My research in Dr. Booki Min’s lab is focused on the interactions among dendritic cells, CD4 T cells, and gamma-delta T cells in the development of Th17-associated inflammatory bowel disease. I recently came to LRI after a postdoctoral fellowship with Drs. Marcy Blackman and David Woodland at the Trudeau Institute in Saranac Lake, NY, where I studied the influence of latent virus on the antiviral immune response using a mouse model of Epstein-Barr virus infection.
In my spare time, I enjoy watching and playing sports, hiking, and reading.
I am graduate student in Dr. Baldwins lab. My research project is role of CD4 T cells in cardiac allograft vasculopathy. Allograft rejection occurs because the recipient’s immune system recognizes the donor’s tissue as foreign and produces either antibodies or lymphocytes to antigens on the graft. There are different types of allograft rejection: hyperacute, acute and chronic. Hyperacute and acute rejection have been largely controlled. However, most patients experience a gradual decrease in graft function due to a progressive narrowing of the coronary arteries. This arterial pathology is called cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) and still remains major cause of chronic graft failure.
My research interests focus on the interaction between tumors and the immune system, especially mechanisms by which tumors can blunt CD8+ T cell responses by redirecting them to become suppressive. Our lab has found a role for the pro-survival molecule Mcl-1 in resisting this process in humans, and we are currently further characterizing its function, as well as other tumor-induced CD8+ T cell populations.
When I’m not hard at work in the lab, I enjoy hiking, snowboarding, and cooking.
