Steph N. Seifert, PhD
@stephseifertphd.bsky.social
PI of the Molecular Ecology of Zoonotic and Animal Pathogens Lab
Co-PI, Viral Emergence Research Institute
Interested in virology, evolution, ecology, and still cares about diversity and equity in STEM
she/her
Co-PI, Viral Emergence Research Institute
Interested in virology, evolution, ecology, and still cares about diversity and equity in STEM
she/her
Pinned
1/7
New #ecology preprint out. We’ve spent half a century searching for Arenavirus and Hantavirus reservoirs, but it turns out global surveillance is essentially just us looking under the nearest streetlight. It is decoupled from actual host biodiversity.🧵 doi.org/10.64898/202...
New #ecology preprint out. We’ve spent half a century searching for Arenavirus and Hantavirus reservoirs, but it turns out global surveillance is essentially just us looking under the nearest streetlight. It is decoupled from actual host biodiversity.🧵 doi.org/10.64898/202...
Largest data synthesis effort for hantavirus and arenavirus surveillance ever put together! Proud to have this paper up; while the dataset and analyses on hantaviruses is especially timely, we started this project when @davidsimons.bsky.social received an FIR through @viralemergence.org in 2023. 🐀🦠
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
Our hedgehog coronavirus receptor study is now out in Nature Microbiology! Exciting new data has been added since the pre-print, including structure-guided mutagenesis showing species barriers, TMPRSS2 experiments and more details on the curious temperature adaptation in hedgehogs. (1/4)
September 16, 2026 at 4:45 PM
Our hedgehog coronavirus receptor study is now out in Nature Microbiology! Exciting new data has been added since the pre-print, including structure-guided mutagenesis showing species barriers, TMPRSS2 experiments and more details on the curious temperature adaptation in hedgehogs. (1/4)
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
the most interesting thing i worked on during my phd is now out as a preprint. ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
Designing optimal biodiversity observation networks
ecoevorxiv.org
September 15, 2026 at 3:30 AM
the most interesting thing i worked on during my phd is now out as a preprint. ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
🚨 NEW: Biodiversity monitoring can guide surveillance for emerging pathogens. In a new PLOS Ecosystems study led by @mdcatchen.bsky.social, we present computational algorithms to select surveillance sites that capture the most actionable data. Out now: dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
September 9, 2026 at 4:15 PM
🚨 NEW: Biodiversity monitoring can guide surveillance for emerging pathogens. In a new PLOS Ecosystems study led by @mdcatchen.bsky.social, we present computational algorithms to select surveillance sites that capture the most actionable data. Out now: dx.plos.org/10.1371/jour...
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
NEW stuff for Monday morning! Get your new stuff here! Pandemic risk is going up. Can we bring it back down? Probably not - unless we radically reimagine our relationship with nature, food, and each other. First preprint led by the brilliant @torrelavelle.bsky.social: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
August 3, 2026 at 2:29 PM
NEW stuff for Monday morning! Get your new stuff here! Pandemic risk is going up. Can we bring it back down? Probably not - unless we radically reimagine our relationship with nature, food, and each other. First preprint led by the brilliant @torrelavelle.bsky.social: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.6...
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
Very cool pair of papers demonstrating little link between amount of additive genetic variation and amount of nucleotide variation within species:
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Levels of additive genetic variation vary substantially between species
Adaptive potential determines how populations respond to environmental change. This study compiles evolvability estimates from over 170 multicellular species, revealing substantial variation across th...
journals.plos.org
July 31, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Very cool pair of papers demonstrating little link between amount of additive genetic variation and amount of nucleotide variation within species:
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
Really excited to see this peer-reviewed and published and published in epidemiology and infection. This work was motivated by the observation that we do not see #LassaFever outbreaks in sense West African cities despite high predicted biological hazard.
doi.org/10.1017/S095...
doi.org/10.1017/S095...
The Socio-economic Shield Limits Lassa Virus Spillover in Urban West Africa | Epidemiology & Infection | Cambridge Core
The Socio-economic Shield Limits Lassa Virus Spillover in Urban West Africa
doi.org
June 24, 2026 at 11:32 AM
Really excited to see this peer-reviewed and published and published in epidemiology and infection. This work was motivated by the observation that we do not see #LassaFever outbreaks in sense West African cities despite high predicted biological hazard.
doi.org/10.1017/S095...
doi.org/10.1017/S095...
