New publication @diabetologiajnl.bsky.social led by a fantastic former fellow on our team @hdenroche.bsky.social. Islet amyloid, long viewed as pathogenic for beta cells, surprisingly disrupts antigen presentation and delays autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice.

Check out our protocol for streamlined isolation and immunophenotyping of leukocytes from various mouse tissues! Excited to implement these in our in vivo mouse models to better understand the immune system and harness it for safe and effective immunotherapies. @um-radyfhs.bsky.social

For the first time, researchers at UBC have demonstrated how to reliably produce #TCells from stem cells in a lab setting. See the work from Dr. @jonesr18.bsky.social, @kevinsalim.bsky.social#TCells and the Zandstra & Levings labs: https://bit.ly/4qJcXhi Abstract: https://bit.ly/45QKIFo

Excited to share this work done in collaboration between @mklevings.bsky.social lab and @jonesr18.bsky.social from Peter Zandstra’s lab, on making human CD4 T cells from pluripotent stem cells!

Finally out - fully-defined, feeder-free production of CD4+ helper T cells from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)! Turns out you need to turn Notch down.... a notch 🥁 And you need to fine-tune stimulation of the T cell receptor ⚖️ www.cell.com/cell-stem-ce...

Big breakthrough for living drugs. UBC researchers have discovered how to grow “helper” immune cells from stem cells—paving the way for more effective and accessible off-the-shelf immune therapies. Learn more: news.ubc.ca/2026/01/stem...

🚨 Introducing: The next FOCIS Journal Club 🎓 CAR Treg cells mediate linked suppression and infectious tolerance in islet transplantation in mice 🗓️ Wed, Jan 28, 2026 🕚 10 AM–11 AM CT 🎤 Christine Wardell, PhD Student & Megan Levings, PhD 🔗: zurl.co/gsIJC

🚀 Our new Publication in Nature Biomedical Engineering!🎉 📄 Title: Generation of T cells with reduced off-target cross-reactivities by engineering co-signalling receptors 🔗 Read the full paper here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

While islet amyloid harms β cells in T2D, research reveals amyloid protects against β cell autoimmunity and diabetes in NOD mice by disrupting MHCII antigen presentation in islet macrophages link.springer.com/article/10.1... 🔓

@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social Clinical development of gene edited tacrolimus-resistant Treg (FKBP12KO-Treg) to enable simultaneous immunosuppression and support of immune regulation www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Clinical development of gene edited tacrolimus-resistant Treg (FKBP12KO-Treg) to enable simultaneous immunosuppression and support of immune regulation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2025.12.10.693159v1

Erythropoietin receptor on cDC1s dictates immune tolerance @nature.com @stanforduniversity.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Type 1 diabetes is associated with impaired T cell effector differentiation and regulatory T cell dysfunction, both of which may contribute to immune imbalance and loss of self-tolerance @natcomms.nature.com @adaptiveimmunity.bsky.social @czechacademy.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Engineered β cells with a mutant CD155 help evade immune attack, offering a promising therapeutic approach for type 1 diabetes @bruskolab.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Although things could always be better, it's great to see the government continuing to support research in this environment...a rising tide lifts all boats.

The FOCIS 2026 Scientific Program Committee has curated an exciting & dynamic program, featuring 4 keynote speakers and cutting-edge sessions in immunology. 🔬 Learn More: 🔗 zurl.co/P98Ja #FOCIS2026 #immunology #science

New data from Christine Wardell and the Levings lab at UBC and @bcchresearch.bsky.social has demonstrated that A2-CAR Treg cells have potential therapeutic use to simultaneously control both allo- and #autoimmunity in islet transplantation. Check it the paper: https://bit.ly/4nq3SIg

SCN is offering trainee travel awards to attend MASSIV 1.0: The Meeting for Advanced Synthetic Biology and Systems Bioengineering. Don’t miss this chance to connect with leading experts in #SyntheticBiology, #bioengineering, and #RegenerativeMedicine. 🤝 🔗 stemcellnetwork.ca/training/wor...

(1/3) 📢 SCN is pleased to announce the release of our 'What We Heard' report, Preparing Canada’s Health System for Regenerative Medicines and Advanced Therapeutics: Cell Therapies for Type 1 Diabetes. 🔗 Read the report: stemcellnetwork.ca/wp-content/u...

Excited to share our review on Thetis cells and dendritic cells, and their roles in mucosal immunity and tolerance @natimmunol.nature.com rdcu.be/eLtB1

HLA matching or CRISPR editing HLA-I/II enables engraftment & function of allo human Treg therapy in a humanized mouse transplantation model @natcomms.nature.com @dlwagner.bsky.social @bcmhouston.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Temporal and context-dependent requirements for the transcription factor Foxp3 expression in regulatory T cells @natimmunol.nature.com @yuripritykin.bsky.social Rudensky @princetonupress.bsky.social @mskcancercenter.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Chimerism might just be the 🔑 to immune tolerance and ending the need for immunosuppression 🚫💊after transplantation 🫘. Join the discussion 9/30/25 at 9 pm EST on Bluesky #NephSky #MedSky #NephJC www.nephjc.com/news/chimera-tolerance-njqe334

For our #flowcytometry peeps, would you like to have a single fix/perm protocol that is optimised for everything? One that preserves fluorophores while allowing simultaneous TF and cytokine staining? How about 100-fold cheaper? You got it: currentprotocols.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Excited to finally present the lab's latest work in defining candidate causal genetic variants that drive autoimmune diseases and their effects on primary human T cell expression and function! www.nature.com/articles/s41...

