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Patrick Phillips

@patrickphillips.bsky.social

3K followers 590 following 150 posts

Geneticist at University of Oregon @uoregon. Worms, C. elegans, aging, evolution, genetics, genomics, complex traits. Former provost and interim president. Lab: https://pages.uoregon.edu/pphil/ GScholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JbH6mVkAAA

pages.uoregon.edu

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Oct 21

An update of our latest research push. We study the genetic basis of natural variation using nematodes and theory, and have been using that variation to study the biology of aging. I am now convinced that the next era in both evolutionary biology and aging requires new biology: synthetic biology 1/2

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · 2d

Very important paper for the geroscience hypothesis. Healthy aging is critical, even in the face of obvious disease states.

Andrea Ganna @andganna.bsky.social · 8d

🧬💥 Do the genetics that make you develop a disease also help you survive it? Not much.

Our new study in Nature Genetics including 9 disease and 7 biobanks shows:

• Susceptibility variants ≠ survival
• PRSs for onset weak at predicting progression
• Lifespan PRS predicts survival better

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Sep 4

I don’t need to tell you, but one cool scaffolding idea is to take one example and to return to it at each stage of the course to slowly unpeel the genetics onion. Mouse coat color is perfect for that because you can go from transmission to molecular to biochemistry to population genetics.

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Sep 4

Bateson and Punnett’s first example was rooster combs, which is cool. Mouse coat color is great because you can tie it directly to molecular function that explains the epistasis. Check out my 2008 NRG paper for examples and pictures. Also plant examples if you are into that kind of thing 😁

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Reposted by Patrick Phillips

Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra @jrossibarra.bsky.social · Sep 3

Save the date! #PEQG26 June 9-12 2026 in Asilomar, CA. Happens only every 2yrs, but is my favorite conference. Full website coming soon, and registration and abstract submission opens November 14, but I'm allowed to tease that keynotes will be @jnovembre.bsky.social @jennytung.bsky.social and me!

Homepage - Population, Evolutionary, and Quantitative Genetics Conference

Visit our website to learn more.

genetics-gsa.org

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Sep 2

"Random" variation in just a handful of genes explains differences in reproductive outcomes across genetically identical individuals. It's Ground Hog Day or Midnight Library for worms — if those stories also revealed epigenetic associations (I'm sure they were supposed to be in there someplace).

Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Sep 2

Just out in press in eLife, a cool and brilliant piece of work by @amywebster.bsky.social: Gene expression variation across genetically identical individuals predicts reproductive traits. elifesciences.org/articles/106...

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Sep 2

Although other work, which I have also never published, shows that this domain can be much bigger than you would expect. (Other than that Dr. Fermat, how is your research going).

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Sep 2

The situation that you describe is the physical manifestation of of that more general principle. And of course it will almost always be true within a certain small chromosomal region, say within the confounds of a gene.

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Sep 2

Something that I discovered as a graduate student, but have never published. Formally, from a statistical point of view, dominance and epistasis are only distinguishable under linkage equilibrium. Otherwise they are confounded.

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Sep 1

You become twice as spicy every ten years.

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Aug 26

Your next, much more major test, is the Baroque Cycle, which I loved, but boy does it take a while to get rolling. I read these books and then read Cryptonomicon because I wanted to follow the story. This has to be the most oblique prequel ever written. Great read for scientists in particular.

Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Aug 18

New position in Developmental Neuroscience in the University of Oregon Department of Biology. There is also a neuroengineering search going on in the Knight Campus at the same time, so exciting buildouts in that area at the UO. academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/30255

University of Oregon, Department of Biology

Job #AJO30255, 535561 Assistant Professor of Developmental Neuroscience, Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, US

academicjobsonline.org

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Reposted by Patrick Phillips

Will Ratcliff @wcratcliff.bsky.social · Aug 13

Come be my boss! My dept. at GT is searching for a new chair. Drop me a line if you are interested, I'd be happy to talk about this position, GT, ATL- anything. It's a drama-free department filled with cool people in a dynamic city.

www.biosciences.gatech.edu/chair-search

Chair Search

Chair, School of Biological Sciences Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta The School of Biological Sciences of the Georgia Institute of Technology (“Georgia Tech”) invites applications for the pos...

www.biosciences.gatech.edu

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Reposted by Patrick Phillips

Roshni Patel @roshnipatel.bsky.social · Aug 6

Bittersweet to be leaving @docedge.bsky.social after a wonderful postdoc, but excited to share that I'm joining @uoregon.bsky.social next month as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Data Science.

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Reposted by Patrick Phillips

Colette Delawalla @cdelawalla.bsky.social · Aug 4

Congress says they have our back...let's hold them to their word!

All gas, no breaks this August with the 31 Days of Action campaign.

Sign up for our daily action notes here: act.standupforscience.net/forms/31-day...

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Aug 5

The point is that we are only seven months in and many things have already gone back and forth multiple times. Doesn't mean that it won't skid to the dirt, but even those pay lines could reverse at the last moment since the money is sitting there. Courts and Congress.

Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Aug 5

My point was that these things are on a fast cycle. It sucks that NCI folks (and others?) are in the 5% payline cycle, which may indeed persist. No where did I say that you should not be pissed. Targeted efficacious action through Congress at this very moment is what will shift the cycle back a bit.

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Aug 5

Mostly continuing awards for me. The new award landscape is becoming very challenging. This is essentially a zero funding stance, so we should be seeing those patterns emerge shortly. Very sorry that you are in this situation. There does seem to be a cycle to this, which adds extra randomness.

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Aug 5

My students will testify that your GIF game also makes you a man after my own heart 😆. Decided to tone down the bitmoji's a few years ago.

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Aug 5

8. A day may come when the courage of scientists fails, when we forsake our colleagues, and break all bonds of mutual support, but it is not this day. 9/9

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Aug 5

7. So keep your head up the best that you can. Every scientist has succeeded via raw persistence and dog headedness. Discouragement is the intent. We are not at that point yet, and people are in the trenches every day fighting to keep it that way. 8/n

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Aug 5

6. So my general take is that new funding is clearly being slow walked and changes in policy are intended to limit investment, but the system is still grinding forward. Initial steps by congress are promising so supporting those efforts remains key. 7/n

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Aug 5

5. I have also served on or chaired 5 or so NIH study sections and/or workshops since January. I have tried to say yes most times when I can. The broader community continues to be fantastic at this important work, and the SROs again remain dedicated to the task of moving things forward. 6/n

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Aug 5

4. Tracking information from @jeremymberg.bsky.social has been critical to my understanding of the situation, even ironically keeping me calm by knowing that we are all in the same boat when things ebb and flow. We are lucky to have him helping to serve as an extremely credible spokesperson. 5/n

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Patrick Phillips @patrickphillips.bsky.social · Aug 5

3. The POs for NIGMS and NIA have been phenomenal (as well as NIBIB, which is an aspiration for us). They have been very calm and reassuring, even as I know that their individual lives are very challenging. We are very lucky to have these staff and should be fighting for them whenever possible. 4/n

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