Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
@bennyborremans.wildlifehero.org
Quantitative wildlife ecologist (PhD)
Bat virus #spillover, sea lion disease outbreaks and other wildlife health projects #diseaseecology #onehealth
@wildlifehero.org | www.wildlifehero.org
Husband, dogdad, runner, ironmanner, climber, musician
Bat virus #spillover, sea lion disease outbreaks and other wildlife health projects #diseaseecology #onehealth
@wildlifehero.org | www.wildlifehero.org
Husband, dogdad, runner, ironmanner, climber, musician
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
Celebrating the publication of our big collaborative spatial-social meta-analysis of density-dependent transmission effects, out now in Nature Eco Evo! doi.org/10.1038/s415... (or rdcu.be/eD6eB)
September 8, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Celebrating the publication of our big collaborative spatial-social meta-analysis of density-dependent transmission effects, out now in Nature Eco Evo! doi.org/10.1038/s415... (or rdcu.be/eD6eB)
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
Last week the drone pilots in my lab captured this image (photo 1) of a large sea lion haul out @ San Carlos Beach in Monterey during our monthly surveys. Last year (photo 2) a large sea lion haul out was seen at the same beach. This might be turning into a new haul out site. @uwsafs.bsky.social
September 5, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Last week the drone pilots in my lab captured this image (photo 1) of a large sea lion haul out @ San Carlos Beach in Monterey during our monthly surveys. Last year (photo 2) a large sea lion haul out was seen at the same beach. This might be turning into a new haul out site. @uwsafs.bsky.social
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
New review out in @thelancetplanet.bsky.social from our rodent-borne zoonoses workshop @ciddpsu.bsky.social 🐭🌍
Humans & rodents share a long history and many pathogens -from plague to mpox. Outbreak prevention needs socially + ecologically grounded solutions
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Humans & rodents share a long history and many pathogens -from plague to mpox. Outbreak prevention needs socially + ecologically grounded solutions
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reducing the threats of rodent-borne zoonoses requires an understanding and leveraging of three key pillars: disease ecology, synanthropy, and rodentation
Rodents have co-existed with humans for centuries, and frequently exchange pathogens. Historically, rodent-driven plague outbreaks scoured the Old Wor…
www.sciencedirect.com
August 29, 2025 at 2:12 PM
New review out in @thelancetplanet.bsky.social from our rodent-borne zoonoses workshop @ciddpsu.bsky.social 🐭🌍
Humans & rodents share a long history and many pathogens -from plague to mpox. Outbreak prevention needs socially + ecologically grounded solutions
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Humans & rodents share a long history and many pathogens -from plague to mpox. Outbreak prevention needs socially + ecologically grounded solutions
🔗 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Using this new textbook to prepare disease ecology lectures, it’s just fabulous! Smooth and clear writing, excellent topics highlighted, and beautiful figures and layout throughout. If you have any interest at all in wildlife pathogens and disease ecology, GET THIS BOOK. Seriously.
August 29, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Using this new textbook to prepare disease ecology lectures, it’s just fabulous! Smooth and clear writing, excellent topics highlighted, and beautiful figures and layout throughout. If you have any interest at all in wildlife pathogens and disease ecology, GET THIS BOOK. Seriously.
Sharing this starter pack again with lots of great disease ecologists, contact me if you'd like to be added or know someone who should be on this list! Feel free to forward to fresh bluesky arrivals who may be interested. bsky.app/starter-pack...
August 27, 2025 at 10:27 PM
Sharing this starter pack again with lots of great disease ecologists, contact me if you'd like to be added or know someone who should be on this list! Feel free to forward to fresh bluesky arrivals who may be interested. bsky.app/starter-pack...
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
Preprint and the website by @dingdingpeng.the100.ci and @vincentab.bsky.social are great, and I got inspired to illustrate Bayesian workflow for model checking and comparison *before* model interpretation following their friendship importance example users.aalto.fi/~ave/casestu...
August 27, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Preprint and the website by @dingdingpeng.the100.ci and @vincentab.bsky.social are great, and I got inspired to illustrate Bayesian workflow for model checking and comparison *before* model interpretation following their friendship importance example users.aalto.fi/~ave/casestu...
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
Excited to announce a search for an Associate or Full Professor in Infectious Disease Modeling at Penn State's Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics. Details at link and below.
psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/PSU_Ac...
psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/PSU_Ac...
Full or Associate Professor in Infectious Disease Modeling
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, a...
psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
August 26, 2025 at 12:40 PM
Excited to announce a search for an Associate or Full Professor in Infectious Disease Modeling at Penn State's Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics. Details at link and below.
psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/PSU_Ac...
psu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/PSU_Ac...
