Janelle Ayres, PhD

Professor and Laboratory Head

Gene Expression Laboratory

Molecular and Systems Physiology Laboratory

NOMIS Center for Immunobiology and Microbial Pathogenesis

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator

Salk Institute Legacy Chair

Salk Institute for Biological Studies - Publications

all Publications


Ayres, J.S. Host-encoded antivirulence defenses: host physiologies teach pathogens to play nice. (2024) Current Opinion in Immunology. 91:102472. DOI: 10.1016/j.coi.2024.102472

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Gallant, R.M., Snyder, J.M., Ayres, J.S. Fluoxetine promotes immunometabolic defenses to mediate host-pathogen cooperation during sepsis. (2023) bioRxiv. DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.18.567681

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Fu, T., Huan, T., Rahman, G., Zhi, H., Xu, Z., Oh, T.G., Guo, J., Coulter, S., Tripathi, A., Martino, C., McCarville, J.L., Zhu, Q., Cayabyab, F., Low, B., He, M., Xing, S., Vargas, F., Yu, R.T., Atkins, A., Liddle, C., Ayres, J., Raffatellu, M., Dorrestein, P.C., Downes, M., Knight, R., Evans, R.M. Paired microbiome and metabolome analyses associate bile acid changes with colorectal cancer progression. (2023) Cell Reports.:112997 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112997

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Redford, S.E., Varanasi, S.K., Sanchez, K.K., Thorup, N.R., Ayres, J.S. CD4+ T cells regulate sickness-induced anorexia and fat wasting during a chronic parasitic infection. (2023) Cell Reports.:112814 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112814

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Chen, G.Y., Thorup, N.R., Miller, A.J., Li, Y.C., Ayres, J.S. Cooperation between physiological defenses and immune resistance produces asymptomatic carriage of a lethal bacterial pathogen. (2023) Science Advances. 9(25):eadg8719. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg8719

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Ferrer, M., Anthony, T.G., Ayres, J.S., Biffi, G., Brown, J.C., Caan, B.J., Cespedes Feliciano, E.M., Coll, A.P., Dunne, R.F., Goncalves, M.D., Grethlein, J., Heymsfield, S.B., Hui, S., Jamal-Hanjani, M., Lam, J.M., Lewis, D.Y., McCandlish, D., Mustian, K.M., O'Rahilly, S., Perrimon, N., White, E.P., Janowitz, T. Cachexia: A systemic consequence of progressive, unresolved disease. (2023) Cell. 186(9):1824-1845. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.03.028

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Sanchez, K.K., McCarville, J.L., Stengel, S.J., Snyder, J.M., Williams, A.E., Ayres, J.S. Preprint - Age-dependent roles of cardiac remodeling in sepsis defense and pathogenesis. (2023) bioRxiv. DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.14.532695

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Chen, G.Y., Thorup, N.R., Miller, A.J., Li, Y.C., Ayres, J.S. Cooperation between physiological defenses and immune resistance produces asymptomatic carriage of a lethal bacterial pathogen. (2023) bioRxiv. DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.22.525099

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Sanchez, K.K., Troha, K., Mu, A., Redford, S.E., McCarville, J.L., Insenga, A., Stengel, S., Lee, Y.M., Ayres, J.S. Chronic Leptin Deficiency Improves Tolerance of Physiological Damage and Host-Pathogen Cooperation during Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Infection. (2022) Infect Immun.:e0024222 DOI: 10.1128/iai.00242-22

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McCarville, J.L., Ayres, J.S. Virulence triggered allergies: Pseudomonas gets the Las laugh. (2022) Immunity. 55(5):824-826. DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2022.04.011

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Romero, A.R., Mu, A., Ayres, J.S. Adipose triglyceride lipase mediates lipolysis and lipid mobilization in response to iron-mediated negative energy balance. (2022) iScience. 25(3):103941. DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.103941

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Troha, K., Ayres, J.S. Cooperative defenses during enteropathogenic infection. (2021) Current Opinion in Microbiology. 65:123-130. DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2021.11.003

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Lee, Y.M., Mu, A., Wallace, M., Gengatharan, J.M., Furst, A.J., Bode, L., Metallo, C.M., Ayres, J.S. Microbiota control of maternal behavior regulates early postnatal growth of offspring. (2021) Science Advances. 7(5). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abe6563

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Chen, G.Y., Ayres, J.S. Beyond tug-of-war: Iron metabolism in cooperative host-microbe interactions. (2020) PLOS pathogens. 16(8):e1008698. DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008698


Ayres, J.S. A metabolic handbook for the COVID-19 pandemic. (2020) Nat Metab. 2(7):572-585. DOI: 10.1038/s42255-020-0237-2

