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Rob Fagan

@robfagan.bsky.social

2.3K followers 2.4K following 450 posts

Lead for Molecular Microbiology @sheffielduni.bsky.social @molmicrosheffield.bsky.social #SEN parent, #AngelmanSyndrome Clostridial cell biology, AMR & bacteriophage structure and function He/Him https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/fagan-lab/

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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · Aug 22

New preprint from us! The latest part of our C. difficile vancomycin resistance story. We identified a new two-component system (VnrRS) that can control expression of the vanG pathway - just needs one amino acid change

@buddlejess.bsky.social @brockhurstlab.bsky.social @claireyt.bsky.social

A novel two-component system controls vancomycin resistance in epidemic Clostridioides difficile

The glycopeptide antibiotic vancomycin is the frontline treatment for C. difficile infection in the UK. There have been only sporadic reports of resistance in the clinic but testing is rare so the tru...

www.biorxiv.org

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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 23h

Starting the day with news of a fire in our office early this morning. Thankfully no one hurt and no lasting damage but an unpleasant start to the day!

Reposted by Rob Fagan

Buzz Baum @buzzbaum.bsky.social · 6d

LMB PhD studentship available in the Baum lab to use informatics to infer cell structure from genomic data in collaboration with the brilliant Tom Williams. If you write to me and I don’t reply - try again - the spam filter is hungry…

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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 8d

Oh god, what's he said now?

Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 14d

Making the most of a few days off before I have to get back to the day job! I think I've finally found the puppy's limit

Yellow Labrador puppy Pip in the woods looking into a small stream flowing down a steep hill. The steam is actually artificial, the last remaining sign of a mill today used to stand on this site

A close up of Pip's face - she looks very happy

Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 20d

Very but she had a swim before we headed home. She's just gone out again with her brother though so we'll see what state she comes home in!

Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 20d

Mission accomplished!

Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 20d

There are definite benefits to living on the edge of the Peak District. 5 min walk from our front door we reach the edge of the woods and after that the only limit is my legs. Today's mission was to clear my head and tire out the puppy

A shallow river running through a forest. A yellow Labrador puppy is just about visible, having just come out of the water

Pip, a yellow Labrador puppy, standing on a rocky path through the forest. She is looking expectantly at the camera waiting for a treat

Pip resting her chin on a rough cut stone wall with a small waterfall in the background

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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 22d

Having a few days off to recover from a really full on summer & to get some DIY jobs done so we can sell our house. Was all going well until I got the carpet cleaner out. Managed to do half of one room before the magic white smoke escaped. Now two upset dogs and all the windows open. House stinks 😩

Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 23d

Oh yes, been there, smelled that! And four day dead frog, dead squirrel and, on one unpleasant occasion, human faeces...

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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 23d

Thankfully not - just mud. So much mud. She was out for a walk today with her brother and he's a bad influence!

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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 23d

Sigh...

A close up photo of a very dirty Labrador puppy's face. She is a 7 month old yellow lab - although covered in mud so her coat looks darker

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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 28d

Would love to get some feedback. Just finalising a few bits a pieces to add at the moment

Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · 28d

Very kind of you to say!

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Reposted by Rob Fagan

Eduardo Rocha @epcrocha.bsky.social · Sep 8

Willing to join us @pasteur.fr for a PhD for a project on how interactions between mobile genetic elements shape bacterial adaptation? Subject to be tailored to candidates with keen interest in evolution, genomics, computational biology, microbiology. Check www.pasteur.fr/en/education...

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Reposted by Rob Fagan

Dr. Wendy Bohon @drwendyrocks.bsky.social · Sep 6

👏👏👏 👏👏

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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · Sep 6

Final product!

Mr4 pudding with his new Lego police car

Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · Sep 6

Saturday morning Lego fun with Mr4!

Mr4, in a green and white horizontal stripey t-shirt, sitting at a low wooden table, looking at the instruction book for a Lego police car. The Lego pieces are spread out on the table in front of him

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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · Sep 5

I don't think I'm going to be allowed to move from this spot for a while

Selfie of Rob and Pip. Pip is a 7 month old yellow Labrador puppy

Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · Sep 5

Our French hosts really outdid themselves with the venue for last night's #ClostPath2025 congress dinner. A fantastic night, a fantastic week of science and now just two years to wait to do it all again in Rio

A view of the Eiffel Tower at night taken from a boat on the river Seine. The tower is brightly lit gold and a search light extends from the top

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Reposted by Rob Fagan

Wiep Klaas Smits (ExpBac/CMAT) @smitslab.bsky.social · Sep 5

Looking back at a great #clostpath2025, and ahead to #icds2026 (Bled) and #clostpath2027 (Rio de Janeiro).

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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · Sep 4

Delighted to see some excellent work on C. diff vancomycin resistance at ClostPath. The evidence for emerging resistance is mounting and it's becoming clear that even fairly low level resistance causes treatment failure

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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · Sep 3

Lab on tour - the wonderful #ClostPath2025 organisers have arranged great walking tours. Guess where we are?

@lilia-elle.bsky.social, @funnirudh.bsky.social and Rob somewhere in Paris

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Reposted by Rob Fagan

Edwin Hayward @edwinhayward.com · Sep 2

Our RW media are sharks. Labour spent the summer feeding them buckets of raw chum.

76 anti-immigration tweets in August 2025 from Starmer's Twitter account, the Home Office, and the official Number 10 account.

I compiled them all into a 10-minute Youtube video.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=naaj...

The Death of Labour's Soul (August 2025)

YouTube video by Edwin Hayward

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Rob Fagan

Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · Sep 3

net immigration fell by more than half last year and the politics has gone in the complete opposite direction. It's not really about the numbers

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Rob Fagan @robfagan.bsky.social · Sep 1

On the RER in Paris - remarkably smooth journey