Morgan Carter
@morgancarterphd.bsky.social
🌿 Asst Prof. #NewPI. Molecular host-bacterial-fungal interactions. NCSSM/NCSU/Cornell alum. Y'all means all. Views are my own. she/her
Pinned
Identifying Effective Cryoprotectant Agents for Emerging Bacterial Model Species
Host-associated bacteria live amongst eukaryotes within varied niches and form relationships ranging from facultative to obligate. With advancement in studies of such symbiotic associations, fastidiou...
www.biorxiv.org
After years of struggling with how to cryopreserve one of our endosymbiotic bacteria, we found something that worked!
🦠☃️
We crowd-sourced suggestions and then @ruthwright.bsky.social tried the most common ones (like 🥛...). Want to do the same? Here is how we did it:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🦠☃️
We crowd-sourced suggestions and then @ruthwright.bsky.social tried the most common ones (like 🥛...). Want to do the same? Here is how we did it:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Morgan Carter
Got given a subscription to @humblebundle.com monthly bundle this year which has inspired me to play through more of my backlog as well. Goal is to play a new game a day (if I play any games that day) and post about it here.
January 2, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Got given a subscription to @humblebundle.com monthly bundle this year which has inspired me to play through more of my backlog as well. Goal is to play a new game a day (if I play any games that day) and post about it here.
Reposted by Morgan Carter
One last read of this grant. Completely sick of it, so I know it’s ready.
December 22, 2025 at 4:18 PM
One last read of this grant. Completely sick of it, so I know it’s ready.
Reposted by Morgan Carter
New postdoctoral fellowship opportunity! Please pass along. Excited to announce the launch of the Tom Lovejoy Fellowship Program at the University of Arizona for innovative research to protect species, sustain ecosystems, and promote a thriving planet lovejoycenter.arizona.edu/lovejoy-fell... 🧪🌐🌾
December 19, 2025 at 6:11 PM
New postdoctoral fellowship opportunity! Please pass along. Excited to announce the launch of the Tom Lovejoy Fellowship Program at the University of Arizona for innovative research to protect species, sustain ecosystems, and promote a thriving planet lovejoycenter.arizona.edu/lovejoy-fell... 🧪🌐🌾
Reposted by Morgan Carter
Felt a little festive at the microscope this morning for #FluorescenceFriday 🎄
Here’s the nervous system of a juvenile sea star ⭐️
Green = acetylated tubulin, red = nuclei
Happy holidays!
Here’s the nervous system of a juvenile sea star ⭐️
Green = acetylated tubulin, red = nuclei
Happy holidays!
December 19, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Felt a little festive at the microscope this morning for #FluorescenceFriday 🎄
Here’s the nervous system of a juvenile sea star ⭐️
Green = acetylated tubulin, red = nuclei
Happy holidays!
Here’s the nervous system of a juvenile sea star ⭐️
Green = acetylated tubulin, red = nuclei
Happy holidays!
Reposted by Morgan Carter
I’m more optimistic than Terry here about the fundamentals of the review process…. But I think the lack of money will make it so the borderline grants he mentions here (and yep, it definitely happens like he says) won’t be funded anyway bc theres less money overall
Y'all, I just got out of the NSF-BIO webinar where they explained changes to peer review. It's not good. 🧪 scienceforeveryone.science/changes-to-n...
Changes to NSF peer review
They're not good. At all.
scienceforeveryone.science
December 18, 2025 at 9:04 PM
I’m more optimistic than Terry here about the fundamentals of the review process…. But I think the lack of money will make it so the borderline grants he mentions here (and yep, it definitely happens like he says) won’t be funded anyway bc theres less money overall
Reposted by Morgan Carter
NSF bio hour - NSF BIO lost 40% of its staff 😑
December 18, 2025 at 6:13 PM
NSF bio hour - NSF BIO lost 40% of its staff 😑
Reposted by Morgan Carter
Q&A
My favorite program has been archived, will it come back? Postdoc, etc…programs
They don’t know what’s coming back if they’re archived. They value postdoc program but they don’t know what’s coming back
My favorite program has been archived, will it come back? Postdoc, etc…programs
They don’t know what’s coming back if they’re archived. They value postdoc program but they don’t know what’s coming back
December 18, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Q&A
My favorite program has been archived, will it come back? Postdoc, etc…programs
They don’t know what’s coming back if they’re archived. They value postdoc program but they don’t know what’s coming back
My favorite program has been archived, will it come back? Postdoc, etc…programs
They don’t know what’s coming back if they’re archived. They value postdoc program but they don’t know what’s coming back
Reposted by Morgan Carter
Live thread of the NSF biology virtual office hour:
🧵
🧵
December 18, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Live thread of the NSF biology virtual office hour:
🧵
🧵
Reposted by Morgan Carter
Applications for the ASM Career Development Grant for Postdoctoral Women are due February 17!
