Associate Professor at UW-Madison. Interested in Microbial and Viral Ecology, Computational Biology, Biogeochemistry, Sulfur Metabolism 🦠💻 Hero to a toddler • Metalhead • Views minehttps://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.social/post/3mtbivjzjh22zOur latest review paper on deep sea viruses is now live in @annualreviews.bsky.social! This comprehensive review brings together why viruses are essential players not just in ecology, but in evolution and planetary-scale biogeochemistry. https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-marine-050625-09301117 Aug 2026 10:34 +0000at://did:plc:bdm4sffc2pdfgtptnj2jpvl6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtbivjzjh22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.social/post/3mkqgclj75k2wHappy to announce the defense of PhD student Cody Martin tomorrow, May 1, at 3 pm CST for his thesis titled "Decoding the language of viral genomes with evolutionary-scale, context-aware genome language models". Talk is open to public - Email me for zoom link. #phagesky #microsky #Microbiomesky30 Apr 2026 20:11 +0000at://did:plc:bdm4sffc2pdfgtptnj2jpvl6/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkqgclj75k2whttps://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.social/post/3malnd6lkac2mNews article from @uwmadison.bsky.social describing our recent study on viruses in peatland soils! https://news.wisc.edu/viruses-found-in-carbon-storing-wetlands-play-an-active-role-in-shaping-ecosystem-health/22 Dec 2025 16:21 +0000at://did:plc:bdm4sffc2pdfgtptnj2jpvl6/app.bsky.feed.post/3malnd6lkac2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.social/post/3ma2bt3ihks2gExcited for our new paper on a genome language model for viruses in @natcomms.nature.com: "Protein Set Transformer: a protein-based genome language model to power high-diversity viromics"! Led by PhD student Cody Martin in collaboration with @anthonygitter.bsky.social https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-66049-415 Dec 2025 18:40 +0000at://did:plc:bdm4sffc2pdfgtptnj2jpvl6/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma2bt3ihks2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.social/post/3ma27fnyvbk27Excited to have our new study on viruses in peatlands out in @natmicrobiol.nature.com! #phagesky #MicroSky [contains quote post or other embedded content]15 Dec 2025 17:57 +0000at://did:plc:bdm4sffc2pdfgtptnj2jpvl6/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma27fnyvbk27https://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.social/post/3m7qs4wu4o227Very excited to share this latest research in Nature Microbiology led by PhD student @kosmopoulos.bsky.social in collaboration with @ashish-malik.bsky.social. #phagesky #Microsky [contains quote post or other embedded content]12 Dec 2025 00:05 +0000at://did:plc:bdm4sffc2pdfgtptnj2jpvl6/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7qs4wu4o227https://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.social/post/3m7qrzxyuqc27Our paper "Ecosystem health shapes viral ecology in peatland soils" is out in Nature Microbiology! We show that peatland health strongly structures viral communities, shaping virus–host networks, and carbon and nutrient cycling. Please share. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-025-02199-x #phagesky #Microsky12 Dec 2025 00:04 +0000at://did:plc:bdm4sffc2pdfgtptnj2jpvl6/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7qrzxyuqc27https://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.social/post/3m65pywdarc22#phagesky #microsky [contains quote post or other embedded content]21 Nov 2025 16:41 +0000at://did:plc:bdm4sffc2pdfgtptnj2jpvl6/app.bsky.feed.post/3m65pywdarc22https://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.social/post/3m6452wxnbc2sThrilled to be recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher for 2025! This honor truly reflects the creativity, drive, and dedication of our lab team (past and present), and our incredible collaborators and scientific community. Here’s to pushing boundaries together! https://clarivate.com/highly-cited-researchers/ https://clarivate.com/highly-cited-researchers/?action=clv_hcr_members_filter&clv-paged=2&clv-category=&clv-institution=&clv-region=&clv-name=21 Nov 2025 01:30 +0000at://did:plc:bdm4sffc2pdfgtptnj2jpvl6/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6452wxnbc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.social/post/3m63o7iz4fk2sExcited to share our new review article on Viral Dark Matter led by PhD student @kosmopoulos.bsky.social. We talk about what is known and unknown in the world of viruses (specifically phage), and highlight future opportunities for research and biotechnology. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.biochem.5c0034920 Nov 2025 21:04 +0000at://did:plc:bdm4sffc2pdfgtptnj2jpvl6/app.bsky.feed.post/3m63o7iz4fk2shttps://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.social/post/3m3v7kdfsi22pDelighted and honored to meet with the one and only Bruce Levin today who was the MDTP student invited speaker at UW-Madison!23 Oct 2025 20:35 +0000at://did:plc:bdm4sffc2pdfgtptnj2jpvl6/app.bsky.feed.post/3m3v7kdfsi22phttps://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.social/post/3lxka4pw4g22u#Microsky #Microbiomesky [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Aug 2025 14:05 +0000at://did:plc:bdm4sffc2pdfgtptnj2jpvl6/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxka4pw4g22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.social/post/3lxk65yah3k2cNew review paper on metabolic handoffs in microbiomes led by PhD student Katie Klier. We define major types of metabolic handoffs, examine their drivers and benefits, & describe their importance in different complex microbial systems and environments. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0966842X2500220329 Aug 2025 13:30 +0000at://did:plc:bdm4sffc2pdfgtptnj2jpvl6/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxk65yah3k2chttps://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.social/post/3lxezj2zzis22New paper alert! We suggest caution in the analyses of viral auxiliary metabolic genes and propose a new overarching term - 'auxiliary viral genes' (AVGs) to describe different types of such genes. @simrouxvirus.bsky.social #phagesky #Microsky https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-025-02095-427 Aug 2025 12:24 +0000at://did:plc:bdm4sffc2pdfgtptnj2jpvl6/app.bsky.feed.post/3lxezj2zzis22https://bsky.app/profile/karthik-a.bsky.social/post/3lqpgxd2rcs2eExcited to be a part of this effort from Mandy Joye's group showing the role of heterotrophs in deep sea carbon cycling! [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Jun 2025 13:55 +0000at://did:plc:bdm4sffc2pdfgtptnj2jpvl6/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqpgxd2rcs2e