Julia Willett
@jlewillett.bsky.social
Assistant Professor in Micro & Immuno at U Minnesota. Bacterial interactions/biofilms/uncharacterized genes/T7SS. I like wine, traveling, and the LA Kings. She/her.
Pinned
Julia Willett
@jlewillett.bsky.social
· Feb 5
How it feels as an Assistant Professor being told to just keep submitting NIH grants because at least ASSIST and eEA Commons are still functioning
Reposted by Julia Willett
So happy to announce our new preprint, “A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes.” We cultured a novel amoeba from Lassen Volcanic NP (CA, USA) that divides at 63°C (145°F) 🔥 - a new record for euk growth!
#protistsonsky 🧵
#protistsonsky 🧵
November 25, 2025 at 8:41 PM
So happy to announce our new preprint, “A geothermal amoeba sets a new upper temperature limit for eukaryotes.” We cultured a novel amoeba from Lassen Volcanic NP (CA, USA) that divides at 63°C (145°F) 🔥 - a new record for euk growth!
#protistsonsky 🧵
#protistsonsky 🧵
Reposted by Julia Willett
‼️🚨🗓️ CONTAMCALENDAR 2026 🗓️🚨‼️
Excited to say the ContamCalendar is back for its fifth edition! We’ve created a fresh new design, folding out for an A3 monthly spread. It’s our best yet, we hope you’ll love it 🗓️🦠🧫🍄
Get yours here ➡️ www.contam.club ⬅️
Excited to say the ContamCalendar is back for its fifth edition! We’ve created a fresh new design, folding out for an A3 monthly spread. It’s our best yet, we hope you’ll love it 🗓️🦠🧫🍄
Get yours here ➡️ www.contam.club ⬅️
November 21, 2025 at 3:30 PM
‼️🚨🗓️ CONTAMCALENDAR 2026 🗓️🚨‼️
Excited to say the ContamCalendar is back for its fifth edition! We’ve created a fresh new design, folding out for an A3 monthly spread. It’s our best yet, we hope you’ll love it 🗓️🦠🧫🍄
Get yours here ➡️ www.contam.club ⬅️
Excited to say the ContamCalendar is back for its fifth edition! We’ve created a fresh new design, folding out for an A3 monthly spread. It’s our best yet, we hope you’ll love it 🗓️🦠🧫🍄
Get yours here ➡️ www.contam.club ⬅️
Reposted by Julia Willett
About that exclusive, "closed-to-press" MAHA summit last week with RFK and JD Vance: I got in.
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
November 21, 2025 at 5:01 PM
About that exclusive, "closed-to-press" MAHA summit last week with RFK and JD Vance: I got in.
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Julia Willett
JAMA study: NIH grant terminations disrupted 3.5% of active clinical trials, affecting over 74,000 patients and resulting in a $1.81 billion funding loss. More than 115 active cancer trials were disrupted. www.ajmc.com/view/nih-gra...
NIH Grant Terminations Disrupt 1 in 30 Clinical Trials, Impacting Over 74,000 Participants | AJMC
Infectious disease was hit hardest by funding cuts to NIH grant for clinical trials that did not align with the Trump administration's priorities.
www.ajmc.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:31 PM
JAMA study: NIH grant terminations disrupted 3.5% of active clinical trials, affecting over 74,000 patients and resulting in a $1.81 billion funding loss. More than 115 active cancer trials were disrupted. www.ajmc.com/view/nih-gra...
Reposted by Julia Willett
Two unrelated Pseudomonas aeruginosa phages require the exopolysaccharide Psl for infection
NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes from Courtney Reichhardt and @micheleleroux.bsky.social and colleagues
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes from Courtney Reichhardt and @micheleleroux.bsky.social and colleagues
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Two unrelated Pseudomonas aeruginosa phages require the exopolysaccharide Psl for infection - npj Biofilms and Microbiomes
npj Biofilms and Microbiomes - Two unrelated Pseudomonas aeruginosa phages require the exopolysaccharide Psl for infection
www.nature.com
November 19, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Two unrelated Pseudomonas aeruginosa phages require the exopolysaccharide Psl for infection
NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes from Courtney Reichhardt and @micheleleroux.bsky.social and colleagues
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes from Courtney Reichhardt and @micheleleroux.bsky.social and colleagues
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Julia Willett
It’s World AMR Awareness Week, and this year I had the honor to re-imagine and doodle the antibiotics in the antibiotic personality quiz 😇🖍️
Thank u @brxad.bsky.social for this amazing and fun opportunity!
