Paul Ogongo

Human immunity. Infectious diseases.
T-cells. Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
Helen Hay Whitney Foundation Fellow.

[VALIDATE Network @NetworkValidate]

Kenya reaffirms commitment to ending TB, calls for fair vaccine access https://t.co/yOEuXfsOQh

[Daniel Barber, PhD @danielleobarber]

So we blocked IFNγ in Mtb infected macaques and….the animals were fine. Turns out mice overestimate the importance of IFNγ in TB because IFNγ drives iNOS in mice but not macaques or humans. This means we don’t actually know how T cells suppress Mtb. https://t.co/vbdpLKjQCa

[Paul Ogongo @JaTcells]

Join us to learn about the science of implementing vaccine clinical trials. Register on the link to be part of the conversation.

[Working Group on New TB Vaccines @newtbvaccines]

Join the WGNV Early Career Researcher Network for an interactive online discussion on the TB vaccine clinical pipeline and career opportunities in clinical research.
📆 7 May 2026
🕧 9:00am EST | 3:00pm CET and SAST | 6:30pm IST
🔗 Learn more and register: https://t.co/cokxs9qGmP

[Paul Ogongo @JaTcells]

Published version @JCI_insight cc @IGHSatUCSF and @UCSF_EXPM

[JCI insight @JCI_insight]

Studying 2 distinct human cohorts with recent exposure to #TB,

https://t.co/aXyCdH7MV3
Paul Ogongo @JaTcells & team @UCSF find different individual Mycobacterium #tuberculosis antigens induce distinct T cell responses, with important implications for TB #vaccine development.

[Paul Ogongo @JaTcells]

It was a fantastic meeting in Cape Town to celebrate progress and navigate through the challenges we face Tuberculosis research.

[Keystone Symposia @KeystoneSymp]

What a great group! 👏 39 Keystone Symposia & @gatesfoundation scholarship awardees joined us in Cape Town for #KSTB26. With ~1.5M TB deaths annually, this next generation of researchers is driving innovation, collaboration, and progress. #tuberculosis #KeystoneSymposia

[Paul Ogongo @JaTcells]

FINALLY OUT: We describe a set of Mtb antigens that preferentially induce Th17 cells against Mtb infection. Th17 cells are associated with contained Mtb infection in humans and animal models of TB, suggesting a protective role.
https://t.co/m2OWfSv49L

[Paul Ogongo @JaTcells]

IN PRESS: Using Metaclonotypist, we discover dominant immune response to TB driven by a public HLA-associated TCR metaclonotypes. This work opens avenues for biomarker and Mtb antigen discovery for TB vaccine.
https://t.co/QP9QD0ejBe

[Paul Ogongo @JaTcells]

Massive effort from my PhD supervisor, Al Leslie, and team analysing Mtb infected human lung tissue.

[Journal of Experimental Medicine @JExpMed]

In a new study by Mbano, Liu, Leslie @UKZN et al., single-cell & spatial transcriptomics of human #TB lung tissues from individuals in South Africa revealed that MMP1⁺CXCL5⁺ #fibroblasts & SPP1⁺ #macrophages are linked to TB disease & TB lung #granuloma https://t.co/lEIw4suqlU

[Daniel Barber, PhD @danielleobarber]

We still don’t understand how T cells control tuberculosis. Our new paper shows that Mtb-specific T cells in NHP and human lung granulomas make many interesting effector molecules upon TCR stimulation. There’s a whole lot more to T cells in TB than IFNγ!

https://t.co/30hEKjFnnu

[Working Group on New TB Vaccines @newtbvaccines]

Join the #WGNV ECR Network - Virtual Coffee Corner on 4 December 2025 to network, share experiences, and talk about #TBvaccine activities of interest.
📅Date: Thur 4 Dec 2025
🕑Time: 9:00 am EDT / 3:00pm CET | 4:00pm SAST | 7:30 pm IST
🔗https://t.co/Ov8l7bfcXJ

[Paul Ogongo @JaTcells]

Fresh out in preprint from @justinelevan and the Feeney lab @UCSF_EXPM

[bioRxiv Immunology @biorxiv_immuno]

Congenital CMV infection drives oligoclonal expansion of cytotoxic γδ T cells from early fetal progenitors https://t.co/jR2bKolvCM #biorxiv_immuno

[Science Advancement and Outreach @SAOscience]

In the study, Owen Leddy and colleagues used human phagocytic cells to map TB peptides that activate CD4+ T cells, a key immune defense. Guided by this, they designed mRNA immunogens that dramatically improved antigen presentation, offering a promising path toward an effective TB vaccine.

