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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

@tlowepower.bsky.social

2.8K followers 1.7K following 1.1K posts

I study how bacteria kill plants. Interested across biological scales: molecular 🧬, cellular🦠, organismal 🧫, ecological 🥀🌍, and evolutionary 🧬. Optimistic pessimist: The world is dark, so how can we slow the decline?

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Nikkolas Smith @4nikkolas.bsky.social · 1d

after millions of views and shares of my Portland Frog art. (thank you all🙏🏾) I got requests to highlight priests, and chickens, and Chicagoans, and T-Rexes, and more… all of us who refuse to bend the knee. so this is for US.
𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚃𝚊𝚕𝚕.
𝚆𝚎 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚆𝚒𝚗.

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 1d

Careful on your ligaments 😅

Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 1d

I am so worried for the CDC.

It was the CDC and the WHO setting the standard for public health. Heart breaking that we are decimating an effective institution, careers, and lives. So many amazing public servants at the CDC.

Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 1d

I don't mean to snarkily rain on your parade. Have an awesome surfing day!

Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 1d

(Brags in California) 😜

Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 1d

Administratively postdocs are nested in the Grad School* (not that they are students). It's better than being isolated into some additional dean fiefdom with even less resources, I think.

Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 1d

I actively made connections with the grad students when I was a postdoc because I recognized that postdocs benefitted by connecting with the PhD students at Wisconsin.

Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 1d

Administratively they are here. IMO, institutional outcomes for postdocs are better when they can leverage grad resources too. That's been my opinion since I was a Ph.D. student. The cohort aspect of grad programs is a community catalyst.

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 1d

I like the Dean of Grad studies sending faculty this email to reinforce that faculty should support the careers of the postdocs in their groups.

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 1d

I think this is a positive way for institutions to celebrate Postdoc Appreciation week.

When I was a PD, I felt like the extent of my institution's appreciation was a free sandwich.

..."
"It is essential that all postdoc supervisors and mentors are familiar with the terms of the Postdoctoral Scholars’ labor agreement, which affirms that “adequate opportunities for professional development are essential and that a reasonable portion of paid work time will be allocated to professional development activities” (Article 20).

Postdoctoral scholars are not merely temporary research staff—they are emerging professionals in a critical phase of their career development. Their time at UC Davis should empower them to build the skills, networks, and experience necessary for future success, whether in academia, industry, government, or beyond. The University of California formally recognizes their right to pursue professional development activities during paid work time, reflecting our broader commitment to their growth.

As a mentor, you play a pivotal role in ensuring postdocs thrive. We ask that you actively support your postdoctoral scholars by:

Allocating time – Provide sufficient paid time for participation in career and professional development activities, including workshops, conferences, and courses.
Facilitating resources – Where possible, help identify and secure funding for these opportunities, such as registration fees and travel costs. External grants and fellowships can be invaluable in expanding access to these experiences.
Fostering mentorship – Maintain regular, open dialogue about research progress, career aspirations, and developmental goals.
Encouraging initiative – Empower postdocs to pursue new opportunities and build professional networks that will sustain their long-term success.

When postdocs are supported in developing their professional skills, everyone benefits—the quality of our research, the vibrancy of our academic community, and the broader impact of UC Davis as a leader in discovery and innovation."

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 2d

Systems papers are so hard to write for me

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 19d

Please repost -- The Univ. California Davis dept of Plant Pathology is hiring a Fungal biologist / Mycologist

Applications due Dec 1

Application portal: recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07339

Screenshot shows part of the job posting (with alt-text of the same text)

he Department of Plant Pathology at the University of California, Davis is seeking applications for a fulltime, tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Mycology, with a focus on plant pathogenic, symbiotic,
or mycotoxigenic fungi and fungal-like organisms (e.g., oomycetes). We are looking for a highly
motivated and creative scientist with a strong background in mycology and/or the biology of fungi and
fungal-like organisms that interact with plants. The successful candidate will be expected to develop a
world-class, externally funded research program that integrates both fundamental and applied aspects
of fungal biology within the context of plant pathology. We welcome applicants pursuing a wide range
of research topics related to plant-associated fungi, including but not limited to mechanisms of fungal
pathogenesis or symbiosis with plants, population genomics and evolution of fungal plant pathogens,
plant-associated fungal microbiomes and plant-microbe interactions, and/or one health approaches to
fungal diseases and antifungal resistance. Applicants working in other relevant research areas involving
pathogenic, symbiotic, or mycotoxigenic fungi or fungal-like organisms that affect plant health are also
encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will have significant opportunities for collaboration with
faculty in plant pathology, microbiology, genomics, and agricultural sciences, and to contribute to
addressing issues of importance to California’s agricultural and natural ecosystems.
The appointee primary teaching responsibilities will be teaching Introductory Mycology, an upperdivision lab class, and SAS 30, Mushroom, Molds & Society, a general education class for non-majors.
Additional graduate and undergraduate teaching responsibilities may be assigned based on
departmental needs and the candidate’s expertise. The department offers modern instructional
facilities, including a newly renovated teaching laboratory.

