Sierra Bedwell, MS
@bedwellbacteria.bsky.social
Microbial ecologist, sci-comm coordinator, and PhD candidate working for the GEMS Biology Integration Institute. BS @MontanaState, MS @UofIllinois.
Lover of space, soil, skiing and symbiosis.
All views are my own.
Lover of space, soil, skiing and symbiosis.
All views are my own.
Wow that sounds like a cool paper! Everyone should read it! (it's mine it's my paper 😁)
thrilled to announce that it's on BioRxiv now!! Anyone who is interested in the uncultivated majority, cool microbes, and eco-evolutionary dynamics should give it a read!!
thrilled to announce that it's on BioRxiv now!! Anyone who is interested in the uncultivated majority, cool microbes, and eco-evolutionary dynamics should give it a read!!
A continuum of ecology and evolution contributes to mutualism breakdown between legumes and rhizobia https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.02.691918v1
December 4, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Wow that sounds like a cool paper! Everyone should read it! (it's mine it's my paper 😁)
thrilled to announce that it's on BioRxiv now!! Anyone who is interested in the uncultivated majority, cool microbes, and eco-evolutionary dynamics should give it a read!!
thrilled to announce that it's on BioRxiv now!! Anyone who is interested in the uncultivated majority, cool microbes, and eco-evolutionary dynamics should give it a read!!
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
Please share! The UIUC Dept of Plant Biology is hiring a tenure-track professor in mycology. Candidates should be strong in basic mycology and be interested in implications for a circular bioeconomy. Applications close Oct 31st!
illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
Assistant Professor- Department of Plant Biology
Duties & Responsibilities
illinois.csod.com
October 28, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Please share! The UIUC Dept of Plant Biology is hiring a tenure-track professor in mycology. Candidates should be strong in basic mycology and be interested in implications for a circular bioeconomy. Applications close Oct 31st!
illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
illinois.csod.com/ux/ats/caree...
Please share to any potential applicants!!
October 28, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Please share to any potential applicants!!
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
Know your bears 🐻
Sources: savebears.org, turpentinecreek.org, NPR article www.npr.org/2023/08/07/1...
#fatbearweek #nationalparksservice #nationalforestservice
Sources: savebears.org, turpentinecreek.org, NPR article www.npr.org/2023/08/07/1...
#fatbearweek #nationalparksservice #nationalforestservice
September 8, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Know your bears 🐻
Sources: savebears.org, turpentinecreek.org, NPR article www.npr.org/2023/08/07/1...
#fatbearweek #nationalparksservice #nationalforestservice
Sources: savebears.org, turpentinecreek.org, NPR article www.npr.org/2023/08/07/1...
#fatbearweek #nationalparksservice #nationalforestservice
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
Daphnia? More like daft-nia amirite...
September 4, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Daphnia? More like daft-nia amirite...
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
SO MANY STAND UP FOR SCIENCE EVENTS TO CHOOSE FROM—153 and COUNTING!
To get more information on our local events and to register your own, head to www.standupforscience2025.org/local-event-information/ ☀️⬇️🌎
To get more information on our local events and to register your own, head to www.standupforscience2025.org/local-event-information/ ☀️⬇️🌎
March 6, 2025 at 7:14 PM
SO MANY STAND UP FOR SCIENCE EVENTS TO CHOOSE FROM—153 and COUNTING!
To get more information on our local events and to register your own, head to www.standupforscience2025.org/local-event-information/ ☀️⬇️🌎
To get more information on our local events and to register your own, head to www.standupforscience2025.org/local-event-information/ ☀️⬇️🌎
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
Although we are not federally funded for this summer, WE WILL STILL RUN The National Summer Undergraduate Research Project (NSURP) in 2025. We remain committed to the work that needs to be done and will continue to meet people where they are. 1/4 nsurp.org
NSURP.org
National Summer Undergraduate Research Project
nsurp.org
February 24, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Although we are not federally funded for this summer, WE WILL STILL RUN The National Summer Undergraduate Research Project (NSURP) in 2025. We remain committed to the work that needs to be done and will continue to meet people where they are. 1/4 nsurp.org
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
If you've been let go from your federal science job and are interested in participating in this, DM me
Lets #StandUpForScience 🔬💪
www.standupforscience2025.org/STAND-UP-FOR...
Lets #StandUpForScience 🔬💪
www.standupforscience2025.org/STAND-UP-FOR...
February 14, 2025 at 9:04 PM
If you've been let go from your federal science job and are interested in participating in this, DM me
Lets #StandUpForScience 🔬💪
www.standupforscience2025.org/STAND-UP-FOR...
Lets #StandUpForScience 🔬💪
www.standupforscience2025.org/STAND-UP-FOR...
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
16S rRNA is just like AI.
If you don't know how to use it, just don't, or train first.
If you don't know how to use it, just don't, or train first.
February 14, 2025 at 3:44 AM
16S rRNA is just like AI.
If you don't know how to use it, just don't, or train first.
If you don't know how to use it, just don't, or train first.
