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msmacrophage.bsky.social
Professor of Medicine, McMaster University Executive Director of the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health Board of Directors Lung Health Foundation #macrophages #aging #respiratoryinfections #vaccinations #immunity #inflammation #scicomm
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A brief thread of a personal illustration of the benefits of science, antibiotics, and vaccines over this past century:   - I discovered in my twenties that I had an aunt I didn’t know had existed. They had died young, in the 1930’s, of meningitis at age 2 (no antibiotics/vaccines at the time)

Summary of NACI statement of February 19, 2025: Rapid response on preliminary guidance on human vaccination against avian influenza in a non-pandemic context as of December 2024 | National Advisory Committee on Immunization | www.canada.ca/en/public-he...

New YT video (clip), featuring @msmacrophage.bsky.social! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqrp...

The COVID-19 vaccines chapter of the 'Canadian Immunization Guide' has been updated, as of 05 February 2025 | Public Health Agency of Canada | www.canada.ca/en/public-he... #VaccinesWork

I'm really appreciative of @thespec1846.bsky.social and JP Antonacci covering the recent measles outbreaks. Local news gets to the heart of local concerns in aa very personal way that I think has the power to change hearts and minds www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...

Use this form to tell us how the new US administration is affecting your research, or suggest future coverage https://go.nature.com/42SyoUu

I'm on CBC's FrontBurner this morning chatting w/ Jayme Poisson about what this moment of economic nationalism/patriotism can mean for us. Can you save the economy AND a few bucks? We're more than what we buy. Also worth thinking about when we pay with our time and attention.

We (The Faculty of Computer Science at Dalhousie) is currently seeking applications for a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in AI and Healthy Aging (www.dal.ca/faculty/comp...). This is a great opportunity to join a growing community of researchers and practitioners in the Atlantic Canada region.

This is one of those little things that has made my working life a lot better. I often have dozens of tabs open and live in fear of Chrome crashing. Toby, allows me to save them, file them and then find them again. Free educator/student discount - well worth it! www.gettoby.com

New YT video, featuring @msmacrophage.bsky.social! www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb27...

Thank you to the lovely team at Biorad for interviewing me for their "Lab Crunches" series on Women in Science. 👩🏻‍🔬🧪"..make sure that you advocate for other underrepresented groups. Science is better if it is diverse. Don’t be afraid to pursue questions that apply to the community you come from..."

Great PhD opportunity with a fabulous supervisor 👉

Here are your opinion headlines for Mar. 7. The Editorial Board: tgam.ca/49ZfSu4 Dawn Bowdish: tgam.ca/3P9R2j8 Rob Carrick: tgam.ca/4a5dPEX Lawrence Martin: tgam.ca/3Pc68Vd Konrad Yakabuski: tgam.ca/435kpc0

How good is the flu 💉 so far? 👇🏼Pretty darn good: overall, vaccine effectiveness is ~53-54% (higher in older adults). This means that the risk for acute respiratory illness is ⬇️ by HALF: www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2...

Canadian researchers see US-funded projects at risk. @msmacrophage.bsky.social: “even acknowledging that there are differences in the biology of the immune system which, by the way, there are.... Suddenly, all of a sudden that could be contentious”

Nearly two-thirds of antibiotics were introduced during the “golden age of antibiotics”

#MicroSky

@breznik.bsky.social

The immune system balances barrier defenses and systemic responses to maintain health. Diversity in antigen receptors enables pathogen recognition, but some epitopes are historically excluded due to biased selection. Cytokines polarize responses, influencing cell inclusion and immune status.

Today begins Black History Month And vaccine science is threatened by misinformation I feel it is timely to share that three centuries ago, the knowledge of an African slave introduced the concept of immunization to America, launching the first successful public inoculation campaign  Thread 1/8

"David Lynch’s death represents the intersection of the two major addictions of the twentieth century: tobacco and fossil fuels. If we can’t quit, we will be the ones to pay for it" As a pulmonologist, I couldn't agree more. As a father, I couldn't be prouder. 👏🏼Ayelet Kaminski for writing this!!

