Rock Lab
@rocklabtb.bsky.social
Rock Lab @ Rockefeller University. Tuberculosis functional genomics.
Reposted by Rock Lab
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 Rock Lab
Check out our exciting new paper out now in @plos.org where Dr Ahmad manipulated #peptidoglycan chemistry to understand Lyme disease and arthritis 👇👏
#Microsky
#glycotime
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
#Microsky
#glycotime
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
Peptidoglycan architecture dictates protein interactions, tissue tropism, and arthritis in the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi
Author summary Many of the pathogenic mechanisms by which Borrelia burgdorferi causes disease involve cell envelope interactions with host components. To further elucidate the role of peptidoglycan in...
journals.plos.org
January 20, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Check out our exciting new paper out now in @plos.org where Dr Ahmad manipulated #peptidoglycan chemistry to understand Lyme disease and arthritis 👇👏
#Microsky
#glycotime
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
#Microsky
#glycotime
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
Reposted by Rock Lab
I’m thrilled to share our work on phage triggers of the bacterial immune system in its final form @natmicrobiol.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A phage protein screen identifies triggers of the bacterial innate immune system - Nature Microbiology
A library of 400 phage protein-coding genes is used to find a trove of antiphage systems, revealing systems that target tail fibre and major capsid proteins.
www.nature.com
January 18, 2026 at 10:45 PM
I’m thrilled to share our work on phage triggers of the bacterial immune system in its final form @natmicrobiol.nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Rock Lab
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!
Reposted by Rock Lab
A study in @science.org from Paul Cohen's lab, led by @maschakoenen.bsky.social, demonstrates how beige fat directly influences blood pressure. The findings offer a new target for treating vascular disease and could lead to more precise therapies for hypertension: https://bit.ly/4pK0hGh
January 15, 2026 at 8:07 PM
A study in @science.org from Paul Cohen's lab, led by @maschakoenen.bsky.social, demonstrates how beige fat directly influences blood pressure. The findings offer a new target for treating vascular disease and could lead to more precise therapies for hypertension: https://bit.ly/4pK0hGh
Reposted by Rock Lab
We are hiring new faculty!! Come join our amazing community in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine! The deadline for applications is 2/21, but applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. facultyopportunities.wustl.edu/Posting/Deta...
Opportunity Details - Faculty Opportunities
facultyopportunities.wustl.edu
January 8, 2026 at 9:05 PM
We are hiring new faculty!! Come join our amazing community in the Department of Molecular Microbiology at Washington University School of Medicine! The deadline for applications is 2/21, but applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. facultyopportunities.wustl.edu/Posting/Deta...
Congrats @maxgg.bsky.social and team! This looks very cool.
Lab-grown lung models have traditionally been grown from a mixture of cells, making it hard to tell how a disease or treatment will affect an individual person.
These new models by @maxgg.bsky.social’s team and AlveoliX are grown from a single person’s stem cells ⤵️ www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-01...
These new models by @maxgg.bsky.social’s team and AlveoliX are grown from a single person’s stem cells ⤵️ www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-01...
Built to breathe: mini ‘lungs’ recreate individual response to infection
Lung-on-chip device exposes earliest stages of tuberculosis infection, and opens doors to investigate diversity in disease progression and personalised treatment.
www.crick.ac.uk
January 2, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Congrats @maxgg.bsky.social and team! This looks very cool.
Reposted by Rock Lab
Lab-grown lung models have traditionally been grown from a mixture of cells, making it hard to tell how a disease or treatment will affect an individual person.
These new models by @maxgg.bsky.social’s team and AlveoliX are grown from a single person’s stem cells ⤵️ www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-01...
These new models by @maxgg.bsky.social’s team and AlveoliX are grown from a single person’s stem cells ⤵️ www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-01...
Built to breathe: mini ‘lungs’ recreate individual response to infection
Lung-on-chip device exposes earliest stages of tuberculosis infection, and opens doors to investigate diversity in disease progression and personalised treatment.
www.crick.ac.uk
January 1, 2026 at 7:58 PM
Lab-grown lung models have traditionally been grown from a mixture of cells, making it hard to tell how a disease or treatment will affect an individual person.
These new models by @maxgg.bsky.social’s team and AlveoliX are grown from a single person’s stem cells ⤵️ www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-01...
These new models by @maxgg.bsky.social’s team and AlveoliX are grown from a single person’s stem cells ⤵️ www.crick.ac.uk/news/2026-01...
Reposted by Rock Lab
The @ragoninstitute.bsky.social is launching a new faculty search for a computational immunologist! Applications are open now and reviewed on a rolling basis. Please share broadly with your networks! #immunosky
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Computational Immunologist - Boston, Massachusetts (US) job with Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, & Harvard | 12849577
The Ragon Institute of Massachusetts General Hospital, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Harvard in Cambridge MA, together with the Departmen
www.nature.com
December 7, 2025 at 4:32 PM
The @ragoninstitute.bsky.social is launching a new faculty search for a computational immunologist! Applications are open now and reviewed on a rolling basis. Please share broadly with your networks! #immunosky
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
www.nature.com/naturecareer...
