Dr Claire Elek
@claireelek.bsky.social
Phage Biologist from 🇬🇧 at Phage Australia, Westmead 🇦🇺 | Interested in phage genomics, phage therapy, & AMR
PhD in Klebsiella phages @ Quadram Institute & UEA | MRes Imperial College London
Lover of 🏔 and 🐱
She/Her
PhD in Klebsiella phages @ Quadram Institute & UEA | MRes Imperial College London
Lover of 🏔 and 🐱
She/Her
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
Long read Metagenomics, #phage and #prophage in the gut by Ami Bhatt's group. Beautiful data showing changes in phages over two years
#phagesky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#phagesky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Long-read metagenomics reveals phage dynamics in the human gut microbiome - Nature
Complex prophage integration dynamics, including low-level induction, cross-family host range and transposase-mediated mobilization, challenge existing paradigms and deepen our understanding of phage–...
www.nature.com
November 26, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Long read Metagenomics, #phage and #prophage in the gut by Ami Bhatt's group. Beautiful data showing changes in phages over two years
#phagesky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#phagesky
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
Omnipresent Allies: The Role of Temperate Phages in Microbial Adaptation Across Ecosystems
- #EnvironMicrobiol Review
enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#PhageSky
- #EnvironMicrobiol Review
enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#PhageSky
Omnipresent Allies: The Role of Temperate Phages in Microbial Adaptation Across Ecosystems
This review synthesises evidence from culture-dependent systems and complex environments, concluding that temperate phages drive microbial adaptation across individual, population and community level....
enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 16, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Omnipresent Allies: The Role of Temperate Phages in Microbial Adaptation Across Ecosystems
- #EnvironMicrobiol Review
enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#PhageSky
- #EnvironMicrobiol Review
enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
#PhageSky
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
I’m excited to share my recent postdoc work. Here, we interrogate how different phage infection outcomes (productive vs. restrictive) affect the expression of phage defense systems. We find that a restricted infection not only inhibits the phage but also induces increased immune protein abundance.
Surviving phage attack dynamically regulates bacterial immunity to defeat counterdefenses https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.13.688357v1
November 15, 2025 at 6:10 PM
I’m excited to share my recent postdoc work. Here, we interrogate how different phage infection outcomes (productive vs. restrictive) affect the expression of phage defense systems. We find that a restricted infection not only inhibits the phage but also induces increased immune protein abundance.
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
We built GenoPHI: a machine learning workflow that predicts phage-host interactions at strain level. This could help rapidly select phages to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections or for microbiome engineering without exhaustive lab testing.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org
November 16, 2025 at 11:16 PM
We built GenoPHI: a machine learning workflow that predicts phage-host interactions at strain level. This could help rapidly select phages to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections or for microbiome engineering without exhaustive lab testing.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
Fantastic paper by James Bean and colleagues on phage Bas63 - this has been one of the first phages I ever isolated just for fun as a PhD student (in 2012!). It's #2 on this plate of Rhine river water on an E.coli K-12 lawn....
How it started /// How it's going
How it started /// How it's going
November 13, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Fantastic paper by James Bean and colleagues on phage Bas63 - this has been one of the first phages I ever isolated just for fun as a PhD student (in 2012!). It's #2 on this plate of Rhine river water on an E.coli K-12 lawn....
How it started /// How it's going
How it started /// How it's going
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
🐦 The Aussie Bird Count starts TODAY! 20–26 Oct, spend just 20 minutes counting birds wherever you are – backyard, balcony, park, anywhere!
With 1 in 6 Aussie birds facing extinction, every count matters. Last year 57k people spotted 4.1M birds. Help make 2025 even bigger!
With 1 in 6 Aussie birds facing extinction, every count matters. Last year 57k people spotted 4.1M birds. Help make 2025 even bigger!
October 20, 2025 at 4:52 AM
🐦 The Aussie Bird Count starts TODAY! 20–26 Oct, spend just 20 minutes counting birds wherever you are – backyard, balcony, park, anywhere!
With 1 in 6 Aussie birds facing extinction, every count matters. Last year 57k people spotted 4.1M birds. Help make 2025 even bigger!
