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Westermann Lab

@westermannlab.bsky.social
249 followers 156 following 16 posts

Microbiota RNA Lab at the University of Würzburg and the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research. www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/research/a…

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Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg @uni-wuerzburg.de · 21h
🦠 Wie schaut man in ein Bakterium, das kleiner ist als die Auflösung vieler Mikroskope? Forschende der Uni Würzburg nutzten einen Trick: Sie „bliesen“ die Probe mit einem Gel auf. So entdeckten sie, dass Fettmoleküle beim Verpacken der DNA helfen. 🔬 #Mikrobiologie #Forschung ➡️ go.uniwue.de/chlamydia
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James Connolly @ruamicro.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Are you a motivated researcher interested in bacteria-host interactions? We have postdoc position available in my lab to join our Wellcome Trust funded collaborative team. We will study the role and regulation of the enigmatic sphingolipids in E. coli. Please share. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DSX115/r...
jobs.ac.uk
Research Assistant/ Associate in Bacteria-Host Interactions at Newcastle University
Explore an exciting academic career as a Research Assistant/ Associate in Bacteria-Host Interactions. Don't miss out on other academic jobs. Click to apply and explore more opportunities.
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Helmholtz Institute Würzburg @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
🚨 The #HIRI & the Faculty of Medicine of the @uni-wuerzburg.de invite applications for 2️⃣ JUNIOR PROFESSORSHIPS in: 🔵 RNA-BASED INFECTION RESEARCH 🔵 MICROBIAL RNA BIOLOGY 🔵 RNA-BASED MEDICINE Apply by September 21: www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/jobs-tale... Find an overview in this thread. 🧵👇 (1/5)
helmholtz-hiri.de
W1 Groups
The Faculty of Medicine of the Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburgand theHelmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI, Würzburg)jointly open a call for
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Helmholtz Institute Würzburg @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
🚨 Exciting #PhD opportunities across multiple labs, including those of @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social, @emmanuel-saliba.bsky.social, @cciollimattioli.bsky.social, @ffaberlab.bsky.social & @westermannlab.bsky.social at #HIRI in Würzburg. 🎓🥼 More about the projects: www.helmholtz-hzi.de/en/career/gr...
helmholtz-hzi.de
Joint One Lab Call for Doctoral Researchers 2026
The HZI offers 16 fully funded PhD positions - an exceptional opportunity for curious, young scientist to work in a stimulating environment.
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Helmholtz Institute Würzburg @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Macrophages are known as the immune system’s “scavenger cells”. Yet some pathogens use them as hiding places. Researchers from HIRI & @unimarburg.bsky.social have discovered an lncRNA called SAILR that helps macrophages balance their response to infection: www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/newsroom/... (1/3)
Electron microscope image of macrophages. © HZI/Manfred Rohde
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Leon Schulte @schultelab.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Excited to share our PNAS paper with @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social and @westermannlab.bsky.social! We identify SAILR, a human-specific lncRNA that binds 14-3-3β to support macrophage viability—its loss during infection strengthens antimicrobial defense. #RNA www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
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Kathrin Fröhlich @microberna.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
The Bacterial RNA Biology Group in Jena is hiring a new PhD student! 🔬🧫🧬 We are looking for a motivated candidate to study bacteriophages of the opportunistic pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae. 🔥 Apply by July 26, 2026 🔥 Details on the position and application: jobs.uni-jena.de/jobposting/9...
jobs.uni-jena.de
Doctoral Researcher in Molecular Microbiology (m/f/d)
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NUCLEATE Cluster @nucleate-cluster.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
The NUCLEATE Cluster of Excellence is hiring! Shape the future of nucleic acid sciences 🧬 🚀 Group Leaders: All 3 locations (LMU, TUM, JMU Würzburg) 🔬 PhDs & Postdocs: Open call in Würzburg and speculative applications welcome! Deadline: Aug 16, 2026 👉 More info: nucleate-cluster.de/careers/
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Typas Lab @typaslab.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
How can we harness the vast functional diversity of microbes on our planet? Join us at EMBL Heidelberg from 8–10 December 2026 to hear about ongoing efforts to decode gene function and organisation in human gut microbes, and to present your own research. www.embl.org/about/info/c...
