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blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman
@blekhman.bsky.social
4.9K followers 270 following 230 posts
Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago. Decoding the human microbiome. http://BlekhmanLab.org
BlekhmanLab.org
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blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Jan 22
Today we report a new compendium of human gut microbiomes with >168,000 samples

By analyzing this massive dataset, we discovered distinct microbiome patterns across the globe, and show we can predict where a person lives just from their gut bacteria

Now out in Cell:

www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Integration of 168,000 samples reveals global patterns of the human gut microbiome
The Human Microbiome Compendium is a unified database of publicly available human gut microbiome 16S samples, built with the integrated data from hundreds of independent projects. The compendium is us...
www.cell.com
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Reposted by Ran Blekhman
khadershabaana.bsky.social
Shabaana Khader @khadershabaana.bsky.social · 3d
UChicago Microbiology is searching for tenured or tenure-track faculty working in host-pathogens interactions, viral and bacterial pathogenesis, and emerging infectious diseases. Come join our vibrant Department! microbiology.uchicago.edu
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/174404
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
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blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · 10d
Night heron, spotted at the Garden of the Phoenix
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blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · 15d
Unrelated to anything, just a cool recent paper

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Children’s Risk of Autism, ADHD, and Intellectual Disability
This nationwide cohort study with sibling control analysis examines the association of acetaminophen use during pregnancy with children’s risk of autism, ADHD, and intellectual disability.
jamanetwork.com
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blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · 23d
Garden of the Phoenix in Hyde Park is a gem
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Reposted by Ran Blekhman
hakyim.bsky.social
Haky Im @hakyim.bsky.social · 25d
I'm hiring a computational biologist interested in complex trait genetics using deep learning approaches. Reach out to me, if interested.
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blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · 26d
Excellent journal club discussion today of a new paper finding human genetic variants associated with fungi in the gut - interesting results!

journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Gut fungi are associated with human genetic variation and disease risk
In contrast to decades of research on gut bacteria, human genetic determinants of the gut fungal community (mycobiome) remain understudied. This investigation presents the first GWAS on the number and...
journals.plos.org
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Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Aug 31
Update from Chicago. The situation is dire. Complete anarchy. Please send the national guard asap to put an end to this lawlessness
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Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Aug 30
More foundations should do this:

"Funding is exclusively available to applicants who have already received federal funding (e.g., from the NIH, CDC, NSF) for their health equity research, but have since had their funding rescinded due to federal administrative actions"

www.rwjf.org/en/grants/ac...
Rapid Response: Reinvesting in Racial and Indigenous Health Equity Research
The purpose of this call for proposals is to meet the current moment by supporting timely, actionable health equity research that has been interrupted by shifts in federal funding.
www.rwjf.org
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blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Aug 24
"It's people who will get cancer in 10, 20 or 30 years who will really pay the price."

We're literally defunding our future survival.
gregggonsalves.bsky.social
Gregg Gonsalves @gregggonsalves.bsky.social · Aug 24
The @NYTimes has done a fantastic job on explaining what the Trump administration’s savage
cuts to biomedical research mean: cures that won’t happen. Please share this widely. This is a catastrophe. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/o...
Opinion | America First? Not When It Comes to Your Health.
www.nytimes.com
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blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Aug 19
Cool application of microbiome in food science

Using metagenomics on Colombian cacao, they mapped how microbes influence chocolate flavors. Then they built a defined microbial consortium that replicates premium chocolate flavors -- validated by trained tasters!

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A defined microbial community reproduces attributes of fine flavour chocolate fermentation - Nature Microbiology
An in-depth microbiological and metagenomic analysis of Colombian farm and fermentation facilities resulted in the design of a defined microbial community that can reproduce the flavour of fine chocol...
www.nature.com
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Reposted by Ran Blekhman
bmeunite.bsky.social
bmeunite.bsky.social @bmeunite.bsky.social · Aug 18
The second BME UNITE Future Faculty Seminar will be on Monday, August 25th, at 1 pm EST. Come hear from Drs. Mattea Allert, Taj Yeruva, and Said Arévalo Alquichire, PhD to learn more about their science and future research programs! Register here: tinyurl.com/bmeunite25
Dr. Mattea Allert (University of Minnesota): Perspectives in Multi-Modal Modeling from Birth to Adulthood: A Journey from the Early Microbiome to Neurological Disease Mechanisms Dr. Taj Yeruva (University of Maryland-College Park): Beyond the Barrier: Rethinking Mucus to Engineer Materials for Drug Delivery Dr. Said Arevalo-Alquichire (Harvard Medical School): RUNX1-based therapeutics for the treatment of vitreoretrinal diseases
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blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Aug 17
Chicago ✈️
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blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Aug 9
That's great. But it's likely that this competition ended and funds were committed before their apparent shift in priorities
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Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Aug 9
This is not just HHMI. All Chan Zuckerberg Initiative funding calls are CLOSED. The Gates Foundation has no Grand Challenges funding opportunities. I've never seen anything like this. Private foundations have just decided to stop supporting biomedical research.
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blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Aug 9
200 days in, checking in on HHMI funding opportunities:

Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program - not accepting applications

Gilliam Fellows Program - not accepting applications

Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program - not accepting applications

Investigator Program - not accepting applications
blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · May 17
This is not some small foundation -- HHMI has a $24 billion endowment. It is the world's 2nd richest biomedical research foundation.

If any funder can double down on their support for science right now, it's HHMI. But they are doing the opposite.
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blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Aug 1
Congrats Rita!
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Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Jul 23
Fascinating new paper reveals a new gut microbiome connection to heart disease. Microbes produce imidazole propionate (ImP), which directly triggers atherosclerosis through immune activation - even without high cholesterol.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Imidazole propionate is a driver and therapeutic target in atherosclerosis - Nature
Imidazole propionate produced by gut microbiota is associated with atherosclerosis in mouse models and in humans, and causes the development of atherosclerosis through activation of the imidazoline-1 ...
www.nature.com
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blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Jul 23
Good night from Chicago
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Reposted by Ran Blekhman
seppekuehnlab.bsky.social
SeppeKuehnLab @seppekuehnlab.bsky.social · Jul 17
New paper in @nature.com! With @kiseokmicro.bsky.social , Siqi Liu, Kyle Crocker, Jojo Wang, Mikhail Tikhonov & Madhav Mani — a massive dataset and simple model reveal a few conserved regimes that capture how soil microbiome metabolism responds to perturbations. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Jul 14
agreed - still interesting as a first step, but a lot more to do
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Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Jul 14
New paper showing that gut bacteria absorb "forever chemicals" (PFAS) at high levels.

This bacterial "sponge effect" could influence PFAS levels in our bodies and explain individual differences in PFAS exposure.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Human gut bacteria bioaccumulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances - Nature Microbiology
Human gut bacteria bioaccumulate per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), commonly known as forever chemicals, in intracellular aggregates. Colonization of gnotobiotic mice with bioaccumulating bac...
www.nature.com
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Reposted by Ran Blekhman
pamferretti.bsky.social
Pamela Ferretti @pamferretti.bsky.social · Jul 9
Our article on the challenges and opportunities in studying host-microbe symbioses is now published in Cell Host & Microbe! @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Theory of host-microbe symbioses: Challenges and opportunities
Growing insight into microbial symbioses highlights the need to model these systems mathematically. We discuss three areas requiring theoretical advan…
www.sciencedirect.com
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blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Jul 9
Thank you Irene!
blekhman.bsky.social
Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Jul 9
thanks Sean!
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Ran Blekhman @blekhman.bsky.social · Jul 9
Thank you Kirk!