With 1 in 6 Aussie birds facing extinction, every count matters. Last year 57k people spotted 4.1M birds. Help make 2025 even bigger!
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
Another fab opportunity in a fantastic group!
🚨 Funded PhD alert 🚨
We are recruiting for a PhD student to join the @langridgelab.bsky.social in October 2026 - please share!
If you like bacteria, genomics and puzzles, this could be the project for you 🦠🧬🧩
Apply by 2 Dec 🗓️
#PhDposition
Find out more ⬇️
www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d...
We are recruiting for a PhD student to join the @langridgelab.bsky.social in October 2026 - please share!
If you like bacteria, genomics and puzzles, this could be the project for you 🦠🧬🧩
Apply by 2 Dec 🗓️
#PhDposition
Find out more ⬇️
www.uea.ac.uk/course/phd-d...
October 17, 2025 at 5:32 AM
Another fab opportunity in a fantastic group!
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
Easy and interactive taxonomic profiling with Metabuli App.
It integrates database curation, read QC, taxonomic profiling, and visualization right on your desktop.
No command line, server, or internet required.
Now published in Bioinformatics! 🧵1/5
doi.org/10.1093/bioi...
github.com/steineggerla...
It integrates database curation, read QC, taxonomic profiling, and visualization right on your desktop.
No command line, server, or internet required.
Now published in Bioinformatics! 🧵1/5
doi.org/10.1093/bioi...
github.com/steineggerla...
October 16, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Easy and interactive taxonomic profiling with Metabuli App.
It integrates database curation, read QC, taxonomic profiling, and visualization right on your desktop.
No command line, server, or internet required.
Now published in Bioinformatics! 🧵1/5
doi.org/10.1093/bioi...
github.com/steineggerla...
It integrates database curation, read QC, taxonomic profiling, and visualization right on your desktop.
No command line, server, or internet required.
Now published in Bioinformatics! 🧵1/5
doi.org/10.1093/bioi...
github.com/steineggerla...
A great opportunity in a great group!
Please share! Funded PhD with us studying how AMR evolves in mixed communities
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
@quadraminstitute.bsky.social
www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
@quadraminstitute.bsky.social
How does antibiotic resistance evolve in mixed communities? (WEBBER_Q26DTP) at Quadram Institute Bioscience on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - How does antibiotic resistance evolve in mixed communities? (WEBBER_Q26DTP) at Quadram Institute Bioscience, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
October 15, 2025 at 8:29 PM
A great opportunity in a great group!
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
To celebrate and support the great @blackinmicro.bsky.social initiative and what joining could mean for you, please take a look through the commentary in Microbial Genomics @microbiologysociety.org hot off the press today! #MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky 💻🧬🧪🦠 www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
Reclaiming microbiology: scientists as community members and advocacy leaders
Microbiology Society journals contain high-quality research papers and topical review articles. We are a not-for-profit publisher and we support and invest in the microbiology community, to the benefi...
www.microbiologyresearch.org
October 15, 2025 at 8:28 AM
To celebrate and support the great @blackinmicro.bsky.social initiative and what joining could mean for you, please take a look through the commentary in Microbial Genomics @microbiologysociety.org hot off the press today! #MicroSky #MicrobiomeSky 💻🧬🧪🦠 www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
Our latest work reveals that arbitrium phages cross-communicate across species! These tiny viruses “listen” to signals from others, coordinating lysis-lysogeny decisions across species.
Original idea from @albertomarina.bsky.social and, as usual, he was right.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Original idea from @albertomarina.bsky.social and, as usual, he was right.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Phages communicate across species to shape microbial ecosystems
Arbitrium is a communication system that helps bacteriophages decide between lysis and lysogeny via secreted peptides. In arbitrium, the AimP peptide binds its cognate AimR receptor to repress aimX ex...
www.biorxiv.org
October 14, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Our latest work reveals that arbitrium phages cross-communicate across species! These tiny viruses “listen” to signals from others, coordinating lysis-lysogeny decisions across species.
Original idea from @albertomarina.bsky.social and, as usual, he was right.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Original idea from @albertomarina.bsky.social and, as usual, he was right.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
New preprint reveals bacteria can't just collect all resistance genes like Pokemon cards.
