Andy Pekosz
@andrewpekosz.bsky.social
interested in respiratory viruses, primary cell cultures, virus evolution, cocktails, craft beer and soccer...order changes daily!
Happy Godzilla Day to all those who celebrate. Give a little love to the man-in-rubber-suit 50s-70s era Godzilla we all love - either openly or secretly! #GodzillaDay
November 3, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Happy Godzilla Day to all those who celebrate. Give a little love to the man-in-rubber-suit 50s-70s era Godzilla we all love - either openly or secretly! #GodzillaDay
Reposted by Andy Pekosz
The anti-vaccine movement has the same talking points now as it did in the 1800’s. It’s always been a rejection of science, scientists, and progress, with a soupçon of paranoia.
Below is a slide for a talk I’m preparing that illustrates the identical strategies. I have more examples, too.
Below is a slide for a talk I’m preparing that illustrates the identical strategies. I have more examples, too.
![Slide with the title “The anti-vaccination movement has no new material”.
Montague R. Leverson,
Lawyer, Liar, Quack
1895
Robert F. Kennedy, Lawyer, Liar, Quack
2025
Accuse expert vaccine advisory committees of pro-vaccine "bias"
"That commission was deliberately packed at its very outset..."
"The committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine".
Falsely state that vaccines cause death
"Vaccination has caused more deaths and diseases than ever has smallpox".
"This [COVID19 vaccine] is the deadliest vaccine ever made..."
Claim that healthcare practitioners and scientists are only in it for the money, not because of scientific evidence
"...Jenner was a mercenary charlatan whose ignorance and impatience of scientific methods were equaled only by his mendacity..."
"Doctors are being paid to vaccinate, not to evaluate. They're pressured to follow the money, not the science".
Use false and inflammatory words about vaccines
The "Blood-poisoning process of vaccination"
"They went on a search... looking for the most toxic things that they could find...to](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:flwgfsh2mhpoqwjwwt2mesjv/bafkreiawfvj625afa5wnrcyjftu3y2gjlyw377ksesk54mypnnln737t6i@jpeg)
November 1, 2025 at 11:22 PM
The anti-vaccine movement has the same talking points now as it did in the 1800’s. It’s always been a rejection of science, scientists, and progress, with a soupçon of paranoia.
Below is a slide for a talk I’m preparing that illustrates the identical strategies. I have more examples, too.
Below is a slide for a talk I’m preparing that illustrates the identical strategies. I have more examples, too.
Reposted by Andy Pekosz
My department at Dartmouth Medical School is hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor. We are looking broadly for a biochemist or cell biologist. Please share this add! apply.interfolio.com/171438
@dartmouthbcb.bsky.social @futurepislack.bsky.social
@dartmouthbcb.bsky.social @futurepislack.bsky.social
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
August 27, 2025 at 8:50 PM
My department at Dartmouth Medical School is hiring a tenure-track Assistant Professor. We are looking broadly for a biochemist or cell biologist. Please share this add! apply.interfolio.com/171438
@dartmouthbcb.bsky.social @futurepislack.bsky.social
@dartmouthbcb.bsky.social @futurepislack.bsky.social
Reposted by Andy Pekosz
If you need more scary fun this weekend, the documentary “A Shot In The Arm” is free on PBS until 11/9. Lots of interviews with RFK Jr pre-HHS fame. Narrated by @neildegrassetyson.com from @scotthamkennedy.bsky.social. #Virosky #LoveVirology #TruthisScarierThanFiction
www.pbs.org/show/shot-in...
www.pbs.org/show/shot-in...
Shot in the Arm
SHOT IN THE ARM explores vaccine hesitancy historically and in the context of Covid-19.
www.pbs.org
November 1, 2025 at 2:58 PM
If you need more scary fun this weekend, the documentary “A Shot In The Arm” is free on PBS until 11/9. Lots of interviews with RFK Jr pre-HHS fame. Narrated by @neildegrassetyson.com from @scotthamkennedy.bsky.social. #Virosky #LoveVirology #TruthisScarierThanFiction
www.pbs.org/show/shot-in...
www.pbs.org/show/shot-in...
