Freya Harrison
@friendlymicrobe.bsky.social
Reader (Associate Professor) in Microbiology at the University of Warwick, UK.
Biofilm, chronic infection and ancientbiotics.
Biofilm, chronic infection and ancientbiotics.
Pinned
Harrison Lab @ University of Warwick, UK
We are a team of microbiologists working at the University of Warwick, UK.
www.youtube.com
The lab now has a YouTube channel to collate videos of the team talking science: www.youtube.com/@BreakingBio...
Reposted by Freya Harrison
What's the best way now to advertise PhD projects to potential students? Twitter used to be great but not now for obvious reasons and BlueSky seems too curated to have that research to prospective students
#MicroSky
#MicroSky
January 29, 2026 at 10:45 AM
What's the best way now to advertise PhD projects to potential students? Twitter used to be great but not now for obvious reasons and BlueSky seems too curated to have that research to prospective students
#MicroSky
#MicroSky
Why should microbiologists be interested in historical infection remedies, and how can we best investigate them for antimicrobial discovery? Thoroughly enjoyed co-writing this Microbiology Primer with @tosinorababa.bsky.social www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour... #MicroSky #Ancientbiotics
Microbial Primer: Ancientbiotics – making modern antimicrobials from historical infection remedies
The modern antibiotic era began in the early twentieth century, but humans have long used materials from the natural world to attempt to treat the symptoms of infection. In this primer, we will discus...
www.microbiologyresearch.org
January 29, 2026 at 10:44 AM
Why should microbiologists be interested in historical infection remedies, and how can we best investigate them for antimicrobial discovery? Thoroughly enjoyed co-writing this Microbiology Primer with @tosinorababa.bsky.social www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour... #MicroSky #Ancientbiotics
Reposted by Freya Harrison
By end of Feb @bsky.app will be the 2nd largest social media source for research sharing in our database
- Google+ managed 945,000 mentions of research during its life
- Facebook pages (not people's profiles) have shared papers 6.6m times
- Reddit = 600k
Bluesky is currently at 6m and climbing
- Google+ managed 945,000 mentions of research during its life
- Facebook pages (not people's profiles) have shared papers 6.6m times
- Reddit = 600k
Bluesky is currently at 6m and climbing
January 28, 2026 at 10:23 AM
By end of Feb @bsky.app will be the 2nd largest social media source for research sharing in our database
- Google+ managed 945,000 mentions of research during its life
- Facebook pages (not people's profiles) have shared papers 6.6m times
- Reddit = 600k
Bluesky is currently at 6m and climbing
- Google+ managed 945,000 mentions of research during its life
- Facebook pages (not people's profiles) have shared papers 6.6m times
- Reddit = 600k
Bluesky is currently at 6m and climbing
Reposted by Freya Harrison
Thanks to Dr. Cassandra Quave for hosting me on her Foodie Pharmacology podcast!
We discussed the molecules responsible for the properties of medicinal plants - and how my lab studies the chemistry that plants use to make them. Check it out!
t.co/nEdpoyN8QD
We discussed the molecules responsible for the properties of medicinal plants - and how my lab studies the chemistry that plants use to make them. Check it out!
t.co/nEdpoyN8QD
September 15, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Thanks to Dr. Cassandra Quave for hosting me on her Foodie Pharmacology podcast!
We discussed the molecules responsible for the properties of medicinal plants - and how my lab studies the chemistry that plants use to make them. Check it out!
t.co/nEdpoyN8QD
We discussed the molecules responsible for the properties of medicinal plants - and how my lab studies the chemistry that plants use to make them. Check it out!
