Dr Ry Holland

You may have noticed I disappeared from social media after my launch of @beyondxandy.bsky.social I was violently attacked by a transphobe who recognized me and have been in the hospital and resting If you'd like to help me with my medical bills, please consider donating here: gofund.me/9328f91f2

I've been awarded an ECR Career Development Award from the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute - thanks team! I'll use this funding to attend the Australian Antarctic Research Conference in Hobart this August & present our latest results about Antarctica's amazing microbes 🥳🦠 ⛰️ 🇦🇶

Ever wondered how microbes can survive the extreme conditions of the Antarctic desert? Find out the answer at my public @pintofscienceau.bsky.social talk on 20 May. Come along to the Munich Brauhaus event if you're in Naarm Melbourne 🦠🏔️ pintofscience.com.au/event/scales...

Tune in to 6PR Perth at ~3:20 pm (AEDT) today to hear me share our latest findings about Antarctic microbes that live on air. You know I love spreading the good word about Antarctica and the amazing microbes we find down there! Listen online here: www.6pr.com.au/listen-live/ @arcsaef.bsky.social

Looking for a tool to estimate abundances of aerobes versus anaerobes directly from metagenomes? Here you go: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Check out my new article in The Conversation about some of our research on #Antarctic #moss 🌿 #Antarctica #AntarcticMoss #Research @uowenvirofutures.bsky.social @arcsaef.bsky.social

Soil trace gas oxidizers divergently respond to short- and long-term warming https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.18.689010v1

I've made an Insta account for Antarctic adventures and sci comm - come say hiiiiiiii if that's your thing! www.instagram.com/ry.themicrog...

Study in the Lancet journal finds that Israel's starvation campaign in Gaza has left 55,000 children under the age of five acutely malnourished, risking long-term health damage. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Today's the last day to complete this short survey for the ARC about the use of AI in grant assessment. Survey link: www.surveymonkey.com/r/X7PY5GL

Very grateful to have received a small grant from the Antarctic Science Foundation to support exploration of new techniques for my research with @arcsaef.bsky.social. I purchased vital equipment to help us extract RNA from low biomass Antarctic soils - fingers crossed for some cool metaT data!

📢 PLEASE RT! ❄️ M2 Masters Internship: Metagenomic analysis of microbial cold adaptation in the cryosphere 🧬 Compile & curate ice nucleation & cold-adaptation protein database 🖥️ Build HMM profiles 🦠 Analyze existing metagenomic data using HMMs ☀️ Marseille, France Apply by 15 Oct

Microbial traits for volatile production and consumption are diverse and consequential. Here's why they are ripe for interpretation through a trait-based lens... Led by UA PhD students Ledford and Geffre @parkergeffre.bsky.social in collab w/ LBNL team @elbrodie.bsky.social Marschmann Karaoz

🏆 Octopus and Ice Sheet Team @marine-omics.bsky.social is awarded the Aspire Scholarship Eureka Prize for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Scientific Research. Learn more: youtu.be/8H3bCE6wfjM #EurekaPrizes @janstrugnell.bsky.social @lausally.bsky.social @nick-golledge.bsky.social

Interested in a co-authorship? We’re building a tool for repository-scale untargeted #metabolomics and #exposomics of #environmental data. To make it the best it can be, we’re looking for people willing to share high-resolution LC-MS/MS (DDA) data from #water, #soil, #sediment, and related samples.

Comment out now in Nature Reviews Biodiversity where we argue that blocking renewable energy, esp wind and solar, for biodi reasons is unnecessary - we can manage any tradeoffs. And unchecked climate change is far, far worse! Don't let biodi become political football www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Hi all, it's time for a reintroduction! 👋 I'm changing my name to Ry. Delightfully, this also allows me to work with the fun new bluesky handle of Ry the Micro Guy @rythemicroguy.bsky.social. Have a lovely Sunday 🏳️‍⚧️

"Australia should urgently adopt an ambitious, strategically prioritised and explicit Antarctic and Southern Ocean research agenda supported by a consolidated whole-of-government commitment." ✅ ✅ ✅ 💯

Abstract deadline for Climate and Cryosphere 2026, in Wellington NZ, now extended till August 31st. Spread the word... clic2026.com #climate #academicsky #nz

This design came to me and I've been convinced me to make it real. So I'm now taking MAKE ANTARCTICA GAY AGAIN cap orders 😂 Open to those in Naarm Melbourne and anyone willing to pay postage + ~$30 for the hat. ❄️✨🌈

