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Manu De Rycker

@mdr-ddu.bsky.social
162 followers 61 following 32 posts

Head of Biology in the Drug Discovery Unit at the University of Dundee. Portfolio leader for kinetoplastid and antifungal drug discovery. Passionate about developing new treatments for Neglected Tropical Diseases.

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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
Our #Trypanosoma cruzi single-cell atlas paper is now available online! Great work by Ross Laidlaw and Marta Garcia Sanchez, and excellent collaboration with Thomas Otto! rdcu.be/flOWR @ddu-dundee.bsky.social, @dundeeuni.bsky.social #single-cell, #Chagas, #atlas, #trypanosome, #scRNA-seq 🧪🔬
rdcu.be
Trypanosoma cruzi cell atlas as a single-cell resource for understanding parasite population heterogeneity and differentiation
Nature Communications - Here, Laidlaw, Garcia Sanchez and colleagues present a single-cell atlas for Trypanosoma cruzi, an important protozoan pathogen, providing insights into cell heterogeneity,...
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Scottish Funding Council @scotfundcouncil.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
World Chagas Disease Day acts as a reminder of a global health challenge that often goes unnoticed. In our latest blog, Manu De Rycker from the @dundee.ac.uk shares what his team are doing to combat this disease. #ChagasDisease www.sfc.ac.uk/inside-the-u...
sfc.ac.uk
Inside the University of Dundee’s long‑term fight against Chagas disease - Scottish Funding Council
World Chagas Disease Day acts as a reminder of a global health challenge that often goes unnoticed. Manu De Rycker shares what his team are doing to combat this disease.
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WHO @who.int · 14/04/2026
Today is World #ChagasDisease Day. For too long, women have been stigmatized for a disease they didn't choose. Most were infected the same way as everyone else by insect transmission, contaminated food, or other routes. It's time to replace stigma with support. 🧡 Learn more 👉 bit.ly/4cIYv4I
Graphic showing a seated woman with her head down, alongside text reading: “For too long, women have been blamed as a source of Chagas disease.” An icon of the insect vector appears beside her. A red banner at the bottom reads: “It’s time to shift the story.”
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Infectious Diseases @infectiousdz.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Just as the world needs global health the most, we are losing 20th century visionaries. Foege, Hinman, and now Nick White. Sir Nick White transformed malaria treatment with data on artemisinin. Billions treated, millions saved Mentor to many @MORUBangkok @OUCRU_Vietnam @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social
ndm.ox.ac.uk
Professor Sir Nicholas White OBE KCMG FRS
The University of Oxford and the Nuffield Department of Medicine greatly mourn the death of Professor Sir Nicholas White, a distinguished clinician and scientist who was internationally recognised as ...
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
Hot off the press: our Target Product Profile to support the development of new medicines to treat #cryptococcal disease: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #cryptococcus, #drugdiscovery, #meningitis @ddu-dundee.bsky.social, @gsk.bsky.social, @dndi.org and many others 🧪
sciencedirect.com
Target product profile and discovery and development path for novel cryptococcal disease treatments
Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii are World Health Organization critical and medium priority pathogens, respectively. These mainly impac…
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 16/09/2025
#Chagas disease remains very neglected, and not only in the US, in spite of an estimated 8 million people being infected with T. cruzi. We, and our collaborators, aim to develop new medicines, but this is becoming increasingly challenging due to lack of funding. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
theguardian.com
‘Kissing bug’ disease should be treated as endemic in US, scientists say
People in at least eight states have been infected with Chagas, new report says, amid low awareness of disease
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Great opportunity to join our multi-partner collaboration to develop much needed new #antifungal drugs! #jobs, #drugdiscovery, #Cryptococcus, #Candida @mrccmm.bsky.social @ddu-dundee.bsky.social @labwyllie.bsky.social @glaxosmithkline.bsky.social
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Delighted to announce a £17.9 million award from @wellcometrust.bsky.social for the development of new antifungal treatments to a consortium of @ddu-dundee.bsky.social, @labwyllie.bsky.social, @mrccmm.bsky.social and GSK. #Cryptococcus #Candida #drugdiscovery #antifungal 🧪 tinyurl.com/wywtkpsx
tinyurl.com
£17.9m research grant to discover new treatments for fungal diseases
A team of leading infectious disease scientists from academia and industry have been awarded £17.9 million to identify new drugs to treat fungal infections
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
Great to have a latest #Chagas disease drug discovery paper published in @rsc.org MedChem: pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a... This work highlights how we decide to progress or terminate series, and hopefully provides some useful approaches and lessons. @ddu-dundee.bsky.social 🧪 #NTD #drugdiscovery
pubs.rsc.org
Structure–activity relationships of 1,5-dihydro-2H-benzo[b][1,4]diazepine-2,4(3H)-diones as inhibitors of Trypanosoma cruzi
Chagas disease, caused by infection with the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), is responsible for a large health burden with around 6–8 million people infected globally. The current dru...
