Mark Mandel

Graph of award probability of R35 and R01 from NIH factbook as a function of review rank percentile. As is apparent, 2025 is a significant departure, with lower award probabilities at all scores <40 and significant departures from norm, where even being in the top 10% is no longer a nearly certain indicator of success. Data source: https://report.nih.gov/nihdatabook/report/302

The data is in: the NIH goalposts have shifted.

What were once almost certain fundable scores have become coin flips and what used to be likely grants have become aspirational, leading to fewer awards.

Another manifestation of how HHS policies have led to fewer awards and less science.

This is a great post doc opportunity- fantastic system, first-rate science, awesome PI

By fostering high-level dialogue at the critical intersection of human, agricultural, and environmental health, we are determined to find unity and common ground at this Symposium. Last call to register via the provided link/QR code and see what is possible when we come together as a diverse field.

This was so much fun! Check out Jess’s thread and the podcast to hear how we “do” phage therapy these days @pghphageprogram.bsky.social

🚨 Registration is OPEN!
Join us for the 2026 Perlman Symposium on Antibiotic Discovery & Development
🗓 May 15, 2026 | ⏰ 9–5
📍 In-person or virtual (FREE!)
🔗 perlman.mmi.wisc.edu

Congratulations!!

Molecular and Cell Biology of Symbiosis | Marine Biological Laboratory This is an immersive research-based course designed to teach basic concepts, open research questions, and facilitate state-of-the-art experimental approaches in symbiosis research.

It is happening again! Consider taking our course on the Molecular and Cell Biology of Symbiosis at
@mblscience.bsky.social. Application deadline March 4th! www.mbl.edu/education/ad...

A fabulous undergraduate researcher I mentor is graduating this spring and is looking for a job as a lab technician! She's interested in bacterial pathogenesis and is planning to go to grad school after getting more research experience. Please let me know if you or anyone you know is hiring!

Congratulations to all of the new AAM Fellows! Many many friends & colleagues on the list, but especially excited for Patty Champion and JD Sauer! @sauerlab.bsky.social @uwmadisonmmi.bsky.social @uwmadisonmdtp.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/asm....

Congratulations Fellows!

The American Academy of Microbiology proudly announces the election of 63 fellows to the Class of 2026. Over the past 50 years, the Academy has elected +2,700 distinguished scientists. This year, the new fellows hail from 14 countries. Read press release: asm.social/2OC

🚨🍄Nancy Keller Fungal Research Published in PNAS!

“What we hope people take away from this paper is that scientists are actively studying this serious issue. We’re working hard to understand why it’s happening.”
-Nancy Keller

mmi.wisc.edu/nancy-keller...

📸: Dr. Anna Pringle

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.

All you want for christmas is.... transposon mutagenesis!

Our new work at @cultivarium.bsky.social screening lots of transposon vectors in lots of bacteria, from @charliegilbert.bsky.social and team.

Transposon and promoter modular parts available on Addgene (pooled library will be there soon too)

The visualization of two bacterial genomes, of 50 and 52kb, representing independent instances of extreme genomic reduction in ancient heritable endosymbionts of planthoppers.

Our new paper in @natcomms.nature.com is now online-early!

We describe independent evolution of bacterial genomes of only ~50–52 kb — the smallest known outside cellular organelles — revealing striking convergence toward minimal gene sets.

🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s414...

So clearly a catch...

Postdoc, Postgrad, and Research Intern Vacancies Browse Postoc and Research Intern vacancies at UW–Madison.

Postdoc position available in my lab! Project will focus on how the microbiome-derived metabolite butyrate shapes C. difficile fitness and pathogenesis & will build on our previous/ongoing work in this space. Apply here:
hr.wisc.edu/postdoc-and-...

Seema Mattoo on Bordetella pertussis and whooping cough!

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

#MicroSky

Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.

Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Statue of Liberty 3.0 | On Wisconsin The rise, fall, and rise of a beloved UW tradition

.@uwmadison.bsky.social’s famous version of the Statue of Liberty—appearing to be semi-submerged in Lake Mendota—is now an annual fixture of the UW Winter Carnival, running through Feb 7. Learn about the sculpture’s origins in a classic 1979 student prank.

onwisconsin.uwalumni.com/statue-of-li...

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...

A high-throughput biocatalytic platform for screening isomeric kainoid natural products Shepherd and Ramachandra et al. present a fast, chromatography-free method for resolving isomeric products from engineered enzymes. This platform enables large-scale screening and identifies improved ...

Hey all, excited to share this collab w/
@shaunmckinnie.bsky.social
TL;DR we combined our expertise to develop and validate a MALDI-tims platform for screening the production of isomeric small molecules (~212 Da) directly from E coli colonies in high throughput
www.cell.com/cell-reports...

🎉Congratulations to Professor JD Sauer on Receiving the Vilas Associates Award!
mmi.wisc.edu/professor-jd...

UI researcher loses grant funding amid NIH shakeup - The Daily Illini A University influenza research lab lost its NIH funding after shifting federal rules on gain-of-function studies.

“What she told me is that (the grant) was terminated for violating guidelines that don’t exist...She told me she doesn’t even know if anyone’s working on developing the guidelines.” dailyillini.com/news-stories...

#governmentefficiency

The disputed identity of Pseudomonas putida KT2440: when taxonomists rename your favorite microbe | mBio Names matter; they are not mere labels. They operate as anchors of memory, social coordinates, and references of collective identity. When a name becomes established through long-term use and broad ad...

Why rename Pseudomonas putida KT2440 to P. alloputida🦠?
This is an excellent example of why taxonomic changes require caution. We shouldn't blindly follow rules while ignoring decades of established practice.
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
#microbiology @asm.org @microbiologysociety.org

Wisconsin Women's hockey players and athletic trainer at center ice after the January 25, 2026 game, for their sendoff to the USA and Czechia Olympic teams.

Congratulations to the @uwmadison.bsky.social Badgers Women's Hockey athletes headed to the Olympics! Representing multiple countries, this is the best of the USA and of Wisconsin.

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...

We just released #anvio v9, "eunice" 🎉

This version represents over 2,000 changes in the codebase since v8, increasing the total number of programs in the anvi'o ecosystem to 176.

Read the release notes:

github.com/merenlab/anv...

Visit our up-to-date web page:

anvio.org

Reminder for those applying for #NIH grants using the #ScienCV templates. You can format the text sections using html codes:
<p> paragraph
<br> break line
<b>bold</b>
<i>italics</i>

Screenshot of the linked web page showing: Animal-Microbe Symbioses Gordon Research Conference, June 20-25, 2027. Chair Nicole Gerardo, Vice Chair Mark Mandel. Renaissance Tuscany Il Ciocco, Via Giovanni, Pascoli, Lucca (Barga), Lucca, Italy

Save the date... The Symbiosis Gordon Conference is headed back to Tuscany June 20-25, 2027 with @ngerardo.bsky.social as Chair! www.grc.org/animal-micro...

In remembrance of Peer Bork  | EMBL EMBL and its community are deeply saddened by the death of Peer Bork, the organisation’s Interim Director General.

very sad news. Peer Bork was one of the leaders of our field, a wonderful scientist, and he's much too young to be gone. www.embl.org/news/embl-an...