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Reposted by Kelsey Monson, PhD

Itai Yanai @itaiyanai.bsky.social · 11d

Interested in learning how to be a good speaker and give effective talks? Season 2 of the NYC Postdoc Night Science Club begins October 15th. Join us NYC Postdocs for a 2hr workshop and maybe also a drink at a bar! Free registration (usually ~100 come): docs.google.com/forms/d/1dII...

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Reposted by Kelsey Monson, PhD

NY-CURES @nycures.bsky.social · Sep 4

🚀 NY-CURES Launch — Championing State-Wide Investment in Science! 🚀

Our new coalition advocates for sustained public support of New York’s vibrant biomedical research ecosystem — creating cures, economic gains & strengthening communities.

Sign up. Stay informed. Join the movement: www.nycures.org/

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Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · Jul 18

Hard to believe I'm celebrating my one-year anniversary at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai this week!

I'm proud to be part of such a brilliant, collaborative, and innovative community. I've learned so much, and I can't wait to see what the future holds.
#WeFindAWay
#MountSinaiMilestone

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Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · Jun 5

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If you're interested in immunotherapy, metabolism, or precision oncology, give it a read:
🧬 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Inherited mitochondrial genetics as a predictor of immune checkpoint inhibition efficacy in melanoma - Nature Medicine

In this genomic analysis of peripheral blood samples of the phase 3 CheckMate-067 trial of ipilimumab (IPI) versus nivolumab (NIVO) versus ipilimumab and nivolumab (IPI-NIVO) in melanoma, the status o...

www.nature.com

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Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · Jun 5

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We hope this opens the door to more personalized immunotherapy strategies—where your mitochondrial DNA helps guide treatment decisions.
Big thanks to our incredible collaborators and patients who made this possible! 🙏

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Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · Jun 5

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This suggests that germline mitochondrial variation shapes how the immune system responds to cancer therapy.
It’s a new kind of biomarker—one that’s inherited and detectable from blood, not tumor tissue.

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Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · Jun 5

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What might explain this?
We dug deeper using single-cell RNA-seq and found that HG-T patients had more naïve pre-treatment CD8+ T cells that were less responsive to nivolumab.
So the resistance may stem from baseline differences in immune cells—not just tumor features.

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Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · Jun 5

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Even after accounting for known biomarkers like tumor mutational burden (TMB) and PD-L1 expression, HG-T still predicted resistance—especially to anti-PD-1 therapy (nivolumab), whether used alone or in combination.
This was consistent across both datasets.

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Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · Jun 5

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We looked at over 1,200 patients with metastatic melanoma treated with ICIs, across two cohorts: CheckMate-067 (a clinical trial) and IO-GEM (standard-of-care).
We found that people with mitochondrial haplogroup T (HG-T) were much less likely to benefit from therapy.

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Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · Jun 5

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Thrilled to share our new paper in Nature Medicine!
We found that your mitochondrial DNA—specifically, your haplogroup—can influence how well you respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in melanoma.
Here’s the story 👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Inherited mitochondrial genetics as a predictor of immune checkpoint inhibition efficacy in melanoma - Nature Medicine

In this genomic analysis of peripheral blood samples of the phase 3 CheckMate-067 trial of ipilimumab (IPI) versus nivolumab (NIVO) versus ipilimumab and nivolumab (IPI-NIVO) in melanoma, the status o...

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Kelsey Monson, PhD

Ramon Massoni Badosa @rmassonix.bsky.social · May 29

Dear NYC postdocs: the Postdoc Night Science is coming to our very own New York Genome Center on June 2, 5:30-7:30 pm!

Let's dive into the art of asking the right questions, then network with fellow postdocs & find new science buddies 😊

Register below!

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Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · May 21

I just experienced a rite of passage for a genomics researcher: I planned out a lovely budget for a grant application, including kits and reagents for all my experiments, only to realize I forgot the actual sequencing costs!🙃
I caught it in time, but my budget is a bit less nice😅

Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · May 14

Our next NYC Postdoc Night Science event will be June 2nd! We'll start off at @nygenome.org, then head to a bar to continue the conversation.
Register here to join us! docs.google.com/forms/d/1s9W...

