Dr. Megan Levings' lab works on developing regulatory T cell (Treg) based therapies to improve treatment options for autoimmune and transplant related conditions. They developed the first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) that targets a microbial antigen and showed the potential for Tregs expressing a microbe-specific CAR to control inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease.
Age-associated B cells (ABCs; CD19+CD11c+T-bet+) are a unique population that are increased in an array of viral infections, though their role during latent infection is largely unexplored. Here, we use murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (γHV68) to demonstrate that ABCs remain elevated long-term during latent infection and express IFNγ and TNF. Using a recombinant γHV68 that is cleared following acute infection, we…
Cells have the remarkable ability to respond to stress. During stress conditions, the RNA and proteins in the cytoplasm, assemble and form granular structures called stress granules. The mechanism and consequence of stress granule formation are not well understood. However, defects in SG formation are associated with many diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.
In the nervous system, nerve cells communicate with other cells via specialized interfaces called synapses. The position and number of synapses must be tightly regulated for the nervous system to function properly, and many neurological diseases are associated with aberrant synapse numbers and connections.
Plasma circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) represents short fragments of tumor-derived DNA released into the bloodstream primarily from cancer cells undergoing apoptosis. In metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), characterizing genomic alterations in ctDNA identifies mutations, copy number alterations, and structural rearrangements with predictive and prognostic biomarker utility. These associations with clinical outcomes have resulted in ctDNA increasingly incorporated into routine clinical…
The Lockwood lab is focused on studying the biological basis of lung cancer initiation, progression and response to therapy. We utilize different approaches to address this, from sequencing patient tumours to performing functional screens in cell lines and genetically engineered mouse model systems.
Engineering plant microbiomes has the potential to improve plant health in a rapid and sustainable way. Rapidly changing climates and relatively long timelines for plant breeding make microbiome engineering an appealing approach to improving food security. However, approaches that have shown promise in the lab have not resulted in wide-scale implementation in the field. Here, we suggest the use of…
The Zandstra lab is focused on two main questions … understanding how organized tissue emerge from pluripotent stem cells and, focused on the emergence of the hematopoietic – or blood-forming – system, generating functional progenitor and mature cells, especially lymphoid cells from pluripotent stem cells.
Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by the release of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) from resident connective tissue cells in tooth-supporting tissues (periodontium). Platelet activation, and the attendant release of pro-inflammatory chemokines such as platelet factor 4 (CXCL4/PF4), are associated with periodontitis although the associated biochemical pathways remain undefined. Here we report that recombinant PF4 is internalized by cultured human…
My lab’s current research focus is on defining genetic and epigenetic drivers of T-cell leukemogenesis and B-cell lymphomagenesis. To study T-cell leukemia development, we devised a synthetic biology approach in which genetic and/or epigenetic variables are introduced into normal human cord blood cells, and we see what the effects are on cells as they grow and differentiate in vitro and after injection in vivo into immunodeficient mice.