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
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!
Reposted by Louis Ates
mRNA-based tuberculosis vaccines BNT164a1 and BNT164b1 are immunogenic, well-tolerated and efficacious in rodent models https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.30.679428v1
October 2, 2025 at 1:16 AM
mRNA-based tuberculosis vaccines BNT164a1 and BNT164b1 are immunogenic, well-tolerated and efficacious in rodent models https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.30.679428v1
Reposted by Louis Ates
REVEALED: Donald Trump has picked Tony Blair for central role in Gaza ‘peace plan’…
…but in our inaugural investigation for @thenerve_news, we reveal extensive previously unreported links to Israeli defence, media & tech. 🧵
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/tony-blair...
…but in our inaugural investigation for @thenerve_news, we reveal extensive previously unreported links to Israeli defence, media & tech. 🧵
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/tony-blair...
'WHAT WILL JESUS SAY?' TONY BLAIR, BIG TECH AND THE ISRAEL CONNECTION
As Trump announces the former British PM as his choice to help govern Gaza, Carole Cadwalladr investigates the opaque workings of Blair's institute, its funding from friends of Israel – including bill...
www.thenerve.news
October 1, 2025 at 2:42 PM
REVEALED: Donald Trump has picked Tony Blair for central role in Gaza ‘peace plan’…
…but in our inaugural investigation for @thenerve_news, we reveal extensive previously unreported links to Israeli defence, media & tech. 🧵
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/tony-blair...
…but in our inaugural investigation for @thenerve_news, we reveal extensive previously unreported links to Israeli defence, media & tech. 🧵
1/
www.thenerve.news/p/tony-blair...
It does include us! Stay tuned.
Another record month for bioRxiv - and further evidence the pandemic spike+dip was just that and growth continues. Thanks to all involved and that includes 🫵
October 1, 2025 at 8:36 PM
It does include us! Stay tuned.
Very happy to see this work accepted, congrats! It really elegantly confirms how evolution of Mtb virulence and transmission is largely driven by expression of secreted proteins. Very important impact on correlate of protection studies for vaccines as well.
Now online! Evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis transcription regulation is associated with increased transmission and drug resistance
Evolution of Mycobacterium tuberculosis transcription regulation is associated with increased transmission and drug resistance
Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates have a complex phylogenetic structure and vary in clinical phenotypes. Combining high-throughput RNA-seq and global population genomics reveals gene expression as an axis of variation in host interaction. Underscoring this, variants in a regulator of a key virulence pathway are associated with increased transmission and drug resistance.
dlvr.it
September 30, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Very happy to see this work accepted, congrats! It really elegantly confirms how evolution of Mtb virulence and transmission is largely driven by expression of secreted proteins. Very important impact on correlate of protection studies for vaccines as well.
Reposted by Louis Ates
My initial assessment of this paper ⬇️ was brief, so let’s have a better look at it:
🧵
🧵
Time-resolved fluorescent proteins expand fluorescent microscopy in temporal and spectral domains.
Is it impressive? Yes
Is it new? No
Should you use it? Probably not.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Is it impressive? Yes
Is it new? No
Should you use it? Probably not.
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
Time-resolved fluorescent proteins expand fluorescent microscopy in temporal and spectral domains
A family of rationally designed time-resolved fluorescent proteins with controllable
lifetimes across the visible spectrum enables simultaneous multiplexed live imaging,
super-resolution microscopy, a...
www.cell.com
September 29, 2025 at 5:51 PM
My initial assessment of this paper ⬇️ was brief, so let’s have a better look at it:
🧵
🧵
Reposted by Louis Ates
A nice shift in perceived colour between central and peripheral vision. The fixated disc looks purple while the others look blue.
The effect presumably comes from the absence of S-cones in the fovea.
From Hinnerk Schulz-Hildebrandt:
arxiv.org/pdf/2509.115...
The effect presumably comes from the absence of S-cones in the fovea.
From Hinnerk Schulz-Hildebrandt:
arxiv.org/pdf/2509.115...
September 24, 2025 at 12:04 PM
A nice shift in perceived colour between central and peripheral vision. The fixated disc looks purple while the others look blue.
The effect presumably comes from the absence of S-cones in the fovea.
From Hinnerk Schulz-Hildebrandt:
arxiv.org/pdf/2509.115...
The effect presumably comes from the absence of S-cones in the fovea.
From Hinnerk Schulz-Hildebrandt:
arxiv.org/pdf/2509.115...
On the reading list!
PPE51 is one of the best candidates to form a MOM transport channel. However, our data indicate that it is not that simple. PPE51 mutations in Mmarinum (4 close homologs) indeed reduce the growth on glycerol & glucose, but also highly increase permeability.. and no, we do not fully understand this
PPE51 modulates membrane integrity in Mycobacterium marinum | mBio
The impermeable outer membrane of pathogenic mycobacteria presents a major obstacle
to nutrient acquisition and antibiotic penetration. PPE51, a substrate of the ESX-5
secretion system, has previously...
journals.asm.org
September 23, 2025 at 2:00 PM
On the reading list!
Reposted by Louis Ates
let me share a little story about a remarkable wasp that I encountered yesterday in our local deserts
I stumbled across her, and scrambled to get a few crappy photos .... but then realized that she had a burrow, perhaps a better photo op was possible ??
here she is at her burrow entrance.
