This weekend!
Yoga bunny. Cake guru. Scientist by day. Assistant Professor at @unibirmingham.bsky.social Interested in fungal ‘omics and One Health, evolutionary biology and popgen, epidemiology and promoting women in STEM 🏳️🌈
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This weekend!
The way I just loudly said "FUCK" when I saw this after wondering why the database failed to download. Can we stop ending funding to tools that are *really* good and help us with our research please?
But….but….Angela Raynor’s stamp duty! www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
We talk endlessly about “retention in science.” Here’s a hint: retention starts by recognizing scientists as whole humans with lives outside the lab.
There is a new position open in the Department of Microbes, Infection and Microbiomes! This is for someone in the area of microbial genomics 🧬 Please re-post and send to people, thank you! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOO184/a...
One of my science pet peeves is that it's 2025 and people can still publish papers using resources from LMICs but not adequately acknowledge the researchers in those countries.
In just a weeks time @chownbioinf.bsky.social is cycling over 200km to the @bsmm-meeting.bsky.social in Norwich, to raise money for @aspertrust.bsky.social This is a huge feat, and for such a great cause. Please consider sponsoring Harry! www.justgiving.com/page/harry-c...
Something about this gives me the ick. Maybe it’s how it represents peak capitalism, where a recognised human right is commodified, but the same human right is denied elsewhere?
I think about this quote a lot...
Are you like me and struggle to choose colors for your charts? I recently found the colorspace package, and it's a total game-changer. cran.r-project.org/web/packages... Load the package, run 'pal<-choose_palette()' and a GUI shows you color combos! Check out my example with #TidyTuesday data:
An exciting full-time permanent mycology job with a focus on taxonomy in Auckland, New Zealand! PhD and some postdoc experience required. Apply here: careers.sciencenewzealand.org/jobdetails?a... #mycology #jobs
Are you an early career scientist looking to join an international community of scientists and gain leadership skills? The GSA Early Career Leadership Programme is open for applications: genetics-gsa.org/career-devel... You don't have to be in the US, applications are welcome from any nationality
Please don't be the person who thinks they can speak loud enough to ask their question without a mike in a large room. Microphone usage is not just a confort, it’s an accessibility issue for many people. #ESEB2025
You're not the first person to send me this 😆finally, a decent story! @germhuntermd.bsky.social is this how it happens? *Voriconazole* *Aflatoxins*
This is the science I want funded (alongside curing cancer etc) A defined microbial community reproduces attributes of fine flavour chocolate fermentation www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The Power Pause: why are so many women with successful careers leaving the workforce? www.bbc.com/worklife/art...
Yet another position open at @officialatcc.bsky.social ! Love #genomics / #bioinformatics? Work closely with me and my team in shaping the future of ATCC’s digital biology research and product development. Please repost! 🙏 Product Manager, Digital Biology careers-atcc.icims.com/jobs/4001/pr...
Making my office my own
Meanwhile, in the U.K. you can protest outside abortion clinics and asylum hotels for weeks, but if you protest violence against women or genocide you’re arrested swiftly www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
What was that about taking up arms against a tyrannical government? www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...
Stellar work by graduate students to build this comprehensive dataset of antifungal resistance mechanisms. Kudos and congratulations to the Landry lab @christianlandry.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Best coffee in central Birmingham IMO. Got my commute down that I can nip in between switching trains.
👀 Now to recall the experiment I wanted it for
You do?! I’ll drop you an email
You know the holiday is over when you return to the work induced anxiety dreams about grants and wanting a Tecan plate reader (I don’t want one but dream me does?)
“Would it be easier if I just call you?” Nope, texting is working just fine, thank you.
Doctoral position on genomic basis of Fucus (brown algal) local adaptation - join our exciting #Fubluc team! Fully funded for 3.5 years & we also consider candidates with strong molecular or bioinformatic skillls but no marine / algal experience, see www.geomar.de/en/karriere/...
Should be writing, but this is writing right? N: Oslo E: Fiji S: Perth (Australia) W: Monterey, California
I need to update my presentation on how to prepare fellowship applications for graduate students and postdocs. Any advice you think should be in there, beyond "read and follow the instructions"? I promise I'll cite my sources. Memes are welcome. Please share in your academic circles.
Plants, fungi, and antifungals: A little less talk, a little more action journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
A little holiday news: Evolution of antifungal resistance in the environment www.nature.com/articles/s41... This started out as a little thought way back in early 2024 between @normanvanrhijn.bsky.social and I, and turned into a full on review! We hope it proves useful to the community.
