Joe Zackular
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joeyzacks.bsky.social
Joe Zackular
@joeyzacks.bsky.social
3.6K followers 860 following 170 posts
Assistant Prof at UPenn & Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Co-Director of Center for Microbial Medicine (https://tinyurl.com/2xve6jfp) at CHOP

We study host-pathogen interactions, C. diff, Enterococcus, gut microbiota, mRNA vaccines.

zackularlab.org
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joeyzacks.bsky.social
Joe Zackular @joeyzacks.bsky.social · Nov 19
Registration is now open for @keystonesymposia.bsky.social "Beyond #Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies Combating #BacterialInfection." Deadline for scholarships and abstract selected short talks is Jan 7! Join us this May for an amazing meeting! keysym.us/KSBeyondAntibiotics26 #KSBeyondAntibiotics26
Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection | Keystone Symposia
Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection, May 2026, in Breckenridge, with field leaders!
keysym.us
Reposted by Joe Zackular
maggieastor.bsky.social
As the CDC removes vaccines from its childhood schedule, vaccination rates decline and measles spreads, parents are trying to figure out how to keep their children safe — including, in some cases, by limiting their activities or seeking vaccinations early. I talked to a number of them. Gift link:
Parents Navigate a Fracturing Vaccine Landscape
www.nytimes.com
January 29, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
jacquelyngill.bsky.social
I'm hearing from multiple people that students who submitted ecology GRFP proposals are having those proposals rejected without review, despite ecology being listed as an eligible field. If this is a programmatic change, this is devastating. Ecology is the study of Earth's life support systems.
napaaqtuk.bsky.social Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️ @napaaqtuk.bsky.social · 3h
A number of our students got the following comment back on a rejection for the NSF GFRP. They are in an eligible STEM field. Is this something people in other places are getting too? Is it a quirk or targeted?
January 29, 2026 at 2:31 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
kimingeneva.bsky.social
Lactic acid lover? Check out @ronni.bsky.social 's new work in
@cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social showing how Enterococcus faecalis-derived LA suppresses macrophage activation, in turn promoting bacterial persistence and polymicrobial wound infection in vivo.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Enterococcus faecalis-derived lactic acid suppresses macrophage activation to facilitate persistent and polymicrobial wound infections
Macrophage activation is essential for innate immunity and antimicrobial defense. We show that Enterococcus faecalis suppresses macrophage activation …
www.sciencedirect.com
January 27, 2026 at 7:11 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
torreslab.bsky.social
Excited to announce the upcoming 2026 Microbial Toxins and Pathogenicity GRC and GRS meeting taking place July 12 - 17, 2026 at Waterville Valley in New Hampshire. This meeting will be chaired by yours truly and co-chaired by
@sunnyshinlab.bsky.social www.grc.org/microbial-to...
2026 Microbial Toxins and Pathogenicity Conference GRC
The 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Toxins and Pathogenicity will be held in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire. Apply today to reserve your spot.
www.grc.org
January 24, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
elizabethjacobs.bsky.social
RFK Jr. appointee Kirk Milhoan has just clearly stated, out loud, that he wants to experiment on the people of the United States by seeing what happens as vaccination coverage plummets and infectious diseases spread.
Screenshot from STAT article that says "What we're going to have is a real-world experience of when unvaccinated people get measles," he said. "What is the new incidence of hospitalization? What's the incidence of death?"
January 22, 2026 at 7:47 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
maxkozlov.bsky.social
Trump has been in office for one year. We at @nature.com did a deep dive looking at the administration's disruption of science in numbers.

Take a look—the numbers are staggering. By me, @dangaristo.bsky.social, Jeff Tollefson, @kimay.bsky.social, & help from @noamross.net @scott-delaney.bsky.social
US science after a year of Trump: what has been lost and what remains
A series of graphics reveals how the Trump administration has sought historic cuts to science and the research workforce.
www.nature.com
January 20, 2026 at 6:08 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
cibiocm.bsky.social
🥁 NEW

Our study on infant gut microbiome and #straintransmission is now published in @nature.com:

doi.org/10.1038/s415...

