How do human gut microbiome species interact? Can we explain their communities and invasion patterns form environmental factors alone? PhD students Pim van Leeuwen and Pietro Gadaleta set out to test this! TLDR: Indeed, for the 10 common species we can! Paper out in mSystems: doi.org/10.1128/msys...

Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology & Evolution are open! Our lab is open to hosting applicants. We link cell-level decision making to ecological outcomes and evolutionary trajectories in microbiomes. Interested or know someone who might be? Let's chat! www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...

It looks like there will be an open postdoc position in my lab soon. I'll be looking for someone with substantial wet-lab experience in microbiology / microbial ecology / evolution / physiology. If everything goes well, an ad will be coming. But if you know someone, ask them to reach out already.

We should all do our part to join Brian in ending genetics essentialism. I give a lecture at Pitt to the new PhD students entitled "There is no such thing as wild-type." I blogged about this years ago and it's part of my teaching statement. Long road, team effort✊🏻 micropopbio.org/blog/2018-07...

Nice to see this published at @PLoS Comp Bio. Big improvements after peer review and important input from @gsherloc.bsky.social! Hopefully, this tool will be helpful for those interested in using barcodes for detecting new beneficial mutations. journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...

I am seeking a postdoc to join my group at UCLA -- ideally the candidate would have some experience in either population genetics or microbes/microbiome (computational background needed). We have a range of projects and are happy to tailer to your interests. Please dm/email me if interested.

Interested in eco-evolutionary feedbacks? Microbial experimental evolution? Pleiotropy? Filamentous phages?? Check out our latest preprint, now up on BioRxiv! biorxiv.org/content/10.6... For a quick summary, peep the thread below...🧵 (1/10)

Moving across countries as an Indian researcher hasn’t been easy, but it’s been deeply transformative. I wrote about my journey and why mobility is so important in science. Grateful to be part of this initiative by @cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social read on and check out the full series as well!

Come to Taipei! Registration Free, Closes Jan 20th. Generous Travel Grants Available. EMBO Workshop integrating perspectives from molecular evolution, genomics, ecology, and systems biology to highlight how interactions across organisms drive adaptation and innovation. @ishengtsai.bsky.social

As we close the year, the ISME Early Career Scientist Committee is glad to spotlight @duhitasant.bsky.social , Postdoctoral Researcher at Rutgers University, and her paper “Eco-evolutionary robustness of wild bacterial communities to experimental perturbation”. doi.org/10.1093/isme... (1/2)

🚨Preprint alert - this is a big one! We transfer the revolutionary power of TnSeq to bacteriophages. Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms. A thread 1/8

Can we leverage bacterial competition for targeted replacement of harmful strains? Maybe! Our recent piece in @natmicrobiol.nature.com provides a theoretical framework and a set of experiments to show what it might take: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I'm advertising a PhD project on the evolution of horizontal transfer. Interested in this or other topics in evolution and species diversity, please get in touch. www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

The Royal Society's Francis Crick Medal and Lecture 2026 is awarded to Professor Kayla King for contributions to the fields of evolutionary biology and genetics of infectious disease. #RSMedals https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/francis-crick-lecture/

Scientific mobility in microbiology – 8

I am recruiting a Ph.D. student in microbial ecology, evolution, and systems biology for fall 2026. Please share! Details: qevomicrolab.org/Documents/Gr... Apply by October 1 here: forms.gle/38pPS1Ky84HB...

Congratulations to Dr. Kayla King who was awarded the 2025 Francis Crick Medal & Lecture by the Royal Society for contributions to the fields of evolutionary biology & genetics of infectious disease. @zoology.ubc.ca @ubcmicroimmuno.bsky.social @kayla-king.bsky.social @royalsociety.org bit.ly/4lGJrWB

Our high-precision metagenomic strain caller, PHLAME, is now published in Cell Reports!! www.cell.com/cell-reports... PHLAME works on tough sample types -- including those with coexisting strains of a species and low depth.

Our new paper on experimental evolution in wild tree-holes -Eco-evolutionary robustness of wild bacterial communities to experimental perturbation #ISMEJournal @duhitasant.bsky.social Tom Smith Edgar Wong Juli Cohen @kayla-king.bsky.social Tom Bell academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...

Eco-evolutionary robustness of wild bacterial communities to experimental perturbation #ISMEJournal by @duhitasant.bsky.social et al from @timbarra.bsky.social with Tom Bell, @kayla-king.bsky.social academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...

Great to have our new tree hole paper out!

🚨Fresh out of press! How do wild bacterial communities respond to environmental perturbations like liming? We experimentally evolved them to find out! academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...

We are on the lookout for postdocs for two different projects at the intersection of ecology, evolution, and the human microbiome. See thread for more information and reach out!

I am seeking a postdoc for my group at UCLA. We work at the intersection of population genetics x microbiome (garud.eeb.ucla.edu). If interested, please message me!

New review article with @mmdesai.bsky.social is out today! Grateful for the opportunity to contribute something we hope will serve the community well

Congrats to both of you. The GRS is in good hands.

