Immune

Luke O'Neill recounts his role in discovering key components of the TLR signaling pathway, explains how pursuing unexpected research questions keeps him motivated, and reflects on his experiences as an entrepreneur founding biotech companies.

Host: Cindy Leifer
Guest: Luke O'Neill
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O'Neill lab
Identification of MAL in the TLR signaling pathway (Nature, 2001)
GDF 15, immunometabolism and anti-inflammatories (An Rev Pharmacol Tox, 2026)
Itaconate and regulation of inflammation (Nat Metab, 2024)
Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
Music by Tatami.
Logo image by Blausen Medical

Send your immunology questions and comments to [email protected]
Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

George Stark from the Cleveland Clinic reflects on his early training in biochemistry and how several sabbatical leaves sparked pivotal changes in his research trajectory, eventually drawing him to interferon signaling where he helped establish the core principles of the JAK–STAT pathway and uncovered interesting roles for interferon signaling in cancer.
Host: Cindy Leifer
Guest: George Stark
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Stark lab
Development of the Northern blotting technique (PNAS, 1977)
Development of Western blotting for proteins (PNAS, 1979)
Discovery of Tyk2 as a critical kinase in interferon response (Cell, 1992)
Topical PALA treatment for non-melanoma skin cancer (Exp Dermatol, 2023)
Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
Music by Tatami.
Logo image by Blausen Medical

Send your immunology questions and comments to [email protected]
Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

The Immune team talks all about cytokines, from what they are to immunotherapies against them to treat diseases.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Cindy Leifer, and Brianne Barker
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Non-specific virus neutralization by IgM and complement (mBio 2026)
Natural antibodies against viruses (Virology blog, 2009)
Biologics against inflammatory cytokines (Int J Cell Bio, 2016)
Biologics against allergic cytokines (JACI, 2022)
Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
Music by Tatami.
Immune logo image by Blausen Medical

Send your immunology questions and comments to [email protected]
Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

Irah King from McGill University talks about his passion to understand how our immune system detects and responds to helminthic worm infections, how the worms can reprogram those responses, and how these pathways might be exploited to develop new treatments for inflammatory diseases. 
Host: Cindy Leifer
Guest: Irah King
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Links for this episode
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King lab at McGill
Stromal cells and disease tolerance against intestinal infection (Cell, 2025)
Helminth-Microbiome Interactions in Early Life (Cell, Host, & Microbe, 2024)
BCL6, CD4T cells and parasitic infection (Mucoslal Immunol, 2023)
Helminths manipulate the intestinal epithelium (Trends Parasit, 2023)
Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
Music by Tatami.
Logo image by Blausen Medical

Send your immunology questions and comments to [email protected]
Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.

The Immune team discusses a paper describing the negative effects of old B cells on T cells and longevity and a snippet on an interesting vaccine approach to promote competition between gut commensals.
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Cindy Leifer, Stephanie Langel, and Brianne Barker
Subscribe (free): Apple Podcasts, RSS, email
Become a patron of Immune!
Links for this episode
MicrobeTV Discord Server
Vaccine enhanced competition of gut bacteria (Science 2025)
B cells drive immunosenescence and aging (Sci Immunol 2026)
Time stamps by Jolene Ramsey. Thanks!
Music by Tatami.
Immune logo image by Blausen Medical

Send your immunology questions and comments to [email protected]
Information on this podcast should not be construed as medical advice.