David Cleary

Demographic and genetic factors shape the epitope specificity of the human antibody repertoire against viruses - Nature Immunology Patin and colleagues present a mineable Resource database for identifying demographic and genetic factors that impact antiviral antibody repertoires in humans.

🤯
*PhiPseq of 108 health/envt variables + human genetic variation maps antibody repertoire in 1,212 adults.
*Age, sex, birth continent affect specific viral epitopes
*Abs vs variable flu epitopes decrease w/age
*Viral Abs & host genetics affect autoimmune disease risk www.nature.com/articles/s41...

An invasive Haemophilus influenzae serotype b infection in an Anglo-Saxon plague victim - Genome Biology Background The human pathogen Haemophilus influenzae was the main cause of bacterial meningitis in children and a major cause of worldwide infant mortality before the introduction of a vaccine in the ...

Forgotten how cool this paper was. In particular what it (potentially) says about the emergence of capsulated H. influenzae link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Dynamics of a large multidrug-resistant plasmid encoding New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 and oxacillinase-58 carbapenemases in Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates from a tertiary hospital in Mal... Acinetobacter baumannii carrying the bla NDM-1 gene, which encodes New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1), exhibits resistance to nearly all β-lactams and is not affected by β-lactamase inhibitors, l...

New paper out with colleagues from Malaysia www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/jour... #microsky

From my days as a youngster I can absolutely tell you that is only a very recent development

Better luck next year 😉

Gregor Townsend job security for life

I don’t want Pollock to be the one to turn this around

It’s more the massive early lead

Well this is unfamiliar territory #SCOvENG #GuinnessM6N

GREGOR TOWNSEND CONTRACT EXTENSION

Incredible time at #AIR2026 covering breadth of respiratory infection, microbiomes and immunology with some really beautiful biology. Thanks to fellow committee members @resp-micro.bsky.social @drclairesmith.bsky.social @ewanharrison.bsky.social , Alex Kayongo and organisers @eventswcs.bsky.social

Fantastic final day at #AIR2026. A masterclass in in vitro modelling by Scott Randall followed by a great panel discussion with funders @asthmaandlung.org.uk @wellcometrust.bsky.social @cysticfibrosis.org.uk @karlstaples.bsky.social

Another insightful day of science, discussion and making new friends at #AIR2026

Day 2 Highlights: making sense of big data, spatial transcriptomics and in vitro modelling of respiratory infections @eventswcs.bsky.social @sangerinstitute.bsky.social

Nice talk from @teojcryan.bsky.social … in summary, metagenomics from low biomass samples is hard! #AIR2026

Prevalence and Evolutionary Implications of Genome Rearrangements in Bacteria Abstract. The genetic material of bacteria and archaea is organized into various structures and setups, attesting that genome architecture is dynamic in th

@carolinamicro.bsky.social Huang & @lbobay.bsky.social investigated genomic rearrangements across 121 microbial species, showing that rearrangements occur at a variable pace across bacteria and archaea, pointing to different selective constraints.

🔗 doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evag002

#genome #evolution

Now at #AIR2026 moving on to viruses and human challenge with @ryanthwaites.bsky.social

Controlled human infection model of Neisseria lactamica in late pregnancy investigating mother-to-infant transmission in the UK: a single-arm pilot trial As the world’s first perinatal CHIM, this trial demonstrates that this model in pregnancy is feasible, and that N lactamica Y92–1009 can safely and efficiently colonise pregnant individuals. Lack of s...

Link to her Lancet Microbe paper: www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Next up at #AIR2026 one of my favourite people @doctoranastasia.bsky.social talking about the use of Neisseria lactamica in human challenge. Highlighting potential clinical utility of respiratory commensals and talking about the first ever perinatal human challenge model

Amazing overview of the extent of pneumococcal human challenge work by Prof. Daniela Ferreira from the Oxford Vaccine Group #AIR2026 - particular focus on differences across the life course

Always good to be back at Wellcome Genome Campus, this time for the #AIR2026 conference on Genomic and systems approaches to respiratory infection, microbiomes and immunity

Funny picture on "advantages" of being in academia. The colours in the piechart do not line up with any of the positives mentioned on the side (financial stability, metal health, self-esteem and peace of mind)

It is the truth .

(painful #LOL) #academia

With the alternative being what exactly?? 🤦‍♂️

How do bacterial pangenomes evolve, what controls their dynamics, why do they exist?
Fitting a mechanistic model to 450 species from allthebacteria.org suggesting fast vs slow gene exchange (i.e. amount of MGEs) is a major differentiating factor, correlated with phylogeny rather than lifestyle

How medicines affect gut bacteria could inform safer, more effective use Understanding gut microbiome interactions with medicines could help explain differences in how people respond to treatment and build on existing medicine safety knowledge to support safer, more effect...

New paper out with colleagues at #MHRA, reviewing #microbiotoxicity. We call for more research, & consider whether #microbiome endpoints should be incorporated into drug development pipelines. Check out the Gov.uk press release for a quick recap! 💙🦠🧫

www.gov.uk/government/n...

Airway microbiome dysbiosis in severe pneumonia: metagenomic evidence of pathogen expansion and commensal depletion - European Journal of Medical Research Background The pulmonary microbiome is increasingly recognized as a key determinant of pneumonia severity, yet its clinical implications remain incompletely understood. Disruption of microbial ecology...

Interesting metagenomic study of BAL samples from pneumonia cases. Suggestion that Corynebacterium striatum is being less than friendly in this context link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Microbiome research in practice: priorities for clinical translation and impact Rapid advances in microbiome science have sparked clinical and commercial enthusiasm for interventions, yet translation into practice risks outpacing …

New paper out from @doctoranastasia.bsky.social with lots of other cool folks (+me) looking at the future requirements for translating microbiome research www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Microbiome research in practice: priorities for clinical translation and impact Rapid advances in microbiome science have sparked clinical and commercial enthusiasm for interventions, yet translation into practice risks outpacing …

Our new review in Clinical Microbiology & Infection lays out a roadmap for the clinical impact of microbiome research built on:

🔬 scientific credibility
⚖️ regulatory & funding readiness
🤝 stakeholder engagement

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

This is barely a game of rugby.