Louis Ates
@mycolates.bsky.social
Tuberculosis, immunology and microbiology. The PPE-guy. Preclinical lead TB vaccine development at BioNTech. Activity here strictly personal.
Reposted by Louis Ates
Alex Pretti was a colleague at the VA. We hired him to recruit for our trial. He became an ICU nurse- I lover working with him. He was a good kind person who lived to help and these fuckers executed him.
White. Hot. Rage.
White. Hot. Rage.
January 24, 2026 at 7:31 PM
Alex Pretti was a colleague at the VA. We hired him to recruit for our trial. He became an ICU nurse- I lover working with him. He was a good kind person who lived to help and these fuckers executed him.
White. Hot. Rage.
White. Hot. Rage.
Reposted by Louis Ates
It's always the same hallucination across time and space and in whatever country the mushroom grows in. Extremely weird.
www.bbc.com/future/artic...
www.bbc.com/future/artic...
'They saw them on their dishes when eating': The mushroom making people hallucinate dozens of tiny humans
Only recently described by science, the mysterious mushrooms are found in different parts of the world, but they give people the same exact visions.
www.bbc.com
January 23, 2026 at 1:37 AM
It's always the same hallucination across time and space and in whatever country the mushroom grows in. Extremely weird.
www.bbc.com/future/artic...
www.bbc.com/future/artic...
Reposted by Louis Ates
Many of you in the mycobacterial community attended the awesome inaugural 2025 Biology of Mycobacteria GRC, organized by @heran.bsky.social and myself: www.grc.org/biology-of-m....
I am writing with an update about this conference as the new chair.
I am writing with an update about this conference as the new chair.
2025 Biology of Mycobacteria Conference GRC
The 2025 Gordon Research Conference on Biology of Mycobacteria will be held in Pomona, California. Apply today to reserve your spot.
www.grc.org
January 21, 2026 at 7:19 PM
Many of you in the mycobacterial community attended the awesome inaugural 2025 Biology of Mycobacteria GRC, organized by @heran.bsky.social and myself: www.grc.org/biology-of-m....
I am writing with an update about this conference as the new chair.
I am writing with an update about this conference as the new chair.
Reposted by Louis Ates
This is your reminder that Hungarian-Jewish scientist George de Hevesy dissolved two Nobel Prizes in aqua regia to keep them out of the hands of the Nazis.
He then left the dissolved solution on his shelf and fled to Sweden.
(After the war he un-dissolved the gold and the prizes were re-cast.)
He then left the dissolved solution on his shelf and fled to Sweden.
(After the war he un-dissolved the gold and the prizes were re-cast.)
January 16, 2026 at 4:14 AM
This is your reminder that Hungarian-Jewish scientist George de Hevesy dissolved two Nobel Prizes in aqua regia to keep them out of the hands of the Nazis.
He then left the dissolved solution on his shelf and fled to Sweden.
(After the war he un-dissolved the gold and the prizes were re-cast.)
He then left the dissolved solution on his shelf and fled to Sweden.
(After the war he un-dissolved the gold and the prizes were re-cast.)
Reposted by Louis Ates
The Barber lab is looking to hire post-docs to work on #tuberculosis #immunology using murine and NHP models. BSL3 experience not required. Check out our lab in the NIH intramural program in Bethesda MD!
January 15, 2026 at 12:15 PM
The Barber lab is looking to hire post-docs to work on #tuberculosis #immunology using murine and NHP models. BSL3 experience not required. Check out our lab in the NIH intramural program in Bethesda MD!
Congratulations @baym.lol, @brinda.eu and colleagues on the nice work, looks like a great way to identify deletions and deletion-induced fusion genes.
In MTBC, genomic deletions called "regions of difference" have long been used for phylogenetic investigation. Yet I found no citations thereof.
In MTBC, genomic deletions called "regions of difference" have long been used for phylogenetic investigation. Yet I found no citations thereof.
