Center for Immunology

Latest News 
 

Kris Hogquist is elected to the National Academy of Sciences

CFI is honored to announce that our Associate Director Kristin Hogquist, Ph.D. has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Sciences elects new members in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Membership is a widely accepted mark of excellence in science and is considered one of the highest honors that a scientist can receive. Current NAS membership totals approximately 2,400 members and 500 foreign associates, of which approximately 190 have received Nobel prizes. Established in 1863 by Abraham Lincoln, the NAS is charged with providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology. Scientists are elected by their peers to membership in recognition of their distinguished and ongoing achievements in original research. Membership is widely considered one of the highest honors that a scientist can receive.  "It's great to see Kris recognized for her pioneering research. Her consistent line of investigation on a fundamental problem is a shining example to us all." noted CFI Director Dr. Marc Jenkins. Read more here

AIRE to host Postdoctoral Fellow Seminar Series

AIRE is excited to announce the next installment of the invited postdoctoral fellow seminar series. The seminar series is an effort to pique the interest of outstanding postdoctoral fellows from underrepresented minority backgrounds as they begin their faculty searches in CFI and to provide an opportunity to network with the CFI community. The invited postdoctoral fellows have the opportunity to present their research at a seminar via Zoom and to meet with up to three CFI faculty members.  AIRE and CFI believe that having a diverse group of scientists and trainees in an inclusive environment is essential for scientific excellence. Any questions can be directed to aire@umn.edu

CFI and AIRE are excited to welcome Juan Camilo Sanchez-Arcila, as our next speaker for the Postdoctoral Seminar Series,

Please join us on June 14, 2022, from 1:30-2:30 p.m., join us over zoom using the following link here.

Dr. Sanchez-Arcila is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Kirk Jensen at the University of California Merced. His research is focused on studying the genetic basis of murine immune responses to Toxoplasma gondii, the etiologic agent of toxoplasmosis. He is utilizing forward genetic screens to determine key genes involved in regulating protective immunity against T. gondii with a focus on adaptive immune responses involving memory CD8+ T cells. 

Congratulations to Dr. Harry Orr, 2022 recipient of the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience

The Kavli Foundation and the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research announced June 1, 2022 that LMP professor Harry Orr is one of four winners of the 2022 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience.  Named after Fred Kavli, a Norwegian-American physicist, entrepreneur and philanthropist, the biennial Kavli Prize “honors scientists for breakthroughs in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience – transforming our understanding of the big, the small and the complex.”  Orr was honored for his pioneering genetic research on the neurodegenerative disease spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1), a collaborative effort with Baylor College of Medicine’s Huda Zogbhi, also a 2022 Kavli Prize winner.  He will travel to Norway to receive the prize from Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway, in September.  Each Kavli Prize consists of a gold medal, a scroll, and a cash award of $1 million, which is shared among the winners in each category.  Congratulations Harry!  Read more here.

Congratulations

Spring has been a busy time for CFI members: 

Dr. Jesse Williams was awarded an NIH R01 grant "Sex and stress hormones control adrenal gland macrophage development and function" and a MN Department of Health grant to study monocyte trafficking following traumatic brain injury.

Dr. Matouš Vobořil, a postdoctoral fellow in the Hogquist lab, has been awarded a CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Natalie David, MSTP/MICaB graduate student in the Farrar Lab was awarded the 2022 President’s Student Leadership & Service Award (PSLSA), this award recognizes the accomplishments and contributions of outstanding student leaders for their service to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and the surrounding community.

Monica Sauer, BMBB graduate student in the Freedman Lab has been awarded the 2022 Armstrong-Pothapragada Graduate Fellowship by the Department and Graduate Program in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics. "This fellowship is given to a talented student who is in good standing and shows potential in their chosen field."

Dr. Ingunn Stromnes, received an R01 from National Cancer Institute entitled, "Enhancing engineered T cell therapeutic efficacy for the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma". (Co-Investigators are Drs. Stephen Shen, Xavier Revelo, Beau Webber). She also received one of the first Idea Awards from the Department of Defense for pancreatic cancer research entitled : “Manipulating Myeloid Cells to Promote Immunotherapy Efficacy of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma" (Co-Investigators are Drs. Jesse Williams and Kaylee Schwertfeger)

Dr. Nicholas Maurice, a postdoc in Stephen Jameson’s lab, was awarded a one-year grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study his proposal “Profiling and leveraging bystander T cells within the tumor microenvironment.”

Congratulations to everyone!!

