Iliana Baums
banner
ibaums.bsky.social
Iliana Baums
@ibaums.bsky.social
Molecular Ecology, Evolution, Conservation - Corals; Professor of Marine Conservation at the Helmholtz Institute for functional marine biodiversity
Pinned
We are thrilled to announced the publication of chromosome level genome assemblies and genetic maps for the Caribbean corals, Acropora palmata and Acropora cervicornis. bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Chromosome-level genome assemblies and genetic maps reveal heterochiasmy and macrosynteny in endangered Atlantic Acropora - BMC Genomics
Background Over their evolutionary history, corals have adapted to sea level rise and increasing ocean temperatures, however, it is unclear how quickly they may respond to rapid change. Genome structu...
bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com
Reposted by Iliana Baums
HIFMB newsletter out now! 🦑
In our top story, Bettina Meyer outlines the Krill Stock Hypothesis, a scientific framework for setting krill catch quotas to protect the ecological balance in the Southern Ocean.
That and more here: 241806.seu2.cleverreach.com/m/16677411
HIFMB News #2/2025
241806.seu2.cleverreach.com
December 16, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
GIGA VI will be in the Philippines July 6-10, 2026. We have a pre-registration survey and a survey for interest about the Genome Assembly Workshop we will be running during the meeting. Sign up to receive updates about the conference: gigavi.org
Global Invertebrate Genomics Alliance VI
Global Invertebrate Genome Alliance VI, July 2026, Philippines
gigavi.org
December 15, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
Looking for a postdoc in 2026? The Ewel fellowship at UF provides $70K salary and $20K research support for 2 yrs. I'm happy to sponsor a postdoc interested in microbial ecology of Florida coastal ecosystems (seagrass, coral, mangroves, springs). 🦠 Due 1/11/26

postdoc.aa.ufl.edu/current-post...
postdoc.aa.ufl.edu
December 13, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
More than a year ago researchers from @hifmb.de and @icbm-uol.bsky.social started to write about different perspectives on marine biodiversity change from natural and social science perspectives. This morphed into a review paper that was published online today link.springer.com/article/10.1... 🧪
Towards a broader perspective on marine biodiversity change - Marine Biodiversity
Biodiversity decline jeopardizes the foundation of natural ecosystems and human well-being, a concern that prompted major global agreements aiming to bend the curve towards a net positive biodiversity...
link.springer.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
We are recruiting a Lab Manager/Research Specialist
jobs.ncsu.edu/postings/225...
Please re-post, thank you
Research and Lab Specialist
The Kleiner Lab at North Carolina State University (www.kleinerlab.org) is seeking a Research Specialist to support ongoing research on complex microbial communities, microbial symbioses, and metaprot...
jobs.ncsu.edu
December 12, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
🧪📍🌊 🦑🍎 Attention students and recent grads! opportunity for #oceanscience interns to sail aboard #EVNautilus next year in a paid position for 3-5 weeks. Whether you’re studying #marinebiology, #geology, or any other type of #oceanography. Learn more and apply by Jan 4 at NautilusLive.org
Nautilus Live | Ocean Exploration Trust
Explore the ocean with us! We seek out new discoveries while conducting scientific exploration of the seafloor and stream live to the world aboard Exploration Vessel Nautilus.
NautilusLive.org
December 11, 2025 at 11:07 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
Interested in cell adhesion, evolution of multicellularity, or developing tools for emerging marine models?

My lab at UM is hiring a postdoc, and the application is now open:
🔗 tinyurl.com/28jvu4aa

If you know anyone looking for a postdoc, please pass this along!
December 8, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
First deadline is Dec 12!
Job Opening **ASSISTANT PROFESSOR MARINE ECOLOGY**, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island.

