The Immunology Podcast

Dr. Wayne Juang is a Field Application Scientist, Immunology at STEMCELL Technologies. In his current role, he works with researchers to help optimize and troubleshoot their experiments. He discusses his path to industry and his motivation to pursue an MBA.

TNF Mutations and Tuberculosis – Two relatives who lack working copies of the TNF gene experienced recurrent bouts of tuberculosis, but are unaffected by other pathogens.

Fibrin and Clotting in COVID-19 – Fibrin drives inflammation and neuropathology in SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Salt in Tumors – Sodium chloride in enhances the activation state and effector functions of human CD8+ T cells.

Fatal Respiratory Infections – Researchers identified oleoyl-ACP hydrolase as an early driver of several severe respiratory diseases.

Image courtesy of STEMCELL Technologies

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Dr. Kipp Weiskopf is a Valhalla Fellow at the Whitehead Institute. His research focuses on unlocking the therapeutic potential of macrophages for the benefit of cancer patients. He talks about the role of macrophages in the tumor environment and how targeting the CD47/SIRPα axis can induce phagocytosis of cancer cells. He also discusses starting spin-off companies to advance cancer therapies.

Organoids with an Immune Compartment – Researchers generated human intestinal immuno-organoids to investigate intestinal inflammation triggered by cancer-targeting biologics in patients.

Gene Repression in Tregs – The transcription factor Ikaros binds to Foxp3 to inhibit the expression of target genes in Tregs.

γδ T-Cell Antigen Receptor Structure – Scientists used cryo-electron microscopy to determine the structure of of the T-cell receptor found on the surface of γδ T cells.

Autoimmune Organ Damage – Tissue-resident NKp46+ innate lymphoid cells are crucial signal amplifiers of disease-associated macrophage expansion and epithelial cell injury in lupus nephritis.

Image courtesy of Dr. Kipp Weiskopf

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Dr. Adrian Erlebacher is a Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. His lab studies how the developmental properties of a tissue influence its ability to mount a successful immune response. He talks about immune tolerance in pregnancy and how the maternal–fetal interface affects pregnancy outcomes.

Immune Cells in the Skull – The glioblastoma-linked immune-cell niche in the human skull provides an unanticipated resource and concept of acute tumor reactivity in the proximal bone marrow.

Nasal Vaccine Reactions – Nasal vaccination induces B cell expansion in the subepithelial dome of nasal-associated lymphoid tissues.

Airway Microbiota Across the Lifespan – Lifestyle factors are related to oral microbiota and environment is related to nasopharyngeal microbiota.

Tregs in the Gut – Researchers used a chemogenetic screen to reveal functional neuroimmune interactions in the gut.

Image courtesy of Dr. Adrian Erlebacher

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Dr. Jeffrey Rathmell is the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Immunobiology at the Vanderbilt Center for Immunobiology. His research focuses on T cell metabolism in cancer. He talks about what T cells use for fuel and his work on fatty acid synthesis. He also discusses the ‘obesity paradox’ in cancer immunotherapy and his favorite parts of being a scientist and professor.

A Humanized Mouse Model – A new humanized mouse mounts specific and mature antibody and autoantibody responses.

IL-11 Signaling in Aging – Inhibiting IL-11 extends the healthspan and lifespan of mice.

Sphinganine Synthesis in Macrophages – Sphinganine biosynthesis is a checkpoint for macrophage pattern recognition in mouse models of sepsis and melanoma.

Brain-Muscle Signaling – Researchers identified a brain-to-muscle signaling axis in Drosophila that regulates muscle performance.

Image courtesy of Dr. Jeffrey Rathmell

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Dr. Shana Kelley is the President of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago and the Neena B. Schwartz Professor of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University. The Kelley research group works in a variety of areas spanning bio analytical technology development and has pioneered new methods for tracking molecular and cellular analytes with unprecedented sensitivity. She talks about developing DNA-based reagentless biosensors and commercializing new technologies.

Tuberculosis Target Structure – Cryogenic electron microscopy structures of Mycobacterium tuberculosis ATP synthase sheds light on drug binding.

Toll-Like Receptor Signaling – Researchers engineered macrophages to delineate TLR pathway activities.

