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David Bhella

@dbhella.bsky.social
1.7K followers 815 following 72 posts

Professor of Structural Virology and Associate Director at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR). Director of the Scottish Centre for Macromolecular Imaging. CryoEM, viruses, music, field archery, scicom and pix of our toy poodle.

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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Excellent baking delivered by the Bhella and Fletcher groups for our CVR coffee morning. This month the coffee morning raised money for Macmillan Cancer Support - thanks to Will Rooney for organising that.
CVR coffee morningCVR coffee morning
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
It’s the time of the year when I get to enjoy watching bats fly around my back garden at dusk - bat detector in hand… wonderful 😊
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
I am privileged to enjoy a fantastic collaboration with my @cvrinfo.bsky.social colleagues Margaret Hosie, Brian Willett, Lee Sherry and Hagar Sasvari. Lee and Hagar used their reverse-genetics expertise to make some great tools to help us dissect calicivirus entry. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
Feline calicivirus encoding NanoLuc luciferase as a tool for assessing antibody neutralisation and antivirals
Feline calicivirus (FCV) is among the most common viruses to infect cats worldwide, with prevalence estimated to range from 10-90% depending on the population sampled. Typical FCV infection presents w...
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
The west coast of Scotland just isn’t the place for observing astronomical events! Just like when we have forecasts of fantastic northern lights - the eclipse is turning into an evening of cloud watching.
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Interested in learning about cryo-ET on JEOL microscopes? Sign up for a pre-IMC21 one-day workshop in Liverpool 30/08/2026 here: www.imc21.org.uk/congress/pre...
Poster advertising a JEOL organised cryo-electron tomography workshop on 30th August 2026 in Liverpool UK.
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
A great collaboration with Morgan Herod and colleagues in Leeds. Thermally stable murine norovirus shows a delayed uncoating phenotype, with cryoEM led by Lee Sherry and Charlotte Lewis at the @cvrinfo.bsky.social.
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
We really appreciate the time and work that @orestissavva.bsky.social put into preparing the PreLights article, and his thoughtful questions were a nice avenue for Charlotte to expand on her work. Thanks to BioRxiv for highlighting this resource.
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Thanks @juanrv.bsky.social and Denis Ptchelkine for the invitation to visit AFMB and speak at their cryo-EM workshop. What treat to see the beautiful Luminy campus, hear some fantastic science and catch up with @sonia-longhi.bsky.social.
David at the laboratoire architecture et fonction des macromolecules biologiques David at laboratoire architecture et fonction des macromolecules biologiques
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preLights @prelights.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Cats: the ultimate pets and scientific heroes. 🐱 Studying feline viruses to identify innovative solutions to prevent human infections. #preprint by @cb99-lewis.bsky.social, @dbhella.bsky.social & team #microbiology #preLight by @orestissavva.bsky.social: prelights.biologists.com/highlights/i...
prelights.biologists.com
Inhibition of VP2-mediated entry: a potential antiviral strategy to treat or prevent calicivirus disease - preLights
Cats: the ultimate pets and scientific heroes. Researchers are studying feline viruses to identify innovative solutions to prevent human infections
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Wow - this is just amazing. Hui Guo and colleagues from John Briggs’ lab use cryoEM helical reconstruction to discover how filamentous influenza virion assembly is directed by multiple conformations of M1 - explaining how NA is concentrated at the proximal pole. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 13/05/2026
France confines more than 1,700 people to cruise ship over suspected norovirus death
theguardian.com
France confines more than 1,700 people to cruise ship over suspected norovirus death
One elderly passenger on vessel docked in Bordeaux has died and about 50 people have symptoms, say officials French authorities have confined more than 1,700 passengers and crew members on a cruise ship docked in Bordeaux after a passenger died from suspected norovirus, officials have said. The Ambassador Cruise Line vessel carrying 1,233 passengers, most of them British or Irish, arrived in Bordeaux on Tuesday. One 90-year-old passenger had died and about 50 people had shown symptoms of the virus, French health officials said. Continue reading...
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Amazing work from Charlotte Lewis - our latest preprint describes structure guided development of an antiviral peptide, targeting VP2 portal assembly - a strategy that may have broad application to treat or prevent calicivirus disease. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Really happy to see this paper out now in PLOS Pathogens - a really nice collaboration with @alanlparker.bsky.social - led by Kasim Waraich and Rosie Mundy. journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
journals.plos.org
Identification of a novel fiber shaft structural motif and overexpression of key transcripts elucidated in human adenovirus D 10
Author summary Adenoviruses cause infections with pathologies ranging from cold like respiratory symptoms to gastroenteritis and conjunctivitis. In addition to research on adenovirus pathology, substa...
