Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Joanna Groom

Sophia Davidson @sciencesophie.bsky.social · 23h

Today is the last day to make a submission! You don't have to fill in the survey l, you can just upload a letter or even a video

🫵🏻Advocate for fundamental research👊🏻

@nhmrc.bsky.social need your feedback to develop the best strategy for the future of Australian medical research

Link in the 🧵

Sophia Davidson @sciencesophie.bsky.social · 2d

Dear Everyone, I've read the #NHMRC draft strategy and I have notes ...

So I'm going to...🧵🤔🧵😱🧵😵‍💫🧵🙏🧵🧵🧵
This is a repost from X because you all need to know!

#NHMRCdraftStratergy #Ihavenotes #ValueFundamentalScience

@nhmrc.bsky.social

3 2

Reposted by Joanna Groom

Sophia Davidson @sciencesophie.bsky.social · 2d

Dear Everyone, I've read the #NHMRC draft strategy and I have notes ...

So I'm going to...🧵🤔🧵😱🧵😵‍💫🧵🙏🧵🧵🧵
This is a repost from X because you all need to know!

#NHMRCdraftStratergy #Ihavenotes #ValueFundamentalScience

@nhmrc.bsky.social

1 11 14

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 8d

Thrilled to make the cover of @natimmunol.nature.com this month.

A version of this warhol-inspired image has been in my head almost since we first conceived this Tfh diversity project (many, many years ago) @wehi-research.bsky.social

4 15

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 8d

"Biology is messy and sometimes we need to embrace the mess"
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Huge thanks to Amy Weinmann and Danielle Chisolm for beautifully highlighting our work and the importance of our approaches @natimmunol.nature.com

TFH cell programs by pathogen and species - Nature Immunology

CD4+ T follicular helper (TFH) cells that develop in response to a range of pathogens share aspects of a common gene signature. However, cytokine environments, rather than pathogen class, shape diversity in programming potential.

www.nature.com

1 1 11

Reposted by Joanna Groom

WEHI (The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) @wehi-research.bsky.social · 14d

WEHI scientists led by @groomlab.bsky.social‬ @chinweetan.bsky.social map how Tfh cells tailor instructions based on infection type. A step toward smarter vaccines and therapies.

📄 In @natimmunol.nature.com: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🔗 Read more: www.wehi.edu.au/news/unlocki...

Yellow Tfh cells activate magenta B cells to produce protective antibodies during parasite infection.

3 7

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 26d

This entire project is intertwined with the influence of cytokines to specify Tfh phenotype differentiation and to modify their function.
Ill be presenting this (and some unpublished work) at the @cytokinesociety.bsky.social meeting 2025 in Seattle in November.

Home - Cytokines 2025: 13th Annual Meeting of the International Cytokine & Interferon Society

Register now Browse the preliminary program Meet the confirmed speakers Local Organizing Committee Carolyn Coyne, Ph.D., Duke University, Durham, USA The International Cytokine & Interferon Society would like to thank the following sponsors for their support of Cytokines 2025 Annual Meeting! Silver Sponsors Bronze Sponsor Exhibitors & Sponsors

seattle.cytokinesociety.org

1 5

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 26d

Generating this Resource has initiated multiple new projects in the lab.
If you are interested in joining us, please reach out.
@wehi-research.bsky.social International PhD Scholarships are now open.

International PhD Scholar Initiative

Our International PhD Scholar Initiative enables outstanding international students to join WEHI's Medical Biology PhD Program.

www.wehi.edu.au

1 2

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 26d

This was a massive collaborative effort based on our local ASI network including @kimljacobson.bsky.social @niclag.bsky.social @coopernatant.bsky.social @katherinekedz.bsky.social @jenjuno.viralvaxlab.com @cvandesandt.bsky.social @amania001.bsky.social (these are all i can find 🦋). Huge thanks 🙌

1 4

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 26d

Combined this Resource provides new ways to:
🌟Assess the impact of route, affinity, dose on Tfh function
🌟Investigate Tfh phenotype plasticity
🌟Direct B cell responses for vaccines against a diverse range of pathogens
🌟Unlock avenues to understand and treat antibody-mediated diseases

1 1

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 26d

Further, we identified new cell surface markers to explore these phenotypes across lymphoid tissues and blood with @katherinekedz.bsky.social and with @jenjuno.viralvaxlab.com in an antigen-specific manner, using longitudinal infected or vaccine cohorts.

1 3

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 26d

Next, with Vanessa Bryant (no 🦋), we performed CITE-seq on human tonsil Tfh scRNAseq. This showed that our mouse signatures overlayed with distinct human Tfh clusters.

1 1

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 26d

We found these cytokines act as levers of Tfh phenotypes, beyond Th1-Tfh bifurcation. Highlighting separate transcriptional modules to instruct Tfh cell identity and functional branching. The latter being instructed by cytokines and overlayed by lineage-defining factors to instruct B cell responses.

