Julie Zhou

Chris Hunter @kingofpathogens.bsky.social and colleagues review parasite and host immune factors that impact the development of a mucosal vaccine for #Cryptosporidium : www.mucosalimmunology.org/article/S193...

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Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world. Science is the highest personification of the nation because that nation will remain the first which carries the furthest the works of thought and intelligence.

Louis Pasteur

The pivot penalty in research - Nature An analysis of millions of scientific papers and patents reveals a ‘pivot penalty’ when researchers shift direction, with the impact of studies decreasing rapidly the further they move from their prev...

This is incredibly sad...I strongly believe that pivoting to different fields is a cornerstone of creativity and originality www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Incredible! Over the past 2 months, 5 independent manuscripts — from @TheColonnaLab, Dan Littman, @gardnerlabucsf.bsky.social and @chrysothemisbrown.bsky.social , and our own (now in @nature.com, www.nature.com/articles/s41...), reports that the dietary pTreg program is initiated by RORγt⁺ APCs. /1

Cell type–specific efferocytosis determines functional plasticity of alveolar macrophages MPO activates an immunometabolic rheostat to restrict the functional plasticity of macrophages in favor of proresolving properties.

#WeekendRead #NoTimeToDie! Matt, Better &co show @ Science Immunology that efferocytosis of apoptotic neutrophils (not epithelial cells) by alveolar macrophages reprograms their metabolism, boosting glutaminolysis & decreasing ROS, thus favoring repair but facilitating secondary bacterial infections

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Bluetorial: Pathways to Independence: The K99-R00 award program

NIH’s response to a 2005 National Academy report led to a new program based on its initial goal of reducing the age of investigators achieving research independence

two men are riding a bicycle with a basket on it . ALT: two men are riding a bicycle with a basket on it .

#Bluetorial: In our latest paper on #gdTcells and #IBD in #ScienceImmunology we found that γδ IEL number and regulatory function are severely compromised BEFORE ileal inflammation occurs, suggesting that γδ IELs may maintain IEL homeostasis in response to a pro-inflammatory microenvironment. 1/n

GM-CSF–mediated epithelial-immune cell cross-talk orchestrates pulmonary immunity to Aspergillus fumigatus During mold infection, epithelial-derived GM-CSF licenses neutrophil killing of fungal cells, leading to improved survival.

So happy to see this story come together. Check it out! Kathleen Mills and many collaborators - GM-CSF–mediated epithelial-immune cell cross-talk orchestrates pulmonary immunity to Aspergillus fumigatus | Science Immunology www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on ALT: a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on

Bluetorial: Women, courage, and leadership

What follows will include some generalizations based on population averages of what I have experienced over the course of my career. There are, of course, exceptions in every group who are substantially more to one extreme or the other.

What do Pablo Picasso and Charles Janeway have in common? Both were interested in patterns of life. Janeway was focused on pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) that are detected by our immune system. But what are these patterns he refers to?

Macrophages recycle phagocytosed bacteria to fuel immunometabolic responses - Nature Phagocytosed bacteria can serve as an alternative nutrient source for macrophages, influencing their metabolic and immune responses through the recycling of microbial components, with the process regu...

Thrilled for Johan Garaude’s @inserm.fr new work in Nature! I’m proud to see this Blander lab alumnus shine. His group shows bacterial cAMP accumulation signals death, fueling macrophage recycling—a fresh live-vs-dead immune twist. Stellar work with huge impact! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

NIH Funding Is at a Standstill. This Professor Is Tracking the Delays. More than half of the NIH grant-review meetings that were supposed to take place this year have been cancelled, she says. “Without these meetings happening, nothing can get funded.”

NIH funding is frozen. @annikabarber.bsky.social is keeping score: 50%+ of study sections planned for this year (77/148) have been cancelled.

I talked to Dr. Barber about why these delays are disastrous, and why scientists should be pooling info and speaking up: www.chronicle.com/article/nih-...

Dear TCR researchers of #immunosky, you may be interested to know that our tool Stitchr - for the automated production of full-length T cell receptor sequences - has just had a nice little update:

jamieheather.github.io/stitchr/

2025 Study section tracking

Wondering if your study section cancelled? I update this sheet daily. As of today, 56/124 study sections that should have met since Jan 2, 2025 have "not met as scheduled." docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Design of study using sequencing of B and T cell receptor and A.I. models to unravel information about infections and autoimmune conditions

Other than the brain, our immune system is the most complex part of the human body. For the first time, sequencing receptors of B and T cells, along w/ generative A.I., enabled diagnosis of medical conditions such as lupus. That's just for starters. erictopol.substack.com/p/the-first-...