ICYMI: New content online: Antigen-specific Treg cells induce infectious tolerance

Lab History pt. 5 (2025) What is the best Knock-in strategy to make CAR-Tregs?? our answer is published in Molecular Therapy 🔗 www.cell.com/molecular-th...

This meeting has always been a highlight for the ILC community, and Vancouver 2026 already features an exciting lineup of confirmed speakers. 🔗 ilc6vancouver.com #ILC6 #Immunology #InnateLymphoidCells, #ILC, #ILC2, #ILC3, #NKcells, #ILC1 #Immunosky

Thrilled to share that I’ve officially started my new role as a Senior Scientist in the Terry Fox Laboratory at the BC Cancer Research Centre. I’m excited to join this inspiring community, build new collaborations, and explore bold ideas together.

Therapeutic strategies aiming to enhance or inhibit regulatory T cell activity are being investigated in diseases including allergy, autoimmune disorders and cancer - find out more in this review by Megan Levings et al. www.nature.com/articles/s41... rdcu.be/eDrL0

Check out the latest manuscript from the @heikolickert.bsky.social lab on generating a defined stem-cell derived islet product for transplantation. A thorough characterization of the system particularly by our star PhD students Nike and Nicole! #PancSky www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A hemisphere-spanning study defines synchronicity and climatic influence on dengue in the Americas, polymer-stabilized microparticles enable easy injection of commercial protein therapies, and more this week in #ScienceTranslationalMedicine. https://scim.ag/4lvOc5i

So excited that our paper on CAR Tregs and infectious tolerance made the cover of Science Translational Medicine today! @science.org

HLA-A2–specific chimeric antigen receptor–engineered regulatory T cells tolerize diabetogenic T cells and prevent autoimmune diabetes in mice www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @mklevings.bsky.social

Online now: TYK2 inhibition enhances Treg differentiation and function while preventing Th1 and Th17 differentiation

TYK2 inhibition enhances Treg differentiation and function while preventing Th1 and Th17 differentiation @cp-cellrepmed.bsky.social @mklevings.bsky.social cell.com/cell-reports...

@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social High-affinity CD155 expression enhances immune evasion of Stem cell-derived β-cells, improving their potential for restorative therapy in type 1 diabetes @bruskolab.bsky.social ‪@mebrown4.bsky.social‬ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

A new engineered regulatory T cell is born. Chimeric anti-HLA receptor regulatory T cells (CHAR Tregs) inhibit antibody production by B cells from HLA sensitized transplant patients, offering a precise approach to tackle antibody-mediated organ rejection. www.frontiersin.org/journals/imm...

⏰ Last chance! The UBC Flow cytometry course is just around the corner! It's your final opportunity to secure a spot for an intense, hands-on, four-day course that will take your #FlowCytometry expertise to the next level. 🔥 Apply for SCN funding and register. ➡️ stemcellnetwork.ca/training/wor...

🚀Thrilled to announce our new Tocky-CRISPR-Deep Learning paper! ✅ConvNet + Grad-CAM decodes fluorescent timer (Tocky) data ✅Enables single-cell identification of enhancer-dependent Foxp3 transcription dynamics www.nature.com/articles/s41... 🔥A step toward data-driven immunology!

Boardman and Mangat et al. asked if engineering CAR Treg cells to enhance a suppressive mechanism (IL-10) and simultaneously remove an inhibitory signal (PD-1) would improve their suppressive function. bit.ly/4epdr7x 

#posting this again if any #postdoc candidates are interested in digging deep into #TCR #Crossreactivity #Tcell functional studies in #autoimmunity and #cancer -please contact me!

Stem cell islets for those living with T1D! www.nejm.org/doi/full/10....

Generation of antigen-specific and functionally stable Treg cells from effector/memory T cells for cell therapy of immunological diseases https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.13.659621v1

🚨 BIG NEWS! SCN announces $33M to advance 36 #RegenerativeMedicine research projects and #ClinicalTrials! Learn more. ➡️ stemcellnetwork.ca/research/res...

Replacing PDCD1 with IL10 drives activation-induced IL-10 secretion and enhances human CAR Treg cell potency @mklevings.bsky.social www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Hello @bsky.app! We’re excited to have made the transition over to BlueSky 🦋 and are already excited to be part of the fantastic #immunology community!

Our latest preprint on cellular and molecular phenotypes in T1D is out now. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

🚨New work from our lab with important clinical implications. Thanks to our collaborators in @TheHPAP. Spatial transcriptomics from pancreas and local draining lymph node tissue reveals a lymphotoxin-β signature in human type 1 diabetes | bioRxiv www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

🧬 Excited to share our latest study now In Press: In this study led by rising star @sarahcolpitts.bsky.social, we show that IL-10⁺ #ILC2s prevent rejection and improve islet graft survival and function in humanized mouse models. Read more: doi.org/10.1016/j.aj... #Immunology #ImmunoSky #CellTherapy