Joe Zackular
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joeyzacks.bsky.social
Joe Zackular
@joeyzacks.bsky.social
3.6K followers 850 following 160 posts
Assistant Prof at UPenn & Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Co-Director of Center for Microbial Medicine (https://tinyurl.com/2xve6jfp) at CHOP

We study host-pathogen interactions, C. diff, Enterococcus, gut microbiota, mRNA vaccines.

zackularlab.org
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joeyzacks.bsky.social
Joe Zackular @joeyzacks.bsky.social · 7d
Registration is now open for @keystonesymposia.bsky.social "Beyond #Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies Combating #BacterialInfection." Deadline for scholarships and abstract selected short talks is Jan 7! Join us this May for an amazing meeting! keysym.us/KSBeyondAntibiotics26 #KSBeyondAntibiotics26
Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection | Keystone Symposia
Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection, May 2026, in Breckenridge, with field leaders!
keysym.us
Reposted by Joe Zackular
wvschaik.bsky.social
Exciting new preprint from @amibhatt.bsky.social group

'A conserved sRNA regulates mucin adhesion and gut colonization across the Enterococcaceae'

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A conserved sRNA regulates mucin adhesion and gut colonization across the Enterococcaceae
Enterococci, particularly E. faecalis , can survive in diverse settings within and outside human hosts. The capacity of E. faecalis to colonize these locations relies on its ability to adapt by alteri...
www.biorxiv.org
November 26, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
minakimes.bsky.social
Just an absolutely gutting essay by Tatiana Schlossberg, a writer, mother of two young children, and cousin of RFK Jr who is dying of leukemia.

www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
As I spent more and more of my life under the care of doctors, nurses, and researchers striving to improve the lives of others, I watched as Bobby cut nearly a half billion dollars for research into mRNA vaccines, technology that could be used against certain cancers; slashed billions in funding from the National Institutes of Health, the world's largest sponsor of medical research; and threatened to oust the panel of medical experts charged with recommending preventive cancer screenings. Hundreds of N.I.H. grants and clinical trials were cancelled, affecting thousands of patients. I worried about funding for leukemia and bone-marrow research at Memorial Sloan Kettering. I worried about the trials that were my only shot at remission. Early in my illness, when I
November 22, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
david-grimm.bsky.social
EXCLUSIVE: CDC to end all monkey studies. Decision handed down by recent college grad and former DOGE employee who is now deputy chief of staff at the agency. Animals were being used in studies of HIV prevention. Some may be euthanized. My latest for @science.org
Exclusive: CDC to end all monkey research
Studies related to HIV and other infectious diseases will be phased out, sources say; fate of the agency's animals remains unclear
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
baym.lol
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics
From populations of multicellular organisms to selfish genetic elements, conflicts between levels of biological organization are central to evolution. Plasmids are extrachromosomal, self-replicating g...
www.science.org
November 20, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
centermicrobialmed.bsky.social
The Center for Microbial Medicine at CHOP is delighted to be a sponsor for this important @keystonesymposia.bsky.social meeting on emerging strategies for combating AMR! Come find us at the meeting!
November 20, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
joeyzacks.bsky.social
Registration is now open for @keystonesymposia.bsky.social "Beyond #Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies Combating #BacterialInfection." Deadline for scholarships and abstract selected short talks is Jan 7! Join us this May for an amazing meeting! keysym.us/KSBeyondAntibiotics26 #KSBeyondAntibiotics26
Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection | Keystone Symposia
Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection, May 2026, in Breckenridge, with field leaders!
keysym.us
November 19, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
maribyndloss.bsky.social
Join us in Colorado next spring for the Keystone Symposia “Beyond #Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies Combating #BacterialInfection”. Registrations are now open! Details below ⬇️
November 19, 2025 at 5:59 PM
joeyzacks.bsky.social
Registration is now open for @keystonesymposia.bsky.social "Beyond #Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies Combating #BacterialInfection." Deadline for scholarships and abstract selected short talks is Jan 7! Join us this May for an amazing meeting! keysym.us/KSBeyondAntibiotics26 #KSBeyondAntibiotics26
Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection | Keystone Symposia
Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection, May 2026, in Breckenridge, with field leaders!
keysym.us
November 19, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
gibbological.bsky.social
Don't miss out on our free virtual symposium (Dec. 12th) focused on microbial metabolites and their effects on the host.

Sponsors: @amiposts.bsky.social, Pendulum, & Liv (@zymoresearch.bsky.social)

Registrants will receive free memberships to Applied Microbiology International.

Details below 👇
isbscience.org ISB @isbscience.org · 13d
Join @isbscience.org on December 12 for a Virtual Microbiome Symposium highlighting new discoveries about how gut-derived metabolites affect neural, immune, and endocrine systems. Open to microbiome-curious researchers and practitioners everywhere. isbscience.org/events/2025-...
2025 ISB Virtual Microbiome Symposium - Institute for Systems Biology (ISB)
The gut’s microbial ecosystem produces diverse metabolites that actively shape neural, immune, and endocrine function. Join leading researchers on December 12 as they share new discoveries into these ...
isbscience.org
November 18, 2025 at 11:25 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
kimingeneva.bsky.social
Why does daptomycin resistance appear so fast in Enterococcus? We finally have a clue.

DAP resistance in enterococci pops up quickly. What’s been missing is why resistance-associated membrane changes look the way they do, and why the classic path of mutations is so predictable.
biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 9d
A two-component system signaling hub controls enterococcal membrane remodeling in response to daptomycin https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.16.688641v1
November 17, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
harmitmalik.bsky.social
Are you an early-stage graduate student (2nd or 3rd year) or early-stage postdoc based in the US or Canada, working primarily in Drosophila? Would you like to help improve the experience of all trainees working in Drosophila research? If so, read on.