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NUCLEATE Cluster @nucleate-cluster.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Welcome to the official account of the NUCLEATE Cluster of Excellence👋🧬 We’re building a community around nucleic acid sciences and technology, and innovation 🚀 Expect research highlights, collaborations, events, and opportunities — with open positions coming soon. #Biotech #Science #RNA #Research
NUCLEATE Cluster Logo
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Andreas Bäumler @abaumler.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Is colorectal cancer driven by a disruption of anaerobiosis? A recent study by Spiga et al. makes this idea walk and talk like a duck. Read more here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
sciencedirect.com
An anaerobic pathogen rewires host metabolism to fuel oxidative growth in the inflamed gut
To colonize their host and cause disease, enteric pathogens must deploy their virulence factors to establish distinct nutrient niches. How anaerobic p…
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Infect-Net @infect-net.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Unser nächstes Infect-Net Netzwerktreffen steht bald an! Prof. Dr. Franziska Faber und Prof. Dr. Stefanie Kampmeier laden Infektionsforcherinnen zu unserem 7. Netzwerktreffen nach Jena ein. 📅 22.-23.09.2026 📍Würzburg, Deutschland Topic "RNA&Infection: From bed to bedside" Save the date!
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Universität Jena @uni-jena.de · 05/06/2026
Researchers from #UniJena and @microverse.bsky.social have demonstrated how cholera bacteria regulate the activity of a pathogen-associated phage. A small RNA molecule inhibits the formation of new phage particles, which carry the genes for the cholera toxin. ➡️ www.uni-jena.de/en/425326/res…
Elektronenmikroskopische Aufnahme eines Cholera-Erregers Vibrio cholerae (nachträglich koloriert). Abbildung: Kai Papenfort, Liana Franke
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James Connolly @ruamicro.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Latest research from the lab out now. We examined the role and expression of fimbriae during UPEC bloodstream infection. A real team effort and brilliant collaboration with Mark Schembri’s lab in Brisbane. Thanks to the MRC and BBSRC for supporting our research @ukri.org
journals.plos.org
Yad fimbriae are triggered by host cues and enhance extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli tissue colonisation during bloodstream infection
Author summary Extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) colonise the human gut without causing disease but can disseminate to the urinary tract and bloodstream. Understanding the mechanisms...
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Youssef El Mouali @youssefelmouali.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
New paper out in @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social! Microbes evolving with modern lifestyles 🧬🦠 S. copri uses PerR to manage oxygen stress, but some strains acquired OxyR via HGT, boosting oxygen tolerance. These strains are enriched in industrialized populations. www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...
cell.com
Biogeography-associated emergence of enhanced oxygen tolerance in the abundant human gut commensal Segatella copri
El Mouali and Tawk et al. characterize the oxygen-tolerance response in the human gut-residing bacterium Segatella copri. They identified a subset of strains that acquired an additional oxygen regulat...
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Helmholtz Institute Würzburg @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Yay! Hoda Kooshapour, #PhD student in the @westermannlab.bsky.social, has received a Paper of the Month Award from the @helmholtzhzi.bsky.social. Congratulations, @kooshapour.bsky.social! 🥳👏 Learn more: www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/newsroom/... (1/3)
helmholtz-hiri.de
Mapping hidden RNA regulators in Salmonella infection
HZI Paper of the Month Award for Hoda Kooshapour
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Westermann Lab @westermannlab.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
New preprint from the Ghigo lab (@jmghigolab.bsky.social): crossfeeding B. theta <--> E. coli within a microfluidics system. Shows spatial structure and oxygen availability can qualitatively transform the nature and ecological outcome of microbial interactions. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
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James Connolly @ruamicro.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Want to research the basis of how drug resistant bacteria interact with human immune cells? Fully funded 4-year PhD position available (UK home students). Come and join our amazing interdisciplinary team at the intersection of microbiology, immunity, metabolism and the clinic! Please spread the word
findaphd.com
Hiding in plain sight: How a multi-drug resistant pathogen evades detection and killing by human neutrophils at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Hiding in plain sight: How a multi-drug resistant pathogen evades detection and killing by human neutrophils at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com
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J. Craig Venter Institute @jcvi.org · 30/04/2026
It is with great sadness that we announce J. Craig Venter has died. 🧪🧬 www.jcvi.org/media-center...
jcvi.org
J. Craig Venter, genomics pioneer and founder of JCVI and Diploid Genomics, Inc., dies at 79
La Jolla, California—April 29, 2026—The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) announced that J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., the Institute’s founder, board...
