Jan-Willem Veening
@veeninglab.com
Professor and director at the Department of Fundamental Microbiology, University of Lausanne, https://veeninglab.com/. Interested in antibiotic resistance, bacterial cell biology, host-microbe interactions.
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
Looking for a POSTDOC to work on jumbo phages (those with large genomes and fascinating cell biology), using our latest ASO technology (Gerovac M et al. 2025 Nature) to define RNA export mechanisms as well as to help to advance phage therapy. Here's the job ad.
December 19, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Looking for a POSTDOC to work on jumbo phages (those with large genomes and fascinating cell biology), using our latest ASO technology (Gerovac M et al. 2025 Nature) to define RNA export mechanisms as well as to help to advance phage therapy. Here's the job ad.
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
What is better than one? Two connected papers!
#NewResearch
S protein of Streptococcus pneumoniae activates PBP1a and coordinates with a wider GpsB-associated multi-protein complex to regulate peptidoglycan remodelling and cell division.
#MicroSky 🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#NewResearch
S protein of Streptococcus pneumoniae activates PBP1a and coordinates with a wider GpsB-associated multi-protein complex to regulate peptidoglycan remodelling and cell division.
#MicroSky 🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
December 19, 2025 at 2:06 PM
What is better than one? Two connected papers!
#NewResearch
S protein of Streptococcus pneumoniae activates PBP1a and coordinates with a wider GpsB-associated multi-protein complex to regulate peptidoglycan remodelling and cell division.
#MicroSky 🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#NewResearch
S protein of Streptococcus pneumoniae activates PBP1a and coordinates with a wider GpsB-associated multi-protein complex to regulate peptidoglycan remodelling and cell division.
#MicroSky 🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
#NewResearch
S protein from Streptococcus pneumoniae activates cell wall repair and modification to promote virulence against in vivo antimicrobial pressures including lysozyme and LL-37 @veeninglab.com
#MicroSky 🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
S protein from Streptococcus pneumoniae activates cell wall repair and modification to promote virulence against in vivo antimicrobial pressures including lysozyme and LL-37 @veeninglab.com
#MicroSky 🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Pneumococcal S protein coordinates cell wall modification and repair to resist host antimicrobials - Nature Microbiology
Streptococcal S protein activates a peptidoglycan cell wall repair and modification complex to promote resistance of Streptococcus pneumoniae to lysozyme and LL-37, and increase virulence during infec...
www.nature.com
December 19, 2025 at 2:05 PM
#NewResearch
S protein from Streptococcus pneumoniae activates cell wall repair and modification to promote virulence against in vivo antimicrobial pressures including lysozyme and LL-37 @veeninglab.com
#MicroSky 🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
S protein from Streptococcus pneumoniae activates cell wall repair and modification to promote virulence against in vivo antimicrobial pressures including lysozyme and LL-37 @veeninglab.com
#MicroSky 🦠
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
📰 News Recherche
L’équipe @veeninglab.com @dmf-unil.bsky.social @unil.bsky.social a mis en évidence chez le streptocoque le rôle central de la protéine S dans l’arsenal de défense de cette bactérie qui peut se révéler très pathogène.
➡️ www.unil.ch/news/fr/1761...
L’équipe @veeninglab.com @dmf-unil.bsky.social @unil.bsky.social a mis en évidence chez le streptocoque le rôle central de la protéine S dans l’arsenal de défense de cette bactérie qui peut se révéler très pathogène.
➡️ www.unil.ch/news/fr/1761...
La protéine S, clé de la virulence des streptocoques
L’équipe du Pr Jan-Willem Veening, au Département de microbiologie fondamentale de l’Unil, a mis en évidence chez le streptocoque le rôle central de la protéine S dans l’arsenal de défense de cette ba...
www.unil.ch
December 19, 2025 at 2:53 PM
📰 News Recherche
L’équipe @veeninglab.com @dmf-unil.bsky.social @unil.bsky.social a mis en évidence chez le streptocoque le rôle central de la protéine S dans l’arsenal de défense de cette bactérie qui peut se révéler très pathogène.
