Hensley Lab
@scottehensley.bsky.social
dad, viral immunologist, professor
Reposted by Hensley Lab
Our lab's paper describing the North American H5N1 epizootic is out now in Nature! So thrilled to have this out, and congratulations to @lambod50.bsky.social for all the fantastic work on this: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Ecology and spread of the North American H5N1 epizootic - Nature
The panzootic of highly pathogenic H5N1 since 2021 was driven by around nine introductions into the Atlantic and Pacific flyways, followed by rapid dissemination through wild migratory birds, primaril...
www.nature.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Our lab's paper describing the North American H5N1 epizootic is out now in Nature! So thrilled to have this out, and congratulations to @lambod50.bsky.social for all the fantastic work on this: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
CDC FluView hasn't been updated in a month, so I will start posting Philadelphia flu activity updates weekly. It is especially important to track flu in the US this year, since there are reports of a severe early flu season in parts of Asia. The PA department of health also has a nice website. 1/2
October 30, 2025 at 3:28 PM
CDC FluView hasn't been updated in a month, so I will start posting Philadelphia flu activity updates weekly. It is especially important to track flu in the US this year, since there are reports of a severe early flu season in parts of Asia. The PA department of health also has a nice website. 1/2
Reposted by Hensley Lab
After a quiet summer, the bird flu virus H5N1 is hitting poultry flocks hard in the run-up to the holidays — and in the midst of a federal government shutdown.
w/ @emilyanthes.bsky.social
(Gift article)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/h...
w/ @emilyanthes.bsky.social
(Gift article)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/h...
Bird Flu Is Back
www.nytimes.com
October 22, 2025 at 5:06 PM
After a quiet summer, the bird flu virus H5N1 is hitting poultry flocks hard in the run-up to the holidays — and in the midst of a federal government shutdown.
w/ @emilyanthes.bsky.social
(Gift article)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/h...
w/ @emilyanthes.bsky.social
(Gift article)
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/h...
Reports of severe flu cases in Hong Kong. If I was a politician, I would strengthen international collaborations to study infectious diseases in other countries. Now is a good time to get a seasonal flu vaccine in the US…there are signs we could have an early season.
www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/...
www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/...
CHP urges schoolchildren to promptly receive seasonal influenza vaccination as another severe paediatric influenza infection case reported
The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (October 20) announced a case of severe paediatric influenza A infection. The CHP urged schools and parents...
www.info.gov.hk
October 21, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Reports of severe flu cases in Hong Kong. If I was a politician, I would strengthen international collaborations to study infectious diseases in other countries. Now is a good time to get a seasonal flu vaccine in the US…there are signs we could have an early season.
www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/...
www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/...
Reposted by Hensley Lab
Our lab's first paper is out! Led by Jordan Ort, we developed NextClade datasets that enable rapid H5 clade assignment via NextClade. We deployed these during the start of the H5 cattle outbreak, and we finally published the paper in Virus Evolution academic.oup.com/ve/article/1...
Development of avian influenza A(H5) virus datasets for Nextclade enables rapid and accurate clade assignment
Abstract. The 2022 panzootic of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5) viruses has led to unprecedented transmission to multiple mammalian species.
academic.oup.com
October 15, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Our lab's first paper is out! Led by Jordan Ort, we developed NextClade datasets that enable rapid H5 clade assignment via NextClade. We deployed these during the start of the H5 cattle outbreak, and we finally published the paper in Virus Evolution academic.oup.com/ve/article/1...
I'm proud of our new study showing that some people born in the 1990s have high levels of antibodies that cross-react to H3 viruses from the 1990s and....contemporary H1N1 viruses. Such a surprising story led by Grace Li, in collaboration with many Penn-CEIRR labs. 1/
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Childhood immunological imprinting of cross-subtype antibodies targeting the hemagglutinin head domain of influenza viruses
Influenza virus cross-subtype antibodies targeting the hemagglutinin (HA) head are rare. Here, we found that a large proportion of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) isolated from individuals immunized with...
www.medrxiv.org
September 26, 2025 at 12:49 PM
I'm proud of our new study showing that some people born in the 1990s have high levels of antibodies that cross-react to H3 viruses from the 1990s and....contemporary H1N1 viruses. Such a surprising story led by Grace Li, in collaboration with many Penn-CEIRR labs. 1/
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by Hensley Lab
Pennsylvania has now joined with our other northeastern states to create the Northeast Public Health Collaborative to protect public health, provide vaccine recommendations and share expertise.
