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Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT) @smitslab.bsky.social · 2h

Leids ‘superantibioticum’ houdt met lage dosis gevaarlijke darmbacterie in bedwang www.universiteitleiden.nl/nieuws/2025/...

Leids ‘superantibioticum’ houdt met lage dosis gevaarlijke darmbacterie in bedwang

Het in Leiden ontwikkelde antibioticum EVG7 slaagt erin om met een minimale dosis de gevaarlijke darmbacterie C. difficile te bestrijden. Bovendien komt de bacterie minder gemakkelijk terug, wat bij b...

www.universiteitleiden.nl

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Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT) @smitslab.bsky.social · 2d

New paper alert! In this work, published in @natcomms.nature.com we show that a new antibiotic is effective against (r)CDI. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Experimental glycopeptide antibiotic EVG7 prevents recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection by sparing members of the Lachnospiraceae family - Nature Communications

Treatment of Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) with vancomycin is associated with high relapse rates. In this study, the experimental glycopeptide antibiotic EVG7 was found to effectively treat CDI without relapse in a murine model of recurrent CDI.

www.nature.com

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Casey Theriot @theriotmicrobe.bsky.social · 3d

Really nice collaboration with the Martin and Smits labs at Leiden University Netherlands, designing and testing novel antimicrobials that target C. difficile but spare members of the microbiota, including Lachnospiraceae.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Experimental glycopeptide antibiotic EVG7 prevents recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection by sparing members of the Lachnospiraceae family - Nature Communications

Treatment of Clostridioides difficile infections (CDI) with vancomycin is associated with high relapse rates. In this study, the experimental glycopeptide antibiotic EVG7 was found to effectively treat CDI without relapse in a murine model of recurrent CDI.

www.nature.com

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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 12d

Cool Postdoc opportunity alert! UNC SPIRE (Seeding Postdoctoral Innovators in Research & Education)-it provides scholars with both high quality research training & the opportunity to develop research based teaching skills that will inspire students across the sciences 1/n
spire.unc.edu/program-info/

About Seeding Postdoctoral Innovators in Research & Education (SPIRE)

SPIRE’s Mission:

1) To provide scholars with both high quality research training and the opportunity to develop research based teaching skills that will inspire students across the sciences

2) To promote effective teaching and research partnerships between research intensive institutions and partner institutions with a large population of underrepresented students

The four major components of the SPIRE Postdoctoral Fellowship Program include:

Research
Teaching
Professional Development
Additional Opportunities

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Leigh Knodler @leighknodler.bsky.social · Sep 9

"We became inconvenient".

NIH whistleblower details clash over childhood vaccines with Trump administration: "We became inconvenient"

A former NIH official says she was removed after clashes over vaccines, accusing RFK Jr. and his deputies of posing "a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety."

www.cbsnews.com

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Angie Rasmussen @angierasmussen.bsky.social · Aug 24

If you believe that keeping your head down and being quiet will spare you from this fate, you are mistaken. This will be all of us.

Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · Aug 24

New York Times story with profiles of researchers whose grants were terminated.

[Gift Link]

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/o...

Opinion | America First? Not When It Comes to Your Health.

www.nytimes.com

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Julie Pfeiffer @jkpfeiff.bsky.social · Aug 18

Faculty search announcement 2025: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Microbiology at UT Southwestern. We seek candidates working in microbial pathogenesis (some preference may be given to bacterial pathogens). Come join our community! (1/5) www.utsouthwestern.edu/departments/...

Department members sit at a very long table in the hallway eating a pre-Thanksgiving potluck feast.

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Pieter Dorrestein @pieterdorrestein.bsky.social · Aug 12

The best of both worlds with awesome speakers that will focus on how the microbiome affects ecosystems at a mechanistic level. Can’t wait for this meeting.

Keystone Symposia @keystonesymposia.bsky.social · Aug 12

Two conferences, one reg! Sign up for Microbiome Metabolism & Metabolites + get Human Microbiome FREE. Joint keynotes: Emily P. Balskus & Mohamed S. Abou Donia. keysym.us/KSMicroMetab26 @pieterdorrestein.bsky.social @mfgrp.bsky.social @inesthiele.bsky.social #KSMicroMetab26 #KSMicrobiome26

Microbiome Metabolism and Metabolites: Discovery and Function in Health and Disease | Keystone Symposia

Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Microbiome Metabolism and Metabolites: Discovery and Function in Health and Disease, January 2026, in Banff, with field leaders!

keysym.us

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Jeff Jackson @jeffjacksonnc.bsky.social · Jul 29

A federal agency - which controls an enormous amount of money - is breaking the law to hide its decisions from you and avoid accountability.

Hey OMB, see you in court.