t.co/nEdpoyN8QD
“The new rule may someday be that there are no strict anaerobes; it's just a matter of how sensitive our methods are in detecting low oxygen concentrations.” #MicroSky
January 27, 2026 at 7:44 PM
“The new rule may someday be that there are no strict anaerobes; it's just a matter of how sensitive our methods are in detecting low oxygen concentrations.” #MicroSky
I just spent a very enjoyable hour talking to the awesome ethnobotanist Cassandra Quave for her podcast, Foodie Pharmacology - if you’re not already subscribed, check it out for fascinating food science, botany and microbiology content foodiepharmacology.com #MicroSky #SciComm
Foodie Pharmacology – The science podcast for the food curious
foodiepharmacology.com
January 27, 2026 at 7:42 PM
I just spent a very enjoyable hour talking to the awesome ethnobotanist Cassandra Quave for her podcast, Foodie Pharmacology - if you’re not already subscribed, check it out for fascinating food science, botany and microbiology content foodiepharmacology.com #MicroSky #SciComm
This is a very cool study! P. melanogenica was assumed to be a strict anaerobe because it doesn’t tolerate atmospheric O2 levels - but no-one had looked at how it responded to concentrations >0 but <21, until now. #MicroSky
Just when we think we've got them figured out, bacteria find a way to surprise us. For a century we've been calling Prevotella melaninogenica a strict anaerobe (oxygen =☠️), but its been chillin' in oxygen rich parts of the body -- the respiratory tract 👄🫁. A thread on a new preprint from my lab🧵:
Aerotolerant Capacity of the Lung Commensal Prevotella melaninogenica https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.19.700327v1
January 25, 2026 at 7:55 PM
This is a very cool study! P. melanogenica was assumed to be a strict anaerobe because it doesn’t tolerate atmospheric O2 levels - but no-one had looked at how it responded to concentrations >0 but <21, until now. #MicroSky
Lots of PhD opportunities for UK + international students involving my lab. Topics relate to metals & microbiology.
First up: TonB-dependent receptors in commensal Neisseria in my lab at Durham, with @kjosts.bsky.social and @mattbashton.bsky.social.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
First up: TonB-dependent receptors in commensal Neisseria in my lab at Durham, with @kjosts.bsky.social and @mattbashton.bsky.social.
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Nutrient uptake in commensal bacteria: exploring uncharacterised TonB-dependent transporters. at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Nutrient uptake in commensal bacteria: exploring uncharacterised TonB-dependent transporters. at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
January 25, 2026 at 7:47 PM
Super PhD opportunity!
🚨 Fully‑funded PhD for Home Students🚨
We'll explore non-antibiotic alternatives in relatistic environments, uncovering how they work, if they affect antibiotic activity and whether they influcence AMR acquistion. Come join a wonderful supervisory team!
#MicroSky #UTISky #AMar
tinyurl.com/38u552bu
We'll explore non-antibiotic alternatives in relatistic environments, uncovering how they work, if they affect antibiotic activity and whether they influcence AMR acquistion. Come join a wonderful supervisory team!
#MicroSky #UTISky #AMar
tinyurl.com/38u552bu
Optimising the use of alternative therapies for the treatment of urinary infections - The University of Nottingham
tinyurl.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:18 PM
Super PhD opportunity!
Reposted by Freya Harrison
Yesterday it was cows using tools, today its penguins using satellite imagery.
January 20, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Yesterday it was cows using tools, today its penguins using satellite imagery.
What does the latest UK Public Attitude to Science survey say? blog.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/britains-sci...
Seven in 10 Britons agree that science is such a big part of our lives that we should all take an interest.
Access to scientific information has exploded.
Yet engagement has not translated into confidence: the proportion who feel genuinely informed about science has fallen from 51% to just 43%...
Access to scientific information has exploded.
Yet engagement has not translated into confidence: the proportion who feel genuinely informed about science has fallen from 51% to just 43%...
January 20, 2026 at 8:39 AM
What does the latest UK Public Attitude to Science survey say? blog.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/britains-sci...
Reposted by Freya Harrison
Love microbes & omics? 🦠🧬
We’re hiring a Postdoc in Public Health Genomics at @unibirmingham.bsky.social
Work on cutting-edge research with wonderful people! @wvschaik.bsky.social @halllab.bsky.social @pathogenomenick.bsky.social @scalene.bsky.social @alanmcn1.bsky.social
📅 Closes 4th Feb
We’re hiring a Postdoc in Public Health Genomics at @unibirmingham.bsky.social
Work on cutting-edge research with wonderful people! @wvschaik.bsky.social @halllab.bsky.social @pathogenomenick.bsky.social @scalene.bsky.social @alanmcn1.bsky.social
📅 Closes 4th Feb
Research Fellow - Department of Microbes, Infection and Microbiomes - 105518 - Grade 7
The post holder will work within the newly established NIHR Health Protection Unit for Public Health Genomics, a partnership between the University of Birmingham and the UK Health Security Agency. You...
