Happy New Year! May all your PCRs give you only specific bands of the appropriate sizes. May your gel extraction and miniprep yields be high. May your cloning always give you at least one correct colony, and your genotyping identify the mutants you are after. ✨

My most enthusiastically received public talk this year was "Is dementia a vaccine-preventable condition?" and the wonderful team at the McMaster Alumni Association, @miramcmaster.bsky.social , and the McMaster Optimal Aging portal have made it available for you if you missed it. Enjoy!

The shingles vaccine reduced the probability of new #dementia diagnoses by around one-fifth over seven years, according to a large-scale study of a population in Wales, UK, reported in Nature in April. go.nature.com/4460AE4#dementia🧪

I'm so delighted that my article on Canada's need for a national vaccine registry made @macleans.bsky.social 'The Best of 2025: Maclean’s Top 10 Stories on How to Fix Canada'. As the tagline says ' COVID made it clear. Measles made it an emergency.' macleans.ca/best-of/the-...

Do you have experience with respiratory and sleep support therapies such as positive airway pressure (PAP) machines or ventilators for breathing or sleep apnea? If so, researchers want to talk to you! Scan the QR code below or click on this survey link. #pulmsky www.surveymonkey.com/r/IMPORTANCE...

Publication Alert: One benefit of vaccination that is particularly difficult to quantify is how it reduces antibiotic use and slows the development of antimicrobial resistance. 'Peri–Covid-19 Antibiotic Use and Antimicrobial Resistance in Older Adults' led by Derek MacFadden and Nick Daneman (1/n)

Post-doc opportunity with a dear friend & colleague of mine in Gothenburg, Sweden studying how neutrophil serine proteases counteract destructive inflammation. The position is a full-time position for two years. Start date: flexible, but ideally spring 2026. web103.reachmee.com/ext/I005/103...

Hear ye! Hear ye! 🇨🇦 Canada’s universities have new money to recruit international scholars. Here is McMaster’s call for applications: research.mcmaster.ca/home/support...

This is a really cool project, I was lucky to have the opportunity to participate. news.mcmaster.ca/mcmaster-res...

Congratulations to @kerryhilligan.bsky.social for her Doherty Lectureship for her most excellent body of work studying tissue immunity to infections. #ASI2025 #PerthASI

Having a blast at #ASI2025 #PerthASI &very much looking forward to the Lafferty debate with this team.Topic =‘AI in Immunology: Not really a Transformative Technology, Just New Bioinformatics We All Pretend to Understand’ We are arguing for but with the double negative that’s against. #AussiesAreFun

“Have Yourself A Merriam Little Christmas” Merriam, a career-oriented lexicographer from the city, returns to her small town for the holidays and meets Webster, a ruggedly handsome librarian, who shows her the true DEFINITION of Christmas.

Excited to hear from @msmacrophage.bsky.social about aging, infection and immunity #ASI2025 #PerthASI #immunologyiscool

Excited to share my acting debut with Ontario's public broadcaster TVO (@tvodocs.bsky.social @therundowntvo.bsky.social & more). I was in an episode on fever for the TVO Kids series 'Burps, Butts, and Bones' (do they know their audience or what?). I learned about acting from the +++talented Ryan.

Attention post-docs (or PDFs to be).... here's an opportunity to work in Japan for a short research stay. As I always say to my PhD students "Get a PhD, see the world". www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-fe...

Would you like to learn about how vaccines protect the aging brain from dementia? I'll be doing this free webinar on the topic with Anthony Levinson & @miramcmaster.bsky.social . Free, fun, and fact-based. I would love to see you there.

I loved doing thos podcast with Scott Sexsmith and Michael Friscolanti, from Village Media about Canada’s loss of measles-free status. I lime having the longer discussions to get i to the complexity in a way you can’t in most news articles.

