The Immunology Podcast

Dr. Caleb Lareau is an Assistant Professor at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. His lab aims to understand how cells in our bodies adapt, expand, and evolve during the course of our lives, particularly in the immune system. He talks about cross-training in bioinformatics and immunology, and herpesvirus reactivation in CAR T cells.

Dr. Mitchell Kronenberg is a Professor and President Emeritus at La Jolla Institute for Immunology. His lab studies how innate-like T cells adapt to different tissue environments. He talks about his work on MAIT cells and mucosal immunology, as well as his time leading the Institute.

Dr. Scott Canna is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics (Rheumatology), and Attending Physician, Pediatric Rheumatology and Immune Dysregulation at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. His group studies the mechanisms of immune dysregulation. He talks about auto- and hyperinflammatory diseases and the role of IL-18. He also discusses hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and adapting therapies for children.

Dr. Neelika Malavige is the Head of Dengue Global Program and Scientific Affairs at the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative and a Professor in the Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Her research focuses on dengue: its pathogenesis, vascular leak, immune correlates of protection, and biomarkers. She talks about the disease burden of dengue and her investigations into risk factors for severe disease. She also discusses her research on COVID-19 vaccines and the role of the microbiome in colon cancer, as well as how she's working to grow research capabilities in Sri Lanka.

Dr. James Allison is the Regental Professor and Chair of the Department of Immunology, Olga Keith Wiess Distinguished University Chair for Cancer Research, Director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Research, Executive Director of the Immunotherapy Platform, and Director of the James P. Allison Institute at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Allison has spent a distinguished career studying the regulation of T cell responses and developing strategies for cancer immunotherapy. He earned the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which he shared with Dr. Tasuku Honjo, "for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation." His current work seeks to improve immune checkpoint blockade therapies currently used by clinicians and identify new targets to unleash the immune system in order to eradicate cancer. He talks about the hunt for the T cell receptor and working to bring CTLA-4 blockade into the clinic. He also discusses what's next for immunotherapy, including future investigations into myeloid cells, and playing the harmonica in a band.

Dr. Akiko Iwasaki is the Sterling Professor of Immunobiology and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University and President of the American Association of Immunologists. Francisco Gomez-Rivera is an Immunology Program Graduate Student Candidate at the University of Michigan, and Dr. Jason (Swinburne) Augustine is a retired Research Microbiologist/Immunologist at the US Environmental Protection Agency. They talk about the upcoming IMMUNOLOGY2024™ meeting in Chicago, Illinois from May 3-7, 2024. They discuss key sessions to attend, what they're looking forward to at the meeting, and advice for attendees.

Dr. Dionna Williams is an Acting Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology & Chemical Biology at Emory University. Their research focuses on the effects of HIV infection on the brain. She talks about how HIV affects immune cells in the brain and how this can lead to neuropsychiatric symptoms. They also discuss therapeutic approaches, factors that affect how drugs can reach the brain, and moving their lab to Atlanta.

Dr. Akiko Iwasaki is the Sterling Professor of Immunobiology and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University and President of the American Association of Immunologists (AAI), and Dr. Aimee Bernard is an Assistant Professor of Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Colorado. Dr. Iwasaki has a very active presence on X, where she shares about COVID-19 research. Dr. Bernard is also active on social media through her TikTok account, and co-hosts a podcast, Help! Make It Make Sense. In this episode, they discuss the importance of communicating science to the public and strategies for social media. They also talk about how the AAI is working to share immunology knowledge with non-scientists through Immunology Explained.

In 2023, we attended the 18th International Congress of Immunology, hosted by the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS), in Cape Town, South Africa. We spoke with delegates about their research and impressions of the meeting, including their reasons for attending and the most memorable research presented. They discuss their experiences in South Africa, the meeting's focus on infectious diseases and equitable science, and sessions by Nobel laureates.

Dr. David Gibb is an Assistant Professor at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. His lab investigates inflammatory mechanisms in patients with sickle cell disease and lupus, focusing on mechanisms regulating immune responses to red blood cell antigens following transfusion.

In 2023, we attended the 18th International Congress of Immunology, hosted by the International Union of Immunological Societies, in Cape Town, South Africa, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the conference. Here is the final of five special episodes from the meeting, in which Brenda and Jason discuss sessions on integrins and ebola vaccine trials.

In 2023, we attended the 18th International Congress of Immunology, hosted by the International Union of Immunological Societies, in Cape Town, South Africa, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the conference. Here is the fourth of five special episodes from the meeting, in which Brenda and Jason discuss sessions on the HIV/AIDS epidemic and vaccination strategies to prepare for the next pandemic.

In 2023, we attended the 18th International Congress of Immunology, hosted by the International Union of Immunological Societies, in Cape Town, South Africa, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the conference. Here is the third of five special episodes from the meeting, in which Brenda and Jason discuss research on T cell exhaustion in chronic infections and sex differences in im

In 2023, we attended the 18th International Congress of Immunology, hosted by the International Union of Immunological Societies, in Cape Town, South Africa, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the conference. Here is the second of five special episodes from the meeting, in which Brenda and Jason discuss research on the microbiome, sepsis, and the aging immune system.

In 2023, we attended the 18th International Congress of Immunology, hosted by the International Union of Immunological Societies, in Cape Town, South Africa, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the conference. Here is the first of five special episodes from the meeting, in which Brenda and Jason discuss the opening ceremony of the congress as well as sessions on tuberculosis, γδ T cell receptors, and cancer immunotherapy.

Dr. Anjali Kusumbe is a Group Leader and Director of the Tissue Imaging Centre at Oxford University. Her lab studies vascular changes over time with the aim of treating diseases. She talks about light sheet microscopy techniques, the aging immune system, and finding lymphatic vessels in bone.

Dr. Sophia Liu is a Core Faculty Member and Early Independence Fellow at the Ragon Institute of Mass General, MIT, and Harvard. She enjoys creating new ways to measure temporally and spatially dynamic cell interactions and is particularly interested in studying T- and B-cell development. Her lab’s research focuses on immune cell interactions in tissues and dynamics across immune development and aging. She talks about the spatial mapping of T-cell receptors, what happens to the thymus during aging, and her experience starting a lab straight out of her PhD!

Dr. Siobhan Burns is a Professor of Translational Immunology at University College London. Her group studies the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms that give rise to primary immunodeficiency disorders. She talks about how genetic mutations affect immune function, and what inborn errors of immunity can teach us about general immunology.

Dr. Peter Fecci is a Professor of Neurosurgery at Duke University and the Director of the Duke Center for Brain and Spine Metastasis. His research focuses on brain tumor immunology and immunotherapy, and T cell dysfunction in glioblastoma and other intracranial cancers. He talks about activating T cells to target brain tumors and his team's work on targeting MHC-I-negative tumor cells.

Dr. Alice Long is an Associate Member and Principal Investigator at Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, where her lab focuses on discovering how tolerance is lost in human autoimmunity and how therapy can restore tolerance.