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James Gurney

@jamesgurney.bsky.social
1.6K followers 545 following 215 posts

Assistant professor working on phage. Occasional writer/fact checker for kurzgesagt. I didn’t write dinotopia.

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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... New preprint from the lab. We tried to capture phage infection using scRNAseq. With admittedly mixed results. Importantly our reads weren’t random and we see predicted biological patterns. Phage gene expression along the genome for one 1/3
biorxiv.org
Robust Inference of Phage-Host Infection Dynamics from Sparse Single-Cell Transcriptomics Profiles in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Phage therapy is providing a benefit to a limited number of people. To date those who have received phage therapy typically have done so via an IND expanded access mechanism, colloquially referred to ...
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Rachel M. Wheatley @rachelmwheatley.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🔊 Fully-funded 4 year PhD: How does the microbiome evolve under repeated pathogen exposure? 🦠 Project looking at how commensal microbes resist pathogen invasion, impact of antibiotics on these outcomes, and selective pressures in the microbiome. Come join us at QUB! www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate...
gla.ac.uk
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Daria Van Tyne @dariavantyne.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
My lab at Pitt is looking for a Laboratory Technician to help our research and phage therapy efforts. Please share and apply! cfopitt.taleo.net/careersectio...
cfopitt.taleo.net
Laboratory Technician
Click the link provided to see the complete job description.
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Jorge Moura de Sousa @jmouradesousa.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Happy to see our work on the evolution of antiviral repertoires in P4-like satellites and their P2-like helper phages (check out the 🧵 👇) out in @narjournal.bsky.social 🔗 doi.org/10.1093/nar/... #phagesky #MicroSky #evosky
doi.org
Shuttling, swapping, and mixing: the rapid modular evolution of antiviral repertoires in temperate phages and their satellites
Abstract. Interactions between bacteria, bacteriophages, and their satellites are shaped by a myriad of defence and counter-defence mechanisms. Here, we id
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Ellinor Alseth @ellinoralseth.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
What a Friday, finally seeing this published in @cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social! We hope this will be of interest to anyone working in the bacterial immune system field (or microbiology in general), and who wants an evolutionary take on it 🦠🧫 Open Access link: authors.elsevier.com/a/1nllx,L%7E...
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David Sünderhauf @davvi36.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Please share! We are looking for a PhD student excited about gene transfer, and tackling Antimicrobial Resistance in Klebsiella pneumoniae. 🧬 More details & applications on funder website by 21st Oct 👇🏻 gw4biomed.ac.uk/developing-c...
gw4biomed.ac.uk
Developing CRISPR-Cas antimicrobials to tackle antibiotic resistance spread in Klebsiella pneumoniae - GW4 BioMed MRC DTP
Project Code IIAR27Ex van Houte Project Type Wet lab Research Theme Infection, Immunity, and Antimicrobial Resistance Project Summary Download Summary Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a major thre...
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
My R35 MIRA grant is officially funded. The Gurney Lab lives for another 5 years! This will allow us to push our awesome work on scRNAseq during phage infection even further and develop a better understanding of how phage sociality and gene essentiality is impacted by the environment and host.
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Atlanta now has a Nando's, I may never leave this city.
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Sheyda Azimi @sazimi.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
New preprint of our work on effects of intra-strain diversity of Pseudomonas on modulating host response is out! Some variants of concern, flip the switch in host responses! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
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Carli Roush @phagephan.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Thrilled to share my first paper out of grad school. We sequenced dental wastewater (yes, the stuff collected during teeth cleaning) and found previously unknown bacteriophages harbored in the human mouth. #phagesky #microsky 🧵 journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org
Dental wastewater reveals a hidden reservoir of oral bacteriophage diversity | Microbiology Spectrum
The human oral cavity contains a diverse microbial community, but the bacteriophages (phages) that infect many oral bacteria remain poorly characterized. This gap limits our understanding of how phage...
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
One of the best conferences of my career!
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Lars Brudvig @lars-brudvig.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Join us through the Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship in EEB! Conduct your own research, mentored by 2+ EEB faculty. $65k salary + research/moving $. All areas of EEB welcome. Apply by 11/1 I co-chair this search and am happy to field questions Spread the word! eeb.msu.edu/initiatives/...
eeb.msu.edu
Postdoctoral Fellowship - Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Little juvenile hawk enjoying a cold plunge on a warm Georgia evening.
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Mara Duncan @mcduncanlab.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
🧪We want to purify our own Cas9-maybe an improved version. What're ppl using these days?
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Trends in Microbiology @cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Phage therapy via receptor-constrained evolutionary traps
dlvr.it
Phage therapy via receptor-constrained evolutionary traps
Phage therapy often fails when bacteria evolve resistance. We argue that phage selection should begin with receptors whose modification imposes predictable costs, turning resistance into reduced virulence, antibiotic resensitization, or other exploitable trade-offs. Receptor-constrained evolutionary traps offer a framework for designing phages that steer—not merely suppress—bacterial evolution effectively.