Protecting public health only works when we’re united.
Protecting public health only works when we’re united.
September 19, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Pennsylvania has now joined with our other northeastern states to create the Northeast Public Health Collaborative to protect public health, provide vaccine recommendations and share expertise.
Protecting public health only works when we’re united.
Protecting public health only works when we’re united.
Reposted by Hensley Lab
In June, an ACIP member said that 250 pediatric flu deaths were no big deal. Maybe today we will find out that a handful of hepatitis B related cancers, transplants, and deaths are also not a big deal to them either. Welcome to the new public health. We are aligned to a manifesto, not science.
September 19, 2025 at 11:28 AM
In June, an ACIP member said that 250 pediatric flu deaths were no big deal. Maybe today we will find out that a handful of hepatitis B related cancers, transplants, and deaths are also not a big deal to them either. Welcome to the new public health. We are aligned to a manifesto, not science.
Reposted by Hensley Lab
In new study led by @ckikawa.bsky.social, we provide near real-time data on human neutralizing antibody landscape to influenza by measuring ~26,000 titers to >100 recent viral strains
Data can inform vaccine selection & evolutionary/epidemiological modeling
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Data can inform vaccine selection & evolutionary/epidemiological modeling
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Near real-time data on the human neutralizing antibody landscape to influenza virus to inform vaccine-strain selection in September 2025
The hemagglutinin of human influenza virus evolves rapidly to erode neutralizing antibody immunity. Twice per year, new vaccine strains are selected with the goal of providing maximum protection again...
www.biorxiv.org
September 8, 2025 at 9:48 PM
In new study led by @ckikawa.bsky.social, we provide near real-time data on human neutralizing antibody landscape to influenza by measuring ~26,000 titers to >100 recent viral strains
Data can inform vaccine selection & evolutionary/epidemiological modeling
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Data can inform vaccine selection & evolutionary/epidemiological modeling
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
A few months ago, when asked if his Nobel prize changed his science, David Baltimore said "I got into science because I love data. And the only thing I really care about in my life is data. And for that reason I didn't stop doing science because I won an award."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqUK...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqUK...
CSHL Keynote, Dr. David Baltimore, Caltech
YouTube video by CSHL Leading Strand
www.youtube.com
September 8, 2025 at 6:10 PM
A few months ago, when asked if his Nobel prize changed his science, David Baltimore said "I got into science because I love data. And the only thing I really care about in my life is data. And for that reason I didn't stop doing science because I won an award."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqUK...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqUK...
A new study led by @cambupenn.bsky.social Jordan Ort in my lab was posted on medRxiv. We found that humans infected with H1N1 viruses in childhood have high levels of Abs that cross-react to the NA of H5N1 viruses...decades after their childhood H1N1 infections. 1/
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Cross-reactive human antibody responses to H5N1 influenza virus neuraminidase are shaped by immune history
H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses have spread globally and pose a risk for a human pandemic. Prior studies suggest that early life exposures to group 1 influenza viruses (H1N1 and H2N2) p...
www.medrxiv.org
September 4, 2025 at 8:00 PM
A new study led by @cambupenn.bsky.social Jordan Ort in my lab was posted on medRxiv. We found that humans infected with H1N1 viruses in childhood have high levels of Abs that cross-react to the NA of H5N1 viruses...decades after their childhood H1N1 infections. 1/
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Looks like one of our ‘imprinting’ papers was cited in the HHS data package, despite our conclusion that people receiving an ancestral mRNA vaccine were better at producing antibodies against variants compared to unvaccinated people.
The "data" package Secretary Kennedy used to bolster his argument for discontinuing #BARDA funding for #mRNA research doesn't support his argument. @jakescottmd.bsky.social lays it out in a must read for @statnews.com. www.statnews.com/2025/08/13/r...
