@HancksLab

Evolutionary Virologist/Immunologist, Asst. Professor @UTSWimmuno

 Dallas, TX
hanckslab.org/
Joined February 2016
  • Tweets936
  • Following661
  • Followers535
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Our New: Going places -- us with Steve Baker @sfbkr.bsky.social (now @LoyolaStritch) ...how trafficking to and from #mitochondria can shape infection outcomes as part of @JVirology New Voices in Virology journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128… sfbkrlab.org/ @UTSWMedCenter @utswnews
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A new/old SARS-CoV-2 paper for us is now in @NatureComms nature.com/articles/s41467-0… We submitted first in 2023 and due to a variety of reasons, it is now out, in 2026. The manuscript details our look into conserved SARS-CoV-2 Omicron mutations outside the receptor binding domain.

Loss-of-function mutation in Omicron variants reduces spike protein expression and attenuates...

Nature Communications - Spike mutations in SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants impact vaccine-mediated protection. In this study, the authors identify mutations that also alter spike cleavage and virus...

nature.com
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Our newest: Antiviral & inflammatory proteome is regulated by a logic timer imparted by #mitochondria activity...what if mitos. were not co-opted for "energy" but host defense?...implications for non-infectious diseases biorxiv.org/content/10.64898… @biorxivpreprint #viruses #evolution

Mitochondrial perturbation adapts the proteome from early to advanced immune responses

Dysregulated immunity, a hallmark of many human diseases, co-occurs with mitochondrial dysfunction and is commonly associated with misprimed primary immune signaling. While transcriptionally well-c...

biorxiv.org
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ONLINE NOW in @CellCellPress: @PeterLyLab has discovered large pieces of DNA can transfer directly between human cells & that DNA can persist, change how the recipient cell functions. Read more about this #relentlessdiscovery ⬇️ cri.utsw.edu/human-cells-can…

Human cells can exchange genomic DNA that alters cell behavior - Children's Medical Center Research...

Children’s Research Institute scientists discover that DNA transferred between cells can be inherited, remain biologically active DALLAS – May 19, 2026 – Scientists at Children’s Medical Center...

cri.utsw.edu
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The plot thickens...our thoughts on #mitochondria and metabolism during infection. TL;DR, Maybe sensing of mito. dysfunction evolved as an important signal to cue progression of immune states. @ASMicrobiology @mbiojournal journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128…

mGem: More than building blocks? Mitochondrial metabolism, viruses, and the host response to...

Co-option of mitochondria is generally accepted as a consequence of endosymbiosis of an ancestral α-proteobacterium due to a perceived metabolic advantage provided by bioenergetic and biosynthetic...

journals.asm.org
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Dustin Hancks retweeted
mBio@mbiojournalMay 7
Mitochondria do more than power cells; they shape antiviral immunity. This new #mBio mGem offers insights into metabolic rewiring during infection. doi.org/10.1128/mbio.02501-2… #immunology #virology #mitochondria #immunometabolism
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Divide and conquer: antiviral restriction of #influenza A virus by a novel ISG15 spliceform by @sfbkr.bsky.social and Co..the plot thickens #genesInPieces biorxiv.org/content/10.64898… @biorxivpreprint @biorxiv_micrbio
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Switches: New..lots of protein-coding mRNAs encode #miRNA ..former Ph.D. student's last hurrah building on our #mitochondria C15orf48/miR-147b stuff bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.co…

A subclass of small RNAs is encoded by exons of protein-coding genes

BMC Genomics - Small RNAs regulate gene expression in species across the tree of life. miRNAs, which impact a variety of cellular and physiological processes ranging from development and stress...

link.springer.com
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Lab first, #cookies, to kick off the new academic year…stay tuned #mitochondria
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We’re delighted to invite the @UTSWMedCenter community to the Annual SURF & Amgen Scholars Research Symposium on August 6! Join us as we celebrate the accomplishments of our scholars and showcase the impactful research they’ve conducted this summer. @UTSWGradSchool @RTPatUTSW
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Attending the Amgen Scholars North America Symposium was a rewarding & inspiring experience. The talent of the Amgen Scholars is truly spectacular. We thank @AmgenFoundation for their continued commitment to providing opportunities to our future scientific leaders. @UTSWMedCenter
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Very proud to have our lab's first work published in @cellhostmicrobe! In this work, we use functional metagenomics to find phage defenses from human and soil microbiomes! Congrats to first author @luis840alberto ! cell.com/cell-host-microbe/f… (1/3)