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Neil Gow @neil-gow.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Please repost: We have a postdoc position in Antifungal Immunity Research available to study T cell responses and fungal sensitization in atopic dermatitis. @lableibundgut.bsky.social @neil-gow.bsky.social @mrccmm.bsky.social For more details, visit: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
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Neil Gow @neil-gow.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Please repost: We have a postdoc position in Fungal Cell Wall Research available to study the Malassezia-host interaction interface in the context of atopic dermatitis. @lableibundgut.bsky.social @neil-gow.bsky.social @mrccmm.bsky.social For more details, visit: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
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Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) @dndi.org · 20/05/2025
We're proud to share our new short film shot in Colombia’s #SierraNevada where the Indigenous Wiwa people live with some of the highest rates of #Chagas disease in the world. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIo7...
youtube.com
The Children of the Sierra
YouTube video by Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)
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Swiss TPH @swisstph.ch · 22/05/2025
Yesterday, over 200 guests joined us at Swiss TPH to celebrate the legacy in of our former Director, Marcel Tanner, at the launch of his biography. As #GlobalHealth funding declines & partnerships face pressure, the event served as a reminder to work together to ensure continued progress in health.
swisstph.ch
A Life for Global Health: Book Launch Celebrates Marcel Tanner’s Legacy
Over 200 guests gathered at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) in Allschwil today to celebrate the launch of Marcel Tanner’s biography. The festive event...
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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
My colleague @mgerver.bsky.social has created this open letter to Keir Starmer opposing the measures announced in last week's Immigration White Paper, on economic, political and moral grounds. Open to all academics/researchers to sign. molliegerver.weebly.com/petition.html
molliegerver.weebly.com
Petition
An Open Letter to Keir Starmer We, the undersigned, strongly advise against the proposed changes to the UK immigration system of May 12, 2025, and your associated rhetoric. We are UK-based academics.....
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Happy to announce that today we start a new #Chagas drug discovery project, funded by MRC @ukri.org. In this project we will be carrying out lead optimisation on a series of squalene synthase inhibitors. More info at: gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref... 🧪 @ddu-dundee.bsky.social #UniversityOfDundee
gtr.ukri.org
Gateway to Research (GtR) - Explore publicly funded research
The Gateway to Research: UKRI portal onto publically funded research
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WHO @who.int · 06/03/2025
Early reports to WHO from the 30 highest #tuberculosis (TB)-burden countries confirm that funding cuts from foreign aid, particularly from USAID, are already dismantling essential TB services. Without urgent action, these setbacks will reverse decades of progress to #EndTB 🔗 bit.ly/4kvsu2i
Funding cuts impact access to tuberculosis (TB) services for millions.
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
Great opportunity to come and be part of our #tuberculosis drug discovery team. This position will be responsible for integrating data from our #TB collaborators with our internal results (medchem, structural biology and pharmacokinetics). #drugdiscovery, #jobs, #science 🧪
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Opening for a post-doctoral position in Michael Lewis’ lab at @uni-of-warwick.bsky.social. Great opportunity for those interested in working on Trypanosoma cruzi biology and #Chagas pathogenesis! 🧪 #jobs, #NTD, #Trypanosoma www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DMA372/r...
jobs.ac.uk
Research Fellow (110168-0225) at University of Warwick
An academic position as a Research Fellow (110168-0225) is being advertised on jobs.ac.uk. Click now to find more details and explore additional academic job opportunities.
