@thehoffmanlab
We are The Hoffman Lab based at Bielefeld University, Germany! Our group aims to understand the genetic basis of fitness variation in and among natural populations. We work on pinnipeds 🦭, fungi 🍄 and birds 🐥. https://thehoffmanlab.com/
What is responsible and rigorous science? @anelivb.bsky.social and @rebeccachen.bsky.social spent the last two days discussing this question at the #iScienceTBD workshop at @idiv-research.bsky.social. From EDI and science communication to HARKing, p-hacking, DAGs – lots of food for thought! 🌱🧠
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Looking for a MSc thesis or a recent graduate project? The Hoffman Lab is looking for a motivated student to work on mutation load dynamics and inbreeding depression in female black grouse! We'll investigate how deleterious mutations affect key fitness traits. Check out our website for more info! 🧬
Looking for a PhD opportunity in molecular ecology or know of someone? We are hiring a new PhD candidate who will be working on mutation load dynamics in banded mongoose! 🧬Read more here: thehoffmanlab.com/opportunities/. Deadline for applications is January 30th! #phd #jobs #genetics #mutationload
Ramona broadly smiling and holding her decorated graduation cap with both hands after her PhD defence. The cap is decorated with Christmas lights, pictures and whale figurines. She is wearing a black graduation gown.
Massive congratulations to @ramonammm.bsky.social for successfully defending her PhD thesis last December! 🎓🥳 We wish you all the best in your new job and adventures Down Under! 🦘 🐨 🐋
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Hoffman lab! 🎄 May 2026 be a great year for science ✨
Illustrations made by Ane Liv Berthelsen
We found that viability selection targets exonic evolutionarily conserved mutations 🤔 Read more: doi.org/10.1016/j.cu...
Cover of Current Biology Vol 35, number 23, Dec 2025. It shows a picture of a black grouse, its image mirrored in a pond it is standing next to.
Publication alert! ❗ Do predicted deleterious mutations reduce survival? In our latest paper lead by @rebeccachen.bsky.social published in @currentbiology.bsky.social, we compared mutation load across different age classes in black grouse.
And the full paper in Ecology and Evolution @ecol-evol.bsky.social here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
#InclusiveAcademia #ConferenceEquity #DiversityInScience
How can we make scientific events such as #conferences more #inclusive? Read about the study we conducted during #Behaviour2023 as a nice and concise summary in the press-release here 👉 aktuell.uni-bielefeld.de/2025/10/06/r...
#InclusiveAcademia #ConferenceEquity #DiversityInScience
Check out the paper in Ecology and Evolution here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Ramona smiling broadly and holding her thesis in front of her
A picture of the front of Ramona Mattmueller's thesis titled "Comparing Polar Ocean Soundscapes"
Last week a very happy (and presumably very tired 😁) @ramonammm.bsky.social handed in her PhD thesis titled "Comparing Polar Ocean Soundscapes" 🥳🥳 🥳
Congratulations with this huge milestone! Looking forward to the defence and of course the celebrations afterwards!
For the full publication, check out Nature Ecology and Evolution
@natecoevo.nature.com 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41... 6/6
For a lay summary by the university, check out the press release (in German) 👉 aktuell.uni-bielefeld.de/2025/08/11/s... 5/6
We analysed if coding and non-coding mutations have different fitness effects, and showed that mutations in regulatory regions of the genome seem to play a disproportionate role in explaining lifetime reproductive success! 4/6
Black grouse aggregate on leks where males fight to defend non-resource holding territories. Their ability to attend leks during the lekking season is critical to secure matings with females, and we show that lek attendance indicates their underlying genetic quality. 3/6
Our PhD candidate @rebeccachen.bsky.social showed that predicted deleterious mutations, both in homo- and heterozygosity, are associated with lower lek attendance in black grouse males, which reduces their mating success. 2/6
Do predicted deleterious mutations explain fitness variation in wild populations?
Our recent publication addresses exactly this question in black grouse, a lekking Galliform. 1/6
We have a brand new genome for porcini mushroom! First chromosome-scale, haplotype-resolved reference genome for Boletus edulis. A great resource for fungal genetics, and the rest of Etienne's PhD!
DNA as street decoration? Of course! Our very own @k-hench.bsky.social made some beautiful pictures of the @eseb2025.bsky.social street decorations at the “Festes de Gràcia”.
Check out some of his pictures and read more about why we were there: thehoffmanlab.com/2025/09/05/e...
The genome and epigenome are not independent, so why analyse them separately? 🤔 Come and discuss our hypotheses on the interplay between deleterious mutations and epigenetic mechanisms today with @rebeccachen.bsky.social at #ESEB2025 poster number 85! 🧪🧬
@annekep.bsky.social shows us a super impressive long term study in Antarctica fur seals to explore interactions between inbreeding and climate change 🦭
Title slide of the presentation. The left side has a blue background with in white the title: "Inbreeding-mediated individual responses to climate change in Antarctic fur seals" by David Vendrami, Anneke Paijmans, Emily Humble, Ane Liv Berthelsen, Jaume Forcada and Joe Hoffman. On the right side there is a picture of a Antarctic fur seal female with light grey/brown fur coloration and a darker colored pup on her right side
Do inbred females suffer disproportionately from climate change induced changes in selection pressure? Come and find out in @annekep.bsky.social's talk today at the @eseb2025.bsky.social conference 12:00 PM - 12:15 PM in meeting room 115 #ESEB2025
Kosmas pointing to his scientific poster titled "dynamics of mutation load in the Antarctic fur seal" at the ESEB2025 conference
Interested in the temporal and spatial dynamics of mutation load? Come find @k-hench.bsky.social who is investigating this in Antarctic fur seals! Poster session 2, S44 355 5-7PM tonight @eseb2025.bsky.social #eseb2025
#eseb2025
How do deleterious mutations affect male black grouse fitness? Find out at @rebeccachen.bsky.social's presentation today at @eseb2025.bsky.social 2:00 PM-2:15 PM, meeting room 131 🧬
Interested in the genomic consequences of commercial sealing? Check out Beril's poster (number 266) tonight at #ESEB2025 where she presents her study on differences in genomic inbreeding levels, bottleneck strength, and genetic load in two populations of South American fur seals 🦭🧬🧪
“Exploring the link between epigenetics and deleterious mutations” by @rebeccachen.bsky.social on Thursday 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM Poster Session 3 (P03.085)
#ESEB2025 #MutationLoad #InbreedingDepression #Epigenetics #MarineMammals #BlackGrouse
“Inbreeding-mediated individual responses to climate change in Antarctic fur seals” by @annekep.bsky.social on Wednesday 12:00 PM 12:15 PM (meeting room 115)