iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

Just received this interesting work about assessment, didactics, learning and developing (in Dutch). I hope to obtain some interesting insights from it that I can use as a teacher. Looking forward to reading it. #teaching #didactics #education

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Amazing northern lights last Monday and Tuesday in the Netherlands. #aurora #northernlight

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

A very nice talk by Aileen at the BioSB HotTopics & NIME microbial ecology symposium on Fusarium plant pathogens in tortoise leaf beetle symbiosis. Fusarium protects the beetle against predation and the beetle acts as a plant pathogen vector. @berasymbionts.bsky.social #symbiosis #insects #fusarium

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

A little bit of northern lights in the Netherlands tonight #northernlights #aurora #noorderlicht

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

What I did last weekend? I Collected 182 invasive pest insects for my research. #SouthernGreenShieldbug #Nezaraviridula #Entomology #PlantScience #Stinkbug

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Incredible flower of my Stapelia hybrid carrion plant. Yes she stinks, but it is all woth it. #carrionflower #Stapelia #plant

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 01/08/2025

Incredible to see the great camouflage of this shark moth (Cucullia umbratica). #insects #Entomology #moths

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

The Plant-Microbe Interactions group of @cornepieterse.bsky.social was well represented at #2025ISMPMI. Great to see all the interesting work that they do during one of the final presentations. @svanwees.bsky.social, @rlberendsen.bsky.social, @arsheed-sheikh.bsky.social #plantscience

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

Even the chairs at our hotel are really sciency #2025ISMPMI

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Last session of the day, starting at 21:00. Very long day at #2025ISMPMI.

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

It was a pleasure to present our work on ‘the role of pest-associated microbes in insect-plant interactions’ at the #2025ISMPMI congress in Cologne. @mrogowska.bsky.social, @cuwelte.bsky.social, @robertsjansen.bsky.social, @guidopmi.bsky.social

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Nice tags for different occasions during #2025ISMPMI

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Nice and visual talk by Soyon Park about parasitic plant bidirectional communication with their host plant. #2025ISMPMI #parasiticplants #plantscience

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Another rare animal living in our garden (Achterhoek, the Netherlands), the paper wasp Polistes nimpha. #paperwasp #wasps #entomology #biodiversity

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Reposted by Silvia Coolen

UU Plants @uuplants.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

Save the date! The 2026 edition of UU Summer School in Environmental Signaling in Plants will be on 24th-26th August 2026! @epsgraduateschool.bsky.social @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social

Advert that reads:
13th Utrecht PhD Summer School
Environmental Signaling in Plants
Utrecht University, Netherlands
August 24th-26th 2026

Affiliated logos:
SummerSchool Utrecht
Universiteit Utrecht
UU Plants
Experimental Plant Sciences
Graduate School of Life Sciences

Photo of Utrecht cathedral (Dom) tower.

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Really cool talk by Talia Karasov on how headless phages (tailocins) kill non-self bacteria, shaping bacterial populations. #2025MPMI #plantscience #microbiology #phages

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 16/07/2025

Come and find me today at my #2025ISMPMI poster (nr 235) if you are interested in insect-associated microbes and their effect on insect-plant interactions. #plantscience #insectscience

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

Come and find me at my poster (Wed 13:30-15:15, P-235) or at my talk on “the role of pest-associated microbes in insect-plant interactions” (Wed 16:15, room P+Q). #2025MPMI #plantscience #insectscience

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

How the choice of words makes insect excrement research sound fancy “frassomics”. Finally an insect talk at #2025ISMPMI congress by Dapeng Li. #plantscience #insectscience

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

Amazing talk by Xin Li about Sclerotinia (plant pathogen) ascospores that have two nuclei to house their chromosomes. Also another plant pathogen, Botrytis, has multiple nuclei. I never realized this! Really cool to see how having two nuclei functions in mitosis and meiosis. #2025MPMI

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

Enjoying the evening with Translational Plant Biology colleagues at the Rhine river in Cologne after an inspiring day of #2025ISMPMI congress. #plantscience

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Amazing to see so many (~1280) dedicated plant scientists following all the talks in an intense #2025ISMPMI program.

