Leon Hilgers
@leonhilgers.bsky.social
Postdoc
@LOEWE_TBG @Senckenberg. Evolutionary genomics, gene expression, global change, novelties, climate, turtles & eels!
He/him
@LOEWE_TBG @Senckenberg. Evolutionary genomics, gene expression, global change, novelties, climate, turtles & eels!
He/him
Pinned
Leon Hilgers
@leonhilgers.bsky.social
· Jul 24
You link #phenotype 🦜 to #genotype 🧬 with #comparative #genomics 💻?
This #review is for you 📜: authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
We review new #methods, remaining #challenges and #future directions and highlight recent key studies.
Thanks @hillermich.bsky.social!
Please share! 🙂
This #review is for you 📜: authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
We review new #methods, remaining #challenges and #future directions and highlight recent key studies.
Thanks @hillermich.bsky.social!
Please share! 🙂
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
Integrative PhD position available in my lab on the mechanisms (gene expression, metabolism, microbiome and hormones) of intestinal remodelling in lampreys. Come work in a great and fun research environment with @nealdawson.bsky.social & Adam Dobson (not here). Apply: www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/mvl...
University of Glasgow - Colleges - College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences - MVLS Graduate School - PhD Research Opportunities - College Futures Themes PhD Programme
www.gla.ac.uk
November 26, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Integrative PhD position available in my lab on the mechanisms (gene expression, metabolism, microbiome and hormones) of intestinal remodelling in lampreys. Come work in a great and fun research environment with @nealdawson.bsky.social & Adam Dobson (not here). Apply: www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/mvl...
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
Happy to present TOGA2, developed by Yury Malovichko @ymalovichko.bsky.social, the faster, memory-efficient & more accurate TOGA1 successor (github.com/hillerlab/TO...). And annotations, orthologs & gene loss/dup data generated with 4 references for 883 placental mammal and with 5 refs for 676 ...
November 23, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Happy to present TOGA2, developed by Yury Malovichko @ymalovichko.bsky.social, the faster, memory-efficient & more accurate TOGA1 successor (github.com/hillerlab/TO...). And annotations, orthologs & gene loss/dup data generated with 4 references for 883 placental mammal and with 5 refs for 676 ...
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
Come join us in Heidelberg for the first German fish meeting 👩🔬👨🔬🧬🔬🐟🐠
November 22, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Come join us in Heidelberg for the first German fish meeting 👩🔬👨🔬🧬🔬🐟🐠
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
If you like genomics, speciation, and primates, this PhD position is for you! Unraveling the genomic architecture of speciation and gene flow in guenons, a diverse group of African monkeys. Funding through DTP. Do reach out with questions! #genomics #genome_assembly
evol.mcmaster.ca/brian/evoldi...
evol.mcmaster.ca/brian/evoldi...
October 23, 2025 at 3:11 PM
If you like genomics, speciation, and primates, this PhD position is for you! Unraveling the genomic architecture of speciation and gene flow in guenons, a diverse group of African monkeys. Funding through DTP. Do reach out with questions! #genomics #genome_assembly
evol.mcmaster.ca/brian/evoldi...
evol.mcmaster.ca/brian/evoldi...
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
One week to apply for our fully funded PhD position in Norway! This is a really exciting project in collab. with University of Helsinki and Benchmark Genetics.
Samples are ready - you do (read: learn) everything - functional genomics, bioinformatics, genotype-phenotype associations 🤩
Please RT!
Samples are ready - you do (read: learn) everything - functional genomics, bioinformatics, genotype-phenotype associations 🤩
Please RT!
How do regulatory genes control alternative life histories? We have an open PhD position to answer this question using functional genomics in Atlantic salmon.
Apply by October 15th through www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Please share widely! 🧬🦑🖥️
Apply by October 15th through www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...
Please share widely! 🧬🦑🖥️
October 7, 2025 at 1:30 PM
One week to apply for our fully funded PhD position in Norway! This is a really exciting project in collab. with University of Helsinki and Benchmark Genetics.
