

Immune
Vincent Racaniello
A podcast about the body's defenders against disease.
Episodes
Mentioned books

5 snips
Aug 26, 2025 • 1h 2min
Immune 95: Mitochondria for everyone
Cancer cells are hijacking mitochondria from nerve and T cells, boosting their growth while weakening immune responses. The podcast dives into how this mitochondrial manipulation informs cancer treatment strategies, revealing a complex dance between immune evasion and T cell dynamics. Additionally, there's exploration of mitochondrial transfer's evolutionary roots, plus insights into the effectiveness of checkpoint inhibitors in managing cancer and autoimmune conditions. Listeners will find both scientific advancement and community engagement at the heart of this discussion.

Aug 12, 2025 • 40min
Immune Booster #15 Vaccine ground rules with Shane Crotty
Cindy talks with Shane Crotty about his teenage days driving 3 ½ hours every weekend to have his first research experience in marine biology, how that eventually led to studying how vaccines work and how we can make them better, and how immunology research and publishing got a turbo-boost during the pandemic. Hosts: Cindy Leifer Guest: Shane Crotty Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of Immune! Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Immune 85 discusses Crotty lab paper on human upper airway immunity Shane Crotty on TWiV657 SARS-CoV-2 immunity Shane Crotty on TWiV684 Persistence of SARS-CoV memory Shane on TWiV802 Another epitope Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks! Music by Tatami. Logo image by Blausen Medical Send your immunology questions and comments to immune@microbe.tv Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

Jul 29, 2025 • 1h 15min
Immune 94: The nose knows
The hosts dive into the fascinating world of the immune system, discussing how cytotoxic T cells and granzyme K contribute to nasal inflammation and polyps. They explore the origins of IgA-producing B cells in the nose and the complexities of targeting granzyme K for asthma therapy. With humor, they contrast resilience in nature with the serious implications of their research, touching on the dynamics of immune responses in nasal tissue. The conversation also highlights challenges in mucosal vaccine development and the collaborative spirit within scientific podcasting.

Jul 8, 2025 • 29min
Immune Booster #14: In the eye of immune responses with Darren Lee
Darren Lee, a researcher from UMass Chan Medical School, specializes in ocular immunology and real-time visualization of immune responses in the eye. He discusses the eye's unique ability to manage immune privilege, enabling acceptance of foreign grafts. The role of regulatory T cells in autoimmune uveitis is a focal point, as Lee explains their importance in regulating inflammation. He also shares insights on networking and storytelling for scientists, illustrating how early curiosity shaped his career in immunology.

Jun 24, 2025 • 1h 16min
Immune 93: Macrophages managing memory B cells
Vincent and Cindy discuss differences between MPox-specific T cell responses following infection and vaccination, and lymph node macrophage control of memory B cell localization and trafficking that might be important for choosing which arm to get a vaccine. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Cindy Leifer Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of Immune! Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Different T memory response to MPox infection or vaccination (Nat Comm 2025) Macrophages direct B cell recall responses after vaccination (Cell 2025) Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks! Music by Tatami. Immune logo image by Blausen Medical Send your immunology questions and comments to immune@microbe.tv Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

Jun 10, 2025 • 26min
Immune Booster #13 Microbiome and regulation of gut inflammation with Justin Wilson
From the 2024 Society for Leukocyte Biology meeting, Cindy and Brianne sit down with Justin Wilson to talk about how he got into research and his more recent studies on innate immune sensors and the interaction between the gut microbiome and inflammation related to inflammatory bowel disease and cancer. Hosts: Cindy Leifer and Brianne Barker Guest: Justin Wilson Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of Immune! Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Francisella tularensis undermining macrophage defenses (Infect Immunity) AIM2 suppressing colon cancer (Nature Med) NLRP12 regulates gut microbiota homeostasis (Cell Host Microbe) Oral bacteria and carcinogenesis connection (Microbiol Mol Bio Rev) Society for Leukocyte Biology Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks! Music by Tatami. Logo image by Blausen Medical Send your immunology questions and comments to immune@microbe.tv Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

May 27, 2025 • 1h 21min
Immune 92: Gut symbiont breaks antibody
Steph talks about identification of gut bacteria that can digest protective mucosal antibodies and Vincent covers a new paper on Zika virus that implicates fetal phagocytes in brain invasion, which may provide insight into the devastating microcephaly outcome of infection during pregnancy. Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Cindy Leifer, Steph Langel, and Brianne Barker Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of Immune! Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server Gut bacteria induce mucosal immunodeficiency (Science) Contribution of fetal mononuclear phagocytes to Zika virus neuroinvasion (Cell) TWiV468 discusses Zika and brain slice infection model. Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks! Music by Tatami. Immune logo image by Blausen Medical Send your immunology questions and comments to immune@microbe.tv Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

May 13, 2025 • 24min
Immune Booster #12: Innate immunity to Archaea with Holger Heine
From the 2024 Society for Leukocyte Biology meeting, Immune talks with Holger Heine about the discovery of immune recognition of bacterial lipopolysaccharide and innate immunity to organisms within the kingdom Archaea. Hosts: Cindy Leifer and Brianne Barker Guest: Holger Heine Become a patron of Immune! Links for this episode MicrobeTV Discord Server TLR8 recognizes human gut-associated archaeon (Front Immunol) The human archaeome and its relevance for health and disease (FEBS) Structural insights into TLR4 recognition of synthetic LPS mimetics (Nature Comm) Society for Leukocyte Biology Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks! Music by Tatami. Logo image by Blausen Medical Send your immunology questions and comments to immune@microbe.tv Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

Apr 29, 2025 • 1h
Immune 91: People, parasites, plagues, and podcasts
In this episode, researcher Kim Klonowski and parasitologist David Peterson from the University of Georgia dive into exciting immunology topics. They discuss how type one interferons in the thymus influence T cell development and autoimmunity. The conversation shifts to the challenges of developing malaria vaccines for pregnant women, exploring funding hurdles and the role of key proteins. They also reflect on their podcast journey, emphasizing the importance of making science accessible while sharing personal tales from their academic experiences.

Apr 9, 2025 • 25min
Immune Booster #11 Immunity to Fungi with Amy Hise
From the 2024 Society for Leukocyte Biology meeting, Immune talks with Amy Hise about her career in science, her current research using mouse models for investigating fungal immunity and navigating the challenges of being a mom in science. Hosts: Cindy Leifer and Brianne Barker Guest: Amy Hise MicrobeTV Discord Server Mouse model for testing drugs to treat Candida fungal infection Inflammasomes in Aspergillosis Society for Leukocyte Biology Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email Become a patron of Immune! Music by Tatami. Logo image by Blausen Medical Send your immunology questions and comments to immune@microbe.tv Content in this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.