https://xitter.cf/t.co/NN8LFsb1xy PhD Candidate in the @MeiselLab at University of Pittsburgh @Pitt_PMI 🏃♀️🛼👩🔬 https://xitter.cf/t.co/orHDb8UwYQ
Pittsburgh, PA
Joined June 2022
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I am BEYOND excited to share my PhD thesis research is officially published in @CellCellPress today.
Read on for an exciting story about how #exercise promotes antitumor #immunity by modulating behavior of the #microbiome 🏃♀️🦠
authors.elsevier.com/c/1lPCr…
Catherine Phelps retweeted
Congratulations to Victor S. Cortez & @CatMPhelps, grad student in the Meisel Lab, on receiving awards from @CytokineSociety. They will both give talks at #Cytokines2026.
Read more: immunology.pitt.edu/news/pit…
ALT Victor S. Cortez, assistant professor of immunology, has been awarded the 2026 Cytokine Society-Regeneron New Investigator Award for Excellence in Cytokine & Interferon Research
ALT Catherine Phelps, a graduate student in Marlies Meisel's lab, has been awarded The Cytokine Society's 2026 Sidney & Joan Pestka Graduate Award
Catherine Phelps retweeted
New review in @ImmunityCP by Dr. Marlies Meisel & @Pitt_PMI graduate student @CatMPhelps synthesizes how exercise reshapes the immune system & the potential of exercise-based therapies for cancer, autoimmunity, and other diseases. cell.com/immunity/fulltext/S…
ALT Circular diagram depicting current evidence for the mechanisms by which exercise affects the immune system in the contexts of cancer, diabetes, and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.
Catherine Phelps retweeted
Catherine Phelps from @upmc.com representing #SITC Talks on how #exercise can improve outcome - role for #microbial #metabolite #formate on mediating #anticancer #immunity / #WIC2025 #SITC2025
Catherine Phelps retweeted
Yet another reason to exercise!
Phelps et al.
doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.…
#ResearchHighlight
In a study published in #Cell, Phelps et al. find a mechanism connecting exercise, gut microbiota & anti-tumour immunity; exercise induces microbiota to produce formate, which in turn enhances CD8+ T cell functionality.
👇
bit.ly/4lh5q6m
Catherine Phelps retweeted
Online now: Gasdermin C cleavage by Cathepsin S modulates Rab7 vesicles in intestinal epithelial cells to amplify anti-helminth immunity dlvr.it/TM3NYq
Catherine Phelps retweeted
Gasdermin C cleavage by Cathepsin S modulates Rab7 vesicles in intestinal epithelial cells to amplify anti-helminth immunity @ImmunityCP @surya25_pandey @YinanGong @RH_Laboratory
cell.com/immunity/fulltext/S…
Catherine Phelps retweeted
A potent bacterium in the human gut can supercharge the effects of some cancer drugs
go.nature.com/4lDfxU8
Catherine Phelps retweeted
#MicrobiotaPower & #Exercise! Phelps, Meisel &co show @CellCellPress that exercise drives formate from microbiota that in turns activates NRF2 in CD8 T cells driving STAT1/IRF8 programs that potentiate immune checkpoint inhibitor efficacy against melanoma dlvr.it/TLqLW7
Catherine Phelps retweeted
AAI Members in the News! For her graduate thesis with Dr. Marlies Meisel at @Pitt_Medicine, @CatMPhelps found that #exercise improved #cancer outcomes and enhanced responses to #immunotherapy in mice by reshaping the gut #microbiome. Congrats!
🔗 ow.ly/RIMj50WnXoy
ALT Headshots of Dr. Marlies Meisel and Catherine Phelps side by side.
Catherine Phelps retweeted
🏃♂️💥 Exercise boosts immunotherapy!
New study shows exercise increases gut microbiota-derived formate, enhancing CD8+ T cell–mediated antitumor immunity via Nrf2.
⭐️Formate may be a new biomarker for better ICI response in melanoma.
@CellPressNews @OncoAlert #microbiome #cancer #Oncology
doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2025.…
Catherine Phelps retweeted
#ScienceSaturday
🏃♂️🧬 Can exercise really help fight #cancer?
📢 A new study in @CellCellPress shows exercise rewires the gut #microbiome to enhance immune responses against tumors.
➡️ @CatMPhelps et al. found exercise increases levels of a microbiota-derived metabolite called formate, which boosts CD8 T cell function through the Nrf2 pathway. This strengthens the immune system’s ability to attack tumors, even those resistant to immune checkpoint inhibitors.
➡️ In #melanoma models, both exercise and formate supplementation reduced tumor growth, increased survival and amplified the effects of immunotherapy. High-formate-producing human microbiota showed similar antitumor effects in preclinical studies.
💡 These findings suggest a powerful link between movement, metabolism, and immune activation.
🔗 Read the full article in Cell: cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092…
@PittTweet @Pitt_PMI
Catherine Phelps retweeted
True academic friendship is agreeing to sit in the audience for their 8:15am presentation
Catherine Phelps retweeted
Exercise helps the immune system to fight tumours by stimulating microbes in the gut to make a compound known as formate
go.nature.com/44jPqvg
Catherine Phelps retweeted
New University of Pittsburgh research shows gut bacteria are responsible for how exercise boosts cancer treatment in mice, pointing to possible future therapies for humans.
explorevenango.com/state-new…
