Leon Smyth

Optimization of the Blocking and Signal Preservation Protocol in High‐Parameter Flow Cytometry High quality input data is the key to successful interpretation of any scientific assay. In flow cytometry, fluorescently-conjugated antibodies allow us to simultaneously measure an incredible range ...

currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Let’s go Sverige!

Brain tumors induce widespread disruption of calvarial bone and alteration of skull marrow immune landscape - Nature Neuroscience Glioblastoma—the deadliest form of brain cancer—alters the calvarial bone and its marrow components, pushing it toward producing more myeloid cells and contributing to an immunosuppressive environment.

Brain tumors induce widespread disruption of calvarial bone and alteration of skull marrow immune landscape

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Congrats team 🤩 super cool!

Intestinal challenges shape the polarisation of protective dural memory CD4 T cells The meninges house several innate and adaptive immune cell populations[1][1]–[3][2]. These predominantly localise within the dura mater and include gut-derived IgA-secreting plasma cells[4][3]. Whethe...

New paper alert! 🎉 Check it out here: biorxiv.org/content/10.1... Here we show that intestinal bacterial, helminth and fungal challenges polarise CD4 T cell populations in the dural meninges.

Today is the last day to make a submission! You don't have to fill in the survey l, you can just upload a letter or even a video

🫵🏻Advocate for fundamental research👊🏻

@nhmrc.bsky.social need your feedback to develop the best strategy for the future of Australian medical research

Link in the 🧵

Dear Everyone, I've read the #NHMRC draft strategy and I have notes ...

So I'm going to...🧵🤔🧵😱🧵😵‍💫🧵🙏🧵🧵🧵
This is a repost from X because you all need to know!

#NHMRCdraftStratergy #Ihavenotes #ValueFundamentalScience

@nhmrc.bsky.social

🔬 We’re recruiting: Translational Research Scientist (Cell Therapy Manufacturing)

Join the Jenkins Lab at WEHI and be at the forefront of research in immunotherapy for brain cancer.

For full details and to apply visit: wehi.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/WEHI/job/Par...

I hope this Nobel Prize gets people talking meaningfully about our amazing immune systems and the importance of basic research to human health (and funding basic research).

I am also glad young women get to see that women can not only work at this level, but that those who do can get recognized.

Review @natrevimmunol.nature.com The promise of immunotherapy for central nervous system tumors
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
@stanforduniversity.bsky.social

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 was awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi “for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.”

Immunology Rocks! Immune tolerance is crucial in health and disease, even when it comes to our brain! Congratulations to the new Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine! 🤩😁🎉

www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medic...

Meningeal macrophages exhibit diverse calcium signaling at steady-state and in response to aberrant cortical hyperexcitability in awake mice The meninges, which envelop and protect the brain, host a large number of resident macrophages that play a crucial role in regulating homeostasis and neuroinflammation. Intracellular Ca2+ signaling me...

A new preprint out from the Levy lab, adding knowledge to the exciting world of brain border macrophages and neuroimmunology.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Brain tumors induce widespread disruption of calvarial bone and alteration of skull marrow immune landscape - Nature Neuroscience Glioblastoma—the deadliest form of brain cancer—alters the calvarial bone and its marrow components, pushing it toward producing more myeloid cells and contributing to an immunosuppressive environment.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Childhood brain tumours instruct cranial haematopoiesis and immunotolerance Recent research has revealed a remarkable role for immunosurveillance in healthy and diseased brains, dispelling the notion that this organ is a passive immune-privileged site[1][1]–[3][2]. Better und...

The outstanding Elizabeth Cooper from @gilbertsonlab.bsky.social just shared a new preprint!! Using cutting-edge tech and models, she found that brain tumours instruct cranial haematopoiesis allowing immunotolerance of childhood brain tumours and CNS development. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

We are looking for a new technician to join our lab and gain some hands on #zebrafish and molecular biology experience. Interested parties should apply here: jobs.rutgers.edu/postings/259... Happy to answer any and all questions about the lab! #STEMJobs

FindAPhD : MRC CoRE in Exposome Immunology at The University of Manchester Apply for a PhD: MRC CoRE in Exposome Immunology at The University of Manchester

PhD opportunities at our new Manchester-Oxford MRC Core - come and join us 🧠

www.findaphd.com/phds/program... [findaphd.com]

Review @sciimmunology.bsky.social @platten-lab.bsky.social
@dkfz.bsky.social
The immunology of brain tumors
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

New issue alert👉 cell.com/cell/current

On the cover: Kothari et al. and Mamuladze et al. characterize the role of meningeal mast cells in two distinct pathologies, stroke and meningitis. The image depicts meningeal mast cells surrounding the brain, as stars surround the Earth.