edzz.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com
January 16, 2026 at 3:56 PM
Love microbes & omics? 🦠🧬
We’re hiring a Postdoc in Public Health Genomics at @unibirmingham.bsky.social
Work on cutting-edge research with wonderful people! @wvschaik.bsky.social @halllab.bsky.social @pathogenomenick.bsky.social @scalene.bsky.social @alanmcn1.bsky.social
📅 Closes 4th Feb
We’re hiring a Postdoc in Public Health Genomics at @unibirmingham.bsky.social
Work on cutting-edge research with wonderful people! @wvschaik.bsky.social @halllab.bsky.social @pathogenomenick.bsky.social @scalene.bsky.social @alanmcn1.bsky.social
📅 Closes 4th Feb
Reposted by Freya Harrison
I have a question for people who do a lot of disk diffusion assays... have you ever seen enhanced haemolysis around azithromycin specifically? Does it damage RBCs so that bacterial haemolysis is more rapid, or is it maybe a stress response from the bacterium?
January 10, 2026 at 8:49 PM
I have a question for people who do a lot of disk diffusion assays... have you ever seen enhanced haemolysis around azithromycin specifically? Does it damage RBCs so that bacterial haemolysis is more rapid, or is it maybe a stress response from the bacterium?
Last night’s Witness History featured a pretty amazing character with a gift for storytelling. ANZAC soldier Rupert Westmacott talks about his experience in WWI at Gallipoli: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Witness History - Battle of Gallipoli - BBC Sounds
A New Zealand soldier's account of surviving one of the worst battles of World War One
www.bbc.co.uk
January 10, 2026 at 9:53 AM
Last night’s Witness History featured a pretty amazing character with a gift for storytelling. ANZAC soldier Rupert Westmacott talks about his experience in WWI at Gallipoli: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Reposted by Freya Harrison
I understand the pressures on the BBC, but Radio 4's coverage of the Minneapolis shooting is an example of "bad balance".
It's all "the Trump regime says she was a terrorist, but Democrats say it was murder".
The BBC has the footage. It doesn't have to treat truth and falsehood as equally valid.
It's all "the Trump regime says she was a terrorist, but Democrats say it was murder".
The BBC has the footage. It doesn't have to treat truth and falsehood as equally valid.
January 8, 2026 at 8:38 AM
I understand the pressures on the BBC, but Radio 4's coverage of the Minneapolis shooting is an example of "bad balance".
It's all "the Trump regime says she was a terrorist, but Democrats say it was murder".
The BBC has the footage. It doesn't have to treat truth and falsehood as equally valid.
It's all "the Trump regime says she was a terrorist, but Democrats say it was murder".
The BBC has the footage. It doesn't have to treat truth and falsehood as equally valid.
Reposted by Freya Harrison
It's important to understand the intentionality of Grok becoming a revenge porn + CSAM generation machine.
Devs would have had to *intentionally* train it on millions of not billions of porn images.
Devs would have had to *intentionally* train it on millions of not billions of porn images.
January 6, 2026 at 11:42 AM
It's important to understand the intentionality of Grok becoming a revenge porn + CSAM generation machine.
Devs would have had to *intentionally* train it on millions of not billions of porn images.
Devs would have had to *intentionally* train it on millions of not billions of porn images.
This is a super clear article that explains a lot about the choices made re chickenpox vaccination - via @pennysarchet.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...
January 6, 2026 at 12:18 PM
This is a super clear article that explains a lot about the choices made re chickenpox vaccination - via @pennysarchet.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic...
Excited to share this fully funded PhD position in my lab in collaboration with FBSDTP & @rachelmwheatley.bsky.social, focussing on how iron influences the ability of pathogens to invade the microbiome.
Advert:
research.reading.ac.uk/foodbiosyste...
Apply:
research.reading.ac.uk/foodbiosyste...
Advert:
research.reading.ac.uk/foodbiosyste...
Apply:
research.reading.ac.uk/foodbiosyste...
research.reading.ac.uk
January 6, 2026 at 12:07 PM
Reposted by Freya Harrison
🔊 Job Opportunity: Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Bacterial Evolution.