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
Last chance to get your abstracts in for the 20th International Bat Research Conference (IBRC) in Australia in August!
It's shaping up to be an exciting program, in an incredible world heritage location, with diverse workshops and field trips.
Abstracts due this Wednesday 14th May!!
www.ibrc.org
It's shaping up to be an exciting program, in an incredible world heritage location, with diverse workshops and field trips.
Abstracts due this Wednesday 14th May!!
www.ibrc.org
May 8, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Last chance to get your abstracts in for the 20th International Bat Research Conference (IBRC) in Australia in August!
It's shaping up to be an exciting program, in an incredible world heritage location, with diverse workshops and field trips.
Abstracts due this Wednesday 14th May!!
www.ibrc.org
It's shaping up to be an exciting program, in an incredible world heritage location, with diverse workshops and field trips.
Abstracts due this Wednesday 14th May!!
www.ibrc.org
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
Does anyone know of a good brief overview/summary of bad for-profit publishing practices that people can use to share with co-authors who are on the fence about choosing a ‘lower-impact’ but ethically better alternative? I feel like everyone agrees things are bad, but worry too much about CV impact.
December 30, 2024 at 3:20 PM
Does anyone know of a good brief overview/summary of bad for-profit publishing practices that people can use to share with co-authors who are on the fence about choosing a ‘lower-impact’ but ethically better alternative? I feel like everyone agrees things are bad, but worry too much about CV impact.
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
Excited to share this new paper led by PhD student Cinthia Pietromonaco, exploring age estimation in bats, with a focus on Australian flying foxes. doi.org/10.1071/WR24... 🦇
Turns out, that we don't all mean the same thing when we use the term "adult" or "juvenile".
Why should we care? 1/
Turns out, that we don't all mean the same thing when we use the term "adult" or "juvenile".
Why should we care? 1/
March 6, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Excited to share this new paper led by PhD student Cinthia Pietromonaco, exploring age estimation in bats, with a focus on Australian flying foxes. doi.org/10.1071/WR24... 🦇
Turns out, that we don't all mean the same thing when we use the term "adult" or "juvenile".
Why should we care? 1/
Turns out, that we don't all mean the same thing when we use the term "adult" or "juvenile".
Why should we care? 1/
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
Welcome to Bluesky to my fab Bat One Health collaborators Raina Plowright @rainap.bsky.social & Tamika Lunn @tamika-lunn.bsky.social
🦇
Looking for more disease ecologists? Check out this starter pack by the equally fabulous Benny Borremans
🦇
Looking for more disease ecologists? Check out this starter pack by the equally fabulous Benny Borremans
Disease ecologist starter pack -- reply with people/organizations to be added or with related lists/feeds
#diseaseecology
🦠🐀🦠🦇🦠🦭🦠🦆🦠 go.bsky.app/RwAuiNT
#diseaseecology
🦠🐀🦠🦇🦠🦭🦠🦆🦠 go.bsky.app/RwAuiNT
March 3, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Welcome to Bluesky to my fab Bat One Health collaborators Raina Plowright @rainap.bsky.social & Tamika Lunn @tamika-lunn.bsky.social
🦇
Looking for more disease ecologists? Check out this starter pack by the equally fabulous Benny Borremans
🦇
Looking for more disease ecologists? Check out this starter pack by the equally fabulous Benny Borremans
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
New bat paper from our lab. Small changes in bats' diet can decrease influenza shedding and alter cytokine expression. doi.org/10.1098/rspb... #bats #influenza #iav photo credit: José Gabriel Martínez-Fonseca
February 19, 2025 at 1:38 PM
New bat paper from our lab. Small changes in bats' diet can decrease influenza shedding and alter cytokine expression. doi.org/10.1098/rspb... #bats #influenza #iav photo credit: José Gabriel Martínez-Fonseca
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
Serological data provide key insights on pathogen circulation. We introduce a new R package, Rsero, which is a pipeline to store and analyze age-stratified sero data, estimate the history of pathogen circulation and compare different transmission models.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
RSero: A user-friendly R package to reconstruct pathogen circulation history from seroprevalence studies
Author summary Antibodies are immune markers of past infections. Seroprevalence studies that characterize the seropositivity status in the population have been used for decades in epidemiological stud...
journals.plos.org
February 11, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Serological data provide key insights on pathogen circulation. We introduce a new R package, Rsero, which is a pipeline to store and analyze age-stratified sero data, estimate the history of pathogen circulation and compare different transmission models.
