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

This year, our best question awards go to Raquel, Ellen, Michelle, Maree, Wytamma, Jackie, and (with TWO top questions) Seweryn! We'll be in touch soon to get you your merch 🥳

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

The #MicroSeq2026 Innovation in Bioinformatics Award goes to Daniel McKnight, who presented an automated pipeline for molecular diagnostic assay design and evaluation! Our field depends on creative, innovative minds like yours. Congratulations Daniel! #MicroSeq2026

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

The people have spoken: Best Lightning Talk goes to Olivia Aitkens and Best Medium Talk goes to @gbouras13.bsky.social. Congratulations George and Olivia, it was a pleasure listening to your talks! #MicroSeq2026

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

Our Australasian Virology Society Award for Best Virology Talk goes to @mjohnpayne.bsky.social! Congratulations Michael, a fantastic presentation on some awesome #virology research. Thank you @ausvirologysoc.bsky.social for making this prize possible. #MicroSeq2026

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

Next up, our Australian Society for Microbiology Awards! Best Lightning Talk goes to @anitatarasenko.bsky.social, and Best Medium Talk to Véronique Paris again! Thanks to @aussocmic.bsky.social for sponsoring these prizes, and congratulations to Véronique and Anita! Very well-deserved. #MicroSeq2026

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

The very first Outstanding Outreach Award goes to… Véronique Paris, who presented their work on how community engagement has strengthened her research on mosquito genomics and public health. Fantastic work & congratulations winner! #MicroSeq2026

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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! 🥳

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

But you don't have to navigate this alone. Finding a diverse range of mentors for different parts of your career will be invaluable. Perhaps you even found one or two members of your "mentor mosaic" at #MicroSeq2026? 😉

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

Ebony suggests treating networking like another research project! No matter what your goals are after your PhD or first post-doc, building your network is critical for all of them 🤝

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

There are countless ways to get creative about sharing our science beyond research articles and scientific conferences, and many communities beyond academic ones that are just as (if not more) curious about your work!

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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!

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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! 🏅

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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!

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

Some valuable tips and career advice from Gustavo - #MicroSeq2026 - don't necessarily believe everything that's published/known - Let curiosity drive you 🫶

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

Common secretome pathways reveal a shared EFV-adapted physiological state across enteric pathogens 🦠

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

Protozoa can expel viable bacterial pathogens within membrane-bound expelled food vacuoles (EFVs), which protect bacteria from environmental stress and can enhance subsequent intestinal colonisation.

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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 🦠

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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

When reflecting on her career, Susana had great advice: - It's ok to be afraid - this is how you grow & learn! - Finding a mentor helps a lot - There is no set path - Be aware of your cognitive biases - You can't go wrong with a Simpsons meme Thanks for an amazing talk Susana! 🙌

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

When looking at Christmas Island flying fox viromes, Susana found limited RNA virus diversity. This is likely due to their small population size and geographic isolation from other species. It also shows that bats are not always major reservoirs for zoonotic viruses! 🦇

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

Viruses that infect parasites that infect hosts can be looked at as a "matryoshka"-type infection, where the virus is the smallest matryoshka doll, parasite the medium doll, and mammal the largest doll - what a fantastic analogy for hyperparasitism!

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

Susana started her scientific journey in Colombia working on antivirals, then moved onto Brazil to look at phylodynamics and intra-host diversity, and ended up here in Australia with Edward Holmes Group @sydney.edu.au uncovering virus diversity in wildlife!

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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 🗺️

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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.

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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 🤩

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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

Rhys advises our junior researchers at #MicroSeq2026 that the method is not the story. The question is.

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

AK3 in NZ is shaped by stepwise mobile DNA acquisition 🧬

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

Whole genome nanopore sequencing revealed that the strain stayed the same, but the resistance changed.

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