Linda Baum, MD, PhD
Glycans in cell-cell interactions and immune function
T cells mature in the thymus, and then migrate to organs such as spleen and lymph nodes, where they participate in the immune response to foreign invaders. We have found that a carbohydrate binding protein, termed galectin-1, is expressed in numerous cell types in humans and mice, including organs of the immune system, immune privileged tissues, and tumors. Galectin-1 induces apoptosis, or programmed cell death, of T cells both during development in the thymus and after immune stimulation in the periphery, indicating that galectin-1 plays a role in shaping and regulating the immune response. Galectin-1 induced cell death occurs via a novel, caspase-independent pathway. More Info >>
Steven Bensinger, VMD, PhD
Metabolic regulation of immune function
Dr. Steven Bensinger's laboratory is focused on understanding how lipid metabolism influences the growth of rapidly dividing normal and neoplastic tissues. They have recently identified a cholesterol metabolic checkpoint that regulates cell cycle progression in a wide variety of normal and cancer cells. Key ongoing studies include elucidating the regulatory networks that control lipid biosynthetic program in normal cells, and how these networks become dysregulated in cancer. Other important studies in the laboratory focus on understanding how lipid signals alter immune responses, resulting in basic immune dysfunction and autoimmune diseases.
Jonathan Braun, MD, PhD
Mucosal immunology, immunologic imaging, and inflammatory bowel disease
Innate and adaptive immune functions play a major role in susceptibility to and outcome of infectious diseases, autoimmunity and cancer. My laboratory is devoted to the molecular basis of disease-related immune processes in two areas. Microbial-immune homeostasis and molecular immune imaging in the intestine. Normal intestinal physiology requires peaceful cohabitation of abundant colonic bacteria with the epithelial and immune components of the intestinal mucosa.Continued >>
Anthony Butch, PhD
Clinical immunology and clinical chemistry/toxicology
Dr. Butch's research activities are centered on improving methods to detect doping in sports in order to stay ahead of cheaters who take advantage of new drug developments to gain a competitive edge. In addition, Dr. Butch is interested in the characterization of assays to evaluate immune function and the development of novel protein immunoassays to detect disease. Continued >>
Alistair Cochran, MD
Melanocytic tumors and the interactions of immunological, molecular and genetic factors that determine whether metastatic spread occurs
Dr. Alistair Cochran is primarily interested in the pathology of the skin with a focus on diseases and tumors of the melanocytes: nevi and melanomas. Secondary interests include the pathology of diseases of the breast and lung. His research interests include the elucidation of mechanisms of metastasis as a basis for the development of new and better approaches to the prevention and treatment of metastases in melanoma and breast cancer. Continued >>
Gay Crooks, MBBS
Human hematopoietic stem cells, lymphopoiesis and transplantation
Dr Crooks research program was founded on the question of how to identify and functionally define human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. This central theme has reached over time into three related areas, 1. the characterization and manipulation of human hematopoietic stem cells and lymphoid progenitors in cord blood, bone marrow and thymus, 2. mechanisms of thymic reconstitution after bone marrow transplantation, and 3. hematopoiesis from human embryonic stem cells. Specific areas of current investigation include regulation of lymphoid commitment in human hematopoiesis, VEGF-mediated thymic cross-talk, thymic graft re-engineering, and intrinsic and extrinsic regulation of hematopoiesis from human pluripotent stem cells. More Info >>
Kenneth Dorshkind, PhD
Lymphocyte development from embryogenesis through senescence
The overall goal of the laboratory is to study B cell development during fetal and adult life. The first B lineage cells emerge in the embryo, and recent studies have demonstrated that these arise from a B lineage progenitor whose developmental potential is restricted to the production of B-1 B cells. B-1 B cells are a minor population of B lymphocytes that are involved in innate immune responses. B cell progenitors that derive from hematopoietic stem cells, and which are destined to produce B-2 B cells, arise subsequently during embryogenesis. More Info >>
Steven Dubinett, MD
Inflammation and immunity in the pathogenesis of lung cancer
Dr. Dubinett conducts translational research in the immunobiology of lung cancer. Building on original discoveries regarding inflammation in human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), he has developed a translational research program, which now utilizes these laboratory-based studies in the laboratory and clinical setting. His laboratory has identified inflammation-dependent genes and proteins mediating angiogenesis, apoptosis resistance, invasion and immune suppression in NSCLC. His studies focus on the microenvironment, inflammation and epithelial mesenchymal transition in the pathogenesis of lung cancer.