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
Things I'm doing:
1) Setting up a local telethon to call our reps on Monday
2) Taking it to the streets 👇
1) Setting up a local telethon to call our reps on Monday
2) Taking it to the streets 👇
Get in Dorks, we are going protesting.
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE. MARCH 7th 12-4pm. DC AND YOUR STATE CAPITALS.
More information to come.
STAND UP FOR SCIENCE. MARCH 7th 12-4pm. DC AND YOUR STATE CAPITALS.
More information to come.
February 9, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Things I'm doing:
1) Setting up a local telethon to call our reps on Monday
2) Taking it to the streets 👇
1) Setting up a local telethon to call our reps on Monday
2) Taking it to the streets 👇
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
Ok scientists. How do we respond? Scientific strike starting on Monday? Something has to be done to let people know what is going on.
what a fucking Friday afternoon news dump: they are capping indirects at 15%
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
NOT-OD-25-068: Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts: Supplemental Guidance to the 2024 NIH Grants Policy Statement: Indirect Cost Rates NOT-OD-25-068. OD
grants.nih.gov
February 7, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Ok scientists. How do we respond? Scientific strike starting on Monday? Something has to be done to let people know what is going on.
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
Powerful and important infographics by @firefoxx66.bsky.social about the ongoing destruction of our public health and scientific infrastructure, one of the nation’s greatest assets. Read. Share. Take action.
Huge thanks to my sister for helping put these together.
February 2, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Powerful and important infographics by @firefoxx66.bsky.social about the ongoing destruction of our public health and scientific infrastructure, one of the nation’s greatest assets. Read. Share. Take action.
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
ASM did a spotlight article on me last February and it has also been taken down as “under review”. Other spotlight articles are still up so not sure how else to interpret this besides the obvious. It feels pretty crappy to have been singled out and I won’t be engaging with them in the future.
I want to expand on the extent to which IDEAA materials have been purged: I wrote an article last year for women’s history month on the history of women in antimicrobial development….DELETED.
I’m on one of ASMs IDEAA committees and we have received 0 communication from ASM staff on why this is happening. I had to find out via social media. Extremely disappointing.
February 3, 2025 at 12:47 AM
ASM did a spotlight article on me last February and it has also been taken down as “under review”. Other spotlight articles are still up so not sure how else to interpret this besides the obvious. It feels pretty crappy to have been singled out and I won’t be engaging with them in the future.
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
My letter to ASM leaders that I sent is too long to be posted here, so I'm going to post highlights in case anyone else needs information for their letter. 🧵
@asm.org this better not be anticipatory obedience. I have 5 lab members planning on going to ASM microbe this year. I will absolutely pivot to another meeting if ASM gives in to anti-DEI efforts.
@vscooper.micropopbio.org and @mostlymicrobes.bsky.social while downloading scientist spotlights for teaching from the site; ASM has also scrubbed the entire IDEAA page including resources on LGBTQ+ scientists at asm.org/IDEAA/resources/pride-month
February 3, 2025 at 11:36 AM
My letter to ASM leaders that I sent is too long to be posted here, so I'm going to post highlights in case anyone else needs information for their letter. 🧵
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
Kudos to @asm.org I have never in my nearly 25yrs as a member been sent an "ASM Action Alert" asking me to contact my members of Congress. Make those calls. Write those emails.
There are extraordinary times and we must make ourselves heard
There are extraordinary times and we must make ourselves heard
January 28, 2025 at 8:43 PM
Kudos to @asm.org I have never in my nearly 25yrs as a member been sent an "ASM Action Alert" asking me to contact my members of Congress. Make those calls. Write those emails.
There are extraordinary times and we must make ourselves heard
There are extraordinary times and we must make ourselves heard
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
NSF PRFB POSTDOCS:
Pull the remainder of this funding cycle’s stipend, all remaining research funds, and all remaining travel funds (if you have them). Do it before 5PM today. Per instructions from multiple NSF POs.
If you’re not already on the PRFB slack, DM me and I’ll send you an invite
Pull the remainder of this funding cycle’s stipend, all remaining research funds, and all remaining travel funds (if you have them). Do it before 5PM today. Per instructions from multiple NSF POs.
If you’re not already on the PRFB slack, DM me and I’ll send you an invite
January 28, 2025 at 5:36 PM
NSF PRFB POSTDOCS:
Pull the remainder of this funding cycle’s stipend, all remaining research funds, and all remaining travel funds (if you have them). Do it before 5PM today. Per instructions from multiple NSF POs.
If you’re not already on the PRFB slack, DM me and I’ll send you an invite
Pull the remainder of this funding cycle’s stipend, all remaining research funds, and all remaining travel funds (if you have them). Do it before 5PM today. Per instructions from multiple NSF POs.
If you’re not already on the PRFB slack, DM me and I’ll send you an invite
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
If you're a scientist that serves on an NSF panel that got cancelled today, I'd love to talk to you about it for an NPR story. DM, email or reach out on signal.
