DWeissLab

Professor at Emory, Director of @EmoryARC, working with an incredible team in the Weiss Lab to take down antibiotic resistant superbugs.

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

So thrilled this story is now published! Huge thank you to @PLOSBiology!

@grakoui @anuradhaiitm

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

Bacteria in our BRAINS??

Surprisingly, we observe translocation of gut bacteria to the brain via the vagus nerve. This occurs in mice fed a high fat diet, or without dietary changes in mouse models of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and autism. 🧵

https://t.co/sD8jElANvE

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

Thank you so much to Jenny Lehmann @itsJennyLemon and @DiscoverMag for this wonderful write up of our paper!

https://t.co/DTrsqR5Qsv

@grakoui @anuradhaiitb

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

@cliao345 @PLOSBiology @grakoui @anuradhaiitm Thanks, Chen!

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

So thrilled this story is now published! Huge thank you to @PLOSBiology!

@grakoui @anuradhaiitm

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

Bacteria in our BRAINS??

Surprisingly, we observe translocation of gut bacteria to the brain via the vagus nerve. This occurs in mice fed a high fat diet, or without dietary changes in mouse models of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and autism. 🧵

https://t.co/sD8jElANvE

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

@palis Yes, that is what the data suggest.

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

Bacteria in our BRAINS??!

We observed translocation of bacteria from the gut to the brain via the vagus nerve.

This occurred after high fat diet, or without dietary changes in mouse models of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and autism.

https://t.co/xfsGN7QLuy

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

@bioBlogia Thank you. You raise a very fair concern. The paper has just been published in @PLOSBiology after peer review and the inclusion of even more controls which we think rule out contamination as a potential explanation.

https://t.co/xfsGN7QdF0

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

@jjminich Very fair to be skeptical. We were at first as well. The paper was just published in @PLOSBiology after peer review and the inclusion of many more controls.

https://t.co/xfsGN7QdF0

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

@NihatTopalakci Good question. We tested one high-fat diet but did not test increasing levels of fat in the diet. This would be a great experiment. Thank you.

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

Bacteria in our BRAINS??

Surprisingly, we observe translocation of gut bacteria to the brain via the vagus nerve. This occurs in mice fed a high fat diet, or without dietary changes in mouse models of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and autism. 🧵

https://t.co/sD8jElANvE

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

@NietzscheanHobo @PLOSBiology @grakoui @anuradhaiitm Good question. Not yet. We’re working on it.
Thanks for your interest!

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

Big thank you to @liuswrites for this wonderful piece about our study!

We found that gut bacteria can escape to the brain via the vagus nerve in settings of high-fat diet or in models of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and autism.

https://t.co/gCuy4dbMfk

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

This was an amazing collaboration with Arash Grakoui
@grakoui and an exceptional team, especially Manoj Thapa, @anuradhaiitb. Chui-Yoke Chin, Jacob Choby and many others.

Big thank you to @PLOSBiology!

@BWFPATH, @alzassociation

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

In all models tested, bacterial translocation to the brain correlated with gut dysbiosis and intestinal barrier permeability, and the bacteria reaching the brain were always found in the gut.

We hope other researchers will investigate these findings and share their results.

[AMR Action Fund @AMRActionFund]

“The rise of NDMs in the U.S. is a grave danger and very worrisome,” said David Weiss, an Emory University infectious diseases researcher,

Read more about a new study that found a 461% increase in CP-CRE cultures in the US that had NDM genes #AMR

https://t.co/NhXNPxHADt

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

I encourage students and postdocs to check out Jake Choby's new lab at UNC - he's a rockstar, outstanding mentor, and is exploring a new frontier in the fight against superbugs!

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

Bacteria can adapt to B-lactam stress by increasing copy number of "wimpy" B-lactamases to overcome new drugs/B-lactamase inhibitors without new evolution, threatening the B-lactam dominated antibiotic pipeline.

Congrats Jake Choby (UNC) and team!

https://t.co/7LffLsiSqu

[Victoria McGovern 🇺🇸🇬🇷🇮🇪🏴‍☠️ @BWFPATH]

Get your proposal together for BWF PATH's 2026 awards!

Letter of Intent deadline is July 17, 2025

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

Very cool. Congrats, @SophieHelaine!

[Cell Host & Microbe @cellhostmicrobe]

Salmonella RemAIN(s)
@SophieHelaine reveals prophage-encoded anti-phage defense element, RemAIN, that blocks lytic cycles of co-residing prophages. This prophage competition occurs and influences intramacrophage Salmonella persistence
https://t.co/he81IRncCe

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

@DrPHO_ID Thanks, Tik! Great question. We have not investigated Gram positives yet.

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

Bactericidal antibiotics release DNA that activates TLR9, while static antibiotics do not. Can profoundly impact treatment outcome. Should clinicians consider this when choosing antibiotics?

Amazing work by Julia Gross and collaboration with Iain Fraser!

https://t.co/BTcwNEWhNr

[DWeissLab @DWeissLab]

Big thank you to @TrendsMicrobiol, @FlorentMorio, @NicolasPapon49 and Anais Herivaux for highlighting our recent story on undetected heteroresistance causing failure of antifungal prophylaxis.

@tmhohl71 @BingZhai @cliao345 Joao Xavier

https://t.co/yevocHB9Ua

[Trends in Microbiology @TrendsMicrobiol]

Heteroresistance: a hidden cause behind antifungal prophylaxis failure https://t.co/4I77u3QQVz