David Tscharke
@dctscharke.bsky.social
I'm a highly distractible virologist and immunologist at the Australian National University in Canberra.
Pinned
David Tscharke
@dctscharke.bsky.social
· Nov 20
A quantitative approach to poxvirus infection reveals general correlates of antigen presentation and immunogenicity for viral CD8+ T cell epitopes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.11.18.624047v1
A quantitative approach to poxvirus infection reveals general correlates of antigen presentation and immunogenicity for viral CD8+ T cell epitopes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.11.18.624047v1
CD8+ T cells are essential effectors in antiviral immunity that kill infected cells displaying viral
www.biorxiv.org
I'm new here and very excited about this work. So please forgive me for posting, re-posting and replying lots. Big congrats to @virotuned.bsky.social, Nathan Croft and Tony Purcell - the main crew who made this happen. #immunology, #virology, #poxvirus,
Reposted by David Tscharke
Good fun to contribute to this super paper from Yorgo Modis' lab where we looked at the impact of disease-associated MDA5 mutations on its structure, biochemistry and antiviral functions #immunosky www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Molecular basis of autoimmune disease protection by MDA5 variants
Loss-of-function MDA5 variants increase the risk of chronic inflammation but protect
against autoimmune disease. Singh et al. show that autoimmune-protective variants
impair MDA5 signaling via differe...
www.cell.com
May 31, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Good fun to contribute to this super paper from Yorgo Modis' lab where we looked at the impact of disease-associated MDA5 mutations on its structure, biochemistry and antiviral functions #immunosky www.cell.com/cell-reports...
Great people doing outstanding science!
We're looking for an experienced lab manager to join our wonderful team investigating fundamental T cell biology 🤓
careers.pageuppeople.com/513/cw/en/jo...
careers.pageuppeople.com/513/cw/en/jo...
Job Search
careers.pageuppeople.com
May 12, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Great people doing outstanding science!
A great story showcasing the brilliant Yi Ning Fu, who I had the privilege of supervising last year as a student with the equally fantastic @agrowlipowli.bsky.social. It's a huge pleasure scienceing with them.
“Tasmanian devils are the world's largest remaining marsupial carnivore and have a very important ecological niche,” says Yi Ning (Sabrina) Fu, @jcsmr.bsky.social. “And they are cute and adorable—we need to save them.”
That's where cutting-edge virology comes in. science.anu.edu.au/news-events/...
That's where cutting-edge virology comes in. science.anu.edu.au/news-events/...
Cool science to save cute devils: Honours student targets contagious cancer
Scientists from all over the world have been racing to understand the fundamentals of Devil Facial Tumour Disease and find a way to stop it. One of them is Yi Ning (Sabrina) Fu, a recent Honours gradu...
science.anu.edu.au
May 2, 2025 at 2:01 PM
A great story showcasing the brilliant Yi Ning Fu, who I had the privilege of supervising last year as a student with the equally fantastic @agrowlipowli.bsky.social. It's a huge pleasure scienceing with them.
Reposted by David Tscharke
“Tasmanian devils are the world's largest remaining marsupial carnivore and have a very important ecological niche,” says Yi Ning (Sabrina) Fu, @jcsmr.bsky.social. “And they are cute and adorable—we need to save them.”
That's where cutting-edge virology comes in. science.anu.edu.au/news-events/...
That's where cutting-edge virology comes in. science.anu.edu.au/news-events/...
Cool science to save cute devils: Honours student targets contagious cancer
Scientists from all over the world have been racing to understand the fundamentals of Devil Facial Tumour Disease and find a way to stop it. One of them is Yi Ning (Sabrina) Fu, a recent Honours gradu...
science.anu.edu.au
May 2, 2025 at 12:19 AM
“Tasmanian devils are the world's largest remaining marsupial carnivore and have a very important ecological niche,” says Yi Ning (Sabrina) Fu, @jcsmr.bsky.social. “And they are cute and adorable—we need to save them.”
That's where cutting-edge virology comes in. science.anu.edu.au/news-events/...
That's where cutting-edge virology comes in. science.anu.edu.au/news-events/...