🏆 KUDOS ...to Toronto's University Health Network for bringing back masking in their facilities as of Nov 18, 2025 😷TGH 😷Toronto Western 😷Princess Margaret Cancer Centre 😷Toronto Rehab 😷Michener Institute 😷West Park 🏥 Hope others will follow... www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Measles is endemic in Canada. What happens now? healthsci.mcmaster.ca/canadas-meas... @msmacrophage.bsky.social More news → CanadaHealthwatch.ca 🍁

Today Canada lost its measles elimination status. The problem is (primarily) due to failures in our health systems, not individual decision making and fixing it is not as simple as telling people to get vaccinated (my thoughts below with more to come). nationalpost.com/news/canada/...

Canada has lost its status as a measles-free country: www.canada.ca/en/public-he... How did measles get to Canada and how do we move forward? @jeyantvo.bsky.social asked Nathan VanderKlippe (@theglobeandmail.com) and @msmacrophage.bsky.social (@mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social)

Is Canada losing the battle against #measles? Country could soon lose elimination status. Q+A w/ @msmacrophage.bsky.social www.cbc.ca/listen/live-... via @cbcnews.ca #vaccination

Happy Hallowe'en from the Bowdish lab.

Interested in joining the Powrie Lab? We’re looking for a Postdoctoral Researcher to study the neutralisation capacity of human anti-IL-10 autoantibodies. You’ll be part of our new MRC CoRE in Exposome Immunology!🧫🦠 Find out more here & apply by 11th Nov: bulletin.ndorms.ox.ac.uk/c/126QDJVBd0...

ICYMI: What's new on the Canadian adult vaccination scene? Link to the National Vaccine Summit with me, Dr. Christine Palmay (family physician), Dr. Sadaf Faisal (pharmacist), Anthony Quinn (Canadian Association of Retired Persons). everythingexplained.ca

After 26 years of elimination, Canada is set to lose its international status as a measles-free country. How did the measles get to Canada and how do we move forward? @jeyantvo.bsky.social asks Nathan VanderKlippe (@theglobeandmail.com) & @msmacrophage.bsky.social (@mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social)

The family doctor crisis, underfunding of public health, misinformation, liberal exemption policies, lack of access to vaccine hesitancy clinics have all led to the resurgence of measles. Was very happy to be invited to join @jeyantvo.bsky.social at @tvotoday.bsky.social to discuss.

Canada faces a measles resurgence, risking its elimination status. How did that happen, and where did it come from? @jeyantvo.bsky.social asks Nathan VanderKlippe (@theglobeandmail.com) and @msmacrophage.bsky.social (@mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social) tonight at 8pm | Producer: Constantina Varlokostas

The 2025 MIRA and Labarge Knowledge Exchange will be held on December 4 at @mcmasteruniversity.bsky.social's The Hub. Join us for a day of knowledge sharing and connection with McMaster’s interdisciplinary aging research community. To register: lnkd.in/gre2J9QD To read more: lnkd.in/guVNq5Ru

What the latest on adult vaccines? Come join me and and exceptional panel at Zoomer media to get the lowdown. • Recommended Vaccines & How To Get Them ‣ Navigating Provincial Health Systems ‣ The Role Your Pharmacist Can Play ‣ Emerging Science ‣ Fighting Disinformation & Vaccine Fatigue. Free!

Hey #HamOnt - I'm looking forward to talking @hamiltonlibrary.bsky.social (Central Library 10:30am tomorrow) on "Is dementia a vaccine preventable disease?" Register here! @miramcmaster.bsky.social events.hpl.ca/event/14227566

Are you in South-Western Ontario and interested in fluorescence microscopy? If so, check out our upcoming 2-day course on planning, designing, implementing and analysing quantitative microscopy experiments. Visit our website for more information: micrographiauwo.ca/cc2025/ #microscopy #fluorescence

Thank you so much to Research Canada for recognizing that advocacy work is important, to my nominators for taking the time to nominate me, and to @machealthsci.bsky.social and the Research Institute for St. Joe's, Hamilton for their ongoing support. #grateful!

New paper alert! We used our fav technique, genetic suppression, to understand how FimX controls function of the T4P PilB motor ATPase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Great collab with the Ellison lab at U Georgia who helped with some fancy microscopy to capture pilus dynamics! doi.org/10.1371/jour...

