Josh Mattila
@joshmattila.bsky.social
Researching macrophages and neutrophils in TB || Entomology PhD, ticks and tick-borne bacteria || macro photography and reef aquaria enthusiast || opinions my own || Northern Minnnesotan
Reposted by Josh Mattila
Scientists: have you been the target of an online harassment campaign, doxxing, or weaponized FOIA requests? I'd like to talk to you about steps you had to take to protect your digital security for an upcoming Nature story. (You can be anonymous if necessary.)
RTs appreciated.
RTs appreciated.
November 26, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Scientists: have you been the target of an online harassment campaign, doxxing, or weaponized FOIA requests? I'd like to talk to you about steps you had to take to protect your digital security for an upcoming Nature story. (You can be anonymous if necessary.)
RTs appreciated.
RTs appreciated.
Reposted by Josh Mattila
A genome-wide CRISPR knockout in a major malaria vector identifies genes important for fitness & immune-related processes @natcomms.nature.com @perrimonlab.bsky.social @iowastateu.bsky.social @harvardmed.bsky.social @georgesaman.bsky.social @vectorimmunity.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 25, 2025 at 7:41 PM
A genome-wide CRISPR knockout in a major malaria vector identifies genes important for fitness & immune-related processes @natcomms.nature.com @perrimonlab.bsky.social @iowastateu.bsky.social @harvardmed.bsky.social @georgesaman.bsky.social @vectorimmunity.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Josh Mattila
NIH extends the Oct-Nov deadlines to Dec 8, 2025 drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2025/11/24/n...
NIH extends the Oct-Nov deadlines to Dec 8, 2025
The NIH has issued a Notice (NOT-OD-26-012) which expands upon the prior warning (NOT-OD-26-005) about extending the current submission deadlines. It seems to be quite comprehensive. All grant appl…
drugmonkey.wordpress.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:19 PM
NIH extends the Oct-Nov deadlines to Dec 8, 2025 drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2025/11/24/n...
Reposted by Josh Mattila
Two new Cochrane reviews show strong and consistent evidence that HPV vaccines are effective in preventing cervical cancer and pre-cancerous changes, especially when given to young people before they are exposed to the virus.
www.cochrane.org/about-us/new...
www.cochrane.org/about-us/new...
November 25, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Two new Cochrane reviews show strong and consistent evidence that HPV vaccines are effective in preventing cervical cancer and pre-cancerous changes, especially when given to young people before they are exposed to the virus.
www.cochrane.org/about-us/new...
www.cochrane.org/about-us/new...
Reposted by Josh Mattila
Got the flu last year on Thanksgiving and it really sucked. Obviously vaccine is no guarantee you won’t get it, but it’s basically free with no downside and is, imho, a no-brainer.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...
A New Flu Variant May Make Cold Season Brutal This Year
U.S. flu rates remain low, but experts are keeping an eye on a new strain that’s been linked to unexpectedly early and severe seasons in several other countries
www.scientificamerican.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Got the flu last year on Thanksgiving and it really sucked. Obviously vaccine is no guarantee you won’t get it, but it’s basically free with no downside and is, imho, a no-brainer.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...
www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...
Reposted by Josh Mattila
Jumping spiders can recognise one another. This ability to learn, remember and represent images is quite surprising for such a tiny-brained animal!
buff.ly/dCkwPr0
buff.ly/dCkwPr0
November 23, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Jumping spiders can recognise one another. This ability to learn, remember and represent images is quite surprising for such a tiny-brained animal!
buff.ly/dCkwPr0
buff.ly/dCkwPr0
Reposted by Josh Mattila
We are looking for a postdoctoral fellow to work on induced proximity 🤜🤛 and functional genomics! Join our team in Toronto 🇨🇦 to tackle major challenges in oncology and neurodegeneration. www.nature.com/naturecareer...
POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW - Toronto (City), Ontario (CA) job with Taipale Lab, Donnelly Centre, University of Toronto | 12849004
The Taipale lab in the Donnelly CCBR and University of Toronto is looking for a highly motivated Postdoctoral Fellow
www.nature.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:51 PM
We are looking for a postdoctoral fellow to work on induced proximity 🤜🤛 and functional genomics! Join our team in Toronto 🇨🇦 to tackle major challenges in oncology and neurodegeneration. www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Reposted by Josh Mattila
I started studying phages just over 4 years ago. The project that started it all is finally published. We isolated 6 closely related anti-Acinetobacter phages and showed that they are not capsule-specific and can reduce bacterial load in a rat model. More work still to come on this! #phagesky #IDsky
A bacteriophage genus infects carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter baumannii via a non-capsular receptor and provides protection in vivo
Microbiology; Virology
www.cell.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:11 PM
I started studying phages just over 4 years ago. The project that started it all is finally published. We isolated 6 closely related anti-Acinetobacter phages and showed that they are not capsule-specific and can reduce bacterial load in a rat model. More work still to come on this! #phagesky #IDsky
Reposted by Josh Mattila
OspA Antibodies Inhibit the In vitro Transmigration of Borreliellia burgdorferi https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.20.689610v1
November 22, 2025 at 12:16 AM
OspA Antibodies Inhibit the In vitro Transmigration of Borreliellia burgdorferi https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.20.689610v1
Reposted by Josh Mattila
Ok, I've learned something new - acid fast stains bind nucleic acids and not mycolic acid on mycobacterial cell wall. The lipid-rich cell wall simply prevents acid-alcohol decolourisation, hence acid -fast.
