Rod Rahimi
@rodrahimi.bsky.social
Physician-Scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Posting about biology (mostly immunology) and medicine
https://www.rahimi-lab.com
https://www.rahimi-lab.com
Pinned
Rod Rahimi
@rodrahimi.bsky.social
· Jan 25
Friends, it's fun to see the #immunology community continue to grow! I created a 4th Starter Pack to help folks find each other. If you're an immunologist and you don't see yourself on the lists, let me know 🧪
go.bsky.app/PY5tCas
go.bsky.app/FmERUoD
go.bsky.app/6aT6qDS
go.bsky.app/QSEPDoj
go.bsky.app/PY5tCas
go.bsky.app/FmERUoD
go.bsky.app/6aT6qDS
go.bsky.app/QSEPDoj
Friends, the second #immunology starter pack filled in 3 days! I started a third to help folks new to BlueSky rebuild their network
Below are the links
If you're an immunologist and I have missed you so far, let me know 🧪
go.bsky.app/PY5tCas
go.bsky.app/FmERUoD
go.bsky.app/6aT6qDS
Below are the links
If you're an immunologist and I have missed you so far, let me know 🧪
go.bsky.app/PY5tCas
go.bsky.app/FmERUoD
go.bsky.app/6aT6qDS
Hello Friends, I created a 5th #immunology Starter Pack. If you're an immunologist and you don't see yourself on the lists, let me know 🧪
go.bsky.app/PY5tCas
go.bsky.app/FmERUoD
go.bsky.app/6aT6qDS
go.bsky.app/QSEPDoj
go.bsky.app/Mdbpk7h
go.bsky.app/PY5tCas
go.bsky.app/FmERUoD
go.bsky.app/6aT6qDS
go.bsky.app/QSEPDoj
go.bsky.app/Mdbpk7h
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
“Since SCID is caused by a faulty gene, scientists collect babies’ stem cells and, in the lab, introduce a healthy copy, using a harmless, disabled form of H.I.V. as the courier. (While the virus can’t replicate, it is still excellent at integrating its genetic cargo into cells’ D.N.A.)”
She Was Born Without an Immune System. Gene Therapy Saved Her Life.
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:54 PM
“Since SCID is caused by a faulty gene, scientists collect babies’ stem cells and, in the lab, introduce a healthy copy, using a harmless, disabled form of H.I.V. as the courier. (While the virus can’t replicate, it is still excellent at integrating its genetic cargo into cells’ D.N.A.)”
This is fascinating
“Furthermore, these findings raise questions about whether anti-PD-1 blockade during cancer immunotherapy provides a short-term anti-tumour effect at the cost of diminishing efficacy due to progressive loss of these critical high-affinity precursors.” #Immunology
“Furthermore, these findings raise questions about whether anti-PD-1 blockade during cancer immunotherapy provides a short-term anti-tumour effect at the cost of diminishing efficacy due to progressive loss of these critical high-affinity precursors.” #Immunology
Inhibitory PD-1 axis maintains high-avidity stem-like CD8+ T cells @nature.com #Germain @niaidnews.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
November 26, 2025 at 10:18 PM
This is fascinating
“Furthermore, these findings raise questions about whether anti-PD-1 blockade during cancer immunotherapy provides a short-term anti-tumour effect at the cost of diminishing efficacy due to progressive loss of these critical high-affinity precursors.” #Immunology
“Furthermore, these findings raise questions about whether anti-PD-1 blockade during cancer immunotherapy provides a short-term anti-tumour effect at the cost of diminishing efficacy due to progressive loss of these critical high-affinity precursors.” #Immunology
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
IL-9 enhancement of engineered CAR-T therapies
@cp-immunity.bsky.social @pennpress.bsky.social @xrtcell.bsky.social @stanforduniversity.bsky.social
www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
@cp-immunity.bsky.social @pennpress.bsky.social @xrtcell.bsky.social @stanforduniversity.bsky.social
www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
November 21, 2025 at 7:48 PM
IL-9 enhancement of engineered CAR-T therapies
@cp-immunity.bsky.social @pennpress.bsky.social @xrtcell.bsky.social @stanforduniversity.bsky.social
www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
@cp-immunity.bsky.social @pennpress.bsky.social @xrtcell.bsky.social @stanforduniversity.bsky.social
www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
www.cell.com/immunity/ful...