I stumbled across her, and scrambled to get a few crappy photos .... but then realized that she had a burrow, perhaps a better photo op was possible ??
here she is at her burrow entrance.
September 23, 2025 at 1:25 AM
let me share a little story about a remarkable wasp that I encountered yesterday in our local deserts
I stumbled across her, and scrambled to get a few crappy photos .... but then realized that she had a burrow, perhaps a better photo op was possible ??
here she is at her burrow entrance.
I stumbled across her, and scrambled to get a few crappy photos .... but then realized that she had a burrow, perhaps a better photo op was possible ??
here she is at her burrow entrance.
Reposted by Louis Ates
@nieuws.nos.nl waarom geven jullie aan mannen die prinsenvlag meevoeren, antisem leuzen roepen en hitlergroet brengen de apolitieke benaming “relschoppers”? bovendien, eerder noemden jullie het “in zwart geklede mannen”. nos.nl/l/2583277.
September 20, 2025 at 2:00 PM
@nieuws.nos.nl waarom geven jullie aan mannen die prinsenvlag meevoeren, antisem leuzen roepen en hitlergroet brengen de apolitieke benaming “relschoppers”? bovendien, eerder noemden jullie het “in zwart geklede mannen”. nos.nl/l/2583277.
Reposted by Louis Ates
Enigszins beschonken Duitsers, zebrakoeien en een dieet van teflon: dit zijn de winnaars op het Ig Nobelfeest
Enigszins beschonken Duitsers, zebrakoeien en een dieet van teflon: dit zijn de winnaars op het Ig Nobelfeest
Nu de serieuze wetenschap steeds meer moeite heeft serieus genomen te worden, lijkt zelfspot levensgevaarlijk. Maar de jaarlijkse toekenning van de Ig Nobelprijzen blijft stug zorgen voor de broodnodige relativering.
www.nrc.nl
September 18, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Enigszins beschonken Duitsers, zebrakoeien en een dieet van teflon: dit zijn de winnaars op het Ig Nobelfeest
I'll be presenting preclinical data on the BNT164 tuberculosis vaccine candidates at this years #mRNA health conference in Berlin. If you're attending, don't hesitate to reach out.
September 18, 2025 at 6:07 PM
I'll be presenting preclinical data on the BNT164 tuberculosis vaccine candidates at this years #mRNA health conference in Berlin. If you're attending, don't hesitate to reach out.
Thoughts @scommandeur.bsky.social?
Thanks @aliciadwright.bsky.social for bring the paper to my timeline.
Thanks @aliciadwright.bsky.social for bring the paper to my timeline.
September 18, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Thoughts @scommandeur.bsky.social?
Thanks @aliciadwright.bsky.social for bring the paper to my timeline.
Thanks @aliciadwright.bsky.social for bring the paper to my timeline.
Interesting finding. Mtb L6 in a cat in Italy. Surprising result and would be interesting if questions were asked regarding cat food. I'm not aware of active transmission in that region, but my info might be outdated.
www.frontiersin.org/journals/mic...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/mic...
Frontiers | First report of tuberculosis in a cat from Italy caused by Mycobacterium africanum, lineage 6: genomic characterization and phylogenetic analysis
IntroductionTuberculosis in humans is mainly caused by two closely related bacteria within the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC), which are Mycobacte...
www.frontiersin.org
September 18, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Interesting finding. Mtb L6 in a cat in Italy. Surprising result and would be interesting if questions were asked regarding cat food. I'm not aware of active transmission in that region, but my info might be outdated.
www.frontiersin.org/journals/mic...
www.frontiersin.org/journals/mic...
Reposted by Louis Ates
Alle talkshows die vanavond Kimmel behandelen: laat zien welke Nederlandse politieke partijen het in hun verkiezingsprogramma hebben gemunt op de media. ‘Tuig van de richel’ noemen. Ben je verafschuwd wat daar gebeurt? Voorkom dan dat het hier begint. Het is geen ‘free speech’ maar ‘protect speech’
September 18, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Alle talkshows die vanavond Kimmel behandelen: laat zien welke Nederlandse politieke partijen het in hun verkiezingsprogramma hebben gemunt op de media. ‘Tuig van de richel’ noemen. Ben je verafschuwd wat daar gebeurt? Voorkom dan dat het hier begint. Het is geen ‘free speech’ maar ‘protect speech’
Reposted by Louis Ates
We are looking to hire post-docs to work on T cell responses to M. tuberculosis infection using murine and NHP models. If you know T cells and wanna work on the top global infectious killer check us out. BSL3 experience not required. The NIH intramural program in Bethesda MD is an amazing place!
September 17, 2025 at 5:50 PM
We are looking to hire post-docs to work on T cell responses to M. tuberculosis infection using murine and NHP models. If you know T cells and wanna work on the top global infectious killer check us out. BSL3 experience not required. The NIH intramural program in Bethesda MD is an amazing place!
Reposted by Louis Ates
I want to explain a few things and then it might be clearer why UK trans people are upset.
In 2001 I married my wife, Sylvia.
In 2005 I started medical transition. (1/13)
In 2001 I married my wife, Sylvia.
In 2005 I started medical transition. (1/13)
August 29, 2025 at 11:56 AM
I want to explain a few things and then it might be clearer why UK trans people are upset.
In 2001 I married my wife, Sylvia.
In 2005 I started medical transition. (1/13)
In 2001 I married my wife, Sylvia.
In 2005 I started medical transition. (1/13)