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
How to get ahead in academia 1. Creative thinking. French professor investigated for awarding himself fake prize www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
French professor investigated for awarding himself fake prize
The academic is accused of dreaming up the prize he went on to win and has been suspended from his university.
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
First time out in the woods at Palacerigg this year. Not too shabby groups, although my bow feels very heavy… will take a bit of practice before I shoot a round I think.
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Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · 17/04/2026
🚨New pre-print!🚨 Because influenza virions are highly variable in form no single method can show their molecular architecture in detail. Here, we integrate multiple structural and compositional approaches to identify new features of these beautiful virus particles www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
An illustration of an apical region of an animal cell in cross section, shown crowded with individual molecules. The plasma membrane is densely occupied by influenza virus glycoproteins, and from the surface bud influenza virions with different morphologies (L-R): spherical, bacilliform, filamentous with a genome, filamentous and empty, filamentous with a helical inner layer, and filamentous with a cofilactin cytoskeleton.
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Delighted to share our latest preprint describing an integrative model for influenza A virions. We combined proteomics, lipidomics and cryo-ET to build a comprehensive set of models, using subtomogram averaging we show that IAV filaments package cofilactin. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
The abstract deadline for the 21st International Microscopy Congress has been extended to 20th March. Pranav Shah and I will be chairing a one-day session on “Imaging pathogen biology from structure to mechanism” and we would love to hear about your work! www.imc21.org.uk
imc21.org.uk
Homepage
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EMBL @embl.org · 05/03/2026
A research team from the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, the Institut Pasteur, and EMBL has shown in a Nature paper how the influenza polymerase, a molecular thief, uses the host RNA to replicate. Check out the MPI press release: www.mpinat.mpg.de/5179649/pr_2...
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Pranav NM Shah @proteincapsid.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Abstract submission closes this Friday. If you have a story to tell and have just seen this do apply! @dbhella.bsky.social and myself look forward to your abstracts!
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Thanks so much to Profs. Manidipa Banerjee, Ashok Patel, Ramanathan Natesh, Prem Kaushal and Subhash Yadav for inviting me to participate in this years EMBO CryoEM and 3D Image Processing workshop. It is so inspiring meeting all the fantastic students and hearing about their exciting science!
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Amit Meir @amitmhbh.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
Very excited to share our work, a fish herpesvirus' cryo EM structure. It features a long PVAT tail, with new and host-like proteins discovered using modelAngelo, Dali, and Viro3D, including a host-like macrodomain doi.org/10.64898/202... @dbhella.bsky.social @grovearmada.bsky.social
doi.org
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
I am excited to share our latest preprint - An evolutionarily divergent herpesvirus with a giant tail. Featuring symmetry breaking and genome annotation from structure using ModelAngelo. doi.org/10.64898/202...
Image of a herpesvirus structure
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Calling all microscopy enthusiasts! I have been working with Gail McConnell to coordinate the life-science section of the 21st International Microscopy Congress taking place in Liverpool, UK this September. We have some great symposia lined up! Registration and abstracts 👉 www.imc21.org.uk
imc21.org.uk
Homepage
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Thanks to @sjorsscheres.bsky.social and Kiarash Jamali for coming to hear me fan-boy about Relion and ModelAngelo in my talk and bringing more advice on how to do cool stuff even better….
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Had a fantastic day visiting the Virology Division in the University of Cambridge Dept of Pathology. Thanks to Myra Hosmillo, Ian Goodfellow, Andrew Firth, Hazel Stewart and Valeria Lulla for great virus- and science-life chat.
Picture of Homerton College - University of Cambridge
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
The UK cloud cover forecast for tomorrows geomagnetic storm. If there is one guarantee in life it’s 100% cloud cover when there is a forecast of northern lights. www.bbc.co.uk/weather/arti...
Cloud cover forecast showing lots of cloud over the UK
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Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · 07/10/2025
Huge congratulations to Emma Davis, the winner of 2025's Early Career Microbiologist of the Year prize! We agree with Emma that all of the finalists' talks were brilliant and a massive well done to everyone involved!
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
My nightmare: “Almost 100 people came down with norovirus aboard a Royal Caribbean ship amid a 13-day voyage, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported earlier this week… The first reports of illness were made on Sept. 28, with four crew members and 94 guests falling ill”
nytimes.com
Norovirus Outbreak Sickens Nearly 100 on Royal Caribbean Cruise
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
This is the coolest resource - so much more than a repository of predicted viral protein structures. Check it out…
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Joe Grove @grovearmada.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Check out this new BBC documentary on Disease X and pandemic preparedness, broadcast tonight (22/09) and on BBC iPlayer. It features @cvrinfo.bsky.social's work using #AI to investigate #virology and much, much more. 🧪🦠🤖 It was a real pleasure working with Chris VT and the team. Thank you!
