iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

And that’s a wrap on #MicroSeq2027! A huge thanks to all our brilliant presenters, fantastic chairs, and wonderfully engaged audience. We hope you all enjoyed the conference as much as we did, and can’t wait to see you next year at #MicroSeq2026!

130

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🏆It’s Prize Time!🏆 #MicroSeq2026 has lots of prizes on offer, generously sponsored by @aussocmic.bsky.social, @ausvirologysoc.bsky.social, and Microbial Genomics #MGen. Not to mention, some real cool merch on offer for our best questions from each session! 🥳

130

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

@ebony-monson.bsky.social is #MicroSeq2026’s very first Outreach Keynote speaker 📢 A true expert and role model in science communication, Ebony posits that “your science is too interesting to stay in the lab” - and what we can do about it!

110

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Session 2.4 is about to start - our FINAL session for #MicroSeq2026 😭 This session is chaired by Jackie Mahar and we’re being treated to a plenary talk by Dr @ebony-monson.bsky.social. After that - prizes! 🏅

010

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🧬Raquel Cooper closes out our ECR talks for #MicroSeq2026 with valuable insights into reproducibility and consistency of #WGS despite years of changes in wet lab workflows, #sequencing technologies, and #bioinformatic pipelines. What a positive note to end on!

010

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🏥Olivia Aitkens showcases the utility of targeted #NGS in detecting bacterial infections in hospital settings, an avenue of surveillance particularly critical for vulnerable patients with suspected treatment failure. #MicroSeq2026 #publichealth #metagenomics

110

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🦪 Next up, Jess Gibbs takes a deep dive into the #microbiome of Sydney Rock Oysters, characterising their response to bacteria challenges & identifying the antimicrobial defence mechanisms and functional pathways in marine animal microbiota. #MicroSeq2026 #oysters #marinebiology

110

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

💾Keeping the #bioinformatics trend going, Budi Permana presents BLITSFR, a command-line tool querying genomes against references (eg. BLAST) but returns an interactive HTML output file for users to explore conserved & variable regions across the genome! #MicroSeq2026 #datavis

110

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🖥️Our final medium speaker for #MicroSeq2026 is @gbouras13.bsky.social, introducing Baktfold, which integrates protein structure into the #automated functional annotation of microbial genomes at higher sensitivity than any existing methods - especially for #archaea! #bioinformatics

141

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🐄 Zain Ul Abedien presents a comprehensive analysis of associations between bacteria, parasites, viruses, bacterial #virulence factors, and AMR genes in the GI systems of dairy calves at different ages and health status #MicroSeq2026 #agriculture #ecoli

110

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Our fourth plenary for #MicroSeq2026 is Dr Gustavo Espinoza-Vergara from AIMI (UTS), outlining how single-cell & proteomic approaches can reveal the environmental interactions shaping bacterial persistence and transmission in the face of protozoan predation 🦠

100

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Session 2.3 is PACKED! We have our 4th plenary speaker, Dr Gustavo Espinoza-Vergara, followed by talks from Zain Ul Abedien, @gbouras13.bsky.social, Budi Permana, Jess Gibbs, Olivia Aitkens, & Raquel Cooper, all chaired by @clairegorrie.bsky.social & Xinyuan Zhu.

010

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🐄Kiem Adi Budiman rounds out the session, providing a valuable technical framework for using the #metagenomic profiling of cattle to identify promising molecular targets for suppressing methane production. Great contributions towards sustainability! #MicroSeq2026 #agriculture

010

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🧢Shai Strampel demonstrates the utility of high-throughput RNA sequencing to reveal RNA packaging dynamics and design cross-platform RNA delivery vehicles. #MicroSeq2026 #capsid #bacteriophage

020

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

💊 @anitatarasenko.bsky.social combines #WGS & phenotyping to characterise the bacteria vs phage dynamics of #Achromobacter infections in cystic fibrosis patients - implications for the development of precision phage therapy against multidrug-resistant pathogens. #MicroSeq2026 #cysticfibrosis

122

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🦠Lucy Patterson now combs through the precise genetic differences that can make-or-break #Acinetobacter baumannii lineages’ ability to infect cells, spread globally, and become resistant to antibiotics. #MicroSeq2026 #antimicrobialresistance #bacteria #pathogen

121

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🫁Tune in for Sarah Smith taking us through a culture-free method to detect & serotype #Streptococcus pneumoniae, and how this approach can help understand #vaccine effectiveness and molecular #epidemiology of the pathogen! #MicroSeq2026

010

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Session 2.2 features talks from Sarah Smith, Kiem Adi Budiman, Lucy Patterson, @anitatarasenko.bsky.social, and Shai Strampel. Our chairs for this session are Cuong Han & Pappu Mandal.

