Juan Luis Mendoza

Juan Luis Mendoza

Juan Luis Mendoza, PhD
Assistant Professor
The University of Chicago, Chicago, USA

Dr. Mendoza is an Assistant Professor of Molecular Engineering in the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Chicago. The Mendoza Group is highly multidisciplinary utilizing expertise in structural and computational biology, cell signaling, and protein engineering to study human disease and drive the discovery of novel therapeutics. One focus is on cell signaling in relation to the immune system and understanding how ligand-cell receptor driven responses can be used to treat diseases such as viral infections, cancer, or autoimmunity. A second focus of the Mendoza laboratory is building computational and engineering tools to accelerate the structural determination of ligand-receptor complexes and design of protein therapeutics as exemplified by his work on the IFN lambda (Immunity, 2017) and IFN gamma systems (Nature, 2019).

 

Sarah Doyle

Sarah Doyle

Sarah Doyle PhD
Assistant Professor in Immunology
Dept. Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine,
JF Coordinator for BSc in Human Health and Disease, TBSI, Head of Immunobiology Research Group, Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience (TCIN), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Dr. Doyle’s research lab is focused on the impact of signalling downstream of the innate immune Toll/IL-1 Receptor (TIR)-super family in the maintenance of tissue homeostasis and the initiation of pathology. This family recognizes and responds to host derived danger signals and includes the IL-1 family cytokine receptors IL-1R and IL-18R. One aspect of her research is focused on studying how TIR-induced signaling regulates both inherited and acquired retinal degenerative disease, and in particular how IL-18 controls pathological neovascularisation in Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)

 

Juan Fuxman Bass

Juan Fuxman Bass

Juan Fuxman Bass, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biology
Boston University, Boston, USA

Dr. Fuxman Bass is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Boston University. His overarching scientific goals are to elucidate the underlying principles governing cytokine regulation. In particular, his lab focuses on delineating the gene regulatory networks involved in cytokine transcription and identifying novel transcription factors involved in this process by integrating multiple omics approaches. In addition, his lab studies the role of virally-encoded transcription factors in modulating gene expression as a mechanism of viral immune evasion. His work has been funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and by the National Institutes of Health through the K99/R00, R35, and U01 mechanisms.

 

Yuxin Wang

Yuxin Wang

Yuxin Wang, PhD, Research Associate, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, USA

Yuxin Wang, PhD is a Research Associate in the Department of Cancer Biology at Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Wang received his doctoral degree from the joint Ph.D. program at the Lanzhou University in China and Lerner Research Institute Cleveland Clinic in the United States. He performed his postdoctoral training in the laboratory of George Stark at Lerner Research Institute. He has been studying on the crosstalk of cytokine response in cancer cells, and post-translational modification of transcription factors, with a specific focus on STAT2 and IRF9, which are the key factors in type-I-IFN response. His research recently discovered a novel T387 phosphorylation on STAT2, which negative regulates antiviral and anti-proliferative effect of Type-I IFNs. He also disclosed STAT2 collaborated with IRF9 drove a subset of NF-κB genes including IL6. This finding suggested a novel role of the STAT2/IRF9 complex, whose function in cancer cells is not yet well understood.

Ryan A. Langlois

Ryan A. Langlois

Ryan A. Langlois, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dept of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA

Ryan Langlois is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Minnesota. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa under Kevin Legge, Ph.D and completed his postdoctoral training in Ben tenOever’s lab at Mount Sinai in New York City. Through genetic engineering novel virus reporters and virus systems, the Langlois lab studies both innate and adaptive immune responses to virus infections, particularly influenza. The Langlois lab is particularly interested in early virus-host interactions mediated by interferon. Newer work is also underway to address how virus transmission within, and between, hosts is impacted by the innate immune system and how viruses evolve to overcome species barriers.