mara lawniczak
@marakat.bsky.social
senior group leader @sangerinstitute. evolutionary geneticist malaria & biodiversity. lifetime member of darwin's posse. obsessive tidepooler. hearts cephalopods.
our lab leads the Malaria Cell Atlas, UK BIOSCAN, and ANOSPP projects.
our lab leads the Malaria Cell Atlas, UK BIOSCAN, and ANOSPP projects.
Pinned
mara lawniczak
@marakat.bsky.social
· Feb 24
Register your interest in participating in the Global Culicidae Reference Genomes Project
We are seeking mosquito biologists around the world who would be interested in collecting and contributing specimens of any vector species that currently lacks a reference genome.
Aim: We are aiming ...
tinyurl.com
if you have an interest in improving the genomic resources available for mosquitoes, please fill in our google form at tinyurl.com/MosquitoReferenceGenomes. please share this with colleagues who might be interested. thank you! [3/3]
Reposted by mara lawniczak
Open Senior Bioinformatician position at
@sangerinstitute.bsky.social
Tree of Life, to work on the Biodiversity Cell Atlas initiative with @marakat.bsky.social and me.
📅 Apply by January 18
🔗 sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Wellco...
Please share with anyone who might be interested!
@sangerinstitute.bsky.social
Tree of Life, to work on the Biodiversity Cell Atlas initiative with @marakat.bsky.social and me.
📅 Apply by January 18
🔗 sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Wellco...
Please share with anyone who might be interested!
Senior Bioinformatician - Biodiversity Cell Atlas
Do you want to help us improve human health and understand life on Earth? Make your mark by shaping the future to enable or deliver life-changing science to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenge...
sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com
January 2, 2026 at 1:12 PM
Open Senior Bioinformatician position at
@sangerinstitute.bsky.social
Tree of Life, to work on the Biodiversity Cell Atlas initiative with @marakat.bsky.social and me.
📅 Apply by January 18
🔗 sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Wellco...
Please share with anyone who might be interested!
@sangerinstitute.bsky.social
Tree of Life, to work on the Biodiversity Cell Atlas initiative with @marakat.bsky.social and me.
📅 Apply by January 18
🔗 sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Wellco...
Please share with anyone who might be interested!
Reposted by mara lawniczak
Join our Tree of Life Programme as a Group Leader in Biodiversity Genomics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Lead ambitious, large-scale genomics research to understand life’s diversity on Earth.
🔗 Learn more and apply: sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Wellco...
📅 Closing date: 8 February 2026
🔗 Learn more and apply: sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Wellco...
📅 Closing date: 8 February 2026
December 15, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Join our Tree of Life Programme as a Group Leader in Biodiversity Genomics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Lead ambitious, large-scale genomics research to understand life’s diversity on Earth.
🔗 Learn more and apply: sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Wellco...
📅 Closing date: 8 February 2026
🔗 Learn more and apply: sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Wellco...
📅 Closing date: 8 February 2026
Reposted by mara lawniczak
🧐 Looking for a #PhD? University of Glasgow @glasgow.ac.uk @sbohvm.gla.ac.uk is offering two fully funded PhD positions within the new VectorGrid-Africa network!🦟
More details: www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/mvl...
📆Application deadline: 12 January 2026.
More details: www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/mvl...
📆Application deadline: 12 January 2026.
December 10, 2025 at 8:21 PM
🧐 Looking for a #PhD? University of Glasgow @glasgow.ac.uk @sbohvm.gla.ac.uk is offering two fully funded PhD positions within the new VectorGrid-Africa network!🦟
More details: www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/mvl...
📆Application deadline: 12 January 2026.
More details: www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/mvl...
📆Application deadline: 12 January 2026.
Reposted by mara lawniczak
Are you excited about pangenomics? If so, join us in Edinburgh on 8-9th June to discuss the latest methods & insights from using these approaches across biodiversity! More details here:
royalsociety.org/science-even...
Organised together with @henrylnorth.bsky.social & @joanameier.bsky.social!
royalsociety.org/science-even...
