Joe Wanford
@jwanford.bsky.social
Group leader and Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow at King's College London. Using comparative genomics, microbiology and innate immunology to study Klebsiella virulence. Foodie and below average footballer.
Pinned
Joe Wanford
@jwanford.bsky.social
· Sep 15
Simple Sequence Repeats Mediate Phase Variation of the Mucoid Phenotype in Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae
Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (HVKp) express a thick mucoid capsular polysaccharide which is essential for virulence and survival in the bloodstream but inhibits epithelial adhesion and invasion...
www.biorxiv.org
🎉 Delighted to share the first pre-print from my lab where we demonstrate that intergenic DNA repeats mediate phase variation of the mucoid phenotype in hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #klebclub
Reposted by Joe Wanford
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics
From populations of multicellular organisms to selfish genetic elements, conflicts between levels of biological organization are central to evolution. Plasmids are extrachromosomal, self-replicating g...
www.science.org
November 20, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Joe Wanford
#AMR #Klebsiella cause >100,000 neonatal deaths globally each year.
Our new preprint shows more than half of #Klebsiella pneumoniae neonatal sepsis cases in African and South Asian are nosocomial, acquired through transmission in neonatal units. #WAAW
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Our new preprint shows more than half of #Klebsiella pneumoniae neonatal sepsis cases in African and South Asian are nosocomial, acquired through transmission in neonatal units. #WAAW
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
![figure showing estimated proportion of cases in clusters, for each site. range from 0.04 to 0.93, mean estimate in random effects model is 0.57 [0.46,0.68]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:q5nky4heg5sfix4get4zh2pw/bafkreibshmuvkuafxwd2uk3r42ss6ma2dhmaidbysgvufnbkbv5cn4guai@jpeg)
November 19, 2025 at 3:43 PM
#AMR #Klebsiella cause >100,000 neonatal deaths globally each year.
Our new preprint shows more than half of #Klebsiella pneumoniae neonatal sepsis cases in African and South Asian are nosocomial, acquired through transmission in neonatal units. #WAAW
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Our new preprint shows more than half of #Klebsiella pneumoniae neonatal sepsis cases in African and South Asian are nosocomial, acquired through transmission in neonatal units. #WAAW
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Reposted by Joe Wanford
A Novel Technique to Characterize Klebsiella pneumoniae Populations Indicates that Mono-Colonization is Associated with Risk of Infection https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.05.686704v1
November 6, 2025 at 3:17 AM
A Novel Technique to Characterize Klebsiella pneumoniae Populations Indicates that Mono-Colonization is Associated with Risk of Infection https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.05.686704v1
Reposted by Joe Wanford
Reposted by Joe Wanford
Phages use contingency loci as a bet-hedging strategy https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.21.683753v1
October 22, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Phages use contingency loci as a bet-hedging strategy https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.21.683753v1
Reposted by Joe Wanford
Enhanced virulence and stress tolerance are signatures of epidemiologically successful Shigella sonnei
@sydneylmiles.bsky.social @katholt.bsky.social
🙏to transformative collaborative effort
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@sydneylmiles.bsky.social @katholt.bsky.social
🙏to transformative collaborative effort
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
October 13, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Enhanced virulence and stress tolerance are signatures of epidemiologically successful Shigella sonnei
@sydneylmiles.bsky.social @katholt.bsky.social
🙏to transformative collaborative effort
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@sydneylmiles.bsky.social @katholt.bsky.social
🙏to transformative collaborative effort
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Great opportunity in a great lab!
Job opportunity in my lab! We're looking for a post-doc to come join us for an exciting project exploring the evolution of #AMR and #hypervirulence in #klebsiella. Please share!! @unibirmingham.bsky.social Details: www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOV067/r...
Research Fellow at University of Birmingham
Apply now for the Research Fellow role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.
www.jobs.ac.uk
October 2, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Great opportunity in a great lab!
