Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
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borklab.bsky.social
Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
@borklab.bsky.social
Computational biology lab focusing on microbiomes in the human gut and the environment

Homepage: https://www.bork.embl.de/
Mastodon: https://mstdn.science/@BorkLab
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
We’re hiring 2 Postdocs (f/m/d) in Drug–Microbiome–Host Interactions 🦠💊

Focus: how non-antibiotic drugs shape the gut microbiome, drug efficacy & side effects.

#PostdocJobs #Microbiome #AcademicJobs

Full job ad:
lisamaierlab.com/wp-content/u...
lisamaierlab.com
December 22, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
Text-mining tools have progressed a lot in the last two decades, and I'm excited to see what can be done now.

More info chembl.blogspot.com/2025/12/new-...

Apply here: embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/EMBL/job/Hin... The position is at @ebi.embl.org

#ScienceJobs #AcademicSky #ChemSky #BioSky [3/3]
New position: NLP Data Scientist/Scientific Data Engineer
As part of a funded collaboration with Open Targets, there are two open positions as part of a team to develop a drug side effect resource:...
chembl.blogspot.com
December 11, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
...but life intervened and funding changed, so SIDER sideeffects.embl.de is unfortunately gathering dust since its last update in 2015.

But there's good news: @chembl.bsky.social and @opentargets.org are starting a new effort to mine the available data and produce a high-quality databases! [2/3]
December 11, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
During my PhD @borklab.bsky.social, we extracted drug side effect data from package inserts and used the dataset to predict new drug targets (doi.org/10.1126/scie...) and pinpoint proteins that mediate the side effects (doi.org/10.1038/msb....). We also published the underlying database... [1/3]
Drug Target Identification Using Side-Effect Similarity
Targets for drugs have so far been predicted on the basis of molecular or cellular features, for example, by exploiting similarity in chemical structure or in activity across cell lines. We used pheno...
doi.org
December 11, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
Congratulations, Julia Mahamid!

Julia Mahamid receives the @dfg.de Leibniz Prize for her work on structural cell biology!

#LeibnizPreis
Und hier sind sie – die 10 Preisträger*innen des Gottfried Wilhelm #LeibnizPreis' 2026 – ausgezeichnet für ihre exzellenten Forschungsarbeiten und Errungenschaften in der Wissenschaft! 🏆👏
Die Verleihung der Preise feiern wir am 18. März in Berlin.
Einzelheiten & Kurzprofile: sohub.io/1uv1
December 11, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
From @jhcepas.bsky.social and colleagues in the @narjournal.bsky.social #NARDatabaseIssue | eggNOG v7: phylogeny-based orthology predictions and functional annotations | #Bioinformatics #ProteinCentric #Database #OpenScience 🧬 🖥️🧪🇨🇭🇪🇸🇩🇪🔓
⬇️
academic.oup.com/nar/advance-...
eggNOG v7: phylogeny-based orthology predictions and functional annotations
Abstract. The eggNOG (evolutionary genealogy of genes: Non-supervised Orthologous Groups) database is a phylogenomic resource for orthology inference, evol
academic.oup.com
December 9, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
We're excited to release metaTraits.embl.de! 🦠 Interactively explore 140+ 𝗺𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘁𝘀, harmonized & integrated from culture-derived collections 🔬 & genome-based predictions 🧬 for >2M MAGs & genomes.

Publication at NAR: doi.org/10.1093/nar/... @narjournal.bsky.social #microsky 🧵 1/8
December 2, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
Happy to announce VIRE, a planetary-scale database of >1.7M viral genomes reconstructed from 100k+ metagenomes across diverse environments! In collaboration with @fullam.bsky.social, @tsbschm.bsky.social, and @borklab.bsky.social.
academic.oup.com/nar/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nar/gkaf1225/8356007
VIRE: a metagenome-derived, planetary-scale virome resource with environmental context
Abstract. Viruses are the most abundant biological entities on Earth, yet their global diversity remains largely unexplored. Here, we present VIRE, a compr
academic.oup.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:41 AM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
Congrats @fullam.bsky.social @pangenomics.bsky.social @borklab.bsky.social & team(s). Great to see this published!

proGenomes4: providing 2 million accurately and consistently annotated high-quality prokaryotic genomes: academic.oup.com/nar/article/...
proGenomes4: providing 2 million accurately and consistently annotated high-quality prokaryotic genomes
Abstract. The pervasive availability of publicly available microbial genomes has opened many new avenues for microbiology research, yet it also demands rob
academic.oup.com
November 20, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
We're up to 1000 studies in metalog.embl.de ! For the past year the focus was on finding inconsistencies in the data and creating the website, but now I have more time to go through the backlog of annotated issues to do QC and load them into the database.
November 6, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
Great to see this finally published!