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, this grant renewed my confidence in my career and helped me launch my predatory bacteria research program. How might it help you?
asm.org/fellowships/...
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, this grant renewed my confidence in my career and helped me launch my predatory bacteria research program. How might it help you?
asm.org/fellowships/...
Career Development Grant for Postdoctoral Women
The Career Development Grant for Postdoctoral Women, provides up to $2,000 to 5-8 postdoctoral women for research or leadership development.
asm.org
December 18, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Applications for the ASM Career Development Grant for Postdoctoral Women are due February 17!
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, this grant renewed my confidence in my career and helped me launch my predatory bacteria research program. How might it help you?
asm.org/fellowships/...
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, this grant renewed my confidence in my career and helped me launch my predatory bacteria research program. How might it help you?
asm.org/fellowships/...
Reposted by Morgan Carter
imagining a NSF PO handing a VC bro the stack of 10-to-15 proposals they'll have to be ready to discuss, then explaining that they'll be paid $600 for the three days of the panel meeting
December 17, 2025 at 9:16 PM
imagining a NSF PO handing a VC bro the stack of 10-to-15 proposals they'll have to be ready to discuss, then explaining that they'll be paid $600 for the three days of the panel meeting
Reposted by Morgan Carter
the sort of canonical raison d’être of NSF funding, of course, is that it supports research efforts that do not appeal to the venture capital/industry/near-term profit-motivated set,
The National Science Board, which oversees NSF, has published recommendations to update the foundation's merit review (which was just updated).
Below are the main points. www.nsf.gov/nsb/updates/...
Below are the main points. www.nsf.gov/nsb/updates/...
December 17, 2025 at 9:19 PM
the sort of canonical raison d’être of NSF funding, of course, is that it supports research efforts that do not appeal to the venture capital/industry/near-term profit-motivated set,
Reposted by Morgan Carter
Have you ever wondered: just how strong *is* the evidence for Muller's ratchet on mtDNA?
Well, wonder no more!
(Project led by Yu Mo, with @smishra677.bsky.social and @yadirapga.bsky.social)
"No molecular evidence for Muller's ratchet in mitochondrial genomes"
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Well, wonder no more!
(Project led by Yu Mo, with @smishra677.bsky.social and @yadirapga.bsky.social)
"No molecular evidence for Muller's ratchet in mitochondrial genomes"
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
No molecular evidence for Muller's ratchet in mitochondrial genomes
Muller's ratchet predicts that non-recombining genomes can accumulate deleterious mutations, though molecular evidence for it is rare. Previous studies have tried to detect ratchet-like behavior in mi...
www.biorxiv.org
December 17, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Have you ever wondered: just how strong *is* the evidence for Muller's ratchet on mtDNA?
Well, wonder no more!
(Project led by Yu Mo, with @smishra677.bsky.social and @yadirapga.bsky.social)
"No molecular evidence for Muller's ratchet in mitochondrial genomes"
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Well, wonder no more!
(Project led by Yu Mo, with @smishra677.bsky.social and @yadirapga.bsky.social)
"No molecular evidence for Muller's ratchet in mitochondrial genomes"
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Morgan Carter
Join Dr. Quan Zeng for "Illustrating a Novel Host Entry Mechanism of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria," part of our Advances in #phytobacteriology series.
Save your spot, and we'll see you Jan 15, 2026: https://bit.ly/3YnkfLz
FREE for members!
#apswebinar #phytobacteriology
Save your spot, and we'll see you Jan 15, 2026: https://bit.ly/3YnkfLz
FREE for members!
#apswebinar #phytobacteriology
December 16, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Join Dr. Quan Zeng for "Illustrating a Novel Host Entry Mechanism of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria," part of our Advances in #phytobacteriology series.
