Mick Westbury
@mick2474.bsky.social
Kiwi 🇳🇿 Associate professor at the Technical University of Denmark working on modern and ancient genomics from various species.
Pinned
Mick Westbury
@mick2474.bsky.social
· Sep 5
Excited to share that I’ve started as Associate Professor at the Technical University of Denmark! 🧑🎓
I also received an a NNF Emerging Investigator grant to use genomics + machine learning to study extinction.
👉 PhD & Postdoc positions coming soon — follow for updates!
Reposts appreciated 🙏
I also received an a NNF Emerging Investigator grant to use genomics + machine learning to study extinction.
👉 PhD & Postdoc positions coming soon — follow for updates!
Reposts appreciated 🙏
Reposted by Mick Westbury
Our Q&A article on inbreeding for conservation is out in BMC Biology!
We discuss some important key concepts related to inbreeding in the light of new genomic tools and what it means for conservation when we want to improve species survival.
#consgen
bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
We discuss some important key concepts related to inbreeding in the light of new genomic tools and what it means for conservation when we want to improve species survival.
#consgen
bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Q&A: inbreeding and its implications for conservation - BMC Biology
Inbreeding depression plays a role in the decline, endangerment, and extinction of small populations, and thus inbreeding has received much attention in conservation biology. The term inbreeding is us...
bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com
October 22, 2025 at 6:20 AM
Our Q&A article on inbreeding for conservation is out in BMC Biology!
We discuss some important key concepts related to inbreeding in the light of new genomic tools and what it means for conservation when we want to improve species survival.
#consgen
bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
We discuss some important key concepts related to inbreeding in the light of new genomic tools and what it means for conservation when we want to improve species survival.
#consgen
bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10....
Deadline for this PhD position is coming on Friday. Please apply and/or share
🦣🍖🧬 Fully funded 3-yr PhD in palaeogenomics & bioinformatics! Help me push non-model palaeogenomes beyond their limits @DTU in Denmark.
Start: Feb 2026 (flexible)
Application deadline: 24 Oct 2025
For details click here: tinyurl.com/BioExtPhD
Reposts appreciated 😁
Start: Feb 2026 (flexible)
Application deadline: 24 Oct 2025
For details click here: tinyurl.com/BioExtPhD
Reposts appreciated 😁
October 19, 2025 at 5:28 AM
Deadline for this PhD position is coming on Friday. Please apply and/or share
Only one week left to apply
☠️🧬 2-yr Postdoc in in Genomic Simulations and Extinction Risk Modelling!
Let's figure out the Genomic signs of Extinction @DTU in Denmark.
Start: Feb 2026 (flexible)
Application deadline: 24 Oct 2025
For details click here: tinyurl.com/BioExtPD
Reposts appreciated 😁
Let's figure out the Genomic signs of Extinction @DTU in Denmark.
Start: Feb 2026 (flexible)
Application deadline: 24 Oct 2025
For details click here: tinyurl.com/BioExtPD
Reposts appreciated 😁
October 17, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Only one week left to apply
Reposted by Mick Westbury
Happy to share the latest publication from our labs on the Apennine brown bear, a relict population not far from Rome, Italy. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2504409122
Thanks to great co-auths, we moved beyond our "genomic" comfort zone incl. cellular experiments and molecular dynamics simulations.
Thanks to great co-auths, we moved beyond our "genomic" comfort zone incl. cellular experiments and molecular dynamics simulations.
A fixed mutation in the respiratory complex I impairs mitochondrial bioenergetics in the endangered Apennine brown bear | PNAS
Effective conservation genomics of endangered species requires realistic understanding
of the fitness consequences caused by the accumulation of de...
www.pnas.org
October 3, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Happy to share the latest publication from our labs on the Apennine brown bear, a relict population not far from Rome, Italy. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2504409122
Thanks to great co-auths, we moved beyond our "genomic" comfort zone incl. cellular experiments and molecular dynamics simulations.
Thanks to great co-auths, we moved beyond our "genomic" comfort zone incl. cellular experiments and molecular dynamics simulations.