Well said @dereklowe.bsky.social. Academia produces two vital products: (1) knowledge, and (2) human capital that knows how to use it. If we can’t train enough young creative US scientists to fulfill biopharma industry needs…

“I think they're being short-sighted, because fear does that to you.”

To my friends and colleagues at UAB, IU, UF, FSU, UL, WashU, OSU, CWRU, etc, etc. Call both your senators and your representative. They listen. Emphasize the direct economic impact of NIH research, and the indirect impacts on pharmaceutical/biotech. Underscore its relevance to national security.

WORKING LIFE Four lessons for being a great mentor to undergrads. Illustration shows two individuals walking through darkness, one using a flashlight that shines a light on various symbols

"... I ended up being reluctant to work with undergraduate researchers at all—until a new student helped me realize what is required to mentor undergraduates, and the rewards it can bring." #NationalMentoringMonth https://scim.ag/3E1bAYj

National Institute of General Medical Sciences NIGMS supports basic research to understand biological processes and lay the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

The NIH diversity supplement pages have all been pulled down. What is a diversity supplement and why should the public care? A diversity supplement is funding to help diversify the research workforce. You may be wondering, “so what?”. Let me explain. www.nigms.nih.gov/Pages/PageNo...

All NIH study sections canceled indefinitely. This will halt science and devastate research budgets in universities.

In toxic cultures, people get promoted for results even if they destroy relationships. Abuse is a price to pay for high performance.

In healthy cultures, no level of individual excellence justifies undermining people. You’re not a high performer if you don't elevate others.

Inflammation switches the chemoattractant requirements for naive lymphocyte entry into lymph nodes Lymph node swelling is a well-known symptom of infection. A shift in the chemoattractant code controls lymphocyte recruitment from blood into inflamed lymph nodes, allowing lymphocytes to accumulate so that even rare antigen-specific cells can encounter their activating antigen.

Looks like I’ll need to update my lymph node lectures. Very nice explanation for why there is preferential leukocyte recruitment to inflamed nodes. #immunosky

A stromal inflammasome Ras safeguard against Myc-driven lymphomagenesis - Nature Immunology Blander and colleagues report a homeostatic regulatory effect played by inflammasomes in the bone marrow stromal compartment that suppresses premalignant stages of lymphomagenesis.

Ever wonder if the innate immune system protects against cancer in premalignancy? My lab reports that the inflammasome in bone marrow stroma suppresses Ras in preleukemic stem cells restraining lymphomagenesis.

Happy to share here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

One main pain point: interdisciplinary work is often judged by the highest standards in *both* disciplines. This creates an almost impossible burden, effectively extinguishing creative work. Sure, some standards are there for a reason, but more often than not, they are just stock critiques.

Expert's Dilemma: the more specialized you become, the less open you are to creative solutions from other fields. But the more you explore other fields, the more you risk losing credibility in your home field.
Interdisciplinary work is still not really embraced by academia.

Deep profiling deconstructs features associated with memory CD8+ T cell tissue residence Scott et al. combine migration assays, myriad infection models, and multi-omics to describe the broad adaptability of tissue-resident memory CD8+ T (Trm) cells to diverse stimulatory and environmental inputs. They report limitations in common proxy markers for tissue residence and provide practical recommendations for conceptualizing and identifying Trm cells.

Important paper by Dave Masopust's group on defining CD8+ Trm cells in murine models. Heroic amount of work and must read for folks studying memory T cells.

"Thus, current Trm-defining methodologies have implicit limitations, and a universal residence-specific signature may not exist." #ImmunoSky

Research involves day science and night science, requiring you to become good at both. Day science proceeds in logical steps and specializes in hypothesis testing, but to generate new ideas we pop out to the creative night science world, where leaps among ideas are made possible.

How to thank your lab mates: eight ways to show gratitude at the end of year Alongside secret Santas and seasonal parties, many laboratories develop traditions to show appreciation to colleagues — from sweets and mulled wine to quizzes and ice-skating trips.

A great read - How to thank you lab mates: eight ways to show gratitude at the end of the year -
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Type III interferons induce pyroptosis in gut epithelial cells and impair mucosal repair Intestinal damage following colitis or irradiation induces type III interferons (IFNs), which delay the healing of the intestinal epithelium. IFN-λ directs the sensing of Z-form nucleic acids generated during gut injury and repair, triggering cell death and altering healthy epithelial regeneration.

#EveryCellIsAnImmuneCell!💥Thrilled for the final version of our paper @cp-cell.bsky.social! We show that type III #interferons control ZBP1 activation driving gasdermin C cleavage & delaying gut repair by inducing #pyroptosis in intestinal epithelial cells! 1/n www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...