iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jessica Blair @jessicamablair.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Today marks 20 years since I started at the University of Birmingham @unibirmingham.bsky.social as an absolutely terrified PhD student. At that point I assumed I'd be here for the three years and then leave but I've not quite got around to that yet....

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Nick Loman @pathogenomenick.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Celebrating 40 years of Steve Busby’s exceptional research career today @imibirmingham.bsky.social

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Hannah Pugh @hannahpugh.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Does anyone know where one could can obtain a stock of E. coli UTI89 from? It is unavailable at both NCTC and ATCC. 🧫

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Alasdair Hubbard @dralhubb.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

🚨New Pre-print Really excited to see this manuscript out. While short, this was a lot of work with troubleshooting and optimisation at all stages and will, hopefully, be the start out groups major focus. Microbial evolution studies..(1/7) #MicroSky #UTISky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

biorxiv.org

In vitro evolution of uropathogenic Escherichia coli to fosfomycin resistance in a 3D cultured human bladder microtissue model

In vitro studies of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) using laboratory growth media produce important, fundamental information. However, their inability to more closely replicate the in vivo environment ...

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Jessica Blair @jessicamablair.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Applications are OPEN for the 2027 Gordon Research Conference on Multidrug Efflux Systems. 📅 When: March 21–26, 2027 📍 Where: Ventura, California 🔗 Apply here: www.grc.org/multi-drug-e... #GRC #MultidrugEfflux

grc.org

2027 Multi-Drug Efflux Systems Conference GRC

The 2027 Gordon Research Conference on Multi-Drug Efflux Systems will be held in Ventura, California. Apply today to reserve your spot.

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Tim Overton @overtonlab.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

I'm very happy to share that as of 1st August I will be a Professor of Microbial Biotechnology! Huge thanks to past and present members of my group, my fantastic collaborators, and my colleagues at the UoB School of Chemical Engineering for all their help and support over the years.

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Jessica Blair @jessicamablair.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Fully Funded PhD alert!! Super interesting project with @overtonlab.bsky.social , Sara Jabbari and me!! 🤩

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Lis Lowe @lislowe.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Out after a lot of hard work from many people. When we first found arabinanase enzymes in mycobacteria we started looking into their roles in cell remodelling & pathogenesis. Did not expect to find that some species had weaponised them to kill competitors! Myco are endlessly surprising. #glycotime

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Jutras Lab @jutraslab.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Highly recommend npj antimicrobials and resistance! It was an excellent experience and a transparent process. The future is bright! Well done 👏

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Jessica Blair @jessicamablair.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Today npj Antimicrobials and Resistance has received its first impact factor. Now, we all know that impact factors don't tell the whole story and aren't a standalone mark of quality. That said, we are hugely proud of the success of the journal so far....

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Jessica Blair @jessicamablair.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Ok, I think I have a new career aspiration……

Sign saying a duck inspector sits on the bench for half an hour a day and Jess thinks this would be a lovely job!

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Jessica Blair @jessicamablair.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Brilliant new review in Plos Pathogens looking at how RND efflux pumps contribute to virulence from @ilyasalav.bsky.social and Corella Detweiler. This one is going to be super useful for efflux folks! 🤩https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1014228

journals.plos.org

How resistance-nodulation-division (RND) efflux pumps contribute to virulence

In Gram-negative bacteria, multi-subunit efflux pumps transport molecules across the inner membrane, periplasm, and outer membrane to the extracellular environment. These efflux pumps include the Resi...

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Nature @nature.com · 19/05/2026

The physical-sciences repository arXiv is banning researchers from posting their manuscripts on the platform for one year if a submission is found to contain references that have been hallucinated by artificial-intelligence tools. go.nature.com/4nDfXvv

go.nature.com

Researchers who use hallucinated references to face arXiv ban

The preprint server is the latest to impose stiff penalties on authors who contribute to AI ‘slop’ — but not everyone is convinced it’s the right approach.

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Ilyas Alav @ilyasalav.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

I’m looking to hire a talented postdoctoral research assistant to work with me on my Wellcome Trust-funded project at the @dunnschool.bsky.social If you’re interested in bacterial pathogenesis and host-pathogen interactions, please apply below! my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

my.corehr.com

Job Details

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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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Lis Lowe @lislowe.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

We have a PhD studentship open! (UK only sadly) but if you are or know a student keen to work on some *really* weird mycobacterial enzymes then get in touch! #glycotime Advert below www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

findaphd.com

Uncovering a new class of toxins in pathogenic mycobacteria at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com

PhD Project - Uncovering a new class of toxins in pathogenic mycobacteria at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com

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Tim Overton @overtonlab.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

New paper! We have written a (hopefully) simple primer on microbial energy metabolism - how do bacteria harvest energy from their environment, and how does this impact their behaviour? www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...

microbiologyresearch.org

Microbial Primer: Bacterial energy metabolism

All cells need energy to perform their functions. This primer introduces energy metabolism in bacteria, with a focus on key pathways and examples from model organisms, while acknowledging that bacteri...

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Jessica Blair @jessicamablair.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Great simple explanation of bacterial energy metabolism from @overtonlab.bsky.social and team!