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 3d

National protest day

chasingmicrobes @chasingmicrobes.bsky.social · 3d

Spotted yesterday (Chicago)

www.mobilize.us/indivisiblec...

Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

The Ferrari Lab @theferrarilab.bsky.social · 3d

Troop deployment in Portland could still end up in history books as among the most tragic events in modern American political history, or a bright, colorful, musical turning point in America's march towards authoritarianism.

Keep it weird PDX. For all of us, just keep it very, very weird.

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 3d

#WarRavagedPortland

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Patricia Bernal @pbernalt6ss.bsky.social · 5d

Our paper, describing how the T6SSs of P. putida shape the tomato rhizosphere, is now in its final format in @isme-microbes.bsky.social ISME Communications. If you'd like to learn more, here is a thread (1/11) or read the Article doi.org/10.1093/isme....

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 5d

When will we officially create a department of propaganda?

Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 5d

... digest things, and then load up antigens like 20 aa peptide fragments into their MHC surface receptors. This allows them to present their antigen to T cells to find a T cell that matches the antigen.

(Source: cellcartoons.net)

Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 5d

I wish they had labeled the antigen presenting cells in these cartoons or had legends.

I was somewhere confused and wouldn't have puzzled it out if I hadn't had an animal immunology course almost 2 decades ago.

(The beige ones are macrophages or dendritic cells which phagocytose things, ...

Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 5d

Understanding how each vertebrate organism creates a population of T-cells with potential to recognize unpredictable threats, and how the body screens this population of T-cells to minimize the auto-immune receptors is so, so cool.

The layman's description is 👌

www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medic...

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 was awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi “for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.”

www.nobelprize.org

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Ellie Jameson @elliejameson.bsky.social · 8d

Day 3, Soft. Soft agar is used to visualise phages - plaque assay: bacteria infected with phages are mixed with soft agar, poured over an agar plate. A bacterial lawn grows & plaques appear - as phages infect bacteria, multiply, kill & repeat to form an expanding hole. #drawtober #SciArt #Phagesky

Black and white ink drawing of an agar filled petri dish with black spots or plaques covering the surface. One of these plaques is surrounded by a circle, connected by dotted lines to a larger magnified circle showing a lawn of bacteria punctured by a circlar hole with 7 smaller bacteriophages inside

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Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Dave Baltrus 🦦 @surtlab.bsky.social · 8d

Just pointing out that Universities signing the Faustian deal are still allowed to discriminate on admissions or hiring in a couple of very specific ways

Heidi Kitrosser @heidikitrosser.bsky.social · 9d

9 – EXCEPTIONS
Notwithstanding the forgoing, a religious institution may maintain preferences for religious affiliation or belief in hiring and admissions, a single-sex institution may maintain sex-based preferences, and any institution may maintain preferences in admissions for American citizens. Nothing in this agreement limits or displaces the limited exemptions for bona fide occupational qualifications based on religion, national origin, or sex provided by Title VII; the protections or exemptions provided by Title VII for religious employers and religious organizations; or the ministerial exemption recognized by the Supreme Court.
10. ENFORCEMENT
The leadership of an academic institution is directly responsible for its strategy, success, and adherence to legal and governmental requirements. On an annual basis the university’s President, Provost, and Head of Admissions shall be required to certify the University’s adherence to the principles contained herein.
The university annually shall conduct, or hire an external party to conduct, an independent, good faith, empirically rigorous, and anonymous poll of its faculty, students, and staff, providing them the opportunity to evaluate the university’s performance against this compact. The results of such surveys shall be made public and available on the university’s website.
Adherence to this agreement shall be subject to review by the Department of Justice. Universities found to have willfully or negligently violated this agreement shall lose access to the benefits of this agreement for a period of no less than 1 year. Subsequent violations of this agreement shall result in a loss of access to the benefits of this agreement for no less than 2 years. Further, upon determination of any violations, all monies advanced by the U.S. government during the year of any violation shall be returned to the U.S. government. Finally, any private contributions to the university during the year(s) in which such violation occu…

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 8d

Congratulations! It's a well done unit and will be great for teaching

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 8d

I said this was the new policy as a sarcastic joke when we were told there would no longer be custodial services for trash cans at work.

I can't believe this is a real marketing flyer

Reposted by Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠

Eric 🏳️‍🌈 @erichastie.bsky.social · 8d

Hi all! What does your department pay biology teaching faculty. Very curious! If you’d rather message me, please do!

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Tiffany Lowe-Power 🌱🦠 @tlowepower.bsky.social · 8d

Nice. We have some T6 toxins in Ralstonia with this sort of domain annotated on them. It will be useful for us to do sequence comparisons to your bona fide mechanism results