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asherleeks.bsky.social
Asher Leeks
@asherleeks.bsky.social
2.9K followers 1.2K following 60 posts
We study social evolution in viruses.

Assistant Professor @zoology.ubc.ca & @ubcbiodiversity.bsky.social

asherleeks.com
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asherleeks.bsky.social
Asher Leeks @asherleeks.bsky.social · Oct 7
I gave a talk last year at TEDxNewEngland aimed at introducing the idea of viral sociality to a general audience, including implications for evolution & virology. Video now available online below.

#socialviruses #evosky #virosky 🧪
The social lives of viruses | Asher Leeks | TEDxNewEngland
YouTube video by TEDx Talks
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Asher Leeks
shoestrapped.bsky.social
An incredible ICTP initiative is our Postgraduate Diploma Programme. Rigorous one-year pre-PhD training for students from the Global South. I have personally seen this program transform the lives of those in the quant life sciences.

Due Feb. 28 2026. Please share widely.
www.ictp.it/news/2025/11...
Call for Applications, Postgraduate Diploma Programme | ICTP
Are you a student who dreams of earning a PhD in physics or mathematics, but who lives in a country lacking such opportunities? ICTP could be your first step on the path to attaining a PhD.
www.ictp.it
December 18, 2025 at 12:53 PM
asherleeks.bsky.social
Congratulations to @alexrob.bsky.social , @alisonfeder.bsky.social , and Ben Kerr on this beautiful study, using evolutionary theory to study antiviral resistance dynamics when resistance is social...

#socialviruses #evosky 🧪
alisonfeder.bsky.social Alison Feder @alisonfeder.bsky.social · 16d
So excited to share this work led by @alexrob.bsky.social with Ben Kerr!

We investigated a poliovirus capsid inhibitor that exploits a breakdown in the genotype-phenotype map to prevent drug resistance evolution. Or does it?

See Alex's thread, but a few extras:

#socialviruses #evosky #virosky 🧪
alexrob.bsky.social Alexander Robertson @alexrob.bsky.social · 18d
My first lead author paper is out with Ben Kerr and @alisonfeder.bsky.social! We found that making an antiviral too strong can sometimes make resistance easier to evolve. This has implications for how we design drugs, choose doses, and think about viral evolution in the face of treatment. (1/n)
December 13, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
stuartmcdaniel.bsky.social
UF Biology is searching for an Asst Prof in Evolution, Ecology of Infectious Disease - spread the word! @ufresearch.bsky.social @ufgeog.bsky.social @sse-evolution.bsky.social

explore.jobs.ufl.edu/en-us/job/53...
University of Florida - Details - Assistant Professor in Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease
explore.jobs.ufl.edu
December 10, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
nanamikubota.bsky.social
I want to selfishly plug that there's more to this story that we hope to share soon! (Wildtype phage has a way to "fight back" cheater miniphage invasion.) We're currently working on the paper so stay tuned 😎
December 4, 2025 at 10:29 PM
asherleeks.bsky.social
It was great to write a brief commentary with @sociovirology.bsky.social on @nanamikubota.bsky.social and @vscooper.micropopbio.org's recent discovery of cheat-driven cycles in Pseudomonas (www.cell.com/current-biol... - amazing example of the tragedy of the commons!

🧪 #socialviruses #evosky
Phage–bacteria dynamics: The tragedy of the commons at hyperspeed
A recent study found that apparently stable coexistence between a clinically important pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and its integrated prophages can break down, setting off an evolutionary cycle ...
www.cell.com
December 4, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
luismsilva.bsky.social
Thrilled to share my first preprint in my 2nd evo-passion: senescence and aging.

Here, we used experimental evolution to test the #redox theory of #aging under #parasitism.

Guess what: it is considerably different from what is expected 🤓 a thread 1/5 👇

#EvoSky #MicroSky #Aedes
Testing the redox theory of aging under parasitism
The redox theory of aging proposes that an oxidative imbalance, possibly amplified by infection, drives senescence. We experimentally evolved mosquitoes under early or late reproduction with or withou...
www.biorxiv.org
December 4, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
mermanchester.bsky.social
We had two fantastic visiting speakers today

MERMan alumnus @rowancallumg.bsky.social spoke about his current work with viral cheating in influenza with @asherleeks.bsky.social

And @lavishaparab.bsky.social talked about phage infection trade-offs

Thanks to @microbesng.bsky.social for our snacks!
Rowan standing in front of a title slide reading “defective viral genomes in natural infections” Lavish standing in front of a title slide reading “trade-offs in bacterial evolution in the context of temperate phage infection”
December 3, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
asherdcutter.bsky.social
EEB Postdoctoral Fellowship @ U.Toronto app deadline Jan 15 2026. Opportunity for independent research, encourages collab across labs/disciplines. Lots of great folks to interact with, Come join us!
eeb.utoronto.ca/employment-2/
Employment - Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
eeb.utoronto.ca
December 2, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
charlesmullon.bsky.social
Great opportunity for those interested in fundamental questions in evolutionary biology and mathematical models: postdoc opening in Laurent Lehmann’s group @unil.bsky.social. We have a lively community of theorists here in Lausanne with good interactions across groups. Join us ! Please RP
evoldir.bsky.social EvolDir @evoldir.bsky.social · 28d
Open postdoc position in Theoretical Evolutionary Biology at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, focusing on mathematical models of social traits. Details: https://tinyurl.com/37uhtbne #postdoc
December 1, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
socialinfluenza.bsky.social
Feeling festive?
Why not deck the halls with @cvrinfo.bsky.social's papercraft #VirusSnowflakes and celebrate the science of viruses and the fight against viral diseases.
Download for free: cvr-engagement.co.uk/virus-snowfl...
#scicomm #sciart #decorations
A poster with branding for the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre fo Virus Research, labelled 'Virus Snowflakes.' The poster shows snowflake-like virus designs and song lyrics reading: On the twelfth day of Christmas, a virus gave to me, Twelve fights worth winning, Eleven Christmas dinners, Ten lunar landers, Nine childhood vaccines, Eight tools for teaching, Seven dogs a-barking, Six wasps a-laying, FIIIIVE TIIINY RIIIIIIINGS, Four vaccine platforms, Three genome segments, Two twinned capsids, and A world that is too small to see
December 1, 2025 at 9:51 AM
asherleeks.bsky.social
Amazing example of influenza cheat/cooperator cycles in this recent paper - the repeatability of the oscillatory cycles is so striking

