Very excited that this paper is out showing that Gasdermin D increases influenza virus-induced lung immunopathogenesis associated with neutrophil activities. Great collaborative work with
@adforu
@samuel_speaks
@ZaniAshley
@m_mcfadden17
and others. 🦠🫁🧪
What software is everyone using for generating high res publication figures? We recently made the switch from Powerpoint to Illustrator, but the university is canceling our Adobe subscription and a monthly fee for everyone in the lab isn't gonna work. 🥲😡😩
I've never been so happy about results that won't ever be published, but our BSL3 CoV-2 sample decontamination protocols worked and are now approved!! 🤓🧪🔬🦠🥳
Our new paper showing IFITMs inhibit SARS-CoV-2 endosomal entry, but IFITM3 conversely ENHANCES virus fusion at the plasma membrane🤯. Distinct mechanisms at play. High TMPRSS2 shifts balance➡️enhancement. Great collab with Alex Compton
@NIH
.
Is anybody else working on ID'ing the cell enzymes involved in SARS-CoV-2 S and E palmitoylation? We're early on, but we have awesome tools to do this, and I'd much rather collaborate than compete. Plus, don't want my lab to come to work just to get scooped.
Had my 3rd long-time lab member in the past year leave for a job in industry. I'm always happy for the success of my trainees, but how does academia compete with double salary and a much clearer path to advancement?
The boxes keep piling up in my lab with many more still to arrive! Supplies for making virus transport media for COVID19 tests. Will be making a fresh batch this afternoon with
@AnaSarkar3
and
@AmitSharmaOSU
. OSU will be ready for the necessary wave of tests!
Our new paper in Science Advances led by Adam Kenney showing that direct infection of cardiomyocytes by influenza virus drives cardiac complications of the flu. Special thanks to
@LangloisLab
for engineering a cardiomyocyte-attenuated virus. ♥️🫁🦠🐁
🎉🥳New paper online today. Recombinant TRIM72/MG53 prevents lung inflammation/damage and death from H1N1 influenza in mice. I *think* this is the first TRIM protein used therapeutically in virus infection. CoV-2 up next. 🦠🔬💉🫁🧪
I've newly taken on a Minireview Editor role at
@mbiojournal
If you have a review idea that will push the field forward, please contact me to discuss. Topics can include any area of microbiology or host response to microbes. Junior PIs welcome. Thanks!
For K99/R00 recipients, remember to negotiate how much your new department will take from the grant toward your salary. OSU only required 10% salary coverage for me, leaving most of the money for research. I've heard of some schools taking 75%.
We are hiring postdocs for new funded projects on antiviral immunity and cardiopulmonary pathology, studying influenza virus, Coxsackievirus, SARS-CoV-2. Experience with cell culture, virology methods, & mice ideal, but can be taught to otherwise strong candidates.
Huge round of applause for MI&I’s Dr. Jacob Yount who received the 2022 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award from College of Medicine’s Center for Faculty Advancement, Mentoring, and Engagement. Well-deserved recognition!
#MIIproud
@YountLabOSU
Our new preprint just went online showing that IFITM proteins inhibit SARS-CoV-2 infection at endosomes, but IFITM3 can also enhance fusion at the plasma membrane. Collaboration with the lab of Alex Compton @ NIH. 🦠🔬☣️
Thank you to the ICIS for this amazing award! It's an incredible honor to have been nominated by such an exceptionally talented group of faculty and students. I can't believe I get an award for working with such amazing people!
#grateful
International Cytokine & Interferon Society (ICIS)
First (and probably only) time I've had two things published on the same day. Here's my
@mbiojournal
editorial describing my promotion and tenure tips for microbiologists and immunologists. Anxious to hear what others would add.
Congrats to Adam Kenney, first-author of our newest paper. Highlights: 1) New IFITM3 KO mouse, 2) IFITM3 limits flu dissemination to the heart and cardiac fibrosis, 3) IFITM3 KO mice are the first model for studying cardiac dysfunction caused by flu.