Save your spot, and we'll see you Jan 15, 2026: https://bit.ly/3YnkfLz
FREE for members!
#apswebinar #phytobacteriology
Save your spot, and we'll see you Jan 15, 2026: https://bit.ly/3YnkfLz
FREE for members!
#apswebinar #phytobacteriology
Reposted by Morgan Carter
Amid a whole host of other upheaval—their last day in the building is this Friday—NSF is making some changes to its grant review process. I spoke to staff about the potential benefits and drawbacks:
NSF softens grant-review rules to cope with backlog
Agency staff members say that the changes are reasonable, but they are worried about the potential effects on review.
www.nature.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Amid a whole host of other upheaval—their last day in the building is this Friday—NSF is making some changes to its grant review process. I spoke to staff about the potential benefits and drawbacks:
Reposted by Morgan Carter
Please repost
If you were to choose a new postdoc advisor to launch yourself for a faculty position in some realm of bacterial physiology/genetics, who would you consider?
(Asking for a thesis committee mentee of mine)
#microSky
If you were to choose a new postdoc advisor to launch yourself for a faculty position in some realm of bacterial physiology/genetics, who would you consider?
(Asking for a thesis committee mentee of mine)
#microSky
December 15, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Please repost
If you were to choose a new postdoc advisor to launch yourself for a faculty position in some realm of bacterial physiology/genetics, who would you consider?
(Asking for a thesis committee mentee of mine)
#microSky
If you were to choose a new postdoc advisor to launch yourself for a faculty position in some realm of bacterial physiology/genetics, who would you consider?
(Asking for a thesis committee mentee of mine)
#microSky
Reposted by Morgan Carter
Looks like a great special issue on hyphae in fungi in FGB www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu... doi.org/10.1016/j.fg... worth a browse! 🍄🧬
Hyphae: Tubular creators of the fungal kingdom
www.sciencedirect.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Looks like a great special issue on hyphae in fungi in FGB www.sciencedirect.com/special-issu... doi.org/10.1016/j.fg... worth a browse! 🍄🧬
Reposted by Morgan Carter
DOE's Office of Science is making a big push into AI, and that includes our work at the @jgi.doe.gov . We want to hear your thoughts (+ and -) on AI-enabled biological data. Consider joining one of our interviews or focus groups by filling out this form!
🧪🧬🦠🖥️ #secmet
jointgeno.me/PortalStorie...
🧪🧬🦠🖥️ #secmet
jointgeno.me/PortalStorie...
Tell Us Your JGI Portal Stories
The JGI Portal teams (IMG, Mycocosm, Phycocosm, Phytozome, and SMC) would love to sit with you (over Zoom) to hear your stories relating to your usage of the portals, your unsupported use cases, and p...
jointgeno.me
December 15, 2025 at 5:16 PM
DOE's Office of Science is making a big push into AI, and that includes our work at the @jgi.doe.gov . We want to hear your thoughts (+ and -) on AI-enabled biological data. Consider joining one of our interviews or focus groups by filling out this form!
🧪🧬🦠🖥️ #secmet
jointgeno.me/PortalStorie...
🧪🧬🦠🖥️ #secmet
jointgeno.me/PortalStorie...
Reposted by Morgan Carter
Most common editorial management systems are notoriously bad. So yes, it *is* that hard 😭
So please be aware that many of these things are automated/fixed and are, unfortunately, not under our control.
So please be aware that many of these things are automated/fixed and are, unfortunately, not under our control.
Surely it can't be hard to update the code to send a reminder on the n+2 work day...
December 14, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Most common editorial management systems are notoriously bad. So yes, it *is* that hard 😭
So please be aware that many of these things are automated/fixed and are, unfortunately, not under our control.
So please be aware that many of these things are automated/fixed and are, unfortunately, not under our control.
Reposted by Morgan Carter
Super excited to share our latest work on the Hsp70 chaperone code "Mechanosensor-mediated Hsp70 phosphorylation orchestrates the landscape of the heat shock response" out now in Nature Communications: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Mechanosensor-mediated Hsp70 phosphorylation orchestrates the landscape of the heat shock response - Nature Communications
Cells must sense heat quickly to protect their proteins and membranes. Here, the authors show that membrane stretch detected by the membrane sensor Mid2 promotes rapid phosphorylation of the Hsp70 cha...
www.nature.com
December 14, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Super excited to share our latest work on the Hsp70 chaperone code "Mechanosensor-mediated Hsp70 phosphorylation orchestrates the landscape of the heat shock response" out now in Nature Communications: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Morgan Carter
Oh I have a comment: “Loss of promising talent supported by these [DEI] programmes will substantially weaken our research capacity, limit innovation and substantially reduce discoveries important for driving scientific advancements.”