Reposted by David Tscharke
After 8 months of peer review, our manuscript was published today @nature.com showing that bovine H5N1 viruses bind poorly to human-type sialic acid receptors. We now know that the virus is only 1 HA substitution away from efficiently binding human receptors.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Bovine H5N1 binds poorly to human-type sialic acid receptors - Nature
Nature - Bovine H5N1 binds poorly to human-type sialic acid receptors
www.nature.com
April 16, 2025 at 6:40 PM
After 8 months of peer review, our manuscript was published today @nature.com showing that bovine H5N1 viruses bind poorly to human-type sialic acid receptors. We now know that the virus is only 1 HA substitution away from efficiently binding human receptors.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by David Tscharke
My first post on BlueSky, I could not access the same handle as my X (someone hacked into that one):
So it's @peterhotez for X and @peterhotezmdphd for BlueSky
I'm a pediatric-vaccine scientist based in Houston TX at our Texas Medical Center
So it's @peterhotez for X and @peterhotezmdphd for BlueSky
I'm a pediatric-vaccine scientist based in Houston TX at our Texas Medical Center
April 5, 2025 at 7:12 PM
My first post on BlueSky, I could not access the same handle as my X (someone hacked into that one):
So it's @peterhotez for X and @peterhotezmdphd for BlueSky
I'm a pediatric-vaccine scientist based in Houston TX at our Texas Medical Center
So it's @peterhotez for X and @peterhotezmdphd for BlueSky
I'm a pediatric-vaccine scientist based in Houston TX at our Texas Medical Center
Reposted by David Tscharke
The vaccine against Shingles helps protect against dementia, results of a natural experiment, adding to prior evidence
"implications are profound"
New @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/s41...
"implications are profound"
New @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/s41...
A natural experiment on the effect of herpes zoster vaccination on dementia - Nature
Using a natural experiment that avoids common bias concerns, this study finds that the live-attenuated shingles vaccine reduced the probability of a new dementia diagnosis within a follow-up period of...
nature.com
April 2, 2025 at 3:29 PM
The vaccine against Shingles helps protect against dementia, results of a natural experiment, adding to prior evidence
"implications are profound"
New @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/s41...
"implications are profound"
New @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by David Tscharke
Huh. Well this is neat- endogenous antigen presentation on MHC II is a feature of mRNA vaccines.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Endogenous antigen processing promotes mRNA vaccine CD4+ T cell responses
Lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-encapsulated nucleoside-modified mRNA vaccines elicit robust CD4+ T cell responses, which are essential for antiviral immunity. While peptides presented to CD4+ T cells via ma...
www.biorxiv.org
March 15, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Huh. Well this is neat- endogenous antigen presentation on MHC II is a feature of mRNA vaccines.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by David Tscharke
Doesn’t matter what The Age says; the fact is it’s taken money to publish hate speech
March 12, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Doesn’t matter what The Age says; the fact is it’s taken money to publish hate speech
Reposted by David Tscharke
Big news
🎉 bioRxiv & medRxiv are now managed by openRxiv, a new independent nonprofit. This transition allows for more flexibility and innovation. Our mission remains being a free service to authors ensuring rapid sharing of scientific information before peer review.
ℹ️ openrxiv.org/introducing-...
ℹ️ openrxiv.org/introducing-...
Introducing openRxiv: a new independent home for preprint sharing in the life sciences - openRxiv
We’re thrilled to announce the launch of openRxiv as an independent nonprofit to oversee bioRxiv and medRxiv, the world’s leading preprint servers for life and health sciences. openRxiv ensures that r...
openrxiv.org
March 11, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Big news
Reposted by David Tscharke
Hate that it has come to this, but it's time to consider PubMed vulnerable to enshittification. My latest post @plos.org discusses the lines we need to fight to hold – and alternatives we can rely on internationally:
absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/02/14/w...
#medlibs
absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/02/14/w...
#medlibs
What if We Can't Rely on PubMed? - Absolutely Maybe
PubMed is incredibly reliable. And a lot depends on it. It’s an ecosystem built around MEDLINE, the steady feed of new publications…
absolutelymaybe.plos.org
February 14, 2025 at 6:06 AM
Hate that it has come to this, but it's time to consider PubMed vulnerable to enshittification. My latest post @plos.org discusses the lines we need to fight to hold – and alternatives we can rely on internationally:
absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/02/14/w...