➡️ www.unil.ch/news/fr/1761...
L’équipe @veeninglab.com @dmf-unil.bsky.social @unil.bsky.social a mis en évidence chez le streptocoque le rôle central de la protéine S dans l’arsenal de défense de cette bactérie qui peut se révéler très pathogène.
➡️ www.unil.ch/news/fr/1761...
December 19, 2025 at 10:31 AM
I'm not sure what to think about this. Most top open access journals cost more than CHF 3,500 to publish so will not be covered by SNSF funding. It will make it even more difficult for small universities to publish in top journals because of budget limitations.
#OpenAccess to scientific publications has become the norm. From 2027, the SNSF will be limiting its OA funding. Already in autumn 2026, researchers will be able to publish their articles free of charge on Open Research Europe (diamond open access).
➡️ sohub.io/7nru
➡️ sohub.io/7nru
December 18, 2025 at 10:47 AM
I'm not sure what to think about this. Most top open access journals cost more than CHF 3,500 to publish so will not be covered by SNSF funding. It will make it even more difficult for small universities to publish in top journals because of budget limitations.
Coupled to the general budget cuts by both the canton and federal government to our University (and it's happening at most institutes in Switzerland), this would be really bad. The project funding scheme is really the best thing about Swiss science, so please don't touch this!
The SNSF is considering restrictions for its Project funding. Goal: to ensure the quality of evaluation & stable success rates despite an increasing number of applications and limited funding. The final decision will be made in January 2026.
👉 buff.ly/iGOCf7R
#research #science
👉 buff.ly/iGOCf7R
#research #science
Project funding restrictions envisaged
The SNSF is responding to increased demand from researchers in order to ensure evaluation quality and stabilise success rates.
buff.ly
December 18, 2025 at 10:40 AM
Coupled to the general budget cuts by both the canton and federal government to our University (and it's happening at most institutes in Switzerland), this would be really bad. The project funding scheme is really the best thing about Swiss science, so please don't touch this!
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
🧵Enterococcus faecalis is not just an extracellular organism. 🧵 A growing body of work shows it can survive + REPLICATE inside host cells, and that intracellular life may seed persistence, dissemination, and reinfection. 1/n #MMBR @asm.org journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Enterococcus faecalis: an overlooked cell invader | Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
SUMMARYEnterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium are human pathobionts that exhibit a dual lifestyle as commensal and pathogenic bacteria. The pathogenic lifestyle is associated with specific conditions involving host susceptibility and intestinal ...
journals.asm.org
December 18, 2025 at 9:19 AM
🧵Enterococcus faecalis is not just an extracellular organism. 🧵 A growing body of work shows it can survive + REPLICATE inside host cells, and that intracellular life may seed persistence, dissemination, and reinfection. 1/n #MMBR @asm.org journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
Very pleased to share that our recent article with
@veeninglab.com in @natcomms.nature.com
was selected for the Editor's Highlights, which aims to showcase the 50 best papers recently published in the area of #microbiology & infectious diseases!
www.nature.com/collections/...
@veeninglab.com in @natcomms.nature.com
was selected for the Editor's Highlights, which aims to showcase the 50 best papers recently published in the area of #microbiology & infectious diseases!
www.nature.com/collections/...
Microbiology and infectious diseases
This page highlights recent articles on all aspects of bacteriology, mycology, parasitology and virology, covering the biology of pathogens, host-pathogen ...
www.nature.com
December 17, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Very pleased to share that our recent article with
@veeninglab.com in @natcomms.nature.com
was selected for the Editor's Highlights, which aims to showcase the 50 best papers recently published in the area of #microbiology & infectious diseases!
www.nature.com/collections/...
@veeninglab.com in @natcomms.nature.com
was selected for the Editor's Highlights, which aims to showcase the 50 best papers recently published in the area of #microbiology & infectious diseases!
www.nature.com/collections/...