Looking to recruit a postdoc to join a UKRI FLF-funded project on antibiotic resistance evolution in the microbiome 🦠
3 years funding, deadline 26th Jan, please share!
hrwebapp.qub.ac.uk/tlive_webrec...
Looking to recruit a postdoc to join a UKRI FLF-funded project on antibiotic resistance evolution in the microbiome 🦠
3 years funding, deadline 26th Jan, please share!
hrwebapp.qub.ac.uk/tlive_webrec...
Job profile
hrwebapp.qub.ac.uk
January 5, 2026 at 10:00 AM
🔊 Job Opportunity: Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Bacterial Evolution.
Looking to recruit a postdoc to join a UKRI FLF-funded project on antibiotic resistance evolution in the microbiome 🦠
3 years funding, deadline 26th Jan, please share!
hrwebapp.qub.ac.uk/tlive_webrec...
Looking to recruit a postdoc to join a UKRI FLF-funded project on antibiotic resistance evolution in the microbiome 🦠
3 years funding, deadline 26th Jan, please share!
hrwebapp.qub.ac.uk/tlive_webrec...
Reposted by Freya Harrison
You're watching an Eden's whale (Balaenoptera edeni) in the Gulf of Thailand "trap-feeding" or "tread-water feeding."
It was filmed by NatGeo videographer Bertie Gregory in 2021.
Let's talk about what it's doing, how humans are involved & along the way, identify the origins of a Norse legend.
It was filmed by NatGeo videographer Bertie Gregory in 2021.
Let's talk about what it's doing, how humans are involved & along the way, identify the origins of a Norse legend.
January 5, 2026 at 1:56 PM
You're watching an Eden's whale (Balaenoptera edeni) in the Gulf of Thailand "trap-feeding" or "tread-water feeding."
It was filmed by NatGeo videographer Bertie Gregory in 2021.
Let's talk about what it's doing, how humans are involved & along the way, identify the origins of a Norse legend.
It was filmed by NatGeo videographer Bertie Gregory in 2021.
Let's talk about what it's doing, how humans are involved & along the way, identify the origins of a Norse legend.
US State Department says it will deny visas to 5 leaders in EU efforts to counter digital hate speech & disinformation, including ex EU commissioner Thierry Breton, accusing them of seeking to censor "American viewpoints.” www.france24.com/en/technolog...
Five Europeans denied US visas for combating hate speech online, accused of censoring ‘American viewpoints’
The US State Department said Tuesday that it would deny visas to five Europeans, including former EU commissioner Thierry Breton, accusing them of seeking to censor "American viewpoints" online. All…
www.france24.com
January 5, 2026 at 12:11 PM
US State Department says it will deny visas to 5 leaders in EU efforts to counter digital hate speech & disinformation, including ex EU commissioner Thierry Breton, accusing them of seeking to censor "American viewpoints.” www.france24.com/en/technolog...
Absolutely agree. @mattwestern.bsky.social is government use of X on your radar?
The logical consequence, in my opinion, would be to suspend X with immediate effect in UK and EU (and hopefully elsewhere too)
X should be prosecuted and fined for allowing this to go on.
All official accounts of governments and legislators should now retire from X.
X should be prosecuted and fined for allowing this to go on.
All official accounts of governments and legislators should now retire from X.
It gets *worse* than the nude deepfakes.
The UK and EU have said nothing.
The UK and EU have said nothing.
January 3, 2026 at 9:45 AM
Absolutely agree. @mattwestern.bsky.social is government use of X on your radar?
#immunosky #microsky folks: please could someone point me to literature that explains the UK‘s decision to finally roll out a chickenpox vax (impact of chickenpox/shingles/both?) and the pros/cons of this vaccine vs Shingrix? Am interested & it would be good to read up on for future teaching. Ta!
January 2, 2026 at 8:06 PM
#immunosky #microsky folks: please could someone point me to literature that explains the UK‘s decision to finally roll out a chickenpox vax (impact of chickenpox/shingles/both?) and the pros/cons of this vaccine vs Shingrix? Am interested & it would be good to read up on for future teaching. Ta!