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Ayres, J.S. Surviving COVID-19: A disease tolerance perspective. (2020) Science Advances. 6(18):eabc1518. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abc1518


Ayres, J.S. The Biology of Physiological Health. (2020) Cell. 181(2):250-269. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.03.036

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McCarville, J.L., Chen, G.Y., Cuevas, V.D., Troha, K., Ayres, J.S. Microbiota Metabolites in Health and Disease. (2020) Annual Review of Immunology. 38:147-170. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-immunol-071219-125715

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Troha, K., Ayres, J.S. Metabolic Adaptations to Infections at the Organismal Level. (2020) Trends in Immunology. DOI: 10.1016/j.it.2019.12.001

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Ayres, J.S. Immunometabolism of infections. (2019) Nature Reviews Immunology. DOI: 10.1038/s41577-019-0266-9


McCarville, J.L., Ayres, J.S. Host-Pathogen Relationship Advice: Fat Protects against a Broken Heart. (2019) Cell Metabolism. 30(3):409-411. DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2019.08.007

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Wallace, M., Green, C.R., Roberts, L.S., Lee, Y.M., McCarville, J.L., Sanchez-Gurmaches, J., Meurs, N., Gengatharan, J.M., Hover, J.D., Phillips, S.A., Ciaraldi, T.P., Guertin, D.A., Cabrales, P., Ayres, J.S., Nomura, D.K., Loomba, R., Metallo, C.M. Enzyme promiscuity drives branched-chain fatty acid synthesis in adipose tissues. (2018) Nature Chemical Biology. 14(11):1021-1031. DOI: 10.1038/s41589-018-0132-2

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Sanchez, K.K., Chen, G.Y., Schieber, A.M.P., Redford, S.E., Shokhirev, M.N., Leblanc, M., Lee, Y.M., Ayres, J.S. Cooperative Metabolic Adaptations in the Host Can Favor Asymptomatic Infection and Select for Attenuated Virulence in an Enteric Pathogen. (2018) Cell. 175(1):146-158. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.07.016

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Chen, G.Y., Ayres, J.S. When the Gut Gets Tough, the Enterocytes Get Going. (2018) Immunity. 48(5):837-839. DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2018.04.036

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McCarville, J.L., Ayres, J.S. Disease tolerance: concept and mechanisms. (2018) Current Opinion in Immunology. 50:88-93. DOI: 10.1016/j.coi.2017.12.003

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Lee, Y.M., Ayres, J.S. Decoding the intestinal epithelium cell by cell. (2018) Nature Immunology. 19(1):7-9. DOI: 10.1038/s41590-017-0011-0


Rao, S., Ayres, J.S. Resistance and tolerance defenses in cancer: Lessons from infectious diseases. (2017) Seminars in Immunology. 32:54-61. DOI: 10.1016/j.smim.2017.08.004

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Rauch, I., Deets, K.A., Ji, D.X., von Moltke, J., Tenthorey, J.L., Lee, A.Y., Philip, N.H., Ayres, J.S., Brodsky, I.E., Gronert, K., Vance, R.E. NAIP-NLRC4 Inflammasomes Coordinate Intestinal Epithelial Cell Expulsion with Eicosanoid and IL-18 Release via Activation of Caspase-1 and -8. (2017) Immunity. 46(4):649-659. DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2017.03.016

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Rao, S., Schieber, A.M., O'Connor, C.P., Leblanc, M., Michel, D., Ayres, J.S. Pathogen-Mediated Inhibition of Anorexia Promotes Host Survival and Transmission. (2017) Cell. 168(3):503-516.e12. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.01.006

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Ayres, J.S. Microbes Dress for Success: Tolerance or Resistance? (2017) Trends in Microbiology. 25(1):1-3. DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2016.11.006

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Schieber, A.M., Ayres, J.S. Thermoregulation as a disease tolerance defense strategy. (2016) Pathog Dis. 74(9). DOI: 10.1093/femspd/ftw106

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Ayres, J.S. Disease Tolerance Trick or Treat: Give Your Brain Something Good to Eat. (2016) Cell. 166(6):1368-70. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.08.034

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Ayres, J.S. Cooperative Microbial Tolerance Behaviors in Host-Microbiota Mutualism. (2016) Cell. 165(6):1323-1331. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.05.049

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Shen, R., Wang, B., Giribaldi, M.G., Ayres, J., Thomas, J.B., Montminy, M. Neuronal energy-sensing pathway promotes energy balance by modulating disease tolerance. (2016) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 113(23):E3307-14. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1606106113

