After a year of turmoil, cancer researchers see promising signs for mRNA vaccines | CNN The mRNA-based Covid vaccines helped blunt the impact of the pandemic but also sparked political backlash that has threatened to slow or derail dozens of potential cancer treatments. Now there are sig...

Eight of 16 patients in a clinical trial of an investigational mRNA vaccine for pancreatic cancer at @mskcancercenter.bsky.social had dramatic immune responses. The study, which was featured on @cnn.com, was presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2026. www.cnn.com/2026/04/20/h... #AACR26

mRNA vaccines engage unconventional pathways in CD8+ T cell priming - Nature mRNA–lipid-nanoparticle vaccines do not require type 1 conventional dendritic (cDC1) cells or the WDFY4-dependent cross-presentation pathway for CD8+ T cell priming but, instead, engage both cDC1 and ...

Type 1 IFN primes cross-dressing of cDCs with peptide–MHC-I complexes from non-haematopoietic cells, explaining ability of mRNA vaccines to activate CD8+ T cells against antigens not encoded by the vaccine @nature.com @washumedicine.bsky.social #Murphy
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Single-cell spatial transcriptomic analysis of human skin anatomy - Nature Genetics This study presents an organ-wide spatial transcriptomic analysis of human skin from different anatomical sites using a combination of MERFISH technology and existing datasets from healthy and disease...

Single-cell spatial transcriptomic analysis of human skin anatomy

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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/...

In 2025, the AACR Grants Program distributed nearly $10 million to support 50 meritorious research projects. Learn more in the AACR Annual Impact Report:
buff.ly/I45TBUi

mRNA Vaccines for Cancer Treatment

mRNA Vaccines for Cancer Treatment.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Expanding global access to mRNA vaccines - Nature Reviews Bioengineering mRNA vaccines combine rapid design, scalable manufacturing and strong safety profiles with applications across infectious diseases, cancer and autoimmune disorders. However, global access to mRNA vacc...

Expanding global access to mRNA vaccines

www.nature.com/articles/s44...

Congratulations @michelletran9.bsky.social 🎉for matching at UCSD Internal Medicine Residency Research Track with a guaranteed Hem/Onc fellowship! So proud of all your accomplishments & excited to see the impact you’ll make as a physician-scientist.

mRNA-based CAR T cell engineering: Unmodified mRNA enables high CAR expression without innate immune activation in T cells Proinflammatory innate immune activation by unmodified mRNA is a limitation, which mandates mRNA-nucleoside modification across applications. However, Drzeniek and colleagues reveal that it is absent ...

mRNA-based CAR T cell engineering: Unmodified mRNA enables high CAR expression without innate immune activation in T cells

www.cell.com/molecular-th...

Delighted to share our new paper, led by our recent PhD graduate and star scientist 🌟 @michelletran9.bsky.social.

Excited to share the final first-author paper of my PhD is online in Cancer Discovery @aacrjournals.bsky.social! doi.org/10.1158/2159...

We identify an SPP1⁺ macrophage–IL-6–CRP inflammatory axis linked to resistance to checkpoint blockade in bladder cancer
@bhardwajlab.bsky.social

Genome modelling and design across all domains of life with Evo 2 - Nature Evo 2 is an artificial intelligence-based biological foundation model trained on 9 trillion DNA base pairs spanning all domains of life that predicts functional properties from genomic sequences and provides a rich generative model for researchers in biology.

A paper published in Nature presents Evo 2: an artificial intelligence-based biological foundation model trained on 9 trillion DNA base pairs spanning all domains of life that predicts functional properties from genomic sequences and provides a rich generative model for researchers in biology. 🧪

The promises and challenges of neoantigen cancer vaccines - Nature Biotechnology Surveying recent progress in neoantigen cancer vaccine development, this Review highlights areas where further technological advances and optimized trial design could enhance clinical impact.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Effects of daily multivitamin–multimineral and cocoa extract supplementation on epigenetic aging clocks in the COSMOS randomized clinical trial - Nature Medicine In a prespecified ancillary analysis of the COSMOS randomized trial, supplementation with daily multivitamins, but not with cocoa extract, over the course of 2 years decreased biological aging, as mea...

Effects of daily multivitamin–multimineral and cocoa extract supplementation on epigenetic aging clocks in the COSMOS randomized clinical trial

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Potentiating dendritic cell immunotherapy by interrupting the Semaphorin 4D-induced immune-suppressive barrier Garg et al. report that blocking the molecule SEMA4D strengthens immune responses against HER2-positive breast cancer. When paired with specialized dendritic cells, this approach boosts anti-tumor imm...

Potentiating dendritic cell immunotherapy by interrupting the Semaphorin 4D-induced immune-suppressive barrier

www.cell.com/cell-reports...

