Melanie Blokesch
@mblokesch.bsky.social
Professor of Life Sciences & Director Global Health Institute @EPFL_en. Passionate about science 🤩 Views are my own.
Pinned
Melanie Blokesch
@mblokesch.bsky.social
· May 22
West African–South American pandemic Vibrio cholerae encodes multiple distinct phage defence systems - Nature Microbiology
The West African–South American lineage of Vibrio cholerae contains multiple distinct anti-phage defence systems that provide resistance to various phage families, including vibriophage ICP1, a key pr...
www.nature.com
Exciting news!! Our latest paper is out in Nat. Microbiol. @natmicrobiol.nature.com
We show that a sub-lineage of 7th pandemic V. cholerae has acquired mobile genetic elements packed with phage defense systems—rendering it multi-phage resistant 😳 ..... 1/3
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We show that a sub-lineage of 7th pandemic V. cholerae has acquired mobile genetic elements packed with phage defense systems—rendering it multi-phage resistant 😳 ..... 1/3
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
So much work still to do to break the glass ceiling!
Analysis of millions of biomed & life science articles reveal that female-authored articles spend longer under review than comparable male-authored ones
@plosbiology.org
🧪 plos.io/4658FZN
Analysis of millions of biomed & life science articles reveal that female-authored articles spend longer under review than comparable male-authored ones
@plosbiology.org
🧪 plos.io/4658FZN
Biomedical and life science articles by female researchers spend longer under review
Women are underrepresented in academia, especially in STEMM fields, at top institutions, and in senior positions. This study analyzes millions of biomedical and life science articles, revealing that f...
plos.io
January 23, 2026 at 5:30 PM
So much work still to do to break the glass ceiling!
Analysis of millions of biomed & life science articles reveal that female-authored articles spend longer under review than comparable male-authored ones
@plosbiology.org
🧪 plos.io/4658FZN
Analysis of millions of biomed & life science articles reveal that female-authored articles spend longer under review than comparable male-authored ones
@plosbiology.org
🧪 plos.io/4658FZN
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
www.findaphd.com/phds/project... interested in bacterial antagonism? PhD opportunity in our team, see below. Please repost!
Characterising antibacterial toxins in the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes at Newcastle University on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Characterising antibacterial toxins in the food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes at Newcastle University, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
January 23, 2026 at 10:33 AM
www.findaphd.com/phds/project... interested in bacterial antagonism? PhD opportunity in our team, see below. Please repost!
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
Our latest CRISPR ring nuclease paper focusses on Csx15 - which seems to act as of a sponge as well as a canonical phosphodiesterase. Great work led by @haotianchi.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org
January 22, 2026 at 8:57 AM
Our latest CRISPR ring nuclease paper focusses on Csx15 - which seems to act as of a sponge as well as a canonical phosphodiesterase. Great work led by @haotianchi.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
Join us in congratulating Philip J. Kranzusch (@kranzuschlab.bsky.social) of @danafarber.bsky.social and @harvardmed.bsky.social, winner of the 2026 NAS Award in Molecular Biology for his groundbreaking work advancing understanding of innate immunity! www.nasonline.org/award/nas-aw... #NASaward
January 22, 2026 at 4:04 PM
Join us in congratulating Philip J. Kranzusch (@kranzuschlab.bsky.social) of @danafarber.bsky.social and @harvardmed.bsky.social, winner of the 2026 NAS Award in Molecular Biology for his groundbreaking work advancing understanding of innate immunity! www.nasonline.org/award/nas-aw... #NASaward
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
The @dmf-unil.bsky.social is supporting the application of a candidate for the SNSF/ERC Starting Grant (deadline 5th of May). Reach out to me if you are interested. We are collecting CV’s until the 8th of Feb. We can offer a stimulating scientific environment and help with the application/interview.
January 20, 2026 at 3:41 PM
The @dmf-unil.bsky.social is supporting the application of a candidate for the SNSF/ERC Starting Grant (deadline 5th of May). Reach out to me if you are interested. We are collecting CV’s until the 8th of Feb. We can offer a stimulating scientific environment and help with the application/interview.
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
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
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...
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
🔬 Call to create junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur
Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies
📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD
Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...
#JobOpportunity #Research
Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies
📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD
Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...
#JobOpportunity #Research
Creation of new junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur - Call for applications 2026 - Research
The Institut Pasteur is launching an international call to recruit new junior research group leaders leveraging cutting-edge transdisciplinary approaches to exploring infectious diseases, host-microbe...
research.pasteur.fr
December 8, 2025 at 8:53 AM
🔬 Call to create junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur
Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies
📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD
Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...