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Roy Cooper @roycoopernc.bsky.social · Jul 28

I have thought on it and prayed about it, and I have decided: I am running to be the next U.S. Senator from North Carolina.

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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · Jul 26

Thank you Senator Tillis! NC folks drop him an email or make a call and thank him

Maureen Barr @barrlab.bsky.social · Jul 26

From @aaas.org check-in with Sudip Parikh: a letter by 14 Republican senators urge the Office of Management and Budget to release NIH funding. If this includes your state (AL, ME, WV, SC, KY, KS, AR, PA, NC, IN, AK), Sudip recommends contacting & thanking them for being American science leaders.

Director Vought:
We write to ask you to fully implement the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, including funds appropriated for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The continuing resolution supp011s NIH initiatives across a range of critical research areascancer, cardiovascular disease, rare pediatric disorders, and more. These vital efforts are not only necessary to Make America Healthy Again, but also have a direct impact on American families, biomedical innovation, our economy, and competing with Communist China.
We are concerned by the slow disbursement rate of FY25 NIH funds, as it risks undermining critical research and the thousands of American jobs it supports. Suspension of these appropriated funds - whether formally withheld or functionally delayed - could threaten Americans' ability to access better treatments and limit our nation's leadership in biomedical science. It also risks inadve11ently severing ongoing NIH-funded research prior to actionable results.
We share your commitment to ensuring NIH funds are used responsibly and not diverted to ideological or unaccountable programs. We are confident Secretary Kennedy and Director Bhattacharya are well positioned to uphold gold standard research by ensuring that NIH awards are grounded in transparency, scientific merit, and a clear alignment with national interests. Our shared goal is to restore public trust in the NIH precisely because its work is focused on results, accountability, and real-world impact. Withholding or suspending these funds would jeopardize that trust and hinder progress on critical health challenges facing our nation. Ultimately, this is about finding cures and seeing them through to fruition.
We respectfully request that you ensure the timely release of all FY25 NIH appropriations in accordance with congressional intent. Doing so will ensure continued momentum in curing disease, supp011ing American innovation, and delivering result…

Sincerely,
Katie Boyd Britt
John Boozman
Shelly Moore Capito
Bill Cassidy
Susan Collins
Lindsey O. Graham
David H. McCormick
Mitch McConnel
Jerry Moran
Lisa Murkowski
Thom Tillis
Todd Young
Dan Sullivan
Tim Scott

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · Jul 26

We’ve known for months now that Vought was illegally impounding funds with the goals of rescissions. Better late than never for GOP Senators to politely ask that he stop breaking the law.

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · Jul 25

Wait, sometimes there are surprises. Apparently some Republicans have now grasped the immense damage to their communities caused by massive cuts to NIH funding.

We told them this beforehand, yet they still thoroughly enjoyed seeing the massive cuts…until it affected them directly.

14 Republican senators urge White House to release delayed NIH funds

Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) is leading the letter making the ask of OMB director Russ Vought.

www.politico.com

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bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · Jul 25

Enterococcus faecalis modulates phase variation in Clostridioides difficile https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.24.666506v1

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Pieter Dorrestein @pieterdorrestein.bsky.social · Jul 21

I am so excited about this meeting. I will cover the discovery of 10,000s new metabolites, including an entirely new class of molecules. Looking forward to hearing and discussing your science on microbiome metabolites and metabolism.

Keystone Symposia @keystonesymposia.bsky.social · Jul 21

⏳ Don’t miss it! Submit abstracts & scholarship apps for Microbiome Metabolism & Metabolites by Sept 23 (11:59 PM MT).
📍 Jan 19-22, 2026 | Banff, Canada
👉 keysym.us/KSMicroMetab26
#KSMicroMetab26 #Microbiome #Metabolomics @pieterdorrestein.bsky.social ‪@inesthiele.bsky.social

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Casey Theriot @theriotmicrobe.bsky.social · Jul 21

New paper is out from our lab showing that some probiotics can accelerate and prolong the return of colonization resistance to C. difficile after antibiotics.
news.ncsu.edu/2025/07/prob...

Probiotics Can Help or Hinder Gut Recovery After Antibiotic Treatment

news.ncsu.edu

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Casey Theriot @theriotmicrobe.bsky.social · Jul 18

Join us in Banff, CAN January 19-22 for the Keystone meeting on Microbiome Metabolism and Metabolites! Early scholarship deadline is September 23!

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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · Jun 27

Thanks to WRAL for documenting the tremendous impact of the Trump administration efforts to end important research grants
www.wral.com/news/local/u...

100+ UNC research projects lose federal funding

UNC-Chapel Hill is navigating a significant $126 million reduction in federal grant funding compared to last fiscal year.

www.wral.com

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Casey Theriot @theriotmicrobe.bsky.social · Jun 17

We are looking for a new postdoctoral fellow to join our team at NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine, near Research Triangle Park. If you are interested please DM me and or also apply here: jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/219...