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41131402/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41131402/
December 12, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Oh I have a comment: “Loss of promising talent supported by these [DEI] programmes will substantially weaken our research capacity, limit innovation and substantially reduce discoveries important for driving scientific advancements.”
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41131402/
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41131402/
Reposted by Morgan Carter
@bhuwanabbot.bsky.social @morgancarterphd.bsky.social @raw937.bsky.social @andrabuchan.bsky.social et al. present a pangenome analysis of the endofungal genus Mycetohabitans, showing bacteria-fungus coevolution.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf231
#genome #evolution #pangenome #MicrobeSky
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf231
#genome #evolution #pangenome #MicrobeSky
Comparative Genomics Reveals Multipartite Genomes Undergoing Loss in the Fungal Endosymbiotic Genus Mycetohabitans
Abstract. Endosymbiotic bacteria extensively impact phenotypes of their eukaryotic hosts, while experiencing dramatic changes to their own genome as they b
doi.org
December 12, 2025 at 10:30 AM
@bhuwanabbot.bsky.social @morgancarterphd.bsky.social @raw937.bsky.social @andrabuchan.bsky.social et al. present a pangenome analysis of the endofungal genus Mycetohabitans, showing bacteria-fungus coevolution.
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf231
#genome #evolution #pangenome #MicrobeSky
🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaf231
#genome #evolution #pangenome #MicrobeSky
After years of struggling with how to cryopreserve one of our endosymbiotic bacteria, we found something that worked!
🦠☃️
We crowd-sourced suggestions and then @ruthwright.bsky.social tried the most common ones (like 🥛...). Want to do the same? Here is how we did it:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🦠☃️
We crowd-sourced suggestions and then @ruthwright.bsky.social tried the most common ones (like 🥛...). Want to do the same? Here is how we did it:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Identifying Effective Cryoprotectant Agents for Emerging Bacterial Model Species
Host-associated bacteria live amongst eukaryotes within varied niches and form relationships ranging from facultative to obligate. With advancement in studies of such symbiotic associations, fastidiou...
www.biorxiv.org
December 8, 2025 at 3:25 PM
After years of struggling with how to cryopreserve one of our endosymbiotic bacteria, we found something that worked!
🦠☃️
We crowd-sourced suggestions and then @ruthwright.bsky.social tried the most common ones (like 🥛...). Want to do the same? Here is how we did it:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
🦠☃️
We crowd-sourced suggestions and then @ruthwright.bsky.social tried the most common ones (like 🥛...). Want to do the same? Here is how we did it:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Morgan Carter
And we're also not doing any weird STEM superiority complexes, either. I've seen some "why is earth & atmospheric science getting lumped in with textiles & fashion" and that's not cool.
Nebraskans deserve the fullest range of educational opportunities & community expertise, not just in science.
Nebraskans deserve the fullest range of educational opportunities & community expertise, not just in science.
December 7, 2025 at 3:00 PM
And we're also not doing any weird STEM superiority complexes, either. I've seen some "why is earth & atmospheric science getting lumped in with textiles & fashion" and that's not cool.
Nebraskans deserve the fullest range of educational opportunities & community expertise, not just in science.
Nebraskans deserve the fullest range of educational opportunities & community expertise, not just in science.
Reposted by Morgan Carter
The UC Davis Ecology and Evolution in Working Landscapes REU provides undergrads with research experience in ecology and evolution in natural and managed landscapes. Apply now through Feb 15 via etap.nsf.gov
Contact me or @clhom.bsky.social for questions!
Contact me or @clhom.bsky.social for questions!
Ecology, Evolution, and Working Landscapes
ecoevoreu.ucdavis.edu
December 5, 2025 at 5:12 PM
The UC Davis Ecology and Evolution in Working Landscapes REU provides undergrads with research experience in ecology and evolution in natural and managed landscapes. Apply now through Feb 15 via etap.nsf.gov
Contact me or @clhom.bsky.social for questions!
Contact me or @clhom.bsky.social for questions!