Talia Backman
@taliamycota.bsky.social
Postdoc at Mary & William in the TIDAL lab🌱🍄🟫
I asked my PI for tape dispensers and this shows up the next day 🍄🟫 @geoffzahn.bsky.social
January 8, 2026 at 3:19 AM
I asked my PI for tape dispensers and this shows up the next day 🍄🟫 @geoffzahn.bsky.social
Postdoc = open to new experiences and expanding my skills 🤓
This week I welcome @taliamycota.bsky.social as my first ever postdoc in the lab! She's gonna be working on microbial communities and learning to eat oysters without a fork. Very excited!
January 8, 2026 at 3:16 AM
Postdoc = open to new experiences and expanding my skills 🤓
Reposted by Talia Backman
Our new collaborative work led by @taliamycota.bsky.social
Jiajun Cui & Emma Caullireau between my lab @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @cloeucl.bsky.social & the Karasov Lab (tkarasovlab.org) @uofubiology.bsky.social
and collaborators: @plantricia.bsky.social et al.
tinyurl.com/5yx2wmz5
(1/n)
Jiajun Cui & Emma Caullireau between my lab @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @cloeucl.bsky.social & the Karasov Lab (tkarasovlab.org) @uofubiology.bsky.social
and collaborators: @plantricia.bsky.social et al.
tinyurl.com/5yx2wmz5
(1/n)
November 18, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Our new collaborative work led by @taliamycota.bsky.social
Jiajun Cui & Emma Caullireau between my lab @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @cloeucl.bsky.social & the Karasov Lab (tkarasovlab.org) @uofubiology.bsky.social
and collaborators: @plantricia.bsky.social et al.
tinyurl.com/5yx2wmz5
(1/n)
Jiajun Cui & Emma Caullireau between my lab @ucllifesciences.bsky.social @cloeucl.bsky.social & the Karasov Lab (tkarasovlab.org) @uofubiology.bsky.social
and collaborators: @plantricia.bsky.social et al.
tinyurl.com/5yx2wmz5
(1/n)
Reposted by Talia Backman
This is wild!
Engineering E. coli bacteria to turn plastic waste into paracetamol (Tylenol)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Engineering E. coli bacteria to turn plastic waste into paracetamol (Tylenol)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
June 23, 2025 at 6:55 PM
This is wild!
Engineering E. coli bacteria to turn plastic waste into paracetamol (Tylenol)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Engineering E. coli bacteria to turn plastic waste into paracetamol (Tylenol)
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Talia Backman
Any students want to apply for this to study microbiome assembly processes with simulations and microcosms?? Hit me up!
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution
The purpose of these awards is to provide support for students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs with a plan to perform research in ecology and evolution. While we will consider all projects in ecolo...
www.simonsfoundation.org
June 18, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Any students want to apply for this to study microbiome assembly processes with simulations and microcosms?? Hit me up!
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
Reposted by Talia Backman
Check out this brand new fellowship from the Simon’s Foundation in Ecology and Evolution. Incoming grad students this year are eligible to apply. No citizenship restrictions. www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution
The purpose of these awards is to provide support for students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs with a plan to perform research in ecology and evolution. While we will consider all projects in ecolo...
www.simonsfoundation.org
June 2, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Check out this brand new fellowship from the Simon’s Foundation in Ecology and Evolution. Incoming grad students this year are eligible to apply. No citizenship restrictions. www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
Reposted by Talia Backman
Yes!!!
Note:
-Lab meetings will be held at an oyster bar (I'm buying)
-We have several cool systems to work in
-Flexible mentorship to match your goals
-Lots of #mycology kitsh
-Highly collaborative
-Williamsburg is cute as hell
Note:
-Lab meetings will be held at an oyster bar (I'm buying)
-We have several cool systems to work in
-Flexible mentorship to match your goals
-Lots of #mycology kitsh
-Highly collaborative
-Williamsburg is cute as hell
I’ll be starting a postdoc in the TIDAL lab in the Fall, come do science with us!!🧬🧫
The Zahn lab is transitioning into the TIDAL Lab this Fall and moving to the Appl. Sci. Department at William & Mary.
Would love to chat with students interested in doing a PhD at the nexus of microbial ecology and data science (starting 2026).
RP please!
gzahn.github.io
Would love to chat with students interested in doing a PhD at the nexus of microbial ecology and data science (starting 2026).
RP please!
gzahn.github.io
March 20, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Yes!!!
Note:
-Lab meetings will be held at an oyster bar (I'm buying)
-We have several cool systems to work in
-Flexible mentorship to match your goals
-Lots of #mycology kitsh
-Highly collaborative
-Williamsburg is cute as hell
Note:
-Lab meetings will be held at an oyster bar (I'm buying)
-We have several cool systems to work in
-Flexible mentorship to match your goals
-Lots of #mycology kitsh
-Highly collaborative
-Williamsburg is cute as hell
I’ll be starting a postdoc in the TIDAL lab in the Fall, come do science with us!!🧬🧫
The Zahn lab is transitioning into the TIDAL Lab this Fall and moving to the Appl. Sci. Department at William & Mary.
Would love to chat with students interested in doing a PhD at the nexus of microbial ecology and data science (starting 2026).
RP please!
gzahn.github.io
Would love to chat with students interested in doing a PhD at the nexus of microbial ecology and data science (starting 2026).
RP please!
gzahn.github.io
March 20, 2025 at 3:57 PM
I’ll be starting a postdoc in the TIDAL lab in the Fall, come do science with us!!🧬🧫
Front cover!!!!!!!!!!! :’)
November 25, 2024 at 11:10 PM
Front cover!!!!!!!!!!! :’)
Wonderful podcast describing our Science paper! (2nd half)
bit.ly/3T5RQaF
bit.ly/3T5RQaF
TWiM 316: Food addiction and the gut microbiome
TWiM describes experiments to explore gut microbiota signatures of vulnerability to food addiction in mice and humans, and how a phage tail-like protein suppresses competitors in populations of bacter...
bit.ly
September 4, 2024 at 11:58 AM
Wonderful podcast describing our Science paper! (2nd half)
bit.ly/3T5RQaF
bit.ly/3T5RQaF
Check out our review on the evolution of tailocins!
www.cell.com/trends/micro...
www.cell.com/trends/micro...
Tradeoffs and constraints on the evolution of tailocins
Phage tail-like bacteriocins (tailocins) are protein complexes produced by bacteria
with the potential to kill their neighbors. Widespread throughout Gram-negative bacteria,
tailocins exhibit extreme ...
www.cell.com
September 4, 2024 at 10:50 AM
Check out our review on the evolution of tailocins!
www.cell.com/trends/micro...
www.cell.com/trends/micro...
I started out thinking I was getting into bacteriophage research that ended up taking an exciting turn to researching something I had never heard of before studying them- tailocins :) Check out my PhD work thus far!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
A phage tail–like bacteriocin suppresses competitors in metapopulations of pathogenic bacteria
Bacteria can repurpose their own bacteriophage viruses (phage) to kill competing bacteria. Phage-derived elements are frequently strain specific in their killing activity, although there is limited ev...
www.science.org
June 14, 2024 at 11:05 PM
I started out thinking I was getting into bacteriophage research that ended up taking an exciting turn to researching something I had never heard of before studying them- tailocins :) Check out my PhD work thus far!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...