To successfully counter vaccine misinformation, learn more about the Misinformer Tactic: Stirring Up Emotions | resource created by Science Up First | scienceupfirst.com/misinformati... #VaccinesWork #GetImmunized

Immunize Canada has a great collection of YouTube Shorts videos in English and French, on a variety of immunization topics! www.youtube.com/@ImmunizeCan... #VaccinesWork #GetImmunized

#COVID19 vaccines: What to expect in the next few months. NACI says most Canadians over the age of six months should be eligible for an annual COVID shot, by Paul Taylor www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-... via @theglobeandmail.com

🚨 We are hiring for a 3-yr PDRA 🚨 The Whelan lab is seeking a microbiologist interested in microbe-pathogen competition and use of a Drosophila melanogaster chronic infection model to investigate the cystic fibrosis lung microbiome. For more info check out whelanlab.co.uk & apply at the link below:

Would you like to do a post-doc in the Bowdish lab? Interested in human immunology? Want to discover age-related differences in immune responses to SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 vaccinations and infections? Check us out! (Please share broadly)👩‍🔬🧪 #immunosky #IDsky www.bowdish.ca www.bowdish.ca/lab/wp-conte...

It's Coming! The Mucosal Immunology Podcast to launch on MONDAY! 🌟 Explore groundbreaking insights and inspiring stories in the world of mucosal immunology - brought to you by SMI and @mucosalimmunol.bsky.social. #MucosalImmunology #SciencePodcast #ImmunologyResearch #PodcastLaunch

We are excited to announce that the 6th annual BBSRS will take place on March 28th, 2025! We have an exciting day of oral talks, poster presentations, and a keynote lecture from Dr. Alan Lomax! Registration is now open at macbbsrs.wordpress.com/how-to-regis...! #BBSRS2025

Will also add that PubMed - which indexes millions of medical articles, and makes citations and many full text articles available free of charge as a public good - is an NIH product. If it disappears, it’s not unrealistic to think that academic medicine will be massively slowed for years.

We are looking for a motivated Research Technician to work on bronchiectasis with myself, Anand Shah + excellent team of clinical and non-clinical researchers. Post funded by @The_MRC Details here: imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-in… …. Deadline 18th Feb 2025. Please share!

🚨 PhD opportunity 🚨 The Whelan lab & @brockhurstlab.bsky.social are seeking a PhD student interested in investigating the ecol & evol of pathogens in cystic fibrosis exacerbations. This PhD is funded as part of @pulse-cf.bsky.social w @alexhorsley.bsky.social et al. More info & link to apply below.

Here's a clever new study looking at where mRNA vaccine lipid nanoparticles (mRNA-LNPs) go after vaccination (using relevant doses of vaccine) in non-human primates (and mice): www.cell.com/molecular-th... Brief thread🧵

Words to live by.

Look what came in the mail today @tchanmd.bsky.social! Two copies of "Dear Reviewer 2, The card game that prepares budding researchers for publication criticism". One for my lab & one for #TheFirestone trainee group @researchstjoes.bsky.social healthsci.mcmaster.ca/dear-reviewe...

Understanding and Treating the Health Effects of Wildfire Smoke. Great infographic and resources from @accpchest.bsky.social hubs.la/Q031Vgnx0

Functional democracies need journalism, fact-checking and accountability. I subscribe to @theguardian.com (world news), @cbcnews-rss.bsky.social (Canadian), @thespec1846.bsky.social (local), @tvotoday.bsky.social #ThePod) & @economist.com for the articles. Students can get @economist.com for free!

#AMR is a risk to antibiotic failure & death, but if this happens, do we record it on death certificates? Our centre data = NO! 👉In 1 year, 4% of deaths were AMR-attributed & NONE were recorded on death certificates!👈 Need to quantify this better to increase awareness! #IDSky @jac-amr.bsky.social

McMaster researchers have discovered a way to make drug-resistant bacteria vulnerable to a common antibiotic. @megantu.bsky.social #IDSky #AMR brighterworld.mcmaster.ca/articles/mcm...