KOSEN 한인과학기술자네트워크

Immunology Interest Group

Laurel Lenz has made major contributions to our understanding of the innate and adaptive immune response to the intracellular bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. As a Ph.D. student with Mike Bevan at the University of Washington Laurel performed pioneering work on the requirements for CD8+ antigen presentation by Listeria identifying a role for the non-classical restriction element H-2-M3. Later as a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dan Portnoy at UC Berkeley he delved into the cell biology of the Listeria-macrophage interaction discovering a new secretory element SecA2 that influences both virulence and the induction of T cell immunity. In 2004 Laurel was recruited as a junior faculty member to the Integrated Department of Immunology at the National Jewish Health and University of Colorado School of Medicine. In 2011 he switched his primary location and affiliation to the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine where he was promoted to Full Professor this year. In Denver, Laurel has built a broad based program investigating the regulation of macrophage, NK cell and T cell function in Listeria infection. Perhaps his most exciting contribution has been the discovery (published in J. Exp. Med.) that Type-I IFN promotes the growth of this pathogen by down-regulating IFN-gamma receptor function in infected macrophages. This fascinating antagonistic crosstalk between type I and II interferons and its implications for host-directed therapy of bacterial infections is the topic of Laurel？？？s IIG lecture. Laurel Lenz is a rare microbial immunologist who is equally skilled and insightful working on either side of the host-pathogen encounter. Don？？？t miss his exciting lecture!

 NIH Neuroscience Series Seminar

Dr. Nerbonne？？？s research is focused ondelineating the molecular, cellular and systemic mechanisms involved in thedynamic regulation of cardiac and neuronal membrane excitability. Combiningbiochemical, electrophysiological, immunohistochemical and molecular genetic approaches,the focus of their work is on characterizing the biophysical properties and thefunctional roles of the voltage-gated potassium (Kv) and sodium (Nav) ionchannels expressed in different myocardial and neuronal cell types, definingthe functional roles of these channels in shaping the waveforms of individualaction potentials and controlling repetitive and rhythmic firing, identifyingthe molecular correlates of native neuronal and myocardial Kv and Nav channels,and delineating the mechanisms controlling channel expression, distribution and functioning.

Using a variety of molecular geneticstrategies and proteomics, ongoing studies are focused on defining the roles ofKv channel accessory subunits and regulatory proteins in controlling thefunctional cell surface expression and the biophysical properties of Kvchannels in the normal heart. Similar approaches are exploited to define themolecular determinants of myocardial Nav channel expression and functioning.Additional ongoing studies are focused on exploring the molecular mechanismsunderlying Kv and Nav channel remodeling in the hypertrophied and failing heartand in other myocardial diseases associated with cardiac rhythm disturbances.

The other major goal of ongoing research in their laboratoryis to define the mechanisms that control the expression and functioning ofnative neuronal Kv and Nav channels. These channels function to controlneuronal resting membrane potentials, action potential waveforms, repetitivefiring, the responses to synaptic inputs and synaptic plasticity. In ongoingstudies, they are exploring the molecular basis of functional neuronal Kv andNav channel diversity and the mechanisms controlling the expression,trafficking, localization and biophysical properties of these channels inneurons in the cerebellum, suprachiasmatic nucleus and cerebral cortex.

Immunology Interest Group

Among many seminal discoveries, Dr Murphy？？？s work provided the first demonstration in vivo of antigen-induced apoptosis in the thymus during thymocyte selection and identified mechanisms by which pathogens instruct the direction of T helper differentiation. His work also revealed the basis for TH2 stability as a result of extinction of IL-12 signaling and transcriptional auto-activation. More recently Dr. Murphy`s research addresses the regulation of immune responses with particular emphasis on dendritic cell (DC) differentiation, central to both effective defense and rheumatologic disorders. His recent discoveries include the transcriptional basis for development of distinct subsets of dendritic cells such as the CD8alpha+ cDC that promotes effective defense against intracellular pathogens and cross-presentation during viral infections, the molecular basis for the unique transcriptional activities of the BATF family involving newly recognized cooperative interactions with IRF4 and IRF8, and the identification of the DC-specific transcription factors Zbtb46 and L-Myc which are being used to interrogate the earliest steps in cellular commitment to the classical DC lineages. Dr. Murphy is an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, received numerous awards and is the author of over 240 papers. Please join us for a seminar from one of the most original leaders of the immunology field.