Joe Zackular
@joeyzacks.bsky.social
Assistant Prof at UPenn & Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Co-Director of Center for Microbial Medicine (https://tinyurl.com/2xve6jfp) at CHOP
We study host-pathogen interactions, C. diff, Enterococcus, gut microbiota, mRNA vaccines.
zackularlab.org
Co-Director of Center for Microbial Medicine (https://tinyurl.com/2xve6jfp) at CHOP
We study host-pathogen interactions, C. diff, Enterococcus, gut microbiota, mRNA vaccines.
zackularlab.org
Pinned
Joe Zackular
@joeyzacks.bsky.social
· May 23
Announcing the 2025 Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease www.bwfund.org/news/announc... #bwfpath
Announcing the 2025 Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease - Burroughs Wellcome Fund
DURHAM, N.C. – The Burroughs Wellcome Fund proudly announces the 2025 Investigators in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease (PATH) award recipients. This year’s cohort represents a diverse group of…
www.bwfund.org
Incredibly honored to be selected as a @bwfund.bsky.social Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease. Thank you to @bwfund.bsky.social for supporting our work - I am thrilled to join this amazing community! And special thank you to my AMAZING team (past & present) for getting us here!
It’s been so much fun connecting with the 2025 @bwfund.bsky.social PATH cohort! Such an inspirational group of scientist @novaislab.bsky.social @adore.bsky.social @virulentmind.bsky.social
November 6, 2025 at 3:34 AM
It’s been so much fun connecting with the 2025 @bwfund.bsky.social PATH cohort! Such an inspirational group of scientist @novaislab.bsky.social @adore.bsky.social @virulentmind.bsky.social
Reposted by Joe Zackular
I'll be speaking at Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection @keystonesymposia.bsky.social May 4-7, 2026. Abstract and scholarship submissions are open through Jan 7. Please encourage those in your network working on novel infection prevention/treatment to submit!
November 4, 2025 at 3:36 PM
I'll be speaking at Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection @keystonesymposia.bsky.social May 4-7, 2026. Abstract and scholarship submissions are open through Jan 7. Please encourage those in your network working on novel infection prevention/treatment to submit!
Reposted by Joe Zackular
We're just 6 months away from @keystoneSymposia.bsky.social Beyond #Antibiotics : Emerging Strategies Combating #BacterialInfection, May 2026 in Breckenridge! 👉Scholarship and short talk abstract deadlines are Jan 7! 🧐 keysym.us/KSBeyondAntibiotics26 #KSBeyondAntibiotics26
Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection | Keystone Symposia
Join us at the Keystone Symposia on Beyond Antibiotics: Emerging Strategies for Combating Bacterial Infection, May 2026, in Breckenridge, with field leaders!
keysym.us
November 4, 2025 at 2:47 PM
We're just 6 months away from @keystoneSymposia.bsky.social Beyond #Antibiotics : Emerging Strategies Combating #BacterialInfection, May 2026 in Breckenridge! 👉Scholarship and short talk abstract deadlines are Jan 7! 🧐 keysym.us/KSBeyondAntibiotics26 #KSBeyondAntibiotics26
Reposted by Joe Zackular
This month, my lab celebrated our 5 year anniversary! On October 16, 2020, I rode the L train to start my lab at UIC, as the only lab member during COVID. In 2025, we celebrated together! It’s been such an honor that all these incredible people and more have chosen to do science with me!
October 31, 2025 at 3:15 AM
This month, my lab celebrated our 5 year anniversary! On October 16, 2020, I rode the L train to start my lab at UIC, as the only lab member during COVID. In 2025, we celebrated together! It’s been such an honor that all these incredible people and more have chosen to do science with me!
Reposted by Joe Zackular
We selected the laziest mouse at each round to inoculate the next batch of germfree mice: over rounds of selection and passaging, behavior shifted without changes to the mouse genome: rdcu.be/eM3rO
🦠🧫
🦠🧫
Selection and transmission of the gut microbiome alone can shift mammalian behavior
Nature Communications - Here, the authors present evidence that the gut microbiome alone, without changes in the host genome, can shape how animals respond to selection, identifying a bacterium and...
rdcu.be
October 28, 2025 at 7:51 AM
We selected the laziest mouse at each round to inoculate the next batch of germfree mice: over rounds of selection and passaging, behavior shifted without changes to the mouse genome: rdcu.be/eM3rO
🦠🧫
🦠🧫
Reposted by Joe Zackular
🚨Job posting! #UMassAmherst Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences is hiring a TT faculty member in #Immunology. Both fundamental and translational areas considered. Please spread the word!