New preprint from my lab (with Arya Kaul, @fernpizza.bsky.social, and @brinda.eu), in which we explore new genes hitchhiking on the beneficial deletion that fused them together, and find them in the LTEE, M. Tb/bovis, and across the bacterial tree of life
Novel genes arise from genomic deletions across the bacterial tree of life https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.05.697752v1
January 6, 2026 at 5:17 PM
Congratulations @baym.lol, @brinda.eu and colleagues on the nice work, looks like a great way to identify deletions and deletion-induced fusion genes.
In MTBC, genomic deletions called "regions of difference" have long been used for phylogenetic investigation. Yet I found no citations thereof.
In MTBC, genomic deletions called "regions of difference" have long been used for phylogenetic investigation. Yet I found no citations thereof.
Reposted by Louis Ates
A back-to-work cartoon for @newscientist.com
January 5, 2026 at 11:32 AM
A back-to-work cartoon for @newscientist.com
Exciting postdoc in the Boston area!
Two pieces of fun news:
1. We've launched a new website for our lab: www.brysonlab.org
2. With some new funding, we are recruiting for new postdocs and graduate students. The projects build upon our previous studies of antigen presentation and phagosome biology and go into new exciting dimensions!
1. We've launched a new website for our lab: www.brysonlab.org
2. With some new funding, we are recruiting for new postdocs and graduate students. The projects build upon our previous studies of antigen presentation and phagosome biology and go into new exciting dimensions!
The Bryson Lab | Vaccine Development & Research at MIT
Developing effective accessible vaccines to end tuberculosis worldwide. Combining immunoengineering, molecular microbiology & systems biology at MIT.
www.brysonlab.org
December 18, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Exciting postdoc in the Boston area!
What do we think of Aliquot as a kids' name? Cute right? No?
December 16, 2025 at 3:12 PM
What do we think of Aliquot as a kids' name? Cute right? No?
Reposted by Louis Ates
Of course I like all the papers that we publish, but this is actually a very cool story, a great example of 'bush mechanics' in mycobacteria.
A new role for lipoproteins LpqZ and FecB in orchestrating mycobacterial cell envelope biogenesis | mBio journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
A new role for lipoproteins LpqZ and FecB in orchestrating mycobacterial cell envelope biogenesis | mBio journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
A new role for lipoproteins LpqZ and FecB in orchestrating mycobacterial cell envelope biogenesis | mBio
Tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), remains the world’s deadliest bacterial infection, in part because the bacterium’s
unique cell envelope makes it highly resistant to antibioti...
journals.asm.org
December 13, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Of course I like all the papers that we publish, but this is actually a very cool story, a great example of 'bush mechanics' in mycobacteria.
A new role for lipoproteins LpqZ and FecB in orchestrating mycobacterial cell envelope biogenesis | mBio journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
A new role for lipoproteins LpqZ and FecB in orchestrating mycobacterial cell envelope biogenesis | mBio journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Louis Ates
🚨PhD position alert🚨
🔬Cryo-EM? ✅ 🧫Membrane proteins? - we've got 165 TMs for you! ✅
Join me and the team👥 in beautiful Amsterdam🚴 to untangle the amazing mycobacterial protein secretion machinery!
📝Apply here: tinyurl.com/mmxnfpnw
📆Deadline: 23 January
#PhDstudent #T7SS #cryoEM #newPI
🔬Cryo-EM? ✅ 🧫Membrane proteins? - we've got 165 TMs for you! ✅
Join me and the team👥 in beautiful Amsterdam🚴 to untangle the amazing mycobacterial protein secretion machinery!
📝Apply here: tinyurl.com/mmxnfpnw
📆Deadline: 23 January
#PhDstudent #T7SS #cryoEM #newPI
Vacature — PhD candidate; Mechanism and assembly of type VII secretion system machineries
We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated PhD candidate to join Dr. Catalin Bunduc’s team in the Molecular Microbiology Section of the Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment (A-LIFE).
tinyurl.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:06 PM
🚨PhD position alert🚨
🔬Cryo-EM? ✅ 🧫Membrane proteins? - we've got 165 TMs for you! ✅
Join me and the team👥 in beautiful Amsterdam🚴 to untangle the amazing mycobacterial protein secretion machinery!
