Tom Scriba
@tomscriba.bsky.social
Professor in Immunology at University of Cape Town, Deputy Director at South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative.
Views are my own.
Views are my own.
Reposted by Tom Scriba
A new paper levels fresh allegations of questionable scientific practices by the Bandim Health Project, an embattled group led by researchers in Denmark that has long studied vaccines in West Africa and has recently become influential in U.S. health policy. https://scim.ag/3ZY7NCR
Controversial Danish vaccine research group faces new allegations
Researchers say they couldn’t find complete data for 10 trials that together enrolled tens of thousands of children in Guinea-Bissau
www.science.org
February 10, 2026 at 2:30 PM
A new paper levels fresh allegations of questionable scientific practices by the Bandim Health Project, an embattled group led by researchers in Denmark that has long studied vaccines in West Africa and has recently become influential in U.S. health policy. https://scim.ag/3ZY7NCR
Reposted by Tom Scriba
The real story about statin safety from >122,000 RCT participants with individual level data. They can cause new-onset diabetes and muscle pain/weakness, but other than that they are remarkably safe for 62 outcomes. Rare liver function test abnormalities thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Assessment of adverse effects attributed to statin therapy in product labels: a meta-analysis of double-blind randomised controlled trials
Adverse event data from blinded randomised trials do not support causal relationships
between statin therapy and most of the conditions (including cognitive impairment,
depression, sleep disturbance, ...
thelancet.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:47 PM
The real story about statin safety from >122,000 RCT participants with individual level data. They can cause new-onset diabetes and muscle pain/weakness, but other than that they are remarkably safe for 62 outcomes. Rare liver function test abnormalities thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Very interesting paper: M. tuberculosis proteins under diversifying selection and the T cell responses that target them. Could these be good TB vaccine antigens?
JCI Insight: Rare variable M. tuberculosis antigens induce predominant Th17 responses in human infection insight.jci.org/articles/vie...
JCI Insight: Rare variable M. tuberculosis antigens induce predominant Th17 responses in human infection insight.jci.org/articles/vie...
JCI Insight -
Rare variable M. tuberculosis antigens induce predominant Th17 responses in human infection
insight.jci.org
February 5, 2026 at 6:20 AM
Very interesting paper: M. tuberculosis proteins under diversifying selection and the T cell responses that target them. Could these be good TB vaccine antigens?
JCI Insight: Rare variable M. tuberculosis antigens induce predominant Th17 responses in human infection insight.jci.org/articles/vie...
JCI Insight: Rare variable M. tuberculosis antigens induce predominant Th17 responses in human infection insight.jci.org/articles/vie...
Reposted by Tom Scriba
Reposted by Tom Scriba
US science after a year of Trump
A series of graphics reveals how the Trump administration has sought historic cuts to science and the research workforce.
go.nature.com/4jSm0ui
A series of graphics reveals how the Trump administration has sought historic cuts to science and the research workforce.
go.nature.com/4jSm0ui
US science after a year of Trump: what has been lost and what remains
A series of graphics reveals how the Trump administration has sought historic cuts to science and the research workforce.
go.nature.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:28 PM
US science after a year of Trump
A series of graphics reveals how the Trump administration has sought historic cuts to science and the research workforce.
go.nature.com/4jSm0ui
A series of graphics reveals how the Trump administration has sought historic cuts to science and the research workforce.
go.nature.com/4jSm0ui
Reposted by Tom Scriba
Yes, Davos, the playground for rich and famous today was once home for desperate tuberculosis patients seeking a cure in sanatoria
January 18, 2026 at 4:20 PM
Yes, Davos, the playground for rich and famous today was once home for desperate tuberculosis patients seeking a cure in sanatoria
Reposted by Tom Scriba
Reposted by Tom Scriba
This is a very appealing meeting in Paris later this year...
"The complexity of mycobacterial infections: from research to real-world impact"
#EMBOComplexInfections
#TBSky for the tuberculosis research, but also #NTM #Leprosy #IDSky #ImmunoSky
meetings.embo.org/event/26-myc...
"The complexity of mycobacterial infections: from research to real-world impact"
#EMBOComplexInfections
#TBSky for the tuberculosis research, but also #NTM #Leprosy #IDSky #ImmunoSky
meetings.embo.org/event/26-myc...
The complexity of mycobacterial infections: from research to real-world impact
Tuberculosis (TB), caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis , remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases worldwide. Meanwhile, non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are an increasing global health co…
meetings.embo.org
January 15, 2026 at 11:34 PM
This is a very appealing meeting in Paris later this year...
"The complexity of mycobacterial infections: from research to real-world impact"
#EMBOComplexInfections
#TBSky for the tuberculosis research, but also #NTM #Leprosy #IDSky #ImmunoSky
meetings.embo.org/event/26-myc...