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
Details - Assistant Professor - Immunology | Human Resources | UMass Amherst
careers.umass.edu
October 15, 2025 at 9:07 PM
🚨Job posting! #UMassAmherst Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences is hiring a TT faculty member in #Immunology. Both fundamental and translational areas considered. Please spread the word!
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
Reposted by Joe Zackular
UChicago Microbiology is searching for tenured or tenure-track faculty working in host-pathogens interactions, viral and bacterial pathogenesis, and emerging infectious diseases. Come join our vibrant Department! microbiology.uchicago.edu
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/174404
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/174404
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
October 5, 2025 at 12:03 PM
UChicago Microbiology is searching for tenured or tenure-track faculty working in host-pathogens interactions, viral and bacterial pathogenesis, and emerging infectious diseases. Come join our vibrant Department! microbiology.uchicago.edu
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/174404
Apply here apply.interfolio.com/174404
Reposted by Joe Zackular
We're hiring! Check out our ad and please re-post or forward to interested #Microbiology parties: apply.interfolio.com/174783
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
October 7, 2025 at 4:10 PM
We're hiring! Check out our ad and please re-post or forward to interested #Microbiology parties: apply.interfolio.com/174783
Reposted by Joe Zackular
After being with the journal since its very inception, the time has come for me to step back from Microbial Genomics. This is a wonderful opportunity to have a leadership role in one of the leading journals for microbial genomics research
microbiologysociety.org/news/society...
microbiologysociety.org/news/society...
<i>Microbial Genomics </i> Deputy Editor-in-Chief: Call for Expressions of interest
microbiologysociety.org
October 7, 2025 at 8:44 AM
After being with the journal since its very inception, the time has come for me to step back from Microbial Genomics. This is a wonderful opportunity to have a leadership role in one of the leading journals for microbial genomics research
microbiologysociety.org/news/society...
microbiologysociety.org/news/society...
Reposted by Joe Zackular
Thinking about a postdoc in microbiome science?
Our lab at the MPI for Biology (Tübingen) builds on the culture I established at Cornell: collaborative, creative, and internationally diverse. Postdocs lead their own projects with secure funding. Join us!
#PostdocJobs #HostMicrobe #AcademicJobs
Our lab at the MPI for Biology (Tübingen) builds on the culture I established at Cornell: collaborative, creative, and internationally diverse. Postdocs lead their own projects with secure funding. Join us!
#PostdocJobs #HostMicrobe #AcademicJobs
October 4, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Thinking about a postdoc in microbiome science?
Our lab at the MPI for Biology (Tübingen) builds on the culture I established at Cornell: collaborative, creative, and internationally diverse. Postdocs lead their own projects with secure funding. Join us!
#PostdocJobs #HostMicrobe #AcademicJobs
Our lab at the MPI for Biology (Tübingen) builds on the culture I established at Cornell: collaborative, creative, and internationally diverse. Postdocs lead their own projects with secure funding. Join us!
#PostdocJobs #HostMicrobe #AcademicJobs
Reposted by Joe Zackular
Important piece from Sarah Stanley at Berkeley on new NIH definitions that can be construed to arbitrarily halt research that is both safe and important to public health and future cures www.statnews.com/2025/10/06/g... via @statnews.com
The NIH ordered me to stop my ‘dangerous’ gain-of-function research. It isn’t dangerous at all
Safe gain-of-function research is necessary to identify new treatments for diseases like for tuberculosis — but the NIH has imposed unfounded stops.
www.statnews.com
October 6, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Important piece from Sarah Stanley at Berkeley on new NIH definitions that can be construed to arbitrarily halt research that is both safe and important to public health and future cures www.statnews.com/2025/10/06/g... via @statnews.com
Reposted by Joe Zackular
Our new preprint by @nanamikubota.bsky.social shows that P. aeruginosa, and likely many other bacteria carrying filamentous prophages (like V. parahaemolyticus), risk being exploited by these phages in a runaway process that reduces fitness of both host and virus. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵
Filamentous cheater phages drive bacterial and phage populations to lower fitness
Many bacteria carry phage genome(s) in their chromosome (i.e., prophage), and this intertwines the fitness of the bacterium and the phage. Most Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains carry filamentous phages ...
www.biorxiv.org
April 3, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Our new preprint by @nanamikubota.bsky.social shows that P. aeruginosa, and likely many other bacteria carrying filamentous prophages (like V. parahaemolyticus), risk being exploited by these phages in a runaway process that reduces fitness of both host and virus. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵
Reposted by Joe Zackular
What was antibiotic resistance like before we ever used antibiotics? How did we change what antibiotic resistance genes looked like over 100 years?