#TBSky #IDSky @lancetmicrobe.bsky.social
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
#TBSky #IDSky @lancetmicrobe.bsky.social
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Fluorescent acid-fast stains for diagnosing mycobacteria and beyond: back to the future?
Acid-fast stains (AFS) remain indispensable in modern diagnostic microbiology; they
are used for detecting mycobacteria (including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium
leprae), acid-fast paras...
www.thelancet.com
October 25, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Ok, I've learned something new - acid fast stains bind nucleic acids and not mycolic acid on mycobacterial cell wall. The lipid-rich cell wall simply prevents acid-alcohol decolourisation, hence acid -fast.
#TBSky #IDSky @lancetmicrobe.bsky.social
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
#TBSky #IDSky @lancetmicrobe.bsky.social
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Reposted by Josh Mattila
Post-TB lung disease - the impact of TB on patients does not end with the course of antibiotics, characterised by substantial long-term pulmonary impairment.
Proposed case definition to support assessments and interventions in research studies 👇
#TBSky #IDSky @thelancetinfdis.bsky.social
Proposed case definition to support assessments and interventions in research studies 👇
#TBSky #IDSky @thelancetinfdis.bsky.social
Post-tuberculosis lung disease: a case definition for use in research studies
Despite growing awareness of the substantial burden of long-term pulmonary impairment
among tuberculosis survivors, marked variability in how post-tuberculosis lung disease
is defined across research ...
www.thelancet.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Post-TB lung disease - the impact of TB on patients does not end with the course of antibiotics, characterised by substantial long-term pulmonary impairment.
Proposed case definition to support assessments and interventions in research studies 👇
#TBSky #IDSky @thelancetinfdis.bsky.social
Proposed case definition to support assessments and interventions in research studies 👇
#TBSky #IDSky @thelancetinfdis.bsky.social
Reposted by Josh Mattila
Happy to share our newest preprint on antigen presentation of Mtb-derived peptides on MHC-I: www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
This is a follow up to our previous paper where we applied immunopeptidomics to understand MHC-I presentation by Mtb-infected cells: elifesciences.org/articles/84070
This is a follow up to our previous paper where we applied immunopeptidomics to understand MHC-I presentation by Mtb-infected cells: elifesciences.org/articles/84070
www.biorxiv.org
November 20, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Happy to share our newest preprint on antigen presentation of Mtb-derived peptides on MHC-I: www.biorxiv.org/cgi/content/...
This is a follow up to our previous paper where we applied immunopeptidomics to understand MHC-I presentation by Mtb-infected cells: elifesciences.org/articles/84070
This is a follow up to our previous paper where we applied immunopeptidomics to understand MHC-I presentation by Mtb-infected cells: elifesciences.org/articles/84070
Reposted by Josh Mattila
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/...
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
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/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Systematic benchmarking of imaging spatial transcriptomics platforms in FFPE tissues
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Systematic benchmarking of imaging spatial transcriptomics platforms in FFPE tissues - Nature Communications
Wang, Huang, Nelson, Gao, and colleagues perform a head-to-head comparison of multiple platforms for imaging spatial transcriptomics, determining their relative sensitivity, specificity, and ability t...
www.nature.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Systematic benchmarking of imaging spatial transcriptomics platforms in FFPE tissues
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Josh Mattila
Every few years I feel compelled to post about the best hotel hack ever, because every time I post about it, it turns out to be new to lots of folks …
November 20, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Every few years I feel compelled to post about the best hotel hack ever, because every time I post about it, it turns out to be new to lots of folks …
Reposted by Josh Mattila
Assistant Professor position posted for my Department, Biological Sciences at UNC Charlotte! Current research foci: Immunology, Microbiology, Virology; Biomolecular Function; Proteostasis; Genome Integrity; Epigenome Regulation; Cancer; Environmental Risks. jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/65141
Assistant Professor
Applicants should possess a Ph.D. in the biological sciences or related fields.Candidates are expected to document expertise in their specialty by a record of postdoctoral training, peer reviewed publ...
jobs.charlotte.edu
November 19, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Assistant Professor position posted for my Department, Biological Sciences at UNC Charlotte! Current research foci: Immunology, Microbiology, Virology; Biomolecular Function; Proteostasis; Genome Integrity; Epigenome Regulation; Cancer; Environmental Risks. jobs.charlotte.edu/postings/65141
Reposted by Josh Mattila
We're looking for a PhD student! If you're interested in #fungal #genomics & #TEs, meiotic drive, or pathogens, please consider applying. The project is about toxin/antidote genes in the human fungal pathogen A. fumigatus. uu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
November 19, 2025 at 9:20 AM
We're looking for a PhD student! If you're interested in #fungal #genomics & #TEs, meiotic drive, or pathogens, please consider applying. The project is about toxin/antidote genes in the human fungal pathogen A. fumigatus. uu.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
Reposted by Josh Mattila
This makes me so angry.
