Inflammatory Content

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified thousands of disease-associated genetic variants. Many of these variants lie in non-coding regions of the genome, making interpretation of GWAS difficult and leading to poor translation into therapeutics. In this episode, Kellen reviews an exciting original article published in Nature in June 2024 titled, “A disease-associated gene desert directs macrophage inflammation through ETS2”. Here, Stankey et al. use a cutting-edge functional genomic strategy to identify a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

Paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38839969/

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Dr. Miguel Reina-Campos is an Assistant Professor at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in La Jolla, California. The Reina lab seeks to understand the underlying principles governing tissue immune networks that enable robust and long-term protection against infection and tumors.

In this conversation, Miguel and Kellen talk about cancer, metabolism, tissue resident memory T cells, spatial transcriptomics, advice for postdocs pursuing academia, and much more.

Reina Lab: https://www.lji.org/labs/reina-lab/

Reina BioRxiv 2024: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38585842/

Reina Nature 2023: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37648857/

Reina Cancer Cell 2019: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30827887/

Reina Nature Reviews Immunology 2021: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33981085/

Twitter/X: @MReinaCampos

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Dr. Gur-Cohen is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Regenerative Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Gur-Cohen’s work has unearthed the lymphatic capillary network as a novel stem cell niche component, and her multidisciplinary strategy has advanced our knowledge of how stem cells synchronize and coordinate tissue regeneration.

In this conversation, Shiri and Kellen talk about stem cells, lymphatics, and microscopy. As a relatively new principal investigator, Shiri has a lot of advice for trainees in regards to choosing a postdoc, and she talks with Kellen about the topic at length in this conversation.

Gur-Cohen lab website: https://gurcohenlab.com/

Lymphatics stem cell interaction paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31672914/

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In this episode, Kellen speaks with Dr. Mitchell Kronenberg. Mitch is the chief scientific officer of the La Jolla Institute for Immunology, an adjunct professor at UC San Diego, and the co-director of a collaborative effort between the La Jolla Institute and UC San Diego called the Program in Immunology. Mitch and Kellen talk about unconventional T cells, autoimmunity, barrier immunity, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, and the future of immunology. They also discuss Mitch’s philosophies related to science, mentorship, and life.

Recent Kronenberg lab paper with intravital microscopy: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35905286/

Kronenberg lab website: https://www.lji.org/labs/kronenberg/

Mitch’s Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell_Kronenberg

Correction: When Kellen mentioned the published CAR T trial in human autoimmunity, he misspoke and said multiple sclerosis (MS) but the trial he was referring to was in patients with lupus. That said, published preclinical data suggests CAR T therapy may also work in MS patients.

CAR T cell therapy in patients with lupus: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36109639/

CAR T cell therapy in MS mouse model: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36206355/

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In this episode, Kellen speaks with Dr. Amir Zarrinpar. Amir is a board-certified gastroenterologist and an assistant professor at UC San Diego in the department of medicine. He completed his undergrad at Harvard, M.D. and Ph.D. at UCSD, and postdoc at the Salk Institute in Satchin Panda’s lab. In this conversation, Amir and Kellen talk about diabetes and obesity, time-restricted feeding, and engineered native bacteria—highlighting the Zarrinpar lab’s recent paper published in the journal Cell. Kellen and Amir also dig into Amir’s philosophies related to science, mentorship, and life.

Live bacterial therapeutics paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35931082/

Zarrinpar Lab website: https://zarrinparlab.org/

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In this episode, Kellen speaks with Dr. David Gonzalez. David is an associate professor at UC San Diego in the pharmacology department of the school of medicine and the Skaggs school of pharmacy. He’s also the founder and director of the UCSD collaborative center for multiplexed proteomics. The Gonzalez lab researches host-microbe interactions and specializes in proteomics approaches. Kellen and David talk about David’s inspirational journey to becoming a principal investigator. They also discuss proteomics, mentorship, and two of the Gonzalez lab’s recent publications related to inflammatory bowel disease (linked below).

IBD proteomics papers: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35999575/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35087228/

Gonzalez lab website: https://www.gonzalezlab.org/

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In this episode, Kellen interviews Dr. Victor Nizet, a distinguished professor of pediatrics and pharmaceutical sciences at UCSD and the vice chair of basic research in the department of pediatrics at UCSD. Kellen and Victor discuss one of the Nizet lab’s recent publications (led by Josh Sun, Pharm.D. Ph.D.) identifying novel treatment strategies for Staph aureus-induced sepsis. Kellen and Victor also talk about Victor’s career path and scientific philosophies.

S. aureus-induced sepsis paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9121309/

Nizet lab website: http://nizetlab.ucsd.edu/

Victor’s Twitter handle: @victornizet

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In this episode, Kellen sits down for a conversation with Richard Daneman, an associate professor of neurosciences and pharmacology at UCSD. Kellen and Rich discuss the Daneman lab’s recent paper identifying a novel role of fibroblasts in the central nervous system as well as Rich’s philosophies about science and mentorship.

CNS fibroblast paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7877789/

Daneman website: https://www.danemanlab.com/

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In this episode, Kellen is joined by his thesis advisor Dr. Richard Gallo, a Distinguished Professor and the Founding Chairman of the Department of Dermatology at the University of California, San Diego. Kellen and Rich discuss two recent publications from the Gallo lab related to the host defense process “reactive adipogenesis” and also talk about Rich’s background, advice for trainees, and more.

Acne paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35171653/

Skin-gut paper: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34720087/

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Omental adipose tissue has been considered an important component of host defense since at least 1906 when it was deemed “the policeman of the abdomen”. The precise mechanisms underlying omental host defense, however, remain elusive. Here, Kellen discusses a recent publication investigating how omental host defense works. The report titled “Stromal cells covering omental fat-associated lymphoid clusters trigger formation of neutrophil aggregates to capture peritoneal contaminants” was written by Lucy Helen Jackson-Jones et al. and published in Immunity April 2020.

Paper: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7156918/

Commentary: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32294403/

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