We found mutually exclusive evolutionary pathways to multidrug resistance in E. coli & P. aeruginosa - some resistance mechanisms actively prevent others from coexisting www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We found mutually exclusive evolutionary pathways to multidrug resistance in E. coli & P. aeruginosa - some resistance mechanisms actively prevent others from coexisting www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Genomic constraints shape the evolution of alternative routes to drug resistance in prokaryotes
Background Variation within the prokaryotic pangenome is not random, and natural selection that favours particular combinations of genes appears to dominate over random drift. What is less clear is wh...
www.biorxiv.org
August 29, 2025 at 2:05 PM
New preprint reveals bacteria can't just collect all resistance genes like Pokemon cards.
We found mutually exclusive evolutionary pathways to multidrug resistance in E. coli & P. aeruginosa - some resistance mechanisms actively prevent others from coexisting www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
We found mutually exclusive evolutionary pathways to multidrug resistance in E. coli & P. aeruginosa - some resistance mechanisms actively prevent others from coexisting www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
Article 8 of the ECHR is the protection on which not only all positive trans law rests but also most LGB rights to, as well as those of families where one parent wasn't born in the UK. It prevents asylum seeking families from being split.
It is utterly monstrous for Labour to want to weaken rights.
It is utterly monstrous for Labour to want to weaken rights.
August 31, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Article 8 of the ECHR is the protection on which not only all positive trans law rests but also most LGB rights to, as well as those of families where one parent wasn't born in the UK. It prevents asylum seeking families from being split.
It is utterly monstrous for Labour to want to weaken rights.
It is utterly monstrous for Labour to want to weaken rights.
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
It's just so depressing to have a government with a historic majority and a clear mandate for change and all they can think of to do with it is try to appease fascists who will never ever vote for them anyway
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
Police arrest 474 people at protest over Palestine Action ban in London
Number of arrests was highest recorded in relation to single operation in at least past decade, according to Met police
www.theguardian.com
August 10, 2025 at 10:08 AM
It's just so depressing to have a government with a historic majority and a clear mandate for change and all they can think of to do with it is try to appease fascists who will never ever vote for them anyway
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
To everybody criticising the visa denials to bat researchers in Australia, thank you.
I am always reminded of this previous humiliation, where hundreds of AIDS researchers were denied entry into Canada healthpolicy-watch.news/aids-confere...
I am always reminded of this previous humiliation, where hundreds of AIDS researchers were denied entry into Canada healthpolicy-watch.news/aids-confere...
AIDS Conference Activists Protest ‘Systemic Racism’ Behind Canadian Visa Denials To African Delegates - Health Policy Watch
MONTREAL - Activists took over the stage at the opening of the International AIDS conference in Montreal on Friday morning to protest Canada's denial of visas
healthpolicy-watch.news
August 10, 2025 at 10:52 AM
To everybody criticising the visa denials to bat researchers in Australia, thank you.
I am always reminded of this previous humiliation, where hundreds of AIDS researchers were denied entry into Canada healthpolicy-watch.news/aids-confere...
I am always reminded of this previous humiliation, where hundreds of AIDS researchers were denied entry into Canada healthpolicy-watch.news/aids-confere...
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
Since Brexit the UK is turning on itself and anyone critical of it or the governments rules are liable for arrest. Such as this Palestine Action protest today has shown. It's also not just a normal arrest but on TERRORISM charges.
Post Brexit Britain has GONE INSANE.
Post Brexit Britain has GONE INSANE.
UK police arrested hundreds today at protests over the Palestine Action ban.
Absolutely bonkers quote from the police here: “It will take time, but we will arrest anyone expressing support for Palestine Action."
Just to reiterate: Simple written or verbal expressions of support are illegal.
Absolutely bonkers quote from the police here: “It will take time, but we will arrest anyone expressing support for Palestine Action."
Just to reiterate: Simple written or verbal expressions of support are illegal.
UK police arrest at least 466 people at Palestine Action protest in London
Critics say ban on activist group stifles freedom of speech and assembly and aims to curb pro-Palestine demonstrations.
www.aljazeera.com
August 9, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Since Brexit the UK is turning on itself and anyone critical of it or the governments rules are liable for arrest. Such as this Palestine Action protest today has shown. It's also not just a normal arrest but on TERRORISM charges.