This is why I dislike using K18-hACE2 mice to study SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. Infection in K18 doesn't at all resemble the cells targeted when naturally produced ACE2 is used as a receptor. Both stains done professionally by Histowiz. Virus dose in K18 is 10x less.
The Yount Lab turns 6 today! In that time, we submitted 45 grants, had two students graduate, had fantastic collaborations, published 22 articles, made 2 new mouse lines, and have many new projects on antiviral immunity. And nobody mistakes me for a student anymore. Progress!
Yet another paper derailed by a reviewer asking for SARS-2 pathogenesis and immunology experiments in K18-hACE2 mice. Why is this system with hyper-overexpression of ACE2 from an irrelevant cell type-restricted promoter better than mouse adapted virus?
When I see microbiology-related review articles in certain journals, I can't help but wonder why they didn't try
@mbiojournal
first. Why support for-profit publishers with questionable tactics vs a society journal? Also, I'm an mBio Minireview editor, so email me with ideas.😀
Our paper published today in Journal of Virology showing that gut metabolite and short chain fatty acid butyrate reprograms ISG expression and generally increases virus infection. First author
@MCbiologist
why am I getting calls from reporters asking if the COVID vaccines contain placenta syncytin proteins? (They don’t). Where is this misinformation coming from?
Doing a walk through of the Columbus Convention Center to make sure everything is ready for
#ASV2024
! With
@ShanLuLiu1
@adforu
Rick Shaffer and Amanda Panfil.
We were scooped last week by an amazing paper from Olivier Schwartz’ lab. But our in vitro work confirming IFITMs inhibit trophoblast fusion is now submitted and posted as a preprint. Stay tuned (for a year or two) for our in vivo twist on this story.
Excited to share our new paper in collaboration with
@AmerLabOSU
showing the noncanonical inflammasome (Casp4/11) promotes inflammation and thrombosis in SARS-CoV-2 infections. This important work was led by
@MostafaEltobgy2
and
@ZaniAshley
. 1/2.
🚨Two fundamental discoveries relevant to emergence of pandemic viruses in our new preprint: 1) IFITM3 controls the minimum infectious dose of influenza virus, 2) IFITM3 deficiency promotes interspecies adaptation of flu (broad IFN deficiency did not)🦠😷🤒
I’m really thankful to be part of such a great department that celebrates the professional milestones of its faculty. Fantastic party hosted by Gene Oltz
@TheJI_EIC
, and BBQ by Dan Wozniak.
#tenure
Your quarterly reminder that
@mBio
publishes minireviews on any aspect of microbiology or microbial immunology. Supporting mBio ultimately supports
@ASMicrobiology
. Message if you have an idea! 🦠🧫🧪🥼
💥💥Measles-based COVID vaccine developed by Dr. Jianrong Li provides complete protection. Proud to have been one of the 5 OSU labs that teamed up in BSL3 to make the huge hamster challenge experiments possible.
🎉🍾Congrats to
@ZaniAshley
on her successful thesis defense!! A very fun day for us — all of our former Yount Lab PhD student graduates were with us today for the defense.
@nchesarino
@Temet_Mc
and Adam Kenney.
Our new preprint shows IFITM3 protects the heart from uncontrolled virus replication, fibrosis, and dysfunction during influenza virus infection. IFITM3 KOs are one of the first models for studying cardiac complications of flu.
When you meet a professor at a meeting and they say “nice package” that probably means they were an external evaluator for your promotion and tenure case. We call it a dossier in Ohio.
#awkwardmoments
#ASV2018
IFITM3 limits lethality of SARS-CoV-2 in vivo. Constrains lung, vascular, & heart infection, reducing IFN, inflammatory, & angiogenic gene induction. Used 🐭-adapted CoV-2 and hACE2 🐭systems in this new preprint led by
@ZaniAshley
🫁❤️🔬🦠🐁 🎄🧑🎄
One of the worst surprises in science is opening up a manuscript that you agreed to review and finding that it's 100 pages + supplement with seemingly endless figures.