1/10
Baby-to-baby strain transmission shapes the developing gut microbiome - Nature
A metagenomic survey of babies attending the first year of nursery detected extensive baby-to-baby microbial strain transmission, pointing to social interactions in infancy as crucial drivers of infan...
doi.org
January 21, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
mikelhaggadone.bsky.social
I’m stoked to share my postdoc work with @sunnyshinlab.bsky.social, a collaborative effort with @metabailism.bsky.social & Brian Goldspiel, aided by many valued collaborators: Environmental Amino Acid Sensing Regulates the Rate of ASC Translation and NLRP3 Inflammasome Assembly. Some big takeaways:
biorxiv-immuno.bsky.social bioRxiv Immunology @biorxiv-immuno.bsky.social · 8d
Environmental Amino Acid Sensing Regulates the Rate of ASC Translation and NLRP3 Inflammasome Assembly https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.16.699988v1
January 21, 2026 at 3:11 AM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
davidho.bsky.social
This is the most astonishing graph of what the Trump regime has done to US science. They have destroyed the federal science workforce across the board. The negative impacts on Americans will be felt for generations, and the US might never be the same again.

www.nature.com/immersive/d4...
This line graph illustrates the percentage change in agency staff levels from the previous year for nine major U.S. federal scientific and health organizations between the fiscal years 2016 and 2025. The agencies tracked include the CDC, Department of Energy, EPA, FDA, NASA, NIH, NIST, NOAA, and NSF. For the majority of the timeline between 2016 and 2023, the agencies show relatively stable fluctuations, generally staying within a range of +5% to -5% change per year. However, there is a dramatic and uniform plummet starting in the 2024–25 period. Every agency depicted shows a sharp downward trajectory, with staffing losses ranging from approximately -15% to over -25%. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows the most significant decline, dropping to roughly -26%, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows the least severe but still substantial drop at approximately -15%.
January 20, 2026 at 10:53 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
aaronwhiteley.bsky.social
I’m thrilled to share our work on phage triggers of the bacterial immune system in its final form @natmicrobiol.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A phage protein screen identifies triggers of the bacterial innate immune system - Nature Microbiology
A library of 400 phage protein-coding genes is used to find a trove of antiphage systems, revealing systems that target tail fibre and major capsid proteins.
www.nature.com
January 18, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
harmitmalik.bsky.social
Getting asked about how academics can continue to do science & inspire trainees even in the midst of a continued (escalated) assault on science, reason, truth, & human rights. I don’t have great answers.

I would love to hear from mentors about advice they’re giving to trainees/ colleagues.
January 17, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
kimingeneva.bsky.social
Enterococcus fans: Check out our latest on E. faecalis EET, advancing our understanding of both the fundamental physiology of this bug and new mechanisms of its virulence. This is the product of a thrilling collaboration with friends in Singapore @gthibault.bsky.social led by @aarontan.bsky.social.
gthibault.bsky.social Guillaume Thibault @gthibault.bsky.social · 12d
We’ve discovered how the superbug E. faecalis prevents chronic wounds from healing.

It’s not a toxin. It’s metabolism.

The bacteria use extracellular electron transport (EET) to electrochemically generate ROS, effectively "freezing" skin cells in place.

doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aeb5297
Enterococcus faecalis redox metabolism activates the unfolded protein response to impair wound healing
E. faecalis EET generates ROS, which induces the UPR in keratinocytes, inhibiting in vitro migration.
doi.org
January 17, 2026 at 5:57 AM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
centermicrobialmed.bsky.social
Center for Microbial Medicine clinicians and researchers team up to tackle bacterial infections in NICUs.

Check out the amazing work being done by @pjplanet.bsky.social @ahmedmicrobes.bsky.social Lakshmi Srinivasan and more!

@chopresearch.bsky.social

www.research.chop.edu/cornerstone-...
The Science Behind the Spread: Researchers Aim to Reduce Bacterial Burden in NICUs
Researchers are using whole genome sequencing techniques to identify possible high-risk strains of bacteria in neonatal intensive care units.
www.research.chop.edu
January 16, 2026 at 10:28 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
fangferric.bsky.social
Well said. I don't have much to add.

thehill.com/opinion/heal...
Maybe we actually should trust the experts
We would never trust a random person with no credentials to fix our cars, so why would we trust them with our physical or mental health?
thehill.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
jeremymberg.bsky.social
2/2
“The good guys won,” said Paul Offit, an infectious diseases physician at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a former member of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The cancellation news was “extremely heartening”, he said, adding that except for the birth of his children, he had “never been happier”. “This administration did not see people in Africa as valuable,” Offit said. “You can’t treat children like this, you can’t treat people like this. We were able to stand up for them. We were able to convince people about the fact that this was unethical.” The HHS did not respond to the Guardian’s inquiries about why the trial was cancelled.
January 15, 2026 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
jeremymberg.bsky.social
Great news! The unethical hepatitis B vaccine trial planned for Guinea-Bissau has been cancelled.

