Brianne Barker

Then as a first-year Immunology grad student in 2002: professors don’t understand why my classmates and I aren’t up on all the cool details of TLR4 vs. TLR2 and we go to talks and read papers all year about FoxP3 and TRegs, which everyone secretly believed in the whole time

Literally what I was taught in an Immunology class in Fall 2000/working in an immunology lab as an undergrad 1998-2002: No one who is anyone in immunology believes in danger signals or suppressor cells and if I ever say the words “danger” or “suppressor”, lightning will strike me down

Once upon a time, I would read Nobel Prize announcements and be awed by some canon in the field I had learned in classes.
This year: another example of reading and thinking “oh yeah, I remember those papers and when this went from being not a thing to a thing”.
Apparently I am old.

Too many vaccines in the first year?Your child is 44% more likely to survive to one year if they are vaccinated than if they are unvaccinated.

Personifying kidneys, depersonalizing humans.

Maybe the only we survive this is with a twinge of sarcasm and very dark humor😞.

YouTube video by MicrobeTV Immune 95: Mitochondria for everyone

Immune 95: Mitochondria for everyone

Immune discusses how cancer cells swap mitochondria with T cells and then digs in for a discussion of an unusual checkpoint blockade that failed for cancer but could be repurposed for autoimmune inflammation.
@cindyleifer.bsky.social @bioprofbarker.bsky.social

One of my colleagues is looking for readings for her first-year seminar on Gender, RACE and STEAM and wonders: “Does anyone have suggestions for undergrad accessible articles that focus on how race and/or gender shape research priority bias?”

Are you able to send a pdf to someone who doesn’t have access to Science Immunology?

YES. And relatively few people even know it happened

I’m in

Hey, I know her!

“Dr. Bhattacharya might not realize that many human vaccines are based on live attenuated viruses, where we similarly cannot definitively quantify antigen amounts produced in recipients. The mRNA and live attenuated vaccine platforms have both proven to be safe and effective in clinical studies.”

This is utter nonsense. A KFF poll in May found that only 16% do not trust mRNA vaccines. Twice as many trust them, and 52% would like more information. This is an educational opportunity, not a justification to terminate research. Unbelievable to hear such nonsense from the NIH Director.

Great thread about the new @uk.theconversation.com article @sheencr.bsky.social and I wrote about how Kennedy is systematically undermining vaccines in a coordinated and scarily effective way in the US.

full article here:
theconversation.com/how-rfk-jr-i...

This is a humorous cartoon comparing "mRNA research" with something labeled "mRFKjr research." On the left side, titled "mRNA research," there's a scientist looking through a microscope with typical lab equipment like test tubes, petri dishes, and a DNA strand illustration. This side represents serious, careful scientific research related to mRNA, which is a key technology in recent vaccines and molecular biology. On the right side, titled "mRFKjr research," there's a chaotic, messy scene with a blender filled with what looks like gross or strange substances, a chainsaw, bones, and vultures flying above. This side seems to mock or criticize the research or claims associated with "mRFKjr," which likely refers to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known anti-vaccine advocate who often opposes mainstream scientific consensus. The cartoon contrasts rigorous scientific methods with what the artist portrays as chaotic or unreliable approaches linked to RFK Jr.'s research or activism. It's a satirical commentary on the difference between established science and conspiracy or misinformation. Cartoon by Adam Douglas Thompson

Nailed it.

Hi Mary-I’m interested. Biology professor at a small liberal arts college in NJ, but I have family in Boston and drive up frequently.

Damn! I'm copying this whole 🧵 of replies for my #histmed teaching files. Everybody's right: this WAS a great achievement in human ingenuity & cooperation. It should be celebrated, commemorated, & memorialized at every opportunity. #COVIDvax

Lucky that I have Athena (the goddess of wisdom) around to help out

Teaching/mentoring undergrads in public health and biomedical science in 2025 is tough. Struggling to figure out how to give good advice about next steps in the field…trying to tell myself (and mentees) how important it is for people to have the training to rebuild things in the future…

There goes that diversify funding argument

After Years of Anger Directed at C.D.C., Shooting Manifests Worst Fears

CDC workers were terrified as gunman shot at the agency’s headquarters yesterday.
Today they are still reeling from shock, fear — and rage.

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/09/u...

Remember when we all used to clap every night to thank doctors, nurses, scientists, and public health workers for saving lives?

Thanks to disinformation, people in these professions are now frequently threatened and attacked. There is no way society can keep functioning like this.

Vinay Prasad Returns to FDA Within two weeks of his unceremonious departure, the COVID vaccine skeptic is back as the nation’s top vaccine regulator.

One day after a man who reportedly believed that the COVID vaccine had injured him shot up the CDC, HHS announced that a doctor with a history of casting doubt on the safety of the mRNA vaccines is being reinstated as the FDA’s top vaccine regulator.

www.importantcontext.news/p/vinay-pras...

Per ProPublica, RFK Jr and Russell Vought have gone out of their way to demonize the CDC and federal workforce.

Vought, on video: “We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected.” Also, he expressed his desire that they be “increasingly viewed as the villains.”

Again, stochastic terrorism.

truly senseless and random violence…who could be stoking such powerful flames of hatred……we’ll never know………

This might even make me re-think my opinion on the shirts…

Jens Kuhn was the first person I thought of when I read this news

Screen grab of a section of the HHS press release which is black text on white background. The wind-down affects a range of programs including:Termination of contracts with Emory University and Tiba Biotech.De-scoping of mRNA-related work in existing contracts with Luminary Labs, ModeX, and Seqirus.Rejection or cancellation of multiple pre-award solicitations, including proposals from Pfizer, Sanofi Pasteur, CSL Seqirus, Gritstone, and others, as part of BARDA’s Rapid Response Partnership Vehicle (RRPV) and VITAL Hub.Restructuring of collaborations with DoD-JPEO, affecting nucleic acid-based vaccine projects with AAHI, AstraZeneca, HDT Bio, and Moderna/UTMB.

I'm seeing a lot of big accounts missing the mark on this story. HHS through BARDA is cancelling contracts for mRNA vaccine research related to viral respiratory illnesses. This does not affect mRNA cancer research by NIH and Moderna.

It's still bad news but let's try to keep our facts straight.

Health secretary RFK Jr. shuts door on U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research Vaccine experts and people steeped in pandemic preparedness expressed horror at the news that RFK Jr. has shut the door in U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research.

Pandemic preparedness in the US has been leveled a crippling blow with the cancellation of multiple #BARDA contracts to help develop mRNA vaccines. No other vaccine platform produces vaccine so quickly; without mRNA, Americans will have a long wait for pandemic vax. www.statnews.com/2025/08/05/m...