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Blair Strang

@strangviruslab.bsky.social
625 followers 237 following 491 posts

City St George's, University of London. HCMV, anti-viral drugs, congenital/placental infection etc etc etc. #JGV Editoral Board. Views my own.

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Reposted by Blair Strang
Thelonevirologist @thelonevirologist.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
A generalized lineage nomenclature for viral genomic epidemiology www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
A generalized lineage nomenclature for viral genomic epidemiology - Nature Microbiology
This study extends the Pango lineage nomenclature system beyond SARS-CoV-2, introducing a dynamic framework for tracking and communicating viral diversity, demonstrated through its application to CHIK...
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Reposted by Blair Strang
Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · 02/10/2026
Exciting news! As part of our Vacation Studentships, we're partnering with, New England Biolabs, who are funding two additional grants specifically for Black students. Learn more about how we’re working together: microb.io/4rIMPot #BlackInMicro 
Logos of Microbiology Society and New England Biolabs side by side with text indicating Vacation Studentships Grant Partners.
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Simon Bayly @simonbayly.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
New posdoctoral fellowship programme at the @crick.ac.uk just dropped. Some very cool projects on the list: www.crick.ac.uk/careers-and-...
crick.ac.uk
PACE fellowships projects
Learn more about the PACE collaborative postdoc projects.
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Jason Rasgon @vectorgen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
I am going to be buried with all my data, like the Pharaohs of old
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John Stott @jpsastro.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Had a UKRI funded grant proposal rejected at the "AI triage stage". "This AI-based triage was used only to identify approximately 50% of the strongest proposals to take forward to full human review." 🧪 #academicsky
I am writing to let you know that, unfortunately, your application was not successful.

Review process

As part of the initial triage of the 179 proposals submitted to this call, each was assessed using an AI-based review. Every proposal was read independently by several different AI models against the same seven criteria used to shape this call (including cyber security relevance, research quality and novelty, importance of the problem addressed, feasibility of the project plan, likely outputs and impact, value for money, and responsible research practice), with each model asked to give a score and a written justification with supporting quotations from the text. To guard against any one model's idiosyncrasies, we also ran a second, independent process in which different AI models debated the merits and weaknesses of each proposal before reaching a judgement, again against the same criteria. Scores from both processes were combined to produce an overall ranking. 

This AI-based triage was used only to identify approximately 50% of the strongest proposals to take forward to full human review.  Projects selected for funding were drawn from those that progressed to the full human review stage. We recognise that AI-assisted assessment is a new and evolving part of the review process, and we are continuing to evaluate how well it aligns with the judgements of human reviewers on this call. We will soon produce a document detailing our method, so that others can build upon it and improve it.