Public pressure and insisting that clinical trials pass ethics analysis worked.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

1/2
Controversial US study on hepatitis B vaccines in Africa is cancelled
$1.6m project drew outrage over ethical questions about withholding vaccines proven to prevent disease
www.theguardian.com
January 15, 2026 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
jeremymberg.bsky.social
The appropriations bill that includes NIH is being finalized.

The Senate bill includes a bipartisan amendment from Senators Capito (WV) and Baldwin (WI) limiting multi-year funding of grants.

The House version does not and OMB has issued a veto threat if the House includes such language.

1/3
a close up of a brown surface with a few spots
ALT: a close up of a brown surface with a few spots
media.tenor.com
January 14, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
theonion.com
DHS Releases Watchlist Of Mothers Driving Cars https://theonion.com/dhs-releases-watchlist-of-mothers-driving-cars/
DHS Releases Watchlist Of Mothers Driving Cars
January 9, 2026 at 7:00 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
vscooper.micropopbio.org
Congratulations to Sean Yu-Hao Wang, Will DePas, @catarmbruster.bsky.social and colleagues on their use of experimental evolution to identify regulators of Mycobacterium abscessus biofilm production!
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Experimental evolution in the cystic fibrosis chemical environment reveals early TCA cycle flux as a central regulator of Mycobacterium abscessus biofilm formation
Mycobacterium abscessus (MAB) is an emerging opportunistic pathogen that can cause severe, recalcitrant pulmonary infections in susceptible groups, in…
www.sciencedirect.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:40 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
catarmbruster.bsky.social
Congrats to Sean, Will, and co-authors! Shoutout to @cmuscience.bsky.social Quantitative Biology & Bioinformatics (QBB) MS student Isabelle D'Amico from my lab for her creative work on this cool collaboration!
January 7, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
abepalmer.bsky.social
If you are submitting an NIH grant in February, you will be required to use SciENcv to prepare you biosketch.

IT IS MUCH WORSE THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE.

Set aside *at least* 4 hours just to transfer an existing an biosketch into SciENcv.
January 6, 2026 at 11:29 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
stallingslab.bsky.social
Registration is open for the 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Stress Response to be held on July 19-24 2026!! Submit your abstract by February 15th to be considered for a short talk. Apply now before it fills up!! Hope to see you there!! www.grc.org/microbial-st...
2026 Microbial Stress Response Conference GRC
The 2026 Gordon Research Conference on Microbial Stress Response will be held in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Apply today to reserve your spot.
www.grc.org
January 6, 2026 at 7:15 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
ashleyweiss.bsky.social
Excited to share my publication, showing that co-residing bacteria in the gut alters population heterogeneity in C. difficile. Thank you to my co-author, Jilarie Santos-Santiago, and our collaborative team from the labs of @joeyzacks.bsky.social and @ritatamayo.bsky.social! 
doi.org/10.1128/jb.0...
Enterococcus faecalis modulates phase variation in Clostridioides difficile | Journal of Bacteriology
Clostridioides difficile is an enteric pathogen with critical implications for public health. The microbial ecosystem in which C. difficile resides shapes the behavior and fitness of C. difficile; however, the mechanisms underlying these interactions are not well defined. Here, we demonstrate that Enterococcus faecalis, an opportunistic pathogen known to co-colonize the gut with C. difficile, influences phase variation and downstream growth phenotypes in C. difficile. This phenomenon represents a new paradigm by which co-residing bacteria can modulate phase variation dynamics in C. difficile or other enteric pathogens. Understanding factors that influence C. difficile behavior may elucidate new therapeutic strategies, especially in complex polymicrobial infections.
journals.asm.org
January 5, 2026 at 7:38 PM
Reposted by Joe Zackular
keystonesymposia.bsky.social
⏰ Deadline Jan 7 (11:59 pm MST) to submit a short talk abstract or apply for a scholarship for the Keystone Symposium Beyond Antibiotics. Hear from @joeyzacks.bsky.social, @maribyndloss.bsky.social: youtu.be/8Ppjx-MnvxA

keysym.us/KSBeyondAnti... @kimingeneva.bsky.social & @dariavantyne.bsky.social
KSQA: Drs. Joseph P. Zackular & Mariana X. Byndloss (Beyond Antibiotics)
YouTube video by KeystoneSymposia
youtu.be
January 5, 2026 at 5:35 PM
joeyzacks.bsky.social
Really happy to have this study led by @ashleyweiss.bsky.social and Jilarie Santos-Santiago published in the Journal of Bacteriology (@asm.org) over the holiday break!! Always awesome to team up with the amazing @ritatamayo.bsky.social lab! #Cdiff #enterococci

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
January 5, 2026 at 2:26 PM