010

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

🦟Our first medium talk of #MicroSeq2026 Day 2 is Véronique Paris @mozzienique.bsky.social, talking about how community #outreach has elevated her research on mosquito-borne pathogens, and the importance of collaborating with communities most affected by them. #scicomm #mosquito #publichealth

120

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Starting #MicroSeq2026 Day 2 strong with our plenary speaker, @susanaortizb.bsky.social. A virologist at @sydney.edu.au, today Susana is taking us through the hidden world of metazoan RNA viruses 🗺️

210

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Session 2.1 of #MicroSeq2026 will start with a plenary presentation from Dr @susanaortizb.bsky.social, followed by our first medium talk of the day from Veronique Paris. @lrnlm.bsky.social is chairing this session.

000

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Good morning and welcome to Day 2 of #MicroSeq2026! We hope you’re all well-rested and ready for some great science! We have another 12 brilliant #ECR talks lined up today, along with 3 more incredible plenary speakers 🤩

100

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

What a great day of fantastic science at #MicroSeq2026! 🥳 Thank you to all our presenters and volunteer chairs for making all four sessions today so excellent. And thank you to all our participants for being so engaged, curious, and welcoming! Can't wait for tomorrow~

120

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

🧬Wrapping up our last set of lightning talks today is Tilini De Silva, who identified a microRNA #biomarker signature that can pick up acute Q fever samples with 90% accuracy! Great work being done on an understudied pathogen. #MicroSeq2026 #diagnostics

110

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

🦠Next up, Shiun Low reveals candidate genetic markers that could drive tissue tropism and infection mechanics in Group A #Streptococcus, identified from a data set of >2k genomes from Oceania! #MicroSeq2026 #bacteria #tropism #pathenogenesis

110

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

💻Daniel McKnight introduces an open-source, user-friendly pipeline that automates oligonucleotide design for platforms like CRISPR gRNA assays - bridging the gap between public data and practical diagnostics in #biosecurity & #agriculture! #MicroSeq2026 #bioinformatics

130

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

🕰️Lightning talk time! @eradah.bsky.social takes us through a 27 year journey of #Acinetobacter baumannii diversity, clonal spread, and population structures across the Middle East. #MicroSeq2026 #bacteria #epidemiology #antimicrobialresistance

142

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

🩺Ravi Naidu highlights the determinants of #Carbapenem resistance in Pacific Islands health systems and how #WGS is valuable for surveillance, investigation, and monitoring of emerging #Acinetobacter lineages. #MicroSeq2026 #epidemiology

141

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

🐝Paul Worden describes some very interesting trends in the genetic variation of American foulbrood across Australian apiaries compared to European genomes - implications for our bees! #MicroSeq2026 #Americanfoulbrood #bees

010

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

What a day! #MicroSeq2026 Day 1 is finishing strong with medium talks from Paul Worden and Ravi Naidu and lightning talks from @eradah.bsky.social , Daniel McKnight, Shiun Low, and Tilini De Silva. Our chairs are Zain Ul Abedien & Raquel Cooper.

131

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

🐔Chathuri Rodrigo explores the genetic diversity of #Ornithobacterium species associated with upper resp. infections in poultry. Sure to improve for diagnostics & surveillance in #agriculture! #MicroSeq2026 #poultry #bacteria

020

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

🧬Matthieu Pot outlines the trends in population structure, resistance dynamics, and dissemination pathways observed in a collection of >6k Haemophilus influenzae genomes. So many factors at play! #MicroSeq2026 #resistance #haemophilus

031

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Our next #MicroSeq2026 plenary speaker is Dr Rhys White from PHF Science, NZ. He’s telling us about mobile genetic elements can provide more complete views of how bacterial pathogens emerge, spread, and persist 🧬

121

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Back from lunch 🥪 Onto session 1.3 of #MicroSeq2026 now! Get ready for our second plenary speaker Dr Rhys White, and two medium ECR talks from Matthieu Pot and Chathuri Rodgrigo. Our chairs for this session are Jia Qi Beh & Laura Boelsen

020

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

🐖Our final lightning speaker Patrick Mileto summarises the current and developing molecular diagnostic techniques used to detect, characterise, and rapidly respond to to African swine fever virus! #MicroSeq2026 #AfricanSwineFever #agriculture

030

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

🦘Next up, Aqsa Batool describes the fascinating landscape of genetic variation in marsupial herpesviruses - sure to have positive impacts towards #conservation efforts for captive macropods! #MicroSeq2026 #marsupials #herpesvirus

042

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

🧬Keeping up the virus momentum, Clara Maurizzi gives us the run-down on the genetic characteristics of Japanese encephalitis virus driving diversification spread into previously non-endemic areas. #MicroSeq2026 #JEV #arbovirus #diversity

