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Lucy van Dorp

@lucyvandorp.bsky.social

190 followers 100 following 8 posts

UKRI Future Leaders Fellow and Group Leader in Microbial Genomics at UCL Genetics Institute @ugiatucl.bsky.social‬. Reconstructing the evolution of us and our pathogens past, present and future using large-scale genomics. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucbpvan

www.ucl.ac.uk

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Reposted by Lucy van Dorp

Aida Andres @aidaandres.bsky.social · 19d

Pooja Swali @poojaswali.bsky.social presenting her very interesting work on ancient pathogens. @ugiatucl.bsky.social

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Lucy van Dorp @lucyvandorp.bsky.social · Sep 1

If you like generating genomic data from unusual medical samples, past and contemporary epidemiology and advancing methods in phylo/population genetics please get in touch.

Group website: www.ucl.ac.uk/~ucbpvan/

Closing date Sept 25th 2025.

#aDNA #microbialgenomics #ISBA #popgen #UCL

New preprint on the early evolution of BA.2.86

www.ucl.ac.uk

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Lucy van Dorp @lucyvandorp.bsky.social · Sep 1

Excited to say we’re hiring 😊. We’re looking for a post-doc in ancient pathogen genomics to join our friendly supportive team in London at @ugiatucl.bsky.social. Start date January 2026.

www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

UCL – University College London

UCL is consistently ranked as one of the top ten universities in the world (QS World University Rankings 2010-2022) and is No.2 in the UK for research power (Research Excellence Framework 2021).

www.ucl.ac.uk

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Reposted by Lucy van Dorp

UCL Genetics Institute @ugiatucl.bsky.social · Aug 11

New preprint from UGI PhD student @cednotsed.bsky.social , @proffballoux.bsky.social and @lucyvandorp.bsky.social, exploring the microbial and antimicrobial resistance signatures of hospital-acquired pneumonia using nanopore metagenomic sequencing (www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...).

Characterising the microbial and antimicrobial resistance signatures of hospital-acquired pneumonia using nanopore metagenomic sequencing

Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is a significant burden in nosocomial settings, yet its microbial underpinnings remain poorly understood. Here, we leverage shotgun nanopore sequencing to characteris...

www.biorxiv.org

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Reposted by Lucy van Dorp

Genetics Society UK @gensocuk.bsky.social · Jul 29

Not long left to submit your abstract! Deadline is 31 July.

Join us in November for the Ancient Genomes meeting and hear from amazing speakers including: @mathiesoniain.bsky.social, @lquintanamurci.bsky.social & @lucyvandorp.bsky.social!

genetics.org.uk/events/ancie...

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Reposted by Lucy van Dorp

UCL Genetics Institute @ugiatucl.bsky.social · Jul 23

@cednotsed.bsky.social presenting at #SMEB2025 on his work on predicting the fitness of mutations in SARS-CoV-2. Preprint here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

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Reposted by Lucy van Dorp

UCL Genetics Institute @ugiatucl.bsky.social · Jul 17

And UGI PhD student Cedric Tan presenting in symposium 21 @official-smbe.bsky.social #SMBE2025 on his work "Intrahost dynamics, together with genetic and phenotypic effects predict the success of viral mutations".

Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution @official-smbe.bsky.social · Jul 2

#SMBE2025 Symposium 21: Thematic symposium: virus evolution and pathogen evolution

🔗 smbe2025.scimeeting.cn/en/web/program/25070

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Reposted by Lucy van Dorp

UCL Genetics Institute @ugiatucl.bsky.social · Jul 9

✨🧬 Sharing our UCL Genetics Institute starter pack of researchers, friends and alumni past and present 🧬 ✨

#UGISKY
(DM us to be added)

go.bsky.app/Gw1NqRa

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Reposted by Lucy van Dorp

Genetics Society UK @gensocuk.bsky.social · Jul 1

We’ve got some good news! The deadline to submit abstracts for our “Ancient #Genomes: Perspectives on Human Biology and Medicine” meeting has been extended to 31 July 2025. So if you were thinking about submitting, there’s still plenty of time!

genetics.org.uk/events/ancie...

Ancient genomes: perspectives on human biology and medicine | Genetics Society

It is our great pleasure to invite you to participate in the Autumn Meeting of the Genetics Society. This meeting will provide a unique forum to network and socialise with a wide cross-section of the ...

genetics.org.uk

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Reposted by Lucy van Dorp

Flo Camus @fcamus.bsky.social · May 28

Thrilled to share our latest preprint! 🎉🔥

We analysed >23k mtDNA genomes & found 18 variants shaped by climate—linked to thermogenesis, metabolism & disease.

Led by PhD student Finley Grover-Thomas, and in collab with: @aidaandres.bsky.social @lucyvandorp.bsky.social @proffballoux.bsky.social

bioRxiv Evolutionary Biology @biorxiv-evobio.bsky.social · May 28

Climate associated natural selection in the human mitochondrial genome https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.23.655374v1

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Lucy van Dorp @lucyvandorp.bsky.social · May 23

And me discussing our findings in BBC Science in Action here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... (from ~24:00).

Science In Action - WHO Pandemic Agreement reached - BBC Sounds

124 countries have agreed on a global effort to fight future pandemic health threats.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Lucy van Dorp @lucyvandorp.bsky.social · May 23

You can see first author @poojaswali.bsky.social thread on the work here: bsky.app/profile/pooj...

Pooja Swali @poojaswali.bsky.social · May 22

Excited to announce our paper on ancient Borrelia genomes is finally out! 🦠💀We document the evolutionary history of louse-borne relapsing fever, published today in @science.org‬ with @lucyvandorp.bsky.social and @pontus-skoglund.bsky.social #aDNA 🏺🧪🧬
Main findings and paper below: 🧵⬇️

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Lucy van Dorp @lucyvandorp.bsky.social · May 23

What fun it was to work on this with @poojaswali.bsky.social, @pontus-skoglund.bsky.social and wider team.
@boothicus.bsky.social, @cednotsed.bsky.social, @archaedelle.bsky.social, @alexgilardet.bsky.social, @leospeidel.bsky.social, @frankietait.bsky.social, @maxgg.bsky.social et al.

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Lucy van Dorp @lucyvandorp.bsky.social · May 23

Crucially, our study also expands the sparse genomic record for this understudied yet important pathogen, which still causes outbreaks today and may have been an important part of disease experienced in the past.

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Lucy van Dorp @lucyvandorp.bsky.social · May 23

By recovering DNA from Iron Age and Medieval Britains, we tracked the bacteria’s evolution as it shed and shuffled genes to specialize in a new host—coinciding with major changes in human behaviour, trade, and maybe even fashion.

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Lucy van Dorp @lucyvandorp.bsky.social · May 23

Our @ucl.ac.uk @crick.ac.uk work, out this week in @science.org, traces a genetic time series of bacterial infections to reveal when and how Borrelia recurrentis jumped from ticks to humans—via our body lice.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Ancient Borrelia genomes document the evolutionary history of louse-borne relapsing fever

Several bacterial pathogens have transitioned from tick-borne to louse-borne transmission, which often involves genome reduction and increasing virulence. However, the timing of such transitions remai...

www.science.org

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