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol...
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
I just heard from a colleague that his friend's NSF panel was canceled last minute "to confirm they are in compliance with presidential directives". We know the NIH is being politically targeted; it seems the NSF may be affected as well. A goal of diminishing American science.
January 27, 2025 at 1:45 PM
I just heard from a colleague that his friend's NSF panel was canceled last minute "to confirm they are in compliance with presidential directives". We know the NIH is being politically targeted; it seems the NSF may be affected as well. A goal of diminishing American science.
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
Disease ecologist starter pack -- reply with people/organizations to be added or with related lists/feeds
#diseaseecology
🦠🐀🦠🦇🦠🦭🦠🦆🦠 go.bsky.app/RwAuiNT
#diseaseecology
🦠🐀🦠🦇🦠🦭🦠🦆🦠 go.bsky.app/RwAuiNT
December 27, 2024 at 10:26 PM
Disease ecologist starter pack -- reply with people/organizations to be added or with related lists/feeds
#diseaseecology
🦠🐀🦠🦇🦠🦭🦠🦆🦠 go.bsky.app/RwAuiNT
#diseaseecology
🦠🐀🦠🦇🦠🦭🦠🦆🦠 go.bsky.app/RwAuiNT
Lucid insights on where we’re at on actually understanding pandemics, and where we’re not (yet) at:
🚨😷🧪 NEW: A growing body of evidence shows that pandemics, biodiversity loss, and climate change are part of a broader polycrisis - but there are no simple solutions. A sweeping overview of "Pathogens and planetary change" for the first issue of @natrevbiodiv.bsky.social, out now 🔓 rdcu.be/d6lHl
January 15, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Lucid insights on where we’re at on actually understanding pandemics, and where we’re not (yet) at:
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
Please share this postdoc position based at the Royal Vet College working on a very cool US-UK EEID project with some wonderful people: @jraghwani.bsky.social + Christina Faust, James Hassell, Oli Pybus, Dan Streicker, Sarah Knowles. Reach out to Jayna directly for questions and details.
Please share widely!
We are recruiting a 3-year postdoc at the RVC to develop new methodology to infer epidemic dynamics from wild animal viromes sampled across changeable environments.
Further details: jobs.rvc.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...
Feel free to reach out with any questions. Deadline Feb 9th
We are recruiting a 3-year postdoc at the RVC to develop new methodology to infer epidemic dynamics from wild animal viromes sampled across changeable environments.
Further details: jobs.rvc.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx...
Feel free to reach out with any questions. Deadline Feb 9th
January 10, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Please share this postdoc position based at the Royal Vet College working on a very cool US-UK EEID project with some wonderful people: @jraghwani.bsky.social + Christina Faust, James Hassell, Oli Pybus, Dan Streicker, Sarah Knowles. Reach out to Jayna directly for questions and details.
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
New paper! 🦠🐭🦟 Perspectives on the route towards a 'people and nature' paradigm for biodiversity-disease research and action, with fantastic co-authors @profkatej.bsky.social, @dwredding.bsky.social and Sagan Friant. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Towards a ‘people and nature’ paradigm for biodiversity and infectious disease | Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Zoonotic and vector-borne infectious diseases are among the most direct human health consequences of biodiversity change. The COVID-19 pandemic increased health policymakers’ attention on the links between ecological degradation and disease, and sparked ...
royalsocietypublishing.org
January 9, 2025 at 10:25 AM
New paper! 🦠🐭🦟 Perspectives on the route towards a 'people and nature' paradigm for biodiversity-disease research and action, with fantastic co-authors @profkatej.bsky.social, @dwredding.bsky.social and Sagan Friant. royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...
Disease ecologist starter pack -- reply with people/organizations to be added or with related lists/feeds
#diseaseecology
🦠🐀🦠🦇🦠🦭🦠🦆🦠 go.bsky.app/RwAuiNT
#diseaseecology
🦠🐀🦠🦇🦠🦭🦠🦆🦠 go.bsky.app/RwAuiNT
December 27, 2024 at 10:26 PM
Disease ecologist starter pack -- reply with people/organizations to be added or with related lists/feeds
#diseaseecology
🦠🐀🦠🦇🦠🦭🦠🦆🦠 go.bsky.app/RwAuiNT
#diseaseecology
🦠🐀🦠🦇🦠🦭🦠🦆🦠 go.bsky.app/RwAuiNT
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
The Oregon Department of Agriculture announced that Portland's Morasch Meat’s Northwest Naturals brand 2 lb. Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food tested positive for a H5N1 strain of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus. 1/5
December 24, 2024 at 8:43 PM
The Oregon Department of Agriculture announced that Portland's Morasch Meat’s Northwest Naturals brand 2 lb. Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food tested positive for a H5N1 strain of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus. 1/5
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
Bat-derived viruses have been afflicting humanity with disturbing frequency in recent decades.
