I am already excited for my next scientific adventure 🌟 @pasteur.fr @epcrocha.bsky.social

Many thanks also to my assessors @jpjhall.bsky.social and Prof Craig McLean for the thought-provoking discussions during my viva!

On Friday, I passed my PhD viva with no corrections. I can't believe it has already been 4 years at @dunnschool.bsky.social @ox.ac.uk ! What an amazing time it has been!

A huge thank you to my supervisor Prof Christoph Tang who has supported me throughout my PhD journey!

I've wanted to write this article for years. About my and other's struggles to even survive sometime in #academia. Thank you to the amazing editors at @plosbiology.org that gave me the forum to write this piece. #science

Lanyard upgrade😍
Thanks @twistbioscience.com!

#sciencematters #standupforscience

🚨🚨New paper out in @natcomms.nature.com!!

Come for the first large-scale analysis of plasmid copy number across species,
stay for one of the most intriguing results of my lab: universal scaling laws in plasmid biology! 📈🧬

👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Very happy to see the second paper of my PhD now published in PLOS Pathogens!
dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...

"Axial asymmetry organizes division plane orthogonality in Neisseria gonorrhoeae" Out today in @currentbiology.bsky.social! Beautiful live cell imaging and genetics work led by Adi Bandekar and with @fleshball.bsky.social. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Only two weeks left to register for #Microbio25! Join us for four days of scientific symposia, workshops, fora, Prize Lectures and much more! The deadline is 24 March at 12:00 GMT. Secure your spot, register now - microb.io/AC25Registra... #Microbio25

It started with a passionate discussion about #GenderEquality in science on a trainride and suddendly, we have been running panel discussions for over a year. In our last panel, I discussed with Dessislava Veltcha, Sally Cowley and Mathew Stracy how to navigate different career paths.

pbla is mobilised by the conjugative plasmid pConj, which can harbour a tetracycline resistance marker that confers doxycycline resistance. Due to the close relationship between pbla and pConj, widespread use of Doxy-PEP is likely to promote the spread of both pConj and pbla.

In particular, TEM-135, which has arisen in certain pbla variants, increases resistance to beta-lactams and only requires one amino acid change to become an extended spectrum beta-lactamase.

Subsequently, different evolutionary pathways were taken by three major pbla variants. Changes that mitigate fitness costs of pbla and the emergence of TEM beta-lactamases which confer increased resistance have contributed to the success of pbla.

We investigated the origin and evolution of pbla and demonstrate that the plasmid was acquired on at least two occasions from Haemophilus ducreyi.

Where does the gonococcal beta-lactamase plasmid pbla come from and how does its interaction with the conjugative plasmid pConj, fitness costs and resistance levels determine its spread in the population? And what are the implications for current treatment and prevention strategies such as Doxy-PEP?

A hitchhiker’s guide to the gonococcal population: biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Absolutely! I finally made it to the bright side and will announce the preprint here as well.
Thanks! I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it!