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
I am delighted to share this preprint describing the structure and transcriptomics analysis of adenovirus D10 - a fantastic collaboration - and a lot of hard work by Kasim and Rosie.
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
Second time in a week - so proud of Charlotte’s achievements. ECR oral presentation prize at the 9th international Calicivirus workshop. So accomplished and just starting year 3 of her PhD.
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The Dunn School, Oxford @dunnschool.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
Our PhD studentship programme is officially open; pass it on If you are looking for a fully-funded PhD in the mechanisms underlying human disease, here are the details... Great science and a great environment! www.path.ox.ac.uk/news-article...
path.ox.ac.uk
Applications now open for our PhD studentship programme - Dunn School
Applications are now open to apply for our four year, fully-funded PhD programme in Molecular Cell Biology in Health and Disease.
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 07/09/2025
Well this is terrible… honestly the stuff I have to do for science - in Banff for the 9th international Calicivirus workshop.
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
Proud supervisor moment - congratulations Charlotte Lewis on winning the ECR best presentation prize at the Glasgow Virology Workshop. 👏👏👏👏👏👏
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
First field archery competition in ~25 years. I was terrible 😀 - but it was lovely being out in the woods again.
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MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Last week we welcomed colleagues from ‪@helmholtzhzi.bsky.social‬ Centre for Infection Research & other project partners for our CVR-HZI Collaborative Development Fund Symposium. We heard about exciting research projects and discussed new opportunities to further our collaborations. cvr-hzi.co.uk
 man presents to an audience in a conference room. The projected slide reads “Anatomical origin of exhaled SARS-CoV-2 within the respiratory tract” and features a colourful virus illustration. Attendees are seated and focused on the presentation.A group of people sits around a long table in a dimly lit restaurant. The table is filled with drinks. The setting features wooden wall panels and modern hanging light fixtures. A group of people sits in a conference room with large windows, participating in a discussion. Attendees are taking notes or using laptops.Twelve people pose for a group photo in front of a wall displaying logos for the Medical Research Council- University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research. They are dressed in business casual attire. The setting is an indoor office.
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Epseptimavirus phagemcphageface made my day... doi.org/10.1099/jgv....
doi.org
Binomial names for virus species: the rediscovery of an old idea
The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses now mandates that all virus species names be presented in a binomial format. This requirement replaces the various naming formats that have been used...
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Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Please join us if you can for this year's Influenza Update Meeting, and please spread the news! It will be another fun opportunity to meet other influenza researchers, make connections and discuss our ongoing research.
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
Isn’t it strange how the most ardent capitalists are suddenly very worried about the influence of the profit motive in pharma - while simultaneously screaming about state regulation of eg finance sector. It must be strange being in their heads.
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
At the international virus assembly workshop in Alghero, Sardinia. This afternoon we took some time out to tour the old town. A beautiful walk with friends.
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
A nice photo from last week’s ’Celebration of 50 years of Virology’ in St Andrews - marking a milestone in the distinguished career of Rick Randall - a great virologist, colleague and friend - congratulations Rick!
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
Congratulations on your excellent thesis defence Hollie - @cvrinfo.bsky.social
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 19/04/2025
2 years ago GSC made my wife redundant. She brought in £400k p/a in education contracts and was well regarded by educationalists across Scotland. They lost her contacts and the excellent reputation she had built over 20 years. Competence is seen as a threat by those in power who are less capable.
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
One of the many lovely things about having a dog is encounters with urban wildlife while out for a walk. Here is a greater spotted woodpecker spotted this morning in our local woods.
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
I am thrilled that University of Glasgow is supporting cryoEM in Scotland by investing in talented young technical professionals to manage SCMI and help us deliver great science. The energy and enthusiasm in the team is amazing and infectious.
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Emma Thomson @emcat1.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
New in Nature Comms: We applied metagenomic + targeted NGS to serum from febrile patients in Uganda. Post-COVID, LMICs have sequencing infrastructure that could be repurposed for pathogen discovery. 🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Uncovering the viral aetiology of undiagnosed acute febrile illness in Uganda using metagenomic sequencing - Nature Communications
Acute febrile illness is common in sub-Saharan Africa and causative agents are often unknown. Here, the authors perform metagenomic sequencing on samples from patients with acute febrile illness in Ug...
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
I am def gonna read this later…
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David Bhella @dbhella.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
A couple of photos from a wonderful night out - Ozric Tentacles and The Orb. Lots of smiling and dancing…. Lovely.
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