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Holmqvist Lab @holmqvist-lab.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
New paper from the lab! Spearheaded by soon-to-be doctor Athina Eleftheraki. Fantastic collaboration with Anaïs Le Rhun lab at Uni Bordeaux! academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
academic.oup.com
An RNA structural switch controlling bacterial toxin translation
Abstract. Type I toxin–antitoxin systems (T1TAs) rely on tight posttranscriptional control to prevent inadvertent toxin synthesis, yet the molecular mechan
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Jens Hör @jenshoer.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Excited to share the first preprint from the lab! We show that ApeA defends against RNA phage infection by cleaving the phage genome: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
biorxiv.org
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Westermann Lab @westermannlab.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Takeshi Kanda represented our team at the Japanese Society for Bacteriology conference, founded by Prof. Dr. Shibasaburo Kitasato - one of Japan's oldest societies. He also took the opportunity to connect with several Würzburg alumni.
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Neva Caliskan @caliskanlab.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
We are looking for RNA enthusiasts to join us at the @uniregensburg.bsky.social as a junior group leader! Our university offer excellent infrastructure and collaboration opportunities for ground breaking RNA research. Please RT @jrrnascientists.bsky.social @rnasociety.bsky.social
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Irene Beusch @pauletteoctopus.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
We have an open position for a #PhD student (last week to apply!) & a lab technician/TA. For more information see: www.beuschlab.org/join-us Interested in understanding post-transcriptional regulation and how #RNA #splicing decisions are made? Then take a look or share with people who might be! 🧪🧫
beuschlab.org
RNA Splicing Lab - JOIN US
Are you interested in investigating basic mechanisms in splicing regulation and gene expression? Our research group was launched in September 2024 and is hosted at the Institute of Molecular Infection...
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Jens Hör @jenshoer.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
Like bacteria, phages use sRNAs to regulate gene expression! Out today in @cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social, @mvelascogomariz.bsky.social and I highlight a recent RIL-seq study from the @saharmelamed.bsky.social lab that looked into posttranscriptional regulation of lambda! tinyurl.com/lambda-RIL-seq
tinyurl.com
Unraveling posttranscriptional regulatory networks in phage infection
Phages employ sophisticated transcriptional regulatory networks to optimize replication. Recently, Silverman et al. used RIL-seq (RNA interaction by l…
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Jörg Vogel @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Looking for a truly unique PhD programme on RNA drugs and therapeutics? We have just opened the call for the second cohort of RNAmed-Future leaders in RNA-based medicine. More details under www.rnamed.de Please spread the word.
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Helmholtz Institute Würzburg @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Two days of inspiring exchange 🧬🤝✨ On February 10 and 11, our Scientific Advisory Board came together to review the scientific orientation and performance of #HIRI. We are grateful for the insightful discussions and valuable feedback. 👉 Read more: www.helmholtz-hiri.de/en/newsroom/...
helmholtz-hiri.de
Scientific Advisory Board Meets at the Helmholtz Institute Würzburg
Two days of intensive scientific exchange
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Camilla Ciolli Mattioli @cciollimattioli.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Thrilled to announce that I’ve just opened my research lab at @helmholtz-hiri.bsky.social ! A huge thank you to my mentor Roi Avraham (and lab members!) for the incredible training and support that made this possible.
