CFI would like to recognize all the hard work done by several labs over the last few months. While the world shut down, CFI continued to work hard. Thank you all for your dedication.
Mike Farrar and Brian Fife are funded to study antigen-specific T cells in diabetes
CFI professors' Michael Farrar, professor, and Virginia and David C. Utz Land Grant Chair in Fundamental Immunobiology, LMP and Brian Fife, professor of Medicine, recently received a five-year $590,000 grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for “Identifying and preventing antigen-specific T cells in diabetes.”
Congratulations on recent faculty promotions
Please join the Center for Immunology in congratulating several of our colleagues on their recent faculty promotions: LMP assistant professor Sara Hamilton Hart has been promoted to associate professor and LMP associate professor Kaylee Schwertfeger has been promoted to professor. We are very proud of them and excited to see their continued research.
Stromnes Lab receives RO1 to continue studies of a preclinical pancreatic cancer model
Dr. Ingunn Stromnes and her lab have received an RO1 grant to continue their studies on a preclinical pancreatic cancer model. The RO1 is based on the work done by Dr. Adam Burrack. His recent first author J. Immunol and Cell Report papers have identified a mechanistic basis for T cell exhaustion in pancreatic cancer and a feasible clinical strategy to overcome it. Dr. Stromnes has also received a grant from the Randy Shaver Cancer Research and Community Fund. The fund supports the cancer community in Minnesota by funding research, prevention, treatment, and other programs relating to the cancer community’s needs. Dr. Stromnes and her lab will work on the role of Trem2 on pancreatic cancer progression and immunotherapy response.
Dr. KrisHogquist receives NIAID funding to study how CD1d protects mice during natural infection
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded LMP professor and CFI Associate Director Kristin Hogquist, Ph.D. a two-year grant to study “How CD1d protects mice during natural infection.”
Dr. Nicholas Jarjour is awarded a grant to study tissue-resident memory T cells
The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation has awarded Nicholas Jarjour, Ph.D., a post-doctoral research associate in the Jameson Laboratory, a four-year research grant to study “Antigen-independent proliferation of tissue-resident memory T cells and therapeutic applications.” Dr. Jarjour is developing antigen-independent methods to stimulate the innate proliferative capacity of tissue-resident CD8+ T cells, based on cytokine signaling molecules. This approach could increase the efficacy of existing checkpoint blockade therapies on resistant tumors and aid in vaccine development.
Drs. Hamilton Hart and Schuldt receive funds to develop a model of human neonatal and infant immune responses
Sara Hamilton Hart, Ph.D. is a Co-Investigator together with PI pediatric rheumatologist Nathan Schuldt, Ph.D. for their proposal to develop “An Improved Model of human neonatal and infant immune responses.” Funding is from the Masonic Cross-Departmental Grants in Children’s Health.
Dr. David Masopust is named as one of the recipients of the Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics Award
This marks the partnership's 17th year of spearheading new scientific ideas from Minnesota to improve the health of, and health care for, Minnesotans. The state-funded grants for these team science proposals total nearly $5 million. Projects are selected based on the quality and rigor of the proposed research, the importance of the medical need, and the potential for future commercialization. Each team includes investigators from Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota. It’s required that the studies be collaborative and that the projects could not be pursued by either institution alone. David Masopust, Ph.D., UMN, and Michael Barry, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic will work on the following: "Developing vaccination regimens that generate multifunctional, long-lived, and re-activatable B and T cell immunity for SARS-CoV-2". The full list of award-winning projects and awardees for 2021.