Happy #FluorescenceFriday. Embryonic myeloid cells are curious. They emerge early during development and disperse throughout an embryo. During this journey, they interact with different cell populations. This myeloid cell 🔴 is seemingly probing ectoderm cells 🔵 to the point of warping their nuclei.

twas the night before #CIHR NODs & all ‘cross the nation most researchers weren’t hoping for grant celebration the ones who scored at 90% were the only ones assured that they’d get a present those who scored at the level below will get a surprise of a yes or a no. best wishes everyone!

Could a routine vaccine help protect your brain? Explore emerging research on the association between shingles vaccination and reduced dementia risk with me, Ron Swan, Jay Ingram & @asek47.bsky.social. Tune in at defydementia.org, or wherever you get your podcasts. www.baycrest.org/podcast/epis...

It has been an emotional journey of a morning with the CIHR notifications (but not funding decisions) coming out -the adrenaline of waiting for ResearchNet 2FA, reading the tea leaves of the SO notes from my grants, and checking in on friends & colleagues - it's a lot. #ifyouknowyouknow #fundscience

I think I’m going to give this a try.

Iain Roberts@slowbikeiain.bsky.social · 2mo ago

European alternative to Google Docs and Microsoft Office launches on 9 June: free, open source and online, using existing building blocks. An important step in freeing ourselves from US control. www.zdnet.com/article/euro...

Love this! #philsky #academicsky

Dr. Juliet Daniel Barbadian-Canadian, THE distinguished biologist and professor at @mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social has passed away. Dr. Daniel was a pioneering force in cancer research. Her scientific work advanced our understanding of the disease, but her impact extended far beyond the laboratory.

"When governments provide vaccines for free and when they make them easy to get, the public perceives those as being important to get. If they’re difficult to get and not free, people perceive them as being optional.”~me. Thank you @jenleecbc.bsky.social for covering this. #vaccineswork

Alberta sees uptick in COVID-19 vaccinations with spring rollout in pharmacies | CBC News

According to the province, nearly 13,000 free COVID-19 vaccine doses have been given out to Albertans at the highest risk of severe outcomes since it launched its spring rollout in early April.

cbc.ca

I was so touched to be mentioned in @mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social 's Dean of the Faculty of Health Science (Dr. Paul O'Byrne) opinion piece in @thespec1846.bsky.social. So nice to see so many of my infectious disease research colleagues mentioned. I love my job. www.thespec.com/opinion/cont...

‼️ Only 10 days left until abstract submission and regular registration deadline for the Southern Ontario Neuroscience Association (SONA) 🧠 meeting at @mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social on May 2, 2026! We have a fantastic lineup of speakers - see flyer! Registration and abstract links are also below 👇

Gearing up for the Paul O’ Byrne Trainee Research Day for the division of #respirology May 12 - it’s great to see the enthusiasm from trainees across different stages of training and expertise - fundamental science to residents to clinical fellows! We have 41 abstracts submitted! #PoBTraineeDay2026

Hey #medsky #pulmsky - The Lung Health Foundation is recruiting a Medical Director for their Primary Care Asthma & COPD Program. Ontario clinicians who want evidence-based programming that is responsive to primary care practice should apply to this remote, voluntary, part-time advisory role. 🫁

Immunotherapy has been such a revolution. Every time I hear a talk by one of the grad students in my centre I always want to shake them and say ‘you are so lucky to be part of this!’ and to my faculty colleagues ‘godspeed’. It all starts with #basicscience

Ashwin Varma@ashwinvarma97.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Multiple Myeloma. 4-generations of pharma-driven drug discovery.

*Some* scientists aren't funny. Others certainly are, but it's a difficult skill to learn and doesn't work for a scientific audience unless there is a lot of substance to back it up. My PhD supervisor gave me some great advice "People want to be entertained. Don't be boring."

It’s official: scientists aren’t funny. But it doesn’t have to be this way | Helen Pilcher

It’s a world of bottom quarks and arsole compounds – so why is science still so serious? Levity can make it all a lot easier to understand, says science writer Helen Pilcher

theguardian.com

I often talk about the importance of getting vaccinated to protect the most vulnerable. Lately I've had Erin Nicholls and family in mind. She's an old friend who has a son (pictured) fighting cancer and recently he's had to fight influenza and 2nd infection too. Thanks to @jenleecbc.bsky.social

Flu season still here, warns mom of Calgary cancer patient sick with influenza B | CBC News

The mother of a young Calgary cancer patient is reminding Albertans the flu season is not over yet, and she's calling on people to consider the vulnerable when they're weighing vaccination this fall.

cbc.ca

📅 SAVE THE DATE 📅 The 44th annual meeting of the Southern Ontario Neuroscience Association will be held on Saturday May 2, 2026 at @mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social in Hamilton, Ontario. Abstract submission and registration will open in 2 days! More info sonasfn.org/meetings/ Please share🔄

She known around these parts as @msmacrophage.bsky.social & @theresisters.bsky.social got a chance to down w/ Dr. Dawn Bowdish to have a convo about “big eaters” (aka MPs), measles, a vaccine registry & then there’s aging chatter. open.spotify.com/episode/3CXU... podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/n...

