Meaghan Castledine
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mcastd.bsky.social
Meaghan Castledine
@mcastd.bsky.social
Post-doc with Buckling lab 🦠 all things evolution, phage therapy and immune system interactions 🧫🔬 I also have a dog and enjoy nerdy things 🧝🏻‍♀️
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Hello new phage phollowers!

I am shamelessly self-promoting mine and Angus Buckling's relatively new review "Critically evaluating the relative importance of phage in shaping microbial community composition"

www.cell.com/trends/micro...
Critically evaluating the relative importance of phage in shaping microbial community composition
The ubiquity of bacteriophages (phages) and the major evolutionary and ecological impacts they can have on their microbial hosts has resulted in phages often cited as key drivers shaping microbial com...
www.cell.com
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
So much of this article is full of hope then,

"About 43% of respondents had experienced some form of discrimination or harassment.. in around four out of ten bullying cases, a student reported bullying by their supervisor."

We need safeguards in place to stop this from happening.
What makes PhD students happy? Good supervision
Supervisors who invest in positive mentoring relationships with their PhD candidates also reap the benefits for their own research.
www.nature.com
October 27, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
I have an MRC-funded PhD project available (www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...) on how warming will change the problem of AMR. Join a small and friendly group (padpadpadpad.netlify.app/about) in (sometimes) sunny Cornwall. 🧪🦠 #microsky

Please share the ad below with anyone who may be interested.
September 16, 2025 at 8:08 AM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
PhD fellowship in biofilm-phage interactions - with Mette Burmølle at University of Copenhagen 🇩🇰
deadline 1 October 2025

employment.ku.dk/faculty?show...

#phagesky #microsky
PhD fellowship in biofilm-phage interactions
employment.ku.dk
September 28, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
Now peer-reviewed, improved and published in @microbiologysociety.org Microbiology - thanks to editor and reviewers!

www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
September 26, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
In case you are wondering how you can enrich your science classes by using our educational resources - for primary and secondary schools alike.

In English, Welsh, Irish and Gaelic.

#ScienceIsFun

🦠🧫🔬🧑🏼‍🔬
Teacher's Corner — Superbugs - The microbial world in, on and around us
www.superbugs.online
September 11, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
Don’t miss the inaugural Conference on Bacteriophages: Biology, Dynamics, and Therapeutics, October 12–14, 2025, in Washington, DC. A 2.5-day program of invited talks, symposia, workshops, and abstracts will highlight the latest advances. For more info: bit.ly/3JUKLYL
September 10, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
PhD opportunity, please share:

We are looking for a prospective PhD student to start in October 2026 who is excited about bacteria (Klebsiella pneumoniae), how they interact, and how they exchange DNA.
All details can be found on the funder website 👉 gw4biomed.ac.uk/developing-c...
Developing CRISPR-Cas antimicrobials to tackle antibiotic resistance spread in Klebsiella pneumoniae - GW4 BioMed MRC DTP
Project Code MRCIIAR26Ex van Houte Project Type Wet lab Research Theme Infection, Immunity, Antimicrobial Resistance and Repair Project Summary Download Summary Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a ...
gw4biomed.ac.uk
September 2, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
New preprint reveals bacteria can't just collect all resistance genes like Pokemon cards.
We found mutually exclusive evolutionary pathways to multidrug resistance in E. coli & P. aeruginosa - some resistance mechanisms actively prevent others from coexisting www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Genomic constraints shape the evolution of alternative routes to drug resistance in prokaryotes
Background Variation within the prokaryotic pangenome is not random, and natural selection that favours particular combinations of genes appears to dominate over random drift. What is less clear is wh...
www.biorxiv.org
August 29, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
A new 4 year PostDoc position in our lab! Modeling + experiments to explore dynamics of carbon fixing hot-spring microbiomes. Part of an exciting multidisciplinary team with Sophie Nixon, @brockhurstlab.bsky.social & others

Please share & get in touch if interested!

tinyurl.com/e7j7bha3
Research Associate in Microbiome Ecology:Oxford Road
www.jobs.manchester.ac.uk
August 12, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Apply if you want to work with the nicest phage person ever!
August 8, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
📝New preprint!

We investigated how spatial structure affects cooperation between phages, combining mathematical modelling and experiments.

