Dr Ry Holland
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rythemicroguy.bsky.social
Dr Ry Holland
@rythemicroguy.bsky.social
530 followers 480 following 50 posts
Microbial Ecologist 🦠
Research Fellow | Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future | Greening Lab | Monash University
Curious about the extremes of life 🏔️❄🌋🌊🏜️
they/them 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

linktr.ee/sophie.i.holland
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rythemicroguy.bsky.social
How can we assess whether microbial degradation of plastic pollution has occurred? Our new systematic review, led by Jennifer Scott, assesses a multitude of methods & makes recommendations to improve study design @heriotwattuni.bsky.social
authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0048-9697(25)01917-5
A figure from the review paper listing methods for assessing plastic biodegradation. They are grouped into three clusters: physical changes, chemical changes, and products produced/consumed.
August 25, 2025 at 8:01 AM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
This design came to me and I've been convinced me to make it real. So I'm now taking MAKE ANTARCTICA GAY AGAIN cap orders 😂 Open to those in Naarm Melbourne and anyone willing to pay postage + ~$30 for the hat. ❄️✨🌈
July 18, 2025 at 12:26 AM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
We teamed up with One Planet & @monashuniversity.bsky.social to set up a Polar Camp at the Family Fiesta this week! If you're in Naarm with kids aged 3-12, come have a chat about Antarctica ❄️, search for bugs 🪲, learn how we do science in the field 🧑‍🔬. Details below.

@arcsaef.bsky.social
Creativity experts Laura and Mon dressed in polar explorer gear in front of three yellow tents. Scientists Madi and Bec in front of a table with microscopes, snowshoes and crampons.
July 9, 2025 at 1:00 AM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
This accompanies our recent article "Guidelines for preventing and reporting contamination in low-biomass microbiome studies", lead by @greening.bsky.social and @noahfierer.bsky.social. Check it out here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
[2/2]
A figure from the paper showing how contamination can appear in microbiome data during sampling, DNA extraction, and Library preparation and sequencing steps.
July 3, 2025 at 5:34 AM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
Guess who's the coverboi for @natmicrobiol.nature.com this month? 💁 A huge shout-out to Dr Rachael Lappan for entrusting me to carry out the sampling for this incredibly cool atmosphere microbiome project on her behalf, & to Braydon Moloney for capturing this moment in Antarctica last summer. [1/2]
A screenshot of the Nature Microbiology website showing the journal cover - me in a cleansuit, gloves, and dark snow goggles attaching a filter to an air sampling unit. Text reads: Guidelines for low-biomass microbiomes. Pictured here, Sophie Holland attaches a filter to an air sampler to study the atmospheric microbiome of Somoveken Glacier in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. The pristine environment and incredibly low atmospheric biomass require multiple precautions to avoid sample contamination, including wearing full personal protective equipment over warm weather gear. In this issue, Fierer, Greening and colleagues working on host-associated and environmental microbiomes present guidelines and best practices for studying low-biomass microbiomes in a Consensus Statement. See Fierer et al. Image: Braydon Moloney. Cover design: Laoise Mac Gabhann"
July 3, 2025 at 5:28 AM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
It's Trans Day of Visibility. Unfortunately for many trans people in the world right now, visibility means violence. I am grateful that it's relatively safe for me to be trans, to yell loudly for our rights, and to use my position to try and make polar science a safer place for all. #TDOV 🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵
Sophie stands on a barren ridge in Antarctica, holding a trans flag. A glacier and snow-covered mountains lie in the background.
March 31, 2025 at 5:01 AM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
I had a great time talking to Year 3-6 students at Deepdene Primary School this morning. I told them about microbes and what it's like to go on an expedition to Antarctica. They had SO many good questions, it blew me away 🥹 I love getting people excited about science 🧑‍🔬🥰
A photo of Sophie behind a podium, in front of a projector screen with their title slide "My life as a scientist".
March 25, 2025 at 1:00 AM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
It was great to chat with Sharon Claydon MP this morning about the importance of Antarctic science; how we can support women in polar research, fieldwork, and STEM generally; and the great work that AINSE are doing, alongside @polarbecologist.bsky.social & Georgia.