#JobOpportunity #Research
Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies
📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD
Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...
#JobOpportunity #Research
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
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.
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
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
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.
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
As a German, I used to wonder quite how a whole country could come to accept fascism, but looking at the news in America it's now a lot easier to understand how these things are normalised. One thing to thank Trump for I guess
January 17, 2026 at 1:55 PM
As a German, I used to wonder quite how a whole country could come to accept fascism, but looking at the news in America it's now a lot easier to understand how these things are normalised. One thing to thank Trump for I guess
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
My team at @cbitoulouse.bsky.social is recruiting a postdoc #bioinformatics with solid experience in metagenomic analyses.
Interest in evolution, ecology & MGEs is important.
The offer stands until the perfect candidate is found, and it could be you 🫵
🔁 🙏
#microSky #phagesky #UTIsky
@cnrs.fr
Interest in evolution, ecology & MGEs is important.
The offer stands until the perfect candidate is found, and it could be you 🫵
🔁 🙏
#microSky #phagesky #UTIsky
@cnrs.fr
January 15, 2026 at 11:19 AM
My team at @cbitoulouse.bsky.social is recruiting a postdoc #bioinformatics with solid experience in metagenomic analyses.
Interest in evolution, ecology & MGEs is important.
The offer stands until the perfect candidate is found, and it could be you 🫵
🔁 🙏
#microSky #phagesky #UTIsky
@cnrs.fr
Interest in evolution, ecology & MGEs is important.
The offer stands until the perfect candidate is found, and it could be you 🫵
🔁 🙏
#microSky #phagesky #UTIsky
@cnrs.fr
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
Save the date, please RT:
Looking forward to an exciting International Symposium @spp2330.bsky.social "New concepts in prokaryotic virus-host interactions".
October 5-7, 2026; Harnack-Haus Berlin (Germany).
@dfg.de @hhu.de @fz-juelich.de
Looking forward to an exciting International Symposium @spp2330.bsky.social "New concepts in prokaryotic virus-host interactions".
October 5-7, 2026; Harnack-Haus Berlin (Germany).
@dfg.de @hhu.de @fz-juelich.de
January 14, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Save the date, please RT:
Looking forward to an exciting International Symposium @spp2330.bsky.social "New concepts in prokaryotic virus-host interactions".
October 5-7, 2026; Harnack-Haus Berlin (Germany).
@dfg.de @hhu.de @fz-juelich.de
Looking forward to an exciting International Symposium @spp2330.bsky.social "New concepts in prokaryotic virus-host interactions".
October 5-7, 2026; Harnack-Haus Berlin (Germany).
@dfg.de @hhu.de @fz-juelich.de
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
Ancestral sequence reconstruction reveals CTP-dependent loading of the bacterial centromere-binding protein ParB as an ancient evolutionary feature
Now published:
tinyurl.com/4ddhwbb3
Thanks to the Hochberg and Bange labs for the great collaboration!
Now published:
tinyurl.com/4ddhwbb3
Thanks to the Hochberg and Bange labs for the great collaboration!
January 9, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Ancestral sequence reconstruction reveals CTP-dependent loading of the bacterial centromere-binding protein ParB as an ancient evolutionary feature
Now published:
tinyurl.com/4ddhwbb3
Thanks to the Hochberg and Bange labs for the great collaboration!
Now published:
tinyurl.com/4ddhwbb3
Thanks to the Hochberg and Bange labs for the great collaboration!
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
We are hiring new faculty!! Come join our amazing community in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine! The deadline for applications is 2/21, but applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. facultyopportunities.wustl.edu/Posting/Deta...
Opportunity Details - Faculty Opportunities
facultyopportunities.wustl.edu
January 8, 2026 at 9:05 PM
We are hiring new faculty!! Come join our amazing community in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine! The deadline for applications is 2/21, but applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. facultyopportunities.wustl.edu/Posting/Deta...
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
If spending some time in the UK is of interest, my lab is advertising a PhD post presently with a deadline of Jan 8th.
For MSc enquiries, email me (see link) and see 2nd post.
mahansonresearch.weebly.com/blog/phd-stu...
1/2
For MSc enquiries, email me (see link) and see 2nd post.
mahansonresearch.weebly.com/blog/phd-stu...