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
New preprint! 🐝 We engineered a bacterial biosensor to reveal micron-scale arabinose gradients in the honeybee gut. Congratulations to Audam and all co-authors. Great collaboration with @pengellab.bsky.social as part of the NCCR Microbiomes at @fbm-unil.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Engineered symbiont biosensor maps micron-scale sugar gradients in the honeybee gut
The honeybee gut microbiota plays a key role in shaping host health and susceptibility to disease. Yet, the nutrient environment it experiences within the gut remains poorly characterized. In particul...
www.biorxiv.org
December 17, 2025 at 9:14 AM
New preprint! 🐝 We engineered a bacterial biosensor to reveal micron-scale arabinose gradients in the honeybee gut. Congratulations to Audam and all co-authors. Great collaboration with @pengellab.bsky.social as part of the NCCR Microbiomes at @fbm-unil.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
We are looking forward to sunnier days and some fantastic presentations at our #ProkaryoticCellBio meeting in Portugal next July! Grants, Early Bird pricing and Talk slots close on 12 Jan, register & submit today to join us! 🌞
👉https://bit.ly/48G29dP
👉https://bit.ly/48G29dP
December 16, 2025 at 3:36 PM
We are looking forward to sunnier days and some fantastic presentations at our #ProkaryoticCellBio meeting in Portugal next July! Grants, Early Bird pricing and Talk slots close on 12 Jan, register & submit today to join us! 🌞
👉https://bit.ly/48G29dP
👉https://bit.ly/48G29dP
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
I just published: ERC-Plus: jackpot science or missed chance to fix academia?
My reflections on ERC-Plus, Europe’s newest ultra-competitive research grant and what it tells us about the academic culture we’re building.
medium.com/p/erc-plus-j...
My reflections on ERC-Plus, Europe’s newest ultra-competitive research grant and what it tells us about the academic culture we’re building.
medium.com/p/erc-plus-j...
ERC-Plus: jackpot science or missed chance to fix academia?
My reflections on ERC-Plus, Europe’s newest ultra-competitive research grant and what it tells us about the academic culture we’re…
medium.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:42 AM
I just published: ERC-Plus: jackpot science or missed chance to fix academia?
My reflections on ERC-Plus, Europe’s newest ultra-competitive research grant and what it tells us about the academic culture we’re building.
medium.com/p/erc-plus-j...
My reflections on ERC-Plus, Europe’s newest ultra-competitive research grant and what it tells us about the academic culture we’re building.
medium.com/p/erc-plus-j...
Cool work from Heath Murray's lab where they use Cas9 nickase to study how ssDNA breaks are repaired in Bacillus subtilis #MicroSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Rescuing the bacterial replisome at a nick requires recombinational repair and helicase reloading - Nature Communications
DNA damage can lead to cell death. Here, the authors show that a simple cut on either strand of DNA can inactivate bacterial chromosome replication. Surprisingly, only a core set of recombination prot...
www.nature.com
November 28, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Cool work from Heath Murray's lab where they use Cas9 nickase to study how ssDNA breaks are repaired in Bacillus subtilis #MicroSky www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
New Publication! In this collaboration with @veeninglab.com at the @unil.bsky.social, we used multi-omics to examine the response of Streptococcus pneumoniae to infection-mimicking growth conditions, discovering a novel regulator of membrane fatty acid composition.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
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 5:04 PM
New Publication! In this collaboration with @veeninglab.com at the @unil.bsky.social, we used multi-omics to examine the response of Streptococcus pneumoniae to infection-mimicking growth conditions, discovering a novel regulator of membrane fatty acid composition.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
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!
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...
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
🚨Preprint alert - this is a big one! We transfer the revolutionary power of TnSeq to bacteriophages.
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
November 20, 2025 at 8:40 PM
🚨Preprint alert - this is a big one! We transfer the revolutionary power of TnSeq to bacteriophages.
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
Our HIDEN-SEQ links the "dark matter" genes of your favorite phage to any selectable phenotype, guiding the path from fun observations to molecular mechanisms.
