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Dr. Courtney Murdock @ecodynvplab.bsky.social · May 20

New paper out by @mosquitohunting.bsky.social!

www.frontiersin.org/journals/mal...

This paper explores how variation in mosquito diversity, feeding behavior, vector competence, seasonality, and vector-pathogen interactions shape the transmission, persistence, and evolution of human malaria!

Frontiers | Mosquito vector diversity and malaria transmission

Malaria is the most important parasitic disease in the world, killing over half a million people a year. Globally, we have made gains toward eliminating this...

www.frontiersin.org

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Neeltje van Doremalen @neeltje.bsky.social · Apr 22

🚨Job alert 🚨

I am looking for an enthusiastic & talented postdoctoral researcher to join our research team in Hamilton, MT, USA.

If you are interested in
🦠 emerging respiratory viruses (BSL2-4),
🔬mucosal immunology, and
🐁 in vivo studies,

Check out:
www.training.nih.gov/jobs/pdpmire...

www.training.nih.gov

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Tamanash Bhattacharya @tamanash.bsky.social · Apr 18

Our study exploring the evolutionary mechanism of alphavirus opal codon retention is now online! www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A conserved opal termination codon optimizes a temperature-dependent trade-off between protein production and processing in alphaviruses

Alphaviruses optimize viral polymerase production and polyprotein processing at distinct temperatures via a premature stop codon.

www.science.org

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Sarah Caddy @drsarahcaddy.bsky.social · Apr 18

Cheers to our 3y reappointment on tenure track - so grateful to be on this journey at #Cornell alongside Assistant Profs Colleen Lau and Andrew Flyak 🤩

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Sarah Caddy @drsarahcaddy.bsky.social · Apr 16

View from my office. What the heck April in Ithaca?! Never imagined I’d be missing spring weather in England…

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abrahamlabhms.bsky.social @abrahamlabhms.bsky.social · Apr 4

Our study on the molecular basis of shifts in receptor recognition by western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) in the past century, led by Xiaoyi Fan and @wanyuviridae.bsky.social , is online! 👏🎉
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

Molecular basis for shifted receptor recognition by an encephalitic arbovirus

Cryo-EM structures and mutational analyses reveal western equine encephalitis virus E2-E1 glycoprotein polymorphisms that determine shifted receptor usage and allow for sequence-based prediction of st...

www.cell.com

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Rafael Kroon Campos @rafaelkcampos.bsky.social · Apr 4

Congratulations to @colinparrish.bsky.social, on his well-deserved election to the American Academy of Microbiology! www.cornellsun.com/article/2025...

Prof. Colin Parrish To Be One of 65 New Members of the Microbiology Academy Class of 2025

The Cornell Daily Sun - Independent Since 1880.

www.cornellsun.com

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Brian Wasik @brianrwasik.bsky.social · Mar 31

RNA: I made and ruled this world for eons before your precious proteins even conceived of a peptide bond

Nature Portfolio @natureportfolio.nature.com · Mar 30

AlphaFold’s highly accurate structural models transformed protein biology. Nature reports on the efforts to create a similar system for RNA and why it’s a tougher nut to crack. #RNAsky 🧪

RNA function follows form – why is it so hard to predict?

AlphaFold’s highly accurate structural models transformed protein biology,but RNA lags behind.

go.nature.com

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Dr. Courtney Murdock @ecodynvplab.bsky.social · Mar 27

Boom. Accepted for publication in Nature Communications. This paper has been a journey, but it is done. Here, we explore the use of constant temperature experiments to predict the thermal suitability for malaria transmission in a diurnally fluctuating environment.

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Mean daily temperatures can predict the thermal limits of malaria transmission better than rate summation

Temperature shapes the distribution, seasonality, and magnitude of mosquito-borne disease outbreaks. Mechanistic models predicting transmission often use mosquito and pathogen thermal responses from c...

www.biorxiv.org

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Nico Moiroux @nmoiroux.bsky.social · Mar 21

‼️#aedes albopictus (not aegypti) is the main vector in Reunion island.

Nico Moiroux @nmoiroux.bsky.social · Mar 21

#Chikungunya epidemic on Reunion island. ~3000 confirmed cases and 2 deaths during week 10 (3-9 Mar.)
#Aedes aegypti

Weekly number of Chikungunya confirmed cases on Reunion island (2025) showing an exponential trajectory. Data from the Regional Health Agency.

Map of Chikungunya cases on Reunion island during week 10 of 2025.

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Sarah Caddy @drsarahcaddy.bsky.social · Mar 21

The maternal antibody paradox: how are these antibodies both good and bad? Excited to share our new insights for rotavirus vaccines
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Mechanisms of maternal antibody interference to rotavirus vaccination

Maternal antibodies (MatAbs) are transferred transplacentally during pregnancy and through breast milk after birth to provide protection whilst the neonatal immune response is immature. However, MatAb...

www.biorxiv.org

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Sarah Caddy @drsarahcaddy.bsky.social · Mar 21

Glad to have played a small part in this big story! Studying the differences between CD28 in humans and mice reveal reasons for the disastrous 2006 trial www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

www.biorxiv.org

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Mauricio L Nogueira @mauriciolnogueira.bsky.social · Mar 17

We detected yellow fever virus in Haemagogus mosquitoes collected in 2022 in an Amazon rainforest bordering Manaus, Brazil. The viral genome sequence occupied a basal position within the South American I genotype 1E lineage.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31…

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The Global Vector Hub @globalvectorhub.bsky.social · Mar 15

#Australia🇦🇺: #JapaneseEncephalitis #virus detected in #Brisbane for the first time, triggering health warnings 🦟
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03...

