Matthew Lawrenz

We're thrilled to announce the Ctrl-Z Award, a US$2,500 prize for researchers “who discover substantial errors in their published work and take meaningful steps to correct the scientific record."
Covered by @nature.com today; read more here: centerforscientificintegrity.org/2026/03/10/a...

a penguin with a bandana on his head says " don 't worry i 'm a doctor " in white letters ALT: a penguin with a bandana on his head says " don 't worry i 'm a doctor " in white letters

For the next 24h, drop any infectious disease and/or vaccine-related questions in response to this post, and I will do my best to answer them. Answers are for information only, NOT medical advice.
#AskAnIDDoc March 2026 edition.

Pls re-post: My department @oxfordbiochemistry.bsky.social are recruiting for several new faculty positions (links below). Broad search in molecular biology/biochemistry, across prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Interested in understanding life at the molecular level, this job might be for you!
1/n

Postbac positions available in experimental and computational biology working on #virusevolution, tick-borne viruses and computational drug discovery! Reach out if you’d like to discuss projects in the #QVEU at NIH-NIAID. Please share with any talented undergrads or MS students you know!

🚨VIROLOGY GRADUATE STUDENTS 🚨

Are you looking for a postdoc?

We have a webinar
Just for you
We hope you come

We are one of the potential host labs for a Lecturer position in Molecular Genetics & Genomics — please share, and get in touch for more info! 🧬📣

A reminder that we are actively recruiting a geneticist to the Department of Genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine

careers-einstein.icims.com/jobs/17847/a...

Congratulations to Dr. Brittany Shapiro for defending her Ph.D. dissertation yesterday! She presented her project titled “Borreliella burgdorferi BosR-mediated post-transcriptional regulation”. Brittany’s work has resulted in two publications to date and numerous awards. Exceptional job, Brittany!

Skin androgens affect virulence of Staphylococcus aureus Nature Microbiology, Published online: 27 February 2026; doi:10.1038/s41564-026-02281-ySex-specific differences in susceptibility to skin infections with Staphylococcus aureus are well described. Testosterone now emerges as a direct modulator of the accessory gene regulator quorum sensing system, increasing S. aureus virulence, which both explains sex-specific differences and informs treatment strategies.

Out Now! Skin androgens affect virulence of Staphylococcus aureus #MicroSky

Applications are open for PREP Bio at the University of Oregon! A great opportunity for postbacs looking for additional research experience while preparing for graduate school. More here: cas.uoregon.edu/UO-PREP-Bio

Figure from this publication: Human foreskin-based cultivation system supports the growth of various T. pallidum strains (n=8), from the Nichols-like as well as the SS14-like cluster. Note that human foreskin fibroblast cells were prepared as an equal mixture of three tested cell lines. Each T. pallidum strain was cultivated in a single in vitro well, representing a sole experimental replicate used for data acquisition.

Major advance in T. pallidum reserach:

"First human cell-based cultivation system for the syphilis spirochete Treponema pallidum"

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

#MicroSky

Job opening for Research Group Leader in Structural Studies at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, focusing on macromolecular structures.

Are you a structural biologist pushing the boundaries of molecular science with an ambitious research programme?
Join our Structural Studies Division as a tenure-track Group Leader, with core funding, world-leading facilities & enthusiastic colleagues.
Apply by 16 MAR
www.nature.com/naturecareer...

Congratulations Mariana! Let’s celebrate at Microbe! 🍾🍾

👍

Congratulations Çagla!

Help me welcome our latest Plague Dr.! Congratulations to Dr. Sheneman on successfully defending her PhD on Friday the 13th 🎉🍾!

This Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program is funded by the National Science Foundation to create "points of entry" for students interested in research. Students apply from across the country to spend 10 weeks in Bozeman, Montana this summer (May 26, 2026 - August 1, 2026). Admitted students are paired with a faculty mentor, who serves as an advisor for a student's summer project. Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided. Our program leverages MSU’s unique microbiology expertise, focusing specifically on microbes living with little or no oxygen (like those in the hot springs of nearby Yellowstone). Low oxygen microbes are essential to human and ecosystem health. They influence (or control) such processes as the breakdown of food in the GI tract, removal of toxins from our bodies and the environment, and production of greenhouse gases. They are also models for understanding the origins of life on this planet, and the potential for life on other planets. A key goal of our program is to recruit students from schools with limited research infrastructure. Being in Montana, a state with a vibrant Native American community, we are particularly interested in applications from students at tribal colleges. However, ANYONE with an interest in microbiology - or biology/science in general - can and should apply. If willing and able, please share/tweet/spread the word far and wide. Applications are due February 14, 2026. Full details can be found through our website http://www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/

Friends, please help spread the word about our microbiology REU program at Montana State University.
www.montana.edu/mbi/reu/

Each student receives a stipend ($7000 for 10 wks). Travel compensation, room, and board are also provided.

Details in the attached pic--Feb 14 deadline
🧫🧪🦠#microsky

Seema Mattoo on Bordetella pertussis and whooping cough!

Matters Microbial,
@mattoolab.bsky.social
@markowenmartin.bsky.social

#MicroSky

Please share: we're hiring a new tenure-track faculty member to our Department of Genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

faculty-einstein.icims.com/jobs/17847/a...

U of A team develops new drug that uses copper to fight bacteria TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) - Researchers at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson are on the brink of a breakthrough with a new drug that uses copper to

Hey @copperbae.bsky.social, I see you are in the news! A great example of how academic research is driving innovations in medicine.

Excited to announce the upcoming 2026 Microbial Toxins and Pathogenicity GRC and GRS meeting taking place July 12 - 17, 2026 at Waterville Valley in New Hampshire. This meeting will be chaired by yours truly and co-chaired by
@sunnyshinlab.bsky.social www.grc.org/microbial-to...

Characterising antibacterial toxins in the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com PhD Project - Characterising antibacterial toxins in the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com

www.findaphd.com/phds/project... interested in bacterial antagonism? PhD opportunity in our team, see below. Please repost!

Hello world! I am excited to announce my lab is open at the University of Utah in the Department of Biochemistry. We are looking for scientists at all levels interested in studying host-virus interactions in both bacteria and animals. Come join us in beautiful Utah! (photo is 10 steps from lab)

Thrilled to share our new preprint showing that dietary amino acids license the NLRP3 inflammasome via mTOR-dependent mRNA translation! Congrats to co-1st authors @mikelhaggadone.bsky.social, Brian Goldspiel, co-senior author @metabailism.bsky.social & collaborators! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

A phage protein screen identifies triggers of the bacterial innate immune system - Nature Microbiology A library of 400 phage protein-coding genes is used to find a trove of antiphage systems, revealing systems that target tail fibre and major capsid proteins.

I’m thrilled to share our work on phage triggers of the bacterial immune system in its final form @natmicrobiol.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...

ASM Mechanism Discovery Meeting - Last chance to submit your abstract. Share your science. Deadline: Jan.21, 2 p.m. ET.

Last chance to submit to the ASM Mechanism Discovery Meeting at #ASMicrobe 2026. Abstracts close Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. ET. Showcase foundational research uncovering the mechanisms that power microbial life. Submit now: asm.social/2LT

Enterococcus fans: Check out our latest on E. faecalis EET, advancing our understanding of both the fundamental physiology of this bug and new mechanisms of its virulence. This is the product of a thrilling collaboration with friends in Singapore @gthibault.bsky.social led by @aarontan.bsky.social.

Hey, you know that cool data you showed me? You should share that with other microbiologists at the ASM Microbe meeting in June! Abstract deadline is Jan 21 👇👇

Deadline for ASM Microbe abstracts is fast approaching! Hope you are going to join me in DC this year to share your amazing microbiology with other ASM members!
Deadline is Jan 21 👇👇

Gulf Research Program Science Policy Fellowships The Gulf Research Program’s Science Policy Fellowship helps scientists hone their skills by putting them to practice for the benefit of Gulf Coast communities and ecosystems. Fellows gain first-hand e...

Are you a graduate student or postdoc who wants to apply your science to policy?

The Gulf Research Program’s Science Policy Fellowship provides experience for one year on the staff of federal, state, local, NGO in the Gulf region and impt networking.
www.nationalacademies.org/programs/GUL...