Reposted by Mick Westbury
🦴🧬🦴🧬🦴
Abstract submission is now open for the 1st International Conference on Palaeogenomics!
June 23–26 2026, in Stockholm.
Join researchers from across the field for 4 days and >100 talks (+ poster sessions)!
Submit abstracts here 👉
icp2026.palaeogenomics.org/abstracts/
Deadline: Nov 30th
Abstract submission is now open for the 1st International Conference on Palaeogenomics!
June 23–26 2026, in Stockholm.
Join researchers from across the field for 4 days and >100 talks (+ poster sessions)!
Submit abstracts here 👉
icp2026.palaeogenomics.org/abstracts/
Deadline: Nov 30th
October 1, 2025 at 1:28 PM
🦴🧬🦴🧬🦴
Abstract submission is now open for the 1st International Conference on Palaeogenomics!
June 23–26 2026, in Stockholm.
Join researchers from across the field for 4 days and >100 talks (+ poster sessions)!
Submit abstracts here 👉
icp2026.palaeogenomics.org/abstracts/
Deadline: Nov 30th
Abstract submission is now open for the 1st International Conference on Palaeogenomics!
June 23–26 2026, in Stockholm.
Join researchers from across the field for 4 days and >100 talks (+ poster sessions)!
Submit abstracts here 👉
icp2026.palaeogenomics.org/abstracts/
Deadline: Nov 30th
Reposted by Mick Westbury
Excited to share our new paper in
@GeneticsGSA
! We developed "Retriever," a novel method that enables high-quality genotype imputation in non-model organisms. 🧬 Congratulations to Charles on his first PhD paper!
Paper: doi.org/10.1093/gene...
A thread 🧵👇
@GeneticsGSA
! We developed "Retriever," a novel method that enables high-quality genotype imputation in non-model organisms. 🧬 Congratulations to Charles on his first PhD paper!
Paper: doi.org/10.1093/gene...
A thread 🧵👇
Chimeric Reference Panels for Genomic Imputation
Abstract. Despite transformative advances in genomic technologies, missing data remains a fundamental constraint that limits the full potential of genomic
doi.org
October 2, 2025 at 2:37 AM
Excited to share our new paper in
@GeneticsGSA
! We developed "Retriever," a novel method that enables high-quality genotype imputation in non-model organisms. 🧬 Congratulations to Charles on his first PhD paper!
Paper: doi.org/10.1093/gene...
A thread 🧵👇
@GeneticsGSA
! We developed "Retriever," a novel method that enables high-quality genotype imputation in non-model organisms. 🧬 Congratulations to Charles on his first PhD paper!
Paper: doi.org/10.1093/gene...
A thread 🧵👇
Reposted by Mick Westbury
I have funding for a 2-year dry-lab postdoc to join our team @humanevouu.bsky.social 🧪 (Deadline Oct 21st)
The project will utilize modern and #aDNA data from humans and sheep to study environmental adaptation (including method development and simulations).
Please share!
www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
The project will utilize modern and #aDNA data from humans and sheep to study environmental adaptation (including method development and simulations).
Please share!
www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
Postdoctoral position in Population Genomics - Uppsala University
Postdoctoral position in Population Genomics, Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University
www.uu.se
September 17, 2025 at 9:15 AM
I have funding for a 2-year dry-lab postdoc to join our team @humanevouu.bsky.social 🧪 (Deadline Oct 21st)
The project will utilize modern and #aDNA data from humans and sheep to study environmental adaptation (including method development and simulations).
Please share!
www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
The project will utilize modern and #aDNA data from humans and sheep to study environmental adaptation (including method development and simulations).
Please share!
www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
☠️🧬 2-yr Postdoc in in Genomic Simulations and Extinction Risk Modelling!
Let's figure out the Genomic signs of Extinction @DTU in Denmark.
Start: Feb 2026 (flexible)
Application deadline: 24 Oct 2025
For details click here: tinyurl.com/BioExtPD
Reposts appreciated 😁
Let's figure out the Genomic signs of Extinction @DTU in Denmark.