Japanese encephalitis virus detected in Brisbane for the first time

Queenslanders are being warned against getting bitten by mosquitoes after the Japanese encephalitis virus was found in Brisbane.

www.abc.net.au

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Colin Parrish @colinparrish.bsky.social · Mar 7

A new study from Femi (Oluwafemi) Adu and our collaborators Susan Hafenstein and Hyunwook Lee, showing the structures of the two main antibody forms in dog found in the polyclonal response to the canine parvovirus capsid after modified-live virus vaccination. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

CryoEM structures of three antibody Fabs with the capsid of canine parvovirus.

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Colleen M. Lau @collau.bsky.social · Feb 28

@cindyleifer.bsky.social giving an impassioned speech about the attack on science, research, and truth, and calling on all of us to stay vigilant and not to lose hope. Your medicines come from RESEARCH! #scienceisforall #callyourrepresentative

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American Society for Virology @amersocvirology.bsky.social · Feb 13

Vaccines work! As measles cases have recently been reported in Alaska, Georgia, New York, Rhode Island and Texas, it's important to remember that prior to the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1963, measles killed 400-500 people and resulted in ~48,000 hospitalizations per year.

Graph showing that prior to 1963 when the measles vaccine was introduced, there were around 300,000-700,000 measles cases per year. Within a few years of the vaccine, the number of cases fell below 20,000/year. There were a blips where cases rose, but shortly after the second vaccine dose was recommended in 1989, annual cases have generally been well below 1,000 cases. In 2000, measles elimination was declared in the US. Now we have sporadic outbreaks that typically spread among unvaccinated people. Chart is from Center for American Progress and is based on CDC data on measles cases.

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Rafael Kroon Campos @rafaelkcampos.bsky.social · Feb 13

Come be our colleague at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Cornell! It is a highly supportive environment with exciting science. I am extremely inspired by the extraordinary people here. We are located in beautiful Ithaca, NY.

Sarah Caddy @drsarahcaddy.bsky.social · Feb 12

We are looking for new colleagues! academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/29722 I can’t recommend the Microbiology and Immunology Department at Cornell Ithaca highly enough.

Cornell University, Microbiology & Immunology

Full service online faculty recruitment and application management system for academic institutions worldwide. We offer unique solutions tailored for academic communities.

academicjobsonline.org

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Vasilakis Lab @vasilakislab.bsky.social · Feb 12

Newborns with microcephaly in Brazil and potential vertical transmission of Oropouche virus: a case series - The Lancet Infectious Diseases www.thelancet.com/journals/lan....

Newborns with microcephaly in Brazil and potential vertical transmission of Oropouche virus: a case series

We detected OROV IgM in six of 68 newborns with microcephaly of unknown cause. One infant who died had OROV RNA and antigen in several tissues, including the brain. The possibility of OROV vertical tr...

www.thelancet.com

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Vasilakis Lab @vasilakislab.bsky.social · Feb 10

We look forward seeing you tomorrow at 11 CT for Dr. Lytras' @spyroslytras.bsky.social webinar on "Evolutionary interactions between zoonotic coronaviruses and their hosts". Register at: www.zoomgov.com/webinar/regi.... @createneo.bsky.social @robertwcross1.bsky.social @utmbhealth.bsky.social

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Jan 24

Much needed, solid, objective, well done work to realistically assess possible mosquito vectors of the emergent Oropouche virus.

The Global Vector Hub @globalvectorhub.bsky.social · Jan 24

🦟 "Lack of Competence of US #Mosquito Species for Circulating #Oropouche #Virus" by Anne F Payne et al. in #EID Journal
wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/...

Lack of Competence of US Mosquito Species for Circulating Oropouche Virus

wwwnc.cdc.gov

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Greg Ebel @ebellaboratory.bsky.social · Jan 31

One positive thing that happend this otherwise challenging week is that this paper is FINALLY out. Why are Culex tarsalis so good at spreading West Nile virus? We learned a lot by doing this study. A testament to the tenacity and creativity of Dr. Emily Fitzmeyer.
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...

A single-cell atlas of the Culex tarsalis midgut during West Nile virus infection

Author summary West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in N. America. Cx. tarsalis is a highly competent vector of WNV that plays a central role in the transmission and maintena...

journals.plos.org

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The Lambrechts Lab @lambrechtslab.bsky.social · Dec 12

Why are #ZIKV outbreaks rare in Africa, where it was first discovered? New research reveals #mosquito genetics play a more significant role than climate in determining ZIKV transmission patterns. Future projections suggest rising outbreak risks in urban Africa. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The role of vector population variation and climate in Zika virus transmission patterns in Africa: a modelling study

Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreaks have raised major global health concerns recently, yet reported outbreaks are rare in Africa, where ZIKV was first discove…

www.sciencedirect.com

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Nandan Gokhale @nandangokhale.bsky.social · Jan 11

Really cool work from @thehornerlab.bsky.social and colleagues highlighting a role for the UFMylation post-translational modification system in flavivirus viral particle production!

bioRxiv Microbiology @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · Jan 10

UFMylation promotes orthoflavivirus infectious particle production https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.09.632082v1

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