I will probably be hiring either a PhD or a Postdoc in the near future. If you are interested in deep biochemical history or molecular mechanisms of evolution please get in touch.
🐦 Interested in avian reproduction, microbiomes, or reproductive microbiomes? I'm looking for outstanding early-career researchers interested in applying for an NWO Veni grant to join my group at NIOO. Pre-proposals are due after the summer. Email me to discuss ideas.
#EarlyCareerResearcher #Postdoc
This Friday: microbial superheroes in socially transferred materials! Those who know me can easily guess I will be mostly talking about the feeders, but one just has to appreciate _all_ the microbial goods that circulate in STMs.
The NWO Life conference was a blast! Great keynotes, very valuable input on our current research, and the cherry on the top was the focus session on socially transferred materials. There I gave a talk on my post-doc shenanigans regarding microbial up-cycling of social fluids in ant colonies...
... which means that less complex meals get co-consumed by the host and its microbes, who chip in some small molecules that metazoans cannot produce themselves (some amino acids, vitamins, etc.). Some of these heroes are well known, but some are truly unsung ones. Needs more research!
With Bart Pollux and @anikokorosi.bsky.social , I will chair the Focus session “Socially Transferred Materials" at NWO Life (28-29 May 2026) 🐜🐸🐌🐄🥚
Invites speakers are @sanjahakala.bsky.social , @pranasag.bsky.social, Peter Kwant and @melissahrowe.bsky.social
@socialtransfernet.bsky.social
I thank everyone who interacted and discussed our/their work with me, and especially the fellow social transfers (www.socialtransfer.net) speakers: Sanja Hakala, Peter Kwant, and Melissah Rowe; Kudos to @joriskoene.bsky.social, Bart Pollux, Aniko Korosi for organizing the session.
Why to choose between ants and microbes when you can have both? @khadlily.bsky.social, @adriatica.bsky.social and co. have been diving into what's happening in the honeypot ant repletes for years, and the first papers are coming out 🎉 (photo copyright: Smithsonian Institution-NMNH-Insect Zoo)
The metabolic modeling part of this manuscript is just the beginning of what we set up back in my previous life, last fall in Amsterdam. It was great to host Ian Oiler in the low lands back then, and happy to have laid my finger on this whole endeavor. Stay tuned for more ants AND microbes!
Where one finds food, lactobacilli follow - sweet sweet ant honey is not an exception at all. Quoting Oded Rechavi, the father of The Woodstock of Biology, what's the physiological relevance? Here comes the first set of genome- and proteome analysis-driven ideas on what these replete microbes do.