Chris Peritore-Galve

Immune Aspects of Clostridioides difficile Infection and Vaccine Development

Excited to share our recent review in which @rcglover.bsky.social, @joeyzacks.bsky.social, @bordenlacy.bsky.social, and I discuss current advances in our understanding of immunity to C. difficile infection and what it will take to develop an effective vaccine 💉

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

Cholera toxin-induced disease generates epithelial cell-derived L-lactate that promotes Vibrio cholerae growth in the small intestine Cholera toxin (CT) promotes Vibrio cholerae colonization by altering gut metabolism to favor pathogen growth. We have previously found that CT-induced disease leads to increased concentrations of L-la...

1/ Excited to share the first preprint from my lab! 🎉

My postdoc Paz asked how cholera toxin (CT) helps Vibrio cholerae thrive in the gut.

Turns out, CT rewires epithelial metabolism toward L-lactate production—fueling pathogen growth in the small intestine during disease

Imagine this: On the evening of March 8, you and your spouse unlock the door to your apartment building. As you step inside, two men—not in uniform—push their way in behind you. They tell you your visa has been revoked and that they are there to deport you.

NIH Grants Fueled $95 Billion In FY 2024 Economic Activity, Finds New Report National Institutes of Health grants generated almost $95 billion in economic activity nationwide in FY 2024 according to a new report by United for Medical Research.

In 2024 NIH grant awards supported 407,782 jobs and $94.58 billion in new economic activity nationwide, the largest figure in the history of the report. www.forbes.com/sites/michae...

Judge issues preliminary injunction blocking Trump cuts to NIH research overhead payments A federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from slashing NIH payments for research overhead

Preliminary injunction in nationwide indirect cost rate case.

This means that the judge found that the plaintiffs (AAMC, et al.) are likely to win on the merits when the ruling is finalized.

www.statnews.com/2025/03/05/n...

U.S. judge blocks NIH’s plan to slash overhead cost payments Injunction allows universities to keep receiving billions to recover costs of supporting federal research on campus

A federal judge in Massachusetts today blocked an attempt by the National Institutes of Health to cut some $4 billion annually that goes to universities to cover the cost of supporting research on their campuses.

This is Marco Rubio explaining how the USA promised to defend Ukraine forever if they got rid of their nuclear arsenal left after the Soviet Union fell.

This is why lil marco was sinking into the couch. He was hoping we wouldn’t find it…so don’t RT right now this very second.

Everyone who ever got funding through NIAID should be aware of this bill and start sending messages to their US legislators. The bill intends to dissolve NIAID. This is Project 2025
www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...

Graduate Reductions Across Biomedical Sciences (2025)

I created a brief spreadsheet of reductions I've heard of so far. Any additions you know of (especially if you have the links/receipts) would be great: docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Several good things are happening according r/fednews so I am going to drop them here. If federal workers are fighting back, how much more us?

A thread/

Photo of the United States with a color code for states that have rallies confirmed, in progress, needing a leader, or no leader.

🚨 WANT TO HELP US STAND UP FOR SCIENCE? 🚨

Here's a little update on where we're currently at with the planning process!

Is your state red or grey & you want to see an event happen? Fill out our volunteer form or share with a friend! airtable.com/app4h5wUssMG...

#standupforscience2025

🚨PA colleagues:

"Senator Fetterman wants to hear from you about how the federal funding freeze is affecting Pennsylvania."

"If your project has been impacted, please fill out our constituent impact form:" forms.office.com/g/mFv2JAPxpC

Get out your Other Support and share that info!

PLOS statement on recent US Executive Orders and scientific integrity - The Official PLOS Blog Since its founding over twenty five years ago PLOS has been dedicated to advancing open science, ensuring that knowledge is accessible to…

PLOS has issued a statement on recent US Executive Orders and scientific integrity.

