The Program for the Options for the Control of Influenza XIII meeting in Washington DC is coming together. Plenary and symposium talks are up and short presentations from submitted abstracts will be next. Time to register for the meeting!!! www.isrv.global/featured-eve...
Very sad to hear about the passing of Bernard Roizman. A real powerhouse in virology whose trainees are numerous and many have also had a profound impact on virology: www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
searching for my credit card now....
The abstract submission deadline for the Options for the Control of Influenza XIII Conference, taking place August 30 – September 2, 2026 in Washington, DC at the Washington DC Convention Center has been extended to Friday, April 17, 2026.
Come join us!!!!
www.isrv.global/featured-eve...
It was a great panel. You helped us cover a lot of ground in a short time!
Congratulations!
mRNA could change how we prepare for flu season.
JHSPH faculty Andy Pekosz says mRNA technology could shorten vaccine strain selection from 6–7 months to about 8 weeks.
iqmediacorp.com/ExternalIfra...
Had a great session on virology and pathogenesis at the H5N1 preparedness forum here in downtown DC. @angierasmussen.bsky.social and I covered a wide range of topics...i had a blast and i think we were very informative as well (no slides!!!)
always a pleasure to be a guest on @publichealthpod.bsky.social , though its usually because some respiratory virus is running amok. this is episode 995 and i'm hoping i get a chance to be on #1000!
Happy Godzilla Day to all those who celebrate. Give a little love to the man-in-rubber-suit 50s-70s era Godzilla we all love - either openly or secretly! #GodzillaDay
![Slide with the title “The anti-vaccination movement has no new material”.
Montague R. Leverson,
Lawyer, Liar, Quack
1895
Robert F. Kennedy, Lawyer, Liar, Quack
2025
Accuse expert vaccine advisory committees of pro-vaccine "bias"
"That commission was deliberately packed at its very outset..."
"The committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine".
Falsely state that vaccines cause death
"Vaccination has caused more deaths and diseases than ever has smallpox".
"This [COVID19 vaccine] is the deadliest vaccine ever made..."
Claim that healthcare practitioners and scientists are only in it for the money, not because of scientific evidence
"...Jenner was a mercenary charlatan whose ignorance and impatience of scientific methods were equaled only by his mendacity..."
"Doctors are being paid to vaccinate, not to evaluate. They're pressured to follow the money, not the science".
Use false and inflammatory words about vaccines
The "Blood-poisoning process of vaccination"
"They went on a search... looking for the most toxic things that they could find...to](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:flwgfsh2mhpoqwjwwt2mesjv/bafkreiawfvj625afa5wnrcyjftu3y2gjlyw377ksesk54mypnnln737t6i)
Slide with the title “The anti-vaccination movement has no new material”. Montague R. Leverson, Lawyer, Liar, Quack 1895 Robert F. Kennedy, Lawyer, Liar, Quack 2025 Accuse expert vaccine advisory committees of pro-vaccine "bias" "That commission was deliberately packed at its very outset..." "The committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine". Falsely state that vaccines cause death "Vaccination has caused more deaths and diseases than ever has smallpox". "This [COVID19 vaccine] is the deadliest vaccine ever made..." Claim that healthcare practitioners and scientists are only in it for the money, not because of scientific evidence "...Jenner was a mercenary charlatan whose ignorance and impatience of scientific methods were equaled only by his mendacity..." "Doctors are being paid to vaccinate, not to evaluate. They're pressured to follow the money, not the science". Use false and inflammatory words about vaccines The "Blood-poisoning process of vaccination" "They went on a search... looking for the most toxic things that they could find...to
The anti-vaccine movement has the same talking points now as it did in the 1800’s. It’s always been a rejection of science, scientists, and progress, with a soupçon of paranoia.
Below is a slide for a talk I’m preparing that illustrates the identical strategies. I have more examples, too.
My department at Dartmouth Medical School is hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor. We are looking broadly for a biochemist or cell biologist. Please share this add! apply.interfolio.com/171438
@dartmouthbcb.bsky.social @futurepislack.bsky.social
If you need more scary fun this weekend, the documentary “A Shot In The Arm” is free on PBS until 11/9. Lots of interviews with RFK Jr pre-HHS fame. Narrated by @neildegrassetyson.com from @scotthamkennedy.bsky.social. #Virosky #LoveVirology #TruthisScarierThanFiction
www.pbs.org/show/shot-in...
Support from the @ceirrnetwork.bsky.social and @johnshopkinsmmi.bsky.social helped drive this work. 6/6
All of which may speak to the importance of balancing antigenic changes with replication fitness changes in order for IBVs to maintain their ability to circulate in humans. There is a lot that IBV can teach us about respiratory virus circulation. 5/6
The emergence of the C.5 clade of IBV came with a slight loss of replication fitness but its replacement by clade C.5.1 seemed to be driven more by increased replication fitness and not by antigenic changes. 4/6
...and with respect to their in vitro replication fitness (measured by plaque size and replication in human nasal epithelial cell cultures) at both 33C and 37C. 3/6
We looked at influenza B viruses from 2020 to 2024 to see how they changed antigenically (recognition by serum from influenza vaccinated individuals)... 2/6
A new preprint from the lab led by PhD student Elgin Akin is up at medRxiv: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/6
lovely signature for influenza C virus. rarely surveilled for in the US but it holds a special place in my mind as i spent 4 years as a postdoc working on it.
Photo of cookies decorated like adenovirus and HIV.
Baked and decorated 100 cookies for our Fundamental Virology class! Hopefully everyone will do well on their final exam tomorrow, but if not, a cookie can’t hurt, right? @andrewpekosz.bsky.social
Last class in our Fundamental Virology class. Record number of students this term @karidebbink.bsky.social
@johnshopkinsmmi.bsky.social @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social
blue and green watercolor of DNA gel
blue and green watercolor of 6 different viruses
Viruses and Gel electrophoresis in vibrant watercolor #sciart artologica.etsy.com
I do biomedical research to help people. When people come in this space making things up, it makes it harder for people not in the field to trust the extensive studies that we do and distinguish fact from fiction. Baseless claims reduce future cures. Willful ignorance drives us backwards.
PhD Candidate & @andrewpekosz.bsky.social Lab member Camille Wouters defends her PhD thesis tomorrow.
Good Luck, Camille!
📆 Friday, Sept. 26, 2025
⏰ 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
📍 @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social
🏢 W2030
A profile in @jhu.edu's HUB highlights JH-CEIRR's @ceirrnetwork.bsky.social important influenza research,
led by co-directors @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social virologist & professor @andrewpekosz.bsky.social & @hopkinsmedicine.bsky.social Richard Rothman, MD
More here:
hub.jhu.edu/2025/09/10/j...
Virologist, @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social Professor & @johnshopkinsmmi.bsky.social vice-chair @andrewpekosz.bsky.social explains mRNA vaccine technology on @npr.org @wfae.bsky.social Charlotte Talks
Listen here for answers & clarity around COVID-19 vaccines
www.wfae.org/show/charlot...
Found this book in my department mailbox yesterday. No envelope, no shipping information, no note and I was the only person to receive this "gift". Clearly, someone needs to come to my lecture on the origin and evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic to get educated on the facts.
Shop is restocked with itty-bitty paintings #sciart ko-fi.com/1626SLXL3044F neuro, micro, genetics, algorithms
“It’s not so much that the virus has become less dangerous, it’s that we have immunity, so we fight off the virus more efficiently than we did early in the pandemic,” said @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social @jhu.edu Professor and Virologist @andrewpekosz.bsky.social
www.iflscience.com/rfk-jr-pulls...