A thread 1/8
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
First the link to the preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Systematic mapping of bacteriophage gene essentiality with HIDEN‑SEQ
The constant arms race of bacteriophages and their bacterial hosts has inspired major breakthroughs in biotechnology and shaped phages as fierce predators with great clinical potential to fight multid...
www.biorxiv.org
November 20, 2025 at 6:52 PM
First the link to the preprint: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
🚀New preprint from our lab!
I am very excited to finally share what has been the main focus of my PhD for the past almost 3 years! It is about viral dark matter and a powerful tool we built to shed light on it. 🧬💡
Continue reading (🧵)
I am very excited to finally share what has been the main focus of my PhD for the past almost 3 years! It is about viral dark matter and a powerful tool we built to shed light on it. 🧬💡
Continue reading (🧵)
November 20, 2025 at 6:52 PM
🚀New preprint from our lab!
I am very excited to finally share what has been the main focus of my PhD for the past almost 3 years! It is about viral dark matter and a powerful tool we built to shed light on it. 🧬💡
Continue reading (🧵)
I am very excited to finally share what has been the main focus of my PhD for the past almost 3 years! It is about viral dark matter and a powerful tool we built to shed light on it. 🧬💡
Continue reading (🧵)
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
Bacterial networks #BacNet26 in September 2026 will be chaired by @lalouxlab.bsky.social and co-chaired by @s-lab.bsky.social with @coralietesseur.bsky.social
Sneak peak on invited speakers and preliminary program:
meetings.embo.org/event/26-bac...
Sneak peak on invited speakers and preliminary program:
meetings.embo.org/event/26-bac...
November 20, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Bacterial networks #BacNet26 in September 2026 will be chaired by @lalouxlab.bsky.social and co-chaired by @s-lab.bsky.social with @coralietesseur.bsky.social
Sneak peak on invited speakers and preliminary program:
meetings.embo.org/event/26-bac...
Sneak peak on invited speakers and preliminary program:
meetings.embo.org/event/26-bac...
Cool paper from @smitslab.bsky.social Structural insights into how PolC-inhibitors work and can open up the road to a new suite of antibiotics www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A unique inhibitor conformation selectively targets the DNA polymerase PolC of Gram-positive priority pathogens - Nature Communications
In this work, Urem et al. characterize the mode of action as well as mechanism of reduced susceptibility related to a class of antimicrobials that is in development for the treatment of infections wit...
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Cool paper from @smitslab.bsky.social Structural insights into how PolC-inhibitors work and can open up the road to a new suite of antibiotics www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Now online! journals.plos.org/plospathogen... #MicroSky
November 5, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Now online! journals.plos.org/plospathogen... #MicroSky
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
This was a fun collaboration between Ophélie & the @seegerlab.bsky.social using sybody libraries to target the SMC complex in living bacteria. With a suprising finding: the 14 isolated sybodies bind to the middle of the SMC coiled coil rather than the more conserved ATPase heads.
Single Domain Antibody Inhibitors Target the Coiled Coil Arms of the Bacillus subtilis SMC complex https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.16.682983v1
October 20, 2025 at 8:15 AM
This was a fun collaboration between Ophélie & the @seegerlab.bsky.social using sybody libraries to target the SMC complex in living bacteria. With a suprising finding: the 14 isolated sybodies bind to the middle of the SMC coiled coil rather than the more conserved ATPase heads.
Reposted by Jan-Willem Veening
Sign up for our annual Impromptu Symposium on Nov. 21 in the Biophore @unil.bsky.social organized by Christophe Keel and Jordan Vacheron, which will explore the fascinating world of microbe–plant interactions with an exciting speaker line up!
Registration (lunch included): forms.gle/t4fC8uQV5HQF...
Registration (lunch included): forms.gle/t4fC8uQV5HQF...
October 20, 2025 at 9:36 AM
Sign up for our annual Impromptu Symposium on Nov. 21 in the Biophore @unil.bsky.social organized by Christophe Keel and Jordan Vacheron, which will explore the fascinating world of microbe–plant interactions with an exciting speaker line up!
Registration (lunch included): forms.gle/t4fC8uQV5HQF...
Registration (lunch included): forms.gle/t4fC8uQV5HQF...