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Reposted by Kelsey Monson, PhD

ACIR @acir-org.bsky.social · Apr 23

New T cell priming phase uncovered 👉 bit.ly/4lNwLic @systemsimmunology.bsky.social

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Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · Apr 21

Join us tomorrow for the next Postdoc Night Science event at @ColumbiaMed! 🧪🔬🧬🗽

Itai Yanai @itaiyanai.bsky.social · Apr 11

New York City postdocs: What do you do when hitting a contradiction? Night science loves this first glimpse of a new concept! Our next 'Postdoc Night Science NYC’ session is April 22 @ Columbia. docs.google.com/forms/d/1v_b... @stearnslab.bsky.social @kelseymonson.bsky.social @sophiekorn.bsky.social

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Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · Apr 11

Join us for the next NYC Postdoc Night Science event, Tuesday 4/22 at @columbiamed.bsky.social!

Itai Yanai @itaiyanai.bsky.social · Apr 11

New York City postdocs: What do you do when hitting a contradiction? Night science loves this first glimpse of a new concept! Our next 'Postdoc Night Science NYC’ session is April 22 @ Columbia. docs.google.com/forms/d/1v_b... @stearnslab.bsky.social @kelseymonson.bsky.social @sophiekorn.bsky.social

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Reposted by Kelsey Monson, PhD

Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · Apr 1

“This will go down as one of the darkest days in modern scientific history in my 50 years in the business,” says Michael Osterholm, an infectious-diseases epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. “These are going to be huge losses to the research community.”

‘One of the darkest days’: NIH purges agency leadership amid mass layoffs

In shock move, four institute directors at the US biomedical agency are removed from their posts.

www.nature.com

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Reposted by Kelsey Monson, PhD

Dr. Tom Frieden @drtomfrieden.bsky.social · Mar 27

It’s hard for many people to see the importance of what CDC does because when it succeeds, there isn’t an outbreak. Your neighbor doesn’t overdose. Your cousin stops smoking or your child doesn’t start. Your grandmother doesn’t develop cancer.

Cuts to this work would put us all at greater risk.

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Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · Mar 27

One of the best things about being a researcher in NYC is that there is always great science happening right in your backyard 🧬🗽

Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · Mar 27

Looking forward to attending this New York Academy of Sciences event at @weillcornell.bsky.social in June!
events.nyas.org/8eLgdy?sms=7...

Frontiers in Cancer Immunotherapy

Join me for this event: Frontiers in Cancer Immunotherapy

events.nyas.org

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Reposted by Kelsey Monson, PhD

Itai Yanai @itaiyanai.bsky.social · Mar 17

What do we need for doing good science? François Jacob said it best that we need 'an atmosphere of enthusiasm, lucid criticism, nonconformism, and friendship.'
And that's exactly what we had at the Postdoc Night Science NYC club last week at MSK! Join us next time!

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Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · Mar 14

Come join us TODAY at 4pm at
@mskcancercenter.bsky.social for our next Postdoc Night Science event!

Itai Yanai @itaiyanai.bsky.social · Mar 10

Postdoc Night Science NYC! Next session is Friday 4-6pm at MSK, to learn and practice the creative scientific process! The topic this time is the import/export of ideas. Yael David join us too! @davidlabmsk.bsky.social
Limited spots: docs.google.com/forms/d/12bB... @kelseymonson.bsky.social

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Kelsey Monson, PhD @kelseymonson.bsky.social · Mar 10

Join us this Friday at MSK for the next NYC Postdoc Night Science meeting! 🗽💫🧪🔬🧬

Itai Yanai @itaiyanai.bsky.social · Mar 10

Postdoc Night Science NYC! Next session is Friday 4-6pm at MSK, to learn and practice the creative scientific process! The topic this time is the import/export of ideas. Yael David join us too! @davidlabmsk.bsky.social
Limited spots: docs.google.com/forms/d/12bB... @kelseymonson.bsky.social

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Reposted by Kelsey Monson, PhD

MSKEducation @mskeducation.bsky.social · Feb 28

Postdoc Night Science NYC is coming to @mskcancercenter.bsky.social!
#MSKPostdocs, come join Drs. @itaiyanai.bsky.social and @kelseymonson.bsky.social to explore and practice the creative scientific process. In this session, they will discuss how to import and export ideas across different fields.

Postdoc Night Science NYC
March 14th, 2025
4:00-6:00pm @ Memorial Sloan Kettering CC
ZRC 138
On the importing & exporting of ideas across fields

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Reposted by Kelsey Monson, PhD

mchasselluhn.bsky.social @mchasselluhn.bsky.social · Feb 25

Night Science with @kelseymonson.bsky.social, @itaiyanai.bsky.social and @stearnslab.bsky.social at Mount Sinai! The perfect place to learn how the words you use to describe your science influences your ability to think beyond the scope. This is your chance to meet Postdocs from all over NYC!

Itai Yanai introducing the concept of Night Science as the creative counterpart to analytical Day Science.

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