Cryptogamic Invaders

Over the weekend, I spent most of my time up on the roof of my new home. My main objective was to clean it, which meant physically scraping the lichen and moss from the shingles. Here are some photos:

Standing at the apex of the garage roof

Scraping a particularly cryptogamically-encrusted roof portion

For those worried about the scientific implications, we did take some samples to document the property's cryptogamic flora!

- Brendan

Relocating to Philadelphia

Last week I relocated to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.  I have started a new position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the lab of Dr. Elizabeth Grice in the Department of Dermatology (School of Medicine).  The lab that I have joined is focused primarily on the skin microbiome, the collection of organisms that live on the surfaces of our bodies.  This position will give me a perfect opportunity to conduct research that integrates my main interests, specifically biodiversity, bioinformatics, ecology, evolution, and genomics, in a system that is new to me.  In this position, I will be able to maximally utilize my computational skills and continue to keep pace with the ever-changing next-generation sequencing technology.  I've already started on a few projects, and have encountered some exciting bioinformatics challenges.  As I continue my blog, I will surely place a greater emphasis on bioinformatics of next-generation sequencing data in my posts, so be prepared!

Thanks to all for your support!

- Brendan