My usual reminder that
@mbiojournal
publishes Minireviews on topics in microbiology or infection immunology. Email me if you have an idea. Here’s a great new example on temp in RNA virus infections.
#SupportSocietyJournals
An outstanding lecture on paramyxovirus fusion mechanisms and overall fun visit from our
@AmerSocVirol
President, Anne Moscona. Looking forward to the exciting program of speakers she has lined up for
#ASV2024
in Columbus!
Lots of exciting COVID19 research going on at OSU, and the university has funded 12 pilot projects, including our ideas for uniquely developing a mouse-adapted virus strain to model pathogenesis and test new therapies.
In some ways, the COVID-19 pandemic has stopped scientific research cold
@OhioState
.
In other ways, it has inspired new ways of conducting research – and created a deep need for scientific breakthroughs.
Can we get the word out that reviewers should stop asking for SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis experiments in K18-hACE2 mice? OK for testing vaccines and drugs, but not for studying mechanisms of pathogenesis in relevant cell types.
As I miss the LGBTQ event and keynote lecture due to shuttle delays, just putting it out there that
#ASV2024
at Ohio State will be an easy 10 minute Uber from the airport. 😛😛
Congratulations to
@ZaniAshley
on her paper just accepted as an Accelerated Communication at JBC showing IFITMs inhibit cell fusion of placental trophoblasts.
FACULTY JOB POSTING: My department at Ohio State is hiring two tenure track faculty at any rank studying microbiota in health and disease. We're also hiring senior immunologists. Message me for more info.
To those who weren't chosen this week as Pew Scholars, trust me when I say that you can be perfectly happy and scientifically productive in your career without getting a single one of the fancy young PI awards (though it admittedly feels like the end of the world at the time).
Registration is now open for the first ever Midwest Virology Symposium taking place at OSU Oct 11-13. We have a world-class lineup of 20 faculty speakers, and have worked hard to make this an affordable conference. All are welcome!
Congratulations to
@EugeneOltz
, winner of the OSU Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program's Distinguished Faculty Mentor Award! Well deserved for his generous mentorship of both faculty and trainees.
Congrats
@JackRoettger
for winning a travel award at the
@OSUWexMed
Trainee Research Day! Jack is studying mechanisms of influenza virus infection of heart tissue and how immune cells influence cardiac complications of the flu. 🦠🫁🫀🥼
#MIIProud
A former PhD student in our lab,
@Temet_Mc
, now at the CDC EIS, just published a first author paper in NEJM on the epidemiology of COVID-19 in a long term care facility. Go Temet! You're making us proud!
By far, my favorite days as a PI are when my students win awards. Congrats to Adam Kenney, first place in the Health Sciences category at the OSU Hayes Graduate Research Forum for his oral research presentation on cardiac complications of the flu.
Major breakthroughs from the Melikyan Lab in understanding how IFITM3 inhibits viral membrane fusion through altering mechanical properties of membranes. Consistent with our prior work, effects map to IFITM3's conserved palmitoylated amphipathic helix.
SXSW is getting all the attention, but Columbus cancelled/postponed most of the Arnold Sports Festival for this weekend that normally brings in 250K people from 80 countries to central Ohio.
Nice surprise in today's faculty meeting. The OSU College of Medicine giving "Dean's First" awards to those who received their first NIH grant in the past year. Now back to work on the dean's second, due Friday.
Mark your calendars for the first Midwest Virology Symposium, Oct 11-13, here in Columbus, OH. We already have an awesome lineup of faculty speakers! Website and registration info coming soon...
@scienceCC
@mimperia
@RotavirusL
@TuliLab
@shanluliu
A reminder that mBio publishes mini-reviews, and I'm one of the editors. If you have an idea for a review in any area of microbiology that will push your field forward, message me to discuss. For a great example, see the new article from
@yo_arfi
below. 🦠🧫🔬
Publication day is always a happy day.
Out now in
@mbiojournal
- a mini-review on how mycoplasma can target their host's antibodies.