TCR sequencing in cancer immunology and immunotherapy: what, when, where, why, and how T-cell receptors (TCRs) are generated through somatic recombination of variable (V), diversity (D), and joining (J) gene segments, resulting in an extraordinarily diverse receptor repertoire that is e...

TCR sequencing in cancer immunology and immunotherapy: what, when, where, why, and how
jitc.bmj.com/content/14/3...

CD8+ T cells are primed by cDC1 and exacerbate tau-mediated neurodegeneration
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

International Course of Immunotherapy March 23-25, 2026 11th Edition Theme: Targeting Immune Aging | Time: 9:00am-1.15pm NYC; 14:00-18.15h Paris; 10:00am-2.15pm Sao Paulo

At Immunoschool, @gitlinlabmsk.bsky.social will show how VEXAS syndrome is reshaping our understanding of immune aging, late-onset inflammatory disease & new routes to immunotherapy. A powerful 🔗 between clonal hematopoiesis & systemic inflammation.

Register FREE: www.eventbrite.com/e/internatio...

From mutant mice to meaningful signals: Read about Nobel laureate Fred Ramsdell’s #AACRIO26 keynote on regulatory T cells and immune tolerance on the #AACRBlog: buff.ly/N6PBOS4 #AACRBlog

Phagocytosis of necroptotic cells optimizes type 1 conventional dendritic cells for induction of a cytotoxic T-cell response - PubMed Whether a T-cell response to dead cells arises depends on whether they harbor recognizable antigens, but also how dead cell debris impacts conventional dendritic cells (cDCs). In all tissues, cell debris is continuously phagocytosed by cDCs that can migrate to lymph nodes (LNs) and initiate T-cell r …

Phagocytosis of necroptotic cells optimizes type 1 conventional dendritic cells for induction of a cytotoxic T-cell response.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41764333/

TOX has opposing functions in CD4 & CD8 T cells, driving exhaustion in the latter but promoting Th1 commitment in CD4 T cells that drive antitumor immunity and pathogenic autoimmune responses
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@natimmunol.nature.com @mskcancercenter.bsky.social

Comprehensive Engineering of Ionizable Lipid Nanoparticles and mRNA Elements for Next-Generation Vaccines Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are effective, yet immunity can wane, and reactogenicity increases with dose. We integrate ionizable lipid design, LNP formulation, and untr...

Comprehensive Engineering of Ionizable Lipid Nanoparticles and mRNA Elements for Next-Generation Vaccines

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Pancreatic-targeted lipid nanoparticles based on organ capsule filtration - Nature Elucidation of fundamental pancreatic-targeted mechanisms enables the development of lipid nanoparticles for the precise delivery of nucleic acid therapeutics to the pancreas, highlighting their promi...

Pancreatic-targeted lipid nanoparticles based on organ capsule filtration
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Join @pennmedicine.bsky.social for the Lynch Syndrome Symposium on 3/10 ft'ing keynote speaker @bhardwajlab.bsky.social (Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center)! Learn more & register➡️ tinyurl.com/yy6j5nbm

Individualized mRNA vaccines evoke durable T cell immunity in adjuvant TNBC - Nature In a phase 1 trial, personalized mRNA vaccines tailored to individual tumour mutations in triple-negative breast cancer induced robust, long-lasting T cell responses and improved prognosis.

The unfounded move by HHSGov against mRNA vaccines will hurt our future potent immune therapy vs cancer. Another point of progress for triple-negative breast cancer with individualized neoantigen mRNA vaccines today

Adds to pancreatic, renal cell, melanoma reports
nature.com/articles/s41...

At the 2026 AACR IO Conference, Fred Hutch's Megan Othus presented research showing that the timing of immunotherapy infusions does not affect patient outcomes. Dr. Othus' analysis contradicts... At the 2026 AACR IO Conference, Fred Hutch's Megan Othus presented research showing that the timing of immunotherapy infusions does not affect patient outcomes. Dr. Othus' analysis contradicts recent ...

www.linkedin.com/posts/americ...

Nature Medicine to investigate study that found cancer treatment is better in morning Nature Medicine starts an investigation into inconsistencies in a study that found it was better to have immunotherapy in the morning.

www.statnews.com/2026/02/20/c...

Cancer vaccines are here, and research is identifying how to push T cells even further so they thrive in the tumor microenvironment. Learn more about the opening‑night #AACRIO26 keynote addresses from #AACRFellows Elizabeth Jaffee and Philip Greenberg on the #AACRBlog: buff.ly/uKglwKq

Amazing last day of #AACRIO @theaacr.bsky.social we enjoyed closing out with Mansi Saxena presenting some of our latest clinical vaccine research and Ross Ward giving a talk on his preclinical vaccine project!

Two of our postdocs Guillaume Mestrallet and Ross Ward presenting their work today at AACR IO! @theaacr.bsky.social Please join us at Major Symposium 9 tomorrow morning to hear more about Ross's research! 🧬