Start: Feb 2026 (flexible)
Application deadline: 24 Oct 2025
For details click here: tinyurl.com/BioExtPD
Reposts appreciated 😁
September 12, 2025 at 11:52 AM
☠️🧬 2-yr Postdoc in in Genomic Simulations and Extinction Risk Modelling!
Let's figure out the Genomic signs of Extinction @DTU in Denmark.
Start: Feb 2026 (flexible)
Application deadline: 24 Oct 2025
For details click here: tinyurl.com/BioExtPD
Reposts appreciated 😁
Let's figure out the Genomic signs of Extinction @DTU in Denmark.
Start: Feb 2026 (flexible)
Application deadline: 24 Oct 2025
For details click here: tinyurl.com/BioExtPD
Reposts appreciated 😁
🦣🍖🧬 Fully funded 3-yr PhD in palaeogenomics & bioinformatics! Help me push non-model palaeogenomes beyond their limits @DTU in Denmark.
Start: Feb 2026 (flexible)
Application deadline: 24 Oct 2025
For details click here: tinyurl.com/BioExtPhD
Reposts appreciated 😁
Start: Feb 2026 (flexible)
Application deadline: 24 Oct 2025
For details click here: tinyurl.com/BioExtPhD
Reposts appreciated 😁
September 9, 2025 at 7:37 AM
🦣🍖🧬 Fully funded 3-yr PhD in palaeogenomics & bioinformatics! Help me push non-model palaeogenomes beyond their limits @DTU in Denmark.
Start: Feb 2026 (flexible)
Application deadline: 24 Oct 2025
For details click here: tinyurl.com/BioExtPhD
Reposts appreciated 😁
Start: Feb 2026 (flexible)
Application deadline: 24 Oct 2025
For details click here: tinyurl.com/BioExtPhD
Reposts appreciated 😁
Excited to share that I’ve started as Associate Professor at the Technical University of Denmark! 🧑🎓
I also received an a NNF Emerging Investigator grant to use genomics + machine learning to study extinction.
👉 PhD & Postdoc positions coming soon — follow for updates!
Reposts appreciated 🙏
I also received an a NNF Emerging Investigator grant to use genomics + machine learning to study extinction.
👉 PhD & Postdoc positions coming soon — follow for updates!
Reposts appreciated 🙏
September 5, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Excited to share that I’ve started as Associate Professor at the Technical University of Denmark! 🧑🎓
I also received an a NNF Emerging Investigator grant to use genomics + machine learning to study extinction.
👉 PhD & Postdoc positions coming soon — follow for updates!
Reposts appreciated 🙏
I also received an a NNF Emerging Investigator grant to use genomics + machine learning to study extinction.
👉 PhD & Postdoc positions coming soon — follow for updates!
Reposts appreciated 🙏
Reposted by Mick Westbury
GhostParser: A highly scalable phylogenomic approach for the identification of ghost introgression https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.21.671585v1
August 23, 2025 at 6:47 AM
GhostParser: A highly scalable phylogenomic approach for the identification of ghost introgression https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.21.671585v1
Reposted by Mick Westbury
Phyling: phylogenetic inference from annotated genomes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.30.666921v1
August 2, 2025 at 5:48 AM
Phyling: phylogenetic inference from annotated genomes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.07.30.666921v1
Reposted by Mick Westbury
Accounting for population structure and data quality in demographic inference with linkage disequilibrium methods
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Accounting for population structure and data quality in demographic inference with linkage disequilibrium methods - Nature Communications
Accurate estimation of effective population size is critical for understanding population history but is often confounded by structure and data quality. Here, the authors show that GONE2 and currentNe...
www.nature.com
July 5, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Accounting for population structure and data quality in demographic inference with linkage disequilibrium methods
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Mick Westbury
Would you like to come to work with us here at @Macroecology ? The Center is opening six new positions!
macroecology.ku.dk/people/posit...
macroecology.ku.dk/people/posit...
Open Positions
Positions and vacancies at the Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate
macroecology.ku.dk
June 30, 2025 at 9:09 AM
Would you like to come to work with us here at @Macroecology ? The Center is opening six new positions!
macroecology.ku.dk/people/posit...
macroecology.ku.dk/people/posit...
