@uvaimmunology.bsky.social @uvaresearch.bsky.social @uvapress.bsky.social

Our work strongly suggest that vaccination that prevents severe infection may not only reduce harm during the acute phase, but also lower the risk of potential long-term health consequences—including cancer—over a longer timescale.

We show blocking neutrophil recruitment together with PD-L1 inhibition restored CD8⁺ T cell function and suppressed tumor growth, highlighting potential strategies to reduce post-COVID lung cancer risk.

We also observed persistent chromatin remodeling at key cytokine genes in immune and lung structural cells—suggesting that viral infection leaves an “inflammatory memory” that promotes tumor-supportive signaling

Mechanistically, prior viral pneumonia reprogrammed the lung into a pro-tumor microenvironment, marked by sustained accumulation of tumor-associated neutrophils and increased immunosuppression.

Respiratory viral infections prime accelerated lung cancer growth Severe COVID-19 is associated with an increased subsequent risk of lung cancer. Viral pneumonia induces durable lung epigenetic imprinting that promotes tumor-supportive neutrophils and impairs T cell...

We are happy to share our new paper @cellpress.bsky.social We find that patients previously hospitalized with severe COVID-19 have a higher risk of developing lung cancer later.
www.cell.com/cell/abstrac...

Respiratory viral infections prime accelerated lung cancer growth @cellcellpress.bsky.social @jie-immunology.bsky.social
www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

We made it to Round 2 in STAT+ News Science March Madness @statnews!statnews.com/feature/stat-m…
Please continue to support us 🙏

Group 4, Round 1 @uvaresearch.bsky.social @uvaimmunology.bsky.social

2026 STAT Madness 2026 bracket Welcome to STAT Madness, a bracket-style contest to find the best innovation in science and medicine. Explore groundbreaking innovations from

We are excited that our paper on peroxisomal control of viral injury and long COVID @science is selected for the #STATMadness  @statnews.com Small Organelle #Peroxisome Big Roles! Help us to go to round 2!🙏 statnews.com/feature/stat-madness/bracket-voting-now-open

Very excited that this manuscript is “accepted in principle” today! Stay tuned for the final version of the manuscript soon 😄.

A distinct monocyte transcriptional state links systemic immune dysregulation to pulmonary impairment in long COVID @natimmunol.nature.com @saumkmr.bsky.social @ciim-hannover.bsky.social @jie-immunology.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Temporal single-cell profiling uncovers age-associated delays in immune resolution to respiratory viral infection
@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social @jie-immunology.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

【トランプ政権「医療予算削減」】“再びアメリカを健康に”なのに？　難病の治療法研究にも影響が…　新型コロナ後遺症患者に不安｜TBS NEWS DIG YouTube video by TBS NEWS DIG Powered by JNN

CIC research has a global impact: @jie-immunology.bsky.social and his team appeared in a Tokyo Broadcasting System news segment on COVID-19 research and funding! www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYrb...

Couldn’t be prouder of this team! We are excited to welcome new members and celebrate big career milestones of lab colleagues!

TCF4 regulates alveolar macrophage stemness and is a promising therapeutic target in long COVID and related chronic lung diseases @jie-immunology.bsky.social @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social @uvaimmunology.bsky.social
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Jinyi Tang, PhD, received an NIHK99/R00 grant! The award was issued for Jinyi's work developing mucosal vaccines, which he and the @jie-immunology.bsky.social lab have shown to offer additional protection against COVID-19.

Read more: immunology.virginia.edu/jtang_k99/

Our data establish the causal link of respiratory viral infection with subsequent lung cancer development for the first time. This work highlights the urgent need to close monitor COVID-19 survivors for elevated lung cancer risk and develop targeted interventions.

Importantly, our study shows that vaccination can mitigate this enhanced cancer growth by preventing severe disease. This underscores the power of vaccines in preventing not only acute illness but also serious long-term consequences including lung cancer.

Mechanistically, we found that viral pneumonia epigenetically reprograms the lung, creating a pro-tumor environment driven by immunosuppressive neutrophils. These cells suppress anti-tumor immunity and are linked to poor survival in lung cancer patients.

Our clinical data shows that patients hospitalized with COVID-19 had a significantly higher risk of a new lung cancer diagnosis in the following years. This increased risk was not seen in overall cancer types.

Respiratory viral infections prime accelerated lung cancer growth The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted long-term health concerns of viral pneumonia, yet its potential impact on cancer development and growth remains poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that prior...

Excited to share our new findings: Severe respiratory viral infections like COVID-19 and flu can accelerate lung cancer development. Our study establishes a direct causal link, highlighting the urgent need for long-term cancer surveillance in COVID-19 survivors.

doi.org/10.1101/2025...

RFK Jr. threatens to bar government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals The health secretary said the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and The Lancet are in bed with pharma.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threatened to bar government scientists from publishing in major medical journals, saying on a podcast that three top journals were “corrupt” and influenced by pharmaceutical companies.

SIS 2025 registration ends next Monday. We still have a few seats available. Please join us! @uvaimmunology.bsky.social

SIS 2025 early registration and abstract due today. Please join us! @uvaimmunology.bsky.social

Abstract submission due in 1 week on April. 21st. #SIS2025. Please join Drs. Merad, Mathis and Kipnis and many more on the beautiful UVA campus.

www.immunology.virginia.edu/sis2025/

Massive crowd at Hands Off rally in St. Paul, Minnesota

Wow. #HandsOff rally in St. Paul, Minnesota is massive!

HHS starts layoffs of thousands of workers across its agencies Layoff notices began arriving early Tuesday for thousands of employees of HHS and its subsidiary agencies, with as many 10,000 workers potentially expected to be hit by the cuts.

How I will remember April Fools' Day 2025.
Reckless.
My heart is out for these dedicated folks at NIH, FDA and CDC
www.statnews.com/2025/04/01/h...

By attacking science:

We are less safe because science informs national security and medical care.

We are less prosperous because science drives innovation and economic benefit.

We are less free because science and democracy depend on the liberty to ask questions, and seek and share knowledge.