Alex Fraik
Research scientist | Evolution, pop gen & conservation genomics | views & typos are my own | 🐟🐺🧬
- Job alert: NOAA NWFSC & UW are looking for a postdoc (ASAP) in Seattle study foraging ecology of Cook Inlet beluga whales using eDNA. Genetics/ecology/eDNA experience preferred. Interested candidates reach out to kim.parsons@noaa.gov or rpkelly@uw.edu directly. #eDNA #ConsGen
- Work by Bell, Kovach, Whiteley and colleagues demonstrates that even inbred trout source populations can be used for genetic rescue. Great news for folks considering translocation efforts, but are faced with the challenge of identifying suitable (genetically diverse) donor populations #ConsGen
- Reposted by Alex FraikEvaluating inbreeding and assessing the risk of outbreeding depression in genetic rescue using whole-genome sequence data www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
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- Reposted by Alex FraikJoin our Tree of Life Programme as a Group Leader in Biodiversity Genomics at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Lead ambitious, large-scale genomics research to understand life’s diversity on Earth. 🔗 Learn more and apply: sanger.wd103.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Wellco... 📅 Closing date: 8 February 2026
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- Reposted by Alex FraikTeam fish - we need your help! We are trying to build a database of all the fish chromosome-scale genomes where sex chromosomes have been identified. Have you build one or some? Do you know someone who has? Can you post the link in the comments? Please spread the word and repost! Thank you!
- Reposted by Alex FraikThe value of structural variants to conservation genomics in the pangenome era academic.oup.com/jhered/advan...
- Ancestors of Fishers translocated decades ago into the Rockies in northern ID and MT persist! #consgen #fishers academic.oup.com/jmammal/adva...
- Reposted by Alex FraikWe have another publication out! 🎉🎉🎉 “Hybrids along a natural–anthropogenic gradient: improving policy and management across all levels of biodiversity.” We explore how to deal with hybrids in conservation — scientifically and practically. A thread 🧵 conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
- Reposted by Alex FraikNEW pub in @science.org 🥳 Is it sponges (panels A & B) or comb jellies (C & D) that root the animal tree of life? For over 15 years, #phylogenomic studies have been divided. We provide new evidence suggesting that... 🔗: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
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- Reposted by Alex FraikNew PhD studentship opportunity in my lab & with collaborators from the Pinniped Genomes Consortium. Come help us unravel the genomics of seal physiological super powers! Closing date 7th January 2026 🧪🦭🧬🌍🦑🐳 #marine #mammals #consgen #popgen #phylo #molevol #evolution yes-dtn.ac.uk/research/the...
- Neat opportunity at George Mason University for #consbio #consgen undergrads. Paid NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. smconservation.gmu.edu/nsf-reu/
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- Reposted by Alex FraikNow published in Cell! We found that ~15% of SNPs from divergent refs did not liftover as SNPs in the gray fox ref—half mapped to monomorphic sites, half failed to map. Co-authored with Matthew Genchev, @elliecat.bsky.social, and @jazlynmooney.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
- 1/7 🧬 New Preprint Alert: Our study highlights the risks of using divergent reference genomes in population genomics. The choice of reference genome can skew key inferences about demography, diversity, and selection. Read on for insights! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Alex FraikAll those questions about inbreeding in conservation that you were afraid to ask. A bunch of early career scientists is here to explain something that even Wright and Fisher couldn't agree on, the (not so) simple question of what is inbreeding. link.springer.com/article/10.1...
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- Neat job alert 🧬🐺🦌 Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks is hiring a wildlife conservation geneticist based in Missoula, MT. The position is joint with @umontana.bsky.social, working with Dr. Ryan Kovach on lots of neat wildlife #consgen projects. Reach out to Ryan with questions.
- Reposted by Alex FraikMy lab is hiring a 2-yr hummingbird evolution and genomics postdoc and a 1-yr salaried research and lab tech. Both with full U. Wyoming benefits. Please spread the word! Info below. Best consideration date Nov 1, start dates early Spring 2026.
- New #landscapegenetics study by Helen Chmura et al. at RMRS. Using usat genetic data, she found human infrastructure generally explained genetic connectivity, for most, but not all species. Species-specific landscape covariates were still critical to explaining gene flow for some species #ConsGen
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- Question for academic bluesky: how long is acceptable between "accepted" and "published"? I have a paper that was accepted, minor tweaks, in April, sat for 3 months on the editor's desk for final rubber stamping and now ~3 months and is still not published (and no proofs)... Is this normal atm?
