Martha Alexander-Miller discusses why newborn and infant immune responses to vaccines are generally less effective and how we can make vaccines safer and more effective.

Host: Cindy Leifer

Guest: Martha Alexander-Miller

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Links for this episode

• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• Flu HA nanoparticle vaccine (Nat Comm, 2025)
• Sex-dependent adjuvant activity in newborns (Vaccines, 2024)
• Flu vaccine with R848 adjuvant (Vaccines, 2023)
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Music by Tatami. Logo image by Blausen Medical Send your immunology questions and comments to [email protected]

Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

The Immune team talks about two papers on the effect of sleep and environment on seasonal allergies.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Cindy Leifer, and Brianne Barker

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Links for this episode

• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• Sleep is needed for condition dependent allergic responses (PNAS, 2020)
• Original paper on allergy to artificial rose (Am. J. Med. Sci. 181, 45–56 (1886))
• One of multiple personalities allergic (Am J Clin Hypn, 1983)
• Environmentally driven immune imprinting protects against allergy (Nature, 2026)
• News and Views on immune imprinting paper (Nature, 2026)
• Immune 90 discussion of "dirty mice"
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Music by Tatami. Immune logo image by Blausen Medical Send your immunology questions and comments to [email protected]

Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

Matters Microbial #130: The Holobiont — Animals, Microbes, and Ecology May 19, 2026

Today Dr. Kevin Kohl, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, joins the #QualityQuorum to discuss how he and his colleagues study the interplay between animals, their resident gut microbes, and the overarching concept of the holobiont.

Host: Mark O. Martin

Guest: Kevin Kohl

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Links for this episode

• The One Health Microbiome Center at Pennsylvania State University.
• A very fine essay on the holobiont concept for non-microbiologists.
• A general introductory overview of the holobiont concept.
• The holobiont concept and the coral symbiosis.
• A partial history of the development of the holobiont concept.
• Dr. Casadevall suggests that context and thus outcomes describes the term "pathogen," and a similar analysis applies to the holobiont.
• A very short description of the holobiont concept.
• Another overview of the holobiont concept in general, coauthored by Dr. Kohl.
• Some basic rules for thinking about the holobiont concept.
• A video introduction to the holobiont concept, by Dr. Seth Bordenstein.
• I highly recommend this essay by the science writer Carl Zimmer, "The Human Lake," to think of the connections between lake ecology and microbial interactions with humans.
• Another wonderful article recommended by Dr. Kohl, by Dr. Margaret McFall-Ngai and coauthors, detailing the impact microbes have on animals over evolution and development.
• The wood rat – creosote – microbiome connection to the holobiont concept, discussed on this podcast (coauthored by Dr. Kohl).
• The fascinating work by Dr. Kohl and colleagues showing the relationship between tadpole development and pond microbes discussed in this podcast.
• A must read article by Dr. Kohl and colleagues, "Through the microbial looking glass: our shifting understanding of the holobiont and microbes as mediators of organismal biology," illustrates the development and influence of the holobiont concept.
• Dr. Richard Prum's book, "Performance All the Way Down," was discussed during this podcast. There is also a video where Dr. Prum discusses the ideas in this book, describing gene regulation as a performance.
• Dr. Kohl's faculty website.
• Dr. Kohl's (very interesting) research website.

Intro music is by Reber Clark

Send your questions and comments to [email protected]

Nicholas Jackson, AKA Nick the Immunologist, talks about being a graduate student, social media creator, and his research on cytokine tools to investigate regulatory T cells.

Host: Cindy Leifer

Guest: Nicholas Jackson (Nick the Immunologist)

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Links for this episode

• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• Richard DiPaolo lab
• IL-2, TGFb and Tregs preprint
• Nick the Immunologist on TikTok
• Nick the Immunologist on Instagram
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Music by Tatami. Logo image by Blausen Medical Send your immunology questions and comments to [email protected]

Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

Luke O'Neill recounts his role in discovering key components of the TLR signaling pathway, explains how pursuing unexpected research questions keeps him motivated, and reflects on his experiences as an entrepreneur founding biotech companies.