#medlibs
absolutelymaybe.plos.org/2025/02/14/w...
#medlibs
Reposted by David Tscharke
the evolution of mpox Clade Ib in DRC. Great collaborative study with support from @EDCTP3 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Epidemiological and genomic evolution of the ongoing outbreak of clade Ib mpox virus in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
Nature Medicine - Genomic and epidemiologic data suggest that the rapid spread of MPox Clade I in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has happened mostly through sexual contact within densely...
www.nature.com
February 11, 2025 at 9:44 PM
the evolution of mpox Clade Ib in DRC. Great collaborative study with support from @EDCTP3 www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by David Tscharke
Here’s a reason why the incoming NIH Director, health economist Jay Bhattacharya, should know cutting indirect costs at NIH is self-defeating and stupid.
Every $1 invested in NIH returns $2.5.
So $4B “savings” is actually $10B we lost.
Every $1 invested in NIH returns $2.5.
So $4B “savings” is actually $10B we lost.
“A sane government would never do this.” — the former dean of Harvard Medical School
Universities are reeling. Elon Musk’s allies are celebrating.
Looking at the major cut to federal research funding — which many scientists predict will be devastating
With @lenasun.bsky.social and Carolyn Johnson
Universities are reeling. Elon Musk’s allies are celebrating.
Looking at the major cut to federal research funding — which many scientists predict will be devastating
With @lenasun.bsky.social and Carolyn Johnson
NIH cuts billions of dollars in biomedical funding, effective immediately
The move halts a large slice of money for most universities and research institutions virtually overnight, imperiling vital research in everything from cancer to heart disease.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 9, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Here’s a reason why the incoming NIH Director, health economist Jay Bhattacharya, should know cutting indirect costs at NIH is self-defeating and stupid.
Every $1 invested in NIH returns $2.5.
So $4B “savings” is actually $10B we lost.
Every $1 invested in NIH returns $2.5.
So $4B “savings” is actually $10B we lost.
Reposted by David Tscharke
Timely study by Katherine Kedzierska and Jamie Rossjohn and colleagues defining key structural features of #Tcell binding to circulating #influenza strains from 1918 to ~present #ImmunoSky www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Molecular determinants of cross-strain influenza A virus recognition by αβ T cell receptors
TCR-peptide-HLA ternary structures define molecular mechanisms of TCR cross-reactivity toward natural influenza variants.
www.science.org
February 7, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Timely study by Katherine Kedzierska and Jamie Rossjohn and colleagues defining key structural features of #Tcell binding to circulating #influenza strains from 1918 to ~present #ImmunoSky www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by David Tscharke
A call for editors of biomedical journals to resist the banning of terms for political reasons www.cmi-comms.com/article/S295...
From medical editors: A call to the global infectious diseases and clinical microbiology community
Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes
out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.Robert F. Kennedy, Senior
www.cmi-comms.com
February 5, 2025 at 10:43 AM
A call for editors of biomedical journals to resist the banning of terms for political reasons www.cmi-comms.com/article/S295...
Reposted by David Tscharke
Elon doesn't give a shit about bioweapons research and would probably fund it if it were advantageous to him.
The US doesn't do or fund any bioweapons research. Elon is lying that they do because he wants the tax dollars to subsidize him instead of the legitimate public health research we paid for.
The US doesn't do or fund any bioweapons research. Elon is lying that they do because he wants the tax dollars to subsidize him instead of the legitimate public health research we paid for.
The US does not have an offensive bioweapons program. Gain of function research did not lead to SARS-CoV-2. The scientific evidence points to a NATURAL zoonosis, ie a jump from infected animals to people. If there is evidence to the contrary it has not been presented.
February 2, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Elon doesn't give a shit about bioweapons research and would probably fund it if it were advantageous to him.
The US doesn't do or fund any bioweapons research. Elon is lying that they do because he wants the tax dollars to subsidize him instead of the legitimate public health research we paid for.
The US doesn't do or fund any bioweapons research. Elon is lying that they do because he wants the tax dollars to subsidize him instead of the legitimate public health research we paid for.
