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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

@imm.ox.ac.uk

490 followers 130 following 51 posts

The MRC WIMM is a research institute at the University of Oxford with 5 core research areas: rare diseases, haematology, immunology and infection, stem cells and developmental biology and cancer biology. www.imm.ox.ac.uk

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · Nov 28

Hello Bluesky! To introduce ourselves, we thought we'd share a video we made to celebrate turning 35 this year 🎂

Hear from some of our scientists, past & present, about a variety of our highlights and achievements since we were founded by Sir David Weatherall in 1989:

35 Years of the MRC WIMM

To celebrate 35 years since the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine opened its labs, we spoke to many of our current and former pioneers of molecu...

buff.ly

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Reposted by MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

Nuffield Department of Medicine @ndm.ox.ac.uk · 6d

Researchers at CAMS Oxford Institute have found that certain T cell responses are linked to mild #COVID19 disease. These T cells increase with cytotoxicity in the four years after infection, suggesting that they also play a protective role 🦠🔬

Read more 👉 buff.ly/4EANlxR

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · 7d

Congratulations to MRC WIMM Group Leaders Beth Psaila (@bethpsaila.bsky.social) & James Davies (@jojdavies.bsky.social) 🎉

Radcliffe Department of Medicine @rdm.ox.ac.uk · 7d

Three RDM researchers have been awarded the title of Full Professor in the University's 2025 Recognition of Distinction exercise.

Congratulations to Beth Psaila, James Davies and Rajesh Kharbanda 🎉

Read more 👇

shorturl.at/S7vLA

@imm.ox.ac.uk @bethpsaila.bsky.social @jojdavies.bsky.social

Beth Psaila, James Davies and Rajesh Kharbanda

Reposted by MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

Andi Roy @roylab-oxford.bsky.social · 15d

Read about our @cclguk.bsky.social @littleprincesses.bsky.social funded research published in @bloodjournals.hematology.org . Well done Joe Cross and Lucy Field. Many thanks to Tom Milne and other collaborators. @oxfordpaediatrics.bsky.social @imm.ox.ac.uk
ashpublications.org/bloodadvance...

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · 21d

📽️ Check out our latest video, where we speak with the @drakesmith-lab.bsky.social and their collaborators in @oxuniearthsci.bsky.social & @biology.ox.ac.uk to find out how they're tackling iron deficiency - the world's most common nutritional deficiency 🧪

@rdm.ox.ac.uk | @ox.ac.uk

Watch here 👇

Tackling Iron Deficiency

YouTube video by MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

www.youtube.com

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · 27d

NEW: Oxford researchers link mini organs to show how immune cells race to the rescue after heart injury 🧪

@abattacks.bsky.social & colleagues linked cardiac and bone marrow organoids with a 3D-printed device to model this complex immune response.

Learn more 👇

@rdm.ox.ac.uk | @medsci.ox.ac.uk

Body-in-a-chip approach reveals how immune cells respond to heart injury

Oxford scientists build a connected, ‘multi-organoid’ platform that recreates immune recruitment to the heart, opening new avenues to probe disease and test therapies.

www.imm.ox.ac.uk

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Reposted by MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

Andi Roy @roylab-oxford.bsky.social · 28d

Well done to @emilysn1.bsky.social from our group @imm.ox.ac.uk @oxfordpaediatrics.bsky.social for this award from the Kaiya Foundation to study VHR childhood ALL. #CCAM #bloodcancerawareness month.

x.com/ttvoxfordshi...

That's TV Oxfordshire on X: ""Over the next year the plan is to look more specifically at the molecular mechanisms that occur during the initiation of the leukaemia." That's TV spoke to Dr Emily Neil about the grant she has been awarded for her research into leukaemia. https://t.co/MBWB4UAm6K" / X

"Over the next year the plan is to look more specifically at the molecular mechanisms that occur during the initiation of the leukaemia." That's TV spoke to Dr Emily Neil about the grant she has been awarded for her research into leukaemia. https://t.co/MBWB4UAm6K

x.com

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Reposted by MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

Leukaemia UK @leukaemiauk.bsky.social · Sep 4

A fantastic keynote lecture from @bethpsaila.bsky.social, Professor of Haematology @imm.ox.ac.uk @ox.ac.uk, for our final talk of the day. 💬

Professor Beth Psaila delivers a talk to attendees at the Annual Science Seminar. A presentation screen reads, ‘Quelling the flames - the inflammatory niche in myelofibrosis’.

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Reposted by MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

University of Oxford @ox.ac.uk · Sep 4

NEW: Scientists at Oxford University, together with colleagues at @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social and @uofglasgow.bsky.social, have developed a new type of immunotherapy that could improve outcomes for infants and children with high-risk leukaemia.

