Bradley Tolar (he/him)
@tolarchaeota.bsky.social
430 followers 120 following 51 posts
I'm a microbial oceanographer with broad interests in ecology, physiology, and taxonomy of Archaea. Mentorship, teaching, & JEDI. Asst Prof at UNCW 🔬🌊🏳️‍🌈
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Reposted by Bradley Tolar (he/him)
uncw-cms.bsky.social
#TEALSHIPS Expedition #2! @tolarchaeota.bsky.social is at the forefront of research of the critical habitats that span from the NC coastal shelf to the Gulf Stream, ~50 miles. 🌊 Gulfstream
🐙 collected samples from 1400m below
🔬interdisciplinary science - multi-institutes & programs
bit.ly/TolarTEAL
Reposted by Bradley Tolar (he/him)
archaeapowerhour.bsky.social
Tune in for our last (😭) APH session of this semester next WEDNESDAY, May 14th, at 10 AM EST / 4 PM CET!!! Check your email soon for the Zoom link or sign up to join our mailing list here: t.co/b17JFAaZQ6. Check out the exciting talks we have planned for you:
tolarchaeota.bsky.social
Super fun times when you see a $4000 shipping charge on FedEx that turns out to be a tariff/customs surcharge (of close to 100% of the item's value...). Gotta love it. 🤬
Reposted by Bradley Tolar (he/him)
merz.bsky.social
Once in grad school my advisor said she liked pouring agar plates (for growing bacterial colonies), because it's relaxing. I think I must looked at her like she was crazy. Now, I completely understand.
Reposted by Bradley Tolar (he/him)
uncw-cms.bsky.social
Bradley Tolar, UNCW Biology & Marine Biology, is PI on a $1.5M Grant Award for Coastal Research to lead TEAL-SHIPS! Funding supports an interdisciplinary research initiative focused on coastal marine sciences. Co-PI's: Christian Briseño-Avena, Winifred Johnson, Matthew McLean, and Ata Suanda.
Bradley Tolar, Christian Briseño-Avena, Winifred Johnson, Matthew McLean, and Ata Suanda on dock at the Cape Fear River.
Reposted by Bradley Tolar (he/him)
uncw-cms.bsky.social
UNCW Team Won the Coastal Resilience Team Competition Funding Award from NC Sea Grant! $20,000 for a 2-year project, leading to more resilient habitats & communities on NC’s coastal plain. Christie shares, "Ghost forests offer a visually stark example of sea-level rise."
bit.ly/ResStudentTeam
UNCW Student Team Wins Coastal Resilience Team Competition Funding - North Carolina Sea Grant
Students from the University of North Carolina Wilmington are winners of North Carolina Sea Grant’s Resilience Team Competition funding. This award provides up to $20,000 to conduct a two-year project...
bit.ly
tolarchaeota.bsky.social
You can’t stop what I believe in.

You can’t silence my community within or outside science.

You can’t keep us from persevering and continuing to make places better and more accessible.

You can’t make me change. I’m not going to stop. I dedicated my life to this, so buckle up.
Reposted by Bradley Tolar (he/him)
berondam.bsky.social
There's a lot of organizations declaring "we're doing this based on legal advice about EOs" going around. As an administrator I always knew that advice is not a mandate. It takes a leader's directive to convert advice to action. Leaders need to be prepared to own that directive AND its consequences.
mandate.it
Reposted by Bradley Tolar (he/him)
napaaqtuk.bsky.social
I was going to respond to the ASM press release after having my coffee, but this is such a better response. ASMs last email was Jan 30 and does not mention taking down IDEAA sites or spotlights on Black, Indigenous, or other underrepresented microbiologists, or anything about DEI. Disappointed.
tolarchaeota.bsky.social
So, I study microbial “community diversity” and that means I’ll get flagged. Didn’t think I’d end up in a career/country where my work got censored.

