Lindsay Kalan
lkalan.bsky.social
Lindsay Kalan
@lkalan.bsky.social
Associate Professor at McMaster university interested in microbes and how they interact with each other and with us. #MicroSky #IDSky #Microbiomesky #secmet 🇨🇦🧫🧬⚗️
Pinned
Excited to share our latest study presenting a new skin-derived isolate collection demonstrating extensive antimicrobial activity and uncharacterized BGCs. This was a long-term and huge team effort led by Thy Nguyen, Shelby Sandstrom, and @raufs.bsky.social . #MicroSky #secmet #skinmicrobiome
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
Congratulations to IIDR member @lkalan.bsky.social, who has received a prestigious @hfspo.bsky.social grant. The new funding will power a study that could, for the first time ever, lead to the definitive characterization of a functional human pheromone.

brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/two...
Two McMaster researchers awarded prestigious HFSP grants
At a Hamilton-area daycare, Lindsay Kalan and Jonathan Cannon pass each other in the parking lot at dropoff. They smile, nod, and carry on with . . .
brighterworld.mcmaster.ca
July 10, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
Huge thanks to the amazing team at @currentbiology.bsky.social for highlighting fungi in this special issue. Many excellent reviews and perspectives from so many mycological heroes. Lots of great material to use in teaching/outreach. 🍄
Our newest special issue is now live! Check it out to discover more about diverse and beautiful Fungi🍄🍄‍🟫🍄 On the cover: the fly agaric, Amanita muscaria, releasing its spores in the early morning light. www.cell.com/current-biol...
June 9, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
Fungi shape genome evolution of bacteria even in the absence of major growth phenotypes

#ISMEJournal from @benwolfe.bsky.social

Penicillium camemberti and Geotrichum candidum on Pseudomonas carnis evolution

academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
Fungi shape genome evolution of bacteria even in the absence of major growth phenotypes
Abstract. Studies of microbial interactions often emphasize interactions with large, easily measurable growth differences and short-term ecological outcome
academic.oup.com
May 4, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
If you're a grad student or an undergrad interested in research I need to you listen to me very carefully.

You cannot learn to write good research papers if you do not read good research papers.

Stop asking LLMs to summarize papers for you.
May 3, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
This work wouldn’t have been possible without all the incredible co authors, including those on Blue Sky: @lkalan.bsky.social @biobarber.bsky.social @corrigar.bsky.social @jarrods.bsky.social
April 14, 2025 at 5:33 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
Delighted to share that @asm.org has met its goal for all of its 'legacy' journals (ie favorites like J. Bact, I&I, AEM) so ALL 2025 articles will be published open access. Thanks to all institutional subscribers, this is the S2O way.

Please submit to these great journals!

asm.org/Press-Releas...
ASM Expands Open Access: 6 Journals Available in 2025 Via S2O
ASM has successfully met its sustainability target for the subscription year under its S2O publishing model. Now, articles in the 2025 volume of ASM’s 6 S2O journals will be published open access.
asm.org
April 2, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
Rare taxa in the core microbiome

@cp-trendsmicrobiol.bsky.social Opinion by Ditam Chakraborty, Alex Jousset, Zhong Wei, and Samiran Banerjee
@ndsuofficial.bsky.social and Nanjing Agricultural University

www.cell.com/trends/micro...
Rare taxa in the core microbiome
Rare taxa are an important constituent of the microbiome and play a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics. However, little is known about rare taxa within the core microbiome...
www.cell.com
March 28, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
From 2010 to 2016 (latest data I have ), NIH research contributed to EVERY drug approved by the FDA
March 22, 2025 at 10:44 AM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
I remember the cystic fibrosis patients I took care of 20 years ago.

I also remember the dedicated HIV wards in the hospitals, and that Princess Diana made headlines for shaking hands with AIDS patients.

Progress has been incredible.

Miracles are where you choose to see them.
March 15, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
In 2024 NIH grant awards supported 407,782 jobs and $94.58 billion in new economic activity nationwide, the largest figure in the history of the report. www.forbes.com/sites/michae...
NIH Grants Fueled $95 Billion In FY 2024 Economic Activity, Finds New Report
National Institutes of Health grants generated almost $95 billion in economic activity nationwide in FY 2024 according to a new report by United for Medical Research.
www.forbes.com
March 13, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
*At least* $95 billion.

The return on investment from NIH dollars is one of the best there is.

Also: I personally like the benefits from modern medical technology, dental care, ophthalmological care, and more I am sure as I age.
New report shows that NIH grants fueled $95 billion in economic activity and 407,782 jobs in 2024.

That's not to mention the countless lives that biomedical research has saved.

