Each year, @unibirmingham.bsky.social offers three scholarships to international students who wish to pursue a PhD in microbiology in my department, School of Biosciences. Interested? Deadline is 7th January 2026! Message any group leader in School of Biosciences to discuss your application

It’s a big day in the group today as the first of new incoming members start! We are pleased to welcome Emma Gan, who will be working on Candida. I met Emma when she was at imperial and was quickly impressed! So I’m delighted she chose @unibirmingham.bsky.social for her postgraduate education.

After many flight cancellations, rerouting, rebooking etc (thanks, cyber attackers…) I may actually be taking off 🛫 soon….🤞🏻

Forcing families apart. What do you think will happen to non-UK people married to British citizens? They’ll leave, and take their taxes with them.

Waiting to see if the police make a similar number, or more, arrests to the Palestine Action peaceful protest. www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

Launching the IUCN Microbial Conservation Specialist Group as a global safeguard for microbial* biodiversity www.nature.com/articles/s41... *including fungi

Has anyone ever had a decline in LD decay....and then go up again....and then go down again?! (maybe the gurus @benauxier.bsky.social and @lotuslofgren.bsky.social have an idea)

I am beyond excited to announce that ggplot2 4.0.0 has just landed on CRAN. It's not every day we have a new major #ggplot2 release but it is a fitting 18 year birthday present for the package. Get an overview of the release in this blog post and be on the lookout for more in-depth posts #rstats

And with Andy!

Did my PhD with Helen. Great to see her still researching and doing well all these years later!

The dimorphic fungus Talaromyces marneffei: An opportunistic killer in Southeast Asia journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

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

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.

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!