Read more ⬇️

New ‘off-the-shelf’ immunotherapy shows promise for treating

Scientists at the University of Oxford, together with colleagues at Imperial College London and the University of Glasgow, have developed a new type of immunotherapy that could improve outcomes for

www.ox.ac.uk

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · Sep 3

NEW: Scientists in the @roylab-oxford.bsky.social have co-led the development of a new type of immunotherapy that could improve outcomes for infants and children with high-risk leukaemia 🧪

#ChildhoodCancerAwarenessMonth

@oxfordpaediatrics.bsky.social | @medsci.ox.ac.uk

Learn more 👇

New ‘off-the-shelf’ immunotherapy shows promise for treating high-risk childhood leukaemia

Scientists at the University of Oxford, together with colleagues at Imperial College London and the University of Glasgow, have developed a new type of immunotherapy that could improve outcomes for in...

www.imm.ox.ac.uk

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · Sep 1

Congratulations to Emily Neil (@emilysn1.bsky.social) & Andi Roy (@roylab-oxford.bsky.social) on receiving one of The Kaiya Foundation's first major research grants.

Learn more 👇

University of Oxford @ox.ac.uk · Sep 1

NEW: The Kaiya Foundation has awarded a grant to Dr Emily Neil (@emilysn1.bsky.social)‬ and Prof Anindita Roy (@roylab-oxford.bsky.social) to help transform the treatment of high-risk leukaemia through personalised medicine.

Read more ⬇️

The Kaiya Foundation to fund leukaemia research at University of

The Kaiya Foundation has awarded one of its first major research grants, which will fund pioneering research into the fundamental cause of a high-risk leukaemia. The grant is being made to Dr Emily

www.ox.ac.uk

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Reposted by MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

University of Oxford @ox.ac.uk · Aug 15

NEW: Oxford researchers have discovered an unexpected and powerful new function for platelets.

Platelets act as scavengers, capturing and storing fragments of DNA that are circulating in the blood, including fetal DNA and mutated DNA from cancer cells. ⬇️
www.ox.ac.uk/news/2025-08...

Platelets shown to store DNA in study that could transform cancer

Oxford-led study uncovers previously unknown function of platelets as DNA ‘vacuum cleaners’ in the blood, with profound implications for cancer diagnosis and prenatal screening.

www.ox.ac.uk

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · Aug 15

NEW @cancerresearchuk.org-funded study, led by @bethpsaila.bsky.social & @l-cmurphy.bsky.social, reveals an unexpected and powerful new function for platelets with profound implications for cancer diagnosis and prenatal screening 🧪

@rdm.ox.ac.uk | @medsci.ox.ac.uk | @ox.ac.uk

Learn more 👇

Platelets Shown to Store DNA in Study that could Transform Cancer Screening

Study led by Psaila Group uncovers previously unknown function of platelets as DNA ‘vacuum cleaners’ in the blood, with profound implications for cancer diagnosis and prenatal screening.

www.imm.ox.ac.uk

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Reposted by MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

Lauren Murphy @l-cmurphy.bsky.social · Aug 14

🚨 New paper alert! 🚨 I’m thrilled and proud to share that our latest work has just been published in @science.org! 🎉 🧽

📖 Read our paper here: doi.org/10.1126/sci...

🎬 Watch a summary: youtu.be/MttCA3GGWEM

🧵 Or keep reading for the key points! 🔑 1/19

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · Aug 6

NEW: Study led by @imm.ox.ac.uk researchers maps key immune-epithelial cell interactions in lung fibrosis — opening doors to new therapeutic research. Published in @natcomms.nature.com this week 🧪

Learn more 👇

@ndm.ox.ac.uk | @oxfordbrc.bsky.social

Researchers create first atlas showing cell interactions in lung fibrosis

New study uncovers key immune cell interaction that could explain failed lung repair in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)

www.imm.ox.ac.uk

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · Jul 31

🎉 Congratulations to Prof Claus Nerlov, who has been awarded funding from Wellcome to map the gene regulatory networks in blood cell production and seek new therapeutic targets 🩸

Read more 👇

@rdm.ox.ac.uk | @wellcometrust.bsky.social

Wellcome Discovery Award for Claus Nerlov

Claus Nerlov, Professor of Stem Cell Biology, has been awarded funding from Wellcome to map the gene regulatory networks in blood cell production and seek new therapeutic targets.

www.imm.ox.ac.uk

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · Jul 29

NEW: Latest study from Tao Dong's Group links cancer stage to strength of antitumoral immune response in HR+ breast cancer 🧪