PostDoc Research Fellow - Gut Microbiology - Theriot Lab

A postdoctoral scientist position (1+ years) is available in Prof. Casey Theriot’s group at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine (NCSU CVM).Duties and ResponsibilitiesThe suc...

jobs.ncsu.edu

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Joshua Weitz @joshuasweitz.bsky.social · Jun 23

The #SCIMaP team announces a major update: an analysis of the economic impacts of the White House's NIH FY26 budget.

Bottom-line, we estimate $46B in total economic loss, 202K lost jobs, and impacts in communities nationwide.

Interactive map and shareable report:
scienceimpacts.org/fy26

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Economic loss due to NIH budget cuts by congressional district, scienceimpacts.org/fy26

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Casey Theriot @theriotmicrobe.bsky.social · Jun 17

We are looking for a new postdoctoral fellow to join our team at NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine, near Research Triangle Park. If you are interested please DM me and or also apply here: jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/219...

PostDoc Research Fellow - Gut Microbiology - Theriot Lab

A postdoctoral scientist position (1+ years) is available in Prof. Casey Theriot’s group at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine (NCSU CVM).Duties and ResponsibilitiesThe suc...

jobs.ncsu.edu

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Isako Di Tomassi @isakoditomassi.bsky.social · Jun 16

Incredible work, JP!

#McClintockLetters

jp flores (he/him) @jpflores.rbind.io · Jun 16

So proud to be a part of @snapcoalition.bsky.social! We’ve worked hard on the McClintock Letters and are excited to read everyone’s pieces!

Check out 1/2 of my op-eds below:

indyweek.com/news/opinion...

Op-Ed: What Science Funding Cuts Mean for NC

Recent decisions to slash science funding are threatening to uproot decades of innovation, education, and public health in our state.

indyweek.com

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Pieter Dorrestein @pieterdorrestein.bsky.social · Jun 12

If you have ever wondered what might happen to short chain fatty acids made by the microbiome. Here is a large class of metabolites and how they link to biology. www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

The microbiome diversifies long- to short-chain fatty acid-derived N-acyl lipids

Mass spectrometry data mining tools enabled the creation of an MS/MS spectral library containing hundreds of N-acyl lipids, including conjugates with short-chain fatty acids. This resource enabled the...

www.cell.com

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Prof Gavin Yamey @gavinyamey.bsky.social · Jun 8

Jay Bhattacharya & Russ Vought are taking $566 million in NIH funding from my state (we are #2 in terminated grants)

The impact will be truly horrific, but these 2 men will rejoice 😡

Bhattacharya took $129 million from Duke’s HIV vaccine development efforts: www.dukechronicle.com/article/2025... 🤬

Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · Jun 8

This is all on Russ Vought at Office of Management and Budget for his insane crusade against federal agencies and universities and on Jay Bhattacharya at NIH for acquiescing to all this. It's red and blue states. It's going to hurt local economies and our nation's health. There is no good here.

A table from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) titled “Impact on states”, showing the financial losses by U.S. states due to terminated NIH grants in 2025. The table is labeled Table 2: The Financial Impact of Terminated NIH Grants on U.S. States and ranks 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico by the amount of NIH funding lost.
• Top 5 states by lost funding:
1. New York – $575,614,031
2. North Carolina – $566,096,741
3. California – $98,579,246
4. Texas – $71,809,080
5. Florida – $62,943,080

Other notable states:
• Massachusetts (#6) – $54M
• Maryland (#7) – $51.8M
• Illinois (#8) – $46.8M
• Georgia (#9) – $40.9M
• Tennessee (#10) – $34.3M
• Smallest losses are reported for:
• Idaho (#45) – $281,335
• Puerto Rico (#44) – $363,997
• Indiana (#43) – $571,041
• Iowa (#42) – $667,894
• Kentucky (#41) – $773,937

A footnote clarifies that no terminated grants were reported for North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas, West Virginia, or New Hampshire.

Sources listed include:
• Ross N, Delaney S, Barente A, Mairson E. NIH grant terminations in 2025 (via Grant Tracker, accessed May 5, 2025)
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, NIH
• ClinicalTrials.gov (accessed May 5, 2025)
• A link to the methodology: https://www.aamc.org/media/83351/download

The document is © 2025 AAMC.

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Gc Rox @gcrox.bsky.social · May 23

All of NIH funding to Northwestern University is frozen. This pause includes noncompeting approved funding, new and competing grants with fundable scores. No reimbursements for money already spent have been received since March. This situation is rarely reported so please Please get the word out!

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Casey Theriot @theriotmicrobe.bsky.social · May 21

Is it televised?

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