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Asher Leeks

@asherleeks.bsky.social

2.8K followers 1.2K following 54 posts

We study social evolution in viruses. Assistant Professor @zoology.ubc.ca & @ubcbiodiversity.bsky.social asherleeks.com

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Asher Leeks @asherleeks.bsky.social · Nov 17

I made a starter pack for researchers who study various aspects of viral sociality. It's woefully incomplete and has lots of room to grow, so do message me if I've missed you!

go.bsky.app/3PfgjkP

#SocialViruses 🦠 🧪

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Carl Zimmer @carlzimmer.com · 2h

Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE

nyti.ms

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Cathy Hernandez @cathyhernandez.bsky.social · 8h

Very happy to share that I will be starting as an Assistant Professor in the department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina in January! My group will be working on environmental phage ecology and evolution, and I am recruiting for the upcoming year (more info below).

A graphic advertising phage ecology and evolution research at the University of South Carolina, showing a central image of a tide pool flanked by a photo of an agar plate containing diverse microbes and a TEM image of a virus particle.

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Asher Leeks @asherleeks.bsky.social · 1d

I gave a talk last year at TEDxNewEngland aimed at introducing the idea of viral sociality to a general audience, including implications for evolution & virology. Video now available online below.

#socialviruses #evosky #virosky 🧪

The social lives of viruses | Asher Leeks | TEDxNewEngland

YouTube video by TEDx Talks

www.youtube.com

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Stanford University Press @stanfordpress.bsky.social · 8d

Population Biology Modeling & Theory (PBMT) is a peer-reviewed journal reporting advances in modeling and theory within population biology. Its scope spans demography, ecology, epidemiology, evolutionary biology, population genetics, and phylogenetics. PBMT will be online soon.

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Erin Green @erinrgreen.bsky.social · 4d

Job alert ‼️ UChicago Micro is hiring! Open to tenured/tenure track faculty at all levels in any area of microbiology. Come join our amazing and growing department. apply.interfolio.com/174404

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Kyle Card @kylejcard.bsky.social · 11d

Thrilled to share our paper that just came out in PNAS!

We asked a deceptively simple question: What happens when S. aureus adapts to vancomycin, a critical first-line antibiotic?

1/5

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Luís M. Silva @luismsilva.bsky.social · 16d

Interested in #virulence? Not sure what it is - or how to explain it? Just curious? 🧐🦠🧬🦋

@kayla-king.bsky.social and I just wrote a Primer for @currentbiology.bsky.social on the ecology and evolution of virulence!

Check it below and share :)

#MicroSky #EvoSky #pathogens

Ecology and evolution of virulence

Silva and King discuss the concept of virulence and the ecological and evolutionary factors that shape it.

www.cell.com

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Michael Le Page @mjflepage.bsky.social · 16d

In as much as a third of flu infections, parasitic "cheating" viruses 🦠 come to outnumber normal viruses - which helps limit the severity of infections 🧪

That's what @asherleeks.bsky.social and co have found by analysing sequencing data

www.newscientist.com/article/2496...

Some viruses like to cheat – and that may be good for our health

Mutations can result in viruses that infect cells, but can't copy themselves without help from other viruses - now it seems these cheats may outnumber normal viruses in a third of influenza cases, red...

www.newscientist.com

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Asher Leeks @asherleeks.bsky.social · 14d

This is a great example of LLMs getting better at overcoming our basic fact-checks. I think we assume that LLMs will get better at not making mistakes... they're presumably also going to get better at deceiving us.

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Alison Feder @alisonfeder.bsky.social · 28d

The constant barrage of terrible news on bluesky has made me feel weird about promoting papers, but people in the lab have been doing so much amazing work over the past few months that I want to share a few brief teasers/links:

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SeppeKuehnLab @seppekuehnlab.bsky.social · Sep 4

Center for Living Systems -- seeking strong post docs at the interface of physics and biology. Consider applying by Oct. 13! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

docs.google.com

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Asher Leeks @asherleeks.bsky.social · Sep 2

Welcome Chadi!

