Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Nicole Robb @nicolerobb.bsky.social · 20d

Excited to announce our latest preprint, exploring the stereochemistry & antiviral properties of natural product MM46115 (pellemicin) against influenza. 🦠 💊 Big thanks to all co authors, including @afifahtasnim.bsky.social @craigpthomp.bsky.social and others. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

9 14

Reposted by Nicole Robb

craigpthomp.bsky.social @craigpthomp.bsky.social · 29d

I am very excited to share our preprint: ‘Divergent antibody-mediated population immunity to H5, H7 and H9 subtype potential pandemic influenza viruses’.

The first authors are Lucas Benjamin Stolle, Jai Bolton, Rebecca Steventon & Reanna Gregory.

lnkd.in/eeYmfvdE

1 3 5

Reposted by Nicole Robb

Jon Cohen @cohenjon.bsky.social · Jun 24

“This is one of the most exciting recent advances for influenza prevention." www.science.org/content/arti...

A single shot of a flu drug could outperform vaccines—and protect for an entire season

One injection of a long-lasting drug showed up to 76% efficacy in a large trial

www.science.org

5 48 84

Nicole Robb @nicolerobb.bsky.social · Jun 22

Why do influenza viruses come in different shapes and sizes? Check out our latest review article unpacking the determinants and impact of pleomorphism on the influenza virus life cycle: journals.asm.org/eprint/UFECH...

3 9

Reposted by Nicole Robb

Daniel Goldhill @influenzal.bsky.social · Jun 10

Excited to present the first review from my lab!
Which mutations allow H5 influenza to jump into humans or other mammals? How close is H5 to a pandemic? This review has the answers and explains the molecular mechanism behind the mutations.
Led by @fcapelastegui.bsky.social.
doi.org/10.1099/jgv....

A beautiful figure.
Global detections of A(H5N1) clade 2.3.4.4b in mammalian species, split by sporadic detections (black) and detections which are associated with an outbreak (orange) alongside key mammalian adaptive mutations.
Taken from Capelastegui & Goldhill 2025.

1 11 25

Reposted by Nicole Robb

Influenza Update Meetings @influenzaupdate.bsky.social · Jun 4

SAVE THE DATE!
The 2025 Influenza Update Meeting will be held ‪@uni-of-warwick.bsky.social on the 15th and 16th December - ‪@nicolerobb.bsky.social‬ is leading the organisation for this year's event.
We hope you'll join us there - please repost!
www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/...

1 10 12

Reposted by Nicole Robb

Yi-Wei Chang @yiweichang.bsky.social · May 15

Excited to share our new @science.org paper! Led by postdocs Ruchao Peng and Xin Xu, we used cryo-EM/ET to reveal the influenza ribonucleoprotein complex structure and its strand-sliding mechanism for RNA synthesis, paving the way for new antivirals.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Molecular basis of influenza ribonucleoprotein complex assembly and processive RNA synthesis

Influenza viruses replicate and transcribe their genome in the context of a conserved ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex. By integrating cryo–electron microscopy single-particle analysis and cryo–electro...

www.science.org

7 56 120

Reposted by Nicole Robb

Ervin Fodor @efodor.bsky.social · May 7

Exciting job opportunities!

Two postdoc positions are available in the Fodor Lab at
@dunnschool.bsky.social to study influenza virus transcription, genome replication, nuclear export and assembly.

More info: my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

25 27

Nicole Robb @nicolerobb.bsky.social · Apr 29

Thrilled to share that our latest manuscript using smFRET to study inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 is now out!

doi.org/10.1093/nar/...

Congrats and thanks to amazing co-authors and collaborators for all the hard work. @efodor.bsky.social @jeremykeown.bsky.social @andrewmcmahon1345.bsky.social

3 5

Nicole Robb @nicolerobb.bsky.social · Apr 11

Massive congratulations to Dani from the lab who passed her PhD viva yesterday! Special thanks to her wonderful co-supervisor @efodor.bsky.social, to her examiners @davidlvbauer.bsky.social and @jeremykeown.bsky.social and to the Warwick MRC-DTP for funding her PhD! 🦠🎓🎂

1 1 11

Nicole Robb @nicolerobb.bsky.social · Apr 3

Not one, but TWO, poster prizes for the lab at this year's Microbiology Society meeting in Liverpool!! Super proud of Afifah Tasnim and Luke Haddock, well done both! 😀

2 7

Nicole Robb @nicolerobb.bsky.social · Feb 28

Huge congratulations to Nicolas Shiaelis on successfully passing his DPhil viva! What an incredible milestone. A special thank you to the examiners for their valuable feedback and thoughtful assessment and to members of the @achilleskap.bsky.social lab for the amazing hat! 🎓🦠🎉

1 2

Reposted by Nicole Robb

oliviermoncorge.bsky.social @oliviermoncorge.bsky.social · Feb 17

Negative-Strand RNA Virus meeting #NSV2025 registration is now open!
Visit www.negativestrandvirus.org/home

8 8

Reposted by Nicole Robb

Achilles Kapanidis @achilleskap.bsky.social · Feb 17

First BlueSky post + a breath of fresh air! Excited about our preprint on the packaging + structure of viral RNA segments in influenza virions: doi.org/10.1101/2025.... A saga from amazing Christof and Qing, and a great collaboration with @nicolerobb.bsky.social and @efodor.bsky.social.