📝Apply here: tinyurl.com/mmxnfpnw
📆Deadline: 23 January
#PhDstudent #T7SS #cryoEM #newPI
🔬Cryo-EM? ✅ 🧫Membrane proteins? - we've got 165 TMs for you! ✅
Join me and the team👥 in beautiful Amsterdam🚴 to untangle the amazing mycobacterial protein secretion machinery!
📝Apply here: tinyurl.com/mmxnfpnw
📆Deadline: 23 January
#PhDstudent #T7SS #cryoEM #newPI
Great PhD opportunity!
🚨PhD position alert🚨
🔬Cryo-EM? ✅ 🧫Membrane proteins? - we've got 165 TMs for you! ✅
Join me and the team👥 in beautiful Amsterdam🚴 to untangle the amazing mycobacterial protein secretion machinery!
📝Apply here: tinyurl.com/mmxnfpnw
📆Deadline: 23 January
#PhDstudent #T7SS #cryoEM #newPI
🔬Cryo-EM? ✅ 🧫Membrane proteins? - we've got 165 TMs for you! ✅
Join me and the team👥 in beautiful Amsterdam🚴 to untangle the amazing mycobacterial protein secretion machinery!
📝Apply here: tinyurl.com/mmxnfpnw
📆Deadline: 23 January
#PhDstudent #T7SS #cryoEM #newPI
Vacature — PhD candidate; Mechanism and assembly of type VII secretion system machineries
We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated PhD candidate to join Dr. Catalin Bunduc’s team in the Molecular Microbiology Section of the Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment (A-LIFE).
tinyurl.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Great PhD opportunity!
So how's your day going?
(It's not as bad as it looks).
(It's not as bad as it looks).
December 8, 2025 at 2:10 PM
So how's your day going?
(It's not as bad as it looks).
(It's not as bad as it looks).
Reposted by Louis Ates
Hey friends. I’m looking for a postdoc interested in studying host-pathogen interactions and immunology of tuberculosis. Send me some good people! We have a great group here! Email me joanne@pitt.edu. Thanks!
December 4, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Hey friends. I’m looking for a postdoc interested in studying host-pathogen interactions and immunology of tuberculosis. Send me some good people! We have a great group here! Email me joanne@pitt.edu. Thanks!
If you can handle the cold, this looks like a great PostDoc opportunity!
If you or someone you know is looking for a post-doctoral position working on mycobacterial envelope biology, please get in touch. I am recruiting here at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada.
December 2, 2025 at 3:50 PM
If you can handle the cold, this looks like a great PostDoc opportunity!
Winter is here. Weinachtsmarkt season had commenced. Great night connecting with colleagues over some Glühwein.
November 27, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Winter is here. Weinachtsmarkt season had commenced. Great night connecting with colleagues over some Glühwein.
Reposted by Louis Ates
I presented our preclinical work on the BNT164 #Tuberculosis candidates. This work is now also available as a preprint!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
mRNA-based tuberculosis vaccines BNT164a1 and BNT164b1 are immunogenic, well-tolerated and efficacious in rodent models
We designed and preclinically tested two mRNA-LNP-based vaccine candidates to protect against tuberculosis (TB). BNT164a1 and BNT164b1 encode the same eight Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( Mtb ) antigens...
www.biorxiv.org
November 12, 2025 at 12:54 PM
I presented our preclinical work on the BNT164 #Tuberculosis candidates. This work is now also available as a preprint!
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
This is lovely on so many levels.
🐀Male and female rats like to be tickled differently - males prefer rougher play.
🤣How do we know? Rats produce ultrasonic giggles that can be monitored with a bat detector.
🧪Why is this relevant? To improve lab animal welfare.
Ah, to tickle rats for a living...♥️
f1000research.com/articles/14-...
🤣How do we know? Rats produce ultrasonic giggles that can be monitored with a bat detector.
🧪Why is this relevant? To improve lab animal welfare.
Ah, to tickle rats for a living...♥️
f1000research.com/articles/14-...
November 11, 2025 at 9:16 PM
This is lovely on so many levels.