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Irene Beusch @pauletteoctopus.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Do you want to understand how RNA #splicing decisions are made? We‘ve got a PhD position open for you (see 👇👇)!! Please share #RNAsky and RT! tinyurl.com/4ztu9cb9
tinyurl.com
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Brochado Lab @brochadolab.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
📢 We are hiring 📢 1st round of recruiting for our ERC project BacImmune-Decode! @erc.europa.eu We are looking for a postdoc for wet-lab work on regulation of phage defence systems in bacteria using high-throughput microbial genetics. Check it out: lnkd.in/es7AE968 #Hiring #Postdoc #Microbiology
lnkd.in
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
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Carmen Aguilar @carmen-aguilar.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Our first paper is out today in @natmicrobiol.nature.com! We introduce a prostate organoid model and show that UPEC invades prostate cells via FimH binding to the prostate-specific protein PAPP. A step toward targeted therapies against bacterial prostatitis. 🎉 #UTI #UPEC #Organoids #AMR
nature.com
Uropathogenic Escherichia coli invade luminal prostate cells via FimH–PPAP receptor binding - Nature Microbiology
Uropathogenic Escherichia coli infection of a murine prostate organoid model reveals a bacterial FimH–host prostatic acid phosphatase adhesin-receptor interaction enabling invasion and replication wit...
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Westermann Lab @westermannlab.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
3′UTR-derived small RNA couples acid resistance to metabolic reprogramming of Salmonella within macrophages url: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
academic.oup.com
3′UTR-derived small RNA couples acid resistance to metabolic reprogramming of Salmonella within macrophages
Abstract. Acid resistance is crucial for enterobacteria to withstand host acidic environments during infection, including the gastrointestinal tract and ma
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Westermann Lab @westermannlab.bsky.social · 27/12/2025
RIL-seq boosts the study of sRNAs. Here comes its first application to intracellular bacteria. Plus, 10 years after its characterization, we now present an RNA sponge of Salmonella PinT. Congrats to @kooshapour.bsky.social & great collaboration w/ @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social! doi.org/10.1093/nar/...
doi.org
Intramacrophage RIL-seq uncovers an RNA antagonist of the Salmonella virulence-associated small RNA PinT
Abstract. Salmonella virulence chiefly relies upon two major pathogenicity islands, SPI-1 and SPI-2, which enable host cell invasion and intracellular surv
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Westermann Lab @westermannlab.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
🎓 Congrats to Elise Bornet, who completed her PhD this week! Her courageous work dissected morphological heterogeneity in predominant human gut commensals, and yielded an ultra-sensitive transcriptomics pipeline to sequence the RNA content of single Bacteroides cells. doi.org/10.1016/j.ce...
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Mona Alzheimer @monaalzheimer.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Grateful to be among the 25 inspiring women featured in @zeit.de as part of the #Zia fellowship for Visible Women in Science. Thanks to @uni-wuerzburg.de for their support and to everyone involved for making scientific work by women more visible. Honored and proud to be part of this initiative ☺️.
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Yanying Yu @yanyingyu.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
Our new paper from my PhD work is online. It shows how bacterial population structure can trick machine learning—sampling matters! Many thanks to @lbarquist.bsky.social for the support and guidance! dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
dx.plos.org
Biased sampling driven by bacterial population structure confounds machine learning prediction of antimicrobial resistance
Machine learning methods have emerged as promising tools to predict antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and uncover resistance determinants from genomic data. This study shows that sampling biases driven b...
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Chuan Wang @chuanwangfdu.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
How does a bacterial small RNA evolve new functions? Our new study reveals the stepwise evolutionary journey of UhpU, a 3′UTR-derived sRNA in E. coli and relatives. It evolved from a metabolically-focused regulator to one with expanded targets and biogenesis manner. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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Westermann Lab @westermannlab.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
🔊 Interested in doing a PhD on RNA-binding proteins in an abundant microbiota species and becoming a member of the German Priority Programme “Illuminating Gene Functions in the Human Gut Microbiome”? Apply here: www.uni-wuerzburg.de/karriere/sin...