Dr Ade is doing her Canadian funded post-doctoral fellowship in my lab. I can attest that she is an exceptional scientist who studies the immunology of age and teaches immunology and not someone who builds robots. Madness.

Nathan Kalman-Lamb@nkalamb.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Today in AI: Canada rejected the PR application of a McMaster postdoc from the Sorbonne who works in the immunology of aging because the generative AI being used to process applications (😱) entirely hallucinated her credentials. Everyone involved should be fired. archive.is/ELrCI#select...

One of the clips from the Episode #7 where Prof Bowdish (@msmacrophage.bsky.social) describes aging, inflammation, and the role of vaccines on cognitive health. #Vaccines #Dementia #Inflammation

This was a fun episode. We love getting to know about a scientist’s favourite field of study as well as their other interests and passions - which sometimes may even intersect. We are looking forward to seeing examples of the beauty of the macrophage, @msmacrophage.bsky.social!

TheReSisters@theresisters.bsky.social · 4mo ago

We are active with another “No Ostriching Here.” podcast episode! Have a listen to Episode #7 with the vivacious, vaccine-knowledgeable, and established science communicator, Dawn Bowdish @msmacrophage.bsky.social. podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/n... #AgingInUtero #VaccinesSaveLives #Talking4Good

I love phagocytosis- the most ancient form of immunity (estimated at 1 billion yrs old!). Lucky to geek out with all the other macrophage and neutrophil geeks at beautiful Keble college, Oxford.

I ❤️ this @theglobeandmail.com piece on @gdwantibiotics.bsky.social. Such a beautiful story about his drive to discover new antibiotics against all odds, a tribute to his global leadership, not to mention the many trainee careers he has launched. So honoured to have been hired by this great man. #AMR

Canadian researcher Gerry Wright is searching for the next generation of life-saving antibiotics

More than 5 million deaths every year are caused by or linked to superbugs

theglobeandmail.com

I sincerely hope that there will not be another pandemic in my lifetime, but I suspect that's wishful thinking. When it hits we'll need some institutional memory of lessons learned getting serological assay up and running with limited materials and knowledge but a desperate need. 1/n

Lack of harmonisation in immunological data: challenges in synthesising data during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic drove the rapid development of assays to ascertain immune responses, and laboratories were required to adapt to difficult and qu…

sciencedirect.com

Great to talk with Matt Galloway on CBC The Current this morning about successful gene therapy for a human immune defect. The Current with Matt Galloway - March 9, 2026: How a gene edit gave a B.C teen his life back. www.cbc.ca/listen/live-... @mattgalloway.bsky.social @bcchresearch.bsky.social

© CBC/Radio-Canada 2026. All rights reserved.

cbc.ca

What's better than an evening learning about the math of #epidemics? Learning about the science of #measles too! Another great Royal City Science "Science on Tap" featuring Drs David Earn & @msmacrophage.bsky.social. Check out the RSC website for upcoming events. royalcityscience.ca

So looking forward to this - come hang out in Guelph tonight with David Earn & me - his talk is going to be so interesting - he has digitized Seth’s certificates of measles going back to the 16th century! I’ll be all immunology all the time, and the immunology of measles infections is fascinating.

Dr. Dawn Bowdish@msmacrophage.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Free public event in Guelph, Ontario. Come hang out with me and (one of) my favourite math/infectious disease modellers -David Earn and talk about measles. Why is it back? Why is it bad? Why is it so much more deadly than other respiratory viruses? Quiz! Beer! Geeky fun will be had.

Free public event in Guelph, Ontario. Come hang out with me and (one of) my favourite math/infectious disease modellers -David Earn and talk about measles. Why is it back? Why is it bad? Why is it so much more deadly than other respiratory viruses? Quiz! Beer! Geeky fun will be had.

Science on Tap: Measles Outbreaks

Learn why this infection is not just a minor childhood illness and how it causes the immune system to 'forget'. Plus all about vaccines!

eventbrite.ca

Delighted to be dropping the next epi of our podcast “No Ostriching Here.” Joining us is @msmacrophage.bsky.social as we discuss our aging immune systems, the loss of Canada’s vax status, measles outbreaks & why we need a National Vaccine Registry. Stay tuned. #podcastlife @mjnabuurs.bsky.social

❤️ Happy Valentine's Day! 🧪 “Not explaining science seems to me perverse. When you’re in love, you want to tell the world.” — Carl Sagan

Prevention is cheaper & easier than treatment for lung health. My colleague Jessica Buckley (Lung Health Foundation) and I wrote this for @hilltimes.com because chronic lung disease takes decades to manifest and Canada is far behind our comparator countries in smoking/vaping prevention. #pulmsky 🫁

More doctors won’t save us if we keep creating new patients

A sustainable health-care system must pair workforce reform with prevention, and nowhere is the prevention gap more obvious than with smoking and vaping.

hilltimes.com