Martin McGavin's Avatar

Martin McGavin

@mcgavlab.bsky.social

Prof in Microbiology and Immunology at University of Western Ontario. Studying Staph aureus and how it senses and responds to chemical signals from innate immunity.

81 Followers  |  108 Following  |  14 Posts  |  Joined: 13.11.2024  |  1.8012

Latest posts by mcgavlab.bsky.social on Bluesky

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

20.08.2025 19:41 β€” πŸ‘ 106    πŸ” 107    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 4

Might have to give some credit for this bold call though! bsky.app/profile/notp...

01.07.2025 19:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Where are you Barney? We miss you!

01.07.2025 13:09 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Cutting the NIHβ€”The $8 Trillion Health Care Catastrophe This JAMA Forum discusses the recent budget cuts to National Institutes of Health (NIH), the effects of these cuts on scientific research and health of individuals in the US, and the prospects for cha...

Two Harvard economists forecast the impact of the administration’s proposed NIH budget cuts- stunning losses in new therapies, life expectancy, and economic output with a β€œsocial cost 16 times greater than the savings the administration is attempting to achieve."

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

29.05.2025 21:20 β€” πŸ‘ 206    πŸ” 154    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 5
Post image Post image

Enjoying some down time at the University of Calgary Banff Conference on Infectious Disease with @mcgavlab.bsky.social Doctoral trainees Camryn Bonn-Dunbar and Tika Thapa

23.05.2025 23:52 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Wishing you an uncomplicated recovery!

22.05.2025 18:40 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Let it rip!

24.04.2025 01:47 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Yeah and the rest of the team was watching the show and forgot they were in a game! They will be on it tonight.

16.04.2025 14:13 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Prime!

14.04.2025 23:15 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Ali used to call it rope a dope

09.04.2025 01:31 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Enjoy the moment. Well earned!

08.04.2025 23:23 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

New research article

Association between #HIV -1 Nef-mediated MHC-I downregulation and the maintenance of the replication-competent latent viral reservoir in individuals with virally suppressed HIV-1 in Uganda: an exploratory cohort study

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

#IDSky #ViroSky #OA

12.03.2025 16:15 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 10    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
Preview
Postdocs and PhD students hit hard by Trump’s crackdown on science As US federal grants remain frozen and budget cuts loom, anxiety and fear grip early-career researchers.

The Trump administration's efforts to slash research funding have US graduate students, postdocs and other early-career scientists fearing for their careers. Some might leave the country -- or abandon research altogether.

https://go.nature.com/43ao2zq

24.02.2025 21:39 β€” πŸ‘ 309    πŸ” 177    πŸ’¬ 7    πŸ“Œ 21
Preview
The crisis facing colleges and universities that no one is talking about In today's The Big Story podcast, there is a crisis facing Canada’s post-secondary education sector that no one is talking about.

DEAR MEDIA: STOP FRAMING THE UNIVERSITY BUDGET CRISIS AS PRIMARILY ABOUT INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS. THIS IS A CRISIS CAUSED BY PROVINCIAL FUNDING CUTS AND TUITION CAPS. calgary.citynews.ca/2025/02/18/p...

19.02.2025 13:25 β€” πŸ‘ 330    πŸ” 108    πŸ’¬ 8    πŸ“Œ 4
Post image

Time to dust off the snowshoes! O’Canada!

16.02.2025 15:46 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
The statement reads: We are disappointed in the rapid capitulation by some U.S. institutions and organizations to recent attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. At their core, these weak arguments are fueled by the familiar underlying assumption that people from Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized identities cannot be excellent and therefore have not β€˜earned’ our place in public intellectual life. However, we have always been competent, hardworking, and creative people who have contributed positively to society at large, across sectors but especially in science. We reject these attempts at silencing and erasure and will continue to be a place of respite and community in these turbulent times. 

