Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

Jason Williams @jasonwilliamsny.bsky.social · 9d

The new #NSF #GRFP application now excludes 1000’s of students, including those who were told they could apply this year, or who planned to apply next year.

We have a new specific petition urging #NSFGRFP undo this harmful action. If you are impacted sign here: laurenkuehne.github.io/grfpChanges/

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Sarah W. Davies Ph.D. @daviesswphd.bsky.social · 13d

Call for abstracts: @icrs.bsky.social ICRS 2026 session "#26 | Cryptic diversity, hybridization, and chimerism and their influence on ecology and evolution"
www.icrs2026.nz/call-for-abs...

Call for abstracts

www.icrs2026.nz

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

Sam Yeaman @samyeaman.bsky.social · Aug 20

I'm looking to recruit a PhD student to study patterns of local adaptation and introgression across the spruce hybrid zone in the Rockies near Calgary. Projects can include field work, bioinformatics, pop gen theory, or comparison to plant/ conifer species
yeamanlab.weebly.com/uploads/5/7/...

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

The Nature Conservancy Science @science.nature.org · Aug 20

Over half of the world’s corals have vanished in 50 years. To help restore reefs at scale, TNC and the Coral Restoration Consortium created a science-based guide with best practices, tools, and case studies tailored to local conditions. Resilient reefs start here. 🔗 https://nature.ly/4mRosBE

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

Kelsey Beavers, PhD @kelseybeavers.bsky.social · Jul 24

🎉 Exciting news! The last manuscript from my dissertation was just published in Royal Society Open Science!
And in a fun twist of fate, the cover of this issue happens to feature a Caribbean coral colony 🪸 (not from our study, but still serendipitous nonetheless!)

Machine learning reveals distinct gene expression signatures across tissue states in stony coral tissue loss disease | Royal Society Open Science

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has rapidly degraded Caribbean reefs, compounding climate-related stressors and threatening ecosystem stability. Effective intervention requires understanding t...

royalsocietypublishing.org

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Sarah W. Davies Ph.D. @daviesswphd.bsky.social · Jun 27

Very excited to have our first #singlecell data paper out in the world. Dr. Valadez Ingersoll worked so hard on this piece and we learned so much about #coral #symbiosis!

Cell type-specific immune regulation under symbiosis in a facultatively symbiotic coral url: academic.oup.com/ismej/articl...

Cell type-specific immune regulation under symbiosis in a facultatively symbiotic coral

Abstract. Many cnidarians host single-celled algae within gastrodermal cells, yielding a mutually beneficial exchange of nutrients between host and symbion

academic.oup.com

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

Daniel Bolnick @danielbolnick.bsky.social · Jun 23

Email from NSF just now:

“NSF will not implement [15%IDC] policy at this time”

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · May 22

NSF Physics was cut by 85%, basically wiping out most of its capacity for supporting research.

NSF Astronomy was cut by 53%

Undergrad education was cut by 71% and research on learning by 79%

Graduate education was cut by 100% to ZERO.

#GiftLink ⚛️🔭

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades (Gift Article)

The lag in funding extends far beyond D.E.I. initiatives, affecting almost every area of science: chemistry, computing, engineering, materials and more.

www.nytimes.com

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Sarah W. Davies Ph.D. @daviesswphd.bsky.social · May 21

Having supported an application this round I can say that this feels like a slap in the face for these juniors researchers who are emerging post PhD. All of that work .....

Julie Libarkin @holdingupthesky.bsky.social · May 20

HHMI lost my good wishes when they reworded sites and cancelled in obvious bowing to fascism. www.statnews.com/2025/02/06/h...

Researchers 'stunned' after HHMI abruptly cancels program to make science more inclusive

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute abruptly ended a $60 million program to improve the retention of diverse college students

www.statnews.com

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

Jon Puritz @jonpuritz.marineevoeco.com · May 9

Katie’s amazing and an incredibly thoughtful scientist. The MSC is a collaborative and vibrant academic community. Living in the North Shore of Boston is awesome.

A postdoc in Katie’s lab helped change the path of my career for the better.

This is a dream postdoc.

Dr. K. Lotterhos @drk-lo.bsky.social · May 8

I'm hiring! Postdoc available in my lab in Ecological Genomics. northeastern.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/careers/job/... I will start reviewing applications mid-July. 🧪🧑‍🔬🖥️🧬🦑. Please share widely, thanks!

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Ecological Genomics

About the Opportunity Job Summary A postdoctoral research associate is available at the Lotterhos Lab at Northeastern University. The postdoc will be based at Northeastern University’s Marine Science ...

northeastern.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

Dr. Suzanne Le Menestrel @drsl.bsky.social · May 2

The Spencer Foundation is offering rapid response bridge funding for those who lost NSF research grants.

www.spencer.org/grant_types/...

Rapid Response Bridge Funding Program

In the face of recent abrupt shifts in federal funding for education research, including large-scale terminations of National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant awards, we have developed a rap...

www.spencer.org

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Sarah W. Davies Ph.D. @daviesswphd.bsky.social · Apr 29

Stirling!

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Sarah W. Davies Ph.D. @daviesswphd.bsky.social · Apr 24

Great job in MA! I love GMGI and attend their conference every year! Amazing opportunity for a marine genomics researcher!
gmgi.bamboohr.com/careers/69

Marine Research Scientist

Join us to Transform Ocean Science The Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute (GMGI) is a pioneering research organization that uses genomic approaches to addressing critical challenges facing our oce...

gmgi.bamboohr.com

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

Mónica Medina @momedinamunoz.bsky.social · Apr 15

We examined the microbiome of Madracis aurentenra, an urban coral off the coast of the Colombian Caribbean. Interesting dynamics between Endozoicomonas and Vibrionaceae 🧪🪸 #MicroSky peerj.com/articles/192...

