Jamie Heather
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jamieheather.bsky.social
Jamie Heather
@jamieheather.bsky.social
2.5K followers 1.8K following 190 posts
🇬🇧 immunulogist in 🇺🇸 | instructor @ MGH/HMS | TCRs and pMHC
Technically a James | ʤeɪmi hɛðə˞ | he/him
@jamimmunology in the old place
papers, tools, & 3d printed labware here: https://jamieheather.github.io/
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jamieheather.bsky.social
Jamie Heather @jamieheather.bsky.social · Sep 1
I've got a PSA to the T cell receptor researchers of #immunosky to let you know about a new paper we've just got out: doi.org/10.1016/j.im...

This covers how our field is handling the sets of germline #TCR genes used in our research. Maybe not the most glamorous topic, but it’s kind of a big deal…
A screenshot of the old style '10 PM, do you know where your children are?' PSA poster, with the 'children are?' scribbled out and 'TCR germline gene reference comes from?' crudely pasted over the top.
Reposted by Jamie Heather
davidusharauli.bsky.social
As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure: the flow-cytometry doublets that are routinely excluded from analysis are in fact a rich source of tumor-reactive T cells.

#immunology
#science
#tumor
#immunotherapy

buff.ly/pETJPEH
Tumour-reactive heterotypic CD8 T cell clusters from clinical samples
Tumour-reactive CD8+ T cells are enriched in functional clusters with tumour cells and/or antigen-presenting cells and can be isolated and expanded from clinical samples.
www.nature.com
November 19, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
alexr.bsky.social
Hey @jamieheather.bsky.social what do you think of this?