1/2
PhD studentship! Deadline Jan 8th 2026
Cryptic fitness consequences of a selfish X chromosome
mahansonresearch.weebly.com
January 3, 2026 at 9:39 PM
If spending some time in the UK is of interest, my lab is advertising a PhD post presently with a deadline of Jan 8th.
For MSc enquiries, email me (see link) and see 2nd post.
mahansonresearch.weebly.com/blog/phd-stu...
1/2
For MSc enquiries, email me (see link) and see 2nd post.
mahansonresearch.weebly.com/blog/phd-stu...
1/2
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
Congratulations to Doi Basu @dwaipayanbasu.bsky.social for publishing his first first-author paper from the lab!
The cryoEM structure of a tubulin-like protein from bacteriophage Goslar forms "microtubules" with nine protofilaments!
authors.elsevier.com/a/1mM253SNvc...
The cryoEM structure of a tubulin-like protein from bacteriophage Goslar forms "microtubules" with nine protofilaments!
authors.elsevier.com/a/1mM253SNvc...
authors.elsevier.com
December 30, 2025 at 5:35 AM
Congratulations to Doi Basu @dwaipayanbasu.bsky.social for publishing his first first-author paper from the lab!
The cryoEM structure of a tubulin-like protein from bacteriophage Goslar forms "microtubules" with nine protofilaments!
authors.elsevier.com/a/1mM253SNvc...
The cryoEM structure of a tubulin-like protein from bacteriophage Goslar forms "microtubules" with nine protofilaments!
authors.elsevier.com/a/1mM253SNvc...
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
NEW: One of the most significant accomplishments of the Trump Admin: Decimating the US's humanitarian aid.
We went to S. Sudan to see the effects.
Rubio says no one has died from the cuts.
Spoiler: That's not true.
@annamaria.bsky.social & Brett Murphy:
www.propublica.org/article/usai...
We went to S. Sudan to see the effects.
Rubio says no one has died from the cuts.
Spoiler: That's not true.
@annamaria.bsky.social & Brett Murphy:
www.propublica.org/article/usai...
Trump Officials Celebrated With Cake After Slashing Aid. Then People Died of Cholera.
Behind closed doors in Washington, top advisers made a series of decisions that had devastating repercussions for the poorest country on earth. We went to South Sudan and found people who died as a re...
www.propublica.org
December 15, 2025 at 12:10 PM
NEW: One of the most significant accomplishments of the Trump Admin: Decimating the US's humanitarian aid.
We went to S. Sudan to see the effects.
Rubio says no one has died from the cuts.
Spoiler: That's not true.
@annamaria.bsky.social & Brett Murphy:
www.propublica.org/article/usai...
We went to S. Sudan to see the effects.
Rubio says no one has died from the cuts.
Spoiler: That's not true.
@annamaria.bsky.social & Brett Murphy:
www.propublica.org/article/usai...
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
Fer’s tour de force in B. anthracis is out! Fer got Tn-seq running, built an ordered knockout library, defined all essential sporulation genes, and found a peptidoglycan deacetylase inhibitor critical for engulfment. Including our first one-by-all Alphafold screen! journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Identification of sporulation genes in Bacillus anthracis highlights similarities and significant differences with Bacillus subtilis
How good is Bacillus subtilis as a model for the spore-forming pathogen Bacillus anthracis? Using high throughput genetics to identify B. anthracis sporulation genes and cytological analysis of the mu...
journals.plos.org
December 13, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Fer’s tour de force in B. anthracis is out! Fer got Tn-seq running, built an ordered knockout library, defined all essential sporulation genes, and found a peptidoglycan deacetylase inhibitor critical for engulfment. Including our first one-by-all Alphafold screen! journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Exciting new work from Rudner lab and more specifically Fer(nando) Ramírez-Guadiana in David's lab - my bench mate during my sabbatical earlier this year in the Helaine lab 🤩
Congrats to all authors 🥳🎉👏
Congrats to all authors 🥳🎉👏
Identification of sporulation genes in Bacillus anthracis highlights similarities and significant differences with Bacillus subtilis
@plosbiology.org from David Rudner
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
@plosbiology.org from David Rudner
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
Identification of sporulation genes in Bacillus anthracis highlights similarities and significant differences with Bacillus subtilis
How good is Bacillus subtilis as a model for the spore-forming pathogen Bacillus anthracis? Using high throughput genetics to identify B. anthracis sporulation genes and cytological analysis of the mu...
journals.plos.org
December 13, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Exciting new work from Rudner lab and more specifically Fer(nando) Ramírez-Guadiana in David's lab - my bench mate during my sabbatical earlier this year in the Helaine lab 🤩
Congrats to all authors 🥳🎉👏
Congrats to all authors 🥳🎉👏
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
🚨 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐛, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐁 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝! 🚨
We’re thrilled to share our new study revealing how the chromatin regulator SP140 preserves protective T cell immunity during #tuberculosis infection by restraining harmful type I IFN responses.
