Robin May
@robinmay9.bsky.social
Professor at University of Birmingham, UK and Gresham College. Chief Scientific Adviser at the UK Food Standards Agency. Views very much my own (and occasionally someone else's too).
Reposted by Robin May
Here’s a poem called ‘English Roundabouts’.
September 15, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Here’s a poem called ‘English Roundabouts’.
Reposted by Robin May
😱 Why Do We Fear?
Free tickets now open 👉 gres.hm/why-fear
Fear keeps us alive, but can also trap us in phobias or push us toward thrill-seeking. Prof @robinmay9.bsky.social asks, can understanding its biology help us overcome it?
*also of @imibirmingham.bsky.social
Free tickets now open 👉 gres.hm/why-fear
Fear keeps us alive, but can also trap us in phobias or push us toward thrill-seeking. Prof @robinmay9.bsky.social asks, can understanding its biology help us overcome it?
*also of @imibirmingham.bsky.social
September 1, 2025 at 11:40 AM
😱 Why Do We Fear?
Free tickets now open 👉 gres.hm/why-fear
Fear keeps us alive, but can also trap us in phobias or push us toward thrill-seeking. Prof @robinmay9.bsky.social asks, can understanding its biology help us overcome it?
*also of @imibirmingham.bsky.social
Free tickets now open 👉 gres.hm/why-fear
Fear keeps us alive, but can also trap us in phobias or push us toward thrill-seeking. Prof @robinmay9.bsky.social asks, can understanding its biology help us overcome it?
*also of @imibirmingham.bsky.social
One week left to apply, folks! And I promise that I'm not spending my final month in post making all sorts of daft decisions that you'll have to unravel if you get the job...! 😉
This is the job I've been doing for the last five years and it is FANTASTIC. So if your finger is hovering uncertainly over the 'apply now' button, then stop hesitating and press it!
www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cg...
www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cg...
Quick Check Needed
www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk
August 29, 2025 at 12:56 PM
One week left to apply, folks! And I promise that I'm not spending my final month in post making all sorts of daft decisions that you'll have to unravel if you get the job...! 😉
Reposted by Robin May
🖥️ The MOOC “Medical Mycology” is open for registration!
👉 bit.ly/medical-myco...
🍄 Welcome to the fascinating world of fungi, agents of major infectious diseases! Discover the taxonomy, ecology, identification of fungi, epidemiology of infectious diseases, drugs, link with HIV…Share this info!
👉 bit.ly/medical-myco...
🍄 Welcome to the fascinating world of fungi, agents of major infectious diseases! Discover the taxonomy, ecology, identification of fungi, epidemiology of infectious diseases, drugs, link with HIV…Share this info!
Medical Mycology
Welcome to the fascinating world of fungi, agents of major infectious diseases!
bit.ly
August 1, 2025 at 8:07 AM
🖥️ The MOOC “Medical Mycology” is open for registration!
👉 bit.ly/medical-myco...
🍄 Welcome to the fascinating world of fungi, agents of major infectious diseases! Discover the taxonomy, ecology, identification of fungi, epidemiology of infectious diseases, drugs, link with HIV…Share this info!
👉 bit.ly/medical-myco...
🍄 Welcome to the fascinating world of fungi, agents of major infectious diseases! Discover the taxonomy, ecology, identification of fungi, epidemiology of infectious diseases, drugs, link with HIV…Share this info!
Just in case Pinewood Studies are reading this, then I'm more than happy to discuss my consultancy fee with you (I'm thinking maybe a hand-me-down Bond dinner suit - without bullet holes - and a quick spin in the Aston Martin?)
"an ability to operate sensitively and effectively in a political and/or ambiguous environment" - 90% chance Robin is consulting on the next James Bond movie villain!
July 30, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Just in case Pinewood Studies are reading this, then I'm more than happy to discuss my consultancy fee with you (I'm thinking maybe a hand-me-down Bond dinner suit - without bullet holes - and a quick spin in the Aston Martin?)
This is the job I've been doing for the last five years and it is FANTASTIC. So if your finger is hovering uncertainly over the 'apply now' button, then stop hesitating and press it!
www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cg...
www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cg...