Endozoicomonas dominance and Vibrionaceae stability underpin resilience in urban coral Madracis auretenra

Coral resilience varies across species, with some exhibiting remarkable stability and adaptability, often mediated by their associated microbiomes. Given the species-specific nature of coral-microbiom...

peerj.com

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

Mónica Medina @momedinamunoz.bsky.social · Apr 12

Happy to share our work on jellyfish microbiomes across space and life history stages @akerwin.bsky.social
#Microsky #Symbiosky 🧪🌊https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0319944&?utm_id=plos111&utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=author

Cassiopea xamachana microbiome across anatomy, development, and geography

The upside-down jellyfish holobiont, Cassiopea xamachana, is a useful model system for tri-partite interactions between the cnidarian host, the photosymbiont, and the bacterial microbiome. While the i...

journals.plos.org

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Sarah W. Davies Ph.D. @daviesswphd.bsky.social · Apr 9

Hi coral peeps! Anyone have any Caribbean spawning predictions for summer 2025? Please share so I can reach more people! Thanks :)

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

Britt Koskella @bkoskella.bsky.social · Apr 8

Know any soon to graduate or recently graduated undergrads interested in a full year, paid postbac research position in microbiome sciences? Have them join our zoom Q&A session on Friday, April 11, 11:30am-12:30pm PST. More info here: sites.google.com/berkeley.edu...

Bay Area RaMP - 2025-26 Cohort

2025-2026 Cohort

sites.google.com

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

Katherine T. Tyson @katherinettyson.bsky.social · Apr 7

If you’re a Canadian Citizen with an opinion about the United States you need to vote.

You don’t have to wait until April 28th to vote.

If you’re in Canada: go to elections Canada or to an advanced poll.

If you’re outside of Canada: get your postal vote now.

#elbowsup #vote2025

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

SICB journals @sicbjournals.bsky.social · Apr 4

Congrats Jeric “JK” Da-Anoy (member of the
sites.bu.edu/davieslab )
JK is a #Ph.D. #student fascinated by #evolution of #metazoan complexity. He received his Master’s at the Uni of the Philippines, exploring stress response & #evolutionary #neurobiology under Dr. Cecilia Conaco’s supervision.

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

Clint Oakley @clintoak.bsky.social · Apr 4

Corals maintain stable populations of essential photosynthetic symbionts by controlling their cell cycle, not by eating them! Our new #PNAS paper monitored and modelled #aiptasia cell cycle, autophagy, and expulsion for over a year. #symbiosis #microbiology www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Cell cycle arrest in the cnidarian-dinoflagellate symbiosis.

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Sarah W. Davies Ph.D. @daviesswphd.bsky.social · Apr 3

Excited to share JK Da'Anoy's first dissertation chapter published in @sicbjournals.bsky.social! What started off as a side project morphed into great work!
"Microbial depletion is associated with slower cnidarian regeneration"
LOTS of wondergrads made this happen!
Go team :)
doi.org/10.1093/icb/...

Microbial Depletion Is Associated with Slower Cnidarian Regeneration

Synopsis. Microbiomes play an important role in physiology and development in cnidarians, but how these communities influence tissue regeneration is poorly

academic.oup.com

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Sarah W. Davies Ph.D. @daviesswphd.bsky.social · Mar 29

Are you interested in marine larval dispersal? Come join us and investigate the plasticity of larval dispersal traits in response to variation in parental environments!
Position based at St. Olaf's in Minnesota (low COL!).
Please share widely!
shorturl.at/NYYXN

Postdoctoral Research Associate – Theoretical Ecological and Evolutionary Modeling

Position Title: Postdoctoral Research Associate - Theoretical Ecological and Evolutionary Modeling. Department: Biology. Classification: Exempt. FTE: 1.0. Work Schedule: The standard 40-hour work sche...

shorturl.at

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

Dr. Ryan Eckert @cnidaryan.bsky.social · Mar 25

New preprint on *Xestospongia muta* population genetics across the Florida Reef Tract. www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-5...
🪸
🦑🧪

Xestospongia muta population structure. A Dendrogram of samples based on IBS matrix from ANGSD with matching site, depth zone, and depth (m) data and structure plots for K =2–5 for each X. muta sample. Colored points on dendrogram nodes represent Lineages Xm1 and Xm2 as well as putative hybrids (admixed samples). B Principal component analysis from pcangsd, where color represents sampling site and shape represents sampling depth zone. Larger, opaque shapes are sample population centroids and smaller, transparent shapes individual samples. CSame plot as B with samples colored by lineage assignment from K = 2 data set. D Same plot as C but for K = 4.

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

Kristina Black @kristinaleilani.bsky.social · Mar 13

New preprint on BioRxiv! doi.org/10.1101/2025...

We investigate environmental drivers of genetic adaptation in two corals sampled across the Florida Reef Tract. @heatshok.bsky.social

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Reposted by Sarah W. Davies Ph.D.

Dr. Keisha Bahr (she/her/ella) @keishabahr.bsky.social · Mar 12

🪸 We are hiring! 🪸
The Coral Reef and Ocean Health Research Group at the Harte Research Institute (HRI) is seeking a Postdoctoral Researcher to advance our understanding of coral reef resilience and health.

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