Human Immunology: Genes and Environment Wellcome Connecting Science hybrid conference Conference dates: 13-15 May 2026 Location: Wellcome Genome Campus, UK and online. Bursary deadline: 16 February Abstract deadline: 9 March In person deadline: 13 April Virtual deadline: 4 May

Register for #HumanImmuno26: Genes & Environment!

🗓️ 13-15 May 2026

Join researchers in #immunology, genetics, functional genomics, and physiology to exchange knowledge and explore solutions to key gaps in understanding human immune diversity.

📎 bit.ly/4rpfwpW
#ImmunoGenetics #ImmunoSky 🧪💉

8/ Truly an amazing team to work with. Brilliant science, (and laughs) all the way through 😂🧪”

Congrats agains to @raiannafantin.bsky.social (brilliant first author) and the @camilahcoelho.bsky.social !

7/ Together, our findings establish A35 as a critical therapeutic target for mpox and related orthopoxviruses, paving the way for next-generation antibody therapies and improved vaccines.

6/ Importantly, current smallpox/mpox vaccines (Dryvax, JYNNEOS) elicit low levels of antibodies against these protective A35 epitopes, underscoring a gap in current vaccine design.

5/ Human cohort data showed that convalescent mpox patients naturally generate A35-targeting antibodies. Higher levels of these antibodies correlated with:

• Faster symptom resolution
• Shorter illness
• No hospitalizations

4/ Structural studies revealed all 3 mAbs target a highly conserved epitope in the A35 dimer groove, shared across orthopoxviruses. This explains their breadth and potency.

3/ These A35-specific mAbs:

• Block viral spread in vitro
• Protect mice from lethal mpox & vaccinia infection
• Function via viral spread block + Fc-dependent mechanisms

2/ From an mpox-convalescent individual, we isolated 3 human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) (EV35-2, EV35-6, EV35-7) that target the extracellular virion protein A35, essential for viral spread.

🦠 1/ The 2022 mpox outbreak underscored the urgent need for effective therapies. Existing antivirals (e.g., Tecovirimat) showed limited success in trials. We set out to identify new immune-based strategies.

🚨New Paper in Cell 🧵🔎

Happy to share our work led by the @camilahcoelho.bsky.social, on mAbs against mpox.

We were very excited (and lucky!) to contribute to this collab. effort.

🦠“Human monoclonal antibodies targeting A35 protect from death caused by mpox”🦠
doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.08.004

Clonotype-enriched somatic hypermutations drive affinity maturation of a public human antibody targeting an occluded sarbecovirus epitope Rao et al. demonstrate that convergent somatic hypermutations in the light chain, enriched within a sarbecovirus-specific public antibody clonotype, drive affinity maturation. This antibody targets a ...

🚨 New Publication!!!

I’m thrilled to share our latest study, “Clonotype-Enriched Somatic Hypermutations Drive Affinity Maturation of a Public Human Antibody Targeting an Occluded Sarbecovirus Epitope”.
www.cell.com/cell-reports... [1/4]

7/ In summary, this platform optimizes “hard” mRNA antigens- those that fail to generate strong responses with conventional designs.

Congrats to first authors Zhenhao Fang & Valter Monteiro, and the entire team. 🎉

5/ Chimeric mRNA vaccines with MVP modules not only induced stronger antibodies but also enhanced T cell responses, improving survival in lethal viral challenge models.

6/ Importantly, the approach is generalizable. Extended to HPV and VZV, showing robust improvements across different viral targets

3/ ⚡MVP allows >2,500 possible combinations of antigen + CST modules, enabling optimization of antigen expression & presentation.

4/ Using mpox virus antigens as models (A29, M1R, A35R, etc.), MVP increased surface expression 100–10,000-fold and boosted antibody responses in mice 🐁.

2/ 💡Modular Vaccine Platform (MVP) helps this by systematically engineering “cell surface translocation” (CST) modules. These are like trafficking signals that ensure antigens are displayed where immune cells can recognize them.

1/ mRNA technology have transformed how we design and deliver vaccines, but not all antigens are equally immunogenic when delivered as mRNA. Some proteins fail to reach the cell surface → weak immune responses.