Organised together with @henrylnorth.bsky.social & @joanameier.bsky.social!
Pangenomics transforms evolutionary biology | Royal Society
This Theo Murphy meeting organised by Dr Joana Meier, Dr Henry North and Dr Charlotte Wright, will showcase cutting-edge pangenome tools, applied uses of pangenomes which are transforming health and a...
royalsociety.org
December 10, 2025 at 9:15 PM
Are you excited about pangenomics? If so, join us in Edinburgh on 8-9th June to discuss the latest methods & insights from using these approaches across biodiversity! More details here:
royalsociety.org/science-even...
Organised together with @henrylnorth.bsky.social & @joanameier.bsky.social!
royalsociety.org/science-even...
Organised together with @henrylnorth.bsky.social & @joanameier.bsky.social!
Reposted by mara lawniczak
Tired of 3D7? Need real P. falciparum genomes from real infections?
We’ve got you: 43 PacBio HiFi–assembled genomes from The Gambia, with full var/rifin/stevor repertoires in all their wild diversity.
Data now public!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
(1/2)
We’ve got you: 43 PacBio HiFi–assembled genomes from The Gambia, with full var/rifin/stevor repertoires in all their wild diversity.
Data now public!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
(1/2)
De novo assembly of complete Plasmodium falciparum isolate genomes using PacBio HiFi sequencing technology
Plasmodium falciparum possesses a highly structured genome with extensive sequence diversity concentrated in Variant Surface Antigen (VSA) families. These genes— var , rif , and stevor —play key roles...
www.biorxiv.org
December 9, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Tired of 3D7? Need real P. falciparum genomes from real infections?
We’ve got you: 43 PacBio HiFi–assembled genomes from The Gambia, with full var/rifin/stevor repertoires in all their wild diversity.
Data now public!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
(1/2)
We’ve got you: 43 PacBio HiFi–assembled genomes from The Gambia, with full var/rifin/stevor repertoires in all their wild diversity.
Data now public!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
(1/2)
Reposted by mara lawniczak
a life changing opportunity made possible by the Nobel Prize funds awarded to John Sulston -- the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social runs the Sanger Prize scheme, open to an undergrad from any LMIC to spend 3 months here learning all about genomics. more details here www.sanger.ac.uk/about/study/...
November 20, 2025 at 5:39 PM
a life changing opportunity made possible by the Nobel Prize funds awarded to John Sulston -- the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social runs the Sanger Prize scheme, open to an undergrad from any LMIC to spend 3 months here learning all about genomics. more details here www.sanger.ac.uk/about/study/...
Reposted by mara lawniczak
Open postdoc position at @sangerinstitute.bsky.social Tree of Life to contribute to the Biodiversity Cell Atlas, with a focus on spatial transcriptomics.
Apply by January 4
sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/Wellco...
Please share with anyone who might be interested!
Apply by January 4
sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/Wellco...
Please share with anyone who might be interested!
Postdoctoral Fellow - Biodiversity Cell Atlas
Do you want to help us improve human health and understand life on Earth? Make your mark by shaping the future to enable or deliver life-changing science to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenge...
sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com
December 3, 2025 at 12:27 PM
Open postdoc position at @sangerinstitute.bsky.social Tree of Life to contribute to the Biodiversity Cell Atlas, with a focus on spatial transcriptomics.
Apply by January 4
sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/Wellco...
Please share with anyone who might be interested!
Apply by January 4
sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-GB/Wellco...
Please share with anyone who might be interested!
please share this postdoc job alert! come join the budding Biodiversity Cell Atlas initiative as a postdoc or senior postdoc at @sangerinstitute.bsky.social working closely with @arnausebe.bsky.social and me to make progress on what we cover in this paper www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The Biodiversity Cell Atlas: mapping the tree of life at cellular resolution - Nature
The Biodiversity Cell Atlas aims to create comprehensive single-cell molecular atlases across the eukaryotic tree of life, which will be phylogenetically informed, rely on high-quality genomes and use...
www.nature.com
December 3, 2025 at 1:29 PM
please share this postdoc job alert! come join the budding Biodiversity Cell Atlas initiative as a postdoc or senior postdoc at @sangerinstitute.bsky.social working closely with @arnausebe.bsky.social and me to make progress on what we cover in this paper www.nature.com/articles/s41...
a life changing opportunity made possible by the Nobel Prize funds awarded to John Sulston -- the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social runs the Sanger Prize scheme, open to an undergrad from any LMIC to spend 3 months here learning all about genomics. more details here www.sanger.ac.uk/about/study/...