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
OMG--read this thread. Remarkable clever use of a trick to visualize plasmid competition that reveals key insights into evolution!!!! 🧪
Hot off the press! Our latest paper led by @fernpizza.bsky.social, understanding how plasmids evolve inside cells. These small, self-replicating DNA circles live inside bacteria and carry antibiotic resistance genes, but also compete with one another to replicate. 1/
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Intracellular competition shapes plasmid population dynamics
From populations of multicellular organisms to selfish genetic elements, conflicts between levels of biological organization are central to evolution. Plasmids are extrachromosomal, self-replicating g...
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 12:29 AM
OMG--read this thread. Remarkable clever use of a trick to visualize plasmid competition that reveals key insights into evolution!!!! 🧪
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
An education in tolerance: the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
journals.biologists.com/dmm/article/...
journals.biologists.com/dmm/article/...
November 20, 2025 at 10:13 AM
An education in tolerance: the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
journals.biologists.com/dmm/article/...
journals.biologists.com/dmm/article/...
This is cool!
"researchers presented a path toward a gene-editing strategy that could eventually be standardized for many different rare diseases, instead of personalized edits for each one."🧪⚕️
"researchers presented a path toward a gene-editing strategy that could eventually be standardized for many different rare diseases, instead of personalized edits for each one."🧪⚕️
New Gene-Editing Strategy Could Help Development of Treatments for Rare Diseases
www.nytimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:53 PM
This is cool!
"researchers presented a path toward a gene-editing strategy that could eventually be standardized for many different rare diseases, instead of personalized edits for each one."🧪⚕️
"researchers presented a path toward a gene-editing strategy that could eventually be standardized for many different rare diseases, instead of personalized edits for each one."🧪⚕️
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
This week is particularly remarkable in terms of #CellDeath and infection biology-related discoveries: biomed.news/bims-cediti/...
Highlight 1: SIGLEC12 mediates plasma membrane rupture during necroptotic cell death:
Highlight 1: SIGLEC12 mediates plasma membrane rupture during necroptotic cell death:
SIGLEC12 mediates plasma membrane rupture during necroptotic cell death - Nature
CRISPR–Cas9-based genome-wide screening shows that SIGLEC12 mediates plasma membrane rupture in cells undergoing necroptosis, possibly through a human-specific mechanism, indicating its potential as a...
www.nature.com
November 16, 2025 at 9:09 AM
This week is particularly remarkable in terms of #CellDeath and infection biology-related discoveries: biomed.news/bims-cediti/...
Highlight 1: SIGLEC12 mediates plasma membrane rupture during necroptotic cell death:
Highlight 1: SIGLEC12 mediates plasma membrane rupture during necroptotic cell death:
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
Notes on NIH matters as the government opens up again drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2025/11/14/n...
Notes on NIH matters as the government opens up again
A tweet from someone apparently positioned to know claimed the damage totals from the government shutdown amounted to 379 study sections postponed, within which 24,380 NIH grant applications were s…
drugmonkey.wordpress.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Notes on NIH matters as the government opens up again drugmonkey.wordpress.com/2025/11/14/n...
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
Just got an email from my SRO for the study section that was missed in October. Good news is that they are trying to reschedule ASAP (Dec/Jan). The bad news is that CSR is mandating that only the the top third (not half) of applications will get discussed for the next 2 rounds.
November 13, 2025 at 10:34 PM
Just got an email from my SRO for the study section that was missed in October. Good news is that they are trying to reschedule ASAP (Dec/Jan). The bad news is that CSR is mandating that only the the top third (not half) of applications will get discussed for the next 2 rounds.
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
Live look at NIH SROs today….
kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter in a messy room .
ALT: kermit the frog is typing on a typewriter in a messy room .
media.tenor.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Live look at NIH SROs today….
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
While the government was shut down, 379 NIH study section meetings (containing 24,380 grant applications) were postponed. NIH is committed to getting these reviewed, but please be patient and understanding with staff, as this is a complex and heavy lift.
November 13, 2025 at 1:25 PM
While the government was shut down, 379 NIH study section meetings (containing 24,380 grant applications) were postponed. NIH is committed to getting these reviewed, but please be patient and understanding with staff, as this is a complex and heavy lift.
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
“These EBV-infected B cells with antigen-presenting abilities had the capacity to activate autoreactive helper T cells, setting off a chain reaction where those T cells could activate other autoreactive B cells, including uninfected ones.”