Quick Check Needed
www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk
July 28, 2025 at 6:48 AM
This is the job I've been doing for the last five years and it is FANTASTIC. So if your finger is hovering uncertainly over the 'apply now' button, then stop hesitating and press it!
www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cg...
www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cg...
Great to be able to talk about the impact of climate change on infections at today's 'Leave No One Behind' schools' conference with @mulberrytrust.bsky.social @greshamcollege.bsky.social and @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social. Yet another reason (as if we needed one) to get to #netzero ASAP.
July 7, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Great to be able to talk about the impact of climate change on infections at today's 'Leave No One Behind' schools' conference with @mulberrytrust.bsky.social @greshamcollege.bsky.social and @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social. Yet another reason (as if we needed one) to get to #netzero ASAP.
Reposted by Robin May
Excellent talk from @robinmay9.bsky.social about his life, David Attenborough being his inspo and the Food Standards Agency 🦠🥪
July 4, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Excellent talk from @robinmay9.bsky.social about his life, David Attenborough being his inspo and the Food Standards Agency 🦠🥪
This is a very nice testament to the strength of UK science, not to mention the importance of international collaboration - congratulations awardees, one and all! www.russellgroup.ac.uk/news/uk-take...
UK takes the lead on ERC Advanced Grant wins | Russell Group
New data shows the UK has won by far the largest share of ERC grants, one of the most prestigious and competitive funding schemes in the EU
www.russellgroup.ac.uk
June 27, 2025 at 6:32 PM
This is a very nice testament to the strength of UK science, not to mention the importance of international collaboration - congratulations awardees, one and all! www.russellgroup.ac.uk/news/uk-take...
Reposted by Robin May
Woah, they've also got a tool where you can listen to the image: skyviewer.app/skysynth
Listen | Skyviewer
skyviewer.app
June 23, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Woah, they've also got a tool where you can listen to the image: skyviewer.app/skysynth
125 years of preparation, and @unibirmingham.bsky.social is looking at its most spectacular... #UoB125
June 21, 2025 at 5:19 PM
125 years of preparation, and @unibirmingham.bsky.social is looking at its most spectacular... #UoB125
A @greshamcollege.bsky.social short on Rethinking the 'reincarnation' of Dire Wolves. Or rather, why they aren't Dire Wolves at all (sorry to disappoint all you Game of Thrones fans out there):
youtu.be/Scesbs7GT6U?...
youtu.be/Scesbs7GT6U?...
De-Extinction or Design? Rethinking the ‘Return’ of the Dire Wolf - Robin May
YouTube video by Gresham College
youtu.be
June 6, 2025 at 2:48 PM
A @greshamcollege.bsky.social short on Rethinking the 'reincarnation' of Dire Wolves. Or rather, why they aren't Dire Wolves at all (sorry to disappoint all you Game of Thrones fans out there):
youtu.be/Scesbs7GT6U?...
youtu.be/Scesbs7GT6U?...
Reposted by Robin May
In our latest blog post we catch up with #BlavatnikAwards Life Sciences Laureate @stewartlab.bsky.social, who recently attended the Blavatnik Awards ceremony and public symposium and gave talks about his preventive health work on preterm infant microbiomes 🫄👶 lister-institute.org.uk/congratulati...
Congratulations Chris Stewart, 2025 Blavatnik Laureate for Life Sciences – Lister Institute
lister-institute.org.uk
April 28, 2025 at 1:39 PM
In our latest blog post we catch up with #BlavatnikAwards Life Sciences Laureate @stewartlab.bsky.social, who recently attended the Blavatnik Awards ceremony and public symposium and gave talks about his preventive health work on preterm infant microbiomes 🫄👶 lister-institute.org.uk/congratulati...
Reposted by Robin May
Tickets open: The Future of Immunity
gres.hm/future-immunity
Our understanding of our immune system is vastly different from 50 years ago, w/ modern therapies that would have once seemed like science fiction.
@robinmay9.bsky.social asks: what next for #immunity?
@imibirmingham.bsky.social
gres.hm/future-immunity
Our understanding of our immune system is vastly different from 50 years ago, w/ modern therapies that would have once seemed like science fiction.
@robinmay9.bsky.social asks: what next for #immunity?