A modular vaccine platform for optimized lipid nanoparticle mRNA immunogenicity - Nature Biomedical Engineering A modular platform for engineering immunogenic lipid nanoparticle mRNA vaccines is used to display antigens from a variety of pathogens to induce antigen responses.

🧵 New collaborative study just published in Nature Biomedical Engineering:
“A modular vaccine platform for optimized lipid nanoparticle mRNA immunogenicity”
doi.org/10.1038/s41551-025-01478-6

Check our important piece below 👇!
"We urge authors, reviewers, and editors to revise the default use of MSM as an epidemiological label. Our intention is not to dismiss important epidemiological context but to prevent the stigmatization of affected populations."

@thelancetinfdis.bsky.social

We urge researchers, editors, and public health professionals to:
– Reassess default epidemiological labels
– Prioritize accuracy over legacy language
– Center transmission routes, not identities

#PublicHealth #Mpox #InfectiousDiseases #StigmaFreeScience

A call to move beyond MSM-centric framing in mpox research The resurgence of mpox poses urgent public health challenges, and the scientific community has mobilised admirably to understand its transmission, immunity, and therapeutics.1,2 However, the language ...

Words matter. Scientific language shapes public perception and policy. Framing mpox as a disease of GBMSM may have reflected early patterns, but continuing this narrative misrepresents transmission risks and reinforces stigma.

With Camila Coelho, Vries & Zucker 🌈
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Day 3: Carolina Lucas (Yale) @carolilucas.bsky.social‬ discussing with students and postdocs how her research in immunity to viruses (especially emerging pathogens) shifted from mouse to human systems & the surprises along the way.
#Immunology
www.ccii.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp/en/events/

Cover of The Lancet Microbe's April issue with a "Coloured transmission electron micrograph of Neisseria lactamica undergoing mitotic division".

Our April issue is now online:

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Our journal is #OpenAccess, so you are free to explore all of our content. But these hashtags offer a flavour: #SARS-CoV-2 #COVID-19 #chikungunya #Neisseria #CHIM #mpox #BSI #Ecoli #Klebsiella #Mycoplasma

#IDSky #ClinMicro #OA

New research article

The impact of #orthopoxvirus vaccination and #Mpox infection on cross-protective immunity: a multicohort observational study

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

#IDSky #ViroSky #ClinMicro #OpenAccess #OA

🌎Big thanks to our collaborators at Yale, Brazil, and Portugal!

If you’re interested in vaccines, immunological memory, or emerging viral threats like Mpox, check out the full paper!

Would love to hear your thoughts and questions! 🙌

⚡Our study highlights:

• The importance of antibody effector functions beyond direct neutralization
• The need for booster strategies to broaden and sustain cross-protective immunity
• The role of targeting more conserved viral antigens in future vaccine designs

Remarkably, T cell responses to orthopoxviruses persist up to 80 years after Dryvax vaccination!

But humoral responses to MPXV are weaker and wane faster without boosting.

Boosting doses 💉 increases the magnitude and breath of responses !

💡Key findings :

✔️ Both Dryvax and JYNNEOS vaccines elicit cross-reactive antibodies and T cells.
✔️ However, neutralization capacity declines with antigenic distance (e.g., VACV > CWPXV > MPXV).
✔️ Complement-mediated neutralization helps partially overcome the limits imposed by antigenic distance.

🧪 We looked at immune responses across a huge timespan — from just 7 days to over 80 years after vaccination!

We checked:
🔹 Systemic and mucosal immunity
🔹 Antibody and T cell responses
🔹 Cross-reactivity across different orthopoxviruses — Vaccinia (VACV), Cowpox (CWPXV), and Mpox (MPXV).

🌍 To tackle this question, we set up a global, multi-cohort study.

We enrolled people who:

✔️ Were vaccinated decades ago with Dryvax (first-gen smallpox vaccine)
✔️ Were recently vaccinated with JYNNEOS (third-gen vaccine)
✔️ Received both vaccines
✔️ Were infected with Clade IIb Mpox

🦠 The emergence of Mpox raised urgent questions:

Can smallpox vaccines 💉 (based on vaccinia virus) truly protect against newer orthopoxviruses?

Our study aimed to assess the magnitude, durability, and cross-protective breadth of immune responses following smallpox vaccination or Mpox infection.