Noelle A. Held

Proteocean Lab’s first big conference! We love the marine microbes GRC!

I am hiring a research/technical specialist/manager to help us make the most out of new LC-MS instrumentation at USC! Please share the word and write me for more details. usc.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern...

These experiments are transforming how I think about field experiments and omics datasets - how can we make them more quantitative?

What does it really mean to be in nutrient colimitation? We demonstrate a distinct growth phenotype and that (co)limitation can (and should!) be quantified. The result of many late afternoon chats with @Michael_Manhart. pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…

The inaugural Alma Dal Co School on Collective Behavior will be in Venice (Sep 29-Oct 4, 2025). This unique school honors Alma (1989-2022), whose brilliant work bridging physics and microbiology revealed how metabolic interactions structure microbial communities. @Alma_DalCo 1/12

The science supply chain is so ridiculous. You can do your best on sustainability in the lab and then VWR sends you stir bars each in a huge, double walled cardboard box. 🙃

I'm back with another non-academic Mom In Science update: she's with her poster at another conference, this time invited! She's thinking about writing it up as a manuscript; that would be so awesome.

New KITP Program! #MICROECO26 Coarse-graining Microbial Ecology: from Genes to Physiological Strategies to Communities across Environments Dates: 5/18/26-6/18/26 kitp.ucsb.edu/activities/mic…

Update: Mom's poster made the conference website and we're all really excited about it. I'll also point out that her poster is about reducing C-section infections by sending patients home with a cleanser that works but is nice enough that they enjoy using it as self-care. Go mom!

I am so proud of my mom who has been an RN for 40 years, went back for a masters in her 50s, started doing research, and is presenting a poster at a conference for the first time today. I hope I also keep doing new things when I am 62!

It’s not frivolous if you stick them on your field equipment.

Proteocean Lab is in the clean room today prepping for field incubations to minimize contamination by trace metals! It’s like entering a dance club - years can go by but I still got it 🍾

I highly recommend doing a postdoc in the MSE group!

@nonresidentdesi east coast of FL - baby loggerhead seaturtle tracks!

@proteocean Where?

This is worth protecting.

I think that microbes experience nutrient limitation in a continuous way, but experiments aren't usually designed to capture that. Thoughts (and massive concept map) from @Michael_Manhart and I in the Microbial Systems and Synthetic Biology themed issue: sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

It's been a month since ASMS - which talks have stuck with you/should I watch before the recordings disappear in September?

Pipettes Christmas!!!! #newlab

p.p.s. Just to show - totally different phenotypes with the normal gene (A&B) vs spontaneous mutation (E) and genetic knockout (G). It's wild!

p.s. the non clumping strain was an absolute nightmare for proteomics, which caused a quarter year stress cycle that ultimately ended up in the sequencing venture and me finally signing up for yoga teacher training. Hah!

What makes a sticky bacterium sticky? Turns out, it can just be one enzyme. The moral of this study was: sequence your freezer stocks! journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mb…