jobs.uri.edu/postings/15960
December 4, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
Fully funded PhD projects available in my group (Please share with interested parties, details here: www.thefosterlab.org/blog/2025/11...):
PhD Topics - Entry September 2026 — The Foster Lab
This year we are involved in 3 fully funded PhD projects via IGNITE our NERC DLA. The deadline is Thursday Jan 8th 2026 .  1.      Is the world already 1.5 C warmer?...
www.thefosterlab.org
November 11, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
My department at California State University Northridge is hiring! We're looking for a new colleague studying microbiology or molecular/cellular biology. I'm not on the search committee, but happy to answer questions about the department and campus, and life in LA

buff.ly/Pc1KOaC
Career Opportunities
Applicant Log-In
careers.pageuppeople.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
Climate change postdoctoral fellowship (JRF, 3Y) opportunity at Oxford! 🌍 Brilliant opportunity for anybody with <2 years postdoc experience by October 2026. Would be great to get coral people - there's a strong cluster of coral reef/climate change people here. 🪸
www.queens.ox.ac.uk/vacancies/ju...
November 27, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
PhD position available for theoretical and statistical modeling in my joint @gevol.bsky.social project with @luisapallares.bsky.social on the evolution of transcriptional variability and its role in adaptation and evolutionary innovation.
See
job-portal.lmu.de/jobposting/6...
PhD candidate in biology — theoretical and statistical modeling (m/f/x)
job-portal.lmu.de
November 26, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
We have a date for the free-to-attend #anvio workshop and ECR Symposium for 2026, and we look forward to meeting you at the @hifmb.de in Oldenburg, Germany!

Please find more information on the venue, program, and the application form here, and spread the word 😇

anvio.org/workshops/20...
November 20, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
Starting this week, I set aside one hour each week to meet ECRs outside my group who want to discuss career development, mentorship, or any non-technical professional questions.

Here is a blog that explains my motivation for this and how to schedule a meeting:

merenlab.org/2025/11/16/E...
ECR connection: Meet Meren when you need to
A means for ECRs to get advice from a senior scientist outside of their support network
merenlab.org
November 16, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
On behalf of the Department of Oceanography at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, we are excited to invite applications for a full-time, tenure-track faculty position in Ocean Biogeochemical Modeling at the rank of assistant professor. www.schooljobs.com/careers/hawa... position number 0082726
November 15, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
And vice versa, sulfur-oxidizing bacteria are masters of colonizing marine hosts!
This was a wonderful collaboration with Sam Vohsen, Eslam Osman, Mandy Joye, Matt Saxton, grubervodicka.bsky.social, @ibaums.bsky.social
Corals are masters of obtaining nutrition via symbioses, in the light and in the dark: deep sea corals can associate with sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs, expressing pathways that oxidize sulfur and fix C. Corals hosting them derive some carbon from chemosynthesis. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Deep-sea corals near cold seeps associate with sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs in the family Ca. Thioglobaceae - Microbiome
Background Corals are known for their symbiotic relationships, yet there is limited evidence of chemoautotrophic associations. This is despite some corals occurring near cold seeps where chemosymbiotic fauna abound including mussels that host sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs from the SUP05 cluster (family Ca. Thioglobaceae). We investigated whether corals near cold seeps associate with related bacteria and report here that these associations are widespread. Results We screened corals, water, and sediment for Thioglobaceae using 16S metabarcoding and found ASVs associated with corals at high relative abundance (10 – 91%). These ASVs were specific to coral hosts, absent in water samples, and rare or absent in sediment samples. Using metagenomics and transcriptomics, we assembled the genome of one phylotype associated with Paramuricea sp. B3 (ASV 4) which contained the genetic potential to oxidize sulfur and fix carbon, and confirmed that these pathways were transcriptionally active. Furthermore, its relative abundance was negatively correlated with the stable isotopic composition of its host coral’s tissue suggesting some contribution of chemoautotrophy to the coral holobiont. Conclusions We propose that some lineages of Thioglobaceae may facultatively supplement the diet of their host corals through chemoautotrophy at seeps or may provide essential amino acids or vitamins. This is the first documented association between chemoautotrophic symbionts and corals at seeps and suggests that the footprint of chemosynthetic environments is wider than currently understood.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40168-025-02254-z?utm_source=rct_congratem[…]ampaign=oa_20251113&utm_content=10.1186%2Fs40168-025-02254-z
November 14, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Corals are masters of obtaining nutrition via symbioses, in the light and in the dark: deep sea corals can associate with sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs, expressing pathways that oxidize sulfur and fix C. Corals hosting them derive some carbon from chemosynthesis. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Deep-sea corals near cold seeps associate with sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs in the family Ca. Thioglobaceae - Microbiome
Background Corals are known for their symbiotic relationships, yet there is limited evidence of chemoautotrophic associations. This is despite some corals occurring near cold seeps where chemosymbiotic fauna abound including mussels that host sulfur-oxidizing chemoautotrophs from the SUP05 cluster (family Ca. Thioglobaceae). We investigated whether corals near cold seeps associate with related bacteria and report here that these associations are widespread. Results We screened corals, water, and sediment for Thioglobaceae using 16S metabarcoding and found ASVs associated with corals at high relative abundance (10 – 91%). These ASVs were specific to coral hosts, absent in water samples, and rare or absent in sediment samples. Using metagenomics and transcriptomics, we assembled the genome of one phylotype associated with Paramuricea sp. B3 (ASV 4) which contained the genetic potential to oxidize sulfur and fix carbon, and confirmed that these pathways were transcriptionally active. Furthermore, its relative abundance was negatively correlated with the stable isotopic composition of its host coral’s tissue suggesting some contribution of chemoautotrophy to the coral holobiont. Conclusions We propose that some lineages of Thioglobaceae may facultatively supplement the diet of their host corals through chemoautotrophy at seeps or may provide essential amino acids or vitamins. This is the first documented association between chemoautotrophic symbionts and corals at seeps and suggests that the footprint of chemosynthetic environments is wider than currently understood.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40168-025-02254-z?utm_source=rct_congratem[…]ampaign=oa_20251113&utm_content=10.1186%2Fs40168-025-02254-z
November 14, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
Excited to recruit a new PhD student for Fall 2026 in my lab at Cornell! Looking for someone interested in evolutionary genomics + fisheries/conservation applications. Quick timeline this year—reach out soon. More details: www.therkildsenlab.org/join-us.html
Join Us
The lab of Nina Overgaard Therkildsen in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment at Cornell University invites applications for a PhD position starting in Fall 2026. Our group works...
www.therkildsenlab.org
November 14, 2025 at 2:17 AM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
PhD Scholarship! 📯