A new preprint from the lab led by PhD student Elgin Akin is up at medRxiv: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/6
In-vitro characterization of 2019-24 Influenza B Viruses reveals increased temperature-dependent fitness in later timepoints independent of antigenic drift
Seasonal influenza viruses continually acquire mutations that can alter both their replication efficiency and antigenic properties. While recent seasonal Influenza B viruses (IBV) are characterized as...
www.medrxiv.org
October 31, 2025 at 11:11 PM
A new preprint from the lab led by PhD student Elgin Akin is up at medRxiv: www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1... 1/6
Reposted by Andy Pekosz
Baked and decorated 100 cookies for our Fundamental Virology class! Hopefully everyone will do well on their final exam tomorrow, but if not, a cookie can’t hurt, right? @andrewpekosz.bsky.social
October 19, 2025 at 11:39 PM
Baked and decorated 100 cookies for our Fundamental Virology class! Hopefully everyone will do well on their final exam tomorrow, but if not, a cookie can’t hurt, right? @andrewpekosz.bsky.social
Last class in our Fundamental Virology class. Record number of students this term @karidebbink.bsky.social
@johnshopkinsmmi.bsky.social @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social
@johnshopkinsmmi.bsky.social @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social
October 17, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Last class in our Fundamental Virology class. Record number of students this term @karidebbink.bsky.social
@johnshopkinsmmi.bsky.social @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social
@johnshopkinsmmi.bsky.social @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social
Reposted by Andy Pekosz
Viruses and Gel electrophoresis in vibrant watercolor #sciart artologica.etsy.com
October 11, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Viruses and Gel electrophoresis in vibrant watercolor #sciart artologica.etsy.com
Reposted by Andy Pekosz
I do biomedical research to help people. When people come in this space making things up, it makes it harder for people not in the field to trust the extensive studies that we do and distinguish fact from fiction. Baseless claims reduce future cures. Willful ignorance drives us backwards.
October 9, 2025 at 11:48 PM
I do biomedical research to help people. When people come in this space making things up, it makes it harder for people not in the field to trust the extensive studies that we do and distinguish fact from fiction. Baseless claims reduce future cures. Willful ignorance drives us backwards.
Reposted by Andy Pekosz
PhD Candidate & @andrewpekosz.bsky.social Lab member Camille Wouters defends her PhD thesis tomorrow.
Good Luck, Camille!
📆 Friday, Sept. 26, 2025
⏰ 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
📍 @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social
🏢 W2030
Good Luck, Camille!
📆 Friday, Sept. 26, 2025
⏰ 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
📍 @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social
🏢 W2030
September 25, 2025 at 5:45 PM
PhD Candidate & @andrewpekosz.bsky.social Lab member Camille Wouters defends her PhD thesis tomorrow.
Good Luck, Camille!
📆 Friday, Sept. 26, 2025
⏰ 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
📍 @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social
🏢 W2030
Good Luck, Camille!
📆 Friday, Sept. 26, 2025
⏰ 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.
📍 @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social
🏢 W2030
Reposted by Andy Pekosz
A profile in @jhu.edu's HUB highlights JH-CEIRR's @ceirrnetwork.bsky.social important influenza research,
led by co-directors @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social virologist & professor @andrewpekosz.bsky.social & @hopkinsmedicine.bsky.social Richard Rothman, MD
More here:
hub.jhu.edu/2025/09/10/j...
led by co-directors @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social virologist & professor @andrewpekosz.bsky.social & @hopkinsmedicine.bsky.social Richard Rothman, MD
More here:
hub.jhu.edu/2025/09/10/j...
JHU Center of Excellence leads global fight against influenza
Experts at Johns Hopkins and across the country work together to better understand the behavior and characteristics of respiratory viruses, how our immune system responds to them, and how we can preve...
hub.jhu.edu
September 15, 2025 at 2:57 PM
A profile in @jhu.edu's HUB highlights JH-CEIRR's @ceirrnetwork.bsky.social important influenza research,
led by co-directors @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social virologist & professor @andrewpekosz.bsky.social & @hopkinsmedicine.bsky.social Richard Rothman, MD
More here:
hub.jhu.edu/2025/09/10/j...
led by co-directors @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social virologist & professor @andrewpekosz.bsky.social & @hopkinsmedicine.bsky.social Richard Rothman, MD
More here:
hub.jhu.edu/2025/09/10/j...
