Margaret Alexander
@margaretalexander.bsky.social
Assistant Professor UW-Madison, Medical Microbiology and Immunology investigating the mechanisms of diet, microbiota, and immune interactions in autoimmunity
alexanderlab.mmi.wisc.edu
views are my own
alexanderlab.mmi.wisc.edu
views are my own
Pinned
A diet-dependent host metabolite shapes the gut microbiota to protect from autoimmunity
Identifying the optimal diet for patients suffering from autoimmune disease remains
challenging. Here, Alexander and colleagues dissect the complex host-microbiome interactions,
explaining the protect...
www.cell.com
Excited to share the final work from my postdoc! We explored how a ketogenic diet improves MS models, identifying bioactive compounds from the host and microbiome. Looking forward to investigating more mechanistic interactions in the Alexander Lab. Huge thanks to co-authors & Peter Turnbaugh!
Join Marienela Yaritza Heredia (Post Doctoral Researcher), and Jessamine Kuehn (PhD student), and myself this Tuesday 11/11 at 6:30 at the newly opened One Social Food Hall for our discussion on the gut microbiome! There will be trivia, bingo, science, and fun!!
November 10, 2025 at 1:58 AM
Join Marienela Yaritza Heredia (Post Doctoral Researcher), and Jessamine Kuehn (PhD student), and myself this Tuesday 11/11 at 6:30 at the newly opened One Social Food Hall for our discussion on the gut microbiome! There will be trivia, bingo, science, and fun!!
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
Two conferences, one reg! Sign up for Microbiome Metabolism & Metabolites + get Human Microbiome FREE. Joint keynotes: Emily P. Balskus & Mohamed S. Abou Donia. keysym.us/KSMicroMetab26 @pieterdorrestein.bsky.social @mfgrp.bsky.social @inesthiele.bsky.social #KSMicroMetab26 #KSMicrobiome26
Microbiome Metabolism and Metabolites: Discovery and Function in Health and Disease | Keystone Symposia
Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Microbiome Metabolism and Metabolites: Discovery and Function in Health and Disease, January 2026, in Banff, with field leaders!
keysym.us
August 12, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Two conferences, one reg! Sign up for Microbiome Metabolism & Metabolites + get Human Microbiome FREE. Joint keynotes: Emily P. Balskus & Mohamed S. Abou Donia. keysym.us/KSMicroMetab26 @pieterdorrestein.bsky.social @mfgrp.bsky.social @inesthiele.bsky.social #KSMicroMetab26 #KSMicrobiome26
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
#Throwback 🧪
PERSPECTIVE | Emerging tools and best practices for studying gut microbial community metabolism
@cecilianoecker.bsky.social & P Turnbaugh
PERSPECTIVE | Emerging tools and best practices for studying gut microbial community metabolism
@cecilianoecker.bsky.social & P Turnbaugh
Emerging tools and best practices for studying gut microbial community metabolism - Nature Metabolism
In this Perspective, Noecker and Turnbaugh provide a detailed guide for studying microbial community metabolism and discuss the best practices in the field.
bit.ly
August 12, 2025 at 4:01 PM
#Throwback 🧪
PERSPECTIVE | Emerging tools and best practices for studying gut microbial community metabolism
@cecilianoecker.bsky.social & P Turnbaugh
PERSPECTIVE | Emerging tools and best practices for studying gut microbial community metabolism
@cecilianoecker.bsky.social & P Turnbaugh
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
Interesting recent review on the links between gut microbes and T-cells, highlighting a mechanistic framework linking microbial metabolites to all stages of T-cell fate and function.
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The role of gut microbial metabolites in the T cell lifecycle - Nature Immunology
Tran et al. discuss the role of the gut microbiome and gut microbiome-derived metabolites in T cell biology.
www.nature.com
August 6, 2025 at 9:29 AM
Interesting recent review on the links between gut microbes and T-cells, highlighting a mechanistic framework linking microbial metabolites to all stages of T-cell fate and function.
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🔗 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
🚨 AAI is proud to announce the launch of the AAI RESTORE Grants Program, an $8M emergency funding initiative to support scientists whose immunology-focused federal research grants were abruptly terminated or frozen in 2025.
🔗 ow.ly/rwMU50Wy3Mp
#AAIRESTORE
🔗 ow.ly/rwMU50Wy3Mp
#AAIRESTORE
July 31, 2025 at 3:00 PM
🚨 AAI is proud to announce the launch of the AAI RESTORE Grants Program, an $8M emergency funding initiative to support scientists whose immunology-focused federal research grants were abruptly terminated or frozen in 2025.
