The Immunology Podcast

Dr. Mark Shlomchik, a distinguished immunology professor and biotech innovator, dives into the fascinating interplay between long-lived B cell immunity and autoimmune diseases like lupus. He discusses how toll-like receptors play a role in these conditions and shares his insights on researching cancer therapies inspired by autoimmune studies. The conversation also explores the neurological impacts of COVID-19, maternal immunity, and intriguing sex differences in immune responses, shedding light on the complexities of our immune systems.

Dr. Hanover Matz, a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Maryland specializing in comparative immunology, dives into the fascinating immune systems of sharks. He explains how sharks have evolved unique adaptive immune responses and the role of T cells and antibodies. Matz also discusses the innovative work at aquaculture centers, where they immunize nurse sharks, revealing the potential medical applications of shark-derived antibodies. The conversation highlights the surprising complexities of shark immunity compared to mammals, offering intriguing insights into future research.

Guest: Dr. Michael Alonso is a Scientific Co-Founder, and Vice President of Immunology & Pharmacology at Bolt Biotherapeutics, a biotechnology company developing immunotherapies that activate myeloid cells. He discusses targeting tumors by covering them in “eat me” signals, considerations for moving drugs into the clinic, and building teams in biotech. Featured Products and Resources: Read interviews with immunologists who tell their stories, discuss their research, and voice their opinions on current topics in immunology. Explore scientific resources for your immunology research. The Immunology Science Round Up Trade-Offs in Cancer Mutations – Researchers developed a model of hotspot mutations that shows fundamental trade-offs between a tumor’s growth and its visibility to the immune system. Reversing the T Cell Immune System – To determine how T cell lineage fates are determined in the thymus, scientists generated ‘FlipFlop’ mice with a functionally reversed T cell immune system. Gut Microbiota and Response to Viral Infection – Suppression of gut microbiota renders mice susceptible to systemic viral infections. Europe Cancer Immunotherapy Meeting Highlights – Scientists discussed antigenic dominance in lung cancer, next-generation CAR T cell design, and combining CAR T cell therapy with vaccination for solid tumors. Image courtesy of Dr. Michael Alonso Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Alice Long is an Associate Member of the Center for Translational Immunology at Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason. The Long lab is focused on understanding how tolerance is lost in autoimmunity, specifically as it related to type 1 diabetes. Dr. Long discusses the work she presented at the American Association of Immunologists’ annual meeting, IMMUNOLOGY2022, on CD8 T cell exhaustion and Treg modulation. Featured Products and Resources: Use EasySep to isolate highly purified immune cells in as little as 8 minutes. AAI 2022 Talks Block Symposium: Autoimmunity – CD8 T cell exhaustion is reduced in subjects with autoimmune-associated DR4 risk alleles Saturday, May 7, 2022 | 10:15 AM – 12:15 PM | Oregon Ballroom 203 NextGen Transformative Immunologic Therapies for Human Disease – Treg modulation by IL-2 mutein therapy Sunday, May 8, 2022 | 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM | Room A107–109 Image courtesy of Dr. Alice Long Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Shruti Naik is an Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at New York University Langone Medical Center. She studies immunity in the epithelial tissues that line our body to understand how environmental stimuli collaborate with genetic factors to influence health and drive disease at these interfaces. She discusses the work she’s presenting at the American Association of Immunologists’ annual meeting, IMMUNOLOGY2022, on trained immunity and immune-epithelial crosstalk in tissue repair.   Featured Products and Resources: Easy 250 EasySep Magnet for Large-Scale Immunomagnetic Separation  AAI 2022 Talks Back to School: A Review of Four Fast-Moving Fields – Trained immunity Friday, May 6, 2022 | 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM | Oregon Ballroom 204 International Cytokine and Interferon Society (ICIS) Symposium: Rising Stars of Cytokine Biology – Immune-epithelial crosstalk in tissue repair Sunday, May 8, 2022 | 3:45 PM – 5:45 PM | Room B110–112 Image courtesy of Dr. Shruti Naik Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Dr. Gwendalyn Randolph, an expert in Immunology and Pathology, shares insights on peritoneal macrophages at the AAI 2022 conference. Topics include macrophage diversity, lipid storage, career advice for scientists, and challenges faced by women balancing career and parenthood.

Guest: Dr. Michael Rosenblum is a Professor of Dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco. His lab seeks to to understand how immune responses are regulated in tissues and how this knowledge can be exploited for therapeutic benefit. They are currently investigating how regulatory T cells (Tregs) control immune responses in tissues, as well as their “alternative” functions. He talks about early-life inflammation and type 2 helper T cells in the skin, and how Tregs can be manipulated to target autoimmune diseases and cancer. Featured Products and Resources: Stay up-to-date with the latest in immune regulation news. Download the cell separation e-book, a practical guide on everything you need to know about cell isolation techniques. The Immunology Science Round Up Tissue-Resident Memory T Cells in the Brain – After viral brain infection, tissue-resident memory T cells triggered central nervous system inflammation, promoting autoimmune reactions in mice. Suppressing HIV with Antibodies – Anti-HIV-1 antibodies can maintain viral suppression and may accelerate viral reservoir decay. Enhancing Hepatitis B Therapeutic Vaccine Responses – Natural killer cell depletion enhanced T cell responses to a chimp adenoviral vectored hepatitis B virus. CAR T Cell Cytotoxicity in Glioblastoma – Researchers found that interferon gamma signaling is crucial for proper engagement and killing of solid tumors by CAR T cells. Image courtesy of Dr. Michael Rosenblum Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Dr. Gary Koretzky, President of AAI, discusses his career, guiding Cornell's COVID-19 response, and AAI's upcoming conference. Topics include circular RNA vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 variants, CD20+ T cells in MS, neutrophils in wound healing, and spinal microglia in pain recovery.

Dr. Florian Krammer discusses shifting research to COVID-19, vaccine strategies, and future pandemic readiness. Topics include gut microbiome impact on immune therapy, fungal strains in IBD, skull bone marrow's role in brain immunity, and transitioning from influenza to COVID-19 research.

Dr. Andy Kokaji and Dr. Hannah Lee from STEMCELL Technologies discuss their career paths and product development processes. They touch on topics like mRNA boosters, B cell suppression in maternal tolerance, and using data analysis tools for predicting disease outcomes. The podcast also covers Stem Cell Technologies, transitioning from academia to industry, and the growth of the company in the immunology industry.