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vscooper.micropopbio.org
Vaughn Cooper
@vscooper.micropopbio.org
7.7K followers 1.5K following 1.4K posts
Evangelist for the study of evolution in action by everyone.
Pitt Prof | EvolvingSTEM | biofilms | EvMed | genomics entrepreneur (@SeqCoast.bsky.social, @midauthorbio.bsky.social) | ASM President-Elect | exercise addict ~ swim bike run
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vscooper.micropopbio.org
Love the idea of the "deletion test" posed by @needhibhalla.bsky.social & coauthors in their commentary about costs of cutting DEI efforts in science.

What if that student were "deleted?" What will the costs be?

Screenshots attached to enhance access. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 5, 2025 at 8:49 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
pictures of my current favorite. the bags were for my recent GAP-C&O ride from Pgh to DC. it was perfect.
October 30, 2025 at 3:51 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
Morning!
October 29, 2025 at 1:09 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
Delighted that Pitt and the Jonas Salk team were recognized for its development of the polio vaccine with a @asm.org Milestones in Microbiology site!

It was my true honor to present this award last Friday on World Polio Day. Onwards towards eradication!

asm.org/press-releas...
October 28, 2025 at 5:29 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
DYK most P. aeruginosa carry filamentous phage(s) that don't need to kill the cell to reproduce?

We 👉🏻@nanamikubota.bsky.social show that these Pf phages can go ROGUE.

"Filamentous cheater phages drive bacterial and phage populations to lower fitness"

🔗 authors.elsevier.com/c/1lt5I3QW8S...
October 2, 2025 at 3:55 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
View from the lab now. Did I mention that we are recruiting faculty microbiologists?

www.linkedin.com/posts/vaughn...
September 29, 2025 at 2:43 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
3. Emily Kopania - VR Experience!
She is developing a virtual reality (VR) experience in which participants can see different views of natural environments through the eyes of different animals.
I am developing a virtual reality (VR) experience in which participants can see different views of natural environments through the eyes of different animals. These views are based on our current understanding of animals’ visual traits. I will use this VR experience to teach K-12 students and their families about the biology and evolution of the eye. I am partnering with Pitt BioSci Outreach to engage with students in underserved neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission to engage with students in rural Pennsylvania. Eyes are an ideal system to illustrate principles of adaptive evolution and the value of science for biomedical research. Animals show an amazing diversity of eye-related traits that are thought to have evolved in response to different visual environments. Science studying animal eye evolution has helped uncover genes and developmental processes that may underlie human eye diseases.
September 17, 2025 at 7:58 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
2. Becky Gonda and Pitt's Gene Team!
More with Tera Levin @teralevin.bsky.social and distinguishing food bacteria from pathogens.
Gene Team, a summer research experience for high school students, immerses participants in authentic university research while building science and college success skills. With support from a Catalyst Award, the 2025 and 2026 Gene Team cohorts are partnering with Drs. Tera Levin and Scott Nichols to explore how sponges, one of Earth’s earliest animals, distinguish food bacteria from pathogens. Students will generate new data on immune responses to bacterial components, helping trace the origins of immune pathways across 1.6 billion years of evolution. This research demonstrates how evolutionary biology and medicine intersect to deepen our understanding of immunity and infectious disease. Beyond the lab, Gene Team students share their work through the Gene Team Science Corps, a peer-led outreach program bringing hands-on, evolution-themed activities to STEM fairs and community events. This award will provide student support and outreach resources and inspire the next generation of STEM leaders while advancing community-engaged science education.
September 17, 2025 at 7:58 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
1. Abigail Matela for @evolvingstem.bsky.social !
Fun with Dicty and predation-resistant biofilms and better curriculum materials with @teralevin.bsky.social !
The EvolvingSTEM program partners with teachers to develop authentic research experiments that improve students’ understanding of evolution and microbiology and connects these topics to issues in medicine. In one of these experiments, students investigate how biofilm adaptations protect Pseudomonas fluorescens from being consumed by a common soil predator. This experiment allows students to study an important mechanism bacteria use to protect themselves from predation in natural environments and models how bacteria can evade phagocytic immune cells such as macrophages. The Catalyst Award will support a partnership between members of the Cooper, Levin, and Quigley labs. This collaboration will allow us to (1) improve curricular materials by making stronger connections between the students’ classroom experiments and their biomedical relevance, (2) implement the updated materials in Pittsburgh area middle and high schools, and (3) assess their impact on student occupational identity development using a mixed-methods design that collects quantitative and qualitative data.
September 17, 2025 at 7:58 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
September 11, 2025 at 4:11 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
September 10, 2025 at 9:26 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
When I moved to Pitt 10 years ago, colleagues said “you know, that trail across the river goes all the way to DC?”

