Supporting discovery through mentorship

We’re thrilled to highlight the recent Nature Communications publication, Androgens inhibit protective CD8+ T cell responses against pre-erythrocytic malaria parasites in mice (10.1038/s41467-025-60193-7), which sheds light on how male sex hormones reduce the effectiveness of malaria vaccines. The study reveals that while both male and female mice develop functional memory CD8+ T cells after vaccination, androgens suppress the liver’s inflammatory response and limit recruitment of these protective immune cells in males, resulting in poorer vaccine protection. This insight advances our understanding of sex-based differences in immunity and could inform improved malaria vaccine strategies.

A standout aspect of this publication is the contribution of Caroline Duncombe, a PhD candidate researcher and first author on the paper. Caroline conducted her first RNA-seq analysis as part of this project—an ambitious leap into the world of transcriptomics and computational biology.

Caroline was mentored by UWISDOM, a core dedicated to advancing bioinformatics research and training for researchers across disciplines. Under UWISDOM’s guidance, Caroline learned to code in R, navigate complex RNA-seq pipelines, and interpret gene expression data critical to uncovering the mechanisms behind sex differences in vaccine responses.

UWISDOM’s role in this study exemplifies our commitment to fostering curiosity, rigor, and collaboration in data science. We are proud to empower researchers like Caroline to confidently tackle challenging scientific questions and contribute to impactful biomedical discoveries. We look forward to supporting many more journeys from data to discovery in the future.