Our paper looking at resistance genes from a century of NCTC historical isolates now out in mGen:
www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
Our paper looking at resistance genes from a century of NCTC historical isolates now out in mGen:
www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
Genomic resistance in historical clinical isolates increased in frequency and mobility after the age of antibiotics
Antibiotic resistance is frequently observed shortly after the clinical introduction of an antibiotic. Whether and how frequently that resistance occurred before the introduction is harder to determin...
www.microbiologyresearch.org
September 1, 2025 at 5:49 PM
What was antibiotic resistance like before we ever used antibiotics? How did we change what antibiotic resistance genes looked like over 100 years?
Our paper looking at resistance genes from a century of NCTC historical isolates now out in mGen:
www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
Our paper looking at resistance genes from a century of NCTC historical isolates now out in mGen:
www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour...
Reposted by Joe Zackular
The GRFP announcement from NSF cuts out an entire cohort of 2nd year students from consideration, without warning. This is so deeply unfair that it warrants a formal protest from the scientific community. If someone wants to work with me to craft an open letter and solicit signatures, LMK.
New: After a long wait, the GRFP solicitation is live! Deadlines have been extended to early November, so applicants have a bit over a month to submit. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
www.nsf.gov
September 26, 2025 at 5:10 PM
The GRFP announcement from NSF cuts out an entire cohort of 2nd year students from consideration, without warning. This is so deeply unfair that it warrants a formal protest from the scientific community. If someone wants to work with me to craft an open letter and solicit signatures, LMK.
Reposted by Joe Zackular
OUT NOW: Rational design of a hospital-specific phage cocktail to treat Enterobacter cloacae complex infections
By Dinesh Subedi, Jeremy Barr & colleagues @jeremyjbarr.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
By Dinesh Subedi, Jeremy Barr & colleagues @jeremyjbarr.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Rational design of a hospital-specific phage cocktail to treat Enterobacter cloacae complex infections - Nature Microbiology
The Entelli-02 phage product containing five phages has frontline potential to address infections caused by the multidrug-resistant Enterobacter cloacae complex.
www.nature.com
September 25, 2025 at 10:47 AM
OUT NOW: Rational design of a hospital-specific phage cocktail to treat Enterobacter cloacae complex infections
By Dinesh Subedi, Jeremy Barr & colleagues @jeremyjbarr.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
By Dinesh Subedi, Jeremy Barr & colleagues @jeremyjbarr.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Joe Zackular
The Next Gen Pregnancy Initiative is now accepting applications. Up to $500,000 over 4 years to support bold research into pregnancy duration, fetal growth, and pregnancy complications. Deadline: Dec 4, 2025.
Apply now buff.ly/rNhJKMW #bwfrepro
Apply now buff.ly/rNhJKMW #bwfrepro
Next Gen Pregnancy Initiative - Burroughs Wellcome Fund
by
buff.ly
September 25, 2025 at 9:33 AM
The Next Gen Pregnancy Initiative is now accepting applications. Up to $500,000 over 4 years to support bold research into pregnancy duration, fetal growth, and pregnancy complications. Deadline: Dec 4, 2025.
Apply now buff.ly/rNhJKMW #bwfrepro
Apply now buff.ly/rNhJKMW #bwfrepro
Reposted by Joe Zackular
Thrilled to share @alex-dobrila.bsky.social’s new review in Infection & Immunity on how butyrate shapes C. difficile pathogenesis. A must-read for those interested in microbiome–pathogen interactions. 👉 journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
The emerging view on the roles of butyrate in Clostridioides difficile pathogenesis | Infection and Immunity
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classifies Clostridioides difficile as an urgent threat to the nation’s health, as it causes 450,000 infections, 15,000 deaths, and 1 billion dollars in excess healthcare costs per year in the United States (1, 2). Most C. difficile infections (CDIs) occur in healthcare settings, where CDI is the most common cause of infectious diarrhea (3). Known and suspected risk factors for CDI include antibiotics, proton pump inhibitors, impaired immune function, advanced age, and diet, all of which are associated with dysbiotic gastrointestinal (GI) microbiomes (4–6). Though most CDIs are associated with antibiotic treatment, 22% of individuals with community-acquired CDI have no recent history of antibiotic use. Factors affecting persistent and recurrent CDIs remain poorly defined (7, 8). Despite the morbidity and mortality caused by C. difficile, up to 15% of healthy adults are asymptomatic carriers of toxigenic C. difficile (9), highlighting the gaps in our understanding of C. difficile.