@imibirmingham.bsky.social
May 11, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Tickets open: The Future of Immunity
gres.hm/future-immunity
Our understanding of our immune system is vastly different from 50 years ago, w/ modern therapies that would have once seemed like science fiction.
@robinmay9.bsky.social asks: what next for #immunity?
@imibirmingham.bsky.social
gres.hm/future-immunity
Our understanding of our immune system is vastly different from 50 years ago, w/ modern therapies that would have once seemed like science fiction.
@robinmay9.bsky.social asks: what next for #immunity?
@imibirmingham.bsky.social
Every time I hear someone playing the free piano at Euston Station, blissfully unaware of the small crowd of commuters tapping their feet in time behind them, it restores my faith in the future of civilisation...
May 7, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Every time I hear someone playing the free piano at Euston Station, blissfully unaware of the small crowd of commuters tapping their feet in time behind them, it restores my faith in the future of civilisation...
Reposted by Robin May
Today at 6pm: Do Computers Get Sick? How Humans and Computers Fight Viruses
Watch via: gres.hm/computer-virus
Profs @robinmay9.bsky.social & @cyberbaines.bsky.social ask whether there are similarities between human & #computer immunity? Can we use discoveries in one to help protect the other?
Watch via: gres.hm/computer-virus
Profs @robinmay9.bsky.social & @cyberbaines.bsky.social ask whether there are similarities between human & #computer immunity? Can we use discoveries in one to help protect the other?
May 7, 2025 at 9:13 AM
Today at 6pm: Do Computers Get Sick? How Humans and Computers Fight Viruses
Watch via: gres.hm/computer-virus
Profs @robinmay9.bsky.social & @cyberbaines.bsky.social ask whether there are similarities between human & #computer immunity? Can we use discoveries in one to help protect the other?
Watch via: gres.hm/computer-virus
Profs @robinmay9.bsky.social & @cyberbaines.bsky.social ask whether there are similarities between human & #computer immunity? Can we use discoveries in one to help protect the other?
Reposted by Robin May
“Science has no passport, no gender, no ethnicity, no political party.”
EC President Ursula von der Leyen, announcing a €500M initiative to attract top global talent.
In a fractured world, science remains a unifying force – rooted in diversity, driven by curiosity, and shared by all humanity.
EC President Ursula von der Leyen, announcing a €500M initiative to attract top global talent.
In a fractured world, science remains a unifying force – rooted in diversity, driven by curiosity, and shared by all humanity.
May 6, 2025 at 11:26 AM
“Science has no passport, no gender, no ethnicity, no political party.”
EC President Ursula von der Leyen, announcing a €500M initiative to attract top global talent.
In a fractured world, science remains a unifying force – rooted in diversity, driven by curiosity, and shared by all humanity.
EC President Ursula von der Leyen, announcing a €500M initiative to attract top global talent.
In a fractured world, science remains a unifying force – rooted in diversity, driven by curiosity, and shared by all humanity.
Reposted by Robin May
How do vaccines work?
Prof @robinmay9.bsky.social explains how #vaccination changed the world, saving millions of lives and enabling us to eradicate a lethal disease for the first time in human history...
Watch full lecture: gres.hm/how-vaccines
#immunology #vaccine
Prof @robinmay9.bsky.social explains how #vaccination changed the world, saving millions of lives and enabling us to eradicate a lethal disease for the first time in human history...
Watch full lecture: gres.hm/how-vaccines
#immunology #vaccine
May 2, 2025 at 3:18 PM
How do vaccines work?
Prof @robinmay9.bsky.social explains how #vaccination changed the world, saving millions of lives and enabling us to eradicate a lethal disease for the first time in human history...
Watch full lecture: gres.hm/how-vaccines
#immunology #vaccine
Prof @robinmay9.bsky.social explains how #vaccination changed the world, saving millions of lives and enabling us to eradicate a lethal disease for the first time in human history...
Watch full lecture: gres.hm/how-vaccines
#immunology #vaccine
Delighted to see this one published in @asm.org mBio today. It's possibly the longest-running project we've ever had in the lab, all started by the throwaway question, "Are there any plants that are pathogens of animals...?"
