Joseph Sun Lab

How fantastic that there is a lecture series honoring Dr Heathcock. It’s been over 30 years since I was a Cal undergrad, but my first work-study job was to wash glassware in Clayton’s lab - it’s how I got my start in science :)

Remembering Eva…

Greetings from Stockholm. We celebrated the 50th year anniversary of NK cells, and the legacy of Eva and George Klein… in the Klein lecture hall at the Karolinska Institute! Historical tributes and entertaining stories from Hans Wigzell, Rolf Kiessling, Klas Karre, Wayne Yokoyama, and Lewis Lanier!!

Low‐Input Assay for Transposase‐Accessible Chromatin Identifies Epigenetic Signatures of Liver Group 1 Innate Lymphoid Cells Assessing chromatin accessibility in rare cell populations within tissue remains a key challenge. To address this, we present a low-input ATAC workflow optimized for liver ILCs. The protocol is valid...

Working with rare immune populations? We describe an optimized low-input ATAC-seq workflow for tissue ILCs, allowing for reproducible epigenetic profiling. Technical report now out at EJI @EurJImmunol: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/.... Have a look!

TCF19 drives a broad transcriptional program that potentiates optimal innate and adaptive functions of antiviral NK cells - Nature Immunology Sun and colleagues report that the transcription factor TCF19 regulates calcium signaling and cell cycling progression in NK cells and is required for innate and adaptive NK cell responses to viral in...

Have a look at this new study by Dr. Celeste Dang in @natimmunol.nature.com showing an interesting new role for the transcription factor TCF19 in driving antiviral NK cell function. Congrats Celeste for driving this one to the finish line! @mskcancercenter.bsky.social

Congratulations to DR. Celeste Dang on a fantastic thesis talk and successful defense!! @mskeducation.bsky.social

Here’s a more official (but far less creative) flyer from the GSK graduate school @mskcancercenter.bsky.social

These curious-looking flyers appeared in our hallways this week! They announce Celeste Dang’s thesis defense on Monday. Good luck Celeste!!

Wonderful to catch up with two former @wcm-imp.bsky.social grad students at this @faseborg.bsky.social meeting! So proud of alum who are now faculty running their own labs- Priya Issuree (U Iowa) and Ruth Franklin @ruthfranklinlab.bsky.social (Harvard). Nothing makes a program director more happy!

Check out this new study and TCR Tg mouse generated by Endi Santosa @endicytosis.bsky.social. If you are interested in studying classic and inflationary CD8+ T cell memory to MCMV infection, we’re happy to share this mouse, and @laboxenius.bsky.social is extremely generous with her Tg lines as well.

(1/2) In a study published in @cp-immunity.bsky.social, MSK's @josephsunlab.bsky.social and Dr. Rebecca Delconte found that fasting can supercharge the immune system's “natural killer” cells, a type of white blood cells that can kill #cancer cells.

Cutting Edge: Cooperative interferon regulatory factor network shapes the NK-cell antiviral response Abstract. Natural killer (NK) cells are innate lymphocytes that exhibit adaptive traits particularly evident during cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. Follow

Congratulations to Dr. Endi Santosa @endicytosis.bsky.social on his latest study on cooperativity of IRF4 and IRF8 in antiviral NK cells!

On a side note, this is the 10th paper I’ve published in @jimmunol.bsky.social throughout my career - very proud to support @aai.org and our society journal!

Meet the Winners of the 2025 Kravis WiSE Fellowships MSK is proud to announce that four Sloan Kettering Institute (SKI) researchers have been named 2025 Marie-Josée Kravis Women in Science Endeavor (Kravis WiSE) fellowship grant recipients.

Thrilled that Dr. Adriana Mujal has been awarded the Kravis WiSE postdoctoral fellowship! There is no one more deserving! @mskcancercenter.bsky.social

Read about Adriana’s scientific journey here:
www.mskcc.org/news/meet-4-...