#SLE #Bcell #EBV
“These EBV-infected B cells with antigen-presenting abilities had the capacity to activate autoreactive helper T cells, setting off a chain reaction where those T cells could activate other autoreactive B cells, including uninfected ones.”
#SLE #Bcell #EBV
Epstein-Barr virus reprograms autoreactive B cells as antigen-presenting cells in systemic lupus erythematosus
Epstein-Barr virus reprograms autoreactive B cells as antigen-presenting cells to promote pathogenic antinuclear T and B cell responses in lupus.
www.science.org
November 13, 2025 at 2:46 AM
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
“These EBV-infected B cells with antigen-presenting abilities had the capacity to activate autoreactive helper T cells, setting off a chain reaction where those T cells could activate other autoreactive B cells, including uninfected ones.”
#SLE #Bcell #EBV
“These EBV-infected B cells with antigen-presenting abilities had the capacity to activate autoreactive helper T cells, setting off a chain reaction where those T cells could activate other autoreactive B cells, including uninfected ones.”
#SLE #Bcell #EBV
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
Up to 323 cancelled CSR study sections. That's more than the 204 sections cancelled earlier this year. Rescheduling is going to be a hot mess with NIH staff reductions and study section members heading into finals and holidays that limit availability. 🧪
Been a rough year for federally funded scientists, and I hate to add another tab to this spreadsheet. So far, the shutdown has resulted in cancellation of 161 CSR study sections. 🧪https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lLEx14q7HKrlYahQYJaN6aHKpMqSMJwX4aenyL5g_ZU/edit?usp=sharing
2025 Study section tracking
docs.google.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Up to 323 cancelled CSR study sections. That's more than the 204 sections cancelled earlier this year. Rescheduling is going to be a hot mess with NIH staff reductions and study section members heading into finals and holidays that limit availability. 🧪
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
My ask of any science enthusiasts who tell the story of Rosalind Franklin:
Don't make her life be about the DNA debacle. She died far too young, but she was a promising scientist in her own right, a mentor and scientific author.
Not for Watson or Crick, but for her legacy.
Don't make her life be about the DNA debacle. She died far too young, but she was a promising scientist in her own right, a mentor and scientific author.
Not for Watson or Crick, but for her legacy.
Her sister wrote my favorite essay about her. She points out that RF would have been famous even if she'd never looked at DNA
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Remembering my sister Rosalind Franklin
Rosalind Franklin died of ovarian cancer in 1958 aged 37 years. Sympathy and feminism
have combined to give us her familiar image as a downtrodden woman scientist, brilliant
but neglected, a heroine t...
www.thelancet.com
November 8, 2025 at 2:17 AM
My ask of any science enthusiasts who tell the story of Rosalind Franklin:
Don't make her life be about the DNA debacle. She died far too young, but she was a promising scientist in her own right, a mentor and scientific author.
Not for Watson or Crick, but for her legacy.
Don't make her life be about the DNA debacle. She died far too young, but she was a promising scientist in her own right, a mentor and scientific author.
Not for Watson or Crick, but for her legacy.
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
And here's a YouTube link. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj0P...
"Rovina's Choice" Shows How The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
YouTube video by The New Yorker
www.youtube.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:36 PM
And here's a YouTube link. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj0P...
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
I helped make a film, out this week, called “Rovina’s Choice,” about the deaths this man without conscience or accountability has caused — already 600,000, ⅔ of them children.
November 6, 2025 at 10:34 PM
I helped make a film, out this week, called “Rovina’s Choice,” about the deaths this man without conscience or accountability has caused — already 600,000, ⅔ of them children.
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
Multi-Year funding analysis, a 🧵
I have been trying to find a robust way of quantifying and understanding multi-year (forward funding).
First, some background:
Most NIH grants are for multiple years (2 to 5, typically).
However, the are usually funded on an annual basis.
1/18
I have been trying to find a robust way of quantifying and understanding multi-year (forward funding).
First, some background:
Most NIH grants are for multiple years (2 to 5, typically).
However, the are usually funded on an annual basis.
1/18
November 3, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Multi-Year funding analysis, a 🧵
I have been trying to find a robust way of quantifying and understanding multi-year (forward funding).
First, some background:
Most NIH grants are for multiple years (2 to 5, typically).
However, the are usually funded on an annual basis.
1/18
I have been trying to find a robust way of quantifying and understanding multi-year (forward funding).
First, some background:
Most NIH grants are for multiple years (2 to 5, typically).
