Ben Longdon

@blongdon.bsky.social

2036 Followers 787 Following

Virus evolution, ecology and host shifts. Fly zookeeper. Insect rhabdovirus geek. Tea Junkie. Like music, food, bikes. Lab website: www.benlongdon.com

Penryn campus - home of CEC - views across campus and Cornish coastline
pinata "congratulations Dr Hongbo", bat and bag of snacks
RA job description
Virus Craft - wooden virus interface for game about virus host shifts
Giant wooden virus and tools
phylogeny of Drosophila species and barplots showing mean mortality to 4 bacterial pathogens and a control
Phylogeny of 35 host species next to figure with bars showing viral load for 11 different viruses
The CNRS research department “Insects Models of Innate Immunity” invites applications for a group leader position. Applicants must have a strong record of scientific accomplishments in Drosophila genetics, innate immunity/host-pathogen interactions, or insect physiology. We are looking for candidates who will bring new lines of research to the department (evolution, regulation of gene expression, metabolism, bioinformatics, etc…) and willing to work collaboratively with existing groups in the NetRNA LabEx network (https://labex-netrna.cnrs.fr/presentation/netrnateams/). The department “Insects Models of Innate Immunity” performs cutting edge basic research on insect-pathogen interactions, focusing on the fruit-fly Drosophila as well as vector mosquitoes Anopheles and Aedes (https://ibmc.cnrs.fr/en/laboratoire/m3i/). The department is part of the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology (IBMC), located at the heart of the University of Strasbourg campus in France. The IBMC provides a world-class research environment, equipped with cutting-edge facilities for proteomics, genomics, advanced cell imaging and a dedicated insectarium for infectiology studies, including BSL3 containment. Our department participates in the NetRNA consortium, which offers a start-up package of 450k€ covering salary and research support for 3-5 years. Applicants should submit before March 31st , 2025, a curriculum vitae, a summary of research accomplishments (1-2 pages), a summary of future research plans (1-2 pages) and contact information for three professional references. Applications in the form of a single pdf document, or any question regarding the position, should be sent to m3i-sec@ibmc-cnrs.unistra.fr.
Drosophila on a melon
Figure with susceptibility across 35 hosts to 11 viruses
Richard Merrill talking about butterflies in full lecture theatre
Illustration of the virome with potential biotic and abiotic drivers (evolutionary factors, host range overlap, temperature/rainfall/UVm seasonal variation, life history traits, diet, movement ecology, coinfection and anthropogenic change)
Illustration of the virome with potential biotic and abiotic drivers (evolutionary factors, host range overlap, temperature/rainfall/UVm seasonal variation, life history traits, diet, movement ecology, coinfection and anthropogenic change)
Leftover scones with a sign saying "jam and cream in the fridge"
wordle type word cloud largely featuring host, species, viruses, drosophila and evolution