Post Brexit Britain has GONE INSANE.
Post Brexit Britain has GONE INSANE.
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
Instead of relatively inexpensive vaccination to enable the body to produce its own antibodies, people are gonna pay $$$$ to inject monoclonal antibodies to treat the disease
What are we even doing here
What are we even doing here
August 10, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Instead of relatively inexpensive vaccination to enable the body to produce its own antibodies, people are gonna pay $$$$ to inject monoclonal antibodies to treat the disease
What are we even doing here
What are we even doing here
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
Great to see this out. The impact of antibiotics on the gut phages and what it tells us of the disruption associated with antibiotics . www.cell.com/cell-reports... Check @eugenpfeifer.bsky.social thread
July 28, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Great to see this out. The impact of antibiotics on the gut phages and what it tells us of the disruption associated with antibiotics . www.cell.com/cell-reports... Check @eugenpfeifer.bsky.social thread
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
After many years in the making, here is our host range #phage paper with #ecology, #evolution and #biocontrol perspectives published in Molecular Ecology! @phimresearch.bsky.social @inrae-pv.bsky.social #PVBMT #JulianGarneau onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
These are our key findings:
These are our key findings:
A Phylogenetic Host‐Range Index Reveals Ecological Constraints in Phage Specialisation and Virulence
Phages are typically known for having a limited host range, targeting particular strains within a bacterial species, but accurately measuring their specificity remains challenging. Factors like the g...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 28, 2025 at 11:13 AM
After many years in the making, here is our host range #phage paper with #ecology, #evolution and #biocontrol perspectives published in Molecular Ecology! @phimresearch.bsky.social @inrae-pv.bsky.social #PVBMT #JulianGarneau onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
These are our key findings:
These are our key findings:
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
Thrilled to see our Kiwa story out today! A membrane-associated supercomplex that senses infection and blocks replication and transcription.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Huge congratulations to Yi and Zhiying for bringing it home, to Thomas for starting us off, and to all the collaborators.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Huge congratulations to Yi and Zhiying for bringing it home, to Thomas for starting us off, and to all the collaborators.
Kiwa is a membrane-embedded defense supercomplex activated at phage attachment sites
Zhang, Todeschini, and Wu et al. show that the bacterial defense system Kiwa senses
phage attachment at the membrane and assembles a transmembrane complex that halts
infection by blocking phage DNA re...
www.cell.com
July 28, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Thrilled to see our Kiwa story out today! A membrane-associated supercomplex that senses infection and blocks replication and transcription.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Huge congratulations to Yi and Zhiying for bringing it home, to Thomas for starting us off, and to all the collaborators.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Huge congratulations to Yi and Zhiying for bringing it home, to Thomas for starting us off, and to all the collaborators.
Sydney, Aus ➡️ Norwich, UK Graduation 2025 @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social has been a blast! It was amazing to celebrate with friends and family, and catch up with @evelienadri.bsky.social and colleagues from @quadraminstitute.bsky.social.
July 15, 2025 at 7:55 AM
Sydney, Aus ➡️ Norwich, UK Graduation 2025 @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social has been a blast! It was amazing to celebrate with friends and family, and catch up with @evelienadri.bsky.social and colleagues from @quadraminstitute.bsky.social.
Reposted by Dr Claire Elek
I'm super happy to share this preprint on ‘Distribution of capsule and O types in #Klebsiella pneumoniae causing neonatal sepsis in Africa and South Asia: meta-analysis of genome-predicted serotype prevalence and potential vaccine coverage’
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Distribution of capsule and O types in Klebsiella pneumoniae causing neonatal sepsis in Africa and South Asia: meta-analysis of genome-predicted serotype prevalence and potential vaccine coverage
Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae causes ~20% of sepsis in neonates, with ~40% crude mortality. A vaccine administered to pregnant women, protecting against 70% of K. pneumoniae infections, could aver...
doi.org
July 1, 2025 at 9:45 AM
I'm super happy to share this preprint on ‘Distribution of capsule and O types in #Klebsiella pneumoniae causing neonatal sepsis in Africa and South Asia: meta-analysis of genome-predicted serotype prevalence and potential vaccine coverage’
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
doi.org/10.1101/2025...