And it all started with a tweet from
@YountLabOSU
🤗🤗
The final program for the 2019 Midwest Virology Symposium, including short and flash talks, is now online. All 43 trainee speakers received a travel award to cover the cost of their registration.
To those who received the mouse adapted SARS-CoV-2 from BEI, groups at OSU were finally able to get a stock with an intact furin cleave site by passaging through primary bronchial epithelial cells + plaque purifying/sequencing and then growing on Vero-TMPRSS2.
Despite my recent twitter rants, we have lots to celebrate with frozen custard cake! 😀 Omar’s last semester, Ashley’s paper, and Adam’s best talk award at his grad program retreat. Congrats all around! 🎊🎉🎂
#ASV2024
official conference hotels are completely sold out, but there are still lots of hotel options (some are newly listed on ASV website) and OSU dorms remain available. Looks like the Columbus ASV meeting is gonna be one of the biggest and best ever!
Join me today at 2:30 in Athena E to hear about how IFITM3 deficiencies can facilitate new pandemic virus emergence. Some of the most important and fundamental work to ever come out of my lab. Experiments by
@ParkerJDenz
#ASV2023
In six years of voting in Columbus I've never had to wait in line. This morning the line was an hour long at my polling place. I'll be back after all my morning meetings! 🇺🇸
Great new work concluding that IFITMs facilitate SARS-CoV-2 infection. Highly complementary to our recent preprint where we delineate IFITM3 enhancement of virus entry at the plasma membrane versus amphipathicity-dependent inhibition of endosomal entry.
OSU Department of Microbial Infection & Immunity faculty and grad students at the international
#Cytokines2022
meeting. Learning a lot in a beautiful location! With
@EmilyHemann
@adforu
Rachel Brown and Matthew McCullen
#MIIProud
😡So frustrating to see a weakness on my student's fellowship review stating that it's "unclear which/if any" of my grants on antiviral immunity would be able to provide funds for my student's project on antiviral immunity.
Congrats to Joel Lee in the Cassady Lab for surviving (and passing) his thesis defense with me as the only person in the audience. All other committee members attended via WebEx.
#COVID19
Sad but proud day for the Yount lab as our lab manager for the last 8 years, Dr. Lizhi Zhang, transitions to a new career phase in industry. Wishing Lizhi all the best. And also we're hiring a research technician/lab manager!🔬🦠
Unfortunately the hashtag we wanted to use for the Midwest Virology Symposium taking place at OSU this weekend was already used by the Midland Viking Symposium, so we're currently accepting suggestions. 🤣
Sad that we had to cancel
@SesmaLab
's trip to OSU for next week due to coronavirus travel restrictions. I already dug up some old pictures in honor of her visit, so I'm posting one of a lab celebration circa 2004.
TRIM72/MG53 is a new negative regulator of type I IFN responses. This was a fantastic collaboration between our lab and Dr. Jianjie Ma's group. This work links IFN regulation with calcium signaling. Stay tuned for therapeutic applications!
This week we welcome
@PaolaNahara
as the newest member of the Yount lab. She'll be studying determinants of influenza virus dissemination from the lung to the heart. 🦠💚🔬🧪
New preprint confirming IFITM1 and IFITM2 inhibition of SARS-CoV-2. Virus furin cleavage site reduces sensitivity to IFITM2. Curious that no effect of IFITM3 observed, but like our data on IFITM3, IFITM2 at the plasma membrane mysteriously enhances infection.
This week we learned that my best collaborator and mentor since day 1 at OSU,
@LiWu_OSU
, was named Chair of the Micro and Immuno Dept at U Iowa. Congrats Li! Iowa is very lucky to have you (especially the young faculty)!
Our collaborative work with
@AmerLabOSU
on Caspase-11 control of COVID-19 severity was nominated for OSU's coolest science story of the year. Led by
@mostafaeltobgy2
and
@ZaniAshley
. Many thanks if you could give us a vote!
I consider this the most important decoration that I prepared for our MI&I dep. Everyone is welcome here. Everyone belongs. No matter your gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, age, ability or citizenship. Today we celebrate our transgender community!
#Pride
#Transgender