Congrats Luiz and colleagues. Important work!
We’re excited to share our latest study that reshapes our understanding of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) lipid composition, with major implications for drug discovery, immunity, and vaccine development.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A thread.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
A thread.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis overcomes phosphate starvation by extensively remodelling its lipidome with phosphorus-free lipids - Nature Communications
Here, the authors show that Mycobacterium tuberculosis manipulates lipid metabolism to overcome host restriction, by remodelling its lipidome and utilising host lipids as an alternative phosphate sour...
www.nature.com
December 22, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Congrats Luiz and colleagues. Important work!
Reposted by Rock Lab
While everyone is hustling for the holidays, hopefully folks will have time to submit abstracts or register for #ASMMicrobe2026 in DC! Please repost!
Abstract portal is open for ASM Microbe 2026. New meeting format, same great science. Hope to see you in DC!
ASM Microbe | Abstracts
ASM Microbe showcases the best microbial sciences in the world and provides a one-of-a-kind forum to explore everything from basic microbiology to translation and application.
asm.org
December 22, 2025 at 2:40 PM
While everyone is hustling for the holidays, hopefully folks will have time to submit abstracts or register for #ASMMicrobe2026 in DC! Please repost!
Reposted by Rock Lab
We’re heading for one thousand ⭐️ signatures today! Thank you to all who have signed and shared so far,
Still plenty of other people to reach before we all wrap up for the holidays, so send family and friends the petition link as an early resolution for a happier New Year! c.org/rstb5XTvns
Still plenty of other people to reach before we all wrap up for the holidays, so send family and friends the petition link as an early resolution for a happier New Year! c.org/rstb5XTvns
December 19, 2025 at 4:20 PM
We’re heading for one thousand ⭐️ signatures today! Thank you to all who have signed and shared so far,
Still plenty of other people to reach before we all wrap up for the holidays, so send family and friends the petition link as an early resolution for a happier New Year! c.org/rstb5XTvns
Still plenty of other people to reach before we all wrap up for the holidays, so send family and friends the petition link as an early resolution for a happier New Year! c.org/rstb5XTvns
Reposted by Rock Lab
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 6:29 PM
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!
Reposted by Rock Lab
🚨 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐛, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐁 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝! 🚨
We’re thrilled to share our new study revealing how the chromatin regulator SP140 preserves protective T cell immunity during #tuberculosis infection by restraining harmful type I IFN responses.
📖 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁: shorturl.at/r5jd9
We’re thrilled to share our new study revealing how the chromatin regulator SP140 preserves protective T cell immunity during #tuberculosis infection by restraining harmful type I IFN responses.
📖 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁: shorturl.at/r5jd9
December 11, 2025 at 6:07 AM
🚨 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐛, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐁 𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝! 🚨
We’re thrilled to share our new study revealing how the chromatin regulator SP140 preserves protective T cell immunity during #tuberculosis infection by restraining harmful type I IFN responses.
📖 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁: shorturl.at/r5jd9
We’re thrilled to share our new study revealing how the chromatin regulator SP140 preserves protective T cell immunity during #tuberculosis infection by restraining harmful type I IFN responses.
📖 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁: shorturl.at/r5jd9
Reposted by Rock Lab
Congrats to @alercher.bsky.social of the #RiceLab, who has won the 2025 Sidney & Joan Pestka Post-Graduate Award from the @cytokinesociety.bsky.social!
The Sidney & Joan Pestka Graduate & Post Graduate Awards - International Cytokine & Interferon Society
Nomination/Application Form The submission deadline has been extended to May 31, 2025 The Sidney & Joan Pestka Graduate & Post Graduate AwardsDescription: The Sidney & Joan Pestka Graduate and Post-Gr...
cytokinesociety.org
December 8, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Congrats to @alercher.bsky.social of the #RiceLab, who has won the 2025 Sidney & Joan Pestka Post-Graduate Award from the @cytokinesociety.bsky.social!
Reposted by Rock Lab
🔬 Call to create junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur
Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies
📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD
Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...
#JobOpportunity #Research
Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies
📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD
Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...
#JobOpportunity #Research
Creation of new junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur - Call for applications 2026 - Research
The Institut Pasteur is launching an international call to recruit new junior research group leaders leveraging cutting-edge transdisciplinary approaches to exploring infectious diseases, host-microbe...
research.pasteur.fr
December 8, 2025 at 8:53 AM
🔬 Call to create junior research groups at the Institut Pasteur
Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies
📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD
Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...