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Targeting peptide-MHC complexes with designed T cell receptors and antibodies
Class I major histocompatibility complexes (MHCs), expressed on the surface of all nucleated cells, present peptides derived from intracellular proteins for surveillance by T cells. The precise recogn...
www.biorxiv.org
November 21, 2025 at 2:29 AM
jamieheather.bsky.social
Whoever said we're living in the time of decision-based evidence making was absolutely right
solidevidence.bsky.social Solid Evidence @solidevidence.bsky.social · 3d
This is a very sad day for public health and evidence-based science in general.
November 20, 2025 at 3:25 PM
jamieheather.bsky.social
What fresh captcha hell is this
A screenshot of a captcha style image, where the viewer is being asked to 'use the arrows to move the icon into the indicated orbit'. There's a tiny blurry image on the left and a number, and on the right a segment of a schematic of an orbital system, in which there's a bunch of numbered orbital lines with even smaller even blurrier images, with arrows to shuffle the icons to match the left picture.
November 19, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
payalyokota.bsky.social
Happy Friday! We're so thrilled to share our review on #trainedimmunity out in @elife.bsky.social today. We had a great time writing this. Honored to be included in the special issue of trained immunity. Always an absolute treat to write with @khannakm.bsky.social
elifesciences.org/articles/108...
November 14, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
cait.bsky.social
I have the most wonderful story for you all today: baby alligator spotted in Charles River, then immediately rescued by local reptile enthusiast
r/boston u/migrational_coconut • 1d Spotted a baby alligator in the Charles Salamanders Yesterday on my run, I was flabbergasted to spot this tiny alligator hanging out in Turtle Pond (on the Charles River bike path. My assumption is that he is someone's pet who was either lost or dumped (but he still gave me QUITE a jump scare at 7AM). I called Animal Control and was sent to voicemail - hopefully someone can grab him before it gets too cold. From instagram, it looks like some other folks have spotted him along the river too. Joe's Crazzy Critters • Follow 1d • Q ... Tonight NBC10 Boston contacted me for an interview regarding the small American alligator that was spotted in the Charles River near Back Bay. After the interview, more information was shared about the location the alligator was last seen. So, I grabbed a head lamp and flashlight and took a ride into Boston. With the cold temps, the alligator had very low chances of surviving. With some luck and a couple of bright flashlights after 15 minutes I found the Boston alligator. I was able to capture him safely and he will be warm and housed until we get more information and instructions on what's next for this little guy. We are hoping that he will be a new resident and ambassador here at Joe's Crazzy Critters New England Wildlife Center & • Follow •.. 5h • Meet Charles, the baby alligator who made quite the splash in Boston this week! ? Thanks to the quick action (and above-and-beyond dedication) of Joe's Crazzy Critters, Charles was safely rescued from the cold water of the Charles River last night and brought to us for care. Our veterinarians Greg, Harry, and Tess examined him today and determined he has an upper respiratory infection. He's now getting antibiotics and a warm, safe place to recover. Alligators don't belong in New England, and it's likely Charles was released by someone who couldn't care for him anymore. If you ever find yourself in that position, please call us and we are happy to work with you find a humane solution. Never release a pet into the wild. The Odd Pet Vet is dedicated to giving every creature the expert care they deserve. If you your scaled, furred, or feathered family member needs a check-up, give us a call! Learn more: newildlife.org/odd-pet-vet baby alligator in a bin marked "live animals" being held aloft in a man's hand
November 14, 2025 at 4:10 AM
jamieheather.bsky.social
It is absolute absurd that a copilot button has appeared in my work machine's word *without* doing an upgrade, and there's no way to turn it off without now *doing* an upgrade.
November 13, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
stephencollins.bsky.social
Every ad now
[Scene is a kitchen - a middle aged woman called JANET is boiling peas at the stove. A younger more colourfully dressed woman named LIZ approached her.] JANET: Ugh... LIZ: What's up? JANET: I am so bored of cooking peas! LIZ: Have you tried... AI peas? JANET: AI peas? LIZ: They're peas with AI! [Liz holds up to us a packet of peas labelled: Pea-i AI - Peas with AI]. LIZ: Al-powered peas harness the potential of your peas JANET: What LIZ [Now a voiceover as we cut to a whizzy technology diagram of peas all connected by meaningless dotted lines] Why not take your peas to the next level with Al Peas' new Al tools to power your peas? [Show a techno diagram of a pea with a label reading 'AI' pointing to a random zone in it] LIZ: Each pea has Al in a way we haven't quite worked out yet but it's fine [Show Janet and Liz now in a Matrix-style world of peas] LIZ: With Al peas you can supercharge productivity and make AI work for your peas! JANET: What LIZ: Shut up LIZ: Our game-changing Pea-Al gives you the freedom to unlock the potential of the power of the future of your peas workflow From opening the bag of peas to boiling the peas to eating the peas To spending millions on adding Al to the peas and then having to work out what that even means. JANET: Is it really necessary to- LIZ [Grabbing Janet by the collar]: THE PEAS HAVE GOT AI, JANET [Cut to an advert ending screen, with the bag of peas and the slogan: AI PEAS: Just 'Peas' for god's sake buy the AI peas. [Ends]
November 13, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
sciencelizard.bsky.social
Fast forward a few years from now:
"Why will the AI always recommend physical therapy for depression??????!"
cait.bsky.social cait (and adonis) @cait.bsky.social · 13d
a few months ago I said "having generative AI handle absolutely anything with regards to healthcare is a nightmare and should be banned" and a bunch of people made fun of me and called me stupid. anyways,
r/ExpectationVsReality u/Additional-Simple858 • 3d Join Al 'doctor' said my back pain is depression, not a slipped disc. Now physical therapy won't get approved. Al Expectation We are reviewing claim #& submitted on 09/28/2025. Our records indicate the claim was filed under diagnosis code F32.9 (Depressive disorder, unspecified), while the corresponding prescription and referral history list treatment for lumbar disc herniation (back pain). Re: Incorrect Diagnosis in Record Hi Thank you for reaching out. We have reviewed your visit documentation and can confirm that the notes in question were generated using our Al scribe system. It appears the Al tool assigned diagnosis code F32.9 (Depressive disorder, unspecified), while your visit notes and treatment plan reference lumbar disc herniation (back pain). Per compliance policy, certain Al-generated fields cannot be manually updated by clinic staff and require vendor correction. We have escalated this to our vendor support team and opened ticket # . We'll notify you once we receive confirmation or correction from the vendor.
November 10, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
newyorker.com
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 6, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
ayeletperes.bsky.social
New manuscript out in NAR! tinyurl.com/4rrbuesn
🧬 VDJbase and OGRDB now support 3000+ IG/TR samples across human and rhesus macaque with curated AIRR-seq and long-read genomic data. From population analysis to precision annotation. @guryaari.bsky.social @cdubsig.bsky.social @williamlees.bsky.social
The current landscape of adaptive immune receptor genomic and repertoire data: OGRDB and VDJbase
Abstract. Accurate characterization of adaptive immune receptor repertoires through high-throughput sequencing is critical for understanding immune respons
academic.oup.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
jeffmold.bsky.social
This is interesting for a number of reasons. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Mesenchymal thymic niche cells enable regeneration of the adult thymus and T cell immunity - Nature Biotechnology
T cell immunity declines with thymic atrophy, but thymic cell grafts rescue T cell function.
www.nature.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:05 PM
jamieheather.bsky.social
A very cool preprint - checkmait cancer!*

* I make no apologies for never not making this joke
November 2, 2025 at 2:54 PM
jamieheather.bsky.social
My share of the Halloween haul has shrunk considerably since kiddo learned to read ingredients and avoid the ones she's allergic to
November 1, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
alexr.bsky.social
I've been asked about this paper (www.nature.com/articles/s41...) enough times that I finally had to read it.