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- Reposted by Alex FraikThe GRFP announcement from NSF cuts out an entire cohort of 2nd year students from consideration, without warning. This is so deeply unfair that it warrants a formal protest from the scientific community. If someone wants to work with me to craft an open letter and solicit signatures, LMK.
- New: After a long wait, the GRFP solicitation is live! Deadlines have been extended to early November, so applicants have a bit over a month to submit. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
- Reposted by Alex Fraik☠️🧬 2-yr Postdoc in in Genomic Simulations and Extinction Risk Modelling! Let's figure out the Genomic signs of Extinction @DTU in Denmark. Start: Feb 2026 (flexible) Application deadline: 24 Oct 2025 For details click here: tinyurl.com/BioExtPD Reposts appreciated 😁
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- Reposted by Alex FraikAnnouncing SimHumanity, a baseline SLiM 5.0 model of the full human genome, replete with demographic history, autosomes, X/Y, and mtDNA. A shared starting point for reproducible evolutionary simulations. We’d love your feedback! #SLiM #evolution #genomics www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
- Reposted by Alex Fraik🆕 ✨ New publication out: Chromosomal Inversions Mediated by Tandem Insertions of Transposable Elements We find that transposable elements are the likely mechanism of (some) inversions in cod fishes! academic.oup.com/gbe/article/...
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- 🧬 Molecular lab technician at the International Pacific Halibut Commission based in Seattle, WA #consegen #fisheriesjobs #fishgen iphc.applytojob.com/apply/uWHW9z...
- Neat study from my colleagues at the @usfs.bsky.social National Genomics Center and Alaska Fish & Game. Using genomic CAPTURE, they found that wolves on Prince of Wales Island in SE AK exhibited significant inbreeding, similar to Isle Royale Wolves #ConsGen
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- Reposted by Alex FraikGet the word out far and wide. New opportunity from the Simons Foundation in the Eco-Evo space. 2026 Simons Graduate Fellowship in Ecology and Evolution Awards, due July 31, 2025, only for incoming PhD students who plan to start their PhDs in Fall 2026. www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
- Neat job alert! Research scientist at Linclon Park Zoo #ConservationBiology
- Reposted by Alex Fraik📣 🥳 🧑💻 Our department is hiring: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor / Associate Professor in Bioinformatics at Aarhus University, Denmark Deadline June 1st Thanks for sharing! mbg.au.dk/en/news-and-...
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- Chris Caudill at the University of Idaho is recruiting a graduate student to work on invertebrate ecology and conservation! Neat opportunity to work with diverse stakeholders and managers on an applied, ecological project across the state of Idaho #speciesdistributionmodeling #conservation #ecology
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- Reposted by Alex FraikI'm hiring! Postdoc available in my lab in Ecological Genomics. northeastern.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/careers/job/... I will start reviewing applications mid-July. 🧪🧑🔬🖥️🧬🦑. Please share widely, thanks!
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- More neat work coming out of research on the Olympic Peninsula. Link to the paper (in press) here: www.documentcloud.org/documents/25... Plus peep the pictures of the LEKT and NOAA crew deep in Deep Creek!
- Baby salmon head out to sea. Then they do something unexpected, new research shows www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
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- Reposted by Alex FraikNOAA just announced a long list of datasets that are going away🧪⚒️🌊: www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/docume... Download what you need asap and send comments to: ncei.info@noaa.gov
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- For Montana federal employees that have recently lost their jobs, there are Rapid Response events at each of the Montana 18 Job Service offices on March 12, 2025. I can't find the link yet to join virtually, but keep an eye out for it here: wsd.dli.mt.gov/FedLayoffRes...
- Check out Michael Sleeting's 1st (1st author) paper published with Taylor Wilcox, et al. using #eDNA to detect 10 species that are native, invasive & pathogenic. #HT-qPCR assays are cost efficient tools for detecting species of conservation concern & monitoring their interactions in the SW #consgen
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- Come teach at the University of Montana in Missoula! #gis #teachingfaculty Assistant Teaching Professor of Geographic Information Systems community.esa.org/ecolog-l/msg...
- Chris Setzke, Michael Russello, et al. characterized changes in genetic diversity before & after a bottleneck in Kokanee in the Yukon in Canada. They successfully genotyped archival tissue using #GTseq, but did not find evidence of significant decline in genetic diversity after the crash #ConsGen
- Reposted by Alex FraikRobin Waples' reference manual for the elegant, yet hideously complex concept of effective population size (Ne) #biodiversity #genomics #conservation #evolution onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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