We are determined to stand firmly behind our mission, our values and our principles, and against any attempt at censorship or undermining of the core principles of scientific inquiry.

plos.io/3D4O8cH

5 Calls Spend 5 minutes. Make 5 calls. Make your voice heard.

Ok scientists & those who love science 🧪: here is another exhortation. Call Congress TODAY about the freeze on NIH Council Meetings and Study Sections. Emphasize that this means NO new grants are being funded & labs will soon start to shut down and fire employees. Phone numbers are at:
5calls.org

Once again, these include a host of individual and institutional training grants that broaden participation in biomedical research: IMSD, MARC, U-RISE, G-RISE, Bridges to Doctorates, MOSAIC, etc.

This strategy is nefarious and in direct conflict with the recent injunction against Trump anti-DEI EOs

It’s been buried in all the news today, but every scientist in the US should pay attention to this:

Mike Lauer went out on a limb for us all, sending out a memo saying institutes should start awarding grants. And it looks like Trump/Musk fired him for that. 🧪

CDC source:

“We just had word that all our fellows and post doc staff are laid off effective immediately. The famous Epidemic Intelligence Service, aka the Disease Detectives, is no more. That’s 1260 staff.

They are calling this ‘Phase 1’.”

CDC cuts expected to devastate Epidemic Intelligence Service, a ‘crown jewel’ of public health Members of the CDC's Epidemic Intelligence Service were warned Friday that many of them were about to be fired

This new Administration is a bunch of terrorists blowing up all that is meant to keep us safe and healthy.
CDC cuts expected to devastate Epidemic Intelligence Service, a ‘crown jewel’ of public health www.statnews.com/2025/02/14/t... via @statnews.com

Hi Vanderbilt, with your $545 million in NIH funding — how’s it going over there?

1. Today the NIH director issued a new directive slashing overhead rates to 15%.

I want to provide some context on what that means and why it matters.

grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...

Executive wants to frame the NIH indirects cut as $4B in savings.

But given that NIH returns $2.5 on every $1 investment, this would actually cost US economy a net $6 BILLION (per year!). Not to mention the human costs of wrecking education and research sectors and the communities they serve.

@asm.org this better not be anticipatory obedience. I have 5 lab members planning on going to ASM microbe this year. I will absolutely pivot to another meeting if ASM gives in to anti-DEI efforts.

Read the news and views on this paper by Amandine Everard & co here:

A gut microorganism turns the dial on sugar intake

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

Scientific advancements aside, this is economically irresponsible

Every $1 spent by NIH generates $2.46

For example, in 2023, $47B in NIH spending generated ~$93B

Halting NIH spending will LOSE the US a lot of money (and talent)

All NIH study sections canceled indefinitely. This will halt science and devastate research budgets in universities.

Fiber- and acetate-mediated modulation of MHC-II expression on intestinal epithelium protects from Clostridioides difficile infection Fachi et al. show that a low-fiber diet worsens CDI by increasing MHC-II in colonic epithelium, promoting pathogenic CD4+ IELs. Acetate from fibers enhances ILC3-derived IL-22 via FFAR2, suppressing M...

#weekendreading🔬

Fiber- and acetate-mediated modulation of MHC-II expression on intestinal epithelium protects from Clostridioides difficile infection

#microsky

www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...

This is figure 1, which shows the gut microbiota–brain axis.

A Review in Nature Reviews Microbiology explores the pathways linking the gut and the brain and examines the microbial, endocrine and neural mechanisms involved in the gut microbiota-brain axis and their impact on gastrointestinal and neuropsychiatric health.
https://go.nature.com/3DSeS0d 🔒

Reinventing type 2 immunity in cancer - Nature This Review addresses the roles of type 2 immunity in cancer and the potential for cancer immunotherapies targeting this pathway.

Type 2 immunity is thought of as a potential promoter of tumorigenesis. Emerging evidence challenges this perspective. Could it be harness to reimagine cancer immunotherapies?
🧪
@nature.com
@natureportfolio.bsky.social

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

WOW! "Subtomogram averaging Soluble and membrane-bound complexes ranging in size from >3 MDa to ~200 kDa, including 80S ribosomes, Rubisco, nucleosomes, microtubules, clathrin, photosystem II, and mitochondrial ATP synthase. The majority of these density maps reached sub-nanometer resolution..." 🧪