Feedback on your application

Your application was not selected to progress beyond the AI triage stage.  To provide transparency on the outcome of this assessment, we are sharing below the scores (out of 5) from each of the two AI review processes described above, together with the mean score across the two processes.
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Reposted by Blair Strang
Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · 25/09/2026
Research visit grant applications are open. Check your eligibility and apply before 1 Oct 2026 at 23.59 BST: microb.io/ResearchVisitGrant. #Grant #Microbiology #ECR #EarlyCareer
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Jonathan Howard @joho.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Bryce Nickels thought the possibility of measles spreading was funny in 2024. Just a big joke.
sciencebasedmedicine.org
Thanks to Efforts of the “Biosafety Now” Bros, Richard Ebright and Bryce Nickels, We Are All More Vulnerable to Dangerous Viruses, Both Old & New, From Labs & From Nature, Exactly as I Predicted.
Professors Richard Ebright and Byrce Nickels used their voice to enable the "charlatans and quacks", the people responsible for the devastation of our biosafety response.
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Mark Faghy @profmarkfaghy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
📢 Our paper is published in Oxford Open Immunology: The ERASE_LC trial evaluated whether a 5-day course of intravenous remdesivir is feasible, safe, and acceptable for people living with Long COVID. This is the first study to specifically examine remdesivir as a treatment for LC.
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Thelonevirologist @thelonevirologist.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Oropouche virus disrupts neurodevelopment and exhibits congenital infection potential www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
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Reposted by Blair Strang
Charlotte Houldcroft @virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/... Adenovirus B3 infection-associated stroke in a 12 year old. As soon as the VITT story became clear, I thought wildtype adenovirus must also be causing some proportion of strokes - as VZV also seems to do.
nejm.org
Human Adenovirus B3–Induced Immune Thrombocytopenia and Thrombosis | NEJM
Virus-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis after HAdV-B3 infection supports a shared platelet factor 4–targeted immune mechanism linking natural adenovirus infection and ...
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Reposted by Blair Strang
PLOS Biology @plosbiology.org · 17/09/2026
Acute #infections have been linked to #cancer progression, but they can also elicit #AntiTumor immune responses. This study explores gaps in understanding how infections differentially skew #immune programs to promote or restrain cancer progression @plosbiology.org 🧪 buff.ly/QfAWXBo
Upper left – healthy lung with a rare dormant cancer cell (green). Lower right – lung after infection with respiratory virus, showing expansion of dormant cancer cells (green cells; pink nucleus indicates active cell cycling). Image credit: Michael DeGregori.
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Reposted by Blair Strang
Nonia Pariente @npariente.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
😎 paper alert Can viral infections reactivate dormant cancer cells? How does inflammation triggered by pathogens (or other stresses) intersect with anticancer immunity? Rincon, de Gregori and cols discuss the processes at this important interface 🧪 ⬇️
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Reposted by Blair Strang
Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · 19/09/2026
The ageing immune system and its battle with viruses. Published Open Access and fee-free in JGV using a Publish and Read agreement: doi.org/10.1099/jgv.0.002320 #JGenVirol #PublishandRead
Graphical Abstract
Virus-specific immunity and correlates of protection change across human life: children encounter first infections/vaccinations when they are immunologically naïve, whereas cumulative exposure histories in older adults shape their immunity.
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Reposted by Blair Strang
Thelonevirologist @thelonevirologist.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Langerhans cells as targets of rabies virus immune evasion go.shr.lc/3VibaFC
go.shr.lc
Langerhans cells as targets of rabies virus immune evasion
Rabies virus (RABV) is a neurotropic virus of the genus Lyssavirus that causes a nearly always fatal encephalitis in humans once it reaches the central nervous system. Dog bites are a major transmissi...
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Reposted by Blair Strang
Aris Katzourakis @ariskatzourakis.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Interested in a PhD on viral metagenomics from clinical samples? Check out this collaborative project between my group at @biology.ox.ac.uk and @eit.org eit.org/project/viro...
eit.org
Virome metagenomics from clinical samples
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Julian Parkhill @julianparkhill.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
This will be an amazing opportunity for the right person. The Department of Veterinary Medicine in Cambridge is recruiting for an established chair who will also be our Head of Department. Your research can be in any area of veterinary science. Please circulate. www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/profess...
cam.ac.uk
Professorship of Veterinary Science
The Board of Electors to the Professorship of Veterinary Science invite applications for this Professorship from persons whose work is connected with veterinary science (ideally in research aligned wi...
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Antonia Ho @drtoniho.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
See details of 2 #PhD posts based at CVR & 12 other projects based in Finland, Denmark, Netherlandsx Spain & England through the DETECTIVE MSCA Doctoral Network 🦠🕵️‍♂️ 👇
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Thelonevirologist @thelonevirologist.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
A distinct effector B cell population drives autoantibody production in SARS-CoV-2 infection www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
cell.com
A distinct effector B cell population drives autoantibody production in SARS-CoV-2 infection
Autoantibodies (autoAbs) are linked to mortality and Long COVID, yet their cellular origins remain unclear. Yuan et al. identify a distinct B cell population (DN2 cells) as a key source of autoAbs dur...
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Reposted by Blair Strang
MRC-UofG Centre for Virus Research @cvrinfo.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Interested in using genomics, big data and AI to tackle future pandemic threats? The @cvrinfo.bsky.social is recruiting two PhD students through the DETECTIVE Doctoral Network 🦠🕵️‍♂️ shorturl.at/iLrfP
