Dr. Bala Chaudhary
@balachaudhary.bsky.social
Associate Prof @Dartmouth, Scientist-Activist, Mom, Ecologist, Plant-Fungal Symbioses #mycorrhizas #dispersal #antiracistSTEM, CAREER Awardee, #WOCinEEB Founder, views my own
Pinned
How climate shapes soil fungal traits
Many soil microbes play a vital role in ecosystems, as they help plants access nutrients and water and assist in stress tolerance such as during drought and to defend against pathogens. One such group...
www.eurekalert.org
Our new global study led by @smriti-pehim-limbu.bsky.social is now out in @pnas.org. TLDR: Certain spore traits were linked to climate AND species range sizes! YES we can use traits to gain insight into env adaptations for microbes.
#mycorrhizas #spores #NSFfunded
www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
#mycorrhizas #spores #NSFfunded
www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Attention #ESA2025 soil types: check out our new journal npj Soil Ecology and feel free to contact me if you have questions!
Excited to share that I am taking on a new role as Editor in Chief of npj Soil Ecology, a new journal dedicated to communicating high-quality research and scholarship exploring all aspects of the ecology of soils from gene to ecosystem scales.
www.nature.com/npjsoilecol/
www.nature.com/npjsoilecol/
August 14, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Attention #ESA2025 soil types: check out our new journal npj Soil Ecology and feel free to contact me if you have questions!
Reposted by Dr. Bala Chaudhary
#ESA2025! We would love to fill this up with signatures. Let's show support to the folks at NSF. Find it Wednesday morning at the spot below, and it'll be at the NSF funding session at 10-11:30am.
August 13, 2025 at 12:33 AM
#ESA2025! We would love to fill this up with signatures. Let's show support to the folks at NSF. Find it Wednesday morning at the spot below, and it'll be at the NSF funding session at 10-11:30am.
Reposted by Dr. Bala Chaudhary
🚨There's a "Thank you NSF folks!" poster board for people to sign at #ESA2025. It's near a coffee station & the LTER booth.
Please sign and show your support! And, share!
Please sign and show your support! And, share!
August 12, 2025 at 6:46 PM
🚨There's a "Thank you NSF folks!" poster board for people to sign at #ESA2025. It's near a coffee station & the LTER booth.
Please sign and show your support! And, share!
Please sign and show your support! And, share!
Hey #ESA2025! Help us spread some love to the wonderful program officers and staff at NSF! Located in the exhibit hall near coffee/booth 316!
August 12, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Hey #ESA2025! Help us spread some love to the wonderful program officers and staff at NSF! Located in the exhibit hall near coffee/booth 316!
Reposted by Dr. Bala Chaudhary
I'm giving a talk on Tuesday about carnivores as dispersers of mycorrhizal fungal spores as part of a special session on fungal spore dispersal. Come check it out if you are here in Baltimore and like fungi, carnivores, or trophic interactions. #ESA2025
August 11, 2025 at 1:46 AM
I'm giving a talk on Tuesday about carnivores as dispersers of mycorrhizal fungal spores as part of a special session on fungal spore dispersal. Come check it out if you are here in Baltimore and like fungi, carnivores, or trophic interactions. #ESA2025
Our new global study led by @smriti-pehim-limbu.bsky.social is now out in @pnas.org. TLDR: Certain spore traits were linked to climate AND species range sizes! YES we can use traits to gain insight into env adaptations for microbes.
#mycorrhizas #spores #NSFfunded
www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
#mycorrhizas #spores #NSFfunded
www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
How climate shapes soil fungal traits
Many soil microbes play a vital role in ecosystems, as they help plants access nutrients and water and assist in stress tolerance such as during drought and to defend against pathogens. One such group...
www.eurekalert.org
July 29, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Our new global study led by @smriti-pehim-limbu.bsky.social is now out in @pnas.org. TLDR: Certain spore traits were linked to climate AND species range sizes! YES we can use traits to gain insight into env adaptations for microbes.
#mycorrhizas #spores #NSFfunded
www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
#mycorrhizas #spores #NSFfunded
www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Reposted by Dr. Bala Chaudhary
Planning to attend @ecologicalsociety.bsky.social's upcoming #ESA2025 annual meeting in Baltimore?
