Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)
Associate Professor, molecular ecologist @ Utrecht University.
Zombie-making parasites, extended phenotypes, ant behavior, fungal hyper parasites, fungi for sustainable solutions. DEI advocate. #firstgen
Metal head, cat lady, dog mom, BJJ black belt.
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)New PhD opportunity in my group @thesainsburylab.bsky.social through the BBSRC NRP DTP Programme - see details of host to apply below biodtp.norwichresearchpark.ac.uk/projects/van...
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)Bram van Dijk @bramvandijk.bsky.social (@utrechtuniversity.bsky.social): How mobile genes reshape the microbial arms race #NIME2025
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)[Not loaded yet]
- On my way back from the International Fungal Biology 🍄🍄🟫Conference in Chania, Crete. I’m exhausted. But what an amazing 4 days of science, friends, and Greek hospitality it was. And in such a beautiful conference venue too! Wish all conferences could be in Crete 🤩☀️🌴🐈🐈⬛
- Which fungal 🍄 molecules cause zombie 🧟♀️ ant 🐜 behaviors? @williamycete.bsky.social has begun to answer this question! He found a peptide that binds to scramblase and affects important odor-dependent behaviors in ants. Spoiler: worms 🪱 played a key role in this research 🧐 doi.org/10.1101/2025...
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)Goodbye #eseb2025 @eseb2025.bsky.social see you next time! Perhaps what stuck most was powerful talk on resilience and survival by Palestinian researcher, play director, and ESEB EUEA awardee May Shehady. Let's not forget, let's not look away. 🇵🇸
- ❤️❤️❤️
- Phew! What a rush presenting for the big, scientifically diverse #ESEB2025 crowd this morning. Thankful for this amazing opportunity to show off the interdisciplinary work my research team and our collaborators have been doing to better understand parasite manipulation of behavior. #zombieants 🧟♀️ 🐜 🍄
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)Brilliant plenary today from Carrisa de Bekker @zombieantdoc.bsky.social at @eseb.bsky.social conference. On her work funded by @erc.europa.eu CoG. Great example of inter-disciplinary collaboration to solve a mystery..
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)[Not loaded yet]
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)Folks going to #ESEB2025 : To help people connect on Bluesky, I've started making starter packs. Here is a first one with the names that were available when I started. Ping me if you want to be included in the next one!at://did:plc:yqxcc5ayxllwkvel4narbha4/app.bsky.graph.starterpack/3lvd5rj3rty2g
- Parasites 🦠🪱🍄🟫 that hijack insects 🐜🪰🐛and induce “zombie behaviors” 🧟♀️🧟♂️ often affect the host’s daily rhythms. But how do they do it? In this npj bts publication @joanadopp.bsky.social and I propose that they co-opt host circadian plasticity 🧠⌚️ We hope you’ll enjoy the read! rdcu.be/eyPz0
- Excited to have joined the Editorial Board of @plosbiology.org a few months ago, the #PLOS flagship journal in the Life Sciences. As an editor, I aim to contribute to their support of equitable #OpenScience and reaching global audiences to help advance science faster.
- Only a couple of weeks till the @eseb2025.bsky.social conference! I’m so honored to be one of the keynote speakers, and incredibly excited about the amazing scientific program and the opportunity to meet up with old friends and make new ones! #eseb2025
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)[Not loaded yet]
- It was a pleasure presenting our #ZombieAnt research at the #LeidenBiology symposium this afternoon. Thanks for the invite and the great discussion!
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)[Not loaded yet]
- My friends at @terzijdehorde.bsky.social are supporting those who fight the good fight. And so could you by buying one of their shirts! Trans rights are human rights. ✊🏳️⚧️
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)Our newest research on plant-fungal trade published today in @nature.com. The work, led by scientists from Vrije Universiteit, Princeton University, SPUN & AMOLF combines robotics, mycology & biophysics to reveal underground supply-chain dynamics. Open access: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
- Such a great opportunity to present our research at #CMINorwich2025 in front of a room filled with microbiologists with such diverse and exciting research interests.
- Some frivolous food for thought about parasites in case you’re up for a lighter note amidsts all the current chaos and despair. www.uu.nl/en/news/para...
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)This is a room where we turn very modest salaries and budgets (and lots of coffee) into new knowledge, life-saving innovations, and technology that feeds business growth. It's literally the loom that spins hay into gold but these numpties are suddenly worried about the cost of hay.
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)🎙️ New Interview Alert The Scientist sat down with @fhagen.bsky.social from the Westerdijk Institute to discuss a global health challenge: the silent pandemic of antifungal resistance. Read here: www.the-scientist.com/the-silent-p...
- Looking for conversation material for the holidays? Look no further! Here’s some fun zombie fungi facts to share with unexpecting family members and friends. I mean, who wouldn’t want to chat about fungus-infused, out of their mind ants, flies and cicadas? www.the-scientist.com/zombie-fungi...
- Reposted by Charissa de Bekker PhD (she/her)My department is hiring a fungal biologist! aprecruit.ucr.edu/JPF01990