Samples are ready - you do (read: learn) everything - functional genomics, bioinformatics, genotype-phenotype associations 🤩
Please RT!
Samples are ready - you do (read: learn) everything - functional genomics, bioinformatics, genotype-phenotype associations 🤩
Please RT!
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
Exciting news!
The next #PopGroup meeting will take place in Lille 🍟, France, 7–9 January 2026 – just 1 hour by train from London, Brussels, and Paris.
This year, PopGroup will also host ALPHY, the annual meeting of Evolutionary Genomics.
More info: populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk
See you there !
The next #PopGroup meeting will take place in Lille 🍟, France, 7–9 January 2026 – just 1 hour by train from London, Brussels, and Paris.
This year, PopGroup will also host ALPHY, the annual meeting of Evolutionary Genomics.
More info: populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk
See you there !
Population Genetics group 59
populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk
September 29, 2025 at 8:52 AM
Exciting news!
The next #PopGroup meeting will take place in Lille 🍟, France, 7–9 January 2026 – just 1 hour by train from London, Brussels, and Paris.
This year, PopGroup will also host ALPHY, the annual meeting of Evolutionary Genomics.
More info: populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk
See you there !
The next #PopGroup meeting will take place in Lille 🍟, France, 7–9 January 2026 – just 1 hour by train from London, Brussels, and Paris.
This year, PopGroup will also host ALPHY, the annual meeting of Evolutionary Genomics.
More info: populationgeneticsgroup.org.uk
See you there !
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
This is just the first effort of our foray into cichlid behaviour and genetics! If you are interested in working on the evolution, genomics, and neurobiology of sleep and chronobiology @uoftcellsysbiol.bsky.social in beautiful Toronto, please reach out! shafer-lab.netlify.app
Sleep Evolution Group
A highly-customizable Hugo research group theme powered by Wowchemy website builder.
shafer-lab.netlify.app
August 28, 2025 at 2:18 PM
This is just the first effort of our foray into cichlid behaviour and genetics! If you are interested in working on the evolution, genomics, and neurobiology of sleep and chronobiology @uoftcellsysbiol.bsky.social in beautiful Toronto, please reach out! shafer-lab.netlify.app
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
Please share broadly: I am looking for a postdoctoral fellow to work on a collaborative project on the temporal population genomics of invasive Capeweed (using contemporary and herbarium genomics), with @shaky-dingo.bsky.social and colleagues
August 27, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Please share broadly: I am looking for a postdoctoral fellow to work on a collaborative project on the temporal population genomics of invasive Capeweed (using contemporary and herbarium genomics), with @shaky-dingo.bsky.social and colleagues
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
I will present my freshly published paper on bat diet reconstruction and phyllostomid ancestral omnivory at ESEB @eseb2025.bsky.social, on Tuesday August 19th, poster session 2 P02.375. Looking forward to it!🦇
August 17, 2025 at 7:40 AM
I will present my freshly published paper on bat diet reconstruction and phyllostomid ancestral omnivory at ESEB @eseb2025.bsky.social, on Tuesday August 19th, poster session 2 P02.375. Looking forward to it!🦇
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
🧬 Explore the latest from Bioinformatics Advances: “Exonize: a tool for finding and classifying exon duplications in annotated genomes”
Full article available: https://doi.org/10.1093/bioadv/vbaf177
Authors include: @chriswheat.bsky.social
Full article available: https://doi.org/10.1093/bioadv/vbaf177
Authors include: @chriswheat.bsky.social
August 11, 2025 at 9:30 AM
🧬 Explore the latest from Bioinformatics Advances: “Exonize: a tool for finding and classifying exon duplications in annotated genomes”
Full article available: https://doi.org/10.1093/bioadv/vbaf177
Authors include: @chriswheat.bsky.social
Full article available: https://doi.org/10.1093/bioadv/vbaf177
Authors include: @chriswheat.bsky.social
You link #phenotype 🦜 to #genotype 🧬 with #comparative #genomics 💻?
This #review is for you 📜: authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
We review new #methods, remaining #challenges and #future directions and highlight recent key studies.
