Center for Immunology

Latest News 

RED Seminar Series Returns!!

The RED Seminars are back and in-person. They will be happening every first Monday of the month 9:00 - 10:30 AM in 1-125 CCRB. The focus of these is on peer-to-peer science communication. You may have seen the latest issue of Science editorial discussing the importance of this. It referred to the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. The CFI history of investing into training in science communication actually precedes that! This year we will be returning to our original coach, Chris Carlson.

CFI welcomes our newest faculty member, Michael Lipscomb, PhD

The Center for Immunology is thrilled to welcome Michael Lipscomb, PhD to the University of Minnesota and to our group housed in WMBB where he will have a satellite lab as part of his larger lab housed in NHH. Dr. Lipscomb is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology. He received his BS from the University of California Los Angeles with a degree in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics prior to receiving a Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of Pittsburgh. His postdoctoral training was at the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Prior to coming to the University of Minnesota, Dr. Lipscomb held a faculty position at Howard University where he built a productive, visible, and independent research program studying immunobiology, with concentrations in immunoregulation, autoimmunity, immunology of infectious disease, and employment of biomaterials and microcarrier systems for organoid tissue development. The focus of his laboratory at the University of Minnesota is to mechanistically describe the immunoregulatory network(s) that govern the differentiation and function of antigen-presenting myeloid cells both under steady-state and disease settings. In addition, his laboratory employs the use of novel biomaterials to generate organoids for tissue restorative therapies, with the chief aim to resolve chronic autoimmune disorders and immunodeficiencies. Dr. Lipscomb is currently funded by the Maximizing Investigator Research Award (MIRA; R35 mechanism) and an R21 exploratory research grant. Dr. Lipscomb is also serving as the interim Associate Dean for Graduate Education. One of the goals of the Medical School during this transition period will be to step back and examine the existing graduate education program in the context of the current issues facing graduate and postdoctoral programs nationwide to see where we can strengthen and enhance those things that are working well. Stop by his office in Nils Hasselmo Hall 3-108 to visit and introduce yourself. For more info, click here.

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. A celebration of Kris's accomplishments was held on June 28, 2022.  Read more here

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

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

More center news.                         Meet our Faculty                              Join our Mail/Email lists