🔗 ow.ly/rwMU50Wy3Mp
#AAIRESTORE
🔗 ow.ly/rwMU50Wy3Mp
#AAIRESTORE
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
Microbiology professor, want to join a slack for microbiology professors, any career stage, diverse career types (pure teaching, med school, R1, community college, pure research fed PIs, ...)
Message me for an invite link if you are interested.
No imposter syndrome, if you are 1% micro, join!
Message me for an invite link if you are interested.
No imposter syndrome, if you are 1% micro, join!
July 25, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Microbiology professor, want to join a slack for microbiology professors, any career stage, diverse career types (pure teaching, med school, R1, community college, pure research fed PIs, ...)
Message me for an invite link if you are interested.
No imposter syndrome, if you are 1% micro, join!
Message me for an invite link if you are interested.
No imposter syndrome, if you are 1% micro, join!
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
BREAKING: A federal judge reversed National Institutes of Health's terminations of hundreds of critical research grants that were canceled because of their alleged connection to disfavored topics, including diversity, equity, inclusion, and gender identity.
This is a major win for public health.
This is a major win for public health.
June 16, 2025 at 9:46 PM
BREAKING: A federal judge reversed National Institutes of Health's terminations of hundreds of critical research grants that were canceled because of their alleged connection to disfavored topics, including diversity, equity, inclusion, and gender identity.
This is a major win for public health.
This is a major win for public health.
Estimated 15K+ in Madison WI
A lovely shirt seen:
One Thing Money Can't Buy: Wisconsin
A lovely shirt seen:
One Thing Money Can't Buy: Wisconsin
June 15, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Estimated 15K+ in Madison WI
A lovely shirt seen:
One Thing Money Can't Buy: Wisconsin
A lovely shirt seen:
One Thing Money Can't Buy: Wisconsin
New plan:
As I am getting more and more spam texts I will just respond with links about science funding like this one: unbreaking.org/issues/medic...
As I am getting more and more spam texts I will just respond with links about science funding like this one: unbreaking.org/issues/medic...
Medical Research Funding — Unbreaking
How the administration is breaking the government, and what that means for all of us.
unbreaking.org
May 31, 2025 at 3:59 PM
New plan:
As I am getting more and more spam texts I will just respond with links about science funding like this one: unbreaking.org/issues/medic...
As I am getting more and more spam texts I will just respond with links about science funding like this one: unbreaking.org/issues/medic...
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
Each Friday night, I write up what happened in science & higher ed.
- 1200+ pages of new (weird) detailed budget request
- cancellation of pandemic flu & HIV vaccine efforts
- more travel visas throttled
- FEMA, “gold standard science” & more
This was week 19: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
- 1200+ pages of new (weird) detailed budget request
- cancellation of pandemic flu & HIV vaccine efforts
- more travel visas throttled
- FEMA, “gold standard science” & more
This was week 19: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Week 19
What now & what’s next in science and higher ed
buttondown.com
May 31, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Each Friday night, I write up what happened in science & higher ed.
- 1200+ pages of new (weird) detailed budget request
- cancellation of pandemic flu & HIV vaccine efforts
- more travel visas throttled
- FEMA, “gold standard science” & more
This was week 19: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
- 1200+ pages of new (weird) detailed budget request
- cancellation of pandemic flu & HIV vaccine efforts
- more travel visas throttled
- FEMA, “gold standard science” & more
This was week 19: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
From helping farmers plan with better weather data to growing Wisconsin's semiconductor industry, discover some of the ways that @uwmadison.bsky.social research is improving lives and making the U.S. stronger. #WisconsinInnovates
Help Protect the Future of UW–Madison Research
Badger-led research strengthens communities, saves lives, and supports thousands of jobs. Learn why this work matters—and how you can support it.