January 27, 2025 at 5:37 PM
If you're a scientist that serves on an NSF panel that got cancelled today, I'd love to talk to you about it for an NPR story. DM, email or reach out on signal.
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
Spread the word! Methylorubrum is no more! Thread below (1/4):
academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
Led astray by 16S rRNA: phylogenomics reaffirms the monophyly of Methylobacterium and lack of support for Methylorubrum as a genus
Abstract. Although the 16S (and 18S) rRNA gene has been an essential tool in classifying prokaryotes, using a single locus to revise bacteria taxonomy can
academic.oup.com
January 21, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Spread the word! Methylorubrum is no more! Thread below (1/4):
academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
academic.oup.com/ismej/advanc...
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
Did you know that GEMS has a newsletter? The newest edition was just published today! Check it out on our website: symbiosis.illinois.edu/gems-nuggets...
GEMS Nuggets Winter 2025 – GEMSConnect with us on BlueSky
symbiosis.illinois.edu
January 24, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Did you know that GEMS has a newsletter? The newest edition was just published today! Check it out on our website: symbiosis.illinois.edu/gems-nuggets...
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
Not all Bradyrhizobium fix N2! In fact, most that live in soil probably don’t. We isolated a bunch from Arizona soils and found none had N-fixing or nodulation genes. We report their genomes and phylogeny here in an accepted paper at access microbiology! www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
High-quality PacBio draft genome sequences of 17 free-living Bradyrhizobium and four related Nitrobacteraceae strains isolated from arid soils in the Santa Catalina Mountains of Southern Arizona.
Non-symbiotic Bradyrhizobium are among the most abundant and ubiquitous microbes in bulk soils globally. Despite this, most available genomic resources for Bradyrhizobium are derived from plant-associ...
www.microbiologyresearch.org
December 3, 2024 at 4:20 PM
Not all Bradyrhizobium fix N2! In fact, most that live in soil probably don’t. We isolated a bunch from Arizona soils and found none had N-fixing or nodulation genes. We report their genomes and phylogeny here in an accepted paper at access microbiology! www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
Funded #PhD project to work with me, @DrSelvaDhan, @andymitch20, @arwynedwards, & @LindaOyama on zoonotic bacterial pathogens and their mobile genetic elements, available through the OneZoo DTP:
shorturl.at/DGriT
Application deadline: 31st January 2025
Please share!
shorturl.at/DGriT
Application deadline: 31st January 2025
Please share!
Mapping the spread of zoonotic bacterial pathogens and their mobile genetic elements as drivers of infection at Queen’s University Belfast on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Mapping the spread of zoonotic bacterial pathogens and their mobile genetic elements as drivers of infection at Queen’s University Belfast, listed on FindAPhD.com
shorturl.at
December 3, 2024 at 4:48 PM
Funded #PhD project to work with me, @DrSelvaDhan, @andymitch20, @arwynedwards, & @LindaOyama on zoonotic bacterial pathogens and their mobile genetic elements, available through the OneZoo DTP:
shorturl.at/DGriT
Application deadline: 31st January 2025
Please share!
shorturl.at/DGriT
Application deadline: 31st January 2025
Please share!
Reposted by Sierra Bedwell, MS
I made ,some time ago, a starter pack for Microbial #Symbiosis. I'm 100% sure it's incomplete, but short on time lately... You can reply and suggest prople/feeds/etc to add!
#MicroSky #SymbioSky
go.bsky.app/T8VUWCz
#MicroSky #SymbioSky
go.bsky.app/T8VUWCz
November 10, 2024 at 7:35 PM
I made ,some time ago, a starter pack for Microbial #Symbiosis. I'm 100% sure it's incomplete, but short on time lately... You can reply and suggest prople/feeds/etc to add!
#MicroSky #SymbioSky
go.bsky.app/T8VUWCz
#MicroSky #SymbioSky
go.bsky.app/T8VUWCz
Hi bsky! I'll reintroduce myself after my X-odus (ha!) I'm a PhD candidate and the Sci-Comm Coordinator for
@gems-bii.bsky.social. I'm a micro-ecologist who <3s big sequencing datasets. I will be looking for jobs (2026 ish) in nonprofit, sci-comm, or bioinfo! Happy to be on a new sci platform!
@gems-bii.bsky.social. I'm a micro-ecologist who <3s big sequencing datasets. I will be looking for jobs (2026 ish) in nonprofit, sci-comm, or bioinfo! Happy to be on a new sci platform!
November 18, 2024 at 7:53 PM
Hi bsky! I'll reintroduce myself after my X-odus (ha!) I'm a PhD candidate and the Sci-Comm Coordinator for
@gems-bii.bsky.social. I'm a micro-ecologist who <3s big sequencing datasets. I will be looking for jobs (2026 ish) in nonprofit, sci-comm, or bioinfo! Happy to be on a new sci platform!
@gems-bii.bsky.social. I'm a micro-ecologist who <3s big sequencing datasets. I will be looking for jobs (2026 ish) in nonprofit, sci-comm, or bioinfo! Happy to be on a new sci platform!