However, the are usually funded on an annual basis.
1/18
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
Literal insanity that a company that made a product that saved millions of lives just a few years ago could go out of business www.statnews.com/2025/10/30/m...
November 4, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Literal insanity that a company that made a product that saved millions of lives just a few years ago could go out of business www.statnews.com/2025/10/30/m...
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
Delighted that this study is finally out @embojournal.org. A detailed analysis of how DNGR-1/CLEC9A signals to promote cross-presentation of dead cell-associated antigens yet does not activate dendritic cells.
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
DNGR-1 signalling limits dendritic cell activation for optimal antigen cross-presentation | The EMBO Journal
imageimageDNGR-1 (CLEC9A) is a C-type lectin receptor of type-1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1s) with an important role in cross-presentation of dead cell antigens. This study explores how it equips cDC1s with the ability to cross-present such ...
www.embopress.org
November 3, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Delighted that this study is finally out @embojournal.org. A detailed analysis of how DNGR-1/CLEC9A signals to promote cross-presentation of dead cell-associated antigens yet does not activate dendritic cells.
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
November 2, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
'Upon attending a Baltimore scientific group meeting in 1988, at which the cloning of the immunoglobulin recombinase-activating gene RAG1, characterization of (IκB) & critical functional attributes of the c-ABL & BCR/ABL proteins were presented, sabbatical scientist Harold Varmus emerged gobsmacked'
Remembering David Baltimore (1938–2025)
David Baltimore, one of modern biology’s most influential scientists, passed away
at his home in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on September 6, 2025 at the age of 87, leaving
legions of former trainees an...
www.cell.com
November 2, 2025 at 5:01 PM
'Upon attending a Baltimore scientific group meeting in 1988, at which the cloning of the immunoglobulin recombinase-activating gene RAG1, characterization of (IκB) & critical functional attributes of the c-ABL & BCR/ABL proteins were presented, sabbatical scientist Harold Varmus emerged gobsmacked'
Reposted by Rod Rahimi
#InflammasomePower! 💥New paper alert💥 How is NLPR3 primed & activated in chronic non-communicable inflammatory diseases? With @oceanedufies.bsky.social &co we show that chronic exposure to oxPAPC drives NRF2 activation that primes & activates NLRP3 sustaining #atherosclerosis in mice & humans! 👇👇👇
Chronic sensing of host-derived lipids is an all-in-one signal that primes and activates NLRP3.
Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome leads to the production of bioactive interleukin (IL)-1β fostering atherosclerosis. The current dogma is that NLRP3 must be first primed by microbial stimuli, know...
www.biorxiv.org
October 31, 2025 at 3:49 PM
#InflammasomePower! 💥New paper alert💥 How is NLPR3 primed & activated in chronic non-communicable inflammatory diseases? With @oceanedufies.bsky.social &co we show that chronic exposure to oxPAPC drives NRF2 activation that primes & activates NLRP3 sustaining #atherosclerosis in mice & humans! 👇👇👇
“Contrary to the prevailing paradigm of fetal immune quiescence, we uncover widespread memory/activated T cells and tissue-resident memory clones shared across organs, indicating systemic immune activity beyond localized barrier defense.”
'Here, we present a multi-organ single-cell atlas encompassing 23 fetal and adult organs, integrating scRNA-seq & scTCR-seq fm over 2.8 million immune cells across 15 second-trimester fetal & 4 adult donors.'
#Immunology
#Immunology
Systemic immune activity occurs during human immune system maturation
Profiling of immune cells from consecutive developmental time points in second-trimester
fetuses and adults reveals that immune activation, immune tolerance, and hematopoiesis
occur in a systemic way ...
www.cell.com
October 31, 2025 at 12:27 AM
“Contrary to the prevailing paradigm of fetal immune quiescence, we uncover widespread memory/activated T cells and tissue-resident memory clones shared across organs, indicating systemic immune activity beyond localized barrier defense.”
🧪#Immunology
Check out our new study in @ScienceMagazine! Using single-cell transcriptomics, we profile enteric nervous system responses to the microbiota and inflammation, identifying regulators of motor #neuron states and #gut transit time.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Regional encoding of enteric nervous system responses to microbiota and type 2 inflammation
Enteric neurons are essential regulators of intestinal physiology, yet their responses to varying microbial and immune environments along the intestinal tract and or during challenges remain poorly un...
www.science.org
October 31, 2025 at 12:10 AM
🧪#Immunology