news.wisc.edu
May 14, 2025 at 11:41 PM
From helping farmers plan with better weather data to growing Wisconsin's semiconductor industry, discover some of the ways that @uwmadison.bsky.social research is improving lives and making the U.S. stronger. #WisconsinInnovates
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
New research from @jordanbisanz.bsky.social et al. used machine learning to design C. difficile suppressive synthetic microbiomes. 🦠
This is a big step towards reducing antibiotic use & making a safer and more effective fecal microbiome transplant alternative.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
This is a big step towards reducing antibiotic use & making a safer and more effective fecal microbiome transplant alternative.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
A designed synthetic microbiota provides insight to community function in Clostridioides difficile resistance
Clostridioides difficile, a major cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, is suppressed by the gut microbiome, but the precise mechanisms are not ful…
www.sciencedirect.com
March 5, 2025 at 7:04 PM
New research from @jordanbisanz.bsky.social et al. used machine learning to design C. difficile suppressive synthetic microbiomes. 🦠
This is a big step towards reducing antibiotic use & making a safer and more effective fecal microbiome transplant alternative.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
This is a big step towards reducing antibiotic use & making a safer and more effective fecal microbiome transplant alternative.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
Happy to announce that MEDI, our method to quantify dietary intake through metagenomics is out now. 🧬 🧪🧫🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s42...
#metagenomics #microbiome #microbiomesky
So what is MEDI? A combination of two things:
#metagenomics #microbiome #microbiomesky
So what is MEDI? A combination of two things:
Metagenomic estimation of dietary intake from human stool - Nature Metabolism
Diener et al. present a method that allows the estimation of dietary intake from human stool by detecting food-derived DNA in faecal metagenomes.
www.nature.com
February 18, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Happy to announce that MEDI, our method to quantify dietary intake through metagenomics is out now. 🧬 🧪🧫🦠 www.nature.com/articles/s42...
#metagenomics #microbiome #microbiomesky
So what is MEDI? A combination of two things:
#metagenomics #microbiome #microbiomesky
So what is MEDI? A combination of two things:
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
Well. I have been informed that it is the weekend, again.
When you are ready to sit down together & figure out what just happened and what to do, we’ve got you: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
It’s also okay if you’re coming in hot! “What the actual fuck??” is a sensible start place at the moment.
When you are ready to sit down together & figure out what just happened and what to do, we’ve got you: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
It’s also okay if you’re coming in hot! “What the actual fuck??” is a sensible start place at the moment.
Week 3
Figuring out what to focus on now & what to focus on next in science and higher ed
buttondown.com
February 8, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Well. I have been informed that it is the weekend, again.
When you are ready to sit down together & figure out what just happened and what to do, we’ve got you: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
It’s also okay if you’re coming in hot! “What the actual fuck??” is a sensible start place at the moment.
When you are ready to sit down together & figure out what just happened and what to do, we’ve got you: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
It’s also okay if you’re coming in hot! “What the actual fuck??” is a sensible start place at the moment.
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
Starting my Bluesky adventure by highlighting a new paper from the lab!
"A human gut bacterium antagonizes neighboring bacteria by altering their protein folding ability" @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social
@yalemedicine.bsky.social Andrew Goodman
www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...
@yalemedicine.bsky.social Andrew Goodman
www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...
A human gut bacterium antagonizes neighboring bacteria by altering their protein-folding ability
Antagonism shapes microbiomes. Lim et al. identify a mechanism used by human gut commensals
to antagonize related bacteria. The secreted effector Bte1 alters the protein-folding
machinery of targeted ...
www.cell.com
February 5, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Starting my Bluesky adventure by highlighting a new paper from the lab!
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
I’ve unfortunately needed to add more material to my post from yesterday. The re-election of Donald Trump is looking like the biggest act of American self-destruction since the Civil War.
Same link, new title and some updates.
Same link, new title and some updates.
Revised and Extended: What's Happening Inside the NIH and NSF
www.science.org
February 5, 2025 at 5:17 PM
I’ve unfortunately needed to add more material to my post from yesterday. The re-election of Donald Trump is looking like the biggest act of American self-destruction since the Civil War.
Same link, new title and some updates.
Same link, new title and some updates.
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
Happy to share our new paper in @naturemicrobiol.bsky.social on mapping spatial relationships of the human gut microbiome. We identified distinct spatial hubs between gut bacteria that reflect sub-community assemblies at the micron-scale. Led by Miles Richardson & co.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
SAMPL-seq reveals micron-scale spatial hubs in the human gut microbiome - Nature Microbiology
Split-And-pool Metagenomic Plot-sampling sequencing (SAMPL-seq) can be applied to complex microbial communities to reveal spatial co-localization of microbes at the micron scale.