🎉 Delighted to share the first pre-print from my lab where we demonstrate that intergenic DNA repeats mediate phase variation of the mucoid phenotype in hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #klebclub
Simple Sequence Repeats Mediate Phase Variation of the Mucoid Phenotype in Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae
Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (HVKp) express a thick mucoid capsular polysaccharide which is essential for virulence and survival in the bloodstream but inhibits epithelial adhesion and invasion...
www.biorxiv.org
September 15, 2025 at 9:51 AM
🎉 Delighted to share the first pre-print from my lab where we demonstrate that intergenic DNA repeats mediate phase variation of the mucoid phenotype in hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #klebclub
Reposted by Joe Wanford
How complex functions, with important physiological and evolutionary impacts get repeatedly and efficiently transferred across genomes?
That’s what we explored using one of the fastest-evolving loci in Bacteria: the capsule locus.
The paper: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Thread👇
That’s what we explored using one of the fastest-evolving loci in Bacteria: the capsule locus.
The paper: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Thread👇
Serotype swapping in Klebsiella spp. by plug-and-play
Understanding how complex, multi-gene systems evolve and function across genetic backgrounds is a central question in molecular evolution. While such systems often impose costs through epistatic inter...
www.biorxiv.org
September 10, 2025 at 8:17 AM
How complex functions, with important physiological and evolutionary impacts get repeatedly and efficiently transferred across genomes?
That’s what we explored using one of the fastest-evolving loci in Bacteria: the capsule locus.
The paper: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Thread👇
That’s what we explored using one of the fastest-evolving loci in Bacteria: the capsule locus.
The paper: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Thread👇
🚨 Job alert 🚨
I’m recruiting two postdoctoral research associates to join my lab at KCL to study how #Klebsiella pneumoniae regulates virulence factor expression during infection! #klebclub
Mol Micro: tinyurl.com/mtrwtx5e
Infection: tinyurl.com/2s3u8ca2
Deadline: 21st September.
I’m recruiting two postdoctoral research associates to join my lab at KCL to study how #Klebsiella pneumoniae regulates virulence factor expression during infection! #klebclub
Mol Micro: tinyurl.com/mtrwtx5e
Infection: tinyurl.com/2s3u8ca2
Deadline: 21st September.
Postdoctoral Research Associate in Molecular Microbiology
www.kcl.ac.uk
August 26, 2025 at 2:40 PM
🚨 Job alert 🚨
I’m recruiting two postdoctoral research associates to join my lab at KCL to study how #Klebsiella pneumoniae regulates virulence factor expression during infection! #klebclub
Mol Micro: tinyurl.com/mtrwtx5e
Infection: tinyurl.com/2s3u8ca2
Deadline: 21st September.
I’m recruiting two postdoctoral research associates to join my lab at KCL to study how #Klebsiella pneumoniae regulates virulence factor expression during infection! #klebclub
Mol Micro: tinyurl.com/mtrwtx5e
Infection: tinyurl.com/2s3u8ca2
Deadline: 21st September.
Now that it’s official, I’m delighted to announce I’ve been awarded a Wellcome Trust Career Development Award to fund my lab’s work on K. pneumoniae pathogenesis for the next 8 years! Very grateful to many fantastic mentors and collaborators who’ve helped throughout this process.
July 29, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Now that it’s official, I’m delighted to announce I’ve been awarded a Wellcome Trust Career Development Award to fund my lab’s work on K. pneumoniae pathogenesis for the next 8 years! Very grateful to many fantastic mentors and collaborators who’ve helped throughout this process.
Reposted by Joe Wanford
Delighted our study (7+ years in the making) is out today in Nature. In a nutshell, 48 hours of antibiotics in week 1 led to impaired vaccine responses up to 15 months later in infants. We show (in-vivo) a probiotic can fix it #microbiome #science #immunology
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Bifidobacteria support optimal infant vaccine responses - Nature
Neonatal antibiotic use is shown to reduce immune response to infant vaccines, accompanied by reduced abundance of Bifidobacteria in the gut microbiota, with experiments in mice indicating that probio...
www.nature.com
April 2, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Delighted our study (7+ years in the making) is out today in Nature. In a nutshell, 48 hours of antibiotics in week 1 led to impaired vaccine responses up to 15 months later in infants. We show (in-vivo) a probiotic can fix it #microbiome #science #immunology
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Joe Wanford
I am recruiting a research assistant. Please send to anyone you know who is interested in gaining more lab experience in host:pathogen interactions of bacterial infections.