Vaccines based on mRNA can be tailored to target a cancer patient’s unique tumor mutations. But crumbling support for cancer and mRNA vaccine research has endangered this promising therapy
Personalized Cancer Vaccines Are Almost Here—But Federal Funding Cuts Could Derail Them
Vaccines based on mRNA can be tailored to target a cancer patient’s unique tumor mutations. But crumbling support for cancer and mRNA vaccine research has endangered this promising therapy
www.scientificamerican.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:32 AM
This makes me so angry.
Reposted by Josh Mattila
The University at Albany Biomedical Sciences Department is hiring at the Assistant Professor level. We are looking for researchers at the intersection of infectious disease and artificial intelligence:
albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
#infectiousdisease #artificialintelligence
albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
#infectiousdisease #artificialintelligence
albany.interviewexchange.com
November 18, 2025 at 10:45 PM
The University at Albany Biomedical Sciences Department is hiring at the Assistant Professor level. We are looking for researchers at the intersection of infectious disease and artificial intelligence:
albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
#infectiousdisease #artificialintelligence
albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
#infectiousdisease #artificialintelligence
Reposted by Josh Mattila
Mitochondria-organelle crosstalk in establishing compartmentalized metabolic homeostasis
www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
May 1, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Mitochondria-organelle crosstalk in establishing compartmentalized metabolic homeostasis
www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
www.cell.com/molecular-ce...
Reposted by Josh Mattila
We built GenoPHI: a machine learning workflow that predicts phage-host interactions at strain level. This could help rapidly select phages to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections or for microbiome engineering without exhaustive lab testing.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
November 16, 2025 at 11:16 PM
We built GenoPHI: a machine learning workflow that predicts phage-host interactions at strain level. This could help rapidly select phages to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections or for microbiome engineering without exhaustive lab testing.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Josh Mattila
Pls share with grads and undergrads! Multiple grant opportunities from @xercessociety.bsky.social
Deadline is January 7, 2026.
Deadline is January 7, 2026.
Spread the word: we are providing multiple $5k awards for grad & undergrad research on invertebrate conservation !! In addition to our continuing DeWind Award (for Lepidoptera research), we now have the 1st annual BanDrosky Award (for any invert in decline). Details in thread🧵 ⤵️
November 13, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Pls share with grads and undergrads! Multiple grant opportunities from @xercessociety.bsky.social
Deadline is January 7, 2026.
Deadline is January 7, 2026.
Reposted by Josh Mattila
NIH grant applicants:
October and November grant application submission *deadlines* will be rescheduled (🤯). Specific dates TBD.
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
October and November grant application submission *deadlines* will be rescheduled (🤯). Specific dates TBD.
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
NOT-OD-26-005: Interim Guidance on Reopening of NIH Extramural Activities
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Interim Guidance on Reopening of NIH Extramural Activities NOT-OD-26-005. NIH
grants.nih.gov
November 14, 2025 at 8:45 PM
NIH grant applicants:
October and November grant application submission *deadlines* will be rescheduled (🤯). Specific dates TBD.
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
October and November grant application submission *deadlines* will be rescheduled (🤯). Specific dates TBD.
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
Reposted by Josh Mattila
Highly pathogenic H5N5 avian flu has mostly been detected in wild birds and transmitted from Europe to N. America by pelagic seabirds. Mammals (seals, walrus, cats) have been infected, but this is the 1st documented human case. Some have a PB2-E627K mutation known to facilitate mammalian adaptation.
A case in WA of H5N5 (not H5N1), a strain of avian influenza not seen in humans before:
“This is a severely ill patient,” hospitalized w/ high fever, confusion & respiratory distress, said the state epidemiologist.
They have a mixed backyard flock...
1/2
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
“This is a severely ill patient,” hospitalized w/ high fever, confusion & respiratory distress, said the state epidemiologist.
They have a mixed backyard flock...
1/2
www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...
First U.S. case of human bird flu in 9 months confirmed in Washington state
The U.S. has reported its first human case of bird flu since February, with a confirmed infection in Washington state
www.washingtonpost.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Highly pathogenic H5N5 avian flu has mostly been detected in wild birds and transmitted from Europe to N. America by pelagic seabirds. Mammals (seals, walrus, cats) have been infected, but this is the 1st documented human case. Some have a PB2-E627K mutation known to facilitate mammalian adaptation.
Reposted by Josh Mattila
A 47-year-old airline pilot from New Jersey is the first person known to have died from alpha-gal syndrome, a red meat allergy caused by a tick bite.
First death reported from meat allergy caused by tick bite
After months of investigation, researchers confirmed that a New Jersey man died of a tickborne allergy called alpha-gal syndrome after eating a hamburger.
nbcnews.to
November 14, 2025 at 12:20 AM
A 47-year-old airline pilot from New Jersey is the first person known to have died from alpha-gal syndrome, a red meat allergy caused by a tick bite.