"The complexity of mycobacterial infections: from research to real-world impact"
#EMBOComplexInfections
#TBSky for the tuberculosis research, but also #NTM #Leprosy #IDSky #ImmunoSky
meetings.embo.org/event/26-myc...
Reposted by Tom Scriba
Important paper by Björn
Corleis. For decades a central tenet of #tuberculosis immunology has that IFNγ-driven iNOS expression in macrophages is the primary mechanism of bacterial control. Turns out this is really only in mice and maybe cattle. It’s not true in most species including humans an NHP.
Corleis. For decades a central tenet of #tuberculosis immunology has that IFNγ-driven iNOS expression in macrophages is the primary mechanism of bacterial control. Turns out this is really only in mice and maybe cattle. It’s not true in most species including humans an NHP.
Species-specific iNOS expression distinguishes epithelial and myeloid IFNγ responses in tuberculosis https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.11.697682v1
January 16, 2026 at 12:52 AM
Important paper by Björn
Corleis. For decades a central tenet of #tuberculosis immunology has that IFNγ-driven iNOS expression in macrophages is the primary mechanism of bacterial control. Turns out this is really only in mice and maybe cattle. It’s not true in most species including humans an NHP.
Corleis. For decades a central tenet of #tuberculosis immunology has that IFNγ-driven iNOS expression in macrophages is the primary mechanism of bacterial control. Turns out this is really only in mice and maybe cattle. It’s not true in most species including humans an NHP.
Reposted by Tom Scriba
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 Tom Scriba
A shortened, four-month course of tuberculosis drug therapy has a higher risk of relapse linked to active lung cavities compared to a standard 6-month protocol, shows a new #ScienceTranslationalMedicine clinical trial of patients in South Africa and China. https://scim.ag/4jv4oo5
Clinical testing of drug treatment shortening in patients with TB using PET/CT imaging of lung lesions
Four months instead of the standard 6 months of drug therapy of less extensive tuberculosis disease had a higher risk of relapse.
scim.ag
January 12, 2026 at 7:00 PM
A shortened, four-month course of tuberculosis drug therapy has a higher risk of relapse linked to active lung cavities compared to a standard 6-month protocol, shows a new #ScienceTranslationalMedicine clinical trial of patients in South Africa and China. https://scim.ag/4jv4oo5
This is an excellent summary of the scientific developments that led to and enabled vaccine development. In my view a must read for anyone who crosses paths with vaccination - ie, everyone.
worksinprogress.co/issue/the-go...
worksinprogress.co/issue/the-go...
The golden age of vaccine development - Works in Progress Magazine
The first vaccine was a lucky accident. Now we can design new vaccines in weeks, atom by atom.
worksinprogress.co
January 8, 2026 at 9:03 AM
This is an excellent summary of the scientific developments that led to and enabled vaccine development. In my view a must read for anyone who crosses paths with vaccination - ie, everyone.
worksinprogress.co/issue/the-go...
worksinprogress.co/issue/the-go...
Reposted by Tom Scriba
Summary of this report in case access is a problem
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
January 4, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Summary of this report in case access is a problem
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Tom Scriba
Hoping the pivotal finding of increased inflammation with #LongCovid will be responsive to tirzepatide (Zepbound) in our ongoing 1,000+ participant randomized, placebo-controlled trial (full enrollment completed in <1 month!)
www.nature.com/articles/s41... @natimmunol.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41... @natimmunol.nature.com
Long COVID involves activation of proinflammatory and immune exhaustion pathways - Nature Immunology
Long COVID (LC) involves a spectrum of chronic symptoms after resolution of acute severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection. Barouch and colleagues show that LC is characterized by per...
www.nature.com
January 4, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Hoping the pivotal finding of increased inflammation with #LongCovid will be responsive to tirzepatide (Zepbound) in our ongoing 1,000+ participant randomized, placebo-controlled trial (full enrollment completed in <1 month!)
www.nature.com/articles/s41... @natimmunol.nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/s41... @natimmunol.nature.com
Reposted by Tom Scriba
🚀 The TB Individual Patient Data (IPD) Platform is now on Bluesky!
Hosted at UCL and overseen by the UCL Centre for Global Tuberculosis Research, we bring together individual patient data to strengthen TB research, policy, and public health.
🔗 www.ucl.ac.uk/population-h...
Hosted at UCL and overseen by the UCL Centre for Global Tuberculosis Research, we bring together individual patient data to strengthen TB research, policy, and public health.
🔗 www.ucl.ac.uk/population-h...