Congrats to @alnajifg.bsky.social , @christopherbrooke.bsky.social , @vignuzzilab.bsky.social & friends

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

🧪 #socialviruses
November 28, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
maitreya.bsky.social
Open faculty position (Assistant or Associate) in UW Medical Genetics. As you might expect, faculty often end up also interacting with Genome Sciences, so we're hoping for some great prospects! Note the clinical requirements for the position. apply.interfolio.com/176466
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
baym.lol
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics
From populations of multicellular organisms to selfish genetic elements, conflicts between levels of biological organization are central to evolution. Plasmids are extrachromosomal, self-replicating g...
www.science.org
November 20, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
seanmichaletz.bsky.social
#UBC Botany is hiring an Assistant Professor in Non-Seed Plant Diversity - come work with us in beautiful #Vancouver, BC! Please repost!

academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/31140
University of British Columbia, Botany
Job #AJO31140, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR IN NON-SEED PLANT DIVERSITY (BRYOPHYTES, FERNS, LYCOPHYTES), Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, CA
academicjobsonline.org
November 20, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
empseb31.bsky.social
🏔️ EMPSEB31 is heading to the mountains!
This year we’ll meet in Oberwiesenthal, Germany (8–12 June 2026), a quiet mountain town in the Ore Mountains, right on the Czech border. Think forest trails, open skies, and fresh air.
Join us for a week of science and fun!🌿
#EMPSEB31 #EvoBio #PhD
November 14, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
gerlame.bsky.social
Applications are currently being accepted for UBC's ✨️ Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship ✨️ (two positions!!), due Jan. 15

Please share far and wide 🚀

(See thread)
Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunities
Biodiversity Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2-year (2026-2028) - 2 positions OPENAt UBC, we believe that attracting and sustaining a diverse workforce is key to the successful pursuit of excellence in resea...
biodiversity.ubc.ca
November 3, 2025 at 5:25 PM
asherleeks.bsky.social
@rowancallumg.bsky.social and @liyamiksovsky.bsky.social demonstrating our newest lab tradition - creating virus snowflakes (designed by @socialinfluenza.bsky.social ) out of submitted grants and fellowships.

🧪 #socialviruses
October 31, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
brhopkins92.bsky.social
The Hopkins Lab (hopkins-lab.com) at the University of Florida is looking to recruit a postdoc to work on the genetics of organ function and evolution across Drosophila and beyond. Please visit tinyurl.com/vcsjpmzz or email me for more info. And please RT or send to anyone who might be interested!
Ichetucknee Springs State Park, a short drive from Gainesville, FL
October 15, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
carlzimmer.com
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
nyti.ms
October 8, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
cathyhernandez.bsky.social
Very happy to share that I will be starting as an Assistant Professor in the department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina in January! My group will be working on environmental phage ecology and evolution, and I am recruiting for the upcoming year (more info below).
A graphic advertising phage ecology and evolution research at the University of South Carolina, showing a central image of a tide pool flanked by a photo of an agar plate containing diverse microbes and a TEM image of a virus particle.
October 8, 2025 at 4:34 PM
asherleeks.bsky.social
I gave a talk last year at TEDxNewEngland aimed at introducing the idea of viral sociality to a general audience, including implications for evolution & virology. Video now available online below.

#socialviruses #evosky #virosky 🧪
The social lives of viruses | Asher Leeks | TEDxNewEngland
YouTube video by TEDx Talks
www.youtube.com
October 7, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
stanfordpress.bsky.social
Population Biology Modeling & Theory (PBMT) is a peer-reviewed journal reporting advances in modeling and theory within population biology. Its scope spans demography, ecology, epidemiology, evolutionary biology, population genetics, and phylogenetics. PBMT will be online soon.
September 30, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
erinrgreen.bsky.social
Job alert ‼️ UChicago Micro is hiring! Open to tenured/tenure track faculty at all levels in any area of microbiology. Come join our amazing and growing department. apply.interfolio.com/174404
October 4, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
kylejcard.bsky.social
Thrilled to share our paper that just came out in PNAS!

We asked a deceptively simple question: What happens when S. aureus adapts to vancomycin, a critical first-line antibiotic?

1/5
September 27, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Reposted by Asher Leeks
luismsilva.bsky.social
Interested in #virulence? Not sure what it is - or how to explain it? Just curious? 🧐🦠🧬🦋

@kayla-king.bsky.social and I just wrote a Primer for @currentbiology.bsky.social on the ecology and evolution of virulence!

Check it below and share :)

#MicroSky #EvoSky #pathogens
Ecology and evolution of virulence
Silva and King discuss the concept of virulence and the ecological and evolutionary factors that shape it.
www.cell.com
September 22, 2025 at 3:22 PM