BMS Journal Club

2025-26 Journal Club Schedule

Journal Club Co-Directors: Elizabeth Crouch, MD, PhD and Julia Carnevale, MD
Day/Time: Thursdays, 11:30 a.m - 12:30 p.m. except as noted
Location: In person on the Parnassus campus, with a livestream/Zoom option to Mission Bay as well. The Zoom link will be sent out with the email reminder sent to the BMS listservs or can be accessed here: Zoom Link


Please contact Meredith Miner if you are not already on one of our listservs.
Links to previous livestreams and recorded video are in the sidebar.

See the BMS Journal Club Archives in the right sidebar for past journal club descriptions and recordings.


Michael Alexanian, PhD (faculty)

Universal vs. Inflammatory: CRISPR Screens Uncover the Balancing Act of Fibroblast States

Southard, K.M., Ardy, R.C., Tang, A. et al. Comprehensive transcription factor perturbations recapitulate fibroblast transcriptional states. Nat Genet (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-025-02284-1

Shirley Bi (student)

"Caught red-handed: an unmethylated retrotransposon adopts expression patterns of neighboring genes, leading to VLP generation and limb malformation."

Glaser, J., Cova, G., Fauler, B. et al. Enhancer adoption by an LTR retrotransposon generates viral-like particles, causing developmental limb phenotypes. Nat Genet 57, 1766–1776 (2025).

Moderator: Alvin Ha

Location: HSW-302, Parnassus & MH-1405, Mission Bay


Harish Vasudevan, MD, PhD (faculty)

"BindCraft: a new tool in the AI sandbox for protein interactor design"

Pacesa, M., Nickel, L., Schellhaas, C. et al. One-shot design of functional protein binders with BindCraft. Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09429-6

Simon Wong (student)

"The Nerve to fight the flu: Vagal TRPV1+ neurons provide protection against Influenza virus through myeloid cells"

Nicole Almanzar et al. ,Vagal TRPV1+ sensory neurons protect against influenza virus infection by regulating lung myeloid cell dynamics.Sci. Immunol.10,eads6243(2025).DOI:10.1126/sciimmunol.ads6243

Moderator: Shania Garrison

Location: HSW-302, Parnassus & MH-1405, Mission Bay



Joe Bondy-Denomy, PhD (faculty)

“Generative” phage: Are you entertained?

Samuel H. King, Claudia L. Driscoll, David B. Li, Daniel Guo, Aditi T. Merchant, Garyk Brixi, Max E. Wilkinson, Brian L. Hie
bioRxiv 2025.09.12.675911; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.12.675911

Liz Arouge (student)

"Treg Cells as Neuromodulators: Enkephalin Production by Regulatory T Cells Restrains Nociception and Skin Inflammation"

Alejandra Mendoza et al., Enkephalin-producing regulatory T cells in the skin restrain local inflammation through control of nociception.Sci. Immunol.10,eadz6869(2025).DOI:10.1126/sciimmunol.adz6869

Coaches: Jarish Cohen, MD, PhD and Sakeen Kashem, MD, PhD

Moderator: Andrew Davis

Location: HSW-302, Parnassus & MH-1405, Mission Bay


Phillip Dumesic, MD, PhD (faculty)

"Dynamic control of mammalian energy balance by the peroxisome"

Liu, X., He, A., Lu, D. et al. Peroxisomal metabolism of branched fatty acids regulates energy homeostasis. Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09517-7

Dario Tagliaferri (student)

"Cutting Edge Fashion: A CRISPR Makeover"

Ruffolo, J.A., Nayfach, S., Gallagher, J. et al. Design of highly functional genome editors by modelling CRISPR–Cas sequences. Nature 645, 518–525 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09298-z

Coaches: Greg Allen, MD, PhD and Justin Eyquem, PhD

Moderator: Caitlyn Dang

Location: HSW-302, Parnassus & MH-1405, Mission Bay


Daniel Mordes, MD, PhD (faculty)

"Repeated head trauma causes neuron loss and inflammation in young athletes"

Butler MLMD, Pervaiz N, et al. Repeated head trauma causes neuron loss and inflammation in young athletes. Nature. 2025 Sep 17. doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-09534-6. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40963024.

Michelle Seeler (student)

"Pregnancy takes Guts: Growth of the maternal intestine during reproduction"

Ameku, T., et al. (2025). "Growth of the maternal intestine during reproduction." Cell 188(10): 2738-2756.e2722

Coaches: Helen Willsey, PhD and Todd Nystul, PhD

Moderator: Jose Cedano

Location: HSW-302, Parnassus & MH-1405, Mission Bay


Jose Angel Nicolas Avila, PhD (faculty)

TBD

Lesbats, J., Brillac, A., Reisz, J.A. et al. Macrophages recycle phagocytosed bacteria to fuel immunometabolic responses. Nature 640, 524–533 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08629-4

Angel Ruvalcaba (student)

TBD

Maserumule, Charlotte et al. “Phagosomal RNA sensing through TLR8 controls susceptibility to tuberculosis.” Cell reports vol. 44,5 (2025): 115657. doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2025.115657

Coaches: Jon Budzik, MD, PhD and Sara Suliman, PhD

Moderator: Liana Beld

Location: HSW-302, Parnassus & MH-1405, Mission Bay


Gabriel Loeb, MD, PhD (Faculty)

"Visualizing transcription factor dynamics at endogenous enhancers"

Hu, Y. et al. Multiscale footprints reveal the organization of cis-regulatory elements. Nature 638, 779–786 (2025).

