It’s been a busy few months in the lab. Ben Wolter joined the lab in December as our first graduate student. He’s had to jump right in, since we began our first influenza infection experiment in late January. I’ve been incredibly happy with the results so far -- we’ve been able to measure immune responses in lung and blood in flu-infected monkeys. We’re currently analyzing the mountains of data we’ve generated, but I’m satisfied that we can detect activation of dendritic cells and T cells early on in both these compartments.

I also submitted my first NIH R01 grant proposal in January, as a co-PI with Dave O’Connor on a project for the NIAID AIDS Vaccine Discovery initiative. In addition to this, I will soon be submitting revised versions of R21 grants on the roles of dendritic cells and CD8+ T cells in the immune response to influenza.

In outside-the-lab news, I’ve temporarily taken over managing our lab coed soccer team, while the usual managers take a well-deserved break. I’m happy to say that our team is 2-0 in this session so far, including a 9-0 shutout last Friday night!

Tags: influenza, grants, non-lab goings-on