Hem, Jessie
EMAIL
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PHD PROGRAM
RESEARCH INTEREST
Cancer Biology, Immunology
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“I am mainly interested in cancer immunotherapy. I have specific interest in hematological malignancies and how we can use immunotherapy to prevent the progression of aggressive cancers.”
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Geiger, Ashley
EMAIL
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PHD PROGRAM
RESEARCH INTEREST
Cancer Biology, Immunology, Translational Medicine
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“I am interested in cellular therapy and harnessing the immune system to treat pediatric and adult malignancies. I am also interested in antigen and tumor target discovery as well as investigating the relationship between cancer and autoimmune diseases.”
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Frank, Colten
EMAIL
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PHD PROGRAM
RESEARCH INTEREST
Cancer Biology, Cell Biology, Immunology
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“I am broadly interested in the field of cancer biology. I am interested in understanding how cancers are able to alter normal molecular processes inside of the cell in order to gain an advantage to grow uncontrollably and how we are able to develop methods to stop this growth. I would also like to learn more about cancer immunotherapy research and how this can translate to improvements in precision medicine.”
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Edwards, Kaylia
EMAIL
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PHD PROGRAM
RESEARCH INTEREST
Cell Biology, Immunology, Molecular Biology
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“During graduate school I am interested in studying novel molecular mechanisms of disease, particularly those prevalent in autoimmune disorders. I am especially curious about their initiation of cascading pathways that lead to dysregulation and degeneration throughout the body.”
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Conrad, Shayla
EMAIL
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PHD PROGRAM
RESEARCH INTEREST
Cancer Biology, Immunology, Virology
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“I am interested in the adaptive immune system in the context of viral infections and cancer. I want to investigate the fundamental biology of the adaptive immune response in these diseases and how we can leverage this knowledge to develop curative strategies. “
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Chicz, Taras
EMAIL
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PHD PROGRAM
RESEARCH INTEREST
Immunology, Pathogenesis & Infection, Virology
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“I am interested in studying host-pathogen interactions that underlie infectious disease state and recovery. To that end, viral pathology, immunovirology, and drug discovery are all research fields that I intend to pursue during graduate studies. The questions I would like to understand are what specific mechanisms viruses use in order to infect, replicate, and most importantly evade immunosuppression, and how we might be able to develop an immune response capable of countering such mechanisms. Ultimately, I hope my research will be able to uncover novel therapeutic strategies able to protect or cure against viruses.”
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Berger, Harrison
EMAIL
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PHD PROGRAM
RESEARCH INTEREST
Cell Engineering, Cell Signaling, Cell-Based Therapy, Immunology, Translational Medicine
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“My scientific interest lies in the application of cell engineering to develop novel cell therapies. Synthetic receptors can be rationally designed to elicit novel functionality in cells, enabling improvements upon current cell-based platforms and therapies. Similar research generally involves the re-purposing of receptor domains or the involvement of synthetic gene circuits to facilitate cellular phenotype, stimuli responses, and other behaviors. The relevance of this research to a variety of indications, including cancers and autoimmune disorders, cannot be understated.”
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Chung, Kay
WEBSITE
EMAIL
PUBLICATIONS |
PHD PROGRAM
Cell Biology & Physiology RESEARCH INTEREST
Bioinformatics, Cancer Biology, Cancer Immunology, Cancer Signaling & Biochemistry, Chemical Biology, Computational Biology, Gene Therapy, Immunology, Molecular Biology, Signal Transduction, Systems Biology, Translational Medicine, Virology
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The Chung lab is engineering immune cells, particularly T cells, to achieve maximum therapeutic efficacy at the right place and timing. We explore the crossroads of synthetic biology, immunology, and cancer biology. Particularly, we are employing protein engineering, next-gen sequencing, CRISPR screening, and bioinformatics to achieve our objectives:
(1) Combinatorial recipes of transcription factors for T cell programming.
(2) Technologies for temporal regulation and/or rewiring of tumor and immune signal activation (chemokine, nuclear, inhibitor receptors).
(3) Synthetic oncolytic virus for engineering tumor-T cell crosstalk.
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Pruitt, Kevin
WEBSITE
EMAIL
PUBLICATIONS |
PHD PROGRAM
Pharmacology RESEARCH INTEREST
Bioinformatics, Cancer Biology, Cancer Genomics, Cell Biology, Cell Signaling, Epigenetics & Chromatin Biology, Immunology, Pharmacology
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Pruitt lab research involves 3 broad areas. Interest in the first area (cancer epigenetics) stemmed from discoveries made during postdoctoral training assessing how tumor progression disrupts epigenetic mechanisms of control. The second area (Wnt pathway regulation) was the result of early screens as an Assistant Professor at LSU Health Sciences Center. We uncovered novel regulators of oncogenic Wnt signaling and published the first observation that epigenetic enzymes regulate a critical mediator of Wnt signaling (Dishevelled). The third project involves elucidating mechanisms of aromatase regulation which emerged from the obsession of early trainees in the lab with understanding mechanisms cancer-associated estrogen biosynthesis. Within the context of these three projects, I have mentored and guided multiple trainees at every level over the course of 17 years.
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Graves, Christina
WEBSITE
EMAIL
PUBLICATIONS |
PHD PROGRAM
Oral & Craniofacial Biomedicine RESEARCH INTEREST
Gastrointestinal Biology, Immunology, Microscopy/Imaging, Molecular Mechanisms of Disease, Neurobiology, Organismal Biology
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Fundamentally, our research is focused on how the nervous and immune systems are developmentally educated by infectious and non-infectious stressors across the “gum-to-gut” axis. One current major focus of the lab is to elucidate how early life stress impacts the developing gut and dentition using zebrafish as an ideal — and translational — model organism. We utilize a combination of advanced imaging, next-generation sequencing, and genetic approaches to achieve a greater understanding of how early life events dictate health outcomes across the lifespan and generations. In addition to these primary research interests, we maintain active collaborations with other groups within the Adams School of Dentistry and across campus.
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