#JobOpportunity #Research
Focus: Infectious diseases, host-microbe interactions, vaccines
Special interest: AI methodologies
📅 Deadline: Feb 9, 2026
👥 2-12 years post-PhD
Apply now 📝 research.pasteur.fr/en/call/crea...
#JobOpportunity #Research
Reposted by Rock Lab
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an outlier in many ways. One of them is keeping a high degree of functional redundancy despite its obligate pathogen lifestyle. In this review, we reflect on the biological meaning of M. tuberculosis functional redundancies.
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
Essential redundancies fuel Mycobacterium tuberculosis adaptation to the host
Redundancy in biology is, at a glance, counterintuitive because if the function of two gene products completely overlaps then, throughout the course of evolution, one of the genes will likely accumula...
journals.plos.org
December 7, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an outlier in many ways. One of them is keeping a high degree of functional redundancy despite its obligate pathogen lifestyle. In this review, we reflect on the biological meaning of M. tuberculosis functional redundancies.
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
journals.plos.org/plospathogen...
Reposted by Rock Lab
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!
Antibiotic resistance mutations boost bacterial fitness in the presence of drug but can decrease fitness in its absence. We & others showed that the fitness cost of the most common rifampicin-resistance mutation in M. tuberculosis stems largely from excessive transcriptional termination.
December 3, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Antibiotic resistance mutations boost bacterial fitness in the presence of drug but can decrease fitness in its absence. We & others showed that the fitness cost of the most common rifampicin-resistance mutation in M. tuberculosis stems largely from excessive transcriptional termination.
Reposted by Rock Lab
🚀 Latest paper form the lab is now out at @febsopenbio.bsky.social
@febspress.bsky.social 🔵⚪🔴
We use CRISPRi tools from the @rocklabtb.bsky.social to target essential genes and control smooth to rough transition in M.smegmatis & M.abscessus 🦠🧫👇👇👇
febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
@febspress.bsky.social 🔵⚪🔴
We use CRISPRi tools from the @rocklabtb.bsky.social to target essential genes and control smooth to rough transition in M.smegmatis & M.abscessus 🦠🧫👇👇👇
febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
FEBS Press
CRISPRI-mediated gene silencing and phenotypic exploration in nontuberculous mycobacteria. In this Research Protocol, we describe approaches to control, monitor, and quantitatively assess CRISPRI-med...
febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:28 AM
🚀 Latest paper form the lab is now out at @febsopenbio.bsky.social
@febspress.bsky.social 🔵⚪🔴
We use CRISPRi tools from the @rocklabtb.bsky.social to target essential genes and control smooth to rough transition in M.smegmatis & M.abscessus 🦠🧫👇👇👇
febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
@febspress.bsky.social 🔵⚪🔴
We use CRISPRi tools from the @rocklabtb.bsky.social to target essential genes and control smooth to rough transition in M.smegmatis & M.abscessus 🦠🧫👇👇👇
febs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Rock Lab
New research from Rockefeller's Michel Nussenzweig and colleagues finds one particular class of immune cells appears to play a crucial role in achieving a functional cure among people with HIV. #worldAIDSday
How some treatments can lead to a ‘functional cure' for HIV
Specific class of immune cells help keep virus at bay for months or years--even in the absence of drugs
www.science.org
December 2, 2025 at 6:47 PM
New research from Rockefeller's Michel Nussenzweig and colleagues finds one particular class of immune cells appears to play a crucial role in achieving a functional cure among people with HIV. #worldAIDSday
Reposted by Rock Lab
New Rockefeller research from Michael Rout and Brian Chait finds that nuclear pore complex (NPC) machinery is an extraordinarily dynamic system, offering new insights into diseases such as #cancer and #neurodegeneration that are linked to NPC breakdown: https://bit.ly/3KAlrIk
December 2, 2025 at 8:58 PM
New Rockefeller research from Michael Rout and Brian Chait finds that nuclear pore complex (NPC) machinery is an extraordinarily dynamic system, offering new insights into diseases such as #cancer and #neurodegeneration that are linked to NPC breakdown: https://bit.ly/3KAlrIk
Reposted by Rock Lab
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 3:21 PM
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.
Reposted by Rock Lab
Rockefeller researchers Shixin Liu and Joel Cohen reveal how key regulatory proteins work in a precise hierarchy to meticulously adjust pacing during transcription.
DNA transcription is a tightly choreographed event. A new study reveals how it is choreographed. - News
Life's instructions are written in DNA, but it is the enzyme RNA polymerase II (Pol II) that reads the script, transcribing RNA in eukaryotic cells and eventually giving rise to proteins. Scientists know that Pol II must advance down the gene in perfect...
www.rockefeller.edu
December 1, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Rockefeller researchers Shixin Liu and Joel Cohen reveal how key regulatory proteins work in a precise hierarchy to meticulously adjust pacing during transcription.