The hexagonal logo of the DETECTIVE project next to a researcher working in a lab
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Aris Katzourakis @ariskatzourakis.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Wrote up a piece for @theconversation.com on whether ancient smallpox can be brought back from 500 year old smallpox DNA (I wouldn't worry about that) and what the smallpox samples from the Chilean burial sites show us. theconversation.com/can-an-ancie...
theconversation.com
Can an ancient virus be brought back to life? What 500-year-old smallpox DNA reveals
Smallpox DNA from two people buried in Chile reveals the virus’s arrival through European colonisation – but recreating it would require deliberate laboratory work.
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Blair Strang @strangviruslab.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
This is very much worth your time 👇 Thanks, @lazearlab.bsky.social for the link.
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Reposted by Blair Strang
Kranzusch Lab @kranzuschlab.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Stunning cryo-ET analysis from the Harrison Lab capturing every stage of how non-membrane viruses infect animal cells www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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Reposted by Blair Strang
Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · 10/09/2026
Research visit grant applications are open. Check your eligibility and apply before 1 Oct 2026 at 23.59 BST: microb.io/ResearchVisitGrant. #Grant #Microbiology #ECR #EarlyCareer
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Chris Sullivan @sullivanlab.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
My department at UT Austin is looking to hire an Asst. prof immunologist - including those who work on host-pathogen interaction, inflammation and cancer. Please amplify this and share widely.
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Thelonevirologist @thelonevirologist.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
More Impossible-to-Ignore Vaccine Effects www.science.org/content/blog...
science.org
More Impossible-to-Ignore Vaccine Effects
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Matthew Freeman @mjafreeman.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Less than 2 weeks to apply! If you are looking for early career fellowship sponsorship, consider @dunnschool.bsky.social to launch your independent career Great science, great support and, of course, lovely colleagues... www.path.ox.ac.uk/work-with-us...
path.ox.ac.uk
Group Leader Career Development Fellowships - Dunn School
Are you an early career researcher interested in the cell or molecular mechanisms underlying disease? Do you have an outstanding record and an innovative research plan?
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Charlotte Houldcroft @virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
For those who have children starting preschool/daycare/nursery for the first time this week... Stock up on the infant paracetamol journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
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Reposted by Blair Strang
Nature @nature.com · 04/09/2026
Ada Yonath obituary: Crystallographer who overcame ‘impossible’ challenge of mapping the ribosome go.nature.com/4xIUyVW
go.nature.com
Ada Yonath obituary: Crystallographer who overcame ‘impossible’ challenge of mapping the ribosome
Nobel laureate persisted despite widespread derision and revolutionized structural biology by protecting fragile crystals.
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Reposted by Blair Strang
Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · 04/09/2026
Aedes aegypti, a mosquito spreading dengue, chikungunya, and Zika, has been found in London, according to UKHSA's Mosquito Watch. This highlights the need for arbovirus surveillance as global temperatures rise. Submissions for our arboviruses collection are welcome: microb.io/Arboviruses
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Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · 02/09/2026
A natural experiment comparing recipients of the live attenuated versus recombinant shingles vaccines found that the recombinant vaccine was associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular events across seven years of follow-up, according to a paper in Nature Medicine. #medsky 🧪
go.nature.com
Recombinant shingles vaccination and the risk of cardiovascular events - Nature Medicine
A natural experiment comparing recipients of the live attenuated versus recombinant herpes zoster vaccines found that the recombinant vaccine was associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular events across 7 years of follow-up.
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Reposted by Blair Strang
Kranzusch Lab @kranzuschlab.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Discovery of chimeric RNAs and thousands of new proteins in mammalian cells – including a new regulator of inflammasome signaling! www.nature.com/articles/s41... www.jacksonimmunology.com
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Pathoplexus @pathoplexus.org · 27/08/2026
1/ 🎂 Pathoplexus turns TWO! 🎉 Two years ago we launched with an idea: what if pathogen data sharing put open access, speed, ease of use, & credit for data generators at its center? Here's what our community has built since: 📰 Read the full update: pathoplexus.org/news/2026-08...
AI generated watercolor-style image of a white birthday cake with blue and gold small decorate balls around the base and top, with a blue Pathoplexus logo on the side. On top, is a gold and white '2' candle that's lit. From the cake come strands of blue and gold, representing stylized DNA, network nodes, and ribbons representing credit and attribution.
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Catherine Moore @smallredone.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
It never went away. www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
theguardian.com
Mpox is back – and in new countries. How can this outbreak be contained?
The public health emergencies in 2022 and 2024 saw the virus reported in 145 countries, but in the new cases children appear particularly affected
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read banned books 📚🐾🫘 @moniquelussier.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
and how 🤓
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Blair Strang @strangviruslab.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
I’ve reposted this several times, but it’s certainly worth it. A lot of very good points here,…which I need to remind myself of from time to time Thanks, @vectorgen.bsky.social ! Thread👇
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Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · 22/08/2026