A short thread 🧶
The ambivalent effect of spatial structure on the spread of cooperative anti-CRISPR phages https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.06.668856v1
August 7, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Want to name a real virus? I have recently discovered 9 new phages which now need names! To enter, you simply need to donate to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust on my JustGiving page (£2 = 1 entry) and share your email with me on donation (see link info). Please share 💚 www.justgiving.com/page/meaghan-c-1
August 5, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
✍️ We had a great time writing this Spotlight article on one of our favorite topics: how phages interact with each other! 🦠
From cooperation to competition, phage-phage interactions reveal a fascinating layer of microbial life that’s often overlooked.
A piece crafted by the talented Josie Elliott!
June 4, 2025 at 9:15 AM
It’s really important for EDI that ECRs and PIs can have open, empathetic discussions about feedback and behaviour, without intimidation.

Respect from lab members comes from being able to challenge negative behaviour, and being listened to without discussions becoming a competition.
From bench to big boss: mitigating the widening gap between PI and lab

Laboratory dynamics can change as the age and experience of the principal investigator increase. But there are ways to combat this.

Read our piece in Nature, with @sprekeler.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
August 3, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
From bench to big boss: mitigating the widening gap between PI and lab

Laboratory dynamics can change as the age and experience of the principal investigator increase. But there are ways to combat this.

Read our piece in Nature, with @sprekeler.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/d41...
August 3, 2025 at 8:12 AM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
Our new paper on experimental evolution in wild tree-holes -Eco-evolutionary robustness of wild bacterial communities to experimental perturbation

#ISMEJournal
@duhitasant.bsky.social Tom Smith Edgar Wong Juli Cohen
@kayla-king.bsky.social
Tom Bell

academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
Eco-evolutionary robustness of wild bacterial communities to experimental perturbation
Abstract. Most knowledge about bacterial evolution and ecological interactions comes from laboratory studies. One difference between the wild and most labo
academic.oup.com
August 1, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
Please share! 🦠
Workshop on Phage Therapy in Liverpool on 25th November organised by Stineke van Houte, @jojofoth.bsky.social, @brockhurstlab.bsky.social, & Edze Westra.

Limited FREE tickets & more info here: sites.exeter.ac.uk/vanhoutelab/...

#MicroSky
July 22, 2025 at 7:03 PM
How do macrophages influence the evolution of phage resistance?

We show that macrophages reduce the efficacy of a bacteriophage cocktail 🦠, resulting in greater bacteria population densities which, in-turn, facilitate greater rates of phage resistance.

Pre-print 👇
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Antagonism between bacteriophages and macrophages decreases efficacy of a bacteriophage cocktail and increases bacteriophage resistance
Phage therapy, the use of viruses that infect bacteria (bacteriophages), is a promising complement to antibiotics during the antimicrobial resistance crisis, but treatment success is very variable. Ev...
www.biorxiv.org
July 10, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
Fresh from peer review a new and improved version of @taoranfu.bsky.social’s paper out today in @asm.org mSystems
journals.asm.org/eprint/8NWNW...
July 7, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Really exciting work! And comforting it supports our recent in vitro work that macrophages are “bad” for phage therapy ❤️
July 2, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
Beautiful new review paper in preprint bridging microbial ecology and classic ecology led by Maggie Vogel, @olimeacock.bsky.social and @annasophieweiss.bsky.social, also by @juliensluneau.bsky.social and @lambdapp.bsky.social from our lab (not me :)) ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
Bridging the scales: what can microbial ecologists learn from classic ecology?
ecoevorxiv.org
July 1, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Reposted by Meaghan Castledine
I'm super happy to share this preprint on ‘Distribution of capsule and O types in #Klebsiella pneumoniae causing neonatal sepsis in Africa and South Asia: meta-analysis of genome-predicted serotype prevalence and potential vaccine coverage’
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Distribution of capsule and O types in Klebsiella pneumoniae causing neonatal sepsis in Africa and South Asia: meta-analysis of genome-predicted serotype prevalence and potential vaccine coverage
Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae causes ~20% of sepsis in neonates, with ~40% crude mortality. A vaccine administered to pregnant women, protecting against 70% of K. pneumoniae infections, could aver...
doi.org
July 1, 2025 at 9:45 AM
New phage therapy publication!🦠 #phagesky

We analysed an MRSA phage therapy case study, assessing how predictions made in vitro differed when using one (standard practice) or multiple bacteria isolates from the patient.

Collaborative work: Exeter and Queen Astrid hospital

doi.org/10.1093/jamb...
Predicting clinical phage therapy outcomes in vitro: results using mixed versus single isolates from an MRSA case study
AbstractAims. In phage therapy case studies, 1–3 bacteria isolates are typically tested against phages (phagogram). However, as bacteria populations differ
doi.org
June 23, 2025 at 2:19 PM