Childhood brain tumours instruct cranial haematopoiesis and immunotolerance Recent research has revealed a remarkable role for immunosurveillance in healthy and diseased brains, dispelling the notion that this organ is a passive immune-privileged site (1–3). Better understand...

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Voluntary locomotion induces an early and remote hemodynamic decrease in the large cerebral veins SignificanceBehavior regulates dural and cerebral vessels, with spontaneous locomotion inducing dural vessel constriction and increasing stimulus-evoked cerebral hemodynamic responses. It is vital to investigate the function of different vascular network components, surrounding and within the brain, to better understand the role of the neurovascular unit in health and neurodegeneration.AimWe characterized locomotion-induced hemodynamic responses across vascular compartments of the whisker barrel cortex: artery, vein, parenchyma, draining, and meningeal vein.ApproachUsing 2D-OIS, hemodynamic responses during locomotion were recorded in 9- to 12-month-old awake mice: wild-type, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), atherosclerosis, or mixed (atherosclerosis/AD) models. Within the somatosensory cortex, responses were taken from pial vessels inside the whisker barrel region [(WBR): “whisker artery” and “whisker vein”], a large vein from the sagittal sinus adjacent to the WBR (draining vein), and meningeal vessels from the dura mater (which do not penetrate cortical tissue).ResultsWe demonstrate that locomotion evokes an initial decrease in total hemoglobin (HbT) within the draining vein before the increase in HbT within WBR vessels. The locomotion event size influences the magnitude of the HbT increase in the pial vessels of the WBR but not of the early HbT decrease within the draining veins. Following locomotion onset, an early HbT decrease was also observed in the overlying meningeal vessels, which unlike within the cortex did not go on to exceed baseline HbT levels during the remainder of the locomotion response. We show that locomotion-induced hemodynamic responses are altered in disease in the draining vein and whisker artery, suggesting this could be an important neurodegeneration biomarker.ConclusionsThis initial reduction in HbT within the draining and meningeal veins potentially serves as a “space-saving” mechanism, allowing for large increases in cortical HbT associated with locomotion. Given this mechanism is impacted by disease, it may provide an important target for vascular-based therapeutic interventions.

I'm pleased to share our new paper about the impact of locomotion on haemodynamic responses across the brain's vascular compartments in SPIE: Neurophotonics. www.spiedigitallibrary.org/journals/neu...
Please read the comments below for a 'Bluetorial' on our findings... 👇

A major KI initiative to recruit new assistant professors with outstanding proposals in all areas of medicine, biomedicine and public health. We offer an amazing research environment, great colleagues and generous startup packages. Check it out and get working on your applications! (repost please!)

New in @jem.org: Florescu et al. investigate an animal model of progressive #MultipleSclerosis & uncover a population of anti-CD20–resistant dural B cells that remain in the brain parenchyma at disease remission rupress.org/jem/article/...
@jengommerman.bsky.social

In @jem.org, Qing Chang, Jian-Fu Chen et al. @usc.edu identify lymphatic vasculature on the outer surface of the skull but not inside the skull bone marrow, and reveal skull channel and bone marrow heterogeneity varying by region and age. rupress.org/jem/article/...

#HumanDiseaseGenetics

So pleased to see this published rupress.org/jem/article-... and look at what came out in the NYT crossword on the exact same day! Congrats Alex Florescu, Michelle Zuo and Angela Wang - the triple threat (former) PhD students who teamed up to make this happen.
@rupress.org

Great to see this out!
Following on from our earlier work revealing DOT1L was essential for humoral responses, here we determine the importance of H3K79me2 at multiple stages of B cell biology

👏 to Liam for tenaciously driving this study
👏 to collabs incl @sjturn.bsky.social + those not on bsky

Aberdeen is hiring - Neuroimmunology Lectureship! Really exciting opportunity to join our supportive, collaborative and multidisciplinary Institute to carry out cutting edge translation research. Not to mention the scenery in the North East of Scotland is amazing www.abdn.ac.uk/jobs/vacanci...

Only single cell sequencing of the all these post docs will reveal why

Join the Dyer Lab (Dr @douglaspdyer.bsky.social) as a Research Associate in Neuro-Immunology & Extracellular Matrix Biology (ImmunoMatrix).

🔬 Focus: chemokines, glycocalyx & inflammatory disease

📍 Cutting-edge biochem, biophysics & in vivo biology

Apply now 👉 shorturl.at/jEQ6G

ODC1 restricts meningeal B cell age-associated-like phenotype and function in multiple sclerosis: a human and experimental study https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.09.674821v1

📅 Save the Date: Oxford 2026 Glymphatic Research Symposium!

• Dates: March 30th, March 31st, April 1st 2026.
• Keynote speakers: Maiken Nedergaard & Jonathan Kipnis.
• Venue: Keble College, Oxford, UK.
• Registration link to follow

Looking forward to seeing you there! 🧠