To our members, your talent, skills, and safety are important! To our friends and allies, you may be feeling like everything happening is out of your control, but we want you to know that your voice and actions can make a difference. We want to point you towards some immediate actions that you can take. These are the top 3 issues we are concerned about and what you can do about it if you mirror our concerns.

Freezing of federal funding and cutting grant programs for scientific research that have any connotation of being β€œDEI.”
The potential confirmation of RFK Jr., a vocal anti-vaccination proponent, as the head of HHS.
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) removed their ABRCMS and IDEAAS webpages in addition to some scientist spotlights and written articles highlighting the current and historic contributions of microbiologists who are a part of marginalized communities including LGBTQIA+, Women, Indigenous and Black, as well as others page that could be considered β€œβ€˜DEI”. Many have now been reinstated with changes to language (i.e. removing terms like β€œequity” and β€œmarginalized”), and the statements released by ASM did not acknowledge the harm that they have caused to their members and showed no remorse for their actions.

The statement reads: We are disappointed in the rapid capitulation by some U.S. institutions and organizations to recent attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion, and access. At their core, these weak arguments are fueled by the familiar underlying assumption that people from Black, Indigenous, and other marginalized identities cannot be excellent and therefore have not β€˜earned’ our place in public intellectual life. However, we have always been competent, hardworking, and creative people who have contributed positively to society at large, across sectors but especially in science. We reject these attempts at silencing and erasure and will continue to be a place of respite and community in these turbulent times. To our members, your talent, skills, and safety are important! To our friends and allies, you may be feeling like everything happening is out of your control, but we want you to know that your voice and actions can make a difference. We want to point you towards some immediate actions that you can take. These are the top 3 issues we are concerned about and what you can do about it if you mirror our concerns. Freezing of federal funding and cutting grant programs for scientific research that have any connotation of being β€œDEI.” The potential confirmation of RFK Jr., a vocal anti-vaccination proponent, as the head of HHS. The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) removed their ABRCMS and IDEAAS webpages in addition to some scientist spotlights and written articles highlighting the current and historic contributions of microbiologists who are a part of marginalized communities including LGBTQIA+, Women, Indigenous and Black, as well as others page that could be considered β€œβ€˜DEI”. Many have now been reinstated with changes to language (i.e. removing terms like β€œequity” and β€œmarginalized”), and the statements released by ASM did not acknowledge the harm that they have caused to their members and showed no remorse for their actions.

A statement from the BMA Board Members to the BMA Community and Beyond.

Additional alt text to follow due to the character limit.

04.02.2025 19:46 β€” πŸ‘ 209    πŸ” 122    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 3

Congrats Mariya!

30.01.2025 01:45 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Notwithstanding the recent long road trip, maybe it’s time to start skating again on game day

24.01.2025 00:35 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

S. aureus LTA modulates cell wall integrity (in part) by sequestering a putatively bifunctional PG hydrolase (ScaH); from the Taeok Bae and Susanne Walker labs.
#MicroSky #Peptidoglycan

18.01.2025 18:56 β€” πŸ‘ 11    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

Applications are open for the 2025 GRS/GRC on Staphylococcal Diseases! Make sure to get your abstracts submitted for the potential to present your work in beautiful Barcelona! www.grc.org/staphylococc...

14.01.2025 16:52 β€” πŸ‘ 29    πŸ” 23    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1
Post image

The censorship algorithm on Twitter reduced our audience by roughly 95%, and seriously, who does that to a wildlife biology & advocacy group ?
So we moved πŸ˜‡ over here to BlueSky

If you could, please help us regain our following
Follow
Retweet and
Repeat ;-)

Together we can change the world.

04.01.2025 17:56 β€” πŸ‘ 22487    πŸ” 9272    πŸ’¬ 565    πŸ“Œ 328

Looking forward to your thoughts as always. The rebuild is looking good!

31.12.2024 23:07 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Leafs Nation is still with the other place?

19.11.2024 03:32 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

@mcgavlab is following 18 prominent accounts