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Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

Chinese Scholarship Council studentships 中国国家留学基金委和英国埃克塞特大学合作奖学金（博士生项目)
at @uniexecec.bsky.social (www.exeter.ac.uk/study/pg-res... click '+ Ecology and Conservation' ) see ⬇️ for project with me!

October 28, 2025 at 11:35 AM

Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

Research assistant + postdoc position on a NERC funded project working w @darrenobbard.bsky.social and collaborating with @savebutterflies.bsky.social on the ecological and evolutionary drivers of the virome of UK moths @uniexecec.bsky.social. Descriptions below and links here benlongdon.com/join/

Our local beach - blue waters and white sand

October 7, 2025 at 2:47 PM

Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

This was work today - about 15k walked for geocaching and wildlife spotting trip with new @uniexecec.bsky.social undergraduates. Glorious weather in beautiful Cornwall with plenty of tuna, choughs and butteflies plus the odd lizard.

September 25, 2025 at 4:58 PM

Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

2 job adverts on a NERC project w myself + @darrenobbard.bsky.social on “What determines the virome: ecology and the environment, evolution, or species history?” early 2026 in
@uniexecec.bsky.social
- Postdoc: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
- RA: jobs.exeter.ac.uk/hrpr_webrecr...
Pls share!

September 25, 2025 at 3:55 PM

Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

@jpjhall.bsky.social your comic went down a treat with our 9 year old (enjoyed it so much he read it twice!) - was getting told facts about bacterial defenses this morning.

June 12, 2025 at 9:27 AM

Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

Fun morning playing our virus outreach game #VirusCraft with local school children as part of @uniexecec.bsky.social @exeter.ac.uk Festival of Science (organised by @cornishjackdaws.bsky.social) - game made by fantastic @thentrythis.social.thentrythis.org.ap.brid.gy

Virus Craft - wooden virus interface for game about virus host shifts

Dan trying to reach the top of the leader board

June 11, 2025 at 12:48 PM

Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

Bit of light virus maintenance this morning ready for @uniexecec.bsky.social festival of science in a couple of months with @thentrythis.social.thentrythis.org.ap.brid.gy #VirusCraft project thentrythis.org/projects/vir...

April 25, 2025 at 9:36 AM

Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

First paper from @hongbo1900.bsky.social PhD "Varying phylogenetic signal in susceptibility to four bacterial pathogens across species of Drosophilidae" co-supervised by @benraymond.bsky.social and team
@hansonmark.bsky.social
@ryanmimrie.bsky.social
@sarahkwalsh.bsky.social sky.social

phylogeny of Drosophila species and barplots showing mean mortality to 4 bacterial pathogens and a control

April 22, 2025 at 11:03 AM

Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

Just out "Making sense of the virome in light of evolution and ecology" doi.org/10.1098/rspb... from super ⭐ team @meganawallace.bsky.social @duckswabber.bsky.social @jemmageoghegan.bsky.social @ryanmimrie.bsky.social @eddieholmes.bsky.social @xavh.bsky.social in Proc B @royalsocietypublishing.org

April 2, 2025 at 7:46 AM

Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

Just out "Positive correlations in susceptibility to a diverse panel of viruses across Drosophilidae host species"; 35 host species * 11 viruses. Work led by Ryan Imrie together with Megan Wallace in @evolletters.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/evle...

Phylogeny of 35 host species next to figure with bars showing viral load for 11 different viruses

February 5, 2025 at 11:30 AM

Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

Back to sunny Cornwall after London trip

January 16, 2025 at 10:59 AM

Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

Great looking group leader position at CNRS Strasbourg on host-pathogen interactions in insects

The CNRS research department “Insects Models of Innate Immunity” invites applications for a group leader position. Applicants must have a strong record of scientific accomplishments in Drosophila genetics, innate immunity/host-pathogen interactions, or insect physiology. We are looking for candidates who will bring new lines of research to the department (evolution, regulation of gene expression, metabolism, bioinformatics, etc…) and willing to work collaboratively with existing groups in the NetRNA LabEx network (https://labex-netrna.cnrs.fr/presentation/netrnateams/).

The department “Insects Models of Innate Immunity” performs cutting edge basic research on insect-pathogen interactions, focusing on the fruit-fly Drosophila as well as vector mosquitoes Anopheles and Aedes (https://ibmc.cnrs.fr/en/laboratoire/m3i/). The department is part of the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology (IBMC), located at the heart of the University of Strasbourg campus in France. The IBMC provides a world-class research environment, equipped with cutting-edge facilities for proteomics, genomics, advanced cell imaging and a dedicated insectarium for infectiology studies, including BSL3 containment. Our department participates in the NetRNA consortium, which offers a start-up package of 450k€ covering salary and research support for 3-5 years.

Applicants should submit before March 31st , 2025, a curriculum vitae, a summary of research accomplishments (1-2 pages), a summary of future research plans (1-2 pages) and contact information for three professional references. Applications in the form of a single pdf document, or any question regarding the position, should be sent to m3i-sec@ibmc-cnrs.unistra.fr.

January 10, 2025 at 10:56 AM

Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

PhD opportunity with myself, @neeltjeboogert.bsky.social (@exetercec.bsky.social) and Nathalie Stroeymeyt (@bristolbiosci.bsky.social) on "How do species differences in susceptibility influence virus transmission?" www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Host phylogeny with ancestral states showing virulence to a viral pathogen and variation in susceptibility among species

November 20, 2024 at 2:57 PM

Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

Interesting looking paper: "One Health on islands: Tractable ecosystems to explore the nexus between human, animal, terrestrial, and marine health" doi.org/10.1093/bios...

November 8, 2024 at 10:04 AM

Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

New from Ryan Imrie + Megan Wallace: 11 viruses x 35 host species, phylogenetic signal in susceptibility, +'ve correlations in susceptibility between divergent viruses but no evidence for -'ve corr's (ie resistance to one virus doesn't inc susceptibility to another) doi.org/10.1101/2024...

Figure with susceptibility across 35 hosts to 11 viruses

Figure with correlations across 35 hosts to 11 viruses - correlations either positive or not different from zero

October 14, 2024 at 7:43 AM

Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

Fab talk by @dickmerrill.bsky.social on "Brain, behaviour and the evolution of barrier loci (in butterflies)" for our @exetercec.bsky.social Darwin Landing seminar to celebrate the day Darwin came ashore in Falmouth at the end of his voyage on the Beagle on the 2nd October 1836.