November 20, 2025 at 5:39 PM
a life changing opportunity made possible by the Nobel Prize funds awarded to John Sulston -- the @sangerinstitute.bsky.social runs the Sanger Prize scheme, open to an undergrad from any LMIC to spend 3 months here learning all about genomics. more details here www.sanger.ac.uk/about/study/...
final week to apply for @sangerinstitute.bsky.social PhD programme (due Nov 27th) -- free to apply, open to anyone anywhere, and a superb training opportunity for students interested in genomic approaches applied to biodiversity, pathogens, vectors, and of course us pesky humans.
November 20, 2025 at 12:07 PM
final week to apply for @sangerinstitute.bsky.social PhD programme (due Nov 27th) -- free to apply, open to anyone anywhere, and a superb training opportunity for students interested in genomic approaches applied to biodiversity, pathogens, vectors, and of course us pesky humans.
Reposted by mara lawniczak
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Ancient origin of an urban underground mosquito
Understanding how life is adapting to urban environments represents an important challenge in evolutionary biology. In this work, we investigate a widely cited example of urban adaptation, Culex pipie...
www.science.org
October 25, 2025 at 4:46 AM
How does life evolve to adapt to modern cities?
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Out now in Science, my PhD work with @lindymcbr.bsky.social uncovers the ancient origin of the “London Underground mosquito” – one of the most iconic examples of urban adaptation.
🧵(1/n)
@science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady4515
Reposted by mara lawniczak
#Microsporidia are #parasites of growing importance. @amjadkhalaf.bsky.social @mblaxter.bsky.social @marakat.bsky.social &co present 40 new genomes from #DarwinTreeofLife sequencing of their arthropod hosts, revealing insights into #tetraploidy & #reproduction @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/48HsAQJ
October 22, 2025 at 1:07 PM
#Microsporidia are #parasites of growing importance. @amjadkhalaf.bsky.social @mblaxter.bsky.social @marakat.bsky.social &co present 40 new genomes from #DarwinTreeofLife sequencing of their arthropod hosts, revealing insights into #tetraploidy & #reproduction @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/48HsAQJ
new publication by @amjadkhalaf.bsky.social who mined arthropod reference genome data for hidden microsporidia reads and then did a whole lot of assembling and sleuthing! great job @amjadkhalaf.bsky.social !
Really, really happy that our work on microsporidian genomes is now out in @plosbiology.org! A huge thank you to my coauthors, my supervisors @mblaxter.bsky.social & @marakat.bsky.social, the editors @roliroberts.bsky.social & Joseph Heitman, and the reviewers ❤️ plos.io/48HsAQJ
October 22, 2025 at 1:33 PM
new publication by @amjadkhalaf.bsky.social who mined arthropod reference genome data for hidden microsporidia reads and then did a whole lot of assembling and sleuthing! great job @amjadkhalaf.bsky.social !
The fight against #malaria is at a crossroads.
Together with colleagues worldwide, I’ve signed an Open Letter urging #IUCN members to keep the door open to responsible research and new tools that could help reverse stalled progress and save lives.
Add your voice here scienceforbiodiversity.org
Together with colleagues worldwide, I’ve signed an Open Letter urging #IUCN members to keep the door open to responsible research and new tools that could help reverse stalled progress and save lives.
Add your voice here scienceforbiodiversity.org
Science for Biodiversity
Synthetic biology: Hope for conservation requires keeping all options on the table.
scienceforbiodiversity.org
October 8, 2025 at 8:30 AM
The fight against #malaria is at a crossroads.
Together with colleagues worldwide, I’ve signed an Open Letter urging #IUCN members to keep the door open to responsible research and new tools that could help reverse stalled progress and save lives.