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Chadi Saad-Roy @chadisaadroy.bsky.social · Sep 2

I'm super excited to have joined @ubcmath.bsky.social
and @ubcmicroimmuno.bsky.social !! Please get in touch if you might be interested in graduate studies or postdoctoral research opportunities!

UBC Mathematics @ubcmath.bsky.social · Aug 29

Help us give a warm welcome to Dr. Chadi Saad-Roy, who is joining UBC Mathematics this fall as an Assistant Professor, jointly appointed in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology (‪@ubcmicroimmuno.bsky.social‬).

Full details tinyurl.com/4zwdmr8b

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Seth Bordenstein @symbionticism.bsky.social · Aug 27

🎙️ JOB ANNOUNCEMENT: @ciddpsu.bsky.social Ctr for Infectious Disease Dynamics at PSU is searching for a Full or Associate Professor in Infectious Disease Modeling. This is a unique, cross-university search for someone to become a leader in our community!

psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/PSU_Ac...

Full or Associate Professor in Infectious Disease Modeling

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, a...

psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com

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Asher Leeks @asherleeks.bsky.social · Aug 27

Congratulations @kayla-king.bsky.social !!

www.biology.ox.ac.uk/article/prof...

Professor Kayla King awarded Francis Crick Medal

www.biology.ox.ac.uk

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Julian Catchen @jcatchen.bsky.social · Aug 26

Our EEB department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is hiring an assistant professor in evo-devo. See go.illinois.edu/EEBAsstProf for details. Please share!

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Steve Portugal @sjportugal.bsky.social · Aug 26

Come join us in the @biology.ox.ac.uk at @ox.ac.uk! New Associate Professor position in Animal Behaviour, with Merton College:

my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

Job Details

my.corehr.com

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Arvid Ågren @arvidagren.bsky.social · Aug 26

Coming December 16!

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Luís M. Silva @luismsilva.bsky.social · Aug 25

Hey Bsky, I’m Luís, a 🇵🇹 disease ecologist in Vancouver 🇨🇦

I study the drama between hosts 🪱🦟 and parasites 🦠 - who wins, who loses, and which cards get played - and why it matters for evolution & health.
Always up for collabs, chats & making science fairer ✨

Say hi 👉 luis-m-silva.com
#AcademicSky

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Carl Mackintosh @cmackintosh.bsky.social · Aug 21

I'll be presenting poster 327 at #ESEB2025 today - come have a look if you're interested in the evolution of sex and haploid-diploid life cycles!

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Molecular Biology and Evolution @molbioevol.bsky.social · Aug 20

@rowancallumg.bsky.social @knightjar.bsky.social @rokkrasovec.bsky.social et al. study the antimutator ΔnudJ to highlight the value of considering mutation rate and mutational spectrum to understand the evolution of mutation rate-modifying alleles.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaf182

#evobio #molbio

Antimutator and Mutational Spectrum Effects Can Combine to Reduce Evolutionary Potential in Escherichia coli ΔnudJ

Abstract. The rate of spontaneous mutation is a key factor in determining the capacity of a population to adapt to a novel environment, for example, a bact

doi.org

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Quinn McCallum @ornithomancer.bsky.social · Aug 20

I'm very excited (and a bit nervous) to talk all about the work I did on Zonotrichia sparrows with @darrenirwin.bsky.social at UBC tomorrow morning at 10:30 am in the JEB Stearns Prize Symposium at #ESEB2025!

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Laurie Belcher @lauriebelch.bsky.social · Aug 18

Super interesting session on post-phylogenomics this morning at #eseb2025

I have a poster on the new version of Orthofinder - there will be a suggestion box 🎁

P03.076 on Thursday

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Luís M. Silva @luismsilva.bsky.social · Aug 14

Going to eseb2025.bsky.social? 🇪🇸
Into heterogeneity in parasite transmission? 🦠
Or just feel like playing a board game? 🎲

Then come say hi and check what @kayla-king.bsky.social and I have been cooking! 🧪✨

Poster P01.365 in session 1 (Monday 18, 5pm)
See u there ✌️ 🌞 🍻

#EvoSky #ESEB2025

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Asher Leeks @asherleeks.bsky.social · Aug 14

You might appreciate this one it generated for me illustrating important Hominid fossil discoveries and their locations…

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