One-component ionizable amphiphilic Janus dendrimers as a delivery platform for efficient mRNA vaccine development PEG-free, one-component Janus dendrimers deliver mRNA with high stability and strong immunity, enabling scalable vaccines.

New article! 👏One-component ionizable amphiphilic Janus dendrimers as a delivery platform for efficient mRNA vaccine development | Science Advances www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Emerging Scientists at Penn Vet Drive Discovery in Animal and Human Health at 2026 Student Research Day Article about Penn Vet's Student Research Day 2026, a new scholarship announcement, keynote speaker, student presentations

Congratulations to all the award recipients! 🎉Yay, Breezy!! www.vet.upenn.edu/emerging-sci...

Weissman Lab wishes everyone a Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! #InternationalDayofWomenandGirlsinScience

Cedar fever cure? Researchers developing vaccine for severe allergies
@jilianmelamed.bsky.social
www.kxan.com/news/science...

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: RNA Collaborative - NCI RNA Biology Initiative & Penn Institute for RNA Innovation. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining t... Featuring: “Mechanism of mRNA decay inhibition by a bacterial pathogen effector" Dr. Eugene Valkov Stadtman Investigator, RNA Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institut...

📣Today @ 4pm: RNA Collaborative - NCI RNA Biology Initiative & Penn Institute for RNA Innovation, featuring BMB graduate student Rachel Braun “Selective decay of interferon mRNAs controls antiviral immunity and innate memory"
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

16th Scientific Day: CRCHUM welcomes RNA pioneer On October 22, nearly 450 people attended the CRCHUM’s 16th Scientific Day devoted to RNA biology and its clinical applications. Researchers, members of the student and university community, and partn...

www.chumontreal.qc.ca/en/actualite...

Anionic lipids modulate mRNA-lipid nanoparticle immunogenicity and confer protection in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis The modularity of mRNA-lipid nanoparticle (mRNA-LNP) platforms has enabled their rapid adaptation from infectious disease vaccines to emerging applications in immune-mediated disorders. However, exten...

🎉Our newest pre-print is now online on bioRxiv! Anionic lipids modulate mRNA-lipid nanoparticle immunogenicity and confer protection in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis
@jilianmelamed.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

www.pennmedicine.org/news/new-res...

This week we'll be at the CRS 2025 Annual Meeting & Expo!
#CRS2025

Red Ribbon Connect links Penn with HIV/AIDS researchers worldwide | Penn Today Organized by a recent Penn alum on the Community Advisory Board of the Penn Center for AIDS Research, the newly launched Red Ribbon Connect program entails a monthly virtual exchange for HIV/AIDS rese...

Red Ribbon Connect links Penn with HIV/AIDS researchers worldwide bit.ly/4ksSslO

An Il12 mRNA-LNP adjuvant enhances mRNA vaccine–induced CD8 T cell responses IL-12 is dispensable for CD8 T cell responses to mRNA vaccination, but an Il12 mRNA-LNP enhances CD8 T cell memory and protection.

How adding mRNA to code for interleukin-12 markedly increased T cell immune response which could be used for vaccines vs infectious diseases and cancer @sciimmunology.bsky.social
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Researchers crack the code of body’s ancient immune defense | Penn Today A collaborative team from Penn Medicine and Penn Engineering have  unraveled the mathematics of a 500-million-year-old protein network that “decides” which foreign materials are friend or foe.

Researchers crack the code of body’s ancient immune defense @pennengineering.bsky.social‬ @upenn.bsky.social‬

bit.ly/4n7qY7F

Why Does the Phrase “mRNA” Rip Americans Apart? We Chat w Nobel-Prize Winning Scientist Drew Weissman Podcast Episode · Why Should I Trust You? · 06/12/2025 · 1h 5m

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

Harnessing the Electron-Withdrawing Inductive Effect of One-Component Ionizable Amphiphilic Janus Dendrimers Unveils Cation−π Interactions and Their Important Roles to Targeted mRNA Delivery It is expected that current medicine will be complemented or even replaced with genetic nanomedicine, which relies on the targeted delivery of nucleic acids. Delivery of mRNA is accomplished using viral and synthetic four-component vectors which deliver the nucleic acid predominantly to the liver. Our laboratories elaborated a one-component ionizable amphiphilic Janus dendrimer (IAJD) which targets the delivery of mRNA and, therefore, is complementary to viral and synthetic vectors. Here we report the study of a library of IAJDs containing derivatives of the natural gallic acid (GA) as branched hydrophobic domain and two ionizable amines connected via four linker length. The linker length mediates an electron-withdrawing inductive effect, which changes the pKa of the IAJDs. The same pKa trend was observed in a previously reported pentaerythritol (PE)-library, which has structures identical to those of the GA-library except that it does not contain the aromatic ring. Unpredictable, the GA-library of IAJDs has consistently higher pKa values than the PE-library, although the linker length-pKa dependence follows the same trend in both libraries. This trend indicates an unexpected cation−π interaction which explains some advantages of GA-IAJDs, including the 109 p/s total luciferase activity reported here.