Reposted by Mick Westbury
So happy to see our work published in MBE after a helpful and constructive journey with Editors and Reviewers!! #wildpopulation #nonmodels #E-Ranticorrelation #evolutionaryresearch #Aptenodytes #largepenguins
June 27, 2025 at 1:47 PM
So happy to see our work published in MBE after a helpful and constructive journey with Editors and Reviewers!! #wildpopulation #nonmodels #E-Ranticorrelation #evolutionaryresearch #Aptenodytes #largepenguins
Reposted by Mick Westbury
New paper reviewing the world's 10,443 Critically Endangered species: their status, distribution threats and the actions needed for their recovery
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
The status, threats and conservation of Critically Endangered species - Nature Reviews Biodiversity
Species classified as Critically Endangered are at greatest risk of extinction, and their preservation and recovery are crucial to meeting global biodiversity aims. This Review assesses the geographic...
www.nature.com
June 25, 2025 at 10:43 AM
New paper reviewing the world's 10,443 Critically Endangered species: their status, distribution threats and the actions needed for their recovery
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
www.nature.com/articles/s44...
Reposted by Mick Westbury
Postdoc position in my group in Tokyo!
Please get in touch if you are interested.
And happy to discuss projects - these would range from developing new methods to analysis of new genomes that we are now sequencing in the lab.
Job Ad: www.riken.jp/en/careers/r...
Lab page: speidellab.github.io
Please get in touch if you are interested.
And happy to discuss projects - these would range from developing new methods to analysis of new genomes that we are now sequencing in the lab.
Job Ad: www.riken.jp/en/careers/r...
Lab page: speidellab.github.io
Seeking a few Postdoctoral Researchers at Mathematical Genomics RIKEN ECL Research Unit (25-695)
www.riken.jp
June 25, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Postdoc position in my group in Tokyo!
Please get in touch if you are interested.
And happy to discuss projects - these would range from developing new methods to analysis of new genomes that we are now sequencing in the lab.
Job Ad: www.riken.jp/en/careers/r...
Lab page: speidellab.github.io
Please get in touch if you are interested.
And happy to discuss projects - these would range from developing new methods to analysis of new genomes that we are now sequencing in the lab.
Job Ad: www.riken.jp/en/careers/r...
Lab page: speidellab.github.io
Reposted by Mick Westbury
Interested in range-wide grey seal population structure and demographic history? See our new open access study! It was a fantastic international collaboration and special thanks to @tangeolsen.bsky.social and Kristina Cammen 🧬🦭.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
#MarineMammals #PopGen #consgen
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
#MarineMammals #PopGen #consgen
June 21, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Interested in range-wide grey seal population structure and demographic history? See our new open access study! It was a fantastic international collaboration and special thanks to @tangeolsen.bsky.social and Kristina Cammen 🧬🦭.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
#MarineMammals #PopGen #consgen
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
#MarineMammals #PopGen #consgen
Reposted by Mick Westbury
A Guide for Developing Demo-Genetic Models to Simulate Genetic Rescue 🧬 #popgen #consgen onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
A Guide for Developing Demo‐Genetic Models to Simulate Genetic Rescue
Genetic rescue is a conservation management strategy that reduces the negative effects of genetic drift and inbreeding in small and isolated populations. However, such populations might already be vu...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
June 20, 2025 at 10:02 AM
A Guide for Developing Demo-Genetic Models to Simulate Genetic Rescue 🧬 #popgen #consgen onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Mick Westbury
So nice to be a small part of this extensive reference book on deer!
🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌
#mammals #deer #RuminantsRule
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌
#mammals #deer #RuminantsRule
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Deer of the World
This book is the first reference work ever published on the systematics, ecology, conservation status and management of all the world's deer species.
link.springer.com
June 20, 2025 at 11:17 AM
So nice to be a small part of this extensive reference book on deer!
🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌
#mammals #deer #RuminantsRule
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌 🦌
#mammals #deer #RuminantsRule
link.springer.com/book/10.1007...
Reposted by Mick Westbury
A 4-year postdoc position in population genomics is available in my group at the University of East Anglia, to work on a project sequencing a thousand fox genomes across rural and urban environments in the UK.
vacancies.uea.ac.uk/vacancies/15...
vacancies.uea.ac.uk/vacancies/15...