Thanks @hillermich.bsky.social!
Please share! 🙂
This #review is for you 📜: authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
We review new #methods, remaining #challenges and #future directions and highlight recent key studies.
Thanks @hillermich.bsky.social!
Please share! 🙂
July 24, 2025 at 8:00 AM
You link #phenotype 🦜 to #genotype 🧬 with #comparative #genomics 💻?
This #review is for you 📜: authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
We review new #methods, remaining #challenges and #future directions and highlight recent key studies.
Thanks @hillermich.bsky.social!
Please share! 🙂
This #review is for you 📜: authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S...
We review new #methods, remaining #challenges and #future directions and highlight recent key studies.
Thanks @hillermich.bsky.social!
Please share! 🙂
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
1/5 ✨Proud✨ to see our review with Katie Peichel as featured content in Trends_Ecol_Evo, with my beloved alpine lineages of Arabidopsis arenosa on the cover. Hope that you find it interesting! doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2023.11.007
July 17, 2025 at 10:32 PM
1/5 ✨Proud✨ to see our review with Katie Peichel as featured content in Trends_Ecol_Evo, with my beloved alpine lineages of Arabidopsis arenosa on the cover. Hope that you find it interesting! doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2023.11.007
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
🚨 Super exited to see our paper on the inheritance and genetic basis of guppy color variation come out in @natecoevo.nature.com rdcu.be/eugWV
Guppy males have enormous variation in color patterns, with many combinations of ornamental spots and stripes. But where does all this variation come from?
Guppy males have enormous variation in color patterns, with many combinations of ornamental spots and stripes. But where does all this variation come from?
July 1, 2025 at 6:03 PM
🚨 Super exited to see our paper on the inheritance and genetic basis of guppy color variation come out in @natecoevo.nature.com rdcu.be/eugWV
Guppy males have enormous variation in color patterns, with many combinations of ornamental spots and stripes. But where does all this variation come from?
Guppy males have enormous variation in color patterns, with many combinations of ornamental spots and stripes. But where does all this variation come from?
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
Its that time again - the list of Ecology/Evolution/Marine Bio Labs recruiting grad students for Fall 2026 is live!
PIs enter your position info here: forms.gle/2XTHBP6CZGEn...
Prospective students (and PIs not recruiting) share the composite list: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Please share! 🧪
PIs enter your position info here: forms.gle/2XTHBP6CZGEn...
Prospective students (and PIs not recruiting) share the composite list: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Please share! 🧪
Ecology/Evolution/Marine Biology labs recruiting for Fall 2026
Please complete this form if you are a PI recruiting graduate students for a Fall 2026 start. If you are NOT recruiting, feel free to share the response sheet with prospective students looking for lab...
forms.gle
May 15, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Its that time again - the list of Ecology/Evolution/Marine Bio Labs recruiting grad students for Fall 2026 is live!
PIs enter your position info here: forms.gle/2XTHBP6CZGEn...
Prospective students (and PIs not recruiting) share the composite list: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Please share! 🧪
PIs enter your position info here: forms.gle/2XTHBP6CZGEn...
Prospective students (and PIs not recruiting) share the composite list: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Please share! 🧪
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
Nature research paper: Herring spawned poleward following fishery-induced collective memory loss
https://go.nature.com/4jLJ2C4
https://go.nature.com/4jLJ2C4
Herring spawned poleward following fishery-induced collective memory loss - Nature
A critically low abundance of older herring due to age-selective fisheries resulted in an approximately 800-km poleward shift in main spawning.
go.nature.com
May 9, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Nature research paper: Herring spawned poleward following fishery-induced collective memory loss
https://go.nature.com/4jLJ2C4
https://go.nature.com/4jLJ2C4
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
Transcriptomics in the era of long-read sequencing go.nature.com/421ZTJm #Review by @carolinamonzo.bsky.social, Tianyuan Liu & @anaconesa.bsky.social @conesalab.bsky.social @i2sysbio.bsky.social
Transcriptomics in the era of long-read sequencing - Nature Reviews Genetics
Advances in long-read sequencing are driving the implementation of these technologies for transcriptome profiling. The authors provide a comprehensive guide to long-read RNA sequencing, including expe...
go.nature.com
March 28, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Transcriptomics in the era of long-read sequencing go.nature.com/421ZTJm #Review by @carolinamonzo.bsky.social, Tianyuan Liu & @anaconesa.bsky.social @conesalab.bsky.social @i2sysbio.bsky.social
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
We are recruiting PhD student to work on genomics of seasonal camouflage in ptarmigan! There is still a week to apply!
