#ProtistsOnSky
no 'swimming' by 𝘝𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘺𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢, definitively no 'staying still'. just a relaxed walk towards the lunch...

We are hiring postdocs :)

The bacterial fugitives behind hospital-acquired pneumonia | The Tech Hospital-acquired 'A. baumannii' infections are notoriously hard to treat. A new study shows how these microbes can prolong infection by hiding from antibiotics inside immune cells.

Thank you Katya for this piece discussing our recent work on intracellular Acinetobacter thetech.com/2026/01/15/f...

Happy Halloween!!

Congratulations Evan, or I should say Dr. Pardue now!

The critical human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii exhibits light-regulated circadian rhythms Communications Biology - Gene expression studies in the critical pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii identified the existence of daily rhythms displaying a robust response to light, as well as...

Acinetobacter exhibits cyrcadian rhythms! These bugs can predict the light cycles and adjust the expression of genes accordingy. Amazing collaboration with Alejandra Mussi's team from Rosario, Argentina, my city!!
rdcu.be/eIQzL

Thank you! :)

Acinetobacter phages use distinct strategies to breach the capsule barrier Author summary Acinetobacter baumannii causes life-threatening and often antibiotic-resistant infections thereby posing a global threat. Accordingly, there is an urgent need for alternative treatments...

I said I will never work on phages, but having @micheleleroux.bsky.social next door made me change my mind. Here is Alexis's new paper showing how different phages deal with the capsular barrier to infect Acinetobacter! A great collaboration between our labs!
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

Dual Membrane-spanning Anti-Sigma 2 Controls OMV biogenesis and Colonization Fitness in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron Bacteroides spp. are Gram-negative, gut commensals that shape the enteric landscape by producing outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) that degrade dietary fibers and traffic immunomodulatory biomolecules. U...

Happy to share the last pre-print from my lab. Just in time for Evan’s thesis defense

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A Protein Antibiotic Inhibits the BAM Complex to Kill Without Cell Entry Many antibiotics are ineffective against Gram-negative pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa because they cannot penetrate the bacterial outer membrane. Here, we show that protein antibiotics calle...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

#microsky

The Feldman lab in the Acinetobacter conference in Niagara Falls

@benmicrobesmtg.bsky.social the organizers if the beneficial microbes conferences uninvited a scientist from the conference just based on their nationality. This act of racism should not be tolerated. I am happy I am not attending this conference. Shame on the organizers!

Highlights how the AMR crisis is also a cancer research issue

Redirecting just a tiny fraction of cancer research funding to AMR would be transformative

For those who have not seen Guy Cornelis in years, here you have the pic we took today. He looks the same, its quite remarkable!!

Today I gave a talk in Namur with a special guest: Guy Cornelis, the scientist that discovered T3SS and who was my postdoc advisor. He is retired now, came to my talk. I could not resist the temptation to take a selfie when I started my seminar! Academia has these great moments

Intracellular Acinetobacter baumannii Acts as a Reservoir in Lung Infection via a 'Persist and Resist' Strategy Although considered primarily extracellular, Acinetobacter baumannii can survive and replicate within macrophages in vitro. Intracellular bacteria are often protected from the host immune system and a...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Furthermore, using dual differential proteomics in collaboration with @nickescott.bsky.social we identified genes upregulated in both, the host and the bacteria. We show that genes involved in nutritional immunity, response stress and cell surface assembly are required for replication!

Yes! @manonjanet.bsky.social preprint is out! We show using BALF transfer that intracelular Acinetobacter baumannii can seed an infection in a susceptible mouse, suggesting that intracellular bacteria may be reservoir for recurrent infections
nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

Deadline for the travel awards is tomorrow! Check the conference website for more information events.faseb.org/event/biolog...

Prepa

The Feldman lab preparing the traditional empanadas for the department TGIF tomorrow.

The Acinetobacter conference will be held in USA for the first time. The program is coming soon. events.faseb.org/event/biolog...

A broad-spectrum lasso peptide antibiotic targeting the bacterial ribosome Nature - A new lasso peptide antibiotic exhibits broad-spectrum activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria by interfering with bacterial protein synthesis, is unaffected by common...

The latest discovery from the lab and great colleagues at McMaster and U Illinois, Chicago. Lariocidin, a new lasso peptide antibiotic that inhibits the ribosome. rdcu.be/efdha

so far I'm seeing a lot of universities respond to grant terminations with

"oh I guess now we don't have that grant anymore"

instead of

"your assertion of a grant termination is executive overreach, see you in court"

So, universities: respectfully, what the fuck?

In a science round table discussion yesterday, my NJ senator @kim.senate.gov suggested a strong argument for NIH and federal funding is global competitiveness. We US-based scientists should start weaving this into our narratives.

Travel awards for trainees and early-stage investigators to attend the 2025 Acinetobacter conference are available. Deadline for applications is April 30. Please rt.

events.faseb.org/event/1b872d...

Time to register to the 2025 Acinetobacter Conference in Niagara falls! Spaces are filling fast! We will soon announce some travel grants for graduate students/postdocs!

events.faseb.org/event/biolog...

👇🎯 The public isn't going to understand this, unless the presidents of R1 universities around the country <loudly> & <collectively> get out into the public square & start explaining this & calling out the existential threat to the entire 🇺🇸 university system. The silence is deafening right now.

can you explain this 3 year gap in your resume?

yeah the paper was under review

Program is ready and registration is open! Acinetobacter aficionados join us in Niagara Falls for some days of great science. events.faseb.org/event/biolog...

For the sake of humanity, it's time to get out there and Stand Up For Science!! Spread the word!