After dozens of DC trips by 🚙✈️, I finally did it by bike.

3 days, 340 miles, 22:25 ride 🚴‍♂️ time. Unforgettable experience, friendly folks, spectacular scenery.
September 10, 2025 at 9:24 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
As promised, here is one way to make use of that delicious harvest
Peach-orange marmalade recipe from Grandma Neely (Cooper)
September 5, 2025 at 6:41 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
Hey AmNat fix your website vCards. In the meantime:
Phenotypic Variation in Overwinter Environmental Transmission of a Baculovirus and the Cost of Virulence
August 29, 2025 at 12:08 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
The 2024 rankings of bacterial threats
August 27, 2025 at 4:19 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
Happy “Fresh oil and chips” season to all cyclists who celebrate 🚴‍♂️😬😤
August 22, 2025 at 2:15 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
Our Pitt Microbiology and Molecular Genetics department in the School of Medicine is recruiting..

Microbiologists! 🧫🦠🔬🧪

Please apply to join our faculty and enjoy these views 👀 while doing great science

cfopitt.taleo.net/careersectio...
August 21, 2025 at 3:19 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
We miss our BIORETS teacher cohort already!

They learned to use and make @evolvingstem.bsky.social their own this summer, for the benefit of their grade 6-12 students this year.

Some of the lab and teachers here 🍻
August 12, 2025 at 10:49 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
this one's pretty cool too
a rusted fishing boat at dock
August 12, 2025 at 7:54 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
He recently reassembled his life collection of cameras, most of which still work. Amazing imo.
August 12, 2025 at 7:49 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
My dad recently traveled to Greece and Turkey with various cameras. This is one of my favorite shots with his Rolleiflex T, vintage 1958
Seaside view from Kusadasi, Turkey
August 12, 2025 at 7:45 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
Let's please keep the remaining staff at NIH, NSF, etc in our thoughts even as you lose sleep over your own lab and scientific career.

They are enduring pure chaos to try to hold the fort.

See snapshot from wapo.st/4feKKuu (gift 🔗) saying they are "barely holding it together"
July 30, 2025 at 3:51 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
Some good news from @asm.org about their efforts to fight unlawful grant terminations, such as MOSAIC

asm.org/press-releas...
We’re pleased to share a significant development in the lawsuit challenging the rescission of MOSAIC and other NIH grants. MOSAIC grants support scientists from a wide range of backgrounds in transitioning to research careers. The First Circuit has denied the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal and formally granted ASM’s motion to file an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs. In a 34-page opinion, the court found that the government is unlikely to prevail on its argument that the case belongs in the Court of Federal Claims rather than federal district court. The court also affirmed that the grant cancellations are subject to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act and cast doubt on the government’s ability to justify the terminations under the arbitrary-and-capricious standard. The court acknowledged the serious consequences of abruptly canceling scientific research grants and emphasized that the public’s interest is aligned with the plaintiffs. The government may now seek an emergency stay from the Supreme Court, and ASM is prepared to continue its legal actions at that level. We will keep our community informed about the next steps in the legal process. This is a promising moment: our strategy is gaining traction and sending a clear signal about the importance of fairness, transparency and due process in federal research funding decisions.
July 25, 2025 at 12:43 AM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
July 24, 2025 at 8:23 PM
vscooper.micropopbio.org
Congratulations Dr. Alecia Rokes! @aleciarokes.bsky.social
July 24, 2025 at 8:20 PM