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
Scientists have mobilized against OMB's power grab, but we need to look beyond our own grants and make coalitions with neighbors whose hospitals, schools, broadband, roads and parks are at risk. Go out and talk to your town council and county commission! www.forbes.com/sites/judyst... 🧪
How The OMB Rule Could Hurt You And Your Town
The OMB proposal threatens scientific research and ALL federal funding for states, cities, and nonprofits. It politicizes ALL funding. Call your reps and write an objection.
www.forbes.com
June 24, 2026 at 6:27 PM
Scientists have mobilized against OMB's power grab, but we need to look beyond our own grants and make coalitions with neighbors whose hospitals, schools, broadband, roads and parks are at risk. Go out and talk to your town council and county commission! www.forbes.com/sites/judyst... 🧪
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
Thousands of biomedical studies are stuck in limbo as NIH drags out renewals months after annual budgets expire. Since 2025, the rate of overdue renewals has TRIPLED. This leaves scientists unable to plan, keep staff employed, or maintain long-term research. grant-witness.us/posts/2026-0... #NIH 🧪
Overdue Grant Renewals at NIH and AHRQ – Grant Witness
The government’s delays renewing in-progress research are leaving researchers in limbo.
grant-witness.us
June 23, 2026 at 6:44 PM
Thousands of biomedical studies are stuck in limbo as NIH drags out renewals months after annual budgets expire. Since 2025, the rate of overdue renewals has TRIPLED. This leaves scientists unable to plan, keep staff employed, or maintain long-term research. grant-witness.us/posts/2026-0... #NIH 🧪
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
Beak Dad Behavior
June 21, 2026 at 5:09 PM
Beak Dad Behavior
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
After 7 days, #NSF grants started flowing again yesterday.
NSF generally stops during fiscal year turnover, government shutdowns, or funding lapses.
Other than that, it had not taken a week off since 1970.
Under this administration, it has done so three times.
grant-witness.us/posts/2026-0... 🧪
NSF generally stops during fiscal year turnover, government shutdowns, or funding lapses.
Other than that, it had not taken a week off since 1970.
Under this administration, it has done so three times.
grant-witness.us/posts/2026-0... 🧪
NSF’s Halts in Grantmaking are Unprecedented – Grant Witness
The National Science Foundation’s pause breaks decades of consistency and continuity.
grant-witness.us
June 16, 2026 at 2:54 PM
After 7 days, #NSF grants started flowing again yesterday.
NSF generally stops during fiscal year turnover, government shutdowns, or funding lapses.
Other than that, it had not taken a week off since 1970.
Under this administration, it has done so three times.
grant-witness.us/posts/2026-0... 🧪
NSF generally stops during fiscal year turnover, government shutdowns, or funding lapses.
Other than that, it had not taken a week off since 1970.
Under this administration, it has done so three times.
grant-witness.us/posts/2026-0... 🧪
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
Beyond excited to share that the preprint for the first chapter of my dissertation is up.
So grateful to my co-authors and especially my PI, @stephseifertphd.bsky.social, for their support throughout this ambitious three-year project. Here’s to shaking up evolutionary paradigms 🥂
So grateful to my co-authors and especially my PI, @stephseifertphd.bsky.social, for their support throughout this ambitious three-year project. Here’s to shaking up evolutionary paradigms 🥂
🚨 Ever wonder why some viral reassortants establish and spread while others disappear? Us too!
Led by @ricardoriveroh.bsky.social, we studied drivers of viral reassortment across hantaviruses and found that it varies dramatically among lineages (1/3)
Preprint: doi.org/10.64898/202...
Led by @ricardoriveroh.bsky.social, we studied drivers of viral reassortment across hantaviruses and found that it varies dramatically among lineages (1/3)
Preprint: doi.org/10.64898/202...
June 15, 2026 at 7:08 PM
Beyond excited to share that the preprint for the first chapter of my dissertation is up.
So grateful to my co-authors and especially my PI, @stephseifertphd.bsky.social, for their support throughout this ambitious three-year project. Here’s to shaking up evolutionary paradigms 🥂
So grateful to my co-authors and especially my PI, @stephseifertphd.bsky.social, for their support throughout this ambitious three-year project. Here’s to shaking up evolutionary paradigms 🥂
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
New preprint that I helped with! Here we show that understanding ecological context is fundamental to understanding reassortment in orthohantaviruses.
🚨 Ever wonder why some viral reassortants establish and spread while others disappear? Us too!
Led by @ricardoriveroh.bsky.social, we studied drivers of viral reassortment across hantaviruses and found that it varies dramatically among lineages (1/3)
Preprint: doi.org/10.64898/202...
Led by @ricardoriveroh.bsky.social, we studied drivers of viral reassortment across hantaviruses and found that it varies dramatically among lineages (1/3)
Preprint: doi.org/10.64898/202...
June 15, 2026 at 8:26 PM
New preprint that I helped with! Here we show that understanding ecological context is fundamental to understanding reassortment in orthohantaviruses.
🚨 Ever wonder why some viral reassortants establish and spread while others disappear? Us too!