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Phage Canada @phagecanada.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Save the date! The 27th Biennial Evergreen International Phage Meeting is coming to Canada for the first time in its history! 🦠 🧬 📅 July 25 - 29, 2027 📍 University of Guelph, Guelph, ON More info to follow...
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
If I had two cents for each photo of me as a child sat next to a large ape, I’d only have two cents, but it’s weird it happened twice.
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Michael Brockhurst @brockhurstlab.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Why does antibiotic resistance evolution vary between patients? Come to @officialuom.bsky.social @mermanchester.bsky.social to help us find out! 2.5 year @wellcometrust.bsky.social postdoc position in experimental evolution Closing 15 May. Apply here: www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...
jobs.manchester.ac.uk
Research Associate in Microbial Evolution:Oxford Road
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
One of the best parts of visiting my brother.
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Paul Rainey @paulbrainey.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Multiple fully funded PhD/postdoc positions available: experimental evolution of tumour suppression, egalitarian & fraternal ETIs, jumbo phage ecology & genetics. Related EoIs welcome. Email CV/statement of motivation written in own words. Open until filled. Grateful for reposting 🙏
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Daria Van Tyne @dariavantyne.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
My lab at Pitt is looking for a Research Scientist to help us make phage therapy for patients with antibiotic-resistant infections. Please share and apply! cfopitt.taleo.net/careersectio...
cfopitt.taleo.net
Research Scientist
Click the link provided to see the complete job description.
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Carolyn Ibberson @cbibberson.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Excited to have our newest paper out in ISME Communications led by @aanuoluwaduro.bsky.social ! academic.oup.com/ismecommun/a... 🧪🦠🧫 @ismepublications.bsky.social
academic.oup.com
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Foster success. Jojo was adopted this afternoon. I’ll miss this idiot.
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Patrick R. Secor @prsecor.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
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
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/
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Phage folks who use the wizard DNA clean up kit to extract Phage DNA, I understand how the silica can hold onto DNA, how does the kit open up the phage in the first place? Mechanical stress from the 10µm silica beads in the resin? Or does the guanidinium thiocyanate do the job?
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Elisa Granato @prokaryota.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
JOB ALERT! 📢 For the scientists who love science communication: we’re hiring at @kurzgesagt.org !🌍 Come join our team, the vibes are impeccable. ✍️ Scriptwriter (Remote) kurzgesagt.org/careers/scri... 🔍 Fact-Checker & Researcher (Munich/Berlin/Remote) kurzgesagt.org/careers/seni...
kurzgesagt.org
Job listing for (Senior) Fact-Checker & Researcher (all genders) | kurzgesagt
Want to work with kurzgesagt? We have an open role as (Senior) Fact-Checker & Researcher (all genders). Apply now to become part of a great team and start an exciting career!
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
I also didn’t write this book.
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
Proof that even as a child I had bags under my eyes.
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
In Wales for Christmas. That means pictures of my parent’s gigantic dog where I try to depict her scale.
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Daria Van Tyne @dariavantyne.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
So incredibly proud of this work, and thankful to everyone who makes it possible!
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Sheyda Azimi @sazimi.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
We combined whole tissue clearing with HCR-mRNA FISH imaging to differentiate and visualize different PAO1 variants in mouse lungs infected with mixed populations.
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Sheyda Azimi @sazimi.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Recent work from the lab showing how presence of O-antigen deficient Pseudomonas variants change aggregate assembly and microbiogeography of infection journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org
Whole-tissue imaging reveals intrastrain diversity shapes the spatial organization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a murine infection model | mSphere
Intrastrain genetic and phenotypic diversity within Pseudomonas aeruginosa populations is common in chronic pulmonary infections. While this intrastrain heterogeneity is a hallmark of chronic infection, its consequences for the spatial organization of P. aeruginosa within the airways remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that the loss of O-specific antigen in a subpopulation of P. aeruginosa significantly alters the spatial architecture of P. aeruginosa, without changing the total population size or composition. Using a combination of tissue clearing and hybridization chain reaction RNA-FISH in a murine lung infection model, we mapped the localization of genetically distinct P. aeruginosa variants in mixed populations in vivo. These findings reveal that genetic diversification within a strain can reshape the infection landscape at the micron scale, highlighting the overlooked role of intrastrain dynamics in shaping the microbiogeography of infections and influencing host-pathogen interactions.
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
Escargone... I'll see myself out www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
French farm has €90,000 worth of escargot snails stolen
The break-in was "a real blow", says L'Escargot Des Grands Crus, which was preparing deliveries for the holiday season.
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Interesting, if anyone has other suggestions on ways to poison AIs to reduce student cheating I'm all ears!
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Freya Harrison @friendlymicrobe.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
PhD opportunity in my lab: exploring how commensals and pathogens build biofilm communities on endotracheal (ventilator) tubes. Microbial ecology, medical microbiology and fancy imaging! Co-supervised with the fabulous Saskia Bakker and Jeremy Webb warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fa... #MicroSky
warwick.ac.uk
Dr Freya Harrison
Dr Freya Harrison
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Ville Friman @frimanscience.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Interested in doing a PhD in phage biology? See below a super cool project on megaphage ecology and evolution available at the University of Jyväskylä (FIN) in Elina Laanto's lab (Project no. 4). Co-supervision provided by yours truly.