www.nature.com
February 3, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Happy to share our new paper in @naturemicrobiol.bsky.social on mapping spatial relationships of the human gut microbiome. We identified distinct spatial hubs between gut bacteria that reflect sub-community assemblies at the micron-scale. Led by Miles Richardson & co.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
ASM website screenshots from the wayback machine in December '24 (web.archive.org/web/20241211...) vs today. Pretty disappointing!! 🧪
February 2, 2025 at 6:54 PM
ASM website screenshots from the wayback machine in December '24 (web.archive.org/web/20241211...) vs today. Pretty disappointing!! 🧪
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
Out now in @nature.com: Gut microbiome diversity across African populations - a valuable resource for further research and foundational for global health equity. 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Expanding the human gut microbiome atlas of Africa - Nature
A cross-sectional study from four African countries shows the importance of investigating the gut microbiome in previously under-represented populations and provides a framework for equitable microbio...
www.nature.com
January 30, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Out now in @nature.com: Gut microbiome diversity across African populations - a valuable resource for further research and foundational for global health equity. 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
@lizneeley.bsky.social is publishing a weekly newsletter to track the ongoing attacks in science and higher ed. If you want to keep abreast without drowning in the news, I recommend it: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
February 1, 2025 at 5:34 PM
@lizneeley.bsky.social is publishing a weekly newsletter to track the ongoing attacks in science and higher ed. If you want to keep abreast without drowning in the news, I recommend it: buttondown.com/liminalcreat...
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
Today we report a new compendium of human gut microbiomes with >168,000 samples
By analyzing this massive dataset, we discovered distinct microbiome patterns across the globe, and show we can predict where a person lives just from their gut bacteria
Now out in Cell:
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
By analyzing this massive dataset, we discovered distinct microbiome patterns across the globe, and show we can predict where a person lives just from their gut bacteria
Now out in Cell:
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Integration of 168,000 samples reveals global patterns of the human gut microbiome
The Human Microbiome Compendium is a unified database of publicly available human
gut microbiome 16S samples, built with the integrated data from hundreds of independent
projects. The compendium is us...
www.cell.com
January 22, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Today we report a new compendium of human gut microbiomes with >168,000 samples
By analyzing this massive dataset, we discovered distinct microbiome patterns across the globe, and show we can predict where a person lives just from their gut bacteria
Now out in Cell:
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
By analyzing this massive dataset, we discovered distinct microbiome patterns across the globe, and show we can predict where a person lives just from their gut bacteria
Now out in Cell:
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
Microbiome science needs more microbiologists- A new commentary authored by myself and @abaumler.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Microbiome science needs more microbiologists - Nature Microbiology
Microbiome science is a multi-disciplinary field, but classical microbiologists are needed to ensure advances are grounded in our understanding of basic microbiological concepts.
www.nature.com
January 23, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Microbiome science needs more microbiologists- A new commentary authored by myself and @abaumler.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
Our study @cellpress.bsky.social finds healthy Canadians that consume a non-industrialized-type #diet can modulate their #microbiome, boost beneficial metabolites and improve their health. In just 3 weeks:
LDL cholesterol ↓17%
fasting glucose ↓6%
CRP ↓ 14%
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
LDL cholesterol ↓17%
fasting glucose ↓6%
CRP ↓ 14%
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Cardiometabolic benefits of a non-industrialized-type diet are linked to gut microbiome modulation
Is it possible to restore the human gut microbiome in industrialized settings and
reintroduce microbial species that have been lost? In healthy adults, Li et al. found
that consuming a diet mimicking ...
www.cell.com
January 23, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Our study @cellpress.bsky.social finds healthy Canadians that consume a non-industrialized-type #diet can modulate their #microbiome, boost beneficial metabolites and improve their health. In just 3 weeks:
LDL cholesterol ↓17%
fasting glucose ↓6%
CRP ↓ 14%
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
LDL cholesterol ↓17%
fasting glucose ↓6%
CRP ↓ 14%
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Reposted by Margaret Alexander
We are hiring a new faculty member in my dept at Minn State Mankato! This person will teach human anat/phys for bio majors and run a research program with undergrad and M.S. students. I'm happy to answer questions about what it's like here as new faculty!
Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences (Human Anatomy and Physiology, AA26057)
All Job Postings will close at 12:01 a.m. CT on the specified Closing Date (if designated). Working Title: Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences (Human Anatomy and Physiology, AA2605...
minnstate.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com
January 14, 2025 at 10:39 PM
We are hiring a new faculty member in my dept at Minn State Mankato! This person will teach human anat/phys for bio majors and run a research program with undergrad and M.S. students. I'm happy to answer questions about what it's like here as new faculty!