The basic claim is that mRNA vaccines had huge synergistic benefit with checkpoint blockade against lung cancer melanoma.

tl;dr it's glam-slop & everyone involved should be embarrassed
SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines sensitize tumours to immune checkpoint blockade - Nature
mRNA vaccines targeting SARS-CoV-2 also sensitize tumours to immune checkpoint inhibitors.
www.nature.com
October 30, 2025 at 3:35 PM
jamieheather.bsky.social
This whole thread is must read re: the recent COVID vaccine cancer story - but this is the plot that really sends the message for me
alexr.bsky.social Alex Rubinsteyn @alexr.bsky.social · 24d
Re #2 -- how much did care improve around administration of ICIs over the past 10 years? Well, if you just look at the survival curves from this paper stratified by start year, you see monotonic increase of survival asymptotes from ~2016-2020
October 30, 2025 at 6:06 PM
jamieheather.bsky.social
This is 2025's 'catfish eating pigeons'
pfrancois.bsky.social Paul Francois @pfrancois.bsky.social · 26d
Halloween Science movie.
science.org Science Magazine @science.org · 27d
Talk about an in-flight meal.

For the first time, researchers have captured rats hunting bats by grabbing them from the sky. Learn more: https://scim.ag/3Jqldmn
October 28, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
cdubsig.bsky.social
Happy to announce the publication of our work exploring under-appreciated genetic diversity in the human IGHC region. Awesome work by @uddalok.bsky.social. So grateful for our amazing co-authors.
@williamlees.bsky.social @guryaari.bsky.social @ayeletperes.bsky.social

www.cell.com/cell-genomic...
The human IG heavy chain constant gene locus is enriched for large structural variants and coding polymorphisms that vary among human populations
Genetic variation within immunoglobulin heavy chain constant (IGHC) genes modulates interactions between antibodies and other immune receptors and effector cells, directing cell killing and the cleara...
www.cell.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
tcellvaccineucl.bsky.social
Ever heard of this #vaccination side effect? SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination significantly increased anti tumour responses and survival in patients with metastatic melanoma and NSCLC undergoing treatment with ICIs.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

#vaccineswork #tcells #immunology
SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines sensitize tumours to immune checkpoint blockade - Nature
mRNA vaccines targeting SARS-CoV-2 also sensitize tumours to immune checkpoint inhibitors.
www.nature.com
October 24, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
biobiiana.bsky.social
What makes PhD students happy? Good supervision www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What makes PhD students happy? Good supervision
Supervisors who invest in positive mentoring relationships with their PhD candidates also reap the benefits for their own research.
www.nature.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
victorgreiff.bsky.social
📢 We are announcing the Adaptive Immune Profiling Challenge 2025!
Can you predict immune state labels from adaptive immune receptor repertoires?
💰 $10,000 prize pool!
🗓️ Launches Nov 5 on @kaggle.com
More Info: uio-bmi.github.io/adaptive_imm...
October 22, 2025 at 7:09 PM
jamieheather.bsky.social
TCR prediction people, the @airr-community.bsky.social machine learning working group is running a competition (either predicting disease state at a repertoire level, or finding disease-associated receptors) Nov-Dec uio-bmi.github.io/adaptive_imm... Good science, good fun, with prizes to boot
AIRR-ML-25: Adaptive Immune Profiling Challenge
uio-bmi.github.io
October 21, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
Last Ebola patient in DR Congo discharged; countdown to end of outbreak starts www.cidrap.umn.edu/ebola/last-e...
Last Ebola patient in DR Congo discharged; countdown to end of outbreak starts
www.cidrap.umn.edu
October 20, 2025 at 11:28 PM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
emmaschambers.bsky.social
I am so proud to say that our paper is now available at Aging Cell. There is a paucity of data as to how the menopause impacts your immune system, and the aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the menopause on monocyte phenotype and function.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Age‐Associated Inflammatory Monocytes Are Increased in Menopausal Females and Reversed by Hormone Replacement Therapy
Post-menopausal females (> 64 years) have an increase in frequency of inflammatory monocyte populations with defective phagocytosis as compared to pre-menopausal (< 40 years) females. Hormone Replace....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 9, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Reposted by Jamie Heather
alanmcn1.bsky.social
And in the process destroying UK HE
timeshighered.bsky.social Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · Oct 7
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is expected to announce plans to cut the number of UK university places by about 100,000 annually by reintroducing student number controls, reports Patrick Jack #edusky
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/badenochs-number-caps-plan-would-cut-100000-university-places
October 7, 2025 at 9:16 PM