Add your voice here scienceforbiodiversity.org
Together with colleagues worldwide, I’ve signed an Open Letter urging #IUCN members to keep the door open to responsible research and new tools that could help reverse stalled progress and save lives.
Add your voice here scienceforbiodiversity.org
Reposted by mara lawniczak
Happy to share the Biodiversity Cell Atlas white paper, out today in @nature.com. We look at the possibilities, challenges, and potential impacts of molecularly mapping cells across the tree of life.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
September 24, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Happy to share the Biodiversity Cell Atlas white paper, out today in @nature.com. We look at the possibilities, challenges, and potential impacts of molecularly mapping cells across the tree of life.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by mara lawniczak
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...
Mosquitoes that have been in the collection for nearly a hundred years are helping us in dealing with an even older but also current problem - malaria
@sangerinstitute.bsky.social @nhm-london.bsky.social
Mosquitoes that have been in the collection for nearly a hundred years are helping us in dealing with an even older but also current problem - malaria
@sangerinstitute.bsky.social @nhm-london.bsky.social
Genetic study of malaria-carrying mosquitoes tracks evolution of insecticide resistance | Natural History Museum
It crucially also reveals promising genetic targets for potential control.
www.nhm.ac.uk
September 19, 2025 at 11:53 AM
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/new...
Mosquitoes that have been in the collection for nearly a hundred years are helping us in dealing with an even older but also current problem - malaria
@sangerinstitute.bsky.social @nhm-london.bsky.social
Mosquitoes that have been in the collection for nearly a hundred years are helping us in dealing with an even older but also current problem - malaria
@sangerinstitute.bsky.social @nhm-london.bsky.social
Reposted by mara lawniczak
One of the most dangerous malaria-carrying mosquitoes is rapidly evolving in response to control efforts, genetics has revealed.
Findings could inform smarter tools to monitor for and fight malaria. 🦟
Read more here ⤵️
http://bit.ly/4pwQKDv
Findings could inform smarter tools to monitor for and fight malaria. 🦟
Read more here ⤵️
http://bit.ly/4pwQKDv
Genomic evolution of major malaria-transmitting mosquito species uncovered
Sequencing hundreds of Anopheles funestus mosquitoes provides new insights into the evolutionary patterns of this important human malaria-transmitting species.
bit.ly
September 19, 2025 at 9:46 AM
One of the most dangerous malaria-carrying mosquitoes is rapidly evolving in response to control efforts, genetics has revealed.
Findings could inform smarter tools to monitor for and fight malaria. 🦟
Read more here ⤵️
http://bit.ly/4pwQKDv
Findings could inform smarter tools to monitor for and fight malaria. 🦟
Read more here ⤵️
http://bit.ly/4pwQKDv
Reposted by mara lawniczak
Our paper Genomic diversity of the African malaria vector Anopheles funestus was published in Science today! It features inversions, selection in action, museum specimens and putative new ecotypes. doi.org/10.1126/scie...
September 18, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Our paper Genomic diversity of the African malaria vector Anopheles funestus was published in Science today! It features inversions, selection in action, museum specimens and putative new ecotypes. doi.org/10.1126/scie...
Reposted by mara lawniczak
How many chromosomes can an animal have?
In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Constraints on chromosome evolution revealed by the 229 chromosome pairs of the Atlas blue butterfly
The genome of the Atlas blue butterfly contains ten times more chromosomes than most
butterflies, and more than any other known diploid animal. Wright et al. show that
this extraordinary karyotype is ...
tinyurl.com
September 11, 2025 at 3:22 PM
How many chromosomes can an animal have?
In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
In our paper out now in @currentbiology.bsky.social we show that the Atlas blue butterfly has 229 chromosome pairs- the highest in diploid Metazoa! These arose by rapid autosome fragmentation while sex chromosomes stayed intact.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by mara lawniczak
🚀🧬🔥 Hot off the press — 2025!