Host: Cindy Leifer

Guest: Luke O'Neill

Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of Immune!

Links for this episode

• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• O'Neill lab
• Identification of MAL in the TLR signaling pathway (Nature, 2001)
• GDF 15, immunometabolism and anti-inflammatories (An Rev Pharmacol Tox, 2026)
• Itaconate and regulation of inflammation (Nat Metab, 2024)
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Music by Tatami. Logo image by Blausen Medical Send your immunology questions and comments to [email protected]

Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

George Stark from the Cleveland Clinic reflects on his early training in biochemistry and how several sabbatical leaves sparked pivotal changes in his research trajectory, eventually drawing him to interferon signaling where he helped establish the core principles of the JAK–STAT pathway and uncovered interesting roles for interferon signaling in cancer.

Host: Cindy Leifer

Guest: George Stark

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Links for this episode

• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• Stark lab
• Development of the Northern blotting technique (PNAS, 1977)
• Development of Western blotting for proteins (PNAS, 1979)
• Discovery of Tyk2 as a critical kinase in interferon response (Cell, 1992)
• Topical PALA treatment for non-melanoma skin cancer (Exp Dermatol, 2023)
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Music by Tatami. Logo image by Blausen Medical Send your immunology questions and comments to [email protected]

Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

The Immune team talks all about cytokines, from what they are to immunotherapies against them to treat diseases.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Cindy Leifer, and Brianne Barker

Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of Immune!

Links for this episode

• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• Non-specific virus neutralization by IgM and complement (mBio 2026)
• Natural antibodies against viruses (Virology blog, 2009)
• Biologics against inflammatory cytokines (Int J Cell Bio, 2016)
• Biologics against allergic cytokines (JACI, 2022)
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Music by Tatami. Immune logo image by Blausen Medical Send your immunology questions and comments to [email protected]

Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

Irah King from McGill University talks about his passion to understand how our immune system detects and responds to helminthic worm infections, how the worms can reprogram those responses, and how these pathways might be exploited to develop new treatments for inflammatory diseases.

Host: Cindy Leifer

Guest: Irah King

Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of Immune!

Links for this episode

• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• King lab at McGill
• Stromal cells and disease tolerance against intestinal infection (Cell, 2025)
• Helminth-Microbiome Interactions in Early Life (Cell, Host, & Microbe, 2024)
• BCL6, CD4T cells and parasitic infection (Mucoslal Immunol, 2023)
• Helminths manipulate the intestinal epithelium (Trends Parasit, 2023)
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Music by Tatami. Logo image by Blausen Medical Send your immunology questions and comments to [email protected]

Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

The Immune team discusses a paper describing the negative effects of old B cells on T cells and longevity and a snippet on an interesting vaccine approach to promote competition between gut commensals.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Cindy Leifer, Stephanie Langel, and Brianne Barker

Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of Immune!

Links for this episode

• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• Vaccine enhanced competition of gut bacteria (Science 2025)
• B cells drive immunosenescence and aging (Sci Immunol 2026)
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Music by Tatami. Immune logo image by Blausen Medical Send your immunology questions and comments to [email protected]

Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

A former anti-vax mom talks about going down the rabbit hole, her mindset shift, the importance of doctors who are willing to talk with patients about vaccines, and why she is now a vaccine advocate.

Host: Cindy Leifer

Guest: Ellen Mary Woods

Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of Immune!

Links for this episode

• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• A shot at life foundation
• Voices for Vaccines information and advocacy
• What the iPhone bendgate can teach us about vaccine hesitancy
• Tips for conversations with vaccine hesitant people
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Music by Tatami. Logo image by Blausen Medical Send your immunology questions and comments to [email protected]

Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.