📖 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁: shorturl.at/r5jd9
We’re thrilled to share our new study revealing how the chromatin regulator SP140 preserves protective T cell immunity during #tuberculosis infection by restraining harmful type I IFN responses.
📖 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁: shorturl.at/r5jd9
December 11, 2025 at 6:07 AM
🚨 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐛, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐁 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝! 🚨
We’re thrilled to share our new study revealing how the chromatin regulator SP140 preserves protective T cell immunity during #tuberculosis infection by restraining harmful type I IFN responses.
📖 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁: shorturl.at/r5jd9
We’re thrilled to share our new study revealing how the chromatin regulator SP140 preserves protective T cell immunity during #tuberculosis infection by restraining harmful type I IFN responses.
📖 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁: shorturl.at/r5jd9
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
March 6, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
CryoET of microbes inside an animal organ? Yes it’s possible! Check out our new preprint showing how we did it! What an amazing collaboration with amazing scientists who made this possible!
Nanoscale imaging of native symbiotic animal tissue using amultimodal large volume imaging pipeline for cryo-electrontomography https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.30.691379v1
December 1, 2025 at 4:35 AM
CryoET of microbes inside an animal organ? Yes it’s possible! Check out our new preprint showing how we did it! What an amazing collaboration with amazing scientists who made this possible!
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
📢 We have multiple open PhD positions to study bacterial immune systems using cutting-edge cryo-EM, microbiology, and biochemistry in our group! Join us and uncover how bacterial defenses eliminate predators and engineer next-gen biotech tools.
🔥 Apply by Jan 8, 2026
Details: phd.pages.ista.ac.at
🔥 Apply by Jan 8, 2026
Details: phd.pages.ista.ac.at
phd.pages.ista.ac.at
December 2, 2025 at 8:44 AM
📢 We have multiple open PhD positions to study bacterial immune systems using cutting-edge cryo-EM, microbiology, and biochemistry in our group! Join us and uncover how bacterial defenses eliminate predators and engineer next-gen biotech tools.
🔥 Apply by Jan 8, 2026
Details: phd.pages.ista.ac.at
🔥 Apply by Jan 8, 2026
Details: phd.pages.ista.ac.at
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
The hinge bypass gate paper is finally out! doi.org/10.1038/s414...
We show how loop-extruding SMC complexes can maintain DNA entrapment while bypassing obstacles on DNA — including transcription machinery & potentially other SMCs.
A lucky convergence of 3 projects lead to the initial discovery!
We show how loop-extruding SMC complexes can maintain DNA entrapment while bypassing obstacles on DNA — including transcription machinery & potentially other SMCs.
A lucky convergence of 3 projects lead to the initial discovery!
The SMC Hinge is a Selective Gate for Obstacle Bypass - Nature Communications
SMC complexes are ring-shaped motors that fold DNA by extruding loops, but how they navigate large DNA obstacles is unclear. Here, Liu et al., show that SMC complexes bypass obstacles by threading obs...
doi.org
November 25, 2025 at 3:26 PM
The hinge bypass gate paper is finally out! doi.org/10.1038/s414...
We show how loop-extruding SMC complexes can maintain DNA entrapment while bypassing obstacles on DNA — including transcription machinery & potentially other SMCs.
A lucky convergence of 3 projects lead to the initial discovery!
We show how loop-extruding SMC complexes can maintain DNA entrapment while bypassing obstacles on DNA — including transcription machinery & potentially other SMCs.
A lucky convergence of 3 projects lead to the initial discovery!
Reposted by Melanie Blokesch
Really cool paper from @vincentdebakker.bsky.social @jonbakerlab.bsky.social now published @natcomms.nature.com #MicroSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Multi-omics profiling reveals atypical sugar utilization and a key membrane composition regulator in Streptococcus pneumoniae - Nature Communications
The pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae can adapt to diverse microenvironments in the human body. Here, De Bakker et al. study these adaptation responses, showing unusual sugar utilization and identifyi...
www.nature.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Really cool paper from @vincentdebakker.bsky.social @jonbakerlab.bsky.social now published @natcomms.nature.com #MicroSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...