Reposted by Andy Pekosz
Virologist, @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social Professor & @johnshopkinsmmi.bsky.social vice-chair @andrewpekosz.bsky.social explains mRNA vaccine technology on @npr.org @wfae.bsky.social Charlotte Talks
Listen here for answers & clarity around COVID-19 vaccines
www.wfae.org/show/charlot...
Listen here for answers & clarity around COVID-19 vaccines
www.wfae.org/show/charlot...
September 17, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Virologist, @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social Professor & @johnshopkinsmmi.bsky.social vice-chair @andrewpekosz.bsky.social explains mRNA vaccine technology on @npr.org @wfae.bsky.social Charlotte Talks
Listen here for answers & clarity around COVID-19 vaccines
www.wfae.org/show/charlot...
Listen here for answers & clarity around COVID-19 vaccines
www.wfae.org/show/charlot...
Found this book in my department mailbox yesterday. No envelope, no shipping information, no note and I was the only person to receive this "gift". Clearly, someone needs to come to my lecture on the origin and evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic to get educated on the facts.
August 21, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Found this book in my department mailbox yesterday. No envelope, no shipping information, no note and I was the only person to receive this "gift". Clearly, someone needs to come to my lecture on the origin and evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic to get educated on the facts.
Reposted by Andy Pekosz
Shop is restocked with itty-bitty paintings #sciart ko-fi.com/1626SLXL3044F neuro, micro, genetics, algorithms
I'm going to post one more round of itty-bitty paintings on my ko-fi tomorrow. After that I need to start saving them for upcoming irl events. #sciart
August 15, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Shop is restocked with itty-bitty paintings #sciart ko-fi.com/1626SLXL3044F neuro, micro, genetics, algorithms
Reposted by Andy Pekosz
“It’s not so much that the virus has become less dangerous, it’s that we have immunity, so we fight off the virus more efficiently than we did early in the pandemic,” said @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social @jhu.edu Professor and Virologist @andrewpekosz.bsky.social
www.iflscience.com/rfk-jr-pulls...
www.iflscience.com/rfk-jr-pulls...
RFK Jr Pulls Millions Of Dollars Of mRNA Vaccine Funding, Citing Misinformation – Here's What To Know
The Health and Human Services Secretary claimed, against all scientific consensus, that these vaccines are ineffective.
www.iflscience.com
August 11, 2025 at 1:38 PM
“It’s not so much that the virus has become less dangerous, it’s that we have immunity, so we fight off the virus more efficiently than we did early in the pandemic,” said @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social @jhu.edu Professor and Virologist @andrewpekosz.bsky.social
www.iflscience.com/rfk-jr-pulls...
www.iflscience.com/rfk-jr-pulls...
Reposted by Andy Pekosz
Requiring grant review by political appointees will continue to delay and disrupt critical research and interferes with scientists’ ability to help protect the nation’s health and security. Read our statement: asm.org/press-releas...
ASM Responds to Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking
ASM calls on the Trump Administration to put science ahead of politics and immediately end its plan to force scientific grants to be reviewed by political appointees.
asm.org
August 8, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Requiring grant review by political appointees will continue to delay and disrupt critical research and interferes with scientists’ ability to help protect the nation’s health and security. Read our statement: asm.org/press-releas...
Congratulations to Jerome Edwards on defending his PhD thesis on mechanisms driving the attenuation of Live attenuated measles vaccine virus replication. Jerome did great things and is yet another example of Diane Griffin's mentoring. @johnshopkinsmmi.bsky.social @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social
July 29, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Congratulations to Jerome Edwards on defending his PhD thesis on mechanisms driving the attenuation of Live attenuated measles vaccine virus replication. Jerome did great things and is yet another example of Diane Griffin's mentoring. @johnshopkinsmmi.bsky.social @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social
Reposted by Andy Pekosz
📢New job posting!📢
Are you excited by the idea of building global infrastructure to make pathogen sequencing more accessible, interpretable, and equitable? 🧑🏻💻🧬
My group at @swisstph.ch has an opening working with ARTIC2, @pathoplexus.org, & Loculus - read on!
1/5
Are you excited by the idea of building global infrastructure to make pathogen sequencing more accessible, interpretable, and equitable? 🧑🏻💻🧬
My group at @swisstph.ch has an opening working with ARTIC2, @pathoplexus.org, & Loculus - read on!