Read more 👇

@ndm.ox.ac.uk | @medsci.ox.ac.uk

New Study Links Cancer Stage to Strength of Antitumoral Immune Response in HR+ Breast Cancer

The latest study from Tao Dong's Group in the MRC Translational Immune Discovery Unit has been published in Cell Reports Medicine.

www.imm.ox.ac.uk

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · Jul 25

NEW: @nature.com study, co-led by @akiversen.bsky.social (@ndcnoxford.bsky.social), maps infectious diseases across millennia 🧪

Learn more 👇

Nature @nature.com · Jul 9

Around 6,500 years ago, hunter-gatherer communities across Eurasia were settling down and living with livestock — and the animals’ diseases came along for the ride

go.nature.com/4087t52

Animal diseases leapt to humans when we started keeping livestock

When hunter-gatherers began living close to animals, the pathogens that cause the plague and leprosy got closer too.

go.nature.com

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · Jul 15

Have you ever considered using theatre to connect your research with the public?

Ali Kay (@genomics-ali.bsky.social) from the @gorielylab.bsky.social at the MRC WIMM has co-led a project that utilised theatre to explore a couple’s experience of a genetic diagnosis in their child.

Read more 👇

Making it Personal – Engaging the public through theatre

Innovative public engagement project explores the intersection of cutting-edge science and the raw honesty of the stage.

www.imm.ox.ac.uk

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · Jul 7

NEW: Research led by Professors Irene Roberts and Paresh Vyas reports the outcome of the first-ever prospective study of newborn babies with Down syndrome, exploring why these babies and young children have such a high incidence of acute myeloid leukaemia caused by mutations in the GATA1 gene. 🧪

Clinical significance of preleukemic somatic GATA1 mutations in children with Down syndrome

Key Points. Somatic preleukemic GATA1s mutations are acquired before birth in 25% of neonates with Down syndrome and are not acquired post-natallyRates of

doi.org

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · Jul 3

NEW: Researchers at the MRC WIMM and @dkfz.bsky.social have developed a new method to analyse how our tissues evolve as we age, called SCIFER 🧬 🧪

Read more 👇

@rdm.ox.ac.uk | @medsci.ox.ac.uk | @ox.ac.uk

New tool allows researchers to track how mutations arise in tissues

Researchers at the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have developed a new method to analyse how our tissues evolve as we age.

www.imm.ox.ac.uk

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · Jul 1

WIMM Day 2025 brought our researchers together to share discoveries, swap ideas & celebrate success — from gene editing to immunotherapy to public engagement.

Catch the recap + award winners here:

Celebrating science, collaboration and excellence at WIMM Day 2025

The MRC WIMM community gathered for its flagship annual event, WIMM Day, on Tuesday 24th June. Held at the Saïd Business School, the day showcased the breadth and impact of research across the institu...

www.imm.ox.ac.uk

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MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine @imm.ox.ac.uk · Jun 27

Congratulations to the new RDM PIs 🎉 - all MRC WIMM researchers!

Radcliffe Department of Medicine @rdm.ox.ac.uk · Jun 27

We are delighted to announce the designation of three new RDM Principal Investigators (PIs)🎉

Congratulations Agne Antanaviciute, Mira Kassouf and Sumana Sharma.

Read more 👇

shorturl.at/cAfw9

@imm.ox.ac.uk

Agne Antanaviciute, Mira Kassouf and Sumana Sharma

Reposted by MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

Andi Roy @roylab-oxford.bsky.social · Jun 14

Always a pleasure to attend EHA Annual meeting. Well done to WIMM students presenting their work. And a good catch up with all! #EHA2025 @imm.ox.ac.uk

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Reposted by MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

Ashley Kamimae-Lanning @ashleykamimae.bsky.social · Jun 13

Congratulations to our DPhil student, @xinranhuang.bsky.social, on being awarded a poster prize today at the EMBO | EMBL The Ageing Genome symposium in Heidelberg! 🎉 We're so proud of you--well done!!!

#EESAgeing #PatelLab
@imm.ox.ac.uk
@kebleoxford.bsky.social

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Reposted by MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine

Charlotte Brierley @ckbrierley.bsky.social · Jun 10

🚨🚨Paper out! 🚨🚨

Delighted to share our work, now published in ‪@natgenet.nature.com‬ 🧬!
shorturl.at/94s5S

We identified a targetable, chromothripsis-associated genetic event in blast phase (BP) MPN, a particularly poor prognostic subtype of acute leukaemia. 1/n

Illustration: Hratch Arbach
🧵👇

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