The Center for Immunology is an interdisciplinary research program at the University of Minnesota devoted to advancing the field of immunology and educating future immunologists.
Autoimmunity • Cancer • Vaccines • Cures
Latest News
Dr. Marc Jenkins is the recipient of the 2017 Medical School Carole J. Bland Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award!
Congratulations to Dr. Jenkins on being selected as the recipient of the 2017 Medical School Carole J. Bland Outstanding Faculty Mentor award! This award is meant to recognize the process by which faculty serves as role models for each other, promoting the professional development of others and creating a supportive, positive working environment. Dr. Jenkins was presented the award at the Medical School Promotion and Tenure Reception on June 15, 2017. The event was at the Weisman Art Museum, Dolly Fiterman Riverview Gallery, on June 15, 2017, from 4:30-6pm.
Register now for the AAI 2017 Advanced Course in Immunology. This intensive course features several leading experts including our own David Masopust presenting recent advances in understanding the biology of the immune system and its role in health and disease. Deadline to register is June 30, 2017. View the course schedule.
Nathan Schuldt, Ph.D. has been named one of the AAI 2017-18 Public Policy Fellows
AAI has launched the seventh year of its Public Policy Fellows Program (PPFP), which engages postdoctoral fellows and junior scientists in public policy activities that impact biomedical research. Each year 10 fellows from across the United States are selected by the AAI Committee on Public Affairs. Congratulations to Nathan Schuldt, a post doctoral fellow in the Bindstadt Lab. Nathan was chosen as one of the ten 2017-2018 fellows and is looking forward to learning more about how biomedical research policies are shaped and how he can serve as a better advocate for scientific research.
In an April 2017 Nature Immunology article, Farrar and colleagues propose a potential strategy for inhibiting progenitor B cells from becoming cancerous.
A research team led by Michael Farrar, Professor and Utz Chair in Fundamental Immunobiology, investigated transcription factor networks as prognostic markers of disease severity. They report their findings in “Antagonism of B cell enhancer networks by STAT5 drives leukemia and poor patient survival” published in Nature Immunology.
In earlier studies Farrar identified the transcription factor STAT5 as key to the transformation of progenitor B cells into leukemic cells, though the underlying mechanism for transformation was unclear. In the newly published paper he and colleagues identify regulatory competition between STAT5 and the transcription factors IKAROS and NF-κB. The STAT5 interaction with the IKAROS - NF-κB network serves as a “molecular switch” governing the proliferation, survival and differentiation of progenitor B cells. The authors found that high regulatory imbalance between these antagonistic transcription-factor networks serves as a marker for severe disease and poor response to therapy. They propose that addressing the regulatory imbalance is a potential strategy for inhibiting progenitor B cells from becoming cancerous.
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Co-housing with pet store mice changes the immune system of laboratory mice
In this April 20, 2016 issue of Nature, Lalit Beura, Sara Hamilton, Marc Jenkins, Vaiva Vezys, Steve Jameson, Dave Masopust, et.al. show evidence of how laboratory rodents can skew immunology research but that "dirty mice" can clean up the results. Read more
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Tolerance is established in polyclonal CD4+ T cells by distinct mechanisms, according to self-peptide expression patterns
In this February 2016 Nature Immunology article, Deepali Malhotra, T. Dileepan, You Jeong Lee, Brian Fife, Kris Hogquist, Marc Jenkins, et.al. explain how tolerance mechanisms identified in eGFp-expressing mouse strains govern tolerance to true self antigens. Read more
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Jason Mitchell and Brian Fife show Tumor specific T cells (red and green) interacting with B16 Tumor cells (blue) and CD11c YFP DCs (yellow)
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Efficient generation of monoclonal antibodies against peptide in the context of MHCII using magnetic enrichment.
In this June 2016 Nature Communications article Justin Spanier, Dmitri Kotov, Marc Jenkins, Brian Fife, et al show that after infection with Listeria monocytogenes expressing 2W and W6 antibody treatment, 2W-specific cells were magnetically enriched from the spleen of C57Bl6 mice. Read More
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Regulated activation of TGF-b by stromal cells can directly control epithelial residence of cells of the immune system through a novel mechanism of intercellular communication.
Javed Mohammed, Dave Masopust, Lalit Beura, Emily Thompson and Dan Kaplan, et al, report that UV irradiation promotes Langerhans cell migration through diminished integrin expression and TGF-b activation. Read More
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Antagonism of B cell enhancer networks by STAT5 drives leukemia and poor patient survival
In Nature Immunology, April 2017, Casey Katerndahl, Lynn Heltemes-Harris and Michael Farrar, et.al. identify that the activation of STAT5 acts in synergy with pre-BCR signaling defects to deregulate the expression of NF-κB target genes. Read More
Yoji Shimizu, PhD
Distinguished University Teaching Professor, Laboratory Medicine and Pathology; Director, Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD); Assistant Dean for Graduate Education
Announcements
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Tea and Talk!!
every Monday and Thursday
2:30 p.m. | 2-163 WMBB
June 26
Immunology Journal Club
Griffith lab
9:30-10:30 a.m. | 4-224 CCRB (Note ROOM change)
June 27
Dept of Pharmacology Student Seminar
Ben Brian-Freedman Lab
"The role of the Src-family kinase LynA in macrophage-targeted cancer therapy"
10:00-11:00 a.m. | 2-620 MoosT
June 28
Immunology Supergroup
Masopust Lab
1:30-2:30 p.m. | 1-125 CCRB
July 3
Immunology Journal Club
No meeting
9:30-10:30 a.m. | 3-224 CCRB
July 5
Immunology Supergroup
No Meeting
1:30-2:30 p.m. | 1-125 CCRB
July 10
Immunology Journal Club
Vezys Lab
9:30-10:30 a.m. | 3-224 CCRB
July 12
Immunology Supergroup
Jameson Lab
1:30-2:30 p.m. | 1-125 CCRB
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We are committed to protecting research participants, upholding ethical standards, and improving our practice at every step of our work.
Learn more about our commitment to research ethics