journals.asm.org
September 24, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Thrilled to share @alex-dobrila.bsky.social’s new review in Infection & Immunity on how butyrate shapes C. difficile pathogenesis. A must-read for those interested in microbiome–pathogen interactions. 👉 journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Joe Zackular
🚨 Microbiologists! We are recruiting Assistant / Associate Professors in 3 collaborative areas of our U. Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
1) MMG (my dept): fundamental research in med micro
2) Peds ID / I4Kids institute
3) Center for Vaccine Research
🔗 to all 3 w/info: www.linkedin.com/posts/vaughn...
1) MMG (my dept): fundamental research in med micro
2) Peds ID / I4Kids institute
3) Center for Vaccine Research
🔗 to all 3 w/info: www.linkedin.com/posts/vaughn...
Faculty Professor Associate - Full-Time | Vaughn Cooper
We are recruiting Faculty microbiologists in three (3) different, complementary, and collaborative areas at the University of Pittsburgh associated with the School of Medicine.
1) Fundamental researc...
www.linkedin.com
September 23, 2025 at 10:31 PM
🚨 Microbiologists! We are recruiting Assistant / Associate Professors in 3 collaborative areas of our U. Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
1) MMG (my dept): fundamental research in med micro
2) Peds ID / I4Kids institute
3) Center for Vaccine Research
🔗 to all 3 w/info: www.linkedin.com/posts/vaughn...
1) MMG (my dept): fundamental research in med micro
2) Peds ID / I4Kids institute
3) Center for Vaccine Research
🔗 to all 3 w/info: www.linkedin.com/posts/vaughn...
Reposted by Joe Zackular
Pitt is an absolutely amazing place for microbiology, particularly evolutionary microbiology. And they’re hiring!
🚨 Microbiologists! We are recruiting Assistant / Associate Professors in 3 collaborative areas of our U. Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
1) MMG (my dept): fundamental research in med micro
2) Peds ID / I4Kids institute
3) Center for Vaccine Research
🔗 to all 3 w/info: www.linkedin.com/posts/vaughn...
1) MMG (my dept): fundamental research in med micro
2) Peds ID / I4Kids institute
3) Center for Vaccine Research
🔗 to all 3 w/info: www.linkedin.com/posts/vaughn...
Faculty Professor Associate - Full-Time | Vaughn Cooper
We are recruiting Faculty microbiologists in three (3) different, complementary, and collaborative areas at the University of Pittsburgh associated with the School of Medicine.
1) Fundamental researc...
www.linkedin.com
September 24, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Pitt is an absolutely amazing place for microbiology, particularly evolutionary microbiology. And they’re hiring!
Reposted by Joe Zackular
Fecal filtrate is less effective than donor stool (FMT) for the treatment of C. difficile recurrence. Now shown in a multicentre trial, out today in @lancetgastrohep.bsky.social .
Congratulations to Dina Kao @ualberta.bsky.social & team!
Gift link:
authors.elsevier.com/c/1lphg8nByr...
Congratulations to Dina Kao @ualberta.bsky.social & team!
Gift link:
authors.elsevier.com/c/1lphg8nByr...
authors.elsevier.com
September 23, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Fecal filtrate is less effective than donor stool (FMT) for the treatment of C. difficile recurrence. Now shown in a multicentre trial, out today in @lancetgastrohep.bsky.social .
Congratulations to Dina Kao @ualberta.bsky.social & team!
Gift link:
authors.elsevier.com/c/1lphg8nByr...
Congratulations to Dina Kao @ualberta.bsky.social & team!
Gift link:
authors.elsevier.com/c/1lphg8nByr...