Kennedy's case against mRNA vaccines collapses under his own evidence
“This isn't scientific disagreement. It's either staggering incompetence or willful misrepresentation,” writes infectious disease physician Jake Scott.
www.statnews.com
August 13, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Looks like one of our ‘imprinting’ papers was cited in the HHS data package, despite our conclusion that people receiving an ancestral mRNA vaccine were better at producing antibodies against variants compared to unvaccinated people.
“Dr. Bhattacharya might not realize that many human vaccines are based on live attenuated viruses, where we similarly cannot definitively quantify antigen amounts produced in recipients. The mRNA and live attenuated vaccine platforms have both proven to be safe and effective in clinical studies.”
#NIH director Jay Bhattacharya says the #BARDA mRNA contracts were terminated because the platform isn't viable because people don't trust it.
Experts question some of the claims Bhattacharya made. www.statnews.com/2025/08/11/m...
Experts question some of the claims Bhattacharya made. www.statnews.com/2025/08/11/m...
NIH director: mRNA vaccine contracts were canceled because public lacks trust in technology
NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya offered an explanation for the cancellation of mRNA vaccine contracts that didn't align with that of his boss, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
www.statnews.com
August 11, 2025 at 5:37 PM
“Dr. Bhattacharya might not realize that many human vaccines are based on live attenuated viruses, where we similarly cannot definitively quantify antigen amounts produced in recipients. The mRNA and live attenuated vaccine platforms have both proven to be safe and effective in clinical studies.”
Science and health shouldn’t be wrapped up into politics. This leaves the US woefully unprepared for the next pandemic.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has canceled nearly $500 million of grants and contracts for developing mRNA vaccines, the Department of Health and Human Services announced on Tuesday.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/h...
Kennedy Cancels Nearly $500 Million in mRNA Vaccine Contracts
www.nytimes.com
August 6, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Science and health shouldn’t be wrapped up into politics. This leaves the US woefully unprepared for the next pandemic.
Reposted by Hensley Lab
The former NIH director on the catastrophe unfolding for American research. youtu.be/lW9c6t4potU
A Scientific Brain Drain Has Followed Trump’s Gutting Of The NIH - Dr. Francis Collins
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
youtu.be
July 26, 2025 at 6:45 PM
The former NIH director on the catastrophe unfolding for American research. youtu.be/lW9c6t4potU
Reposted by Hensley Lab
Dissolving ACIP is an absolute mistake. We need accurate information—not fringe theories—guiding government recommendations on which vaccines to give which people.
June 10, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Dissolving ACIP is an absolute mistake. We need accurate information—not fringe theories—guiding government recommendations on which vaccines to give which people.
Reposted by Hensley Lab
Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is now the definitive source for evidence-based vaccine recommendations in North America.
www.canada.ca/en/public-he...
www.canada.ca/en/public-he...
National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI): Statements and publications - Canada.ca
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) makes recommendations for the use of vaccines currently or newly approved for use in humans in Canada, including the identification of groups at ...
www.canada.ca
June 9, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Canada's National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) is now the definitive source for evidence-based vaccine recommendations in North America.
www.canada.ca/en/public-he...
www.canada.ca/en/public-he...
Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable.
This is the big one: Kennedy is firing the entire #ACIP in a move he says is needed to restore confidence in vaccines.
"It scares me to think of what’s ahead,” Mike Osterholm of CIDRAP told me. www.statnews.com/2025/06/09/r...
"It scares me to think of what’s ahead,” Mike Osterholm of CIDRAP told me. www.statnews.com/2025/06/09/r...
Health secretary RFK Jr. abruptly fires CDC vaccine advisory panel
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has taken the extraordinary step of firing the expert panel that advises the CDC.
www.statnews.com
June 9, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable.