Two PhD scholarships are available to study symbiont loss in coral bleaching. Students will contribute to a three-year project funded by @royalsocietynz.bsky.social . Students will be supervised by @davylab.bsky.social and @clintoak.bsky.social at VUW. #PhDOpportunity #coralreef
November 14, 2025 at 3:31 AM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
The Ewel fellowship in tropical/subtropical ecology is a stellar program. Applications due Jan 11th. I am happy to sponsor a fellow in microbial ecology of corals, seagrasses, mangroves, freshwater springs, etc.
Looking for a postdoctoral fellowship in 2026? The Ewel fellowship at UF provides salary and research support for 2 years. I would be happy to sponsor a postdoc interested in microbial ecology of Florida coastal ecosystems.

postdoc.aa.ufl.edu/current-post...
Ewel Postdoctoral Fellowship | Office of Postdoctoral Affairs - University of Florida
postdoc.aa.ufl.edu
November 11, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
The Brown and Stachowicz labs are looking for a postdoc for an NSF-funded project on the thermal dependence of disease in eelgrass! As a bonus you get to be based at the Bodega Marine Lab! Interested? Find out more here: brown-ecology.com/join-us/
Join Us!
brown-ecology.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
Job Opening **ASSISTANT PROFESSOR MARINE ECOLOGY**, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island.

jobs.uri.edu/postings/15960
November 10, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
We have TWO post-doctoral fellowships in the Biodiversity Centre at UBC next year! Am happy to chat if you might want to be hosted in my lab. biodiversity.ubc.ca/training-and... Deadline January 15th!
November 3, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
🪸 🪸 🪸 Postdoc position in my group at Bristol to study the role of venom in surviving environmental stress in corals! 🪸 Interested in venom biochemistry and coral ecology?Please apply by November 24!
@bristolbiosci.bsky.social
www.bristol.ac.uk/jobs/find/de...
October 27, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Reposted by Iliana Baums
We're advertising a PhD project to investigate the hydrodynamics of Aldabra Atoll @oxuniearthsci.bsky.social! We are looking for a student with strong quantitative skills and interest in ocean modelling. Competitive funding available through ILESLA. Please share with anybody who may be interested!
October 22, 2025 at 9:32 AM