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Ilyas Alav @ilyasalav.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

My main postdoc paper is now out in @natureportfolio.nature.com npj Antimicrobials and Resistance! www.nature.com/articles/s44.... Using flow cytometry, we show that the nucleoside analogues azidothymidine, didanosine, stavudine, and trifluridine reduced transfer of AMR plasmids pCT and pKpQIL (1/3)

nature.com

Mechanistic insights into plasmid transfer inhibition in Enterobacterales by nucleoside analogues - npj Antimicrobials and Resistance

npj Antimicrobials and Resistance - Mechanistic insights into plasmid transfer inhibition in Enterobacterales by nucleoside analogues

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Freya Harrison @friendlymicrobe.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

My super department @warwicklifesci.bsky.social is hiring 6 assistant profs in the wake of recent retirements. We're looking for people in microbiology/infection, cellular disease / immunity; environmental biology; and plant/crop science. #MicroSky warwick-careers.tal.net/vx/lang-en-G...

warwick-careers.tal.net

Assistant Professor x6 (111522-0426) - University of Warwick

Title: Assistant Professor x6 (111522-0426). Application Deadline: . Position Type: Permanent

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Jessica Blair @jessicamablair.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Applications are officially OPEN for the 2027 Gordon Research Conference on Multidrug Efflux Systems. 📅 When: March 21–26, 2027 📍 Where: Ventura, California 🔗 Apply here: www.grc.org/multi-drug-e... #GRC #MultidrugEfflux

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Jessica Blair @jessicamablair.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Efflux pumps just got even more complicated! Beautiful evidence from Ben Luisi & team of another protein (YbjP) that is part of RND efflux pump complexes and associates with the outer membrane channel! Function unclear, but super interesting 🤩 elifesciences.org/reviewed-pre...

elifesciences.org

A lipoprotein partner for the Escherichia coli outer membrane protein TolC

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Rachel M. Wheatley @rachelmwheatley.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

🔊 Looking for a Research Assistant in Bacterial Evolution to join my lab 🦠 🥼Main duties: Research (AMR + microbiome) + lab assistance. ⏲️ Post duration: 30 months 🗓️ Closing date for applications: 20th April 2026 💰 Salary: ~£35k Details and how to apply: tinyurl.com/2a3v66y7 Please share!

lnkd.in

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

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Tim Overton @overtonlab.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Join myself, Sara Jabbari and @jessicamablair.bsky.social to work out how we can make bacteria more tolerant of organic molecules such as biofuels and platform chemicals. Funding is available for UK students - deadline is 1st May 2026, project starts in October 2026.

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Tracy Palmer @proftracypalmer.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

2 year fellowship available in AMR research www.medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk/grants/antim...

medicalresearchfoundation.org.uk

Medical Research Foundation | Antimicrobial Resistance Research

Antimicrobial Resistance Research

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Graeme Kettles @graemekettles.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

The School of Biosciences at University of Birmingham is recruiting FIVE Assistant/Associate Profs in areas including fungal biology, plant science and bioengineering. Full details below 🍄🌾🧬🧫

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Alasdair Hubbard @dralhubb.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

🔔Seminar Opportunity🔔 We're looking for (self)recommendations for a Postdoc who is working in the area of AMR (any area, any discipline) to give an online seminar in May. Reply, DM or email me, there will more opportunities in the future as well so will be good to have a list. #MicroSky #AMR

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Willem van Schaik @wvschaik.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

I am deeply saddened by Jeff's passing. Jeff lived and breathed microbiology, and was still very much part of the microbiology community in @imibirmingham.bsky.social until a few weeks ago. He was supportive to students and staff and will be sorely missed by many, here in Birmingham and elsewhere

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Craig MacLean @craigmaclean.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

New #AMR pre-print Combining antibiotics with genotoxins can efficiently suppress bacterial in high throughput experimental models. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Fun collaboration with Nassos Typas lab led by @mulkern.bsky.social

biorxiv.org

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Michael Brockhurst @brockhurstlab.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

New PDRA position with @knightjar.bsky.social @coytelab.bsky.social & me Community assembly processes in soil microbiomes with focus on bioinformatics and computational modelling of data from field and lab experiments www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai...

jobs.manchester.ac.uk

'Research Associate in Microbiome Ecology:Manchester

We wish to appoint a PostDoctoral Research Associate to an exciting project exploring the assembly, stability and function of microbial decomposer communities.

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Syma Khalid @sykhalid.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

A gift of an article from the inimitable Colin Kleanthous as he says a moving farewell to his laboratory. A brave, unrepentant and scientifically brilliant journey is described - please have a read, friends. www.jbc.org/article/S002...

jbc.org

Bacteriocin biophysics: From protein-protein interaction models to navigators of the bacterial cell envelope

Bacteriocins are toxins deployed by bacteria to kill their competitors. Here, I reflect on my laboratory’s work on protein bacteriocins and their immunity proteins from Gram-negative bacteria. We unco...

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Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Scientists are concerned that curiosity-driven research is set to be further cut back after three research councils confirmed they have paused funding opportunities. @jgro-the.bsky.social reports #academicsky #researchfunding ow.ly/lpvO50Y67ku

ow.ly

Three UK research councils suspend funding opportunities

Temporary block on grant applications by MRC, BBSRC and EPSRC heightens concerns over funding cuts

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Alan McNally @alanmcn1.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Startling that this is being broadcast in the absence of any public communications by @ukri.org The academic community has a right to expect to be told first hand what is happening with response mode funding and what the immediate future looks like www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-r...

researchprofessionalnews.com

MRC instructs grant review boards to slash funding rates - Research Professional News

Boards asked to recommend just three applications for funding, as BBSRC also suspends calls

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Willem van Schaik @wvschaik.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

We are looking for new editors for Microbiology, the flagship journal of @microbiologysociety.org Deadline for applications is 16 Feb 2026 microbiologysociety.org/who-we-are/j...

microbiologysociety.org

Jobs

View the current job vacancies at the Microbiology Society.

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Rachel M. Wheatley @rachelmwheatley.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Application deadline for this postdoc position in my group closing next week 🦠 thank you all who have shared so far!

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Alan McNally @alanmcn1.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

This will forever carry the title of my 150th Pubmed indexed publication.......... well done @jessicamablair.bsky.social and @hannahpugh.bsky.social I loved this story from the start

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