Led by @ricardoriveroh.bsky.social, we studied drivers of viral reassortment across hantaviruses and found that it varies dramatically among lineages (1/3)
Preprint: doi.org/10.64898/202...
Led by @ricardoriveroh.bsky.social, we studied drivers of viral reassortment across hantaviruses and found that it varies dramatically among lineages (1/3)
Preprint: doi.org/10.64898/202...
June 15, 2026 at 5:32 PM
🚨 Ever wonder why some viral reassortants establish and spread while others disappear? Us too!
Led by @ricardoriveroh.bsky.social, we studied drivers of viral reassortment across hantaviruses and found that it varies dramatically among lineages (1/3)
Preprint: doi.org/10.64898/202...
Led by @ricardoriveroh.bsky.social, we studied drivers of viral reassortment across hantaviruses and found that it varies dramatically among lineages (1/3)
Preprint: doi.org/10.64898/202...
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
“While many of the city’s raccoons are healthy, some are infected with rabies, a deadly virus that attacks the central nervous system… This year [NYC’s health department] has already logged two rabid raccoons in areas of Brooklyn where it has never seen them before: Midwood and Sheepshead Bay”
Keeping an Eye Out for Rabid Raccoons
www.nytimes.com
June 14, 2026 at 7:34 PM
“While many of the city’s raccoons are healthy, some are infected with rabies, a deadly virus that attacks the central nervous system… This year [NYC’s health department] has already logged two rabid raccoons in areas of Brooklyn where it has never seen them before: Midwood and Sheepshead Bay”
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
we're hiring for a new research assistant to join our group at OU to manage field studies on migratory and Neotropical bats! please see the linked application on our website: beckerlab.weebly.com/join.html. applications will be reviewed in early August and the position can start in January.
June 11, 2026 at 3:10 PM
we're hiring for a new research assistant to join our group at OU to manage field studies on migratory and Neotropical bats! please see the linked application on our website: beckerlab.weebly.com/join.html. applications will be reviewed in early August and the position can start in January.
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
NSF seems to have stopped making new awards last week. There have been no new awards from any directorate since Weds, June 3. Even with the slow pace of new awards this year, there's been a consistent trickle. Something stopped the flow. grant-witness.us/funding_curv... #NSF 🧪
June 9, 2026 at 3:09 PM
NSF seems to have stopped making new awards last week. There have been no new awards from any directorate since Weds, June 3. Even with the slow pace of new awards this year, there's been a consistent trickle. Something stopped the flow. grant-witness.us/funding_curv... #NSF 🧪
We're very happy that our study found a home in the EcoHealth journal and we hope the disease ecology community, in particular, find applications of our model!
Their paper is freely available for download from @naturehealthglobal.bsky.social's EcoHealth journal, via @springernature.com's website here: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Using Serosurveys to Optimize Surveillance for Zoonotic Pathogens - EcoHealth
Zoonotic pathogens pose significant risk to human health, with spillover into human populations contributing to chronic disease and epidemics. Despite the widely recognized burden of zoonotic spillove...
link.springer.com
June 5, 2026 at 11:46 PM
We're very happy that our study found a home in the EcoHealth journal and we hope the disease ecology community, in particular, find applications of our model!
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
Great new paper by Erin Clancey of @pullman.wsu.edu, Scott Nuismer & @stephseifertphd.bsky.social featured in the press. The authors built a mathematical model that uses commonly-captured serology data to accurately identify peak viral risk for outbreaks. Awesome work!
phys.org/news/2026-06...
phys.org/news/2026-06...
Predictive model could help track deadly viruses back to their source
A new predictive model developed at Washington State University could help scientists more efficiently identify the reservoirs of emerging zoonotic viruses and dangerous pathogens like Ebola that can ...
phys.org
June 5, 2026 at 4:10 PM
Great new paper by Erin Clancey of @pullman.wsu.edu, Scott Nuismer & @stephseifertphd.bsky.social featured in the press. The authors built a mathematical model that uses commonly-captured serology data to accurately identify peak viral risk for outbreaks. Awesome work!
phys.org/news/2026-06...
phys.org/news/2026-06...
Fun fact: Our CREID-ECA renewal proposed generating standardized diagnostic controls and reagents for all known zoonotic filoviruses (including BDBV), with stocks ready to ship from East Africa to partner countries under existing MOUs. Then the entire CREID network program was canceled. 🫠
June 4, 2026 at 11:59 PM
Fun fact: Our CREID-ECA renewal proposed generating standardized diagnostic controls and reagents for all known zoonotic filoviruses (including BDBV), with stocks ready to ship from East Africa to partner countries under existing MOUs. Then the entire CREID network program was canceled. 🫠
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
For the last three years, we have gathered ALL available Hantavirus and Arenavirus surveillance data. Today, we’re glad to share the largest database ever assembled for these viruses. We hope it helps address questions from the recent ANDV outbreak and guide surveillance.
