Center for Immunology

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Mark your calendars: CFI Diversity Workshop Feb. 3, 2021

Congratulations!!

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.

Dr. Kris Hogquist has been named a 2021 Distinguished Fellow of AAI

Dr. Kris Hogquist has been Kris has been named a 2021 distinguished Fellow of the American Association of Immunologists(AAI).  This program is one of the highest honors bestowed by AAI. Members are recognized for their distinguished careers in the field of immunology; the new class of distinguished fellows has shown exceptional leadership to the immunology community at a national or international level; notable distinction as an educator and outstanding scientific contributions, as well as their service to AAI.  CFI would like to congratulate Dr. Hogquist on a well-deserved honor. Meet the class of 2021

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

Marc Jenkins recently announced the formation of Restorative Justice for the Underrepresented in Science (ReJUS) at the CFI. ReJUS 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 is 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.

ReJUS 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 ReJUS meeting please click here.

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

23 UMN Faculty Named on 2020 Highly Cited Researchers List

CFI would like to congratulate the twenty-three current UMN researchers which are named in the 2020 Highly Cited Researchers list, published on 11/18/20 by insight and analytics firm Clarivate Analytics (@webofscience #HighlyCited2020). The international list recognizes researchers who published multiple highly cited papers during the last decade, and whose citation records place them in the top 1 percent of citation counts for field and publication year according to Clarivate’s Web of Science citation index. Of the 23 researchers, 6 are current CFI faculty. To read the full article here

Bryce Binstadt, MD is named director of Pediatric Rheumatology in the Department of Pediatrics

Congratulations to Dr. Bryce Binstadt, he was recently named the director of the Pediatric Rheumatology division in the Department of Pediatrics. Pediatric Rheumatology is the specialty focused on the evaluation and care of children with arthritis and related diseases. Dr. Binstadt is a phsician-scientist who cares for children with arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, and related rheumatologic disorders and heads a laboratory in the Center for Immunology, focusing on understanding the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases with particular emphasis on immune-mediated cardiovascular disease. Dr. Binstadt is also the Director of the Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program, an Associate Director of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD), and Director of the Pediatric Physician Scientist Training Program. He is routinely recognized as a Minnesota "Top Doctor" and a he is a distinguished University teaching professor in the University of Minnesota Medical School’s Department of Pediatrics. 

Dr. Yoji Shimizu has helped launch Faculty Fighting Racism, an initiative created as a first step to provide resources for understanding anti-racism and empowering faculty to take action. 

Yoji Shimizu, the associate dean of graduate education and director of the Graduate School Diversity Office, has helped form a team to develop a website to give faculty resources to learn how to improve supporting students from marginalized backgrounds and fight racism at the institutional level. The Graduate School Diversity Consultation Team is a group of five staff members who say they hope faculty continue to share the platform and utilize its resources. the platform provides digestible, timely and user-friendly resources after seeing a groundswell of faculty seeking to improve support for students. Read the whole article from Minnesota Daily and find links to the initiative here

New Findings of Atherosclerosis identified in study led by the Williams Lab

A study led by Jesse Williams, PhD and his lab have formed new answers regarding atherosclerosis, the build-up of fats, cholesterol and other substances in and on the artery walls. Nature Immunology recently published the paper "Limited proliferation capacity of aortic intima resident macrophages requires monocyte recruitment for atherosclerotic plaque progression" which outlines the findings of Jesse's group that utilized single-cell gene expression technology to identify immune cell diversity in the non-diseased mouse aorta and described a new Aorta Intima Resident Macrophage (MacAIR) population that resides in locations prone to developing atherosclerosis. 

AAI bestows their highest honor the Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Marc Jenkins

The American Association of Immunologists (AAI) has bestowed their highest honor on Dr. Marc Jenkins.  The 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a deserving AAI member for a career of scientific achievement and for contributions to AAI and fellow immunologists and to the field of immunology.   For more information on all of Dr. Jenkins's achievements go here.  CFI would like to extend our congratulations and thank Dr. Jenkins for his guidance and leadership as well as the inspiration he inspires as a teacher, mentor, and scientist to those not only at our University but worldwide.

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 Tools to Secure your Zoom Meetings.

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