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Role of innate immune dysfunction in neurodegenerative disease
Abstract
Our lab is exploring how the innate immune system contributes to central nervous system (CNS) health and disease. In addition to providing the first line of defense against infections, the innate immune system also functions to maintain CNS homeostasis in the face of tissue damage, metabolic disruptions, environmental irritants, and other perturbations to CNS health. Emerging evidence from clinical studies and experimental disease models point towards prominent roles for innate immune signaling in a wide variety of neurological disorders. Despite these recent advancements linking innate immune dysfunction to neurological disease, we still lack knowledge of the specific innate immune signaling pathways that are involved in driving neuroinflammation and CNS pathology. The goal of our lab is to uncover novel innate immune mediators that contribute to the progression of autism, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, and Alzheimer’s disease.
John Lukens, Ph.D.
Neuroscience and Center for Brain Immunology and Glia (BIG), University of Virginia
John received his PhD from the University of Virginia in 2008 for his work describing roles for PD-1 and functional T cell exhaustion in persistent liver infection. For his postdoctoral training, John worked in the laboratory of Dr. Thirumala-Devi Kanneganti at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital where he identified molecular pathways involved in innate cytokine production. In Fall 2014, John returned to UVA to launch his lab in the Department of Neuroscience and the Center for Brain Immunology and Glia (BIG). His group is focused on understanding how inflammasomes and immune-based genomic sensors contribute to neurodevelopmental, psychiatric, and neurodegenerative disorders.
Hosted by - Andy Poyi Tsai (Wyss-Coray Lab)
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The Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute seminar series brings together the Stanford neuroscience community to discuss cutting-edge, cross-disciplinary brain research, from biochemistry to behavior and beyond.
Topics include new discoveries in fundamental neurobiology; advances in human and translational neuroscience; insights from computational and theoretical neuroscience; and the development of novel research technologies and neuro-engineering breakthroughs.
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