Rachel Rutishauser
@rrutishauser.bsky.social
Physician-scientist, immunologist. Associate Professor, UCSF Division of Experimental Medicine. Investigator, DARE HIV cure collaboratory. CD8 T cells, HIV, immune development. Posts mine. https://experimentalmedicine.ucsf.edu/laboratories/rutishauser-lab
1/ Fall 2026 vaccines for flu, RSV, and Covid-19 are here, and they remain available at no cost. Keeping track of them all isn’t easy, so I put together the what, who, and when for each, informed by the most up-to-date science and policy. Let's get into it 👇
A mechanistic basis for CD8+ T cell expansion sensitivity as a predictor of HIV post-treatment control https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.28.747758v1
Excited to see our TIRTL-seq method published in Nature Methods www.nature.com/articles/s41...! Some updates after the revision: (1/4)
TIRTL-seq: deep, quantitative and affordable paired TCR repertoire sequencing - Nature Methods
TIRTL-seq is a high-throughput method for paired T cell receptor sequencing at the cohort scale.
nature.com
Very excited to share my lab's first major paper, led by postdoc Qi Liu @gladstoneinst.bsky.social @ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social executing the first ever genome-wide in vivo screens for genetic modifications to enhance human T cell therapies for solid tumors. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
In vivo genome-wide CRISPR screens of human T cells in solid tumours - Nature
An in vivo model that is able to recover human T cells from solid tumours can identify targets to help improve CAR T cell antitumour activity.
nature.com
Based on a new NOA recieved this month, we are looking for a postdoctoral fellow with solid foundation of molecular skills, creativity, and translational passion to help us develop innovative CARs for targeting discrete subsets of T cells. DM or email me if interested
A decade ago we showed that T-dependent IgM+ memory B cells (MBCs) that express CD80 and CD73 rapidly respond to a secondary Plasmodium infection (Krishnamurty, Immunity, 2016). Since then, post-doc Gretchen Harms Pritchard has been working out the cues that lead to the formation of these cells. ⤵️
Journal of Experimental Medicine@jem.org · 3mo agoHarms Pritchard, @marionpepper.bsky.social et al. dissect key CD4⁺ T cell/B cell interactions to define signals that govern the development of memory B cell populations. rupress.org/jem/article/... #InfectiousDisease #HostDefense #LymphocyteBiology #BCells
@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social Immune activation during broadly neutralizing antibody-mediated HIV suppression prior to post-intervention control @rrutishauser.bsky.social @ucsfhealth.bsky.social www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Presented in part at #CROI2026 by Julia Wagner: www.croiwebcasts.org/console/play... #HIV #bNAbs
bioRxiv Immunology@biorxiv-immuno.bsky.social · 4mo agoImmune activation during broadly neutralizing antibody-mediated HIV suppression prior to post-intervention control https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.29.728863v1
Immune activation during broadly neutralizing antibody-mediated HIV suppression prior to post-intervention control https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.29.728863v1
After a single infusion of immune cells engineered to recognize HIV, two people in a new study have suppressed the virus to undetectable levels, one of them for nearly two years. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/h...
A Single Infusion Could Suppress H.I.V. for Years, Study Suggests
nytimes.com
Encouraging news, although it's always preferable for media coverage to happen *after* a presentation and not a day before: pag.virtual-meeting.org/US/asgct2026... Two people experienced an unusual degree of extended #HIV viral load control after ART interruption, but other participants didn't.
André Picard @picardonhealth @picardonhealth.bsky.social · 4mo agoA Single Infusion Could Suppress HIV for Years, Study Suggests. A study of a few patients, to be presented this week, showed promise for a type of gene therapy that has already cured some blood cancers, by @apoorvanyt.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/h... via @nytimes.com
Happy to announce publication of our first therapeutic mRNA-LNP paper! In vivo reprogramming of cytotoxic effector CD8 T cells via fractalkine-conjugated mRNA-LNPs | Science Immunology www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
In vivo reprogramming of cytotoxic effector CD8 T cells via fractalkine-conjugated mRNA-LNPs
Fractalkine-conjugated mRNA-LNPs effectively target cytotoxic effector CD8 T cells for transient in vivo reprogramming.
science.org
My lab has been studying human genes that control infection HIV infection of CD4+ T cells for over a decade. Today we report a major milestone in Cell: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
16,000 people living with HIV are expected to lose coverage from the AIDS Drugs Assistance Program due to Florida's funding cuts. Read Kamaria Laffrey's pre-obituary as a long-term survivor in Florida. "Kamaria Laffrey writes an indictment of a system that’s failing people living with HIV."