CFI debuts new “CFI Legends Wall”

Recently a new wall of recognition was added to the Center for Immunology. To commemorate over 25 years of outstanding research, CFI is honoring two of the founding members of the Center for Immunology, Drs. Tucker LeBien and Matthew Mescher. Dr. LeBien was instrumental in revitalizing immunology as a discipline at the University of Minnesota. After the hiring of a prominent immunologist, Dr. Matthew Mescher in 1993, both LeBien and Mescher worked together to organize all of the UMN immunologists from several departments throughout the medical school. Once organized the group of 11 other faculty members formed a new graduate program to enhance the visibility of training opportunities in immunology. Mescher then applied for grants to establish contiguous research space and in 1995 the official Center for Immunology was launched. Mescher was named the first CFI director and continued to lead the center until 2013 when he stepped down. LeBien continued to support the CFI at an administrative level as the Vice Dean for Research in the Medical School and Associate Vice President for Research in the Academic Health Center until his retirement in January 2022.  CFI is thrilled to begin the wall with two strong leaders. Stop by the 2^nd floor WMBB to see the beautiful tributes to each of the legends.

       Drs. Tucker LeBien, Harry Orr, and         CFI director Marc Jenkins

CFI welcomes our newest faculty member, Monica Campo Patiño, MD, MPH

The Center for Immunology is thrilled to welcome Monica Campo Patiño, MD, MPH to the University of Minnesota and to our group housed in WMBB. Dr. Campo Patiño completed medical school at Universidad El Bosque in Bogotá, Colombia and a Master’s in Public Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and subsequently completed an internal medicine residency at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. Dr. Campo Patiño has completed a research fellowship with Dr. Patricia Finn on the interaction of innate and adaptive immune response in asthma. She then moved to Seattle and did a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Washington and her postdoctoral training was completed with Dr. Thomas Hawn, University of Washington studying genetic susceptibility and innate immunity to tuberculosis.

At the University of Minnesota, Dr. Campo Patiño will focus on examining regulatory innate immunity pathways of the early stages of tuberculosis, which can lead to the discovery of new therapies. She is currently looking for new hires, new collaborations, and comradery! Pass by her office at WMBB 2-112 to say Hi!  For more info, click here.

CFI wishes Dr. Tucker LeBien a happy retirement

Drs. Kris Hogquist, Tucker LeBien, and Marc Jenkins(l-r) at the 2021 CFI Fall Immunology Conference

After more than 40 years at the University of Minnesota (UMN),  Dr. Tucker LeBien is retiring. Dr. LeBien devoted his 30-year research career to the study of B cells and leukemia. During this time, he played a pivotal role in the formation of the Center for Immunology (CFI), and the Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology (MICaB) graduate program. For the last 10 years, he was the Vice Dean for Research in the Medical School and Associate Vice President for Research in the Academic Health Center, where The UMN Cancer Center and Medical Scientist Training program benefited from his service as a leader and director. Most recently, LeBien was the Senior Advisor for Research Operations in the Office of Academic Clinical Affairs and Director of the Office of Discovery and Translation (ODAT) in the University's Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI).  Dr. LeBien recently sat down with LMP's Bill Hoffman to reflect on his time at UMN, read the interview here. For a more indepth interview, revisit his 2019 “Legends in Pathology” video interview here. We would like to wish Dr. LeBien a relaxing and wonderful retirement but most importantly we will remember Dr. LeBien as a leader, mentor, and a friend to many of his colleagues who will continue his legacy

Join AIRE and EWIS for our monthly discussions on race and gender inequality!!

Marc Jenkins recently announced the formation of the Association of Immunologists for Racial Equity (AIRE, formerly ReJUS) at the CFI. AIRE was born in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, nationwide protests on racial discrimination, and discriminatory policing practices including the use of deadly force against black persons. These events have shaken our world, and have been a very painful reminder of our collective silence and complicity in maintaining the status quo and allowing racial injustice to go unchallenged. While centuries of institutionalized racism are daunting to correct as individuals, as a collective of scientists, we can reassess our individual and institutional beliefs, practices, norms, and culture and set them on a more just and equitable course.

AIRE was founded by trainees at the CFI and is an open community of CFI faculty and trainees (postdocs, staff, graduate, and undergraduate students). We are dedicated to the recruitment, support, and career advancement of students, post-docs, and faculty from historically underrepresented and disenfranchised communities in the biomedical sciences. Our mission is to 1) educate the scientific community on the issues of racial discrimination and institutionalized racism that permeate science and society; 2) promote the recruitment, retention, and career advancement of students, postdocs, and faculty from historically underrepresented and disenfranchised communities into the biomedical sciences; 3) facilitate community outreach events to assist the democratization of science. To review the slides from the first AIRE meeting please click here.

AIRE Signup Form 
EWIS Interest Form - Please also consider joining EWIS. Both of these groups will be working together on many shared goals.

Securing your Zoom meeting

As a result of the increased use of Zoom meetings globally, they have become a target for meeting hijackers. Read about how to Secure Your Zoom Meeting before it occurs, while you are meeting, and after it is over. You can also watch a short demonstration of In-Meeting Tool's to Secure your Zoom Meetings.  extensive self-UMN IT has published a helpful guide on their website. Everything you need from setting up to support to presenting - this page has information that will address common room issues to more complex troubleshooting and even how to improve your presentation style! To take advantage of this outstanding resource simply click the following link: https://z.umn.edu/zoom_rfss

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