Judith Behnsen
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Judith Behnsen
@judith-behnsen.bsky.social
540 followers 270 following 25 posts
Microbiologist. Associate Professor at University of Illinois Chicago studying microbe-microbe interactions. Loves fungi and bacteria.
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Judith Behnsen @judith-behnsen.bsky.social · Sep 3
Excited to share our new publication, out today in Nature! www.nature.com/articles/s41.... @kanchanj.bsky.social led this fascinating fungal-bacterial interaction project. We are grateful for our wonderful collaborators Brian Peters and David Underhill.
Commensal yeast promotes Salmonella Typhimurium virulence - Nature
Commensal Candida albicans enhances the virulence and dissemination of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium.
www.nature.com
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
hansonmark.bsky.social
We wrote the Strain on scientific publishing to highlight the problems of time & trust. With a fantastic group of co-authors, we present The Drain of Scientific Publishing:

a 🧵 1/n

Drain: arxiv.org/abs/2511.04820
Strain: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
Oligopoly: direct.mit.edu/qss/article/...
A table showing profit margins of major publishers. A snippet of text related to this table is below. 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year. A figure detailing the drain on researcher time. 1. The four-fold drain 1.2 Time The number of papers published each year is growing faster than the scientific workforce, with the number of papers per researcher almost doubling between 1996 and 2022 (Figure 1A). This reflects the fact that publishers’ commercial desire to publish (sell) more material has aligned well with the competitive prestige culture in which publications help secure jobs, grants, promotions, and awards. To the extent that this growth is driven by a pressure for profit, rather than scholarly imperatives, it distorts the way researchers spend their time. The publishing system depends on unpaid reviewer labour, estimated to be over 130 million unpaid hours annually in 2020 alone (9). Researchers have complained about the demands of peer-review for decades, but the scale of the problem is now worse, with editors reporting widespread difficulties recruiting reviewers. The growth in publications involves not only the authors’ time, but that of academic editors and reviewers who are dealing with so many review demands. Even more seriously, the imperative to produce ever more articles reshapes the nature of scientific inquiry. Evidence across multiple fields shows that more papers result in ‘ossification’, not new ideas (10). It may seem paradoxical that more papers can slow progress until one considers how it affects researchers’ time. While rewards remain tied to volume, prestige, and impact of publications, researchers will be nudged away from riskier, local, interdisciplinary, and long-term work. The result is a treadmill of constant activity with limited progress whereas core scholarly practices – such as reading, reflecting and engaging with others’ contributions – is de-prioritized. What looks like productivity often masks intellectual exhaustion built on a demoralizing, narrowing scientific vision. A table of profit margins across industries. The section of text related to this table is below: 1. The four-fold drain 1.1 Money Currently, academic publishing is dominated by profit-oriented, multinational companies for whom scientific knowledge is a commodity to be sold back to the academic community who created it. The dominant four are Elsevier, Springer Nature, Wiley and Taylor & Francis, which collectively generated over US$7.1 billion in revenue from journal publishing in 2024 alone, and over US$12 billion in profits between 2019 and 2024 (Table 1A). Their profit margins have always been over 30% in the last five years, and for the largest publisher (Elsevier) always over 37%. Against many comparators, across many sectors, scientific publishing is one of the most consistently profitable industries (Table S1). These financial arrangements make a substantial difference to science budgets. In 2024, 46% of Elsevier revenues and 53% of Taylor & Francis revenues were generated in North America, meaning that North American researchers were charged over US$2.27 billion by just two for-profit publishers. The Canadian research councils and the US National Science Foundation were allocated US$9.3 billion in that year. The costs of inaction are plain: wasted public funds, lost researcher time, compromised scientific integrity and eroded public trust. Today, the system rewards commercial publishers first, and science second. Without bold action from the funders we risk continuing to pour resources into a system that prioritizes profit over the advancement of scientific knowledge.
November 11, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
tobybarilbio.bsky.social
1/ Ever needed to annotate TEs in a fungal genome, but didn't know where to start?