uni-wuerzburg.de
Job offer for a PhD student position at the Chair of Microbiology
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FEMS Journals @femsjournals.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
De-DUFing the DUFs 🧩 @franznarberhaus.bsky.social lab uncovers how small DUF1127 proteins regulate #phosphate uptake by binding the sensor kinase PhoR. Their conserved role from Agrobacterium to E. coli highlights how even small DUFs can shape bacterial physiology 🦠 buff.ly/jJd9Eho
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Typas Lab @typaslab.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
Excited to share our preprint led by Carlos Voogdt et al We developed new genetic tools & genome-wide libraries for species of the Bacteroidales order; constructed saturated barcoded transposon libraries in key representatives of three genera. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
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Wolfgang Hess @cyanolab.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
How to search for unknown RNA-binding proteins? We did GradR in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803. And now our paper „RAPDOR: Using Jensen-Shannon Distance for the computational analysis of complex proteomics dataset“ is finally out in Nature Communications, here: rdcu.be/eImcr .
rdcu.be
RAPDOR: Using Jensen-Shannon Distance for the computational analysis of complex proteomics datasets
Nature Communications - RNA-binding proteins play key roles in post-transcriptional gene regulation. Here, Hemm et al. developed RAPDOR, a widely applicable tool based on Jensen-Shannon Distance...
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Westermann Lab @westermannlab.bsky.social · 25/09/2025
Congrats to Ann-Sophie Rüttiger who successfully defended her PhD this week! 🎓 She focused on global RNA-binding proteins in Bacteroides—bacteria lacking Hfq, ProQ, CsrA, Khp—culminating in the discovery of a post-transcriptional network governed by RbpB (www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-55383-8).
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Jörg Vogel @jorg-vogel-lab.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
Looking for a new approach to studying or eliminating phages? Check out our study introducing anti-phage ASOs (antisense oligos) out in @Nature today. nature.com/articles/s4158…
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Westermann Lab @westermannlab.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
New preprint from the lab, in collaboration with Wenhan Zhu (U Vanderbilt): using dual RNA-seq during B. theta colonization of the host mucous layer, we identify IroR--an iron-response sRNA that tunes capsule expression and facilitates adaptation to iron limitation. doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.08.672848
doi.org
An RNA regulates iron homeostasis and host mucus colonization in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron
Symbiotic bacteria in the human intestinal microbiota provide many pivotal functions to human health and occupy distinct biogeographic niches within the gut. Yet the molecular basis underlying niche-s...
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SchmitzStreitsLAB @schmitzstreitslab.bsky.social · 01/09/2025
Starting the meeting microbes and RNA- Gerhart on stage - lifetime achievement Lecture - congrats Gerhart!
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Andreas Bäumler @abaumler.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
A Salmonella T3SS-2 mutant grows fine in spleen macrophages, contradicting tissue culture dogma (PMID: 23236281). This observation was largely ignored, but adding certain carbon sources rescues growth in cultured macrophages, hinting that T3SS-2 may be doing something entirely different in vivo.
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Westermann Lab @westermannlab.bsky.social · 17/08/2025
Latest preprint from the lab: doi.org/10.1101/2025... In this study lead by @lenaamend.bsky.social from the group, we explore carbon cross-feeding between a gut commensal and an enteropathogen. Can we counter infection by cutting sugar supply to pathogens?
doi.org
Ablation of polysaccharide breakdown in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron prevents cross-feeding and growth of Salmonella Typhimurium in the mouse gut
Pathogens invading the intestine compete for nutrients with the resident microbiota. However, there is evidence that commensal members of the gut also provide nutritional resources to enteropathogens ...
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James Connolly @ruamicro.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Absolutely delighted to share the labs latest work. We identify and characterise two pathways for D-ribulose utilisation in pathogenic EHEC and Citrobacter.
nature.com
Convergent evolution of distinct D-ribulose utilisation pathways in attaching and effacing pathogens - Nature Communications
Cottam et al. identify distinct pathways for D-ribulose utilisation in pathogenic Escherichia coli and Citrobacter rodentium, providing mechanistic details and suggesting convergent evolution towards ...
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Lisa Maier Lab | Tübingen @lisamaierlab.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
Finally online! Our latest research is out @nature.com: We show that non-antibiotic drugs can disrupt colonization resistance, raising the risk of enteric infections. rdcu.be/ewwrG
rdcu.be
Non-antibiotics disrupt colonization resistance against enteropathogens
Nature - Non-antibiotic drugs from a wide range of therapeutic classes can alter the ability of gut commensals to resist invasion by enteropathogens, a previously underappreciated side effect of...
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