Onco-Fetal Immune Tolerance – Scientists cross-analyzed single-cell RNA sequencing data from human cancer types and the maternal-fetal interface to identify an onco-fetal immune tolerance checkpoint.

Tau Immunotherapy – Scientists loaded tau antibodies into micelles and administered them intranasally in mice.

Image courtesy of Dr. Shana Kelley

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Dr. Susan Kaech is a Professor and Director of the NOMIS Center for Immunobiology and Microbial Pathogenesis at the Salk Institute. Her lab aims to understand how memory T cells are produced during infection and vaccination, how they function, and why they can fail to induce long-term immunity, particularly during chronic disease or cancer. In this episode, she talks about her research on T cell exhaustion and neuroimmunology, as well as her path from genetics to immunology.

Glycan Breakdown and Bacterial Function – Researchers used a large-scale screen to identify enzyme systems that represent an underappreciated mode of glycan degradation.

Cancer Risk after CAR T Therapy – Only a small percentage of patients who receive CAR T therapies develop secondary cancers, and most are not directly linked to CAR T treatment.

CD8+ T Cells in Hepatitis B – Hepatocellular priming induces key co-signaling receptors in dysfunctional CD8+ T cells.

T Cell Aging – T cell epigenetic clocks measure replicative history and can continue to accumulate well-beyond organismal lifespan.

Image courtesy of Dr. Susan Kaech

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Dr. Priya Devarajan is an Assistant Professor at Stony Brook University. Her work focuses on immune memory and respiratory immunology. She talks about how aging affects the immune system and strategies to promote immune responses in the nose and lungs. She also discusses improving influenza vaccine responses and her experience interviewing for faculty positions.

γδ T Cells Across the Life Span – Antigenic exposures over childhood drive the functional evolution and tissue compartmentalization of γδ T cells.

Glucose Restriction and Viral Response – Glucose restriction is a physiological mechanism to bring the body into a heightened state of responsiveness to viral pathogens.

A Gene Desert Implicated in Autoimmunity – Researchers used functional genomics to identify a central regulator of human inflammatory macrophages.

Stripy T Cells – Some T cells within a population have nuclear envelope invaginations that concentrate cellular organelles.

Image courtesy of Dr. Priya Devarajan

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Dr. Erika Moore is an Assistant Professor in the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland, where her lab is committed to engineering biomaterial models that harness the regenerative potential of the immune system. She talks about building biomaterials, rejuvenating macrophages, and treating lupus. She also discusses using the right cells in research and promoting financial literacy to make science careers more accessible.

Heart Failure – Bone marrow can carry an innate immune memory of cardiac stress that may exacerbate heart failure.

Epstein Barr and B Cells – Virus-orchestrated NAD biosynthesis is a druggable metabolic vulnerability of Epstein Barr virus-driven B cell transformations.

Microbiome Modulation in Pregnancy – Bacterial conversion of corticoids into progestins may affect host physiology, particularly in the context of pregnancy.

The Circadian Rhythm and Tumor Immunosuppression – Circadian gating of tumor immunosuppression informs the timing and efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Image courtesy of Dr. Erika Moore

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Dr. Kellen Cavagnero is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, San Diego.  His PhD work focused on how fibroblasts — a cell type thought to be immunologically inert — contribute to chronic inflammatory conditions and defense against pathogens. He talks about staph infections, antimicrobial resistance, and the types and roles of fibroblasts. He also discusses his work in science communication, including his podcast, Inflammatory Content.

Malaria Immunity – Scientists leveraged a human malaria infection study to investigate functional correlates of immunity.

CAR T Therapy for HIV – Anti-HIV-1 CAR-T cells armed with endogenic broadly neutralizing antibodies resulted in significant suppression of viral rebound in HIV patients.

Immunogenic Cell Death – Researchers generated a small-molecule proteolysis-targeting chimera that selectively degraded human and murine RIPK1.

Origins of Autoimmunity – NUDCD3 is required for healthy T and B cell development in humans.

Image courtesy of Dr. Kellen Cavagnero

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In May 2024, we attended IMMUNOLOGY2024, the annual meeting of the American Association of Immunologists, in Chicago. We spoke with delegates about their research and impressions of the meeting, including their reasons for attending and the most memorable research presented.

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