La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI)
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La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI)
@lji.org
A world leading biomedical research institute focused on finding cures faster for cancers, infectious and immune system diseases. Learn more: lji.org
The end of 2025 marked the retirement of renowned immunologist and LJI Professor Michael Croft, Ph.D.

Learn about Dr. Croft's legacy in fundamental immunology, drug development and beyond: bit.ly/3YZveLA #SanDiego #LaJolla #Immunology #STEM #ImmuneSystem #Autoimmunity #Allergy
A place in immunology history
After 29 years, Dr. Michael Croft will retire from the LJI faculty
bit.ly
January 8, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Congratulations to #Ebola research Kelly Shaffer, who was recently awarded the 2026 BioLegend Graduate Fellowship through @ucsdimmunology.bsky.social!

Shaffer is investigating antibodies that can neutralize Ebola virus and other deadly pathogens. 🦠🔬

bit.ly/4stJF8g #SanDiego #Health #Medicine
Kelly Shaffer wins BioLegend Graduate Fellowship to advance global health
Shaffer's work may guide the development of life-saving therapies for Ebola virus and other infectious diseases
bit.ly
January 6, 2026 at 5:07 PM
Great @natrevimmunol.nature.com review from LJI immunometabolism experts:

"Immunometabolism, the intersection of cellular metabolism and immune function, has revolutionized our understanding of T cell biology..."

www.nature.com/articles/s41... #immunology #ImmuneSystem #Tcells #health #disease
Metabolic control of innate-like T cells - Nature Reviews Immunology
Functional and metabolic properties of innate-like T cells — namely, iNKT cells, MAIT cells and some γδ T cells — differ from those of conventional T cells. This Review describes how metabolic pathway...
www.nature.com
January 5, 2026 at 9:15 PM
Happy New Year from La Jolla Institute for Immunology! 🥳

We are proud to share with you just a handful of the Institute’s many highlights from 2025: www.lji.org/happy-holida...

#ImmuneSystem #Health #Medicine #Immunology #SanDiego #Biomed
Happy Holidays 2025-2026
Wishing you fresh inspiration in the new year On behalf of the Institute, LJI President and CEO Dr. Erica Ollmann Saphire wishes you a happy holiday season. We are proud to share with you a handful of...
www.lji.org
December 31, 2025 at 3:20 AM
LJI Immunologist Yi-Tsang Lee wins prestigious Irvington Postdoctoral Award to advance #cancer #immunotherapy research bit.ly/49rIdM4

#SanDiego #ImmuneSystem #Immunology #CancerResearch
Immunologist Yi-Tsang Lee wins prestigious Irvington Postdoctoral Award
Lee aims to develop new tool to fuel cancer immunotherapy research
bit.ly
December 23, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI)
#ICYMI: T cells rise up to fight infections in the gut. Fascinating research led by AAI members Ananda Goldrath, Maximilian Heeg and Miguel Reina-Campos show how a special group of T cells travels through the small intestine to combat pathogens. https://ow.ly/M4rQ50ULWSJ
December 23, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Happy holidays from the LJI Communications team! We hope the new year brings you health, happiness, and unstoppable curiosity! ✨🔬✨
December 22, 2025 at 6:25 PM
New from LJI Assistant Professor Daniela Weiskopf:

A closer look at #Tcell responses shows that the #COVID19 bivalent booster #vaccine can be beneficial for immunocompromised people —

bit.ly/49d5q4r #health #medicine #SARSCoV2 #InfectiousDisease #virology #ImmuneSystem #Immunology
Impact of the bivalent COVID-19 booster on spike-specific t cell responses
The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants during the COVID-19 pandemic prompted updates to the original vaccines to improve immunogenicity against novel SA…
bit.ly
December 15, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Immunology 👏 in 👏 space 👏
Spaceflight alters the immune regulatory functions of neutrophil granulocytes on T lymphocytes @cp-iscience.bsky.social
www.cell.com/iscience/ful...
December 9, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Reposted by La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI)
The 2025 IEDB Virtual User Workshop wrapped up over two weeks ago. Thank you to our wonderful presenters and attendees! Workshop resources can be found here - discuss.iedb.org/t/2025-iedb-...
The recordings can be found on YouTube - youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Thanks for your continued support! 🧪🧑‍🔬🥼👩‍🔬
2025 IEDB Virtual User Workshop Presentations
Our team holds an annual user workshop where we invite those new to the IEDB and experienced users who want to better understand and utilize this resource. The workshop is a great opportunity to learn...
discuss.iedb.org
December 8, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Awesome podcast alert—

The latest "The Science Of..." podcast episode dives into #cancer research with LJI Assistant Professor Miguel Reina Campos (@reinacampos.bsky.social)

Learn about Dr. Reina-Campos's journey from Spain to the U.S.— and his groundbreaking work with #Tcells bit.ly/4pkayJQ
Spotify – Web Player
bit.ly
December 3, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Your immune cells fight disease every moment of every day.

Witness these minuscule battles in these stunning #microscopy images from LJI's Microscopy and Histopathology Core youtu.be/ggpsNWa8T74?...

#ImmuneSystem #Microscopy #SciArt #SciComm #SanDiego #health #medicine @ljimicrocore.bsky.social
The Immune Landscape
YouTube video by La Jolla Institute for Immunology
youtu.be
December 2, 2025 at 8:15 PM
Reposted by La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI)
New review to read from @lji.org! T cell–macrophage interactions in #tuberculosis.

