Marion Pepper
@marionpepper.bsky.social
2K followers 400 following 69 posts
Immunologist. Immune memory.👩🏻‍🔬
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Marion Pepper
sciencevs.bsky.social
This moment from our latest episode with science writer @edyong209.bsky.social is 🔥

We asked Ed — how do we talk up the benefits of science in the face of government cuts? He told us that's the wrong approach. 🧪

Listen wherever, or watch on Spotify 👇

open.spotify.com/episode/7Evh...
Reposted by Marion Pepper
enirenberg.bsky.social
Neat study—following 320 healthcare workers for almost a year, with 152 of them being infected, the authors examined whether or not COVID-19 associates with more upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs). It didn't (yay!).

But, having a kid <5 associated with a 74% increase in the risk of URTIs.
Is COVID-19 Associated With an Increased Risk of Subsequent Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Adults? A Prospective Cohort Study
AbstractBackground. In Autumn 2022, a surge in upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) was observed worldwide. Individuals anecdotally reported increase
academic.oup.com
marionpepper.bsky.social
Excited to be here! Have to admit John Denver was running through my head as we wound our way through the country roads of West Virginia.
pitt-immunology.bsky.social
We are thrilled to have @marionpepper.bsky.social from @uwdeptmedicine.bsky.social joining us to give the keynote presentation!
Reposted by Marion Pepper
apoorvanyt.bsky.social
In a post on Truth Social, the president suggested that the CDC was being “ripped apart” over a question that was answered long ago — whether Covid vaccines work.
(Gift article)

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/02/h...
Trump Wants Proof That Covid Vaccines Work. It’s Easy to Find.
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Marion Pepper
carlzimmer.com
Yesterday the president demanded that evidence about Covid vaccines be shown to the public. Today @apoorvanyt.bsky.social & I run through some of the studies made public over the past 4+ years that show that the vaccines work. Gift link: nyti.ms/46k17Tq
nyti.ms
marionpepper.bsky.social
Enormous thanks to @immunologyking.bsky.social and @maurogaya.bsky.social for organizing a vibrant, invigorating #EMBObarriertissues workshop. A poignant reminder of how critical
immunological studies are for ameliorating human disease. And a lot of fun people. 🐟 #wickelfisch
marionpepper.bsky.social
💔 he did this for so many of us.
Reposted by Marion Pepper
immunologyking.bsky.social
I only heard tonight that Mike is no longer with us. All credit to him in setting me on this path as an immunologist. The description of his teaching brings back such warm memories. I recognize so many of the scientists on his
collage. What a gift to the world he was.

www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
Michael Cancro (1949–2025)
Just a few weeks ago, researchers and educators connected to immunology lost a wonderful friend and colleague: Michael Cancro, professor of pathology and lab medicine at the University of Pennsylvania...
www.cell.com
Reposted by Marion Pepper
Reposted by Marion Pepper
physiciandemocracy.medsky.social
The ousting of Dr. Susan Monarez as CDC Director, followed within hours by the resignations of Dr. Deb Houry, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, and Dr. Daniel Jernigan, mark a collapse of public health leadership with consequences that reach every American household.
Reposted by Marion Pepper
ki.se
Applications are now open! We are recruiting 20 Assistant Professors in a wide range of subject areas. We're looking for early-career researchers with strong scientific merits and future potential.
🔗 All positions: ki.se/en/about-ki/...
Reposted by Marion Pepper
cfi-umn.bsky.social
With deep gratitude, we thank Dr. Marc Jenkins for his decades of leadership, mentorship, and dedication to the Center for Immunology. The foundation he built will guide and inspire us for years to come.
Reposted by Marion Pepper
angierasmussen.bsky.social
If you believe that keeping your head down and being quiet will spare you from this fate, you are mistaken. This will be all of us.
jeremymberg.bsky.social
New York Times story with profiles of researchers whose grants were terminated.

[Gift Link]

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/o...
Opinion | America First? Not When It Comes to Your Health.
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Marion Pepper
lozanzi.bsky.social
#WeekendRead! #MomIsAlwaysMom! Koch, Shenoy et al show @science.org that, in the first 7 days of life, breast milk IgGs (not IgAs!) recognize microbiota & limit, via Fc receptors, Tfh cell and B cell intestinal expansion, protecting against #colitis & #allergy during weaning!
Breast milk IgG engages the mouse neonatal immune system to instruct responses to gut antigens
Maternal antibodies fundamentally regulate gut immunity in the developing infant, yet the mechanisms underlying this process remain elusive. We found that maternal immunoglobulin G (IgG), ingested in ...
doi.org
Reposted by Marion Pepper
jeremymberg.bsky.social
I have a first serious attempt to estimate the consequences of multi-year funding for July.

For new R01s, the amount of additional expenditure was

$135 M

The number of additional R01s that could have been funded is

182

1/9
a man in a shirt and tie is touching his forehead
ALT: a man in a shirt and tie is touching his forehead
media.tenor.com
Reposted by Marion Pepper
aniloza.bsky.social
By entirely funding more awards up front, the NIH is on track to fund just 1 in 25 applications

Such a payline “would chase a lot of people out of science” former NCI director Ned Sharpless told us 🧪🔬

www.statnews.com/2025/07/29/n...
NIH is shrinking the number of research projects it funds due to a new Trump policy
NIH plans to shrink the share of grant applications it will award for the remainder of the fiscal year, in some cases by more than half.
www.statnews.com
Reposted by Marion Pepper
ardemp.bskyverified.social
No better time to call or email your members of Congress. Next year’s NIH budget is being debated in the Senate. A new nonpartisan campaign is making it easy to defend science and protect America’s innovation. Just follow this link to contact your representatives: www.protectscienceandinnovation.org
Reposted by Marion Pepper
nature.com
Nature @nature.com · Jul 2
This is how to have difficult conversations with vaccine sceptics
Reposted by Marion Pepper
boghuma.bsky.social
Great Measles 2025 update in NEJM. It is unfortunate we need this but measles is on course to return to endemicity in the United States and Canada. A self inflicted predicament thanks to the spread and rise of anti-vaccine rhetoric.
www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....
Measles 2025 | NEJM
In this article on measles, the authors review the epidemiology, clinical presentation, and associated illnesses as well as treatment and prevention strategies.
www.nejm.org
Reposted by Marion Pepper
wanglaboratory.bsky.social
Assistant professors studying immunity to infectious disease - don’t miss this opportunity! The BWF PATH program supports innovative research on molecular and/or systemic mechanisms that influence outcomes of pathogen exposure.

@bwfund.bsky.social

Learn more & apply: www.bwfund.org/funding-oppo...