020

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

🫒Kira Lowe gives us a comprehensive overview of oliveTree, a newly developed R package, aimed at enabling users to annotate gene gain and loss in phylogenetic trees. Sure to be an asset in outbreak investigations and One Health studies! #MicroSeq2026 #R #phylogenetics

064

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

👀Tune in for @zunairkhm.bsky.social, unveilling the role of the gut microbiome in patient response to dietary interventions aimed at treating MacTel, a metabolic-associated hereditary vision-loss disorder. #MicroSeq2026 #microbiome #guthealth #visionloss

140

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

📈First up, @mjohnpayne.bsky.social presents DAMPA, a user-friendly pipeline to design optimal probesets using evolutionary relationships between targeted loci. Check it out! #MicroSeq2026 #bioinformatics #probes #viruses

130

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Welcome back to session 1.2 of #MicroSeq2026! We’ll hear from @mjohnpayne.bsky.social, @zunairkhm.bsky.social, Kira Lowe, Clara Maurizzi, Aqsa Batool, and Patrick Mileto, all chaired by Chathuro Rodrigo & Imadh Abdul Azeez. Let’s get into it!

130

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Fantastic Session 1.1 of #MicroSeq2026! We had our first plenary, Dr Ash Porter, followed by Jacqui Morris. Angela McLaughlin chaired this session wonderfully.

130

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Our first medium-length talk comes from Jacqui Morris, giving us some valuable insights on the genetic diversity of H9N2 avian #influenza viruses 🐔 #MicroSeq2026

140

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Kicking off #MicroSeq2026 is Dr Ash Porter from Dalhousie🇨🇦 - talking to us about using public repositories and natural history collections to identify novel viral lineages.

121

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

#MicroSeq2026 is here! It’s going to be an INCREDIBLE conference full of amazing talks from microbe-obsessed #ECRs 🤩 Day 1 has 18 talks, including 2 fantastic plenary speakers! Let’s go!

231

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

✨🥳🎉MICROSEQ STARTS TOMORROW!!🎉🥳✨ It’s finally here! #MicroSeq2026 officially kicks off tomorrow at 10:30am AEST. Registration is open until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT so this is your last chance to get involved! trybooking.com/DNRBW

MicroSeq starts tomorrow! MicroSeq2026 is an online meeting being held on September 2nd and 3rd, focused on research being conducted on sequencing data generated from microbiological samples (bacteria, fungi, and viruses). MicroSeq2026 is supported by The Australian Society for Microbiology, the Australasian Virology Society, and Microbial Genomics. Registration open until 11:59pm, September 1st, 2026. Participants can register at microseqconference.com.

111

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

✨ #MicroSeq2026 Plenary Highlight! ✨ 🧵(1/4) Dr @ebony-monson.bsky.social is an NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow based at La Trobe. Her research career has been nothing short of incredible, with ~$950k in research funding secured, 20 publications, and >40 awards - all within the last 5 years!

A portrait of Dr Ebony Monson decorated with cartoons of microbes. Dr Ebony Monson is based at La Trobe University and will be speaking at the MicroSeq online conference.

231

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Only ONE more week to #MicroSeq2026! 🤩 The conference booklet (incl. schedule) will be released this Friday. Registration is open until 11:59pm September 1, so there's still plenty of time to join the fun! Don't miss out! Register here 👉 trybooking.com/DNRBW

One week to MicroSeq! MicroSeq2026 is an online meeting being held on September 2nd and 3rd, focused on research being conducted on sequencing data generated from microbiological samples (bacteria, fungi, and viruses). MicroSeq2026 is supported by The Australian Society for Microbiology, the Australasian Virology Society, and Microbial Genomics. Registration open until 11:59pm, September 1st, 2026. Participants can register at microseqconference.com.

121

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

✨ #MicroSeq2026 Plenary Highlight! ✨ 🧵(1/4) Dr Gustavo Espinoza-Vergara is an ARC DECRA Fellow with a focus on how environmental protozoa can influence bacterial persistence, transmission and infectivity. Register 👉 trybooking.com/DNRBW

A portrait of Dr Gustavo Espinoza-Vergara decorated with cartoons of microbes. Dr Gustavo Espinoza-Vergara is based at the University of Technology Sydney and will be speaking at the MicroSeq online conference.

241

MicroSeq2026 @microseqasm.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

✨ #MicroSeq2026 Plenary Highlight! ✨ 🧵(1/4) Dr Susana Ortiz-Baez's work on virus evolution and ecology combines curiosity, science, and a "healthy respect for things too small to see but powerful enough to cause a global pandemic". Register 👉 trybooking.com/DNRBW

A portrait of Dr Susana Ortiz-Baez decorated with cartoons of microbes. Dr Susana Ortiz-Baez is based at The University of Sydney and will be speaking at the MicroSeq online conference.

240