The first in a coming array of papers looking at the co-transcriptome of 72 Botrytis genotype in 10 different host plants is out. Summary is the pathogen uses a combination of general virulence and host specific plasticity (not new genes) to infect dicots. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Last week to apply for TWO PhDs with me and amazing supervisors at University of Birmingham The Last Of Us - www.findaphd.com/phds/project... Understanding pathogen diversity in maternal and neonatal populations - www.findaphd.com/phds/project... I’m on holiday so can’t answer queries though
@guidopuccetti.bsky.social @danielcroll.bsky.social
Yet another reason to for international conferences to be held outside the United States.
make art! if it's the end of the world, you might as well make art! if it's not the end of the world, then the future will be better because people made art right now!
Wij gaan op vakantie! I realise as we get into Germany, that every patch of land in NL is accounted for. Rivers are rerouted to make fields square. Land reclaimed from the sea. The contrast with Germany is really obvious
Starting in 10 mins! @unibirmingham.bsky.social
I think mine was to die in nuclear fire or the climate wars
Boldly growing where no spore has grown before.
John Taylor receiving the John Webster award #BMS2025 I think a lot of people in the community would agree with me when I say John has contributed so much, and influenced the careers of so many. Thank you John!
Never thought I’d have the pleasure of travelling GWR through Swindon again…. Heading to BMS Annual Scientific Meeting!
We're hiring an assistant researcher for the Retraction Watch Database. Find out more here:
Erasure takes many forms, but this is quite blatant.
11 Funded PhD Positions in Evolutionary Genomics at the University of Göttingen in Germany Explore 11 fully funded PhD opportunities in Evolutionary Genomics at the University of Göttingen. Work on groundbreaking research in genome evolution, reproductive systems, and bioinformatics. Apply before…
I am thrilled to have come across this recording of mine and Dr Jo Rhodes's talks at EDAR7 in Montreal last year. It's great to be able to signpost people to this to find out more about the research we've done on fungal AMR! 🦠🧬💊 youtu.be/oamzqLK5JA0?...
New Independent Fellowship position in Microbiology to launch your lab in our department @johninnescentre.bsky.social (UK). We are conducting a broad search in the area of plant-associated microbial interactions. Message me if you have any questions. Apply here: www.jic.ac.uk/vacancies/in...
Bookshop.org supports local, independent bookstores and is running an anti-Prime Day sale. Amazon doesn't need your money!
As an undergraduate who loved physical chemistry and was just starting biology, I thought the Meselson-Stahl experiment was the coolest thing ever. It was so simple in its application of physical theory and experiment to prove a biological truth that it was perfect. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/s...
Ten simple rules for faculty members building just and equitable environments in academic science journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
I missed a deadline and the world kept turning www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
New opportunity | Postgraduate Researcher Representative 📆Deadline: 31 July Are you passionate about climate change and ecology? We are looking for two PGR/PhD student reps to join our committee. It’s a chance to shape events, support early career researchers, and contribute to the community!
You are sleuthing. This is kinda cool/fun (IMO)
👀
I'm just intrigued cos if there is a fungus out there with AAAAA enriched...that's quite interesting
Now I'm really curious what this is!
Defining ultra-slow-growing extremophilic microorganisms as aeonophiles www.nature.com/articles/s41... Obv very bacterial-focused, but we know that fungi are extremophiles too!
Early grant success attracts more funding: study of 100,000 applicants hints at why www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Emergence of flucytosine-resistant Candida tropicalis clade, the Netherlands wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/...
It would make my life to bump into Bill Murray walking around Brum
This months group journal read was this brilliant paper from @drvalleyfever.bsky.social and colleagues www.nature.com/articles/s41... Students loved learning about something new, and didn't know armadillo hunting was a thing beforehand
Comparative genomics reveals intra and inter species variation in the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis: academic.oup.com/gbe/article/... from @hyphaltip.bsky.social and his PhD student Mark Might make this the next group read
Great article I encourage everyone to read. This phenomenon happens everywhere. Let me tell you about the time I crowdfunded some research, and paid for publication fees and various bits and bobs out of my own pocket. And one thing I'm paying for myself now....which I'll talk about later
Some of us need to fight within the system, some of us need to create new systems, some us need to tend the wounded, some of us need to stand in the way of harm, and all of us need to support the ones doing the things that is not, right now, our thing to do. Good thing there are a lot of us.
I saw a video this morning of a flashmob to Darude's Sandstorm, so today's writing is fuelled exclusively by 90s dance hits
Ten simple rules for effectively assessing lab environments - great pointers for picking a lab for your PhD studies journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
Three years ago today, Trump's far-right Supreme Court majority ended Americans' federal right to abortion under Roe v. Wade. Since then, over 100 women have been denied emergency abortion care. Amber Nicole Thurman, 28, was one of them. Today, share her story. www.propublica.org/article/geor...
Worth remembering the reason Iranians distrust the West is because they elected a conservative nationalist who simply wanted Iran to have sovereignty over its own natural resources and that was so intolerable to the British and Americans they deposed him in a coup named after a brand of bleach.