#Genomics #PopGen #Evolution #Camouflage #Birds #PhDPosition #PhDStudent
#Genomics #PopGen #Evolution #Camouflage #Birds #PhDPosition #PhDStudent
PhD position on Evolution of Seasonal Camouflage in my group. Fully funded 4 year position in Stockholm University and SciLifeLab! :-)
su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
su.varbi.com/en/what:job/...
PhD Student in Evolution of Seasonal Camouflage
The Department of Zoology at Stockholm University includes about 80 employeese, including Researchers, PhD students and administrative staff. Research and education at the department occurs in an inte
su.varbi.com
April 14, 2025 at 12:51 PM
We are recruiting PhD student to work on genomics of seasonal camouflage in ptarmigan! There is still a week to apply!
#Genomics #PopGen #Evolution #Camouflage #Birds #PhDPosition #PhDStudent
#Genomics #PopGen #Evolution #Camouflage #Birds #PhDPosition #PhDStudent
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
Why is sex so common if it's so costly?
Super excited to share our new preprint “Sex decreases the pleiotropic costs of local adaptation”, where we bring a new angle to this age-old evolutionary question. Co-led by Parris Humphrey, in Michael Desai's lab. Short thread here: (1/n)
Super excited to share our new preprint “Sex decreases the pleiotropic costs of local adaptation”, where we bring a new angle to this age-old evolutionary question. Co-led by Parris Humphrey, in Michael Desai's lab. Short thread here: (1/n)
Sex decreases the pleiotropic costs of local adaptation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.28.646016v1
April 2, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Why is sex so common if it's so costly?
Super excited to share our new preprint “Sex decreases the pleiotropic costs of local adaptation”, where we bring a new angle to this age-old evolutionary question. Co-led by Parris Humphrey, in Michael Desai's lab. Short thread here: (1/n)
Super excited to share our new preprint “Sex decreases the pleiotropic costs of local adaptation”, where we bring a new angle to this age-old evolutionary question. Co-led by Parris Humphrey, in Michael Desai's lab. Short thread here: (1/n)
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
New paper in @nature.com led by @patricepottier.bsky.social! We demonstrated global vulnerability of amphibians to warming, threatening 10% of >5,000 species examined. How did we do it? See thread🧵
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
March 6, 2025 at 10:27 AM
New paper in @nature.com led by @patricepottier.bsky.social! We demonstrated global vulnerability of amphibians to warming, threatening 10% of >5,000 species examined. How did we do it? See thread🧵
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
Our study ‘The global human impact on biodiversity’ is out in Nature!
Through an unprecedented synthesis (2133 studies!) we show that humans are not only shrinking species numbers—but reshaping entire communities across the planet. 🌍🌐🐟🌿🪲
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Through an unprecedented synthesis (2133 studies!) we show that humans are not only shrinking species numbers—but reshaping entire communities across the planet. 🌍🌐🐟🌿🪲
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
March 26, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Our study ‘The global human impact on biodiversity’ is out in Nature!