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Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) @dndi.org · 30/01/2025
🎉 This #WorldNTDDay we celebrate Guinea for successfully eliminating sleeping sickness! 👏 📽️ Watch our movie, created in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, @ird-fr.bsky.social and Institut Pasteur de Guinée produced by Moronga Films. bit.ly/guineafilm-en #EndTheNeglect #BeatNTDs
bit.ly
Bölët Mouna | Ending Sleeping Sickness in Guinea
Bölët Mouna means ‘sleeping sickness no more’ in Guinea’s national language Susu and tells the story of how research, innovation, and science are ending the the nightmare of sleeping sickness in Guinea. In January 2025 Guinea announced that it had eliminated sleeping sickness as a public health problem. This is the first disease that the country can claim to have eliminated and a major milestone in the Africa-wide campaign to eliminate sleeping sickness. The National Sleeping Sickness Programme in Guinea and its international partners – among them the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD), the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), and the Institute Pasteur – have used all the tools at their disposal to achieve this milestone: small ‘tiny traps’ that dot the mangrove coasts of Guinea, rapid diagnostic tests, and revolutionary new medicines that are changing how doctors treat their patients. Read more about this achievement: https://stories.dndi.org/boletmouna/ Regarder en français: https://youtu.be/0S-ZSNcQEvY The Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) is an international non-profit developing safe, effective, and affordable treatments for the most neglected patients. https://dndi.org
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WHO @who.int · 28/01/2025
🧵 STATEMENT: WHO expresses deep concern on the implications of the immediate funding pause for #HIV programmes in low- and middle-income countries. These programmes provide access to life-saving HIV therapy to more than 30 million people worldwide. Read more bit.ly/42yxxIz 1/5
WHO statement on potential global threat to people living with HIV
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Peter Kenny @pwk2024.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Opportunity for #DrugDiscovery data scientist at DNDi (Rio de Janeiro Brazil) ref: 2025-1199 #DataScience #cheminformatics #NTD #infection #Chagas #leishmaniasis #HepC #dengue 🧪 careers-dndi.icims.com/jobs/1199/di...
careers-dndi.icims.com
Working at DNDi | DNDi
At DNDi, our work begins with our people: we aim to recruit people who both reflect and understand the diversity of needs and experiences of those we serve.
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
New version of our #Trypanosoma cruzi pre-print is now online. Includes new analysis on UTR complexity and reveals cell-specific repertoires for surface protein families, which may play an important role in the immune evasion strategy of this pathogen. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
biorxiv.org
The Trypanosoma cruzi cell atlas; a single-cell resource for understanding parasite population heterogeneity and differentiation.
Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, exhibits a complex life cycle with multiple hosts, stages and differentiation steps. We present a complete cell atlas for the T. cruzi life cy...
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
Great to see the final version of our latest paper now published! We recombinantly produced the #Trypanosoma cruzi #proteasome, determined its cryo-EM structure, revealed substrate promiscuity and generated multiple mutants for better pharmacological understanding. www.jbc.org/article/S002... 🧪
jbc.org
Pharmacological and structural understanding of the Trypanosoma cruzi proteasome provides key insights for developing site-specific inhibitors
The proteasome is considered an excellent drug target for many infectious diseases as well as cancer. Challenges with robust and safe supply of proteasomes from infectious agents, lack of structural information, and complex pharmacology due to multiple active sites have hampered progress in the infectious disease space. We recombinantly expressed the proteasome of the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, the causative agent of Chagas disease, and demonstrate pharmacological equivalence to the native T. cruzi proteasome.
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
For anybody with an interest in cryptococcal meningitis. #cryptococcus #meningitis #fungal 🧪
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Science Magazine @science.org · 12/12/2024
Science’s 2024 Breakthrough of the Year is lenacapavir, an injectable drug that demonstrated remarkable success at preventing HIV infection with one shot every 6 months. Learn more about this year's #BOTY and other big advances in science: scim.ag/3BrCtUn
Science’s 2024 Breakthrough of the Year is lenacapavir, an injectable drug that demonstrated remarkable success at preventing HIV infection with one shot every 6 months. The drug attaches to the lattice-like capsid proteins that shield the virus’s genetic material—a mechanism that could inspire other antivirals. Lenacapavir could help end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, but that will hinge on access for those who need it most.
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
Excellent science teaching resource, building on the fascinating story of the discovery of #Trypanosoma cruzi and its vector by Carlos #Chagas.