Out in @natbiotech.nature.com: Metagenome taxonomy profilers usually ignore unknown species. SingleM is an accurate profiler which doesn't, even detecting phyla with no MAGs. Profiles of 700,000 metagenomes at sandpiper.qut.edu.au. A 🧵

What does innovation in microbiology teaching look like? We invite papers on pedagogy, tech, curriculum, and student engagement in microbiology education. More information ▶️ buff.ly/OMVT8xk #SciComm #MicrobiologyEducation #AcademicSky #SciComm 🧪 #AcWri #PHDSky #ScholComms #OpenScience #SciPol

A new study shows these extremes trigger cascading effects—from ocean warming to habitat loss for top predators. The findings underscore the urgent need for sustained long-term monitoring. In New Scientist: www.newscientist.com/article/2486... In PNAS Nexus: academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...

Our new consensus statement on reducing and reporting contamination in microbiome studies is the cover image of this month's Nature Microbiology: www.nature.com/articles/s41... In the cover photo, you can see our postdoc Sophie Holland in fully PPE sampling the atmosphere of terrestrial Antarctica.

Finally joined Bluesky! Follow along to stay connected with ABACBS. Keep an eye out in the coming days, we’ll be releasing more details for 2025 conference, including opening abstract submissions and announcing invited speakers! www.abacbs.org/abacbs2025

I just got sent a package of letters from the students at Deepdene Primary School, thanking Dr Gaofeng Ni and I for our presentations on microbes, science and Antarctica. I won't share any for privacy reasons but OH MY HEART kids really are the best 🥹🥹🥹 and such thoughtful questions!

The proposed NOAA budget for 2026 contains the literal line: Total, Climate Research: $0 www.commerce.gov/sites/defaul...

The low signal-to-noise ratio of low biomass environments necessitates extra caution when sampling & analysing microbiome data 🦠🧬 We outline best practices & minimum reporting standards 📝 rdcu.be/er3Io @arcsaef.bsky.social @noahfierer.bsky.social @greening.bsky.social @monashuniversity.bsky.social

Come jump in the sea with me this Saturday, Melbournians! It'll be fun, I promise!

@monashuniversity.bsky.social asked me to comment on the viral drinking glacier water trend 🏔️💧 Tl;dr While we get all our drinking water by melting snow when we're in Antarctica, I wouldn't recommend going there just for that! www.instagram.com/reel/DK_askm... @arcsaef.bsky.social

Warming of +1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels is too high for the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, and even the current climate forcing of +1.2 °C is likely to lead to several meters of sea-level rise, according to a study in Communications Earth & Environment. 🧪

Climate research folks, do consider the Climate and Cryosphere Open Science Conference in Wellington, New Zealand, 9-12 Feb 2026. Southern Summer talking about climate and ice. Abstract submission closes on 31 July 2025. With a bonus @scar-antarctic.bsky.social INSTANT meeting alongside it.

It's Trans Day of Visibility. Unfortunately for many trans people in the world right now, visibility means violence. I am grateful that it's relatively safe for me to be trans, to yell loudly for our rights, and to use my position to try and make polar science a safer place for all. #TDOV 🩵🩷🤍🩷🩵

I had a great time talking to Year 3-6 students at Deepdene Primary School this morning. I told them about microbes and what it's like to go on an expedition to Antarctica. They had SO many good questions, it blew me away 🥹 I love getting people excited about science 🧑‍🔬🥰

This graphic 🤩

Hydrogenase-driven ATP synthesis from air www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... #jcampubs

Our final question for the week: What do you think is lacking in ECR support for Antarctic science in AU/NZ? Let us know below or via DM. Your input will be taken to the Polar Early Career World Summit #PECWS this weekend, and be considered in planning for the 5th International Polar Year #IPY5.

Job alert: 3 Aotearoa New Zealand Postdoctoral fellowships in complex systems www.tepunahamatatini.ac.nz/2025/03/07/p...

‼️ 3-year positions in Marseille for US-based researchers ☀️🌊🔬🇫🇷 🎓 >2 years post-PhD 🇺🇸 >2 years in USA Apply with plans for research project, lab & collaborations. I'm very happy to discuss project proposal, host lab & collaboration opportunities. Applications OPEN NOW! www.univ-amu.fr/en/public/ac...