Happy to be part of @kingofpathogens.bsky.social study showing mRNAs encoding IL-12 enhance CD8 T cell responses to co-administered HA mRNA vaccines. Study led by Emily Aunins and Anthony Phan from the Hunter lab @upenn.edu
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
An Il12 mRNA-LNP adjuvant enhances mRNA vaccine–induced CD8 T cell responses
IL-12 is dispensable for CD8 T cell responses to mRNA vaccination, but an Il12 mRNA-LNP enhances CD8 T cell memory and protection.
www.science.org
June 6, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Happy to be part of @kingofpathogens.bsky.social study showing mRNAs encoding IL-12 enhance CD8 T cell responses to co-administered HA mRNA vaccines. Study led by Emily Aunins and Anthony Phan from the Hunter lab @upenn.edu
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Anyone that has been around a lab knows that the trainees really drive the research, while most professors just sort of guide the ship. Most innovation comes from our trainees.
Old professors like me will be able to survive these cuts, but our young scientists and our future will be destroyed.
Old professors like me will be able to survive these cuts, but our young scientists and our future will be destroyed.
June 3, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Anyone that has been around a lab knows that the trainees really drive the research, while most professors just sort of guide the ship. Most innovation comes from our trainees.
Old professors like me will be able to survive these cuts, but our young scientists and our future will be destroyed.
Old professors like me will be able to survive these cuts, but our young scientists and our future will be destroyed.
Reposted by Hensley Lab
Once viewed as the path out of the pandemic, mRNA vaccines are now being vilified — & not just by fringe figures. The attack on this important platform could render the US far more vulnerable in the next pandemic & trailing China in the field of scientific advances. www.statnews.com/2025/06/02/m...
mRNA, once lauded as a scientific marvel, is now a government target
The sharp turnaround on mRNA vaccines shows the unprecedented rise of anti-vaccine activists to power
www.statnews.com
June 2, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Once viewed as the path out of the pandemic, mRNA vaccines are now being vilified — & not just by fringe figures. The attack on this important platform could render the US far more vulnerable in the next pandemic & trailing China in the field of scientific advances. www.statnews.com/2025/06/02/m...
This group from China is working on H5 mRNA vaccines similar to the ones we developed in the United States. Based on the Moderna news yesterday, it is clear that we will likely rely on vaccines from other countries to protect us in the event of a flu pandemic.
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
Preclinical Evaluation of an mRNA Vaccine Developed from the First Human Isolate of Bovine H5N1
Given the ongoing global health threat posed by the zoonotic emergence of H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), there is an urgent need for the rapid development of effective v...
www.researchsquare.com
May 30, 2025 at 3:20 PM
This group from China is working on H5 mRNA vaccines similar to the ones we developed in the United States. Based on the Moderna news yesterday, it is clear that we will likely rely on vaccines from other countries to protect us in the event of a flu pandemic.
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-6...
Nice coverage of our H5 mRNA work by Jon LaPook tonight on @cbseveningnews.bsky.social
www.cbsnews.com/video/the-sc...
www.cbsnews.com/video/the-sc...
The scientists aiming to stay ahead of bird flu on dairy farms and prevent a human pandemic
So far, the only people to come down with bird flu got it from animals. Dr. Jon LaPook reports on how research is underway to keep bird flu from mutating into a form that could spread from person to p...
www.cbsnews.com
May 30, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Nice coverage of our H5 mRNA work by Jon LaPook tonight on @cbseveningnews.bsky.social
www.cbsnews.com/video/the-sc...
www.cbsnews.com/video/the-sc...
There is an H3N2 variant that is rising in frequency that has the potential to evade immunity from the 2025-2026 Northern Hemisphere vaccine.
Imagine if we had a vaccine platform that could be easily updated today so that we could have a better matched vaccine by September?
#mRNA
Imagine if we had a vaccine platform that could be easily updated today so that we could have a better matched vaccine by September?
#mRNA
May 29, 2025 at 3:33 PM
There is an H3N2 variant that is rising in frequency that has the potential to evade immunity from the 2025-2026 Northern Hemisphere vaccine.
Imagine if we had a vaccine platform that could be easily updated today so that we could have a better matched vaccine by September?
#mRNA
Imagine if we had a vaccine platform that could be easily updated today so that we could have a better matched vaccine by September?
#mRNA