Rita Effros, PhD
Immunodeficiency of HIV & aging; osteoimmunology: the link between T cells and bone
Both aging and HIV disease are characterized by the loss of immune control over viral infections and by increased cancer incidence. Our approach to dissecting the complex T cell dysfunction associated with these clinical problems has been to focus on a particular facet of T cell biology known as replicative senescence. This irreversible state of cell cycle arrest, which occurs after T cells have undergone multiple rounds of antigen-driven proliferation, is associated with various functional and genetic changes, such as loss of expression a the key co-stimulatory molecule, CD28), resistance to apoptosis, telomere shortening, and loss of the ability to upregulate telomerase. Continued >>
Samuel French, MD, PhD
Hepatitis C viral mediated hepatocarcinogenesis
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer related death worldwide. One of most common causes of HCC includes infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) in association with cirrhosis. We study the impact of HCV on hepatocyte cell signaling that augments viral infection and promotes hepatocarcinogenesis. We primarily utilize a proteomic approach to identify pathways targeted by HCV.
Richard Gatti, MD
Molecular genetics, cancer genetics, immunology, DNA repair
Gatti is interested in translational research, including both the development of diagnostic assays and finding new drugs to treat genetic disorders. His research focuses on DNA repair disorders, using ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) as the primary working model. The lab collaborates with investigators in many other countries. More Info >>
Romney Humphries, PhD
Dr. Humphries' research interests are in antimicrobial susceptibility testing and resistance mechanisms, Clostridium difficile disease, diagnostics and pathogenesis, and in the development of rapid molecular tests for the detection, quantification, and characterization of microorganisms in clinical specimens for the diagnosis of disease. Continued >>
Kathleen Kelly, PhD
Immunity at mucosal surfaces
Our lab studies different mechanisms by which a mucosal immune response regulates tissue inflammation against chronic bacterial infections. We use the intracellular organism, Chlamydia trachomatis, as model in vivo infection in mice to study host-pathogen interactions. Chlamydial infections cause world-wide morbidity by inducing an immune response which causes inflammatory damage to host tissues and involve T-helper type 1 cells, natural killer cells, natural killer T cells and FoxP3+ T regulatory cells. Continued >>
Jerzy Kupiec-Weglinski, PhD
Liver and pancreas transplantation
Currently, Dr. Kupiec-Weglinski's group is working in several key transplant research areas. These include:
1. Studying the pathophysiology of liver ischemia and reperfusion injury;
2. Analysis of T cell costimulatory pathways and memory alloreactive CD8+ T cells in allograft rejection in sensitized recipients; Continued >>
Charalabos Pothoulakis, MD
Dr. Pouthoulakis' research program is primarily focused on the role of neuropeptides and hormones in several disease states, including inflammatory bowel disease, Clostridium difficile infection and colitis-associated colon cancer. His recent projects also involve the neuropeptide-dependent mechanisms by which communication between the intestinal mucosa and the fat depots affect the pathogenesis of intestinal inflammation, colitis-associated colon cancer and stress-related motility responses, as well as diet-induced obesity with particular focus on mesenteric fat. Continued >>
Elaine Reed, PhD
Immunogenetics and transplantation immunology
Dr. Reed's current research efforts are focused on understanding the mechanism of chronic allograft rejection. The development of anti-HLA antibodies following transplantation is associated with transplant atherosclerosis, a manifestation of chronic allograft rejection. We postulate that anti-HLA antibodies are pathogenic in chronic rejection by binding to HLA class I molecules on endothelium and smooth muscle of the allograft... Continued >>
Ram Raj Singh, MD
Autoimmune diseases: T, NKT and dendritic cells; immune tolerance; biomarkers
Interactions between different immune cells, including dendritic cells, T cells, and B cells, in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, with a current focus on cellular migration, immune tolerance induction, immune modulation, roles of sex chromosomes and sex hormones, epigenetic regulation of immune response genes. More Info >>
Michael Teitell, MD, PhD
Signaling and epigenetics in immune system development and cancer
My laboratory studies two overlapping areas with emerging roles in cancer of the immune system. We initially compared gene expression profiles from B cell tumors that arose in immune deficient versus immune competent settings. This approach resulted in the isolation of a large number of differentially expressed genes. We have characterized these isolates and focused on members of the TCL1 gene family, which... More Info >>