www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/50738/
www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/50738/
Research Assistant - Godlee Group (Fixed Term) - Job Opportunities - University of Cambridge
Research Assistant - Godlee Group (Fixed Term) in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge.
www.jobs.cam.ac.uk
March 31, 2025 at 7:38 AM
I am recruiting a research assistant. Please send to anyone you know who is interested in gaining more lab experience in host:pathogen interactions of bacterial infections.
www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/50738/
www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/50738/
Reposted by Joe Wanford
OUT NOW: Inducible transposon mutagenesis identifies bacterial fitness determinants during infection in mice
#microsky 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#microsky 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Inducible transposon mutagenesis identifies bacterial fitness determinants during infection in mice - Nature Microbiology
InducTn-seq, a method for inducible mutagenesis followed by transposon insertion site sequencing, enables temporal control of transposition to bypass population bottlenecks and enable the quantificati...
www.nature.com
March 27, 2025 at 4:35 PM
OUT NOW: Inducible transposon mutagenesis identifies bacterial fitness determinants during infection in mice
#microsky 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#microsky 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Joe Wanford
New in Nat Comm
A rapid evolution-tracking system for 𝘒𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘱𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘦 that experimentally tests how this leading MDR threat resists antibiotics and adapts to serum to invade the bloodstream
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A rapid evolution-tracking system for 𝘒𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘱𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘦 that experimentally tests how this leading MDR threat resists antibiotics and adapts to serum to invade the bloodstream
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
March 26, 2025 at 11:38 AM
New in Nat Comm
A rapid evolution-tracking system for 𝘒𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘱𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘦 that experimentally tests how this leading MDR threat resists antibiotics and adapts to serum to invade the bloodstream
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A rapid evolution-tracking system for 𝘒𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 𝘱𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘦 that experimentally tests how this leading MDR threat resists antibiotics and adapts to serum to invade the bloodstream
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Joe Wanford
I am very excited to share our latest publication on the effect of systemic #endotoxin on intestinal #microbiota spearheaded by the brilliant Sanne Kroon at the Hardt lab @eth-dbiol.bsky.social @ethzurich.bsky.social @naturecomms.bsky.social
👉🏼 rdcu.be/eelLn
👉🏼 rdcu.be/eelLn
Sublethal systemic LPS in mice enables gut-luminal pathogens to bloom through oxygen species-mediated microbiota inhibition
Nature Communications - Acute systemic immune activation may affect gut-luminal colonisation dynamics. Here, the authors show that LPS exposure in mice elevates gut-luminal oxygen species levels,...
rdcu.be
March 23, 2025 at 9:15 AM
I am very excited to share our latest publication on the effect of systemic #endotoxin on intestinal #microbiota spearheaded by the brilliant Sanne Kroon at the Hardt lab @eth-dbiol.bsky.social @ethzurich.bsky.social @naturecomms.bsky.social
👉🏼 rdcu.be/eelLn
👉🏼 rdcu.be/eelLn
🚨 Join us at King's College London for all things cellular microbiology! Super friendly meeting with cool science and great opportunity for ECRs to present their work!
Strange sights in central London!
🚨 UK Cell Micro 2025 is here! 🚨
📅 2nd-3rd June 2025
📍 King’s College London
Join us for fun science, networking, and a rooftop social! 🌇🎉
💡 Submit your abstract by 10th April
ukcellmicro.org
🚨 UK Cell Micro 2025 is here! 🚨
📅 2nd-3rd June 2025
📍 King’s College London
Join us for fun science, networking, and a rooftop social! 🌇🎉
💡 Submit your abstract by 10th April
ukcellmicro.org
March 20, 2025 at 8:11 AM
🚨 Join us at King's College London for all things cellular microbiology! Super friendly meeting with cool science and great opportunity for ECRs to present their work!
Reposted by Joe Wanford
What do Pablo Picasso and Charles Janeway have in common? Both were interested in patterns of life. Janeway was focused on pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) that are detected by our immune system. But what are these patterns he refers to?
March 8, 2025 at 2:39 PM
What do Pablo Picasso and Charles Janeway have in common? Both were interested in patterns of life. Janeway was focused on pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) that are detected by our immune system. But what are these patterns he refers to?