Consider signing up for my short course w Gwen Bridge:
Decolonizing Ecological Praxis and Engaging Ethically with Indigenous Communities
Look for SC 02 when you register!
Curious but unsure? Ask me!
Consider signing up for my short course w Gwen Bridge:
Decolonizing Ecological Praxis and Engaging Ethically with Indigenous Communities
Look for SC 02 when you register!
Curious but unsure? Ask me!
June 12, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Planning to attend @ecologicalsociety.bsky.social's upcoming #ESA2025 annual meeting in Baltimore?
Consider signing up for my short course w Gwen Bridge:
Decolonizing Ecological Praxis and Engaging Ethically with Indigenous Communities
Look for SC 02 when you register!
Curious but unsure? Ask me!
Consider signing up for my short course w Gwen Bridge:
Decolonizing Ecological Praxis and Engaging Ethically with Indigenous Communities
Look for SC 02 when you register!
Curious but unsure? Ask me!
Reposted by Dr. Bala Chaudhary
Fungal spores reveal a global climate footprint on microbes' traits!
Incorporating microbial traits improves predictions of biogeographic shifts.
Fun project w @balachaudhary.bsky.social @smriti-pehim-limbu.bsky.social @sturmer.bsky.social @aguilart.bsky.social
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Incorporating microbial traits improves predictions of biogeographic shifts.
Fun project w @balachaudhary.bsky.social @smriti-pehim-limbu.bsky.social @sturmer.bsky.social @aguilart.bsky.social
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Climate-linked biogeography of mycorrhizal fungal spore traits | PNAS
Climate-driven variation in traits is crucial for predicting ecological responses
to environmental change, yet global patterns and drivers of micro...
www.pnas.org
July 15, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Fungal spores reveal a global climate footprint on microbes' traits!
Incorporating microbial traits improves predictions of biogeographic shifts.
Fun project w @balachaudhary.bsky.social @smriti-pehim-limbu.bsky.social @sturmer.bsky.social @aguilart.bsky.social
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Incorporating microbial traits improves predictions of biogeographic shifts.
Fun project w @balachaudhary.bsky.social @smriti-pehim-limbu.bsky.social @sturmer.bsky.social @aguilart.bsky.social
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Dr. Bala Chaudhary
New paper out from the Cheeke Lab led by @raeberner.bsky.social with @balachaudhary.bsky.social & Geoff Zahn. Congrats Rae!
academic.oup.com/femsle/advan...
academic.oup.com/femsle/advan...
Annual grass invasion is associated with differences in the community structure and abundance of biocrusts and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
Abstract. Interactions between biocrusts and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi may increase plant resilience to environmental stress in native grasslands.
academic.oup.com
July 13, 2025 at 3:14 PM
New paper out from the Cheeke Lab led by @raeberner.bsky.social with @balachaudhary.bsky.social & Geoff Zahn. Congrats Rae!
academic.oup.com/femsle/advan...
academic.oup.com/femsle/advan...
Reposted by Dr. Bala Chaudhary
Started the day by reading the Declaration of Independence.
Happy 4th - the original No Kings Day 🇺🇸
Happy 4th - the original No Kings Day 🇺🇸
He has refused his Assent to Laws…
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world…
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury…
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences…
A Tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world…
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury…
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences…
A Tyrant is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
July 4, 2025 at 12:50 PM
Started the day by reading the Declaration of Independence.
Happy 4th - the original No Kings Day 🇺🇸
Happy 4th - the original No Kings Day 🇺🇸
Reposted by Dr. Bala Chaudhary
You can celebrate the event’s significance AND still call a spade a spade. When we love something, we want to make it better with that love. Matthew 25:35-40 nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stor...
A Nation's Story: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
In July of 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech titled “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?,” a call for the promise of liberty be applied equally to all Americans. Douglass’s speech empha...
nmaahc.si.edu
July 4, 2025 at 3:37 PM
You can celebrate the event’s significance AND still call a spade a spade. When we love something, we want to make it better with that love. Matthew 25:35-40 nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stor...