#SMP2025
@arcsaef.bsky.social
February 13, 2025 at 7:05 AM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
@rsjones.bsky.social and I have spent the last 2 days representing @arcsaef.bsky.social at Science Meets Parliament. Lots to digest about how more scientists need to get involved in advocacy + policy making, and the best ways to go about that - be it advisors, meetings, committees, or inquiries 📑
February 13, 2025 at 7:00 AM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
In Canberra for Science Meets Parliament to learn how parliament and policy making works, and how we as scientists can best advocate for science-backed policy. Let's go! #SMP25
February 11, 2025 at 9:58 PM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
"Hey Google, play Song 2 by Blur" 🤟

#SAEFgoesSouth
Sophie stands on the snow at Wolf's Fang Runway in Antarctica. The sky is bright blue and there are mountains in the background.
December 9, 2024 at 9:11 AM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
Well... We boomeranged on our flight to #Antarctica last night. Unexpected winds made the runway unsafe to land, so we turned back for Cape Town 4 hours into the flight. We've all had a good rest today and are rescheduled for the wee hours of tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed! #SAEFgoesSouth
December 8, 2024 at 3:56 PM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
GRWM to fly to #Antarctica tomorrow! Our flight from Cape Town aims to land in the coldest part of the "night", for the best runway conditions, so this is everything I'll be wearing when I step off the plane and onto the ice ❄️ #SAEFgoesSouth
December 6, 2024 at 7:42 PM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
Lots of sweet sweet sugary goodness to keep us going 😋
A table covered in lots of food packets including museli, chocolate, Nutella, and powdered milk.
December 4, 2024 at 7:05 PM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
We packed all the food for our remote camps today. Four weeks of food for four people who will be doing a lot of physical work in the cold is... a LOT OF food! #SAEFgoesSouth
December 4, 2024 at 7:05 PM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
Naomi and I took a trip to the aquarium to hold off jetlag yesterday. We're heading a few hundred Kms inland in Antarctica, so these are probably the only penguins we'll see all trip! 😅
A group of African penguins lounge around on sand and rocks at Cape Town Aquarium A rock hopper penguin stands on a rock inside its aquarium enclosure. Rock hopper penguins have long yellow feathers extending over their eyebrows behind their head.
December 4, 2024 at 7:33 AM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
Our Biology team has safely arrived in Cape Town, our gateway city to #Antarctica! We've got 2 busy days of gear checks before we're on standby to fly south. #SAEFgoesSouth
A view across the Cape Town waterfront to Table Mountain. There is a harbour with boats and shops on the wharves in the foreground. It's dusk and there are no clouds in the sky.
December 4, 2024 at 7:30 AM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
Filmed my first ever TV interview this morning! Grateful to speak alongside experts @andrewmackintosh.bsky.social and @arcsaef.bsky.social Director Steven Chown. Stay tuned for details on when/where to watch it this coming weekend 🤓 #SAEFgoesSouth
November 28, 2024 at 4:44 AM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
One week until my journey back to Antarctica begins! The science cargo has been shipped, the protocols are written up, and my bags are mostly packed 🫨 #SAEFgoesSouth
A view from an airplane of where the white Antarctic ice sheet meets the blue Southern Ocean, with some of the plane wing visible.
November 25, 2024 at 10:15 AM
rythemicroguy.bsky.social
A belated Happy Polar Pride Day to you all, from this queer, trans non-binary Antarctic microbiologist! 🌈☃️✨

Consider this my official crossover to bluer skies where that kinda thing is welcome!
#PolarPride #PolarPride2024
Sophie, dressed in warm winter clothing, holds a trans flag on the summit of a hill in Antarctica.
November 19, 2024 at 7:15 AM