1 1

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 26d

We next established Tfh-pathogen specific signatures which indicated distinct transcriptional programs, functional potential and highlighted unique cytokine signaling profiles.

This suggested cytokine pathways are a stronger driver of specific heterogeneous Tfh cell phenotypes than pathogen class.

1 2

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 26d

We then performed bulk RNAseq to profile IL21+, and IL21- Tfh cells, T follicular regulatory cells, and T effector cells from each infection.

This allowed us to establish a core Tfh signature that is conserved regardless of pathogen type.

1 1

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 26d

First, we established that each infection established distinct Tfh populations and, with @kimljacobson.bsky.social, tailor distinct B cell responses.

1 2

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 26d

Here, we expand this to investigate how distinct programing is established during diverse challenges, comparing viral, helminth, and bacterial infections.

We hypothesized that pathogen-specific cues result in functionally distinct Tfh phenotypes with the capacity to tailor B cell responses.

1 1

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 26d

Previously we established that context-dependent transcriptional programing exists for Tfh induced during viral infections @amania001.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell-reports...

Context-Dependent Role for T-bet in T Follicular Helper Differentiation and Germinal Center Function following Viral Infection

Shiekh et al. show that, in influenza and LCMV infections, the role of the transcription factor T-bet in TFH differentiation is contingent on environmental cues, IL-2 signaling, and T cell competition...

www.cell.com

1 1

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 26d

CD4+ T follicular helper (Tfh) cells display remarkable functional flexibility, directing B cell responses during vaccination and all pathogen classes and being implicated during inflammatory and antibody-mediated diseases.

Check out the Tfh “circle of influence” from @profshanecrotty.bsky.social

1 1

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · 26d

Thrilled to have our latest research @wehi-research.bsky.social published in @natimmunol.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

This work was an outstanding partnership between talented PhD student Len Dalit (now postdoc, no 🦋) and bioinformatician @chinweetan.bsky.social

Thread below...

Divergent cytokine and transcriptional signatures control functional T follicular helper cell heterogeneity - Nature Immunology

Dalit, Tan and colleagues provide a multiomic profile of T follicular helper (TFH) cells responses to diverse pathogens, revealing a blueprint for transcriptional flexibility and new tools to interrog...

www.nature.com

3 16 36

Reposted by Joanna Groom

International Cytokine & Interferon Society (ICIS) @cytokinesociety.bsky.social · Jun 25

Abstract deadline extended to Monday, June 30! And travel grants are still available to student and post-doc members. Don't miss out - REPOST to share the info with others.

International Cytokine & Interferon Society (ICIS) @cytokinesociety.bsky.social · Jun 10

Don't forget 📆 Abstract deadline for poster or oral presentations is June 18. Please repost to your network to spread the word! More info or register at seattle.cytokinesociety.org

1 9 10

Reposted by Joanna Groom

WEHI (The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) @wehi-research.bsky.social · May 15

🌏 Make your mark in Melbourne! 🌏 We are looking for innovative researchers to join WEHI as Laboratory Heads and help lead the next wave of biomedical discovery.

For more information and to apply 👇

Make your future Melbourne

Lead the next wave of biomedical discovery

www.wehi.edu.au

7 10

Reposted by Joanna Groom

Cyril Seillet, PhD @seilletlab.bsky.social · May 19

🧠🍔 Just 48 hours on a high-fat diet can weaken gut immunity. Our new study shows saturated fats rapidly impair ILC3s!
Proud to see this featured by
@wehi-research.bsky.social as I continue to explore these questions @monashuniversity.bsky.social with the IMI Lab!

WEHI (The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research) @wehi-research.bsky.social · May 19

A landmark WEHI-led study has uncovered how our daily food choices are having an immediate effect on our gut health.

Brilliant research led byDr Cyril Seillet and Dr Le Xiong, that could help pinpoint #chronicinflammation at the source. Now published in Immunity.

www.wehi.edu.au/news/fast-fo...

Innate lymphoid cells 3 (ILC3s) are a subset of immune cells that are critical to gut immunity. When there is excess fat, such as after a rich meal, ILC3s store this fat in tiny lipid droplets to maintain their function. In this 3D illustration, we can see a lipid droplet (in orange) inside an ILC3.

3 8

Reposted by Joanna Groom

Journal of Experimental Medicine @jem.org · May 9

ICYMI: explore our #Immunology collection, highlighting B cells, CD8+ T cell stemness, priming and differentiation, CD4+ T cell heterogeneity, autoimmunity, lymphatic immunophysiology and innate immune signaling. 👉 rupress.org/jem/collecti...
#AAI2025

2 8

Joanna Groom @groomlab.bsky.social · May 9

Congratulations Doug and team

1

Reposted by Joanna Groom

Doug Dyer @douglaspdyer.bsky.social · Apr 28

So excited to share our first neuro focused paper from the lab, we show that CXCL4 (PF4) is transported into the brain by proteoglycans within the endothelial glycocalyx and that GAG binding also mediates the pro neurogenesis effects of CXCL4. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

4 20 64