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British Society for Parasitology @bspparasitology.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
🚨 Multiple #parasite -based PhD opportunities from the EastBio Doctoral Training Programme at Edinburgh Uni! 🚨 - Deadline for all are the 17th Jan '25 1. Trypanosoma co-infections: tinyurl.com/vyv855kw 2. Mitochondrial genome complexity in #trypanosoma: tinyurl.com/c6hk652f #Parasitology #ntds
tinyurl.com
EastBio: Keeping up with the Joneses: how do trypanosome parasites adapt to coinfection with other trypanosomes? at University of Edinburgh on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - EastBio: Keeping up with the Joneses: how do trypanosome parasites adapt to coinfection with other trypanosomes? at University of Edinburgh, listed on FindAPhD.com
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British Society for Parasitology @bspparasitology.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
🚨 Save the Date - BSP Specialist #Kinetoplastid meeting in Czechia! 🚨 - 𝟭-𝟰𝘁𝗵 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 - #Trypanosoma & #Leishmania biology and epidemiology - More details to come at tinyurl.com/mpr88zed - Followed by a mini-symposium to celebrate Prof Alan Fairlamb's achievements in the field! #parasitology
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
The University of Dundee Drug Discovery Unit is now on Bluesky, find us @ddu-dundee.bsky.social! We are over 100 scientists focused on developing new treatments for tropical infectious diseases, new approaches for #drugdiscovery and proof of concept for novel targets. 🧪 drugdiscovery.dundee.ac.uk
drugdiscovery.dundee.ac.uk
Drug Discovery Unit - Drug Discovery Unit • Scotland, Dundee
The DDU tackles unmet medical needs through small molecule drug discovery, bridging the gap between academic scientific research and commercial drug development
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Delighted that our work on the Trypanosoma cruzi #proteasome is now accepted by The Journal Of Biological Chemistry and available online!🧪 www.jbc.org/article/S002...
jbc.org
Pharmacological and structural understanding of the Trypanosoma cruzi proteasome provides key insights for developing site-specific inhibitors
The proteasome is considered an excellent drug target for many infectious diseases as well as cancer. Challenges with robust and safe supply of proteasomes from infectious agents, lack of structural i...
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
More than 300,000 people are estimated to live with #Chagas disease in the USA, but the disease remains very much neglected with very few people being diagnosed or treated. Excellent video with from @dndi.org illustrating the problem. 🧪 youtu.be/WTdIYOLozFk?...
youtu.be
The Kissing Bug Doctors of Florida #Film4Health
YouTube video by Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative
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Pradeepa Madapura @pradeepmadapura.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Yes!! Now Bluesky data is on BioRxiv Altmetric
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Brandy Zadrozny @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
New: Recordings from private autism conferences show Trump HHS pick Robert F. Kennedy Jr. vilifying & conspiracy theorizing about agencies he's set to lead. Videos show RFK Jr comparing CDC vaccine programs to "Nazi death camps" & calling for researchers to be jailed. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
nbcnews.com
RFK Jr. attacked the CDC’s ‘fascism’ and likened vaccinating children to abuse by the Catholic Church
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, also argued for jailing vaccine scientists in previously unreported comments at autism conferences.
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
Still time to apply for the #GRC conference "Basic and Clinical Research Strategies for Tackling Tropical Infectious Diseases in a Globalized World". February 2 - 7, 2025. Great line up of speakers covering fungal, parasitic and bacterial diseases. #NTDs www.grc.org/tropical-inf...
grc.org
2025 Tropical Infectious Diseases Conference GRC
The 2025 Gordon Research Conference on Tropical Infectious Diseases will be held in Lucca (Barga), Lucca Italy. Apply today to reserve your spot.
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Manu De Rycker @mdr-ddu.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Excellent review by Michail Lionakis and Anuradha Chowdhary on Candida auris, potentially one of the first new human pathogens emerging as a result of climate change. www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.... #antifungals, #NEJM
nejm.org
Candida auris Infections | NEJM
C. auris, a serious public health threat that may have emerged because of climate change, persists on human skin and inanimate objects, frequently causing difficult-to-control outbreaks in health c...
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Anouk Gouvras @scianouk.bsky.social · 10/11/2024
Following the trend I have created a starter pack of and for people working on Neglected Tropical Diseases. Please let me know who else to add! go.bsky.app/KEwytqr
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