We have released #MycoMobilome, a community-focused non-redundant database of transposable element consensus sequences for the fungal kingdom, constructed from >4,000 fungal genomes!

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 29, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social
One transcript, two functions: the emerging roles of dual-function RNAs

microLIFE review by @lizmarialuke.bsky.social and Kai Papenfort at @uni-jena.de

academic.oup.com/microlife/ad...
One transcript, two functions: the emerging roles of dual-function RNAs
Abstract. Bacteria use small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) and small proteins to change gene expression and modulate cellular processes in response to changing e
academic.oup.com
October 27, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
heran.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
khadershabaana.bsky.social
Dear #microbiology and #immunology community- I took a break from social media after I deleted my Twitter account, but am back here. Please help me rebuild my community by following me and amplifying this message- I will follow you back. Thank you and I look forward to our many interactions!
October 5, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
markjmandel.bsky.social
Another great @mmpconference.bsky.social wraps up… 👏 to organizers Jonathan Allen and Abby Kroken! @akroken.bsky.social
Opening session of the MMPC conference with Abby Kroken and Jonathan Allen on stage and a slide displayed.
October 5, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
leibniz-hki.de
Dose makes the difference! #Candidaalbicans uses the toxin #candidalysin not only to cause infections but also to quietly colonize the mouth – too little fails, too much triggers immune defense.

@natmicrobiol.nature.com
@mpm-hki.bsky.social

picture credits: Erik Böhm, @leibniz-hki.de
September 26, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
jeremymberg.bsky.social
This paper does a great job with a "It's a Wonderful Life" scenario about NIH, supposing the consequences of the bottom 40% of the funding NIH grants never existed.

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

tl:dr The world would lose a lot, but directly and indirectly
What if NIH had been 40% smaller?
Replaying history with less NIH funding shows widespread impacts on drug-linked research
www.science.org
September 26, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
joanneflynn19.bsky.social
We are hiring! The Dept of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics is looking for faculty at the Assistant or Associate professor level (tenure track). Please consider joining our vibrant microbiology and immunology community at the University of Pittsburgh School of medicine
August 20, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
brodskyigorlab.bsky.social
Abstract submissions are open for the Midwinter Conference of Immunologists @midwinter-immun.bsky.social!! www.midwconfimmunol.org The Early Bird Registration deadline is Nov 14, 2025.
There will be lots of Selected Abstract talks so submit an abstract to be considered!
Midwinter Conference of Immunologists
The Midwinter Conference of Immunologists was founded in 1961 by a small group of Immunologists, among them Drs. Dan Campbell and Ray Owen. The goal of the Midwinter Conference is to provide a forum w...
www.midwconfimmunol.org
September 22, 2025 at 1:12 PM
judith-behnsen.bsky.social
The short summary and behind-the-scenes of our paper in this Research Briefing article out today: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
September 10, 2025 at 6:50 PM
judith-behnsen.bsky.social
Excited to share our new publication, out today in Nature! www.nature.com/articles/s41.... @kanchanj.bsky.social led this fascinating fungal-bacterial interaction project. We are grateful for our wonderful collaborators Brian Peters and David Underhill.
Commensal yeast promotes Salmonella Typhimurium virulence - Nature
Commensal Candida albicans enhances the virulence and dissemination of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium.
www.nature.com
September 3, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
slavi-jan.bsky.social
A little more than 2 weeks to apply for a Postdoc position in our lab @leibniz-hki.de 👇🏻
slavi-jan.bsky.social Slavica Janevska @slavi-jan.bsky.social · Jul 17
📣 I’m recruiting a #Postdoc to help us further our understanding on the infection strategies of our human fungal pathogen. If you’re enthusiastic about research, our interdisciplinary group @leibniz-hki.de will be a good fit for you! Please share!
jobs.hki-jena.de/jobs/Postdoc...
Job opportunity Postdoctoral Researcher (m/w/div) in “Microbial Infection Strategies” at Leibniz HKI Jobportal
Wissenschaft/Forschung in Jena
jobs.hki-jena.de
August 27, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
natmicrobiol.nature.com
#News&Views

A mycovirus drives the fitness of the lung-infecting fungus Aspergillus fumigatus under stress, helping it to survive within immune cells, and thus shaping its pathogenesis.

#MicroSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Mycoviruses steer fungal fitness - Nature Microbiology
A mycovirus drives the fitness of the lung-infecting fungus Aspergillus fumigatus under stress, helping it to survive within immune cells, and thus shaping its pathogenesis.
www.nature.com
August 26, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
hansonmark.bsky.social
A reminder you/your lab can support FlyBase at Cambridge through the following link. Every bit helps. Please share if you yourself can't donate.

www.philanthropy.cam.ac.uk/give-to-camb...
August 14, 2025 at 5:25 AM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
laurenpalmer.bsky.social
Super excited to share our paper online 🚨today🚨 in Cell Host & Microbe‬! Xiaomei Ren @xiaomeiren.bsky.social and Mason Clark @rmasonclark.bsky.social‬ co-led discovery of ecological factors for Acinetobacter baumannii carriage in the gut, a reservoir for pathogen spread. 🎉

tinyurl.com/443kfefk
August 4, 2025 at 8:26 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
francisalonzo12.bsky.social
Happy to share Iván’s first-author pub from the lab! www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Staphylococcus aureus exploits lipoic acid salvage to combat host oxidative stress
Acosta et al. find that ADP-ribosylation of the lipoic acid carrier protein GcvH-L promotes Staphylococcus aureus resistance to oxidative burst and facilitates infection. ADP-ribosylation leads to a s...
www.cell.com
August 1, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
abaumler.bsky.social
Infection and Immunity is now welcoming nominations for highly promising scientists at the assistant professor level (or equivalent) to submit research to the next New Voices in Microbiology Collection!

Please nominate by the August 18 deadline using the below link:
app.asm.org/account/logi...
July 22, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
mrccmm.bsky.social
Join us this week for #MycoTalks with James Konopka @jkonopka.bsky.social and Jane Usher @jusher.bsky.social
📅 Thursday 24 July
🕓 16:00 (UK time)
💻 Via Zoom
Register for FREE here: universityofexeter.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
July 22, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
abaumler.bsky.social
The new open access policy of NIH will take effect next week (July 1st). All NIH funded research 🔬🧪🧬accepted after July 1st must be open access upon publication. Worried about fees? 💸 Check out how IAI stacks up against other journals—you might be surprised. #OpenAccess #SciComm #Microbiology
June 26, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
akroken.bsky.social
MMPC was the first conference I attended as a new graduate student. Hard to believe I'm serving as a co-chair for it this year! Hoping Jon Allen and the rest of our micro faculty here at Loyola can put on a great event for all of you... and that future MMPC chairs are among the attendees! 😊
May 1, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
leighknodler.bsky.social
Just a few spots remaining for the GRC Salmonella Biology and Pathogenesis meeting to be held in August. The final program is now online. www.grc.org/salmonella-b...
Apply now to hear about the latest scientific discoveries about Salmonella, meet up with old friends, make new friends......
June 3, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
viewfromarchstreet.com
The full FY 2026 budget request for the National Science Foundation was released this afternoon.

Proposed cuts to NSF research directorates range from -75% to -43%. NSF education -75%

[pdf] full request here: nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/00-NSF...
National Science Foundation Summary Table FY 2026 Budget Request to Congress
May 30, 2025 at 9:39 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
abaumler.bsky.social
Great meeting coming up next May
www.keystonesymposia.org/conferences/...
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!
www.keystonesymposia.org
May 12, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Reposted by Judith Behnsen
felipehst.bsky.social
Dear Midwest friends and colleagues, please save the day for #MNID25 to be held August 22-23 at Case Western Reserve University. More info here: biology.case.edu/2025mnid/
May 22, 2025 at 1:31 PM