Last week we had the CCeMMP Symposium 2025. Fantastic event with an outstanding line-up of speakers. There were 2 poster prizes and 1 oral presentation prize; thrilled that we did a clean sweep! Huge congratulations @tiltedscientist.bsky.social @somavallyd.bsky.social and @lucatroman.bsky.social

We recently discovered a brand-new (and unique!) anti-phage defense system in bacteria. Check out this Pursuit article from @Melbourne University featuring our recent work. Terrific effort from our PhD student Somavally!

lnkd.in/geXUApmK

3 months, 3 thesis orations: a hat-trick moment for the lab!! 🎓🥳.
This time, Bindusmita in the spotlight! ✨ She delivered a fantastic thesis oration, packed with fascinating data and insights 🦠 ❄️ 🔬. It has been an absolute joy mentoring her. Huge congratulations @bindusmitapaul.bsky.social

Our collaborative work on the T9SS is just out in Nature Communications! Fantastic work led by Dhana Gorasia and Eric Hanssen. This paper reveals the structure of the T9SS outer membrane PorKN ring complex and mechanistic insights into protein secretion. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

In this system, bacteria detect phage infection through a sensor protein (YjbH) and respond by severing the infected part of the cell via aberrant division. The rest of the cell survives and continues growing happily, essentially, bacterial autotomy!

📣 New paper alert! Just out in Cell Reports! pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40644298/
Thrilled to share that we have discovered a brand-new anti-phage defense system! Bacteria have evolved various defense strategies (CRISPR etc) to counter phage attacks. We found a new one - fascinating and dramatic
⚔️🦠❄️🔬

Popular theory of eukaryogenesis suggests an Asgard archaeon once engulfed a bacterium, giving rise to the first eukaryotic cell. The bacterium became the mitochondrion. We show direct physical interaction between an Asgard archaeon and a bacterium via nanotubes! Maybe that's how it all started? 👀

Our CryoET imaging revealed N. marumarumayae possesses unique cell features that appear to reflect their ancestry as progenitors for the earliest eukaryotic cells. ❄️🦠 🔬

Did we see any secrets of eukaryotic life in these organisms? Extensive genomic analysis revealed metabolic capacities and many eukaryotic signature proteins, including ESCRTs, Sec23/24-like proteins etc and some completely novel folds!

In this study, we report ~ 90% (possibly highest to date!) enrichment of a new Asgard archaeon, “Nerearchaeum marumarumayae”, isolated from a microbial mat in Shark Bay, Australia, similar to what might’ve existed billions of years ago. Just the 4th member enriched from the Asgard superphylum!

Massive congratulations, @dcshepherd.bsky.social! #ThesisOration #LabMilestone #ProudMoment #ResearchJourney

This marks a huge milestone for our lab, and we couldn’t be prouder of everything he has achieved. The story he’s putting together is nothing short of inspiring.

Delighted to share our recent work in Nat Comms. This is a "Story of a dwarf predator"
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Fast forward 8 years, my PhD student Doulin attended the same conference in France and won one of the Best Poster Awards for his remarkable discoveries. Witnessing this scientific journey come full circle - from my own research to mentoring the next generation is both humbling and deeply fulfilling.

Grateful for the opportunity to deliver a keynote speech—my first-ever inaugural keynote!! But the real highlight was my student, Somavally, who won yet another Best Talk award for her outstanding presentation. Her phenomenal story will be out in the wild soon- stay tuned!

Another win for the lab! Due to family commitments, I missed this year's Lorne Proteins. This was 50th anniv, was sad to miss! However, delighted that our PhD student Milad won one of the poster prizes! That makes it a hattrick for our lab – 3 years 3 poster prizes! #ProudPI

Late post, but still in awe! We had a fantastic Electron Tomography Congress in Melbourne—an incredible lineup of speakers, engaging discussions on method development in both hardware and software space and cool science. A truly inspiring event!