Reposted by David Tscharke
Intelligence community report, June 2023:
“… no indication that the WIV’s pre-pandemic research holdings included SARS-CoV-2 or a close progenitor…”
Facts matter.
“… no indication that the WIV’s pre-pandemic research holdings included SARS-CoV-2 or a close progenitor…”
Facts matter.
February 3, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Intelligence community report, June 2023:
“… no indication that the WIV’s pre-pandemic research holdings included SARS-CoV-2 or a close progenitor…”
Facts matter.
“… no indication that the WIV’s pre-pandemic research holdings included SARS-CoV-2 or a close progenitor…”
Facts matter.
Reposted by David Tscharke
@charlesgaba.com is a hero and downloaded CDC’s entire website. A small group of us has come together to preserve this critical resource and make it accessible to the scientific community.
More to come. These data are public and they are ours. Deletion disobedience is one way to fight back.
More to come. These data are public and they are ours. Deletion disobedience is one way to fight back.
📣 UPDATE: OK, still working with some others to figure out the best way to present it all, but in the meantime here's the first batch of links to the most-recent archived versions of every page at the CDC prior to the Trump/Musk Purge:
acasignups.net/25/02/02/whi...
acasignups.net/25/02/02/whi...
In which I provide links to archived versions of every CDC.gov page available pre-purge (Part 1 of 15)
As horrific as it is that the Trump/Musk Administration is purging data from federal websites, it's good to know that the Internet Archive has been archiving much of it. However, in addition to the Ar...
acasignups.net
February 2, 2025 at 6:00 PM
@charlesgaba.com is a hero and downloaded CDC’s entire website. A small group of us has come together to preserve this critical resource and make it accessible to the scientific community.
More to come. These data are public and they are ours. Deletion disobedience is one way to fight back.
More to come. These data are public and they are ours. Deletion disobedience is one way to fight back.
Reposted by David Tscharke
📣 UPDATE: OK, still working with some others to figure out the best way to present it all, but in the meantime here's the first batch of links to the most-recent archived versions of every page at the CDC prior to the Trump/Musk Purge:
acasignups.net/25/02/02/whi...
acasignups.net/25/02/02/whi...
In which I provide links to archived versions of every CDC.gov page available pre-purge (Part 1 of 15)
As horrific as it is that the Trump/Musk Administration is purging data from federal websites, it's good to know that the Internet Archive has been archiving much of it. However, in addition to the Ar...
acasignups.net
February 2, 2025 at 5:36 PM
📣 UPDATE: OK, still working with some others to figure out the best way to present it all, but in the meantime here's the first batch of links to the most-recent archived versions of every page at the CDC prior to the Trump/Musk Purge:
acasignups.net/25/02/02/whi...
acasignups.net/25/02/02/whi...
Reposted by David Tscharke
Is 2024 Australia's worst year yet for violence against women?
-it's not "an epidemic". It's ENDEMIC to Australia, and that's the problem. Stop making this seem like a surprise.
Every.
Single.
Time.
The surprise is the lack of political anger at it. From anywhere.
www.sbs.com.au/news/article...
-it's not "an epidemic". It's ENDEMIC to Australia, and that's the problem. Stop making this seem like a surprise.
Every.
Single.
Time.
The surprise is the lack of political anger at it. From anywhere.
www.sbs.com.au/news/article...
January 14, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Is 2024 Australia's worst year yet for violence against women?
-it's not "an epidemic". It's ENDEMIC to Australia, and that's the problem. Stop making this seem like a surprise.
Every.
Single.
Time.
The surprise is the lack of political anger at it. From anywhere.
www.sbs.com.au/news/article...
-it's not "an epidemic". It's ENDEMIC to Australia, and that's the problem. Stop making this seem like a surprise.
Every.
Single.
Time.
The surprise is the lack of political anger at it. From anywhere.
www.sbs.com.au/news/article...
Reposted by David Tscharke
The #H5N1 #birdflu virus from a severe case in Louisiana shows it was developing mutations that could help it attach to cells in human respiratory tracts, including a mutation seen in a recent severe case in British Columbia, Canada, the #CDC reported today. www.statnews.com/2024/12/26/c...