C’mon, take the quiz, it’s a #WAAW tradition 😉💊
#IDSky
quiz.tryinteract.com#/59e68e3a8ec...
Thank u @brxad.bsky.social for this amazing and fun opportunity!
C’mon, take the quiz, it’s a #WAAW tradition 😉💊
#IDSky
quiz.tryinteract.com#/59e68e3a8ec...
November 18, 2025 at 11:11 PM
It’s World AMR Awareness Week, and this year I had the honor to re-imagine and doodle the antibiotics in the antibiotic personality quiz 😇🖍️
Thank u @brxad.bsky.social for this amazing and fun opportunity!
C’mon, take the quiz, it’s a #WAAW tradition 😉💊
#IDSky
quiz.tryinteract.com#/59e68e3a8ec...
Thank u @brxad.bsky.social for this amazing and fun opportunity!
C’mon, take the quiz, it’s a #WAAW tradition 😉💊
#IDSky
quiz.tryinteract.com#/59e68e3a8ec...
Reposted by Julia Willett
Why does daptomycin resistance appear so fast in Enterococcus? We finally have a clue.
DAP resistance in enterococci pops up quickly. What’s been missing is why resistance-associated membrane changes look the way they do, and why the classic path of mutations is so predictable.
DAP resistance in enterococci pops up quickly. What’s been missing is why resistance-associated membrane changes look the way they do, and why the classic path of mutations is so predictable.
A two-component system signaling hub controls enterococcal membrane remodeling in response to daptomycin https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.16.688641v1
November 17, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Why does daptomycin resistance appear so fast in Enterococcus? We finally have a clue.
DAP resistance in enterococci pops up quickly. What’s been missing is why resistance-associated membrane changes look the way they do, and why the classic path of mutations is so predictable.
DAP resistance in enterococci pops up quickly. What’s been missing is why resistance-associated membrane changes look the way they do, and why the classic path of mutations is so predictable.
Reposted by Julia Willett
Merck is accepting applications for its 2026 Future Talent Program - these are internships and co-ops in a variety of areas including drug discovery, vaccines, clinical trials, biostatistics, epidemiology, HEOR, data science, regulatory affairs, and more
#chemsky 🧪⚗️
jobs.merck.com/us/en/search...
#chemsky 🧪⚗️
jobs.merck.com/us/en/search...
Your job search results | Merck Careers
jobs.merck.com
September 18, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Merck is accepting applications for its 2026 Future Talent Program - these are internships and co-ops in a variety of areas including drug discovery, vaccines, clinical trials, biostatistics, epidemiology, HEOR, data science, regulatory affairs, and more
#chemsky 🧪⚗️
jobs.merck.com/us/en/search...
#chemsky 🧪⚗️
jobs.merck.com/us/en/search...
Reposted by Julia Willett
In my dozen years on NIH study sections, grants pulled out of the triage bin for discussions never moved into funding range. But there’s a huge difference between getting ND and getting serious critiques that can help scientists refine or redirect their efforts. This is a loss esp for jr scientists.
aa.com
November 16, 2025 at 1:31 AM
In my dozen years on NIH study sections, grants pulled out of the triage bin for discussions never moved into funding range. But there’s a huge difference between getting ND and getting serious critiques that can help scientists refine or redirect their efforts. This is a loss esp for jr scientists.
Reposted by Julia Willett
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 Julia Willett
Holy crap. They're triaging 2 out of 3 applications that are submitted. 2 out of every 3 applications will not even have a chance for discussion.
Just got an email from my SRO for the study section that was missed in October. Good news is that they are trying to reschedule ASAP (Dec/Jan). The bad news is that CSR is mandating that only the the top third (not half) of applications will get discussed for the next 2 rounds.