1/5
July 25, 2025 at 10:44 AM
📢New job posting!📢
Are you excited by the idea of building global infrastructure to make pathogen sequencing more accessible, interpretable, and equitable? 🧑🏻💻🧬
My group at @swisstph.ch has an opening working with ARTIC2, @pathoplexus.org, & Loculus - read on!
1/5
Are you excited by the idea of building global infrastructure to make pathogen sequencing more accessible, interpretable, and equitable? 🧑🏻💻🧬
My group at @swisstph.ch has an opening working with ARTIC2, @pathoplexus.org, & Loculus - read on!
1/5
Reposted by Andy Pekosz
There it is
artologica.etsy.com/listing/4338...
artologica.etsy.com/listing/4338...
July 21, 2025 at 4:33 PM
There it is
artologica.etsy.com/listing/4338...
artologica.etsy.com/listing/4338...
Reposted by Andy Pekosz
Covid vaccination saved ~2.5 million lives between 2020-2024
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Lives and life-Years Saved From COVID-19 Vaccination
This comparative effectiveness study analyses the number of lives and life-years saved worldwide among those who had been vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic 2020-2024 years.
jamanetwork.com
July 25, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Covid vaccination saved ~2.5 million lives between 2020-2024
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Our two summer students wrapped up their stays in the laboratory with posters on the influenza viruses that circulated this past year. One preprint is up and another is coming. lots of thanks to @ceirrnetwork.bsky.social and @johnshopkinsmmi.bsky.social for support and collaborations!
July 25, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Our two summer students wrapped up their stays in the laboratory with posters on the influenza viruses that circulated this past year. One preprint is up and another is coming. lots of thanks to @ceirrnetwork.bsky.social and @johnshopkinsmmi.bsky.social for support and collaborations!
A new preprint from the lab describing an influenza B virus that emerged late in the 2024-25 season that underwent both reassortment and antigenic drift with @eakin.bsky.social leading my team in this collaboration with Heba Mostafa at Johns Hopkins Medicine www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Emergence of an Antigenically Drifted and Reassorted Influenza B Virus at the end of the 2024-25 Influenza Season
BACKGROUND Influenza B virus is a significant contributor to annual total and severe cases of influenza, particularly in the young and elderly. Coupling whole virus genome sequencing with the monitori...
www.biorxiv.org
July 25, 2025 at 12:17 PM
A new preprint from the lab describing an influenza B virus that emerged late in the 2024-25 season that underwent both reassortment and antigenic drift with @eakin.bsky.social leading my team in this collaboration with Heba Mostafa at Johns Hopkins Medicine www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
1/5 The lab’s first paper on bovine H5N1 looks at preexisting antibody immunity in the human population and how influenza vaccination and infection effect it. @johnshopkinsmmi.bsky.social @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social @ceirrnetwork.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Low levels of H5N1 HA and NA antibodies in the human population are boosted by seasonal A/H1N1 infection but not by A/H3N2 infection or influenza vaccination
An increase in the number of human cases of influenza A/H5N1 infection in the US has raised concerns about the pandemic potential of the virus. Preexisting population immunity is a key determinant for...
www.biorxiv.org
July 17, 2025 at 2:44 PM
1/5 The lab’s first paper on bovine H5N1 looks at preexisting antibody immunity in the human population and how influenza vaccination and infection effect it. @johnshopkinsmmi.bsky.social @johnshopkinssph.bsky.social @ceirrnetwork.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
ASM lifetime achievement award winner Susan Weiss getting interviewed by her colleague Brenda Hogue ASM Microbe2025 #ASMicrobiology
June 20, 2025 at 12:19 AM
ASM lifetime achievement award winner Susan Weiss getting interviewed by her colleague Brenda Hogue ASM Microbe2025 #ASMicrobiology
about to get on WVON Chicago with Cleopatra Draper to discuss recent changes at ACIP and in vaccine recommendations. www.wvon.com/line-up/
Line Up - WVON
6:00 – 9:00 AM CST WVON MORNING SHOW W/ RUFUS WILLIAMS
www.wvon.com
June 17, 2025 at 3:24 PM
about to get on WVON Chicago with Cleopatra Draper to discuss recent changes at ACIP and in vaccine recommendations. www.wvon.com/line-up/