Come and join us at @shigellameeting.bsky.social in Paris 2026. Registrations are now open! www.shigella2026.conferences-pasteur.org/home and follow the Shigella starter pack go.bsky.app/6Vbwhjc (message to be added)! 215 days to go!

Happy to share the published version of our genetic toolbox, EASY-edit, for simple, flexible and efficient targeted editing in E. coli! Feel free to to try it, we can send strains and plasmids! academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

“…we demonstrate that although human use may affect the prevalence and mobility of genomic resistance in clinical isolates, for most antibiotics, genomic resistance existed within the pangenomes of sampled pathogens prior to clinical introduction.” Really neat stuff!

Is the era of microbial metagenomics over? Check out our new preprint on using species abundance distributions to predict plasmid maintenance in bacterial communities: arxiv.org/abs/2509.01695

New preprint with my HFSP collaborators. Network structures for bacterial and plasmid interactions determine community structure and evolvability: doi.org/10.32942/X21...

Plasmids can be lost from a bacterial community even under positive environmental selection: doi.org/10.1101/2025...

At last ! A tool specifically for phage-plasmid hunters. Check tyPPing by @karinailchenko.bsky.social and @eugenpfeifer.bsky.social

Vacancy! We have a postdoc position at UEA to explore the microbiology of metal resistance in Gram-positive pathogens. 📍 Norwich UK 🗓️ Apply by 21st September 25 🔗 tinyurl.com/mrssbd7f RPs appreciated! @microbiologysociety.org @asm.org @aussocmic.bsky.social @femsmicro.org @norwichmicro.bsky.social

Vacancy! We have a Technician role at UEA to support research on metal resistance in Gram-positive pathogens. 📍 Norwich UK 🗓️ Apply by 21st September 25 🔗 tinyurl.com/mr3ev3ke RPs appreciated! @microbiologysociety.org @asm.org @aussocmic.bsky.social @femsmicro.org @norwichmicro.bsky.social

How should #XDR #shigellosis cases be treated? Our new education piece at #BMJ #SexuallyTransmittedInfections explores specific empirical treatment. Our recommendations are subsequent to our microbial genomic, phenotypic #AMR, and clinical/pharmacological analyses. sti.bmj.com/content/earl... 🧫💻🛟🧪🧬🦠

232 days to go ...

New paper in collaboration with the @asantoslopez.bsky.social lab! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Why not follow our @shigellameeting.bsky.social starterpack of people who are speaking at and attending the conference - please message to be added to the starter pack if you're planning on coming or we haven't found you yet! go.bsky.app/6Vbwhjc

I hope all my fellow #shigellaphiles have 20 - 24 April 2026 blocked out in their diaries for @shigellameeting.bsky.social next year in Paris! In the meantime, check out (and join) our starter pack to start community building now 🧫

Finally out!! It was a long time in the making, I hope you enjoy it!! #salmonella #iNTS #AMR

It was great fun writing this review with @gemccallum.bsky.social , even if our conclusions are rather scary. Lots of important pathogen evolution must be occurring outside of the infection context...

Huge amount of work in this paper, very proud of Hugh getting through all these benchmarking tests. We’re much more confident now using ONT-only data for our clinical questions

Delighted to have this review out with @jpjhall.bsky.social! We discuss the risk of transmission of antimicrobial resistance in the hospital sink drain microbiome, highlight studies providing evidence of transfer, and consider strategies to mitigate these risks 🪠🦠 doi.org/10.1038/s442...

There are half a million cases of invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) every year and while you might know S. Typhimurim and Enteritidis, you may not have heard of S. Panama 💩 🩸 🧫 💊 Check out our latest in @lancetmicrobe.bsky.social doi.org/10.1016/j.la... and the 🧵 below to find out more 1/n

Please share! 🦠 Workshop on Phage Therapy in Liverpool on 25th November organised by Stineke van Houte, @jojofoth.bsky.social, @brockhurstlab.bsky.social, & Edze Westra. Limited FREE tickets & more info here: sites.exeter.ac.uk/vanhoutelab/... #MicroSky

Here's our new broad review on the extended mobility of plasmids, about all mechanisms driving and limiting their transfer. From conjugation to conduction, phage-plasmids to hitchers, molecular to evolutionary dynamics, ecology to biotech. The state of affairs. 1/9 academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

@ksbakes.bsky.social is representing PDU at the GRC Microbial Population Biology conference this week introducing the AMR through time and space session - check out the work of the other attendees here:

💫Don't miss the N&V💫 📰Organoid models advance dysentery control. By Sydney L. Miles & Serge Mostowy. ⬇️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Thank you to everyone who attended the 3rd UK MGE workshop. What an incredible few days of science and community building! Next stop: York 2026, hosted by @pcmfogg.bsky.social. See you all next year! #UKMGE

🚨 Reminder! You have just over two weeks to submit an abstract, if you want to present at the @microbiologysociety.org meeting "Understanding and predicting microbial evolutionary dynamics" in Liverpool in November! #microsky 🦠🧫🔬