At some point in time when you're revising your paper after the nth round of reviewers comments, your paper is no longer yours.
Today I am introducing my Dutch friends to the British art and tradition of day drinking to somewhat ease living in unprecedented times
The first paper of my PhD is now available as a preprint! 🎉 Transposable elements (TEs) don't just jump within fungal genomes, they also move extensively between species. In this study, we screened over 1,300 fungal genomes and found a conservative estimate of 5,500+ horizontal transfer events.
Canva to start with
FastGA: Fast Genome Alignment www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧬🖥️🧪 www.github.com/thegenemyers...
Yep, needs the regulation. It may depend on the country but I do not think much training is needed for cosmetic usage, which is scary
Idea of injecting myself with a substance that's on bioterrorism lists hasn't really appealed, but I can see the appeal for helping manage symptoms of certain diseases, like Parkinson's
Consider what you mean when you ask someone to be more resilient, “just ignore it”, or other similarly unhelpful comments.
Trichophyton concentricum fungal infections and skin microbiomes of Indigenous Peninsular Malaysians: Cell www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
There is a significant difference between investments and financial incentives that harm #biodiversity, and those designed to restore it, as reported in the @ipbes.net #NexusAssessment and echoed in this infographic by Visual Capitalist. 🌍🧪 Read the Nexus Report: www.ipbes.net/nexus-assess...
🖋️If you're a UK academic, you can add your name to the letter here: www.naturebasedsolutionsinitiative.org/news/leading...
Contrasting patterns of local adaptation and climate resilience across forest management regimes in Norway spruce (Picea abies): implications for reforestation practices under climate change https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.11.659044v1
Applications for funding to attend Candida and Candidiasis 2025 are now open. Check your eligibility and apply before the deadline 23 June 2025 at 23:59 BST. Find out more: microb.io/Grant #Candida2025
Looking for friends of the wonderful world of microbial eukaryote genomics! One-day @microbiologysociety.org conference in Glasgow; friendly environment especially for students/ECRs to present 😊 fungi or protist, friend or foe, all welcome 🧬💻 🧪🦠 #MicroSky microbiologysociety.org/event/full-e...
Anyone know of technician/research assistant jobs in the UK in infectious disease (mix of wet and dry lab) for a talented former student with MSc degree?
Great job opportunity at The Center for Integrative Genomics, Lausanne University, Switzerland unil.ch/cig/en/home.... For a tenure-track Assistant Professor position. More details for how to apply are here nature.com/naturecareer...
🧬🌽 Happy Transposon Day! 🌽🧬 Today we celebrate the birthday of Barbara McClintock - scientist extraordinaire and discoverer of jumping genes. Still the only woman to have an unshared Nobel Prize in the biomedical sciences #TransposonDay2025
Aspergillus fumigatus isolated from diverse wildfowl in Canada exhibit distinct antifungal susceptibility profiles driven by genetic and non-genetic determinants www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🚹 Report: #PaternityLeave policies vary in Europe but the UK's offer is "one of the worst in the developed world". 🇬🇧 2 weeks at £187.18 a week 🇪🇸 6 weeks with full pay 🇩🇰 24 weeks at full pay 🇸🇪 10 months: First 390 days up to SEK47,750 (£3,590) a month. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Global regulation of silent BGCs www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
This woman will be denied promotion.
Are you an ecologist looking for funding for your next project? Round 2 of our BES Grants is now open for applications! 🧪🌍
🚨Our latest review in Thorax about the impact of climate change focusing on fungal pathogens in Europe 🌍 A truly enjoyable collaboration with Sarah Sedik @germhuntermd.bsky.social @martinhoenigl.bsky.social and @mbottery.bsky.social thorax.bmj.com/content/earl...
That would be ideal - especially as people want to bring species back just to shoot them (as mentioned in the article)
Would you bring an extinct species back to life if you could? www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Unsure - I’ll have to ask!
Makes sense. Perhaps better than earlier investment in Thames Water. It was interesting how they asked. Literally the question was “how do you feel about genocide, child trafficking, nuclear power, selling weapons”.
Calling for your paper for the upcoming collection Fungal Data Notes in BMC Genomics I’m honoured to be serving as the collection’s Guest Editor and eager to read your submission. Learn more about the collection and how to contribute: bit.ly/3HjOIVz
Why is USS asking me for my views on nuclear energy in the UK...?
Environmental GWAS used to identify loci associated with historical divergence along climatic gradients journals.plos.org/plosgenetics...
Applications for funding to attend Candida and Candidiasis 2025 are now open. Check your eligibility and apply before the deadline 23 June 2025 at 23:59 BST. Find out more: microb.io/Grant #Candida2025