Excited to share that I am taking on a new role as Editor in Chief of npj Soil Ecology, a new journal dedicated to communicating high-quality research and scholarship exploring all aspects of the ecology of soils from gene to ecosystem scales.
www.nature.com/npjsoilecol/
www.nature.com/npjsoilecol/
June 25, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Excited to share that I am taking on a new role as Editor in Chief of npj Soil Ecology, a new journal dedicated to communicating high-quality research and scholarship exploring all aspects of the ecology of soils from gene to ecosystem scales.
www.nature.com/npjsoilecol/
www.nature.com/npjsoilecol/
“…that's the cool thing about basic science: you just don't know what information or knowledge it will generate in the future”
Our new open mycorrhizal fungal trait database is published! Read about our science journey:
fas.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/05...
Our new open mycorrhizal fungal trait database is published! Read about our science journey:
fas.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/05...
Dartmouth Team Launches Public Database on Soil Fungi | Faculty of Arts and Sciences
fas.dartmouth.edu
May 28, 2025 at 4:26 PM
“…that's the cool thing about basic science: you just don't know what information or knowledge it will generate in the future”
Our new open mycorrhizal fungal trait database is published! Read about our science journey:
fas.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/05...
Our new open mycorrhizal fungal trait database is published! Read about our science journey:
fas.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/05...
Reposted by Dr. Bala Chaudhary
"These $25,000 grants are for activities to address immediate needs following grant cancellations, including completing a wave of data collection, analyzing already collected data or writing, thoughtful project closure with community partners, or preparing grant proposals to continue the research."
FYI: The Spencer Foundation, Kapor Foundation, The William T. Grant Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation have collaborated to offer $25K rapid response grants.
"This rapid response bridge funding opportunity is for scholars and teams whose grants have recently been cancelled by NSF."
"This rapid response bridge funding opportunity is for scholars and teams whose grants have recently been cancelled by NSF."
Rapid Response Bridge Funding Program
In the face of recent abrupt shifts in federal funding for education research, including large-scale terminations of National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant awards, we have developed a rap...
www.spencer.org
May 2, 2025 at 9:44 PM
"These $25,000 grants are for activities to address immediate needs following grant cancellations, including completing a wave of data collection, analyzing already collected data or writing, thoughtful project closure with community partners, or preparing grant proposals to continue the research."
Reposted by Dr. Bala Chaudhary
Except DEI, of course. Talking about the benefits of diversity and equity risks having your NIH grant pulled so keep your trap shut. www.nih.gov/about-nih/wh...
April 25, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Except DEI, of course. Talking about the benefits of diversity and equity risks having your NIH grant pulled so keep your trap shut. www.nih.gov/about-nih/wh...
Reposted by Dr. Bala Chaudhary
While many companies in Europe are stopping their DEI efforts as a result of the Trump pressure, science should redouble its commitment.
Racial affinity groups are under attack. Now is the time to redouble our commitments to these vital organizations that make science better for all. Proud to pen this letter with @khadlily.bsky.social and many @wocineeb.bsky.social colleagues
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Protect US racial affinity groups
On its first day, the Trump administration released several executive orders terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, calling them “illegal,” “immoral,” and “discriminatory” (1, 2)...
www.science.org
April 11, 2025 at 5:51 PM
While many companies in Europe are stopping their DEI efforts as a result of the Trump pressure, science should redouble its commitment.
Thank you @mrillig.bsky.social!! Engagement and support (as opposed to silence) from our friends and colleagues across the pond is SO meaningful and appreciated!!
❤️🙏🏽💪🏽
❤️🙏🏽💪🏽
I'm a fan of Bala, and respect to her and her co-authors for this letter in Science.
@balachaudhary.bsky.social et al.
Protect US racial affinity groups
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@balachaudhary.bsky.social et al.
Protect US racial affinity groups
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Protect US racial affinity groups
On its first day, the Trump administration released several executive orders terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, calling them “illegal,” “immoral,” and “discriminatory” (1, 2)...
www.science.org
April 11, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Thank you @mrillig.bsky.social!! Engagement and support (as opposed to silence) from our friends and colleagues across the pond is SO meaningful and appreciated!!
