Asher Leeks
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asherleeks.bsky.social
Asher Leeks
@asherleeks.bsky.social
2.8K followers 1.2K following 55 posts
We study social evolution in viruses. Assistant Professor @zoology.ubc.ca & @ubcbiodiversity.bsky.social asherleeks.com
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I gave a talk last year at TEDxNewEngland aimed at introducing the idea of viral sociality to a general audience, including implications for evolution & virology. Video now available online below.

#socialviruses #evosky #virosky 🧪
The social lives of viruses | Asher Leeks | TEDxNewEngland
YouTube video by TEDx Talks
www.youtube.com
@rowancallumg.bsky.social and @liyamiksovsky.bsky.social demonstrating our newest lab tradition - creating virus snowflakes (designed by @socialinfluenza.bsky.social ) out of submitted grants and fellowships.

🧪 #socialviruses
Reposted by Asher Leeks
The Hopkins Lab (hopkins-lab.com) at the University of Florida is looking to recruit a postdoc to work on the genetics of organ function and evolution across Drosophila and beyond. Please visit tinyurl.com/vcsjpmzz or email me for more info. And please RT or send to anyone who might be interested!
Reposted by Asher Leeks
Today my @nytimes.com colleagues and I are launching a new series called Lost Science. We interview US scientists who can no longer discover something new about our world, thanks to this year‘s cuts. Here is my first interview with a scientist who studied bees and fires. Gift link: nyti.ms/3IWXbiE
nyti.ms
Reposted by Asher Leeks
Very happy to share that I will be starting as an Assistant Professor in the department of Biological Sciences at the University of South Carolina in January! My group will be working on environmental phage ecology and evolution, and I am recruiting for the upcoming year (more info below).
I gave a talk last year at TEDxNewEngland aimed at introducing the idea of viral sociality to a general audience, including implications for evolution & virology. Video now available online below.

#socialviruses #evosky #virosky 🧪
The social lives of viruses | Asher Leeks | TEDxNewEngland
YouTube video by TEDx Talks
www.youtube.com
Reposted by Asher Leeks
Population Biology Modeling & Theory (PBMT) is a peer-reviewed journal reporting advances in modeling and theory within population biology. Its scope spans demography, ecology, epidemiology, evolutionary biology, population genetics, and phylogenetics. PBMT will be online soon.
Reposted by Asher Leeks
Job alert ‼️ UChicago Micro is hiring! Open to tenured/tenure track faculty at all levels in any area of microbiology. Come join our amazing and growing department. apply.interfolio.com/174404
Reposted by Asher Leeks
Thrilled to share our paper that just came out in PNAS!

We asked a deceptively simple question: What happens when S. aureus adapts to vancomycin, a critical first-line antibiotic?

1/5
Reposted by Asher Leeks
Interested in #virulence? Not sure what it is - or how to explain it? Just curious? 🧐🦠🧬🦋

@kayla-king.bsky.social and I just wrote a Primer for @currentbiology.bsky.social on the ecology and evolution of virulence!

Check it below and share :)

#MicroSky #EvoSky #pathogens
Ecology and evolution of virulence
Silva and King discuss the concept of virulence and the ecological and evolutionary factors that shape it.
www.cell.com
This is a great example of LLMs getting better at overcoming our basic fact-checks. I think we assume that LLMs will get better at not making mistakes... they're presumably also going to get better at deceiving us.
Reposted by Asher Leeks
The constant barrage of terrible news on bluesky has made me feel weird about promoting papers, but people in the lab have been doing so much amazing work over the past few months that I want to share a few brief teasers/links:
Reposted by Asher Leeks
Center for Living Systems -- seeking strong post docs at the interface of physics and biology. Consider applying by Oct. 13! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
docs.google.com
Reposted by Asher Leeks
I'm super excited to have joined @ubcmath.bsky.social
and @ubcmicroimmuno.bsky.social !! Please get in touch if you might be interested in graduate studies or postdoctoral research opportunities!
Help us give a warm welcome to Dr. Chadi Saad-Roy, who is joining UBC Mathematics this fall as an Assistant Professor, jointly appointed in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology (‪@ubcmicroimmuno.bsky.social‬).

Full details tinyurl.com/4zwdmr8b
Reposted by Asher Leeks
Our EEB department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is hiring an assistant professor in evo-devo. See go.illinois.edu/EEBAsstProf for details. Please share!
Reposted by Asher Leeks
Come join us in the @biology.ox.ac.uk at @ox.ac.uk! New Associate Professor position in Animal Behaviour, with Merton College:

my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...
Job Details
my.corehr.com
Reposted by Asher Leeks
Reposted by Asher Leeks
Hey Bsky, I’m Luís, a 🇵🇹 disease ecologist in Vancouver 🇨🇦

I study the drama between hosts 🪱🦟 and parasites 🦠 - who wins, who loses, and which cards get played - and why it matters for evolution & health.
Always up for collabs, chats & making science fairer ✨

Say hi 👉 luis-m-silva.com
#AcademicSky
Reposted by Asher Leeks
I'll be presenting poster 327 at #ESEB2025 today - come have a look if you're interested in the evolution of sex and haploid-diploid life cycles!
Reposted by Asher Leeks
I'm very excited (and a bit nervous) to talk all about the work I did on Zonotrichia sparrows with @darrenirwin.bsky.social at UBC tomorrow morning at 10:30 am in the JEB Stearns Prize Symposium at #ESEB2025!