1/7
New #ecology preprint out. We’ve spent half a century searching for Arenavirus and Hantavirus reservoirs, but it turns out global surveillance is essentially just us looking under the nearest streetlight. It is decoupled from actual host biodiversity.🧵 doi.org/10.64898/202...
New #ecology preprint out. We’ve spent half a century searching for Arenavirus and Hantavirus reservoirs, but it turns out global surveillance is essentially just us looking under the nearest streetlight. It is decoupled from actual host biodiversity.🧵 doi.org/10.64898/202...
June 4, 2026 at 7:16 PM
For the last three years, we have gathered ALL available Hantavirus and Arenavirus surveillance data. Today, we’re glad to share the largest database ever assembled for these viruses. We hope it helps address questions from the recent ANDV outbreak and guide surveillance.
Largest data synthesis effort for hantavirus and arenavirus surveillance ever put together! Proud to have this paper up; while the dataset and analyses on hantaviruses is especially timely, we started this project when @davidsimons.bsky.social received an FIR through @viralemergence.org in 2023. 🐀🦠
1/7
New #ecology preprint out. We’ve spent half a century searching for Arenavirus and Hantavirus reservoirs, but it turns out global surveillance is essentially just us looking under the nearest streetlight. It is decoupled from actual host biodiversity.🧵 doi.org/10.64898/202...
New #ecology preprint out. We’ve spent half a century searching for Arenavirus and Hantavirus reservoirs, but it turns out global surveillance is essentially just us looking under the nearest streetlight. It is decoupled from actual host biodiversity.🧵 doi.org/10.64898/202...
June 4, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Largest data synthesis effort for hantavirus and arenavirus surveillance ever put together! Proud to have this paper up; while the dataset and analyses on hantaviruses is especially timely, we started this project when @davidsimons.bsky.social received an FIR through @viralemergence.org in 2023. 🐀🦠
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
Our new paper doi.org/10.1098/rspb... on long-term genetic threats to small populations finds that "mutational meltdown" (bad mutations fixing) is less of a problem than "mutational drought" (too few good new mutations) @wmawass.bsky.social @uliseshmc.bsky.social @jeremyjberg.bsky.social 1/5
Extinction vortices are driven more by a shortage of beneficial mutations than by deleterious mutation accumulation
Abstract. Habitat loss contributes to extinction risk in multiple ways. Genetically, small populations can face an ‘extinction vortex’—a positive feedback
doi.org
June 3, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Our new paper doi.org/10.1098/rspb... on long-term genetic threats to small populations finds that "mutational meltdown" (bad mutations fixing) is less of a problem than "mutational drought" (too few good new mutations) @wmawass.bsky.social @uliseshmc.bsky.social @jeremyjberg.bsky.social 1/5
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
More details soon but just got notice of award on a large grant in the AIxBio / biosecurity space! Will be hiring postdocs soon, and so will a few of my collaborators. Email me if interested!
June 2, 2026 at 10:39 PM
More details soon but just got notice of award on a large grant in the AIxBio / biosecurity space! Will be hiring postdocs soon, and so will a few of my collaborators. Email me if interested!
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
The Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease Conference (EEID) has made its way to the Asia-Pacific! Come join us in Hobart to open this new chapter and build capacity and networks in the region: eeid-asiapacific.org
From Molecules to Ecosystems: Uniting pathogen ecology, evolution and One Health across the Asia–Pacific region and beyond.
Click here to submit an abstract
Click here to register
August 26-28 2026, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Abstract submissions close June 19 2026
Register now as space is limited.
Hosted by the...
eeid-asiapacific.org
May 29, 2026 at 4:29 AM
The Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Disease Conference (EEID) has made its way to the Asia-Pacific! Come join us in Hobart to open this new chapter and build capacity and networks in the region: eeid-asiapacific.org
Reposted by Steph N. Seifert, PhD
The National Science Foundation is terminating and suspending grants again, and at Grant Witness we need you to help to track them! 🧪
We can only identify research being suppressed by under-the-radar suspensions directly from researchers. Please report! grant-witness.us/posts/2026-0... #NSF
We can only identify research being suppressed by under-the-radar suspensions directly from researchers. Please report! grant-witness.us/posts/2026-0... #NSF
New Grant Disruptions at NSF - We Need Your Help to Report! – Grant Witness
grant-witness.us
May 27, 2026 at 10:18 PM
The National Science Foundation is terminating and suspending grants again, and at Grant Witness we need you to help to track them! 🧪
We can only identify research being suppressed by under-the-radar suspensions directly from researchers. Please report! grant-witness.us/posts/2026-0... #NSF
We can only identify research being suppressed by under-the-radar suspensions directly from researchers. Please report! grant-witness.us/posts/2026-0... #NSF