
21.03.2025 13:45 β
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In this study, first author @emmamills1.bsky.social took all the genomes collected by EDS-HAT between 2017 and 2022 and asked a simple question: which VREfm lineages are prevalent in the population, and does their prevalence change over time? Spoiler alert: There were big changes!
21.03.2025 13:45 β
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We are fortunate to have access to VREfm genomes and isolates from EDS-HAT, a bacterial genome sequencing surveillance program that has been running @upmc.com for almost a decade. EDS-HAT was built to detect transmission (yay @sundermannaj.bsky.social!), but it also enables lots of other studies.
21.03.2025 13:45 β
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π We're the Pittsburgh Phage Program (P3)! Based at Pitt, we advance precision medicine using phagesβviruses that kill bacteria. We fight antibiotic resistance through compassionate use & clinical trials.
Follow for π¬research, π‘phage facts, π’success stories!
#PhageTherapy #P3
19.03.2025 18:13 β
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A Tribute to Dr. Thomas J. O'Brien | NEJM
Original Article from The New England Journal of Medicine β A Tribute to Dr. Thomas J. O'Brien
I remember seeing Dr. OβBrien at seminars around Boston and Cambridge and being wowed at his stature, both physically and in the AMR field. And that was before I knew whose father he wasβ¦ www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1...
18.12.2024 16:01 β
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From our lab to yours, happy holidays!
10.12.2024 00:24 β
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MID Scholars | Microbiology and Immunology | University of Pittsburgh
Microbiology and Immunology Diversity (MID) Scholars Program The purpose of this research program is to engageΒ students from historicallyΒ underrepresented orΒ disadvantaged backgroundsΒ in the biomedica...
π§ͺ Please share! Spring 2025 Microbiology & Immunology Diversity Scholars Program Applications open Dec 4-Jan 15. The program seeks to provide biomedical research opportunities for Pittsburgh area undergrads who are from underrepresented or disadvantaged backgrounds
www.pmi.pitt.edu/research/mid...
02.12.2024 23:38 β
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Silver lining of an otherwise awful week: attending #RBM2024 with these fabulous folks. A great meeting full of awesome science!
08.11.2024 23:04 β
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Phage Therapeutics
A collection of articles published by ASM Journals related to phage therapeutics.
Check out this collection in the ASM journal Spectrum which highlights some recent advances on #Phagetherapy #MicroSky-with @dariavantyne.bsky.social
journals.asm.org/phage-therap...
14.11.2023 15:01 β
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