Reposted by Joe Wanford
New paper alert! Thoughtful review of phase variation, including current controversies. @microbiologysociety.org www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
100+ years of phase variation: the premier bacterial bet-hedging phenomenon
Stochastic, reversible switches in the expression of Salmonella flagella variants were first described by Andrewes in 1922. Termed phase variation (PV), subsequent research found that this phenomenon ...
www.microbiologyresearch.org
February 28, 2025 at 8:47 AM
New paper alert! Thoughtful review of phase variation, including current controversies. @microbiologysociety.org www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
Reposted by Joe Wanford
Nature research paper: Macrophages recycle phagocytosed bacteria to fuel immunometabolic responses
https://go.nature.com/3XmyOPD
https://go.nature.com/3XmyOPD
Macrophages recycle phagocytosed bacteria to fuel immunometabolic responses - Nature
Phagocytosed bacteria can serve as an alternative nutrient source for macrophages, influencing their metabolic and immune responses through the recycling of microbial components, with the process regulated by nutrient-sensing mechanisms and bacterial viability.
go.nature.com
February 27, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Nature research paper: Macrophages recycle phagocytosed bacteria to fuel immunometabolic responses
https://go.nature.com/3XmyOPD
https://go.nature.com/3XmyOPD
Reposted by Joe Wanford
Happy to share a preprint from the Angelo lab many years in the making. Read on for a saga of multiplexed imaging, immunometabolism, and TB granulomas with some fun side quests into the realms of geographical information sciences and transcriptomics… (1/20) doi.org/10.1101/2025...
The immunometabolic topography of tuberculosis granulomas governs cellular organization and bacterial control
Despite being heavily infiltrated by immune cells, tuberculosis (TB) granulomas often subvert the host response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection and support bacterial persistence. We prev...
doi.org
February 24, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Happy to share a preprint from the Angelo lab many years in the making. Read on for a saga of multiplexed imaging, immunometabolism, and TB granulomas with some fun side quests into the realms of geographical information sciences and transcriptomics… (1/20) doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Reposted by Joe Wanford
Base-modified nucleotides mediate immune signaling in bacteria www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1... #jcampubs
Base-modified nucleotides mediate immune signaling in bacteria
Signaling from pathogen sensing to effector activation is a fundamental principle of cellular immunity. While cyclic (oligo)nucleotides have emerged as key signaling molecules, the existence of other ...
www.science.org
February 21, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Base-modified nucleotides mediate immune signaling in bacteria www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1... #jcampubs
Reposted by Joe Wanford
Save the date:2/3 June: UK Cellular Micro is coming back to London! We have two amazing keynotes and all other talks will be selected from abstracts. Submissions opening soon
🚀 Join us at the UK Cellular Microbiology meeting at KCL on 2nd-3rd June 2025! 🌟
Registrations and abstract submissions opening soon!
Don't miss this great opportunity to share research updates and network!
#UKCellMicro
Registrations and abstract submissions opening soon!
Don't miss this great opportunity to share research updates and network!
#UKCellMicro
February 17, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Save the date:2/3 June: UK Cellular Micro is coming back to London! We have two amazing keynotes and all other talks will be selected from abstracts. Submissions opening soon
Reposted by Joe Wanford
Delighted to share our new study. A collaboration with the Thurlow lab. Antibiotic resistance rapidly emerges and thrives in diabetic mice. A worrying coming together of two major and growing health problems worldwide www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Diabetes potentiates the emergence and expansion of antibiotic resistance
Diabetic infections are a reservoir for the emergence and proliferation of antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus.
www.science.org
February 13, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Delighted to share our new study. A collaboration with the Thurlow lab. Antibiotic resistance rapidly emerges and thrives in diabetic mice. A worrying coming together of two major and growing health problems worldwide www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Joe Wanford
New research article
Antibody responses in #Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infection: a prospective cohort study
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
#IDSky #ClinMicro #BSI #OpenAccess #OA
Antibody responses in #Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infection: a prospective cohort study
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
#IDSky #ClinMicro #BSI #OpenAccess #OA
February 11, 2025 at 2:46 PM
New research article
Antibody responses in #Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infection: a prospective cohort study
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
#IDSky #ClinMicro #BSI #OpenAccess #OA
Antibody responses in #Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infection: a prospective cohort study
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
#IDSky #ClinMicro #BSI #OpenAccess #OA