❤️🙏🏽💪🏽
❤️🙏🏽💪🏽
Reposted by Dr. Bala Chaudhary
Why supporting science and scientists is an important part of the #Resistance #HandsOffScience ↙️↙️↙️
Racial affinity groups are under attack. Now is the time to redouble our commitments to these vital organizations that make science better for all. Proud to pen this letter with @khadlily.bsky.social and many @wocineeb.bsky.social colleagues
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Protect US racial affinity groups
On its first day, the Trump administration released several executive orders terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, calling them “illegal,” “immoral,” and “discriminatory” (1, 2)...
www.science.org
April 7, 2025 at 4:09 AM
Why supporting science and scientists is an important part of the #Resistance #HandsOffScience ↙️↙️↙️
Reposted by Dr. Bala Chaudhary
NSF GRFP Awards by the Year:
2021 - 2074
2022 - 2193
2023 - 2555
2024 - 2036
2025 - 1000
Again, these funding cuts will have drastic longterm effects on the scientific future of the US.......
@jeremymberg.bsky.social @altnih4science.bsky.social
2021 - 2074
2022 - 2193
2023 - 2555
2024 - 2036
2025 - 1000
Again, these funding cuts will have drastic longterm effects on the scientific future of the US.......
@jeremymberg.bsky.social @altnih4science.bsky.social
April 8, 2025 at 9:59 AM
NSF GRFP Awards by the Year:
2021 - 2074
2022 - 2193
2023 - 2555
2024 - 2036
2025 - 1000
Again, these funding cuts will have drastic longterm effects on the scientific future of the US.......
@jeremymberg.bsky.social @altnih4science.bsky.social
2021 - 2074
2022 - 2193
2023 - 2555
2024 - 2036
2025 - 1000
Again, these funding cuts will have drastic longterm effects on the scientific future of the US.......
@jeremymberg.bsky.social @altnih4science.bsky.social
Reposted by Dr. Bala Chaudhary
"Removal of DEI programs will demoralize and disincentivize an entire generation of scientists in training. It will greatly reduce the scientific workforce and remove top talent from our training programs as funding mechanisms are dismantled."
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
Banning DEI Is Catastrophic for U.S. Science (opinion)
An attack on DEI is an attack on science itself, Joseph L. Graves Jr., Stacy C. Farina, Parvin Shahrestani, Vaughn S. Cooper and Gilda A. Barabino write.
www.insidehighered.com
March 26, 2025 at 11:23 AM
"Removal of DEI programs will demoralize and disincentivize an entire generation of scientists in training. It will greatly reduce the scientific workforce and remove top talent from our training programs as funding mechanisms are dismantled."
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...
Who else gets jazzed over protists?? Enjoy this video I took of protists having a party with AM fungus Ar. trappei. Sound on for commentary 😅
March 7, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Who else gets jazzed over protists?? Enjoy this video I took of protists having a party with AM fungus Ar. trappei. Sound on for commentary 😅
Spores from two different AM fungal species, Ac. elegans on the left and Gi. albida on the right. Tell me spore traits don’t affect the ecology of these amazing microbes! #mycorrhiza
March 6, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Spores from two different AM fungal species, Ac. elegans on the left and Gi. albida on the right. Tell me spore traits don’t affect the ecology of these amazing microbes! #mycorrhiza
Reposted by Dr. Bala Chaudhary
Learning so much at "spore camp" with @balachaudhary.bsky.social
Check out these AM #fungal spore micrographs. What bacteria are lurking in the sporosphere #microbiome?
Check out these AM #fungal spore micrographs. What bacteria are lurking in the sporosphere #microbiome?
March 5, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Learning so much at "spore camp" with @balachaudhary.bsky.social
Check out these AM #fungal spore micrographs. What bacteria are lurking in the sporosphere #microbiome?
Check out these AM #fungal spore micrographs. What bacteria are lurking in the sporosphere #microbiome?
I have been finding a lot of joy and peace this week in the lab. Back to basics, using skills I learned when I was 19 years old! Isolating AM fungal spores (like this Ac. elegans 🤩) for a new spore trait experiment with @geoffzahn.bsky.social
March 5, 2025 at 1:20 AM
I have been finding a lot of joy and peace this week in the lab. Back to basics, using skills I learned when I was 19 years old! Isolating AM fungal spores (like this Ac. elegans 🤩) for a new spore trait experiment with @geoffzahn.bsky.social