Senior Research Associate in Population Genomics (RA2327) in University of East Anglia | UEA
View details and apply for this Senior Research Associate in Population Genomics (RA2327) vacancy in University of East Anglia. Faculty of Science
School of Biological Sciences
Senior Research A...
vacancies.uea.ac.uk
June 13, 2025 at 8:46 AM
A 4-year postdoc position in population genomics is available in my group at the University of East Anglia, to work on a project sequencing a thousand fox genomes across rural and urban environments in the UK.
vacancies.uea.ac.uk/vacancies/15...
vacancies.uea.ac.uk/vacancies/15...
Reposted by Mick Westbury
New Science paper: 15,845 tracked individuals across 121 species to identify spatial conservation targets www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
led by @anammsequeira.bsky.social
led by @anammsequeira.bsky.social
June 9, 2025 at 3:49 AM
New Science paper: 15,845 tracked individuals across 121 species to identify spatial conservation targets www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
led by @anammsequeira.bsky.social
led by @anammsequeira.bsky.social
Reposted by Mick Westbury
SHARK: web server for alignment-free homology assessment for intrinsically disordered and unalignable protein regions. #ProteinHomology #WebServer #Bioinformatics #Genomics 🧬 🖥️ @narjournal.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/nar/advance-...
academic.oup.com/nar/advance-...
SHARK: web server for alignment-free homology assessment for intrinsically disordered and unalignable protein regions
Abstract. Whereas alignment has been fundamental to sequence-based assessments of protein homology, it is ineffective for intrinsically disordered regions
academic.oup.com
May 31, 2025 at 4:53 PM
SHARK: web server for alignment-free homology assessment for intrinsically disordered and unalignable protein regions. #ProteinHomology #WebServer #Bioinformatics #Genomics 🧬 🖥️ @narjournal.bsky.social
academic.oup.com/nar/advance-...
academic.oup.com/nar/advance-...
Reposted by Mick Westbury
🐋 ANOTHER ONE 🐋 !!!
We have a hot new #bowhead #whale preprint out now on @biorxiv-bioinfo.bsky.social, co-led with @mick2474.bsky.social !
We show what is possible when you integrate genomic and ecological data to tell an insightful story about this charismatic #Arctic endemic! 🧬
Thread: 1/🐋
We have a hot new #bowhead #whale preprint out now on @biorxiv-bioinfo.bsky.social, co-led with @mick2474.bsky.social !
We show what is possible when you integrate genomic and ecological data to tell an insightful story about this charismatic #Arctic endemic! 🧬
Thread: 1/🐋
May 28, 2025 at 7:00 AM
🐋 ANOTHER ONE 🐋 !!!
We have a hot new #bowhead #whale preprint out now on @biorxiv-bioinfo.bsky.social, co-led with @mick2474.bsky.social !
We show what is possible when you integrate genomic and ecological data to tell an insightful story about this charismatic #Arctic endemic! 🧬
Thread: 1/🐋
We have a hot new #bowhead #whale preprint out now on @biorxiv-bioinfo.bsky.social, co-led with @mick2474.bsky.social !
We show what is possible when you integrate genomic and ecological data to tell an insightful story about this charismatic #Arctic endemic! 🧬
Thread: 1/🐋
Reposted by Mick Westbury
Interested in measuring genetic load? We have a new paper out providing a modified version of GERP which is more user friendly in wildlife species and with scripts to automate making input files and pulling out derived alleles in your species #consgen #popgen star-protocols.cell.com/protocols/4202
Cell Press: STAR Protocols
STAR Protocols is an open access, peer-reviewed journal from Cell Press. We offer structured, transparent, accessible, and repeatable step-by-step experimental and computational protocols from all are...
star-protocols.cell.com
May 21, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Interested in measuring genetic load? We have a new paper out providing a modified version of GERP which is more user friendly in wildlife species and with scripts to automate making input files and pulling out derived alleles in your species #consgen #popgen star-protocols.cell.com/protocols/4202