Don’t miss this must-read publication: bit.ly/4mJwFb7
This groundbreaking paper sets the stage for Earth BioGenome Project Phase II — where EBP is gearing up to scale genome sequencing 10× faster than ever before! 🌍✨
Don’t miss this must-read publication: bit.ly/4mJwFb7
This groundbreaking paper sets the stage for Earth BioGenome Project Phase II — where EBP is gearing up to scale genome sequencing 10× faster than ever before! 🌍✨
September 4, 2025 at 2:40 PM
🚀🧬🔥 Hot off the press — 2025!
Don’t miss this must-read publication: bit.ly/4mJwFb7
This groundbreaking paper sets the stage for Earth BioGenome Project Phase II — where EBP is gearing up to scale genome sequencing 10× faster than ever before! 🌍✨
Don’t miss this must-read publication: bit.ly/4mJwFb7
This groundbreaking paper sets the stage for Earth BioGenome Project Phase II — where EBP is gearing up to scale genome sequencing 10× faster than ever before! 🌍✨
Reposted by mara lawniczak
Malaria cases surge in Zimbabwe largely due to abrupt cut in USAID that affected mosquito net provision and surveillance measures. The Zimbabwean government trying to step up but can’t make up for the damage the sudden cessation. Climate change further increases mosquito burden too
Malaria ‘back with a vengeance’ in Zimbabwe as number of deaths from the disease triple
Withdrawal of USAID funds threatens decades of progress, say experts, with cuts to research and shortage of mosquito nets putting thousands at risk across the country
www.theguardian.com
July 19, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Malaria cases surge in Zimbabwe largely due to abrupt cut in USAID that affected mosquito net provision and surveillance measures. The Zimbabwean government trying to step up but can’t make up for the damage the sudden cessation. Climate change further increases mosquito burden too
Reposted by mara lawniczak
Postdoc position opening in my group! Research projects: pangenomes for diverse organisms, genome evolution, biocomputing, language models. Please reach out if interested!
July 17, 2025 at 7:53 AM
Postdoc position opening in my group! Research projects: pangenomes for diverse organisms, genome evolution, biocomputing, language models. Please reach out if interested!
Reposted by mara lawniczak
new from the lab -- we investigate 100% ethanol, DMSO salt solution (DESS), EDTA, RNAlater, and AllProtect as possible approaches for short term room temperature preservation of mosquito HMW DNA, nuclei for Hi-C, and RNA towards high quality reference genome creation. the key findings/tips are ....
Breaking the cold chain: solutions for room temperature preservation of mosquitoes leading to high quality reference genomes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.03.662936v1
July 7, 2025 at 7:20 AM
new from the lab -- we investigate 100% ethanol, DMSO salt solution (DESS), EDTA, RNAlater, and AllProtect as possible approaches for short term room temperature preservation of mosquito HMW DNA, nuclei for Hi-C, and RNA towards high quality reference genome creation. the key findings/tips are ....
new from the lab -- we investigate 100% ethanol, DMSO salt solution (DESS), EDTA, RNAlater, and AllProtect as possible approaches for short term room temperature preservation of mosquito HMW DNA, nuclei for Hi-C, and RNA towards high quality reference genome creation. the key findings/tips are ....
Breaking the cold chain: solutions for room temperature preservation of mosquitoes leading to high quality reference genomes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.03.662936v1
July 7, 2025 at 7:20 AM
new from the lab -- we investigate 100% ethanol, DMSO salt solution (DESS), EDTA, RNAlater, and AllProtect as possible approaches for short term room temperature preservation of mosquito HMW DNA, nuclei for Hi-C, and RNA towards high quality reference genome creation. the key findings/tips are ....
several years ago, the @ebpgenome.bsky.social sample collection and processing subcommittee ran a survey to understand more about people's successes and failures with HMW DNA extractions across the tree of life -- we planned to publish the results of this survey alongside the randomly drawn ...
June 4, 2025 at 3:15 PM
several years ago, the @ebpgenome.bsky.social sample collection and processing subcommittee ran a survey to understand more about people's successes and failures with HMW DNA extractions across the tree of life -- we planned to publish the results of this survey alongside the randomly drawn ...