GM-CSF–mediated epithelial-immune cell cross-talk orchestrates pulmonary immunity to Aspergillus fumigatus During mold infection, epithelial-derived GM-CSF licenses neutrophil killing of fungal cells, leading to improved survival.

So happy to see this story come together. Check it out! Kathleen Mills and many collaborators - GM-CSF–mediated epithelial-immune cell cross-talk orchestrates pulmonary immunity to Aspergillus fumigatus | Science Immunology www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Congrats Kathleen and Tobias! It has been fun to serve on Kathleen’s thesis committee and watch this fantastic story develop and gain mechanistic depth over the years. Kathleen’s perseverance has been remarkable - and a testament to who she is as a scientist and person!

Glad to hear this Marion. Christine made some fundamental contributions to our field, including how important NK cells are in protecting us against viral infection. Her legacy will live on in my teaching materials, lectures, and seminars.

Fun visit to UCLA today, where my former postdoc (Professor Tim O’Sullivan) gave me a nice welcome, and I had a wonderful dinner and discussions with scientific “grandkids” 😊 In the current and difficult environment we are all going through, it was an important reminder of why we love what we do!!

Celebrate the amazing women in your labs!! #InternationalWomensDay

Incredibly proud of our NYC scientific community for standing up for SCIENCE! @standupforscience.bsky.social

America's Greatest Workplaces for Inclusion & Diversity 2025 Newsweek is partnering with Plant-A Insights Group to honor America's Greatest Workplaces for Inclusion & Diversity 2025. These companies are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse work envir...

MSK has been recognized as one of the national's top workplaces for inclusion and diversity by @newsweek.com magazine. 🎉

MSK earned five stars, the highest ranking, among mid to large employers in America. Learn more: www.newsweek.com/rankings/ame...

Splenic TNF-α signaling potentiates the innate-to-adaptive transition of antiviral NK cells NK cells possess innate and adaptive features, but unlike T and B cells, NK cells are not thought to require priming in lymphoid organs. Mujal et al. demonstrate that the spleen supports enhanced expa...

Congratulations to Dr. Adriana Mujal on this @cp-immunity.bsky.social study demonstrating a new role for an age old cytokine! www.cell.com/immunity/ful...

Timing Nutrition to Boost Antitumor Immunity Intermittent fasting in mice enhances natural killer cells’ cancer-fighting abilities.

Can dietary restriction enhance the efficacy of cancer #immunotherapy? MSK cancer immunologist Dr. Rebecca Delconte shares insights from a recent study (via The Scientist). #medsky

We're hiring at all levels! Feel free to reach out if you have questions:
academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/29722

Opinion | American Science is Under Attack The Trump administration hobbles research and endangers the public health.

“Americans who value the spirit of discovery — and eagerly await new ways to confront disease, strengthen our economy and improve the quality of human life — need to issue a strong outcry… This is not a fight that our country can afford to lose.” Indeed

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/o...

Happy International day of women and girls in science! Thanks @josephsunlab.bsky.social for celebrating us today and every day!!

🚀 New to Bluesky? Dive into the Immunology & Microbial Pathogenesis (IMP) community! 🌟 Follow our starter pack of IMP faculty accounts to stay connected, learn, and engage with the latest in research & updates: go.bsky.app/97vN2qB

Merry Christmas from the @josephsunlab.bsky.social 🎄🎅🏼 Another year of fun with the BEST colleagues. White elephant, cookie exchange and hot pot!! What a treat and with huge thanks to #MSKFunFund 🙏🏽

Top Cancer Research Advances at MSK in 2024 MSK researchers continued to make strides against cancer in 2024. Learn about some of their top discoveries.

In 2024, Researchers at MSK continued to make discoveries to advance the global understand of #cancer and develop new therapies.

Here's a look back at some of the most exciting scientific discoveries reported over the past year, in chronological order ⬇️

We have moved our graduate school account to Bluesky… check us out! @wcm-imp.bsky.social

hello to everyone on bluesky!