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Really interesting talk by Macarena about how Pseudomonas can colonize root nodules and how it influences nitrogen fixation #2025ISMPMI

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

There we go, #2025ISMPMI congress on molecular plant-microbe interactions. #plantscience

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

On my way to #2025ISMPMI congress (Cologne, Germany) by train from Ruurlo the Netherlands. #plantscience

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 29/06/2025

No better way for a biologist to start the summer holiday. Bought myself a new camera (Nikon Z8 + 105mm) and photograped the very rare thick-headed fly (Abrachyglossum capitatum) and the rare European treefrog (Hyla arborea) in my garden. #Nikon #biology #treefrog #diptera

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Look at these beautiful box bug nymphs (Gonocerus acuteangulatus)! They look like small dragons with spikes on their backs. #insects #shieldbugs

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

Just love going out into the garden and explore nature….this is crown rust (Puccinia coronata), a pathogen to many oats, on its alternative host glossy buckthorn (Fangula alnus). Isn’t it beautiful? #phytopathology #plantpathogen #crownrust #Puccinia

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Check out the #FEMSmicroBlog from Magda on our insect symbiont Sodalis nezarae, isolated from the Southern green schieldbug. #microbiology #entomology #symbiont #science @mrogowska.bsky.social @cuwelte.bsky.social @robertsjansen.bsky.social

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

Northern lights in the Netherlands right now. So beautiful! #aurora

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

I’m honored to give a talk on ‘the role of pest-associated microbes in insect-plant interactions’ at the ‘International Society for Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions’ congress in Cologne (July). #MPMI @mrogowska.bsky.social, @cuwelte.bsky.social, @robertsjansen.bsky.social, @guidopmi.bsky.social

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

Last Tuesday I chaired an amazing session on plant-insect interactions at the annual Experimental Plant Sciences (EPS) meeting in Egmond aan zee (the Netherlands). Talks on microbes associated with insects and how they influences interactions #entomology #plantscience @epsgraduateschool.bsky.social

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Aurora last night in the Netherlands (Hengelo, Gelderland). Hoping to see more tonight. #aurora #northernlights

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

Love it when you are growing an Arabidopsis collection and they all have different shapes, sizes an colors! #Arabidopsis #plantscience

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

Check out our latest work on the genome and localization of bacterial symbiont Sodalis nezarea in the pest insect Nezara viridula. @mrogowska.bsky.social, @robertsjansen.bsky.social , @cuwelte.bsky.social, @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social, @ribesresearch.bsky.social, #Nezara, #shieldbug #Symbiosis

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Reposted by Silvia Coolen

FEMS Journals @femsjournals.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Novel insights into the factors that shape insect gut microbial communities were found! Rogowska-van der Molen et al. demonstrate that N.viridula harbors toxin-degrading bacteria that could support its resistance to plant defenses. academic.oup.com/femsec/article/100…

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 09/12/2024

So therapeutic to be in the lab after a lot of teaching. Growing insect-associated microbes for new experiments. #nezaraviridula #pestinsect #microbes #symbionts #plantresearch

Lab bench with agarplates, medium and microbes

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Reposted by Silvia Coolen

Corné Pieterse @cornepieterse.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

We have a vacancy for a PhD position with our recently started PMI PI @arsheed-sheikh.bsky.social at Utrecht University. Please apply via: www.uu.nl/en/organisat...

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

While cleaning up my garden photographs from the past year I came across this beautiful box bug (Gonocerus acuteangulatus) early instar nymph. They are so cool with their back spikes! @hvanpelt.bsky.social #shieldbug #insect #cutebugs

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 22/11/2024

Curious about my research? Check out my #wordcloud from #Scholar_Goggler.

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Check out our latest work on degradation of a toxic plant metabolite by the microbial community of an invasive pest insect. Detoxification depends on the microbial species and many synergistic and competitive interactions are going on. #Nezara_viridula #Insect #Plant #Science

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

Good morning #BlueSky! On my way to work. Today a master intern will start her internship with me studying how insect-associated microbes influence Insect-plant interactions. #science

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Silvia Coolen @scoolen.bsky.social · 15/11/2024

Northern lights yesterday evening at Utrecht University campus (The Netherlands). @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social #northernlights #aurora

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