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Phylogenetic analysis of pathogenic algae reveals lineage-dependent patterns of phagocytosis | mBio
Protothecosis is a rare algal infection caused by members of the genus Prototheca, which is comprised of unusual non-photosynthetic algae. Six pathogenic species have
been identified so far that can c...
journals.asm.org
May 2, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Delighted to see this one published in @asm.org mBio today. It's possibly the longest-running project we've ever had in the lab, all started by the throwaway question, "Are there any plants that are pathogens of animals...?"
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Robin May
A mucus-eating microbe might be one of the best friends your gut has 🦠
Former Springboard awardee @lucyicm.bsky.social explores how Akkermansia muciniphila supports our immune system, and why that matters for disease prevention ❤️🩹
👇 Read more via @uk.theconversation.com
Former Springboard awardee @lucyicm.bsky.social explores how Akkermansia muciniphila supports our immune system, and why that matters for disease prevention ❤️🩹
👇 Read more via @uk.theconversation.com
This mucus-loving gut bacteria is important for health – here’s how to keep it happy
Akkermansia muciniphila is a friendly bacteria which is linked to good immune function.
theconversation.com
April 17, 2025 at 11:01 AM
A mucus-eating microbe might be one of the best friends your gut has 🦠
Former Springboard awardee @lucyicm.bsky.social explores how Akkermansia muciniphila supports our immune system, and why that matters for disease prevention ❤️🩹
👇 Read more via @uk.theconversation.com
Former Springboard awardee @lucyicm.bsky.social explores how Akkermansia muciniphila supports our immune system, and why that matters for disease prevention ❤️🩹
👇 Read more via @uk.theconversation.com
This is quite the clutch of Lister Fellows at @unibirmingham.bsky.social! lister-institute.org.uk/shining-a-li...
Shining a light on the Lister Institute’s connection to the University of Birmingham – Lister Institute
lister-institute.org.uk
April 15, 2025 at 10:49 AM
This is quite the clutch of Lister Fellows at @unibirmingham.bsky.social! lister-institute.org.uk/shining-a-li...
Reposted by Robin May
Our antibiotics are under threat.
Join Andi Biotic’s mission to #KeepAntibioticsWorking.
Share our video and blog post with your network: ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2025/04/07/w...
Join Andi Biotic’s mission to #KeepAntibioticsWorking.
Share our video and blog post with your network: ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2025/04/07/w...
April 9, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Our antibiotics are under threat.
Join Andi Biotic’s mission to #KeepAntibioticsWorking.
Share our video and blog post with your network: ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2025/04/07/w...
Join Andi Biotic’s mission to #KeepAntibioticsWorking.
Share our video and blog post with your network: ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2025/04/07/w...
This is going to be a fun one (even more so than usual!) because it's a double act between me and @cyberbaines.bsky.social. Easy questions to me, please, and all tricky ones to Vic! 😉
Tickets open: Do Computers Get Sick? How Humans and Computers Fight Viruses
Book: gres.hm/computer-virus
Prof @robinmay9.bsky.social asks whether there are similarities between human immunity & computer immunity? Can we use discoveries in one to help protect the other?
@imibirmingham.bsky.social
Book: gres.hm/computer-virus
Prof @robinmay9.bsky.social asks whether there are similarities between human immunity & computer immunity? Can we use discoveries in one to help protect the other?
@imibirmingham.bsky.social
April 9, 2025 at 9:59 AM
This is going to be a fun one (even more so than usual!) because it's a double act between me and @cyberbaines.bsky.social. Easy questions to me, please, and all tricky ones to Vic! 😉
Happy birthday @foodgov.bsky.social - 25 years young yesterday! That's a quarter of a century keeping food safe, with a huge amount of underpinning science on everything from 'traffic light' nutrition labels to catching food fraudsters: science.food.gov.uk
FSA Research and Evidence
Scientific research and risks assessments carried out by the Food Standards Agency.
science.food.gov.uk
April 2, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Happy birthday @foodgov.bsky.social - 25 years young yesterday! That's a quarter of a century keeping food safe, with a huge amount of underpinning science on everything from 'traffic light' nutrition labels to catching food fraudsters: science.food.gov.uk