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‘Medical research isn't just good for our health, it's also great for our economy.’

In this Budget, the govt has to commit to spending money put aside for that purpose in the Medical Research Future Fund. Before we lose more brilliant minds overseas, before we damage the sector irrevocably.

Hearing from Dr Yue Qu about biofilms and hospital infections. Problem for AMR. Consist of metabolically inactive bacteria (issue for antibiotic uptake), can over come with nano wires that pierce bacterial cells to kill them, similar to dragonfly wings or skin of geckos natureiscool #scienceyeah

Epigenetics Update - Accessory subunits of PRC2 mimic H3K27me3 to restrict the spread of Polycomb domains bit.ly/3NmLO5Q

Edwina McGlinn and Chen Davidovich (Monash University) reporting in Mol Cell

#Epigenetics #PRC2 #H3K27me3
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Perfect for cancer, immunology, and aging; epigenometech.com

Fantastic work from @davidovichlab.bsky.social Congrats!

Finally someone did a nice characterization of TSC22D3 (GILZ) in T cell activation I know you T cell omics people have been wondering

Of course, many questions remain but this for the next PhD student, congrats @taylahjbennett.bsky.social, published in @jimmunol.bsky.social

6/ This raises therapeutic possibilities: targeting GILZ could enhance effector responses (e.g. in cancer) while preserving immune memory. Conversely, glucocorticoid therapy, which increases GILZ, may dampen T cell activation, helping treat autoimmunity but potentially limiting antiviral immunity.

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5/ Mechanistically, GILZ restrains the metabolic pathways that fuel T cell activation. Importantly, loss of GILZ boosted effector responses after primary and secondary infection without impairing memory formation.

4/ GILZ-deficient CD8 T cells were also more responsive to low-affinity TCR signals. This suggests optimal T cell activation normally requires surpassing a threshold that GILZ helps enforce. In other words, GILZ acts like a molecular handbrake, preventing premature or weak activation.

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3/ When mice were infected, T cell–specific GILZ deficiency led to stronger antiviral effector CD8⁺ T cell responses. These cells got a boost because they could more readily activate the gene programs required for effective immunity compared to wildtype CD8 T cells.

2/ We found that GILZ is expressed in naïve CD8⁺ T cells, likely maintained by homeostatic glucocorticoid, but is rapidly downregulated once the TCR is engaged. The stronger the signal, the greater the loss of GILZ. So what is it doing in the first place? We tested this using T cells that lack GILZ.

Glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper is a primary checkpoint molecule that establishes a virus-specific CD8+ T-cell activation threshold Abstract. Naïve CD8+ T-cell activation needs to overcome a signaling threshold to initiate the resulting program of T cell proliferation and differentiatio

1/ Great to highlight our new paper led by @taylahjbennett.bsky.social from her grad work in my lab. We looked how the transcription factor GILZ works as a restraint for T cell activation. A collaboration with Sarah Jones, School Clinical Science @monashuniversity.bsky.social doi.org/10.1093/jimm...

Bark microbiota modulate climate-active gas fluxes in Australian forests Recent studies suggest that microbes inhabit tree bark, yet little is known about their identities, functions, and environmental roles. Here we reveal, through gene-centric and genome-resolved metagen...

Standing room only at the @monashuniversity.bsky.social Microbiology seminar today. Hearing from Bob Leung and his work on microbial communities found on the bark of trees and their role in regulating greenhouse gases www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Amazing science!

Oh this is cool, Giant viruses are so interesting!

Last day of #Lornegenome. A great venue, cool talks and discussions. Learnt about diversification of mammalian genomes, inheritance of mutations and impact of mutagens, how TFs direct chromatin organisation and so much more. New collaborations, new projects, can’t wait til next year

Fibroblastic reticular cells direct the initiation of T cell responses via CD44 - Nature CD44 expressed by fibroblastic reticular cells in secondary lymphoid organs regulates trafficking of dendritic cells, and thus has an essential role in the priming of T cells and the adaptive immune r...

Fantastic new paper from @the-de-lab.bsky.social showing how the CMV m11 protein drives immune evasion by blocking CD44-dependent, FRC-mediated DC migration in the spleen, ultimately dampening antiviral CD8⁺ T cell priming @monashuniversity.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Clear skies last night in Melbourne....

View from summit of Mt Wellington, Hobart #summerholidays #bitchilly

The Orion Nebula. Stunning part of the sky.

Most researchers miss out on innovation grants while medical fund sits on $25b Nine in 10 Australian researchers had their “ideas grant” applications rejected last year, even as Australia’s medical investment fund sits on $5 billion more than it was designed to hold.

The government can’t claim that medical research is a priority while failing to treat it as one. Nine in 10 leading researchers in Australia are missing out on government support for world‑class proposals, leaving exceptional talent uncertain about their future.

Think climate change won’t touch you? Next time a mosquito bites, consider what it might be carrying. As temperatures rise, mosquitoes and other vectors expand their range, bringing viruses like dengue, yellow fever, and malaria (among others) closer to home. Important thread👇

Russ Vought (piss man) tweet about doing piss man shit: The National Science Foundation will be breaking up the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. This facility is one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country. A comprehensive review is underway & any vital activities such as weather research will be moved to another entity or location.

NSF is about to dismantle NCAR at Russell Vought's direction to protect the fossil fuel industry. It's hard to communicate just how much NCAR does, so let's take a look: I've never worked at NCAR, and I've worked with NCAR researchers once ever. What scientific discoveries has NCAR made possible? 👇

Curiosity sparked it all, and that curiosity just earned one of science’s highest honors. In the Australian, rb.gy/cdwmki

Yet government funding for curiosity-driven science is at an all-time low. Success rates are plummeting. If we don’t invest in curiosity, we risk losing the next big discovery.

A year in review at the Biomedical Discovery Institute @monashuniversity.bsky.social a great place to do discovery research that drives transformations in science and health #discoveryresearchmatters #fundresearchproperly

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Me at meetings while still waiting on proofs of an accepted manuscript to arrive in my inbox... #comeon #academiclimbo #excitementbuilding

What will population immunity to SARS-CoV-2 look like in a post-vaccine world? An updated outlook (2025)

Five years of COVID taught us one thing: immunology didn’t fail, our public discourse did. My new Substack cuts through the noise with evidence, not ideology. If you want facts over fear, and science over spin, join here:

marcveldhoen.substac...
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Melbourne from the train, weekday evening. #melbournecbd

Finally landed back in Melbourne after 4 hour delay due to faulty plane, Perth #ASI2025 was terrific, great science, great colleagues and great weather! Already looking forward to Canberra #ASI2026 already!

Do yourself a favour and come to hear the fantastic work by @niclag.bsky.social and her team, identifying molecular drivers of age related T cell dysfunction #ASI2025 #Tcellsarecool