Metagenomic selections reveal diverse antiphage defenses in human and environmental microbiomes

Rodríguez-Rodríguez et al. use functional metagenomics to identify hundreds of sequences from diverse environmental bacteria that block phage infection when expressed in E. coli. Their discoveries...

cell.com
Kevin Forsberg@kvnforsberg3 Mar 2025
My lab’s first preprint! We used functional metagenomics to identify phage defenses in human and soil microbiomes. We scaled these selections while maintaining accuracy, enabling us to examine 9 habitats for defense elements against 7 phages. biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/… 1/10
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Dustin Hancks retweeted
Jonathan Kagan@jkagan130 Jul 2025
Everything you wanted to know about oxidized lipids & immunity, in one review. We explain how oxidized lipids impact inflammation, dendritic cells, anti-tumor immunity and more. Kudos to Joon Choi for his exceptional work. @harvardmed @BostonChildrens royalsocietypublishing.org/d…

Oxidized phospholipid damage signals as modulators of immunity

Abstract. Damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) are self-derived molecules released during tissue damage that influence immune responses. Phospholip

royalsocietypublishing.org
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shine bright: sweet new set of gfp flu reporter viruses from @BakerLabLBRI biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…
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Why do some genetic mutations devastate specific tissues while sparing others? We explore this question in GGC repeat disorders, revealing a mechanism linking protein aggregation to tRNA splicing failure in the brain. 🧵 on our new paper in Science: 🔗 science.org/doi/10.1126/scie…

Polyglycine-mediated aggregation of FAM98B disrupts tRNA processing in GGC repeat disorders

Aggregation-prone polyglycine-containing proteins produced from expanded GGC repeats are implicated in an emerging family of neurodegenerative disorders. In this study, we showed that polyglycine...

science.org
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Dustin Hancks retweeted
Isha Jain@ishahjain18 Jul 2025
A great line-up of speakers for Cell Symposia Multifaceted Mitochondria June 2026 in Glasglow! Check it out and register early: cell-symposia.com/mitochondr… @KivancBirsoy @RutterLab @jourdainlab and more! #mitochondria @CellPressNews
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Newest: Virologs mark #RNA metabolism as an evolutionary battleground during infection - Collaboration w/Chris Sullivan & Kayla Szymanik @PLOSPathogens journals.plos.org/plospathog…
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Dustin Hancks retweeted
BWFUND@BWFUND22 Apr 2025
From PLOS Pathogens - Viral piracy of host RNA phosphatase DUSP11 by avipoxviruses buff.ly/lAnagqk #bwfpath
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Happy to share our latest preprint from 1st author & @IGGPenn PhD student @vazquez_marrero on how GM-CSF potentiates cytokine production in human monocytes during bacterial infection! Congrats to Victor, his undergrad mentees Allyson Lu & @DreslerMV, & postdoc @mikelhaggadone!
bioRxiv Immunology@biorxiv_immuno10 Dec 2024
GM-CSF engages multiple signaling pathways to enhance pro-inflammatory cytokine responses in human monocytes during Legionella infection biorxiv.org/cgi/content/shor… #biorxiv_immuno
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(1/6) Our new paper is out (OA): Host species-specific activity of the poxvirus PKR inhibitors E3 and K3 mediate host range function | Journal of Virology journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128… It took 15 years from our initial discovery that human and mouse PKR were sensitive, whereas ...

Host species-specific activity of the poxvirus PKR inhibitors E3 and K3 mediate host range function...

The molecular mechanisms that govern the host range of viruses are incompletely understood. We show that the host range functions of E3 and K3, two host range factors from vaccinia virus, are a...

journals.asm.org
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