Research Spotlights

Dr. Serezani completed his PhD at the University of Sao Paulo and the University of Michigan. He also completed his postdoctoral studies at University of Michigan. He was an Assistant Professor at Indiana University School of Medicine and has published more than 50 papers in reputed journals. The NIH and other foundations have funded his laboratory for almost 10 years. The Serezani laboratory aims to develop therapeutic strategies to control systemic (sepsis) and localized infections (skin and lung) in healthy individuals, individuals with immune deficiencies, and those suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases, such as diabetes. They have concentrated much of their efforts in understanding the role of the lipid mediators leukotriene B4 and prostaglandin E2 and their actions on microRNAs, epigenetic changes and phosphatases to modulate immune cells involved in the control of microbial infection in these different contexts..... Click Dr. Serezani's photo to continue reading.

Justin M. Balko, Pharm.D., Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Cancer Biology and Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology. He received his Pharm.D. from State University of New York at Buffalo and his Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Balko's laboratory is focused on improving treatment outcomes in breast cancer (particularly triple-negative breast cancer) as well as in other solid tumors. To accomplish this, they integrate data from genomic and molecular profiling studies with molecular biology and signal transduction methodologies to translationally identify altered pathways in cancer, the functional consequences of these alterations, and ways to directly target them in patients to improve clinical outcomes and survival. These efforts span in silico (publically available databases), in vitro (cell culture), in vivo (mouse and human clinical studies) and in situ (histology) methods. The lab has a strong interest in the intersection between new immunotherapies and tumor cell signaling pathways.... Click Dr. Balko's photo to continue reading.

Mary Philip, M.D., Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology and an Assistant Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology. She grew up in Chicago and received her BS in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University and her M.D. and Ph.D. in cancer biology from the University of Chicago. She completed her residency at the University of Chicago and her Hematology/Oncology Fellowship training at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/University of Washington in Seattle. She then worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York to decipher the epigenetic regulation of tumor-specific T cell dysfunction before moving to Nashville... Click Dr. Philip's photo to continue reading.

Young Kim, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Otolaryngology and co-leader of the Translational Research and Interventional Oncology Research Program, is a clinician-scientist focused on the development of immunotherapeutic modalities for solid tumors... Click on Dr. Kim's photo to continue reading.

Dr. Heather Pua is an Assistant Professor of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology. She earned her B.S. in Biology and her M.D. Ph.D. in Immunology from Duke University, where she identified a role for autophagy in naive T cell survival. She then moved to the West Coast, completing residency in Anatomic Pathology, clinical fellowship in Molecular Genetic Pathology, and post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. The Pua Lab studies how miRNAs regulate effector cell programs, with particular attention to their role in pathologic lung inflammation. They also investigate extracellular small RNAs, which are abundant in body fluid and were until recently dark matter in the body. These goals are accomplished using RNA biology’s molecular tool kit in combination with classic cellular immunology in both mice and humans... Click Dr. Pua's photo to continue reading.

The composition of the human microbiome, a complex ecosystem of microorganisms, plays a crucial role in lifelong health. Little is known, however, about the detailed molecular mechanisms linking health status to the microbiome of the gut, for example...

We are thrilled to kick off the VI4 / ArtLab Artist-in-Residence program this month We were able to match 8 VI4 labs with 11 students who will be working together over the course of the summer. We look forward to the fruits of these collaborations! ...

Dr. Jim Cassat is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology and in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. He is also an Associate Director of VI4. His lab’s research focuses on host-pathogen interactions during invasive bacterial infection, with a special emphasis on understanding how infection and inflammation perturb musculoskeletal cell biology... Click Dr. Cassat's photo to continue reading.

Dr. Meena Madhur is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Molecular Physiology and Biophysics. She is also an Associate Director of VI4. Her research focuses on how T cells and T cell-derived cytokines promote hypertension and renal/vascular dysfunction. Her lab was the first to demonstrate a critical role for the lymphocyte adaptor molecule LNK in hypertension and aortic disease. They also defined mechanisms by which the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 17A (IL-17A) contributes to hypertension and renal sodium retention... Click Dr. Madhur's photo to continue reading.

Dr. Hadjifrangiskou is a microbiologist in the Departments of Urologic Surgery and Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology; she is also part of our VI4 Leadership Committee as an Associate Director. Her lab studies the ways in which UPEC can sense changes in its surrounding environment and thereby accordingly alter its behavior as it transits through different host and environmental niches... Click Dr. Hadjifrangiskou's photo to continue reading.