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Schieber, A.M., Lee, Y.M., Chang, M.W., Leblanc, M., Collins, B., Downes, M., Evans, R.M., Ayres, J.S. Disease tolerance mediated by microbiome E. coli involves inflammasome and IGF-1 signaling. (2015) Science. 350(6260):558-63. DOI: 10.1126/science.aac6468

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Ayres, J.S. Inflammasome-microbiota interplay in host physiologies. (2013) Cell Host & Microbe. 14(5):491-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.chom.2013.10.013

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Manzanillo, P.S., Ayres, J.S., Watson, R.O., Collins, A.C., Souza, G., Rae, C.S., Schneider, D.S., Nakamura, K., Shiloh, M.U., Cox, J.S. The ubiquitin ligase parkin mediates resistance to intracellular pathogens. (2013) Nature. 501(7468):512-6. DOI: 10.1038/nature12566

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von Moltke, J., Ayres, J.S., Kofoed, E.M., Chavarría-Smith, J., Vance, R.E. Recognition of bacteria by inflammasomes. (2013) Annual Review of Immunology. 31:73-106. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-immunol-032712-095944

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Ayres, J.S., Trinidad, N.J., Vance, R.E. Lethal inflammasome activation by a multidrug-resistant pathobiont upon antibiotic disruption of the microbiota. (2012) Nature Medicine. 18(5):799-806. DOI: 10.1038/nm.2729

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Ayres, J.S., Vance, R.E. Cellular teamwork in antibacterial innate immunity. (2012) Nature Immunology. 13(2):115-7. DOI: 10.1038/ni.2212


Stone, E.F., Fulton, B.O., Ayres, J.S., Pham, L.N., Ziauddin, J., Shirasu-Hiza, M.M. The circadian clock protein timeless regulates phagocytosis of bacteria in Drosophila. (2012) PLOS pathogens. 8(1):e1002445. DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1002445

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Ayres, J.S., Schneider, D.S. Tolerance of infections. (2012) Annual Review of Immunology. 30:271-94. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-immunol-020711-075030

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Ayres, J.S., Schneider, D.S. The role of anorexia in resistance and tolerance to infections in Drosophila. (2009) PLOS Biology. 7(7):e1000150. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000150

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Ayres, J.S., Schneider, D.S. A signaling protease required for melanization in Drosophila affects resistance and tolerance of infections. (2008) PLOS Biology. 6(12):2764-73. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0060305

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Schneider, D.S., Ayres, J.S. Two ways to survive infection: what resistance and tolerance can teach us about treating infectious diseases. (2008) Nature Reviews. Immunology. 8(11):889-95. DOI: 10.1038/nri2432

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Gordon, M.D., Ayres, J.S., Schneider, D.S., Nusse, R. Pathogenesis of listeria-infected Drosophila wntD mutants is associated with elevated levels of the novel immunity gene edin. (2008) PLOS pathogens. 4(7):e1000111. DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1000111

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Ayres, J.S., Freitag, N., Schneider, D.S. Identification of Drosophila mutants altering defense of and endurance to Listeria monocytogenes infection. (2008) Genetics. 178(3):1807-15. DOI: 10.1534/genetics.107.083782

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Shirasu-Hiza, M.M., Dionne, M.S., Pham, L.N., Ayres, J.S., Schneider, D.S. Interactions between circadian rhythm and immunity in Drosophila melanogaster. (2007) Current Biology. 17(10):R353-5. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2007.03.049


Schneider, D.S., Ayres, J.S., Brandt, S.M., Costa, A., Dionne, M.S., Gordon, M.D., Mabery, E.M., Moule, M.G., Pham, L.N., Shirasu-Hiza, M.M. Drosophila eiger mutants are sensitive to extracellular pathogens. (2007) PLOS pathogens. 3(3):e41. DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.0030041

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Ayres, J.S., Schneider, D.S. Genomic dissection of microbial pathogenesis in cultured Drosophila cells. (2006) Trends in Microbiology. 14(3):101-4. DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2006.01.008

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Education

BA, Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley
PhD, Microbiology & Immunology, Stanford University
Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley


Awards & Honors

  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, 2024
  • National Institutes of Health Pioneer Award, 2018
  • Blavatnik National Award for Young Scientists, 2018
  • Crohn's And Colitis Foundation Senior Research Award
  • DARPA Young Faculty Award, 2015
  • Ray Thomas Edwards Foundation Career Development Award, 2014
  • Searle Scholarship Award, 2014
  • Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Postdoctoral Fellowship, NIH, 2010-2013
  • Sidney Raffel Award, Stanford University, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, 2008
  • Predoctoral Fellowship, National Science Foundation, 2004 - 2007
  • I.L. Chaikoff Memorial Award, University of California, Berkeley, 2002