CDC says H5N1 bird flu sample shows mutations that may help the virus bind to cells in the upper airways of people
The CDC said Thursday that the mutations, detected in a sample taken from a Louisiana patient, may help bind the virus to the upper airways in people.
www.statnews.com
December 27, 2024 at 12:19 AM
The #H5N1 #birdflu virus from a severe case in Louisiana shows it was developing mutations that could help it attach to cells in human respiratory tracts, including a mutation seen in a recent severe case in British Columbia, Canada, the #CDC reported today. www.statnews.com/2024/12/26/c...
Reposted by David Tscharke
There's a really interesting new paper out in Science for people who care about immunity to flu (which should be everyone because flu is a VERY big problem):
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Here's my thread explaining this work🧵
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Here's my thread explaining this work🧵
Coupling antigens from multiple subtypes of influenza can broaden antibody and T cell responses
The seasonal influenza vaccine contains strains of viruses from distinct subtypes that are grown independently and then combined. However, most individuals exhibit a more robust response to one of the...
www.science.org
December 20, 2024 at 4:57 PM
There's a really interesting new paper out in Science for people who care about immunity to flu (which should be everyone because flu is a VERY big problem):
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Here's my thread explaining this work🧵
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Here's my thread explaining this work🧵
Reposted by David Tscharke
Excited to offer 2 fully funded PhD projects with Peter Croucher @garvaninstitute.bsky.social using intravital microscopy to track osteoclast/osteomorphs dynamics using novel mitochondrial reporters. Domestic & int'l students from diverse bkg welcome! Please share!
www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr...
www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr...
Tracking the origin and fate of osteomorphs
www.unsw.edu.au
December 12, 2024 at 11:40 PM
Excited to offer 2 fully funded PhD projects with Peter Croucher @garvaninstitute.bsky.social using intravital microscopy to track osteoclast/osteomorphs dynamics using novel mitochondrial reporters. Domestic & int'l students from diverse bkg welcome! Please share!
www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr...
www.unsw.edu.au/research/hdr...
Amazing enough for the potential impact on HIV, but this line caught my eye "other viruses have their own capsid proteins... ...this drug's triumph raises the exciting prospect that similar capsid inhibitors could fight other viral diseases." www.science.org/content/arti...
Science’s 2024 Breakthrough of the Year: Opening the door to a new era of HIV prevention
A drug with a novel mechanism protects people against the AIDS virus for 6 months. It could speed the end of the epidemic—if those who need it most get access
www.science.org
December 13, 2024 at 8:58 AM
Amazing enough for the potential impact on HIV, but this line caught my eye "other viruses have their own capsid proteins... ...this drug's triumph raises the exciting prospect that similar capsid inhibitors could fight other viral diseases." www.science.org/content/arti...
This is the result of the continuous development and improvement of our methods by @agrowlipowli.bsky.social and Stewart Smith. Key applications are vaccines and virolytic cancer therapies. Hit us up if you can't see past the paywall - we're happy to help with methods and tips.
🚨PUBLICATION ALERT!🚨
Shameless promotion of our new book chapter describing CASPRR, the friendly method for making recombinant poxviruses. Features a stable Cas9/gRNA cell line for further acceleration of previous protocols. Thanks Stewart Smith, @dctscharke.bsky.social
dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-...
Shameless promotion of our new book chapter describing CASPRR, the friendly method for making recombinant poxviruses. Features a stable Cas9/gRNA cell line for further acceleration of previous protocols. Thanks Stewart Smith, @dctscharke.bsky.social
dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-...
Cas9-Mediated Poxvirus Recombinant Recovery (CASPRR) for Fast Recovery of Recombinant Vaccinia Viruses
Generation of recombinant vaccinia viruses opens many avenues for poxvirus research; however current methods for virus production can be laborious. Traditional methods rely on recombination strategies...
dx.doi.org
December 12, 2024 at 4:10 AM
This is the result of the continuous development and improvement of our methods by @agrowlipowli.bsky.social and Stewart Smith. Key applications are vaccines and virolytic cancer therapies. Hit us up if you can't see past the paywall - we're happy to help with methods and tips.