David Schatz talks about his discovery of Rag genes that are critical for antigen receptor development and how that discovery depended on taking high risks and using approaches that everyone thought could never work.

Host: Cindy Leifer

Guest: David Schatz

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• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• Transfer of recombinase activity in non-lymphoid cells (Cell 1988)
• Identification of the RAG-1 gene (Cell 1989)
• Evolution of a recombinase (Semin Immunol 2004)
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Music by Tatami.
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Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

The Immune team discusses the groundbreaking discoveries of regulatory T cells, which was the topic of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Cindy Leifer, and Brianne Barker

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• Sakaguchi lab paper on FoxP3 and regulatory T cells (Science 2003)
• Brunkow and Ramsdell description of scurfy mouse mutation (Nature 2001)
• Nobel Prize writeup on Treg discoveries
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

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Susan Schwab talks about how she got the research bug, bugs she ate, and her research on how the lipid S1P helps T cells decide- should I stay or should I go.

Host: Cindy Leifer

Guest: Susan Schwab

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• Schwab lab website
• Monocytes produce the lipid S1P to regulate T cell movement
• Review on S1P and immune cell migration
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Music by Tatami.
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Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

Immune discusses cross-reactive antibodies to avian influenza neuraminidases and a role for gut-derived T cells in the brain to regulate eating behavior.

Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Cindy Leifer, Steph Langel, and Brianne Barker

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• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• Antibody cross-reactivity to influenza H5N1 (Cell Host Microbe, 2025)
• Gut-derived T cells regulate behavior (Nature, 2025)
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Music by Tatami.
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Kristian Andersen from Scripps Research Institute joins Cindy to talk about how he got interested in virus evolution, how the immune system drives viral adaptation, and what we can learn from this research to better prepare us for the next pandemic.

Guest: Kristian Andersen

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• Perspective on Immunological drivers of virus emergence
• Kristian's appearance on TWiV 774
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Music by Tatami.
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Cindy and Steph discuss a paper that challenges the textbook dogma that B cells must first bind to an antigen for antibody affinity maturation to occur, and a snippet on dysfunctional T cells during bacterial vaginosis.

Hosts: Cindy Leifer and Steph Langel

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• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• Somatic hypermutation in non-specific B cells (Immunity 2025)
• Dysfunctional T cells during bacterial vaginosis (J Clin Invest 2025)
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Music by Tatami.
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Cindy sits down with Bali Pulendran at the AAI 2025 meeting where he told the story of how a childhood fascination with the cosmos grew into a career addressing fundamental questions about the human immune response, and how when an antigen enters the body it is like the big bang in how it initiates immune responses.

Host: Cindy Leifer

Guest: Bali Pulendran

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• Systems vaccinology determines antibody responses and durability (Nature 2025)
• World's largest immunology experiment (Sem Immunol 2024)
• Systems Vaccinology Review (Immunity 2010)
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

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Elizabeth Marnik, also known as Science Whiz Liz, grew up unvaccinated, yet she is now an immunologist, science communicator, and advocate for vaccines–this is her story.

Guest: Elizabeth Marnick

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• MicrobeTV Discord Server
• More about Liz on her webpage
• ScienceWhizLiz on Instagram
• From the Science Classroom with Science Whiz Liz on Substack
• Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!

Music by Tatami.
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Send your immunology questions and comments to immune@microbe.tv

Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.