(Please repost to reach a broad audience.)
November 12, 2025 at 4:49 AM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
wvschaik.bsky.social
Heroic work by @bluebirdsjunk.bsky.social in pulling this mammoth study together

'Staphylococcus haemolyticus Population Genomics Provides Insights into Pathogenicity and Commensalism'

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Staphylococcus haemolyticus Population Genomics Provides Insights into Pathogenicity and Commensalism
Staphylococcus haemolyticus is a common commensal bacterium but also an opportunistic pathogen, frequently implicated in bacteraemia and sepsis in preterm neonates and immunocompromised patients. Desp...
www.biorxiv.org
November 11, 2025 at 10:04 AM
joeyzacks.bsky.social
It’s been so much fun connecting with the 2025 @bwfund.bsky.social PATH cohort! Such an inspirational group of scientist @novaislab.bsky.social @adore.bsky.social @virulentmind.bsky.social
November 6, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
gregmedlock.bsky.social
I'll be speaking at Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection @keystonesymposia.bsky.social May 4-7, 2026. Abstract and scholarship submissions are open through Jan 7. Please encourage those in your network working on novel infection prevention/treatment to submit!
November 4, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
kimingeneva.bsky.social
We're just 6 months away from @keystoneSymposia.bsky.social Beyond #Antibiotics : Emerging Strategies Combating #BacterialInfection, May 2026 in Breckenridge! 👉Scholarship and short talk abstract deadlines are Jan 7! 🧐 keysym.us/KSBeyondAntibiotics26 #KSBeyondAntibiotics26
Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection | Keystone Symposia
Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection, May 2026, in Breckenridge, with field leaders!
keysym.us
November 4, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
laurenpalmer.bsky.social
This month, my lab celebrated our 5 year anniversary! On October 16, 2020, I rode the L train to start my lab at UIC, as the only lab member during COVID. In 2025, we celebrated together! It’s been such an honor that all these incredible people and more have chosen to do science with me!
2020-Lauren Palmer in a mask on the L 2025-the Palmer lab celebrating at a restaurant
October 31, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
microbiome.bsky.social
We selected the laziest mouse at each round to inoculate the next batch of germfree mice: over rounds of selection and passaging, behavior shifted without changes to the mouse genome: rdcu.be/eM3rO
🦠🧫
Selection and transmission of the gut microbiome alone can shift mammalian behavior
Nature Communications - Here, the authors present evidence that the gut microbiome alone, without changes in the host genome, can shape how animals respond to selection, identifying a bacterium and...
rdcu.be
October 28, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
alissarothchild.bsky.social
🚨Job posting! #UMassAmherst Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences is hiring a TT faculty member in #Immunology. Both fundamental and translational areas considered. Please spread the word!
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
Details - Assistant Professor - Immunology | Human Resources | UMass Amherst
careers.umass.edu
October 15, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
khadershabaana.bsky.social
UChicago Microbiology is searching for tenured or tenure-track faculty working in host-pathogens interactions, viral and bacterial pathogenesis, and emerging infectious diseases. Come join our vibrant Department! microbiology.uchicago.edu
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/174404
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
October 5, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
heran.bsky.social
We're hiring! Check out our ad and please re-post or forward to interested #Microbiology parties: apply.interfolio.com/174783
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
October 7, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
alanmcn1.bsky.social
After being with the journal since its very inception, the time has come for me to step back from Microbial Genomics. This is a wonderful opportunity to have a leadership role in one of the leading journals for microbial genomics research

microbiologysociety.org/news/society...
<i>Microbial Genomics </i> Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Call for Expressions of interest
microbiologysociety.org
October 7, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
microbiome.bsky.social
Thinking about a postdoc in microbiome science?
Our lab at the MPI for Biology (Tübingen) builds on the culture I established at Cornell: collaborative, creative, and internationally diverse. Postdocs lead their own projects with secure funding. Join us!
#PostdocJobs #HostMicrobe #AcademicJobs
October 4, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
tobinlab.bsky.social
Important piece from Sarah Stanley at Berkeley on new NIH definitions that can be construed to arbitrarily halt research that is both safe and important to public health and future cures www.statnews.com/2025/10/06/g... via @statnews.com
The NIH ordered me to stop my ‘dangerous’ gain-of-function research. It isn’t dangerous at all
Safe gain-of-function research is necessary to identify new treatments for diseases like for tuberculosis — but the NIH has imposed unfounded stops.
www.statnews.com
October 6, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
vscooper.micropopbio.org
Our new preprint by @nanamikubota.bsky.social shows that P. aeruginosa, and likely many other bacteria carrying filamentous prophages (like V. parahaemolyticus), risk being exploited by these phages in a runaway process that reduces fitness of both host and virus. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵
Filamentous cheater phages drive bacterial and phage populations to lower fitness
Many bacteria carry phage genome(s) in their chromosome (i.e., prophage), and this intertwines the fitness of the bacterium and the phage. Most Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains carry filamentous phages ...
www.biorxiv.org
April 3, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
baym.lol
What was antibiotic resistance like before we ever used antibiotics? How did we change what antibiotic resistance genes looked like over 100 years?

Our paper looking at resistance genes from a century of NCTC historical isolates now out in mGen:
www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
Genomic resistance in historical clinical isolates increased in frequency and mobility after the age of antibiotics
Antibiotic resistance is frequently observed shortly after the clinical introduction of an antibiotic. Whether and how frequently that resistance occurred before the introduction is harder to determin...
www.microbiologyresearch.org
September 1, 2025 at 5:49 PM