This is going to be an excellent session on the benefits of vaccination for RSV and others with Dr. Joshua Wald, a #Firestone clinician with a special interest in COPD. He was just telling me about some really compelling new research this morning - I'm signed up! #lungs #vaccines

Inkscape for scientists 3 is up! In this video, learn how to set up your workspace, and how do you find that damn fill/stroke panel? 🧪 youtu.be/PFcnjuMhUHI

What the latest on adult vaccines? Come join me and and exceptional panel at Zoomer media to get the lowdown. • Recommended Vaccines & How To Get Them ‣ Navigating Provincial Health Systems ‣ The Role Your Pharmacist Can Play ‣ Emerging Science ‣ Fighting Disinformation & Vaccine Fatigue. Free!

I spoke to the CBC this week about the effects of having universal COVID vaccines in some provinces but for pay in others. "... all serious infections tend to have a bigger impact for people who can least afford to pay." See our review for data to back up that statement tinyurl.com/3tx7fc3z

📚 From your first Storytime to lifelong learning, #libraries grow with you! Celebrate #LibrariesForLife during this #CanadianLibraryMonth with HPL! From books, computers to Study Halls, our locations have your library needs covered. www.hpl.ca/hours #HamOnt

Terrific new review of flu & COVID vaccine recommendations in Vaccine from Jessica Breznik, Matt Miller, & @msmacrophage.bsky.social! They make a compelling data-driven case for expanding COVID vaccines & optimizing timing for COVID waves, as we do for flu.👇 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Hello BlueSky! McMaster Humanities will now be posting regular updates here. Follow us for news, events and content from around the Faculty!

I'm excited to share our review "Rationalizing recommendations for influenza and COVID-19 vaccines", which we feel makes a strong case for universal influenza and COVID-19 vaccination policies. With almost 500 references & 8 supplementary tables it's a beast so let me break it down for you....1/n

Support the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance (CAPA) - national patient-led organization bringing the experiences of patients to policy, research, and advocacy by buying coffee. Scientists drink a lot of coffee so a fundraiser made for us. sparkplug.coffee/support-capa...

Job opportunity in lung health! "The Senior Manager, Research and Impact will be responsible for working across the organization, to manage the current state while planning for growth in the research and impact functions at the Lung Health Foundation."

A message of hope for #idsky #medsky and #immunosky today. Ontario,which has a right-of-centre, populist government, and also has the most expansive coverage of adult vaccines (RSV, COVID, influenza) in Canada right now, in some cases (RSV) going above and beyond national recommendations.

Hello #HamOnt! On Oct 16th I'll be at the @hamiltonlibrary.bsky.social talking about fascinating research on how vaccinations protect the aging brain. It's free, it's fun, and I would love to see you all there. Register below. @miramcmaster.bsky.social

Four years, 3 papers, and 2 laptops later, I’m happy to announce that I have successfully defended my PhD focusing on SARS-CoV-2 vaccination responses in vulnerable populations. A huge thank you goes out to my supervisor Dr. Dawn Bowdish @msmacrophage.bsky.social for all her support and guidance!

🌉 Bridging Leaders Program – Winter 2026 Cohort. The Continuing Professional Development (CPD), FHS, McMaster University is now accepting applications! 📌 Applications due Nov 28, 2025. Apply now + learn more ➡️ bit.ly/blp-jan2026 #FacultyDevelopment #FacultyExcellence #AcademicLeadership #mcmaster

Can you help me get to 10,000 views on our @sciam.bsky.social short film about the clash of scientists and corporations in the deep sea? 🪸 This would make our funder @pulitzercenter.org very happy. ☺️ It’s free to watch now on YouTube. We are half way to our goal! 📈 youtu.be/1jcmfjDtS1Q?...

Rolling the dice on a vaccine preventable illness is never the better option. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis is a rare and fatal complication of measles that can occur several years after the original infection. This is sad, this is avoidable. Vaccinate kids! www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...