Through an unprecedented synthesis (2133 studies!) we show that humans are not only shrinking species numbers—but reshaping entire communities across the planet. 🌍🌐🐟🌿🪲
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Through an unprecedented synthesis (2133 studies!) we show that humans are not only shrinking species numbers—but reshaping entire communities across the planet. 🌍🌐🐟🌿🪲
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
1/ Transposable elements are often called "jumping genes" because they mobilize within genomes. 🧬
But did you know they can also jump 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 cells? 🤯
Our new study reveals how retrotransposons invade the germline directly from somatic cells.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A short thread 🧵👇
But did you know they can also jump 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 cells? 🤯
Our new study reveals how retrotransposons invade the germline directly from somatic cells.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A short thread 🧵👇
March 17, 2025 at 11:56 AM
1/ Transposable elements are often called "jumping genes" because they mobilize within genomes. 🧬
But did you know they can also jump 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 cells? 🤯
Our new study reveals how retrotransposons invade the germline directly from somatic cells.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A short thread 🧵👇
But did you know they can also jump 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 cells? 🤯
Our new study reveals how retrotransposons invade the germline directly from somatic cells.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A short thread 🧵👇
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
3-y postdoc position in (meta)Genomics of Population Declines elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid.... If you have experience with low-coverage genomic data, care about biodiversity loss, want to understand host-microbiomes interactions, this post is for you! #museomics #ancientDNA #mammals
March 2, 2025 at 4:51 PM
3-y postdoc position in (meta)Genomics of Population Declines elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid.... If you have experience with low-coverage genomic data, care about biodiversity loss, want to understand host-microbiomes interactions, this post is for you! #museomics #ancientDNA #mammals
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
Thrilled to share our work on unlocking challenging specimens for @pacbio.bsky.social #HiFi sequencing, now out in Genome Biology!
genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
We show that specimens that have been stored in ethanol for decades can still be amenable for long-read sequencing:🧵
genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
We show that specimens that have been stored in ethanol for decades can still be amenable for long-read sequencing:🧵
Long-read sequencing and genome assembly of natural history collection samples and challenging specimens - Genome Biology
Museum collections harbor millions of samples, largely unutilized for long-read sequencing. Here, we use ethanol-preserved samples containing kilobase-sized DNA to show that amplification-free protoco...
genomebiology.biomedcentral.com
February 10, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Thrilled to share our work on unlocking challenging specimens for @pacbio.bsky.social #HiFi sequencing, now out in Genome Biology!
genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
We show that specimens that have been stored in ethanol for decades can still be amenable for long-read sequencing:🧵
genomebiology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
We show that specimens that have been stored in ethanol for decades can still be amenable for long-read sequencing:🧵
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
Origin and stepwise evolution of vertebrate lungs rdcu.be/eawc5
Single-cell RNA sequencing data from lungs across vertebrate species reveals genetic components in the common ancestor of jawed vertebrates, and new lung-specific enhancers that contribute to the evolution of vertebrate lungs
Single-cell RNA sequencing data from lungs across vertebrate species reveals genetic components in the common ancestor of jawed vertebrates, and new lung-specific enhancers that contribute to the evolution of vertebrate lungs
Origin and stepwise evolution of vertebrate lungs
Nature Ecology & Evolution - An analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing data from adult and developing lungs across vertebrate species reveals genetic components in the common ancestor of jawed...
rdcu.be
February 19, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Origin and stepwise evolution of vertebrate lungs rdcu.be/eawc5
Single-cell RNA sequencing data from lungs across vertebrate species reveals genetic components in the common ancestor of jawed vertebrates, and new lung-specific enhancers that contribute to the evolution of vertebrate lungs
Single-cell RNA sequencing data from lungs across vertebrate species reveals genetic components in the common ancestor of jawed vertebrates, and new lung-specific enhancers that contribute to the evolution of vertebrate lungs
Reposted by Leon Hilgers
With @katiejenike.bsky.social and a bunch more of our fellow k-mer enthusiasts, we put together a manuscript on k-mers in biodiversity genomics. A guide if you will, that covers k-mers from basics to some really funky stuff...
genome.cshlp.org/content/35/2...
genome.cshlp.org/content/35/2...
February 14, 2025 at 10:20 PM
With @katiejenike.bsky.social and a bunch more of our fellow k-mer enthusiasts, we put together a manuscript on k-mers in biodiversity genomics. A guide if you will, that covers k-mers from basics to some really funky stuff...
genome.cshlp.org/content/35/2...
genome.cshlp.org/content/35/2...