M.S. Student, Microbiology @ UMass Amherst Studying hydrogen metabolism of deep-sea sulfur-reducers in the Holden lab.https://bsky.app/profile/diderm.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3miez6ms5qc2rAnyone attending AbSciCon 2026 (Madison WI) and looking for a roommate? I'd like to try and reduce hotel costs if possible31 Mar 2026 20:26 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3miez6ms5qc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3mgdiy2yhx22uCan someone please give me access to this paper? UMass doesn't sub to Nature Eco/Evo but this is relevant to my project so I want to read it. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02969-005 Mar 2026 19:13 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgdiy2yhx22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3mgb64kaytc2mNew paper from the Holden lab! We isolated and characterized a novel methanogen from subsurface hydrothermal vent fluid. This project was my introduction to scientific research-- big shoutout to the first author Gabriella Rizzo for spearheading this work https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.00709804 Mar 2026 20:54 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgb64kaytc2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3mehagnhiik2tCool map of bluesky users by @theo.io! [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Feb 2026 20:01 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mehagnhiik2thttps://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3m7kmvwc2v22hDoes anyone know of eco/bio/marine field tech positions available Summer 2026? My friend graduates in May and is looking, so I figured I'd ask here.09 Dec 2025 13:16 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7kmvwc2v22hhttps://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3m6xkul3ids2hUpdate on my bioinformatics journey: I've been introduced to SQL, and it appears to be perfect for my use case! I'm hoping to put together some little scripts to answer all the hydrogenase questions I want. Before this I was just using a python script to BLAST build a .csv01 Dec 2025 23:19 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6xkul3ids2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3m5mqcxzi2k2sMy first mentee presented her recent work to some high-profile admin ppl today. She really shocked them in terms of her presenting and sci comm skills! It felt good to see first-gen, marginalized students represented. She did a great job communicating the impact this funded research project had. 1/314 Nov 2025 22:32 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5mqcxzi2k2shttps://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3m5kbcwwe4s27Glad to see this getting shouted out! This is work done by my PI Jim Holden and Dr. Briana Kubik, a previous grad student in the lab who did some really cool science that is the foundation of my work! She's a great scientist and a cool human. [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Nov 2025 22:58 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5kbcwwe4s27https://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3m4c4zgupj22gAfter seeing all the cool data vis people do in R at a few conferences this summer, I made it a background goal of mine to learn enough R to plot things for myself. Today, I made my first ggplot of some growth curve data - exponential regression and all! It ain't much, but it's honest work :)28 Oct 2025 23:55 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3m4c4zgupj22ghttps://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3lz2ly4evqs2fHappy international microorganism day! Here's the only electron micrographs taken of the thermophilic sulfur reducer I study (images from L'Haridon et al. 1998). Desulfurobacterium thermolithotrophum is found in deep-sea hydrothermal systems and has some interesting microbial physiology!17 Sep 2025 19:45 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lz2ly4evqs2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3lwcj7iqhs22yI've had similar experiences when using LLMs for coding. It's scary how many people kneel before Claude Code and vibe code their way into oblivion. Great thread! [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Aug 2025 19:02 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwcj7iqhs22yhttps://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3lvbw4mctok25One of the vacuum pumps in our lab has been slowly dripping oil lately, so I did some online sleuthing and figured out a fix. I feel like a regular detective! My PI was impressed :)31 Jul 2025 19:55 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lvbw4mctok25https://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3lubtc3sny22kI had a great time at my first ever GRC this past week! I'll most definitely be attending Applied and Environmental Micro in 2027. Thanks @deniseakob.bsky.social @environmicrobio.bsky.social @thuls.bsky.social for organizing such a welcoming, fun, and scientifically stimulating conference!19 Jul 2025 01:39 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lubtc3sny22khttps://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3lrc6oddk2s2lI presented my first ever poster today at the Boston Bacterial Meeting! What a whirlwind, and I got some great thought-provoking questions about research methodology. It's been nice to feel a sense of community with all the anti-science rhetoric and funding cuts.11 Jun 2025 00:47 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lrc6oddk2s2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3lqgvhfyi7c27These cuts are devastating and heartbreaking to see. The impacts will be felt for a long, long time.31 May 2025 04:20 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lqgvhfyi7c27https://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3lq6shr6rhc2fI'm happy to share that I've completed my Bachelor of Science in Microbiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst!27 May 2025 23:05 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lq6shr6rhc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/diderm.com/post/3lohtgxfbts2zIn the midst of a very chaotic finals season, it was nice to get together with friends and craft. Here's some of the felt microbes made at the UMass Microbiology Club's craft night! I'm sure @markowenmartin.bsky.social will appreciate the Bdellovibrio 🧫06 May 2025 02:26 +0000at://did:plc:boanipfsh3ftafeedi2zappf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lohtgxfbts2z