Harnessing the Electron-Withdrawing Inductive Effect of One-Component Ionizable Amphiphilic Janus Dendrimers Unveils Cation−π Interactions and Their Important Roles to Targeted mRNA Delivery | Journal of the American Chemical Society pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

An Il12 mRNA-LNP adjuvant enhances mRNA vaccine–induced CD8 T cell responses IL-12 is dispensable for CD8 T cell responses to mRNA vaccination, but an Il12 mRNA-LNP enhances CD8 T cell memory and protection.

We're not the first to use IL-12 as an adjuvant - but having worked on IL-12 for >30 years this was still a surprise at how much this study taught us about mRNA vaccines and their utility. Here are two others below:
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
@cytokinesociety.bsky.social

Big congrats to our superstar, Jaclynn Meshanni, for winning an ATS abstract scholarship! 🌟 So proud of your hard work.

P.S. She also throws a great craft gift exchange! 😉

@atscommunity.bsky.social

Cancer-fighting immune cells could soon be engineered inside our bodies Manufacturing CAR T cells in the laboratory is expensive and time-consuming. An in vivo approach could get the powerful therapy to more people.

Cancer-fighting immune cells could soon be engineered inside our bodies www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Expanding Role of mRNA Platform with Nobel Laureate Dr. Drew Weissman - Curetalks We are excited to welcome Nobel Laureate Dr. Drew Weissman from the University of Pennsylvania yet again on CureTalks.  Dr.Weissman’s groundbreaking research in messenger RNA (mRNA) technology earned ...

Expanding Role of mRNA Platform with Nobel Laureate Dr. Drew Weissman curetalks.com/expanding-ro... via

Scientists Hail This Medical Breakthrough. A Political Storm Could Cripple It.

Scientists Hail This Medical Breakthrough. A Political Storm Could Cripple It. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/08/u...

The 2025 Bioengineering Graduate Research Symposium is next Friday! Lab members 𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗮𝘁-𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮 and 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗞𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗹 will be presenting posters and keynote speaker is Drew Weissman! #PennBioengineering

The 2025 Bioengineering Graduate Research Symposium is next Friday! Lab members 𝗝𝗲𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗮𝘁-𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮 and 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗲𝗹 𝗞𝗲𝗴𝗲𝗹 will be presenting posters and keynote speaker is Drew Weissman! #PennBioengineering

Congratulations to Katalin Karikó (@PennNSG), Virginia Lee (@pennpathlabmed.bsky.social), @ejohnwherry.bsky.social (@PennSysPharmATT) & Mark Devlin (@physatpenn) on their election to @nasonline.org! tinyurl.com/5eehdtms

Join Us at Cellicon Valley '25: The Future of Cell and Gene Therapies YouTube video by Penn Medicine

Join Us at Cellicon Valley '25: The Future of Cell and Gene Therapies
youtu.be/OJzW-XknmHA?...

Today at 3pm!

SCIMaP - Impacts of Federal Cuts to Science and Medical Research Developed by an interdisciplinary research team, this website shows how funding cuts reduce economic activity and employment nationwide

See national impact of federal health research cuts scienceimpacts.org

Making Every Penny Count: Kinase Signaling Transduction, Copper Homeostasis, & Nutrient Sensing I am the Harrison McCrea Dickson, MD, and Clifford C. Baker, MD Presidential Associate Professor of Cancer Biology at the University of Pennsylvania P…

Several months ago, I was honored to be invited by JMB Editor-in-Chief Mike Summers to write a Perspective for the Pioneers in Molecular Biology special issue. It was a chance to reflect on the journey that led me here. You can read the pieces here: tinyurl.com/2pb967u9 & tinyurl.com/kkwfynt2

The Mütter Museum presents Trusted Messengers: Community, Confidence,… A new special exhibition at the Mütter Museum marks five years since the first Covid shutdowns, honoring the healthcare workers, researchers, and…

www.broadstreetreview.com/reviews/the-...

NIH cuts that hit a breakthrough in cancer treatment for a refractory, metastatic GI cancer
Front page @washingtonpost.com
Gift link wapo.st/4j8Hwd1 @carolynyjohnson.bsky.social
@naturemedicine.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

RNADay@Penn 2025 starts today at 2pm!