Why bats? Why now? And how can we stop it?
My latest in @sciam.bsky.social
🧵 Some cool facts about bats and fascinating science
1/
www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
Why bats? Why now? And how can we stop it?
My latest in @sciam.bsky.social
🧵 Some cool facts about bats and fascinating science
1/
www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
December 22, 2024 at 8:58 PM
Bat-derived viruses have been afflicting humanity with disturbing frequency in recent decades.
Why bats? Why now? And how can we stop it?
My latest in @sciam.bsky.social
🧵 Some cool facts about bats and fascinating science
1/
www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
Why bats? Why now? And how can we stop it?
My latest in @sciam.bsky.social
🧵 Some cool facts about bats and fascinating science
1/
www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-...
Excellent review on the spread of avian influenza H5N1 in recent years, that reads like a scary detective story. Incredible what can be reconstructed from genetics. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The global H5N1 influenza panzootic in mammals - Nature
This Perspective reviews the molecular and ecological factors that have driven the expansion in geographical distribution and host species range of H5N1 avian influenza viruses, leading to the current...
www.nature.com
December 23, 2024 at 5:25 PM
Excellent review on the spread of avian influenza H5N1 in recent years, that reads like a scary detective story. Incredible what can be reconstructed from genetics. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
Over 5 years of writing code, collating metadata, processing, QCing, reprocessing, QCing, reprocessing…… not to mention the weeks, months, & years of field work by a small army of researchers. I am SO excited that we’re sharing this incredible dataset. 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Two decades of three-dimensional movement data from adult female northern elephant seals - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - Two decades of three-dimensional movement data from adult female northern elephant seals
www.nature.com
December 19, 2024 at 12:41 AM
Over 5 years of writing code, collating metadata, processing, QCing, reprocessing, QCing, reprocessing…… not to mention the weeks, months, & years of field work by a small army of researchers. I am SO excited that we’re sharing this incredible dataset. 👉 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
HIV-1 has, for decades, been called, well, HIV-1. But no, according to the ICTV, that will no longer do, so the new name for this virus is "Lentivirus humimdef1".
Yup, you read that right.
Somebody needs to take away whatever drugs the committee is on. All viruses renamed - it's insane.
Yup, you read that right.
Somebody needs to take away whatever drugs the committee is on. All viruses renamed - it's insane.
Orthohantavirus sinnombreense
Mammarenavirus lassaense
Mammarenavirus juninense
Mammarenavirus lujoense
Orthoebolavirus zairense
Orthoflavivirus zikaense
Orthoflavivirus denguei
Orthoflavivirus nilense
Henipavirus nipahense
Phlebovirus riftense
You just can't make this s*** up. You really can't.
Mammarenavirus lassaense
Mammarenavirus juninense
Mammarenavirus lujoense
Orthoebolavirus zairense
Orthoflavivirus zikaense
Orthoflavivirus denguei
Orthoflavivirus nilense
Henipavirus nipahense
Phlebovirus riftense
You just can't make this s*** up. You really can't.
December 12, 2024 at 12:10 PM
HIV-1 has, for decades, been called, well, HIV-1. But no, according to the ICTV, that will no longer do, so the new name for this virus is "Lentivirus humimdef1".
Yup, you read that right.
Somebody needs to take away whatever drugs the committee is on. All viruses renamed - it's insane.
Yup, you read that right.
Somebody needs to take away whatever drugs the committee is on. All viruses renamed - it's insane.
Reposted by Benny Borremans 🇧🇪🇺🇸
Disease ecologist starter pack -- reply with people/organizations to be added or with related lists/feeds
#diseaseecology
🦠🐀🦠🦇🦠🦭🦠🦆🦠 go.bsky.app/RwAuiNT
#diseaseecology
🦠🐀🦠🦇🦠🦭🦠🦆🦠 go.bsky.app/RwAuiNT
December 2, 2024 at 1:49 PM
Disease ecologist starter pack -- reply with people/organizations to be added or with related lists/feeds
#diseaseecology
🦠🐀🦠🦇🦠🦭🦠🦆🦠 go.bsky.app/RwAuiNT
#diseaseecology
🦠🐀🦠🦇🦠🦭🦠🦆🦠 go.bsky.app/RwAuiNT