Metalog: curated and harmonised contextual data for global metagenomics samples

now out in @narjournal.bsky.social

academic.oup.com/nar/advance-...
Metalog: curated and harmonised contextual data for global metagenomics samples
Abstract. Metagenomic sequencing enables the in-depth study of microbes and their functions in humans, animals, and the environment. While sequencing data
academic.oup.com
October 31, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Our newest preprint is the work of two talented PhD students: Dominic Eriksson (working in the labs of Meike Vogt, Nicolas Gruber & Shinichi Sunagawa @ethz.ch) and @jonas-bio.bsky.social from our group @embl.org, investigating latitudinal diversity gradients of the ocean microbiome (🧵 linked below)
Latitudinal diversity gradients (LDGs) are found across 🌱🐨🦠 but their underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

In this study, we highlight that LDGs are not universal in marine microbiomes but reflect lineage-specific ecological strategies and environmental responses.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Variations in the latitudinal diversity gradients of the ocean microbiome
Latitudinal diversity gradients (LDGs), typically declining from the equator to the poles, are among the most pervasive macroecological patterns, yet their generality and underlying drivers in the oce...
doi.org
October 15, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
Latitudinal diversity gradients (LDGs) are found across 🌱🐨🦠 but their underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

In this study, we highlight that LDGs are not universal in marine microbiomes but reflect lineage-specific ecological strategies and environmental responses.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Variations in the latitudinal diversity gradients of the ocean microbiome
Latitudinal diversity gradients (LDGs), typically declining from the equator to the poles, are among the most pervasive macroecological patterns, yet their generality and underlying drivers in the oce...
doi.org
October 15, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
The Data Science team at EMBL is hiring for two open positions! First, for a Scientific Community Manager, focusing on community aspects and training on data science. embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/EMBL/j...
Scientific Community Manager
EMBL is Europe’s flagship research laboratory for the life sciences – an intergovernmental organisation with more than 110 independent research groups and teams performing scientific research in disci...
embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com
October 8, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
Had a great time yesterday presenting my efforts to use large-scale computational analyses to better understand marine microbes and their impact on carbon cycling. Thanks #SAME18 for the opportunity!
September 30, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
Our scientific organisers opened ‘The human microbiome’ symposium by giving us a brief update on their most recent work 🦠 #EESMicrobiome

🔹Mani Arumugam, University of Copenhagen
🔹Ami Bhatt, Stanford University School of Medicine
🔹Peer Bork, EMBL Heidelberg
🔹Nicola Segata, University of Trento
September 16, 2025 at 3:11 PM
New preprint from lab: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... describing the Metalog database of manually annotated contextual data for >110k metagenomics samples around the globe metalog.embl.de

See the thread below from @biocs.bsky.social for more info!
August 15, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
We’re looking for curious, innovative science leaders at EMBL Heidelberg! 🔬🧬🦠

Join a vibrant, interdisciplinary community where collaboration and innovation are nurtured at all levels.

Take a look at these four open positions 👇
August 7, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
Ready to lead pioneering research that bridges systems-level investigations of biological systems to molecular mechanism? The EMBL Molecular Systems Biology Unit in Heidelberg is hiring a Group Leader!
Group Leader – Molecular Systems Biology Unit
Are you ready to lead groundbreaking research in Molecular Systems Biology? Join us at EMBL! We are seeking a motivated scientist to lead an independent research group, addressing original biological ...
embl.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com
July 30, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
We're hiring a postdoc!🚨

Study human-associated microbial communities in health & disease.

🔬Requirements:
- PhD in bioinformatics, microbiology, or related field
- Expertise in omics data analysis
- Micro & molecular bio techniques are a plus!

Apply now!🌟
jobs.vib.be/j/119682/pos...
Postdoctoral position in human gut microbiome and bioinformatics - VIB
About the Lab Thelab of JeroenRaes(VIB, KU Leuven) is home to a vibrant, dynamic and international group of researchers in the field of gut microbial ecology and its
jobs.vib.be
July 23, 2025 at 6:43 AM
At #ISMBECCB2025, @agrekova.bsky.social will present her recent work on detecting mobile genetic elements in both reference and metagenome-assembled genomes in the Microbiome track on Thursday at 3 pm. Come for a sneak peek of the content in promge.embl.de version 2 (to be released in ~1 month)!
proMGE
promge.embl.de
July 22, 2025 at 7:08 AM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
Our new preprint is out!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
In this study, we present the largest systematic analysis of microbiome structure and function, integrating 85K uniformly processed metagenomes from diverse habitats worldwide.
@podlesny.bsky.social @jonas-bio.bsky.social @borklab.bsky.social
Planetary microbiome structure and generalist-driven gene flow across disparate habitats
Microbes are ubiquitous on Earth, forming microbiomes that sustain macroscopic life and biogeochemical cycles. Microbial dispersion, driven by natural processes and human activities, interconnects mic...
www.biorxiv.org
July 21, 2025 at 11:56 AM
New preprint from the lab: "Planetary microbiome structure and generalist-driven gene flow across disparate habitats" analysing 85k metagenomes across the world, e.g. looking into generalism across habitats www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... – see the thread below for more details!

#MicroSky 🖥️🧬🦠
July 21, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
TREC is hiring! @embl.org is looking for a field technician/engineer to coordinate soil sampling: plan activities, apply protocols, lead site scouting, coordinate teams & more. Join an amazing international team exploring a hidden universe beneath our feet. Please spread the word! bit.ly/4eSTPbZ
Environmental Technician or Engineer (Soil Lead)
The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) is Europe’s flagship research institution for the life sciences, bringing together over 110 independent research groups and service teams across six si...
bit.ly
July 16, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Reposted by Bork Group at EMBL Heidelberg
Very cool. Here, authors did pairwise co-culturing (mGAM/anaerobiosis) of 97 gut microbial species (113 strains) to infer ecological interactions (n=3233). Most negative were between distant taxa & positive were more among low-abundance taxa.
🔗 microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Systematic pairwise co-cultures uncover predominant negative interactions among human gut bacteria - Microbiome
Background Understanding pairwise bacterial interactions in the human gut is crucial for deciphering the complex networks of bacterial interactions and their contributions to host health. However, the...
microbiomejournal.biomedcentral.com
July 16, 2025 at 3:05 PM