TB-IPD platform
The TB treatment individual patient data platform (TB-IPD) is a collaborative initiative to support the generation of reliable evidence on the treatment of TB to inform future TB treatment guidelines.
www.ucl.ac.uk
January 2, 2026 at 2:03 PM
🚀 The TB Individual Patient Data (IPD) Platform is now on Bluesky!
Hosted at UCL and overseen by the UCL Centre for Global Tuberculosis Research, we bring together individual patient data to strengthen TB research, policy, and public health.
🔗 www.ucl.ac.uk/population-h...
Hosted at UCL and overseen by the UCL Centre for Global Tuberculosis Research, we bring together individual patient data to strengthen TB research, policy, and public health.
🔗 www.ucl.ac.uk/population-h...
Reposted by Tom Scriba
If interested in meta-analysis of TB patient data from trials, do get in touch with colleagues at UCL below! 👇
#IDSky #MedSky #TBSky
#IDSky #MedSky #TBSky
🚀 The TB Individual Patient Data (IPD) Platform is now on Bluesky!
Hosted at UCL and overseen by the UCL Centre for Global Tuberculosis Research, we bring together individual patient data to strengthen TB research, policy, and public health.
🔗 www.ucl.ac.uk/population-h...
Hosted at UCL and overseen by the UCL Centre for Global Tuberculosis Research, we bring together individual patient data to strengthen TB research, policy, and public health.
🔗 www.ucl.ac.uk/population-h...
TB-IPD platform
The TB treatment individual patient data platform (TB-IPD) is a collaborative initiative to support the generation of reliable evidence on the treatment of TB to inform future TB treatment guidelines.
www.ucl.ac.uk
January 4, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by Tom Scriba
How fortunate that two of the things I love the most in life are associated with prolonged survival. Plus, a very important "recent" paper. Happy New Year! #IDsky #Medsky open.substack.com/pub/paulsaxm...
Two Things that Prolong Life and a Great Recent Paper
A Happy New Year gift to me and everyone who shares one or both of these enthusiasms.
open.substack.com
January 1, 2026 at 8:32 PM
How fortunate that two of the things I love the most in life are associated with prolonged survival. Plus, a very important "recent" paper. Happy New Year! #IDsky #Medsky open.substack.com/pub/paulsaxm...
Reposted by Tom Scriba
Want a 2.5 minute primer on the ingenuity of randomised controlled trials?
Of course you do.
Of course you do.
December 30, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Want a 2.5 minute primer on the ingenuity of randomised controlled trials?
Of course you do.
Of course you do.
Happy New Year from Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Cape Town.
#Mango_Groove
#Mango_Groove
January 1, 2026 at 2:26 PM
Happy New Year from Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, Cape Town.
#Mango_Groove
#Mango_Groove
Reposted by Tom Scriba
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...
Reposted by Tom Scriba
I think we all need some good news for global health and infectious diseases!
Five real global health wins in 2025
1.HPV vaccination scaled faster than expected;
2. measles/rubella eliminated in several countries;
3. long-acting HIV PrEP (lenacapavir) approved;
4. progress on TB vaccines/diagnostics;
5. A promising new antimalarial.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
1.HPV vaccination scaled faster than expected;
2. measles/rubella eliminated in several countries;
3. long-acting HIV PrEP (lenacapavir) approved;
4. progress on TB vaccines/diagnostics;
5. A promising new antimalarial.
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Five big global health wins in 2025 that will save millions of lives
From HIV to TB, scientists and doctors made breakthroughs in treatment and prevention of some of the world’s deadliest diseases
www.theguardian.com
December 23, 2025 at 7:36 PM
I think we all need some good news for global health and infectious diseases!
Reposted by Tom Scriba
Remarkably, this phosphate-limitation response does not kill the bacterium, suggesting it is reversible and functionally equivalent. Electron microscopy by Max Gutierrez @maxgg.bsky.social and colleagues shows a structured and ~10% thicker cell envelope associated with this remodeling.
December 22, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Remarkably, this phosphate-limitation response does not kill the bacterium, suggesting it is reversible and functionally equivalent. Electron microscopy by Max Gutierrez @maxgg.bsky.social and colleagues shows a structured and ~10% thicker cell envelope associated with this remodeling.
Reposted by Tom Scriba
These findings highlight that decades of research have focused on an artificial lipid profile, shaped by the high phosphate content of Middlebrook media and likely modestly relevant for infection. The data also reveals a high degree of plasticity in the composition of Mtb cell envelope.
December 22, 2025 at 1:13 PM
These findings highlight that decades of research have focused on an artificial lipid profile, shaped by the high phosphate content of Middlebrook media and likely modestly relevant for infection. The data also reveals a high degree of plasticity in the composition of Mtb cell envelope.