Under the PLASFIGHTER project, we drive innovative solutions against AMR. 🔹 We use CRISPRi to dissect plasmid and multidrug-resistant enterobacteriaceae interactions 🔹 Through multi-omic data, we model real-world environments where AMR evolves  Learn more 👉 plasmidlab.es #AntibioticResistance

🚨 Very excited to finally say… 🚨 The story of Noodlococcus - the contaminant that started ContamClub - is available to read 📖🍜🦠 Check it out ➡️ doi.org/10.1101/2025... 1/15 🧵

Through the new PLASFIGHTER project, we drive significant advances in unravelling and fighting AMR. We study plasmid-bacteria interactions to answer important questions about their role in generating and maintaining superbugs. Discover the project ➡️ plasmidlab.es/project/  #AntibioticResistance

Come to Newcastle this summer to hear about all the latest cool research in Genome Science www.genomescience.org.uk. The programme is hotting up! Get registering and see you there

Gonna be so good ...

Only 328 days to go! We're very busy behind the scenes getting thigns ready for the meeting! In the meantime you can add your email address for updates here: coming-soon.embo.org/w26-04

Defence Systems are so hot right now 🔥 🔥 🔥 so check out our latest preprint to see how DSes contribute to niche adaptation, interact with each other, and drive accessory genome interactions in Pseudomonas aeruginosa 1/n www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Sexually transmissible shigellosis has gone from an obscure cause of sporadic outbreaks to a sustained endemic AMR priority in only two decades! 🧫💊 Check out our latest preprint to understand how this happened 1/11 www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...

Our updated lab website is live! We’ve kicked off a new project and a new look with it. Take a look and let us know what you think! 👉 plasmidlab.es

EVENT - Early Career Microbiologists Mini-Symposium Join our Department of Molecular #Microbiology Early Career Microbiologists Mini-Symposium. Application deadline: 9 June 2025. Event: 15 - 16 September 2025. The John Innes Centre, NR4 7UH Find out more and apply: www.jic.ac.uk/event/early-...

Shigella-trained pro-inflammatory macrophages protect zebrafish from secondary infection @cgmargarida.bsky.social

‼️Update! Abstract submission is now open for the 2025 Liverpool UK @microbiologysociety.org meeting on "Understanding and predicting microbial evolutionary dynamics”! Deadline July 7th #microsky 🧪🧫🦠 microbiologysociety.org/event/societ...

We are pleased to announce that registration for 3rd MGE Workshop is now live! If you are interested in giving a talk please register online through our website by Friday 16th May. We look forward to seeing you all in Southampton in June! www.ukmgeworkshop.org

Happy to share the first preprint from my lab. Great work by Lewis Fisher and collaboration with Jukka Corander www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

This month we welcomed Year 12 students who learnt how to “window” chicken eggs to observe live embryos—spotting eyes, brain, heart, and even twins in one rare case! 🐣 They also viewed development stages of zebrafish embryos, spotted fluorescent markers, and compared wildtype vs mutant embryos 🐟

PhD opportunity in St Andrews on plasmids, antibiotics and defence systems, in collaboration with Helen Alexander in Edinburgh. Funding via BBSRC EastBio, please share & pass on to anyone interested! #microsky🦠🧫🧬 www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

New paper @isme-microbes.bsky.social : Among a sample of 1044 vibrio phages, we found 17 new Schizotequatrovirus with large genomes (>250kb), a broad host range, and yet a low frequency in our samples (?!). #MicroSky #PhageSky

Excited to announce the EMBO Conference: Molecular Biology of Archaea (MBoA) 2026! Join us in Cambridge, UK, from 6–10 July 2026 for the only international meeting dedicated entirely to Archaea.

A huge, new resource for plasmid research - PlasmidScope is a database of 852,000 #plasmid sequences with a rich set of annotations, automated online analysis and interactive visualisation academic.oup.com/nar/article/...

Pop science video from BBC Global that mentions some of my work! www.bbc.co.uk/reel/video/p...

Join us in at #ESEB2025 Barcelona for our symposium on microbial adaptation to changing conditions. Organised by @mtoll8.bsky.social @javierdelafuente.bsky.social and me. Amazing invited speakers @saramitri.bsky.social and Itzik Mizrahi!! @eseb2025.bsky.social

The MIMIC lab is hiring a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join my team at @Cambridge_Uni! Exploration and engineering DNA-mimicking proteins (wet-lab position.) 🧬 Details: www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/50652/ Please get in touch / circulate !

📢 Apply now! We are recruiting an Research Associate with @ahocher.bsky.social exploring molecular mimicry and chromatin evolution 🧬 Find out more about the position and apply: www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/50652/

Get ready to explore the world of genetics in a hands-on way🧬✨ Perfect for all ages! Whether you’re a science lover or just curious, this event will spark your inner scientist. 🔥🔬 @cambridgefestival.bsky.social

This week as part of Women’s History Month, Yuri Takahashi tells us about her love for hearts and understanding the biology behind their development ❤️ Yuri is a third-year postgraduate student, postgraduate rep and actively involved in teaching 😍 🔗www.gen.cam.ac.uk/womens-history-month-2025