Society Events Grants to attend the Irish Annual Meeting are now open. Application deadline is 1 Sept 26 at 23:59 BST: microb.io/4g1exZv. #Grant #Microbiology
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Willem van Schaik @wvschaik.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
'MHRA publishes position paper clarifying the UK licencing route for microbiome-based medicines, supporting developers to bring these innovative therapies to patients.' www.gov.uk/government/n...
gov.uk
MHRA sets out position on regulation of microbiome-based medicinal products
MHRA publishes position paper clarifying the UK licencing route for microbiome-based medicines, supporting developers to bring these innovative therapies to patients.
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Clive McKimmie @clive-mckimmie.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Hot on the heels of #WorldMosquitoDay 🦟, we’re delighted to share our new paper. What if vaccines targeted not only the virus, but also the mosquito that helps transmit it? www.mdpi.com/2076-393X/14...
mdpi.com
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Blair Strang @strangviruslab.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/a...
theguardian.com
Magicians and margarine: 10 of the funniest jokes from the Edinburgh fringe 2026
Every year, hundreds of standups from across the world descend on the venerable festival. Here are some of their finest one-liners
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Blair Strang @strangviruslab.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Yes, this is very good. I was unaware of this story…. and, yes, an actual unnatural origin does look pretty obvious. A virus not seen in 27 years suddenly reappears nearly completely unchanged? I think not.
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Stefan Pöhlmann @snpoehlm.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
‘Mismatched’ vaccine being rolled out against Ebola outbreak | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
‘Mismatched’ vaccine being rolled out against Ebola outbreak
Amid ethical questions, DRC proceeds with shot that may offer some protection against the Bundibugyo virus
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Charlotte Houldcroft @virologyhouldcroft.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I wrote this editorial 3 months ago, almost to the day. www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour... At that point, there were just 8 confirmed deaths. Now, at least 2300 people are dead in the DRC alone. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a... DRC also dealing w outbreaks of measles, cholera & mpox.
microbiologyresearch.org
2026 Bundibugyo virus outbreak: the role of genomics in Orthoebolavirus outbreaks
Central Africa is currently experiencing its third recorded outbreak of Bundibugyo virus, one of three orthoebolaviruses capable of causing lethal haemorrhagic fevers in humans with person-to-person t...
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Decoding the Gurus @guruspod.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
It was great discussing the scientific research on COVID origins and where the evidence stands in 2026 with @kgandersen.bsky.social, @worobey.bsky.social, and @eddieholmes.bsky.social. Less fun to discuss the political persecution of scientists, but also important. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od9c...
youtube.com
Lab Leak and Covid Origins in 2026: An Interview with Holmes, Andersen, & Worobey
YouTube video by Decoding the Gurus
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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 12/08/2026
A new study suggests that the current Bundibugyo epidemic is a new spillover from an animal host--not a resurgence of human cases from the two previous human outbreaks. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Emergence of a Bundibugyo virus variant in the 2026 outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda - Nature Medicine
A phylogenetic analysis of 22 genomes from the recent Bundibugyo virus outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda suggests the outbreak was caused by a new zoonotic spillover event.
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Viki Male @vikilovesfacs.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Further to comments from Senators Paul and Johnson on the safety of #CovidVaccines in #pregnancy, people are asking if I still update my table of studies. I've just done so! 1/3 docs.google.com/document/d/1...
A slide summarising the safety data on COVID infection and vaccination in pregnancy. On the left, in unvaccinated individuals COVID infection increases the risk of preterm birth, pre-eclampsia, stillbirth and neonatal death. On the right: 3 trials including 221 participants who received mRNA vaccine and 54 observational studies including at least 568,284 people vaccinated in pregnancy found no increased risk of stillbirth, miscarriage, preterm birth, SGA, congenital abnormalities, NICU admission or health or neurodevelopmental problems in babies up to eighteen months old, following COVID vaccination.
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Trishla Sinha @trishlasinha.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
1/12 After years of work, we are incredibly excited to share our study, published yesterday in @nature.com : “Maternal influences on gut microbiome and health” 🎉🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s41... A thread on what we found 🧵👇
nature.com
Maternal influences on infant gut microbiome and health - Nature
The maternal gut microbiome is a predictor of infant eczema.
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Stephen Curry @scurry.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Unexpected and cool. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Alternate RNA decoding results in stable and abundant proteins in mammals - Nature
Alternate RNA decoding, an understudied process, leads to peptide sequence modifications that can have substantial functional effects on protein stability, tissue-specific proteomes and dise...
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Reposted by Blair Strang
Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · 14/08/2026
Society Supported Conference Grants are now open. Check your eligibility and apply before the deadline 1 October at 23.59 BST: microb.io/4z61eP8. #Grant #Microbiology
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Helen Rowe @RoweLab @labrowe.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
* Hot off the press from the Rowe Lab 📢 * : For in depth insight on LINE-1 jumping genes, from their regulation to their multifaceted roles in cancer immunity, read Holly Jefferson's review here: www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/18...
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