Reposted by Louis Ates
I realise the link did not work. Here is the correct link: journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
A multiplex Mtb-specific FluoroSpot assay measuring IFNγ, IL-2, and TNF-secreting cells can improve accuracy and differentiation across the tuberculosis spectrum | Journal of Clinical Microbiology
Accurate diagnosis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) infection remains a cornerstone in tuberculosis (TB) control. Current interferon-gamma
release assays (IGRAs) lack the ability to distinguish bet...
journals.asm.org
October 30, 2025 at 7:10 AM
I realise the link did not work. Here is the correct link: journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/...
Reposted by Louis Ates
New blogpost on my concerns about Wellcome LEAP new $50m program on autism/microbiome links. deevybee.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-le...
#autism #microbiome #biomarkers #diagnostic
#autism #microbiome #biomarkers #diagnostic
A LEAP into the future, or off a cliff: Wellcome LEAP's new $50M program
A few days ago, I saw this post on LinkedIn: How does the gut microbiome shape early brain development? That’s what FORM, a new $50 million...
deevybee.blogspot.com
October 20, 2025 at 1:53 PM
New blogpost on my concerns about Wellcome LEAP new $50m program on autism/microbiome links. deevybee.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-le...
#autism #microbiome #biomarkers #diagnostic
#autism #microbiome #biomarkers #diagnostic
Reposted by Louis Ates
🇳🇱👩🎓🔬🧬🧫🎉👏🇳🇱
Congratulations to our former MS student Sara Tamminga on the successful defense of her PhD in the laboratory of our former postdoctoral scholar Nina van Sorge at Amsterdam UMC!
Next stop for Sara — a scientist position at GenDx in Utrecht.
Gefeliciteerd Sara en Nina!
Congratulations to our former MS student Sara Tamminga on the successful defense of her PhD in the laboratory of our former postdoctoral scholar Nina van Sorge at Amsterdam UMC!
Next stop for Sara — a scientist position at GenDx in Utrecht.
Gefeliciteerd Sara en Nina!
October 21, 2025 at 12:50 PM
🇳🇱👩🎓🔬🧬🧫🎉👏🇳🇱
Congratulations to our former MS student Sara Tamminga on the successful defense of her PhD in the laboratory of our former postdoctoral scholar Nina van Sorge at Amsterdam UMC!
Next stop for Sara — a scientist position at GenDx in Utrecht.
Gefeliciteerd Sara en Nina!
Congratulations to our former MS student Sara Tamminga on the successful defense of her PhD in the laboratory of our former postdoctoral scholar Nina van Sorge at Amsterdam UMC!
Next stop for Sara — a scientist position at GenDx in Utrecht.
Gefeliciteerd Sara en Nina!
Reposted by Louis Ates
We are inviting applications for postdoctoral fellows in immunology of TB at the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative, University of Cape Town. For more information see the attached ad:
idm.uct.ac.za/media/739223
idm.uct.ac.za/media/739223
October 9, 2025 at 11:28 AM
We are inviting applications for postdoctoral fellows in immunology of TB at the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative, University of Cape Town. For more information see the attached ad:
idm.uct.ac.za/media/739223
idm.uct.ac.za/media/739223
Reposted by Louis Ates
A small primer on the #NobelPrize awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi today. This prize was for combining two separate fields of immunology research - genetic research on IPEX and immunology research of regulatory T cells (#Tregs), with enormous impact on biology/medicine
October 6, 2025 at 11:21 AM
A small primer on the #NobelPrize awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi today. This prize was for combining two separate fields of immunology research - genetic research on IPEX and immunology research of regulatory T cells (#Tregs), with enormous impact on biology/medicine
Reposted by Louis Ates
Dear #microbiology and #immunology community- I took a break from social media after I deleted my Twitter account, but am back here. Please help me rebuild my community by following me and amplifying this message- I will follow you back. Thank you and I look forward to our many interactions!
October 5, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Dear #microbiology and #immunology community- I took a break from social media after I deleted my Twitter account, but am back here. Please help me rebuild my community by following me and amplifying this message- I will follow you back. Thank you and I look forward to our many interactions!