Reposted by Joe Zackular
ACOG reaffirms that acetaminophen is safe for managing pain and fever during pregnancy. No reputable studies support suggestions like those in HHS’s recent announcement linking acetaminophen use in pregnancy to autism; in fact, high-quality studies show no such risk. https://bit.ly/47Wxc59
September 22, 2025 at 9:24 PM
ACOG reaffirms that acetaminophen is safe for managing pain and fever during pregnancy. No reputable studies support suggestions like those in HHS’s recent announcement linking acetaminophen use in pregnancy to autism; in fact, high-quality studies show no such risk. https://bit.ly/47Wxc59
Reposted by Joe Zackular
We're hiring! 5 tenure track assistant professors. 2 #microbiology, 2 #Evolution, 1 #biologicalclocks
jobs.sciencecareers.org/job/675062/f...
jobs.sciencecareers.org/job/675062/f...
Five Tenure-Track Assistant Professor Positions in Microbiology, Evolution, and Biological Clocks - College Station, Texas job with Department of Biology - TAMU | 675062
Texas A&M University (TAMU) invites applications for five full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor positions
jobs.sciencecareers.org
September 12, 2025 at 6:11 PM
We're hiring! 5 tenure track assistant professors. 2 #microbiology, 2 #Evolution, 1 #biologicalclocks
jobs.sciencecareers.org/job/675062/f...
jobs.sciencecareers.org/job/675062/f...
Reposted by Joe Zackular
Winner of mRNA Nobel Prize says ACIP member’s claim that Covid vaccines persist is “absolutely impossible”
In Q&A, Drew Weissman says vast literature shows Covid shots are safe, refutes claims from Retsef Levi
www.statnews.com/2025/09/20/d...
In Q&A, Drew Weissman says vast literature shows Covid shots are safe, refutes claims from Retsef Levi
www.statnews.com/2025/09/20/d...
Winner of mRNA Nobel Prize says ACIP member’s claim that Covid vaccines persist is “absolutely impossible”
In a Q&A with STAT, Nobel winner Drew Weissman addressed concerns raised about Covid shots at a recent meeting of federal vaccine advisers.
www.statnews.com
September 20, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Winner of mRNA Nobel Prize says ACIP member’s claim that Covid vaccines persist is “absolutely impossible”
In Q&A, Drew Weissman says vast literature shows Covid shots are safe, refutes claims from Retsef Levi
www.statnews.com/2025/09/20/d...
In Q&A, Drew Weissman says vast literature shows Covid shots are safe, refutes claims from Retsef Levi
www.statnews.com/2025/09/20/d...
Reposted by Joe Zackular
"No vaccine was tested more extensively than the RNA vaccines, and no vaccine was given to more people than the mRNA vaccines, & they were found to be incredibly safe...and effective. They saved 20 million lives, & they stopped a pandemic that was shutting down the world."
-Drew Weissman
-Drew Weissman
Winner of mRNA Nobel Prize says ACIP member’s claim that Covid vaccines persist is “absolutely impossible”
In Q&A, Drew Weissman says vast literature shows Covid shots are safe, refutes claims from Retsef Levi
www.statnews.com/2025/09/20/d...
In Q&A, Drew Weissman says vast literature shows Covid shots are safe, refutes claims from Retsef Levi
www.statnews.com/2025/09/20/d...
Winner of mRNA Nobel Prize says ACIP member’s claim that Covid vaccines persist is “absolutely impossible”
In a Q&A with STAT, Nobel winner Drew Weissman addressed concerns raised about Covid shots at a recent meeting of federal vaccine advisers.
www.statnews.com
September 20, 2025 at 3:23 PM
"No vaccine was tested more extensively than the RNA vaccines, and no vaccine was given to more people than the mRNA vaccines, & they were found to be incredibly safe...and effective. They saved 20 million lives, & they stopped a pandemic that was shutting down the world."
-Drew Weissman
-Drew Weissman
Reposted by Joe Zackular
I like this. Since under RFK Jr, Covid shots are now for people with underlying conditions that put them at risk, Michigan’s chief medical executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian states that not having the most recent Covid shot constitutes such an underlying condition.
www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside...
www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside...
September 19, 2025 at 6:09 PM
I like this. Since under RFK Jr, Covid shots are now for people with underlying conditions that put them at risk, Michigan’s chief medical executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian states that not having the most recent Covid shot constitutes such an underlying condition.
www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside...
www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/inside...