A DNA-PAINT protocol for the segment-specific detection of viral vRNPs. Virus particles are surface-immobilized, fixed, permeabilized and incubated with non-fluorescent barcoded probes, that bind to 20-50 different sequences on a viral RNA segment. All probes carry the same segment-specific oligonucleotide extension that is transiently bound by fluorescent imager strands. Several combinations of barcode extensions and imager strands can be used to sequentially to detect various gene segments in a single virus particle.

3 12

Nicole Robb @nicolerobb.bsky.social · Feb 14

Happy to be part of this beautiful work using DNA-PAINT to study genome packaging in influenza 😊thanks to all co-authors @efodor.bsky.social & Christof, Achilles and Qing! Check it out here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

3 4

Nicole Robb @nicolerobb.bsky.social · Feb 13

Incredible few days at the @lorneproteins.bsky.social conference, great science, great scenery and of course, great fun! Thanks to the organisers for a super meeting, definitely looking forward to visiting again in the future

1 5

Reposted by Nicole Robb

Microbiology Society @microbiologysociety.org · Jan 16

“It is really hard for infectious diseases to effectively stop being specialists and move over into a new species. So, when that happens, it is striking and concerning” — Microbiology Society member, Ed Hutchinson, in an important article published in the Guardian yesterday -

Age of the panzootic: scientists warn of more devastating diseases jumping between species

Experts believe H5N1 bird flu belongs in a growing category of infectious diseases that can cause pandemics across many species. But there are ways to reduce the risks

buff.ly

2 16 38

Nicole Robb @nicolerobb.bsky.social · Jan 14

Hi, this is great, please could you add me to the list? Thanks!

1

Reposted by Nicole Robb

ESWI @eswinfluenza.bsky.social · Jan 10

🌟 #ESWI 🏆 Awards are open for #EarlyCareerScientists! 🌟
✨ Claude Hannoun Prize for Best Body of Work
📅 Deadline: 28 February 2025
Apply now 👉 www.eswiconference.org/eswi-awards/...
@cvandesandt.bsky.social was 2023 winner! 💬 eswi.org/site/young-s... Will you be next?

The Tenth ESWI Influenza Conference - Valencia 2025

www.eswiconference.org

2 3

Reposted by Nicole Robb

Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @helenbranswell.bsky.social · Jan 6

The lack of severe infections among US #H5N1 #birdflu cases up till now may have created the notion among some people that the virus has become harmless. The death of a person in Louisiana is a reminder that that is not a safe bet. www.statnews.com/2025/01/06/b...

U.S. records first fatal bird flu case amid growing concerns about virus

The U.S. has recorded its first fatal case of H5N1 bird flu, in a person from Louisiana who contracted the virus from infected chickens and wild birds in a backyard flock.

www.statnews.com

16 200 510

Reposted by Nicole Robb

Thelonevirologist @thelonevirologist.bsky.social · Dec 18

Flu testing at US emergency visits jumped from 3% to 11% from 2013 to 2022 www.cidrap.umn.edu/influenza-ge...

Flu testing at US emergency visits jumped from 3% to 11% from 2013 to 2022

www.cidrap.umn.edu

1

Reposted by Nicole Robb

Kai Kupferschmidt @kakape.bsky.social · Dec 18

CDC just confirmed the first severe case of #H5N1 in the US in a patient in Louisiana. This virus seems to be the same genotype D1.1 that is spreading in birds at the moment (so not the cattle genotype B3.13) that severely sickened the teenager in Canada. #IDsky 🧪

4 200 380

Reposted by Nicole Robb

Ed Hutchinson @socialinfluenza.bsky.social · Dec 11

Delighted to hear that Andrew McMahon and Nicole Robb's study 'Engineering stress as a motivation for filamentous virus morphology,' which we and other @cvrinfo.bsky.social authors collaborated in, is now a beautiful cover image. You can read the paper here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The cover of Biophysical Reports, showing an influenza virus particle partially disassembling to release lipid molecules and expose the interior

1 6 13