Joseph Moreno (Student)

"TCF19 drives a broad transcriptional program that potentiates optimal innate and adaptive functions of antiviral NK cells"

Dang, C., Kim, H., Santosa, E.K. et al. TCF19 drives a broad transcriptional program that potentiates optimal innate and adaptive functions of antiviral NK cells. Nat Immunol 26, 1467–1475 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41590-025-02238-z

Coaches: Oscar Aguilar, PhD and Daniel Calabrese, MD

Moderator: Mandy Buck

Location: HSW-302, Parnassus & MH-1405, Mission Bay


Peter Bruno, PhD (Faculty)

"Hidden Menu of PDAC: Cryptic MHC-I Targets With T-cell Bite"

Ely, Z. A., et al (2025). Pancreatic cancer-restricted cryptic antigens are targets for T cell recognition. Science (New York, N.Y.), 388(6747), eadk3487.

Arren Ramsey (Student)

TBD

Coaches: Sam Pleasure, MD, PhD and Biswarathan Ramani, MD, PhD
 

Moderator: Christina Ekstrand

Location: HSW-302, Parnassus & MH-1405, Mission Bay


Jeremy Libang (Student)

TBD

Hunter TL, et al. In vivo CAR T cell generation to treat cancer and autoimmune disease. Science. 2025 Jun 19;388(6753):1311-1317. doi: 10.1126/science.ads8473. Epub 2025 Jun 19. PMID: 40536974

Coaches: TBD

Paul Leclerc (Student)

"From Cold to Hot: Re-arming Dendritic Cells to Reignite T-Cell Immunity in Pancreatic Cancer"

Hogg, G. D., Weinstein, A. G., et al. (2025). Combined Flt3L and CD40 agonism restores dendritic cell-driven T cell immunity in pancreatic cancer. Science Immunology, 10(110), eadp3978. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciimmunol.adp3978

Coaches: Alexis Combes, PhD and TBD

Moderator: Gwen Cusing

Location: HSW-302, Parnassus & MH-1405, Mission Bay


Anthony Khalifeh (student)

"Mapping the evolution of computationally designed protein binders"

Miguel A. Alcantar, Alexandra M. Paulk, et al. bioRxiv 2025.10.04.680454; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.04.680454

Coaches: Angela Phillips, PhD and TBD

Ananya Krishnapura (student)

"Unraveling the mechanisms underlying IRF7-mediated autoimmunity"

Fike AJ, Bricker KN, et al. IRF7 controls spontaneous autoimmune germinal center and plasma cell checkpoints. J Exp Med. 2025 Jul 7;222(7):e20231882. doi: 10.1084/jem.20231882. Epub 2025 May 27. PMID: 40439584; PMCID: PMC12121627

Coaches: Julie Zikherman, MD and Jason Cyster, PhD

Moderator: Emily Chen

Location: HSW-302, Parnassus & MH-1405, Mission Bay


Patrick Kennedy (Student)

"Disruption of the RAS–PI3Kα Interaction: A New Approach for Tumor Suppression"

Joseph E. Klebba et al. ,Covalent inhibitors of the PI3Kα RAS binding domain impair tumor growth driven by RAS and HER2.Science390,702-709(2025).DOI:10.1126/science.adv2684 

Coaches: Harish Vasudevan, MD, PhD and Peter Bruno, PhD

Julia Johanssen (Student)

"The Naked (Mole-Rat) Truth about Aging"

Yu Chen et al.,A cGAS-mediated mechanism in naked mole-rats potentiates DNA repair and delays aging.Science390,eadp5056(2025).DOI:10.1126/science.adp5056

Coaches: Leanne Jones, PhD and Diana Laird, PhD

Moderator: Daniel Brody

Location: HSW-302, Parnassus & MH-1405, Mission Bay




Student: Alvin Ha

Student: Helen Huynh

Moderators: Dario Tagliaferri & Julia Johanssen

Location: HSW-302, Parnassus & MH-1405, Mission Bay


Student: Shania Garrison

Student: Rebecca Fulthorpe

Moderators: Michelle Seeler & Angel Ruvalcaba

Location: HSW-302, Parnassus & MH-1405, Mission Bay


Student: Andrew Davis

Student: Christina Ekstrand

Moderators: Joseph Moreno & Paul Leclerc

 


Student: Caitlyn Dang

Student: Gwen Cusing

Moderators: Arren Ramsey & Ananya Krishnapura

 


Student: Jose Cedano

Student: Emily Chen

Moderators: Monet Yuan & Viva Vykunta

 


Student: Liana Beld

Student: Daniel Brody

Moderators: Simon Wong & Jalen Evans


Student: Mandy Buck

Student: Melissa Bu

Moderators: Rebecca Fulthorpe & Adam Fillion

 


Student: Ana Coutlakis

Student: Sena Cinar

Moderators: Helen Huynh & Gilbert Herrera

 


Student: Daniel Zhang

Student: Zimo Zhang

Moderators: Hana Takei & Adam Kazerounian



Student: Charles Crain

Student: Jalen Evans

Moderators: Mina Takegami & Anjeli Mase



Student: Venus Hagan

Studen: Adam Fillion 

Moderators: Katie Herm & Annika Mittelhauser


Student: Katie Herm

Studen: Gilbert Herrera

Moderators: Venus Hagen & Claire Rammel


Student: Chang Liu

Studen: Adam Kazerounian

Moderators: Jenny Liu & Jack Reid


Student: Jenny Liu

Studen: Anjeli Mase

Moderators: Chang Liu & Alessandra Veinbachs


Student: Barbara Perez

Studen: Annika Mittelhauser

Moderators: Ana Coutlakis & Leighton Pu


Student: Leighton Pu

Studen: Claire Rammel

Moderators: Barbara Perez & Melissa Bu


Student: Mina Takegami

Studen: Jack Reid

Moderators: Daniel Zhang & Sena Cinar


Student: Hana Takei

Studen: Alessandra Veinbachs

Moderators: Charles Crain & Zimo Zhang