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Sean Czerwinski @sczerwinski.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
I made a phage… I think it’s in LB
Long contractile tailed bacteriophage in a yellow-gold environment.
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Sheyda Azimi @sazimi.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
Such a Friday, double win at Biology Department with Bio for Breakfast and Research day @jamesgurney.bsky.social @persisterbritt.bsky.social @kswetzel1.bsky.social
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 07/11/2025
My lab is gonna make the switch to from dplyr to genzplyr right away. hadley.github.io/genzplyr/
hadley.github.io
dplyr but make it bussin fr fr no cap
`genzplyr` is an alternative syntax for `dplyr` that replaces boring old function names with GenZ slang. Your data wrangling is about to hit different.
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Mario Vallejo-Marin @nicrodemo.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
Do you want to do a Masters in Evolutionary Biology? The call for applying to the MEME program is now open! MEME is a fantastic 2-year MSc between four European Universities on all areas of Evolutionary Biology. Apply and study in Sweden/France/the Netherlands/Germany/USA/Switzerland! www.evobio.eu
Picture of MEME students on the beach
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
A few months ago, myself @sallylepage.bsky.social and @dhewlett.bsky.social sat down and recorded a pilot podcast for Kurzgesagt interviewing Cancer expert @kimberly-luddy.bsky.social about all things Cancer. While the project is no more, I thought I'd share it! youtu.be/ZXo6uTf3Im8
youtu.be
Trust Us, we're Liars -Pilot Podcast
YouTube video by The League of Nerds
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
Household energy after submitting grant this week.
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Paul Hoskisson 🧫 🦠🐸 @paulhoskisson.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Come and work with me and @ariannebabina.bsky.social on #Streptomyces evolution and antibiotic production Origins of a tangled bank: Adaptation and evolution in antibiotic-producing Streptomyces www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate... please repost
gla.ac.uk
University of Glasgow - Postgraduate study - Centres for Doctoral Training - NorthWest Biosciences - Our Projects - Underpinning Bioscience - Paul A Hoskisson
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Ákos T Kovács @evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social · 28/09/2025
PhD fellowship in biofilm-phage interactions - with Mette Burmølle at University of Copenhagen 🇩🇰 deadline 1 October 2025 employment.ku.dk/faculty?show... #phagesky #microsky
employment.ku.dk
PhD fellowship in biofilm-phage interactions
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Carolyn Ibberson @cbibberson.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
Come join us in Knoxville! 🧫🧪🦠
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Michael Brockhurst @brockhurstlab.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Recent paper from the lab studying predictors of phage cocktail efficacy against complex clinical Pseudomonas populations royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10.... Led by Rosanna Wright with extraordinary MSc (PhD) student Maisie Czernuska
royalsocietypublishing.org
Bacteria–phage infection network structure and genomic defence system content predict efficacy of a phage therapy cocktail against Pseudomonas aeruginosa from chronic lung infections
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Ajai Dandekar @ajaidandekar.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
Andrew Frando, @jrchandler.bsky.social, and I wrote a primer about excellent work done in Sam Brown's group @brownlab.bsky.social journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
journals.plos.org
Better together: Reciprocal activation of quorum sensing circuits enhances bacterial communication
Many bacteria use quorum sensing to control gene transcription based on population density. This primer explores a recent study in PLOS Biology which found that in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, two quorum-s...
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PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 05/09/2025
Bacterial #QuorumSensing is often assumed to follow a strict hierarchy. @brownlab.bsky.social &co find that #Pseudomonas aeruginosa instead uses a reciprocal, cooperative system that enhances responsiveness to population density & environmental changes @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/3I7DhRG
The las and rhl QS systems have a reciprocal, synergistic, and unequal relationship. Top: Single-signal models demonstrate that the summed effects of single signals (3 oxo C12 HSL alone, red; C4 HSL alone, orange) cannot account for the maximal expression of lasI or rhlI. The upper green, flat surfaces in the plots indicate the maximum mean expression level measured across all combinations of signal concentrations while the lower semi-transparent surfaces mark the sum of single signal effects. The plotted points represent observed expression levels when C4 HSL is withheld (red) and when 3 oxo C12 HSL is withheld (yellow). Lines indicate the model predictions. Bottom: Multi-signal non-linear models capture the synergistic effects of both signals and match observed expression levels. Model estimates are shown as grid lines. Horizontal bars show the mean value of expression observed at each combination of signal concentrations. Lines extend from these mean values to the relevant grid point for clarity. Right: Data show that relationship of the las and rhl systems is reciprocal, and the multi-signal model quantifies the strength of those interactions. In particular, it reveals the contribution of both signals to the maximum fold-change in expression of both synthases. The charts in this panel summarize the contribution of 3 oxo C12 HSL (red), C4 HSL (yellow), and the synergistic combination of both (orange).
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James Gurney @jamesgurney.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
Standing room only for Eli Mehlferber from @brownbio.bsky.social for breakfast talk this morning. Giving a great talk.
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