(We aren’t even going to get started on how this list and EOs are against my personal beliefs and how I run my lab and envision future science)
darbysaxbe.bsky.social
🚨BREAKING. From a program officer at the National Science Foundation, a list of keywords that can cause a grant to be pulled. I will be sharing screenshots of these keywords along with a decision tree. Please share widely. This is a crisis for academic freedom & science.
list of banned keywords
tolarchaeota.bsky.social
And our photography folks really loved the "band photo" highlight in front of the #CapeHatteras #CFCC, but this is my favorite. Collaborate with folks you enjoy hanging out with :)
Image of five UNCW scientists smiling and posing after planning for the upcoming TEAL-SHIPS expedition on board the R/V Cape Hatteras at Cape Fear Community College. Left to Right: Matt McLean, Winn Johnson, Bradley Tolar, Christian Briseño-Avena, and Ata Suanda
tolarchaeota.bsky.social
Selfishly, of course, my students and I can't wait to characterize the #microbialecology gradients from the #CapeFearRiver offshore, especially #nitrogen cycling #Archaea!
tolarchaeota.bsky.social
Excited to explore biological, chemical, and physical processes from our #NorthCarolina coast to the #GulfStream and how it changes over time. Updates and a future expedition blog here: uncw.edu/research/pro...
UNC ROI TEAL SHIPS
This UNC System Research partnership will characterize key interactions between marine habitats spanning the NC coastal shelf to the Gulf Stream.
uncw.edu
tolarchaeota.bsky.social
Some good news today: our #TEAL-SHIPS project is officially announced! Read more from #UNCW here: uncw.edu/news/2025/01...

Thanks to the #UNC System and our state for investing in interdisciplinary #MarineResearch including #biology #chemistry and #physics within the ocean.
UNCW Awarded $1.5M for Coastal Research
UNCW has received $1.5 million in grant funding to lead the TEAL-SHIPS Transect Expedition, a groundbreaking project aimed at studying coastal land-to-sea habitats.
uncw.edu
Reposted by Bradley Tolar (he/him)
taotaotasi.bsky.social
I think fetch is finally going to happen in 2025
Reposted by Bradley Tolar (he/him)
aquaticmicrolab.bsky.social
BIOS313 (Intro. microbiology) Students created “microbial wiki” pages on an organism of their choosing n presented their findings in a poster session. So proud of how awesome the students did n the effort n fun they had (thanks @tolarchaeota.bsky.social for the idea). #academicSky #newpi 🦠🌊🧬🧫🪸🧪
tolarchaeota.bsky.social
Yaaaaay!!!! So glad it worked out for you! Excited to peruse the pages (especially if you had any #Archaea entries - I only had one this year 🤣)
tolarchaeota.bsky.social
Even if it consumes a lot of time, one of my favorite parts being a #NewPI is working with students to refine their personal and research statements. Often these students under-sell or dilute their achievements, and it feels great to see their application truly shine for the next stage. #ProudMentor
Reposted by Bradley Tolar (he/him)
gram-csu.bsky.social
Great article detailing the work of Colorado State Microbiome (CoSMic) Network Research Professor Mikayla Borton, #CoSMic Co-Director Kelly Wrighton, and collaborators.

In addition to the article below, check out the publication here in Nature:

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#GRAM #Microbiome
tolarchaeota.bsky.social
My biggest fear when sending an email is that I'll forget to correct the sticky shift key that inserts "DR." in front of my name when signing (to a student)...

I promise I am never aggressive about having a PhD...unless you're a condescending MD or a university donations office.

#ProfessorLife
Reposted by Bradley Tolar (he/him)
rejectedbanana.bsky.social
Making the great social media leap and reintroducing myself!

I'm a physical oceanographer with a passion for ocean technology, data, and accessibility. I founded a startup with @vgwschutte.bsky.social. Entrepreneur, #LGBTQ+, wife, parent, recycle+repair aficionado.
Kim at the beach with with Virginia Schutte showing off her smartwatch with a giant smile.
tolarchaeota.bsky.social
Basically yes! Nitrogen fixation is N2 -> ammonia

Ammonia oxidation to nitrite is the first step of nitrification. Not the same process at all!
tolarchaeota.bsky.social
So exciting to see this live!! Will share with my Micro class :)
Reposted by Bradley Tolar (he/him)
archaealex.bsky.social
After years of work, our podcast series on #archaea is finally releasing episodes! Listen to the first two and subscribe to get more every two weeks!