👥 @TheBrysonLab, @JaTcells, @Qingyun_Liu, @HeyuanMNi, et al.

🏛️ @ragoninstitute, @MITdeptofBE, @kochinstitute, @UCSF_EXPM, @UNC_SOM, @AHRI_ETH

💰 @theNCI, @NIAIDNews, @NIH_NIEHS

📘 @ScienceTM: https://t.co/wIFc7CGbQD

[Babak Javid @javid_lab]

Mycobacterium tuberculosis triggers reduced inflammatory cytokine responses and virulence in mice lacking Tax1bp1

https://t.co/0Ey2aXU5T3

[Paul Ogongo @JaTcells]

NOW PUBLISHED: https://t.co/SORpbcFPoH

[Paul Ogongo @JaTcells]

Thanks @TheBrysonLab for the tweetorial as always and the cool science!

[Bryson Lab @TheBrysonLab]

Many of the peptides we identified are immunogenic per IEDB. We teamed up with @JaTCells to examine T cell responses to novel epitopes in a small cohort of individuals with prior Mtb exposure and found that some of these novel epitopes identified by MS are also immunogenic.

[Paul Ogongo @JaTcells]

Join us at the ECR Coffee Corner at the @newtbvaccines on Nov 6 2025. Looking forward to reconnecting this Early Career Researchers in Tuberculosis.

[Working Group on New TB Vaccines @newtbvaccines]

Join the #WGNV ECR Network - Virtual Coffee Corner on 6 November 2025 to network, share experiences, and talk about #TBvaccine activities of interest.
📅Date: Thur 6 Nov 2025
🕑Time: 9:00 am EDT / 3:00pm CET | 4:00pm SAST | 7:30 pm IST
🔗Register at https://t.co/ByrkKeTry5

[Paul Ogongo @JaTcells]

Congratulations to Prof Ndung'u @Thumbi_Ndungu. A role model and an inspiration to many.

[SANTHE @SANTHEafrica]

Congratulations to #SANTHE Director @Thumbi_Ndungu who was inducted into the US National Academy of Medicine @theNAMedicine this Saturday for his contributions to medical science & global health.
#AfricanLedScience
@SciforAfrica @gatesfoundation @Aidsfonds @ragoninstitute @ucl

[Journal of Experimental Medicine @JExpMed]

Human CD4+ T cells recognize Mycobacterium #tuberculosis–infected #macrophages amid broader responses, say Volodymyr Stetsenko, Daniel P. Gail, Stephen M. Carpenter et al. @cwrusom https://t.co/7vEjugwa7U

[Paul Ogongo @JaTcells]

Interesting observations linking B cells and the Inflammosome axis from @javid_lab and @RBouzeyen Early Antibody-Mediated Immunity to Tuberculosis in Mice Requires NLRP3 https://t.co/xZOZZpwRYF

[Paul Ogongo @JaTcells]

NEW Study: Assessing the Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Mutations on Antibody Binding: A Comparative Assessment of the Wuhan and JN.1 Variants’ Full-Length Spikes in a Multiplex Luminex Assay https://t.co/zPSBxTgD7K #mdpiviruses via @VirusesMDPI

[Paul Ogongo @JaTcells]

New Study: We report the dysregulation of CD4 T cell responses by Type 2 Diabetes in people with TB. Increased circulating Th17 cell subsets and altered CD4 maturation and differentiation. Potential explanation for high risk for TB in those with T2D
https://t.co/YjKDuh0ZeM