It’s been a busy couple months since starting my postdoc in the Skaar lab! Excited to share a preprint in collab with @giedroclab.bsky.social where we discovered COG0523 conformational switching is regulated by an intrinsic arginine finger-revising the current model for metallochaperone function!
I am happy to share our recent publication in @nature.com on a mucosal immunization strategy that clears C. difficile colonization in mice. Congratulations to Audrey Thomas, lead author on the work. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#wearenotthebottlenecks
#nashvilleemergencyresponse
I just don’t think I could have dreamt up a better group of people to serve the people of Nashville with this past week. A huge thank you to everyone that has helped us fight hunger during these winter storms ❤️
Cow Tools!
We have lived alongside cows for nearly 10,000 years.
We breed them and exploit them
It is now, only now, that we have discovered THEY CAN USE TOOLS
Here I describe our study
(paper) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... in @currentbiology.bsky.social
with @auersperga.bsky.social
The Peritore Lab officially opens its doors in 2026!
I am seeking an organized, motivated technician to join our team focused on host-pathogen interaction research. For details on current research, check out: www.peritorelab.com
Job listing: osu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/OSUCareers/j...
#MicroSky
Friday we lost a brilliant mind, colleague, and friend to her battle with pancreatic cancer. Those who knew her will remember Helene Andrews-Polymenis for her warmth, generosity and leadership. She will be missed by many. RIP
Group of trivia winners holding a box of giant microbes Christmas ornaments
Team #Skaarmagedon dominating trivia one holiday party at a time 🏆
#NewResearch
A bile acid-bound structure of toxin TcdB revealed the mechanism of inhibition and guided the design of a synthetic bile acid that alleviated C. difficile infection in mice.
#MicroSky 🦠💊
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We have wondered what a complex archaeal cell might look like ever since 2014. It’s been a long road (and the journey is far from over), but it’s a good time to pause for breath and look. These Asgard archaeal cells are a surprise! And that is the joy of being a cell biologist.
Huge congrats, Lauren! So excited to see all the fun things that continue to come from the Palmer lab!
This.
No freaking way
Ready to start MegaMicrobe 2025! Thanks to Owen and Jesse for leading the Skaar Lab booth with the ESKAPE band. 🎸🤘
The GRFP lives!! (due end of October)
www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
Woohoo! Way to go Lauren and team!! 🎉
Excited to share this collaborative study with @ritatamayo.bsky.social showing that E. faecalis influences C. diff morphology through the phase variable CmrRST system! This work was co-led by the amazing team of @ashleyweiss.bsky.social and Jilarie Santos-Santiago!
Send you lots of love and strength!
Plot showing skewed distribution toward comp science and applied physics
The 500 additional GRFPs NSF awarded were not very evenly distributed across fields, it seems.
www.science.org/content/arti...
New review article from the lab!
"Maximizing bacterial survival: integrating sense-and-respond and bet-hedging mechanisms": www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Led by PhD student Nicole Gadda & former-PhD student from the Cotter lab Lilli Lowrey
Access link: authors.elsevier.com/a/1lHuj_,2Ci...
My latest for American Scientist Magazine helps give scientists the tools to fight back against politicized charges that our research is silly or pointless- tools that will work whether you’re asked “why are we funding this” from your asshole uncle at Thanksgiving or an asshole US Senator.
🧪🌎
If you have ever wondered what might happen to short chain fatty acids made by the microbiome. Here is a large class of metabolites and how they link to biology. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Incredibly honored to be selected as a @bwfund.bsky.social Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease. Thank you to @bwfund.bsky.social for supporting our work - I am thrilled to join this amazing community! And special thank you to my AMAZING team (past & present) for getting us here!
With nearly all of Harvard Chan School’s direct federal grants terminated, we are relying on philanthropy to power our research and support our educational programs. Every gift, regardless of size, advances our vision of health, dignity, and justice for every human. Support our work: hsph.me/whygive
Woohoo!! I am so proud of you and so excited for all of the exciting science that will come out of the Reyes Ruiz lab!! 🎉
So proud of you, Harris! You are an incredibly scientist and I can’t wait to see what you accomplish throughout your career!
Thanks Shannon!!
Me with my mentors Jimmy Ballard and Rodney Tweten
Me with my scientific grandfather
I guess I’m Dr. Doyle now?!
And Rodney Tweten!! What a wild day of celebration we got going on! 🎉
Image Source: https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-a-biofilms-strange-shape-emerges-from-cellular-geometry-20250421/ Biofilms can form many unique shapes. When they’re given different nutrients — a new sugar source, less protein or more salt — entirely different topographies emerge. Credit Courtesy of Lars Dietrich
The emergent properties of biofilms: wow!
"As cells divide and a biofilm grows, it doesn’t simply expand outward. What starts as a flat, smooth layer of cells stretches and pulses."
🧪 🧮 ⚛️ #Science
➡️How a Biofilm’s Strange Shape Emerges From Cellular Geometry
www.quantamagazine.org/how-a-biofil...
ICYMI:
@harvard.edu today filed a 51-page lawsuit against the Trump Administration, Pam Bondi, RFK Jr., and several other defendants for their unconstitutional and unlawful federal funding freeze.
www.harvard.edu/president/ne...