➡️ Developing new TB vaccination strategies will require a better understanding of the crosstalk between T cells and infected pulmonary macrophages.

🔗 doi.org/10.1111/joim.70028

#TB #vaccination
November 24, 2025 at 9:15 AM
New from LJI's Vijayanand Lab —

Researchers discover the cellular driver that leads to tissue resident memory T cell (TRM) development. Their findings offer a way to boost TRM cell numbers to better fight disease.

bit.ly/47UmnjH #ImmuneSystem #Health #Medicine #Tcells #Immunology @science.org
LJI scientists discover how T cells transform to defend our organs
Future drugs could target specialized T cells to help the body fight tumors, infections, and more
bit.ly
November 21, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Each of our organs is like a special little habitat. Immune cells need to adapt to this habitat to defend it from infections, tumors, and other threats.

Learn more about the world of tissue resident memory T cells:

mag.lji.org/fall2025/lji... #Immunology #Medicine #Health #Microscopy
At home in your organs
LJI scientists capture a new view of the cells that keep you healthy
mag.lji.org
November 20, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Reposted by La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI)
Dr. @zeynepky.bsky.social next presented how to access the CEDAR data through database queries and exports (cedar.iedb.org), using real case studies. If you haven't already, we recommend testing out the database, building your own query, and filtering results!
@cedar-epitopes.bsky.social #iedbuw2025
November 20, 2025 at 5:02 PM
LJI scientists are working to understand how sex-based differences affect the immune system!

Thanks to WHAM support, LJI scientists are launching new investigations into #BreastCancer treatments and the hidden side of reproductive health bit.ly/44kFBwt

#SanDiego #health #medicine #endometriosis
LJI scientists launch new investigations into breast cancer treatments and the hidden side of reproductive health
LJI researchers receive WHAM Edge Awards to study how sex-based differences in the immune system affect patients
bit.ly
November 19, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Can we use nasal swabs to study #lupus? LJI scientist Carolyn Moderbacher, Ph.D., is investigating this promising, non-invasive sampling strategy.

Dr. Moderbacher shares her latest findings in this Q&A for LJI's Immune Matters Magazine: bit.ly/47ZN9Wt

#Medicine #autoimmunity #AutoimmuneDisease
What the nose knows
Dr. Carolyn Moderbacher is pioneering a new technique to study lupus using nasal swabs
bit.ly
November 17, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Health researchers need *incredibly* precise AI tools. That's why LJI scientists are developing new AI methods to power research into infectious disease, genomics, and more 🧬

mag.lji.org/fall2025/pro...

#AI #MachineLearning #Bioinformatics #DataScience #SanDiego #Medicine
Processing power
Meet the LJI scientists changing medical research through artificial intelligence
mag.lji.org
November 14, 2025 at 6:41 PM
Seven LJI researchers are on the #Clarivate #HighlyCited2025 list this year! clarivate.com/highly-cited...

Congratulations to Shane Crotty, Ph.D., Jason Greenbaum, Ph.D., Alba Grifoni, Ph.D., Bjoern Peters, Ph.D., Alessandro Sette, Dr.Biol.Sci., John Sidney, Ph.D., and Daniela Weiskopf, Ph.D.!
November 14, 2025 at 6:15 PM
According to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, more than 50,000 people in the United States will die from colorectal #cancer this year.

LJI Assistant Prof. Miguel Reina-Campos (@reinacampos.bsky.social) hopes to help change that statistic.

bit.ly/3LJfvwK #CancerResearch #Immunology #Health #Medicine
LJI Assistant Professor Miguel Reina-Campos wins funding to accelerate treatments for metastatic colorectal cancer
LJI scientists team up with Colorectal Cancer Alliance's Project Cure CRC to end this devastating cancer
www.lji.org
November 13, 2025 at 6:41 PM
It takes time, and big investments, to turn fundamental scientific discoveries into new drugs and therapies to help patients.

“It’s gratifying to see the work that you do as a fundamental immunologist—as a basic scientist—translated into human therapy,” says Dr. Croft.

mag.lji.org/fall2025/arc...
Architects of fundamental science
LJI discoveries have led to an investigational therapy that aims to bring relief to patients with atopic dermatitis. This breakthrough was possible thanks to hardworking researchers and steady support...
mag.lji.org
November 13, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Reposted by La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI)
In our latest study in @cp-immunity.bsky.social, we followed dynamics of vaccine-specific Tfh cells for 60+ weeks after immunization.
authors.elsevier.com/a/1m3mV3qNrU...
We captured >500,000 CD4 T cells including >36,000 vaccine-specific Tfh by scRNAseq, giving an unprecedented longitudinal detail.
November 12, 2025 at 7:45 PM
New in @natmicrobiol.nature.com

LJI Prof. Alessandro Sette (@settelab.bsky.social) and Sr. Staff Scientist Ricardo da Silva Antunes share the latest on a new respiratory vaccine platform against #pertussis (#WhoopingCough) bit.ly/4hWTre1

#health #medicine #viruses #virology #immunology
New life into pertussis prevention - Nature Microbiology
A respiratory vaccine platform shows promise against pertussis (whooping cough) by providing sterilizing immunity and generating local mucosal immunity. This approach could potentially solve the inabi...
bit.ly
November 12, 2025 at 5:22 PM