November 13, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Holy crap. They're triaging 2 out of 3 applications that are submitted. 2 out of every 3 applications will not even have a chance for discussion.
Reposted by Julia Willett
Up to 323 cancelled CSR study sections. That's more than the 204 sections cancelled earlier this year. Rescheduling is going to be a hot mess with NIH staff reductions and study section members heading into finals and holidays that limit availability. 🧪
Been a rough year for federally funded scientists, and I hate to add another tab to this spreadsheet. So far, the shutdown has resulted in cancellation of 161 CSR study sections. 🧪https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lLEx14q7HKrlYahQYJaN6aHKpMqSMJwX4aenyL5g_ZU/edit?usp=sharing
2025 Study section tracking
docs.google.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Up to 323 cancelled CSR study sections. That's more than the 204 sections cancelled earlier this year. Rescheduling is going to be a hot mess with NIH staff reductions and study section members heading into finals and holidays that limit availability. 🧪
Reposted by Julia Willett
The shutdown put incredible strain on so many families and dedicated civil servants, but at least it was all for fucking nothing.
November 10, 2025 at 5:02 AM
The shutdown put incredible strain on so many families and dedicated civil servants, but at least it was all for fucking nothing.
Reposted by Julia Willett
How about we shut down the government for this very popular and specific goal and then, hear me out, we hold out for like a month and a half and then, ok this part is important, after a watershed election where we ran the table, ONLY THEN, fold and don't get the one thing we said we wanted.
November 10, 2025 at 2:31 AM
How about we shut down the government for this very popular and specific goal and then, hear me out, we hold out for like a month and a half and then, ok this part is important, after a watershed election where we ran the table, ONLY THEN, fold and don't get the one thing we said we wanted.
Reposted by Julia Willett
Delighted that our review on resistance to last-resort antibiotics in Enterococci has been published in FEMS Microbiology Reviews
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan... (accepted manuscript version)
TL;DR: the Enterococci are really good at evolving resistance to antibiotics in new and creative ways.
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan... (accepted manuscript version)
TL;DR: the Enterococci are really good at evolving resistance to antibiotics in new and creative ways.
Resistance to last-resort antibiotics in enterococci
Abstract. The genus Enterococcus comprises a diverse group of species, many of which are commensal members of the gut microbiota of humans and animals. The
academic.oup.com
November 8, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Delighted that our review on resistance to last-resort antibiotics in Enterococci has been published in FEMS Microbiology Reviews
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan... (accepted manuscript version)
TL;DR: the Enterococci are really good at evolving resistance to antibiotics in new and creative ways.
academic.oup.com/femsre/advan... (accepted manuscript version)
TL;DR: the Enterococci are really good at evolving resistance to antibiotics in new and creative ways.
Reposted by Julia Willett
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Reposted by Julia Willett
Raise a glass for Rosalind Franklin tonight and honor her memory and scientific contributions
NYT obituary of Jim Watson.
A long and fairly balanced view of a complicated man who participated in one of the greatest discoveries in biology.
[Gift Link]
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/s...
A long and fairly balanced view of a complicated man who participated in one of the greatest discoveries in biology.
[Gift Link]
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/s...
James Watson, Co-Discoverer of the Structure of DNA, Is Dead at 97
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Raise a glass for Rosalind Franklin tonight and honor her memory and scientific contributions
Reposted by Julia Willett
Director Bhattacharya "Let's fund emerging investigators"
Yeah, who's the idiot running NIH who allowed 15% or few fewer early stage investigators be funded in FY2025 compared to FY2024?
(Estimate: The official numbers are not yet available (at least publicly)
Yeah, who's the idiot running NIH who allowed 15% or few fewer early stage investigators be funded in FY2025 compared to FY2024?
(Estimate: The official numbers are not yet available (at least publicly)
November 6, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Director Bhattacharya "Let's fund emerging investigators"
Yeah, who's the idiot running NIH who allowed 15% or few fewer early stage investigators be funded in FY2025 compared to FY2024?