Excited to get to work on GRS 2027 with @duhitasant.bsky.social!! Hit me up here or via email if you have any feedback or ideas for the next Micro Pop Biol GRS!

Thrilled to have been elected as GRS co-chair along with @noahhoupt.bsky.social Looking forward to the 2027 meeting! #GRCMicroPop

Still winding down from the Microbial Population Biology GRS/GRC!🦠 It was a great experience to be GRS co-chair with @mikeblazanin.bsky.social, and congrats to the newly-elected GRS chairs @noahhoupt.bsky.social and @duhitasant.bsky.social!💃 #GRCMicroPop #MicroSky

This week I am at the #GRC meeting for Microbial Population Biology. It is my favourite meeting. There is nothing like these small meetings for gathering a community together, and I learn a huge amount here every time. Here is to 40 more years of this incredible conference!

Postdoc in Experimental Evolution available at the University of Alberta with collaborators in our exciting HFSP project on predicting evolution in Candida communities! I Apply this month 🧫🥼📈 apps.ualberta.ca/careers/post...

Looking forward to seeing everyone, new and old, at the Microbial Population Biology GRS + GRC in just a couple days! go.bsky.app/GGxRjzC

Our paper demonstrating that within-species warfare interactions are ecologically important on human skin is now published in Nature Micro! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

New pre-print is finally out! This is the first project from my postdoc with Alejandro Couce, looking at how mutation-bias influences adaptation across large population sizes, and how this may have real world consequences. Really happy with how this turned out :) www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Excited to share that I’ve been awarded the prestigious 2025 Peggy Cotter Award from @njmicrobe.bsky.social (NJ branch of @asm.org ) and the Career Development Grant for Postdoctoral Women from @asm.org!

We have openings for motivated and curious individuals to join our team @arizonastateuni.bsky.social microbialeco.systems #MicroSky

1/ In our new paper, we explored whether obligate mutualisms can survive abrupt stress via evolutionary rescue. We found that evolutionary rescue is possible—but it comes at the cost of mutualism. @jfriedman.bsky.social #microsky #evosky #mevosky

Is it “winner-takes all” when the simplest living things compete? Check out my fresh publication on phage coexistence in Science and a thread below🧵 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Abstracts for ASM Microbe 2025 are now open (asm.org/Events/ASM-M...) I’m excited to announce that I’ll be convening a session under the EEB track, and we’re thrilled to have the amazing @petrovadmitri.bsky.social and @deepaagashe.bsky.social speaking in the session.

PhD opportunity: Bdelloid rotifers are strange animals with no males and amazing stress tolerance. 10% of their genes came from bacteria, fungi via HGT, including antimicrobial genes that are unique in animals. Find out how/why and discover new antimicrobials too! www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Applications are open for the Microbial Population Biology GRS and GRC! The GRS is a fun day for grad students and postdocs to network before the full GRC starts, and is co-chaired this year by me and Laura Suttenfield Get your applications in by Jan 15! #evosky 🦠🧪 www.grc.org/microbial-po...

I wrote (ranted) on experimental design as I was frustrated as an editor at how little guidance students were getting. I underestimated the interest in the issue: it has been downloaded 10,000+ times! Clearly it’s something we need to be talking about more. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Hi BlueSky friends! Postdoc(s) available in my lab! Multiple projects on how bacterial genomic and functional diversity impacts microbial interactions & disease. 🦠🧫 See www.thelewinlab.com/join-us/post... for more information. Please RT & share. #Postdoc #Microbiology #OralMicro #VaginalMicro

Tried to put together a Microbial Evolution starter pack, but there were so many great people I didn't want to leave out it turned into 3 starter packs Comment or DM me if you were missed or would like to be added! A thread (1/3) go.bsky.app/6pkuYhi

Proud to have been part of this work with Chris Blake, Tim Connallon and @mikejmcd.bsky.social on how community evolution can alter ecosystem tipping points. Please check it out below! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I am recruiting a postdoc in statistical physics, computational biology, or a related field to study the predictability of evolution in microbial communities. Please share! Details: qevomicrolab.org/wp-content/u... Apply by May 1 here: forms.gle/hMNgrh3Ja5dP...

Having posted about the review @proteocean.bsky.social and I wrote about colimitation in microbes, I also want to share the research preprint on this that we recently wrote as well, along with @krishnaaswin77.bsky.social, Donat Crippa, and Anastasia Dragan. doi.org/10.1101/2023... 1/4

This paper was really fun to write! Unpicking the subtle differences between dependencies, facilitation and cooperation in microbial communities, and why it matters. With Elze Hesse (not here yet!)

Are you a theoretician in ecology/evolution/systematics & related fields? Do you hope to become one? Wondering where there is a good community to share tips, learn new tricks, & hear about modelling discoveries? Check out the Society for Modeling & Theory in Population Biology (SMTPB)! smtpb.org

Formerly of the McDonald Lab at Monash University (Melbourne), who recently published another great paper on HGT and antibiotic sensitivity (Link below): www.nature.com/articles/s41...