A ‘pre-obituary’ as protest by a long-term survivor in Florida
positivelyaware.com
“Tens of thousands of Americans are losing access to treatment for H.I.V. as nearly 20 states impose restrictions on assistance programs and several others weigh such changes.” via @nytimes.com
States Move to Limit Access to H.I.V. Treatment
nytimes.com
CD8 cell fitness predicts who benefits most from antibody-based cure strategies
CD8 cell fitness predicts who benefits most from antibody-based cure strategies
Over the last few years a number of studies aiming to cure HIV or at least achieve long-term viral suppression off antiretroviral therapy (ART) have produced tantalising results. These studies have given participants one or both of the long-acting versions of two broadly neutralising antibodies (bnAbs), 3BNC117 (teropavimab) and 10-1074 (zinlirvimab), sometimes in conjunction with immune boosting oral drugs.
aidsmap.com
Study in 80,000 people in Uganda and Kenya shows 70% reduction in risk of HIV infection. The secret? Community health workers offering testing at home, simplified access to PrEP and PEP, follow up with smart phone app that connects people to clinics. Remarkable. www.science.org/content/arti...
Community health project in Kenya and Uganda dramatically cuts new HIV infections
Large-scale study finds that simplifying delivery of prevention medication and improving connections to clinics is key
science.org
New work from our lab, hot off the press in Nature Immunology (@natureportfolio.nature.com)! How do human T cell responses diversify — and how does this lead to durable protection after vaccination? Paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41... Press release: www.fau.eu/2026/02/news... 1/6
Metabolic quiescence of naive-like memory T cells precedes and maintains antigen-specific T cell memory - Nature Immunology
Schober and colleagues show that effector CD8+ T cells undergo metabolic shutdown, CD8+ central memory T cells are the most metabolically active, and naive-like memory T cells are quiescent during the...
nature.com
At #CROI2026 today, Katharine Bar helped advocates decode Sharon Lewin’s Opening Session on #cure, spotlighting emerging approaches like using the #HIV protein Tat to “wake up” latent virus so the immune system can see it & then eliminate it. For explainer videos on cure, visit, hivcurecompass.org.
New study—and exciting collaboration with Wei Wang, Cong Liu (UCSD), and Kay Chung (new lab at UNC)—that provides a platform for designing T cells into specific states. We identified state-selective TFs for CD8 T cell states that enable “recipes” for cell engineering! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Atlas-guided discovery of transcription factors for T cell programming - Nature
A comprehensive atlas platform integrating transcriptional and epigenetic data enables more precise engineering of T cell states, accelerating the rational design of more effective cellular immunother...
nature.com
I am SO incredibly excited to announce the launch of a global list of Inspiring Black Scientists. You can use this list to nominate and connect with researchers. Please share and join us in highlighting these outstanding scientists for #BlackHistoryMonth and beyond! www.wiley.com/en-us/resear...
Recapitulating the qualities of HIV-specific CD8+ T cells from spontaneous controllers journals.lww.com/co-hivandaid... (open access review) #HIV @rrutishauser.bsky.social
New Insights from Perinatal #HIV: A Way Forward for HIV Cure Research academic.oup.com/jid/advance-... (open access) @jidjournal.bsky.social
New Insights from Perinatal HIV: A Way Forward for HIV Cure Research
Rajesh T Gandhi, Ronald J Bosch, Ann Chahroudi; New Insights from Perinatal HIV: A Way Forward for HIV Cure Research, The Journal of Infectious Diseases, ,
academic.oup.com
Boosting SIV-specific CD8+ T cell responses prior to ART interruption extends time to SIVmac239 rebound www.jci.org/articles/vie... (open access) @jci.org
JCI - Boosting SIV-specific CD8+ T cell responses prior to ART interruption extends time to SIVmac239 rebound
jci.org
Today in @nature.com, we describe how discarded reads in biobank-scale WGS can help resolve the genetic predictors and consequences of Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) infection. Wonderful working with @ryandhindsa.bsky.social @sherrynyeo.bsky.social @erinmayc.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Population-scale sequencing resolves determinants of persistent EBV DNA - Nature
Population-scale WGS reveals genetic determinants of persistent EBV DNA, linking immune regulation—especially antigen processing and MHC class II variation—to EBV persistence and heterogeneous di...
nature.com
In this difficult period in the fight against HIV these news are particularly welcome. Together we can end HIV/AIDS pandemic 💪
WHO@who.int · 9mo agoBrazil makes history! 🇧🇷 WHO has validated Brazil for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of #HIV — making it the most populous country in the Americas to reach this milestone.
Very excited our study is out! 🧵 here: bsky.app/profile/rrut...
Nature Portfolio@natureportfolio.nature.com · 9mo agoA study in Nature identifies immune features associated with control of HIV-1 in individuals who exhibited HIV-1 replication control after receiving combination immunotherapy. go.nature.com/48yxGwP #immunosky #medsky 🧪
A paper in Nature reports the details of a 60-year-old male individual from Germany who achieved sustained HIV remission after a stem cell transplant, the seventh-known case reported to date. go.nature.com/4rNjedx #medsky 🧪
11/ HIV is an extraordinarily challenging pathogen. Demonstrating that the immune system *can* be manipulated to improve control of HIV and identifying a correlate of that control in vivo in people is both important for the field and also gives us something concrete to build on.