(Estimate: The official numbers are not yet available (at least publicly)
Yeah, who's the idiot running NIH who allowed 15% or few fewer early stage investigators be funded in FY2025 compared to FY2024?
(Estimate: The official numbers are not yet available (at least publicly)
Reposted by Julia Willett
Zara Weinberg passed away earlier this week. She joined my lab earlier this year when her postdoc lab formally closed.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
October 31, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Zara Weinberg passed away earlier this week. She joined my lab earlier this year when her postdoc lab formally closed.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
She was a brilliant scientist, supportive mentor, dear friend, avid music fan, rabid believer in public transit, open science champion, and above all just an amazing human.
Reposted by Julia Willett
The #FindThatLizard Scholarship is accepting applications until 12/10.
We fund girls, women, and gender non conforming persons pursuing herpetology🦎🐍🐸🐢
I can’t wait to read your application! earynmcgee.com/findthatliza...
We fund girls, women, and gender non conforming persons pursuing herpetology🦎🐍🐸🐢
I can’t wait to read your application! earynmcgee.com/findthatliza...
November 5, 2025 at 2:37 PM
The #FindThatLizard Scholarship is accepting applications until 12/10.
We fund girls, women, and gender non conforming persons pursuing herpetology🦎🐍🐸🐢
I can’t wait to read your application! earynmcgee.com/findthatliza...
We fund girls, women, and gender non conforming persons pursuing herpetology🦎🐍🐸🐢
I can’t wait to read your application! earynmcgee.com/findthatliza...
Reposted by Julia Willett
New week, new episode of #MattersMicrobial. This time, Dr. Jessica Mark Welch of the Forsyth Institute joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the microbiogeography of the human tongue and related issues. Please spread the #GoodMicrobialWord!
youtu.be/VGD8jkNJHKo?...
youtu.be/VGD8jkNJHKo?...
October 31, 2025 at 9:15 PM
New week, new episode of #MattersMicrobial. This time, Dr. Jessica Mark Welch of the Forsyth Institute joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss the microbiogeography of the human tongue and related issues. Please spread the #GoodMicrobialWord!
youtu.be/VGD8jkNJHKo?...
youtu.be/VGD8jkNJHKo?...
Reposted by Julia Willett
Doing RNAseq analysis on Halloween
October 30, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Doing RNAseq analysis on Halloween
Reposted by Julia Willett
While the feds continue to play stupid games, SNAP recipients are set to lose food aid for the next month. In the Bay Area, a growing number of restaurants are stepping up to help, and we're maintaining the list. Share with anyone who needs it. www.coyotemedia.org/these-bay-ar...
These Bay Area Restaurants Are Offering Free Food to SNAP Recipients
Amid a government shutdown that will cut off aid for 42 million Americans, local food scene folks plan to pick up the slack.
www.coyotemedia.org
October 27, 2025 at 11:52 PM
While the feds continue to play stupid games, SNAP recipients are set to lose food aid for the next month. In the Bay Area, a growing number of restaurants are stepping up to help, and we're maintaining the list. Share with anyone who needs it. www.coyotemedia.org/these-bay-ar...
Reposted by Julia Willett
Walz: "They are paying contractors to pay down the East Wing but they're not putting money into the food bank. So if there's a sense of frustration in America, it's very real ... when the White House press secretary said their top priority is the ballroom, we could not disagree more."
October 27, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Walz: "They are paying contractors to pay down the East Wing but they're not putting money into the food bank. So if there's a sense of frustration in America, it's very real ... when the White House press secretary said their top priority is the ballroom, we could not disagree more."
Reposted by Julia Willett
If I were running the DNC, there would be Democratic Party sponsored food relief banks across the country right now that specifically welcomed anyone regardless of party affiliation.
Along with the food, there could be voter registration and links to runforsomething.net
Along with the food, there could be voter registration and links to runforsomething.net
October 26, 2025 at 9:03 PM
If I were running the DNC, there would be Democratic Party sponsored food relief banks across the country right now that specifically welcomed anyone regardless of party affiliation.
Along with the food, there could be voter registration and links to runforsomething.net
Along with the food, there could be voter registration and links to runforsomething.net