Show me a better investment than that.
www.forbes.com/sites/michae...
NIH Grants Fueled $95 Billion In FY 2024 Economic Activity, Finds New Report
National Institutes of Health grants generated almost $95 billion in economic activity nationwide in FY 2024 according to a new report by United for Medical Research.
www.forbes.com
March 12, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
Context matters: assessing the impacts of genomic background and ecology on microbial biosynthetic gene cluster evolution

#mSystems MiniReview by by @raufs.bsky.social & @lkalan.bsky.social

journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
February 25, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
If someone thinks the measles outbreak and childhood death in Texas are "not unusual" or "happens all the time", they are deeply misinformed. h/t @adamratnermd.bsky.social for the inspiration.

blogs.jwatch.org/hiv-id-obser...
Tragic Childhood Death from Measles Reminds Us That Some Don't Understand Either the Medical Significance or the Human Heart
My ID colleague Dr. Adam Ratner, Chief of Pediatric ID at NYU Medical Center, just published an insightful and remarkably timely book called Booster Shots:  The Urgent Lessons of Measles and the Uncer...
blogs.jwatch.org
February 27, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
The Atlantic story on the situation at NIH is sobering. We are so screwed.

www.theatlantic.com/health/archi...
Inside the Collapse at NIH
Administration officials pressured NIH to avoid clear advice from the agency’s own lawyers to restart grant funding now.
www.theatlantic.com
February 27, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
The first measles death in the US in a decade -- the tragic, preventable death of a child whose parents chose not to protect them with vaccination -- should spark an immediate nation-wide campaign to ensure all children are protected against preventable diseases. Anything less is unconscionable.
February 26, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
Hello Buffalo friends! It’s rally for science time! March 7, 2-6PM, Niagara Square! Sign up below and please spread the word!

www.eventbrite.com/e/stand-up-f...
Stand Up For Science, Buffalo!
On March 7, 2025, we rally to defend science as a public good and pillar of social, political, and economic progress.
www.eventbrite.com
February 24, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
This would be a great time for Canada to invest heavily in biomedical research to support its own scientists and bring in amazing talent from down south. 🇨🇦🧪
February 19, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
On this day 12 years ago, @kcg.bsky.social posted the “This is Fine” comic.
January 9, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
40 years ago all of Genbank was published in print form by NAR. The same format today would require over 4 light seconds of shelf space. To a year of progress in 2025.
December 29, 2024 at 9:50 AM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
Bifidobacteria are the primary consumers of breast milk and very important in the infant gut. However, current methods for profiling them require custom implementation. @ben-braun.bsky.social tackled this during his rotation in my lab by creating a fast, robust, and user-friendly tool. Check it out!
Excited to share Bifidotyper, a tool that quickly takes you from stool sequencing to quantifications of Bifidobacterial species and HMO metabolism genes! It emphasizes speed and ease of use. Just throw in your FastQ files and get results in minutes!

github.com/Bennibraun/b...
December 14, 2024 at 9:17 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
Can verify.
Veronica Coan: “Daddy, do scientists just spend most of their time saying, ‘this is bullshit, this is bullshit, and this is also bullshit?’”

Jim Coan: “Yes, my love, that is what scientists spend most of their time doing.”
December 14, 2024 at 6:59 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
Conversation with the brilliant contemporary microbiologist and molecular biologist—HHMI and MacArthur Fellow Bonnie Bassler of Princeton University

Pioneer in the chemical signaling mechanisms that bacteria use to communicate with each other known as “quorum sensing”

www.hhmi.org/news/tapping...
Tapping into Bacterial Conversations | HHMI
Over the course of 30 years, HHMI Investigator Bonnie Bassler has helped usher in a new branch of science centered on quorum sensing, the process by which bacteria communicate with one another and orc...
www.hhmi.org
November 22, 2024 at 1:56 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
Hey #IDSky, #Microsky and #ImmunoSky - I'm so pleased that @mcmasteriidr.bsky.social and @mcmasternexus.bsky.social are now here, as well as microbiologists extraordinaire @gdwantibiotics.bsky.social @dr-lori-burrows.bsky.social and @lkalan.bsky.social - get these folks in some #starterpacks!
November 21, 2024 at 9:36 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
Just in time for #WAAW - new collab paper with the Strynadka lab at UBC on structure/function of #peptidoglycan fragment recycling transporter AmpG involved in AmpC-related beta lactam resistance. www.nature.com/articles/s41... @yaegerluke.bsky.social
Cryo-EM characterization of the anydromuropeptide permease AmpG central to bacterial fitness and β-lactam antibiotic resistance - Nature Communications
AmpG is an MFS importer of bacterial cell wall fragments. Here, authors present a cryoEM structure and supporting mutagenesis to illuminate AmpG’s essential role in bacterial fitness and derepression ...
www.nature.com
November 19, 2024 at 12:18 PM
Reposted by Lindsay Kalan
re-posting the potentially best meme I've ever made here, before the other place collapses and it's lost to history #MicroSky 🦠
November 18, 2024 at 6:46 PM