MyHPI -February e-bulletin
MyHPI -February e-bulletin
February 10, 2015
myHPI - The February Issue featuring the Joyce Lab
A monthly eBulletin 
 Previous issues of MyHPI http://www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/root/vumc.php?site=vmcpathology&doc=45508                                       
PMI seminar series- Mondays, room 202 Light Hall, 12:00pm
  • PMI seminar Calendar
  • MPHI Journal Club
    days vary - A5305 MCN, 4:00-5:00pm:

  • MPHI Presenter Schedule Sept 2014-July 2015
  • RIP(Research in Progress)
    Thursdays C2303 MCN, 9:30-10:30am:
  • Research in Progress Calendar

  • Rheumatology seminar series
    Thursdays-U1202 MRB III
    1st Floor Brain Institute Conference Room
    11:30 AM – 12:30 PM
  • Rheumatology Calendar
  • PEDs ID Seminar
    2nd Friday of each month
    512 LH, 11:00am-12:Noon:

  • Peds ID Calendar 2014-15
  • Immunology Journal Club
    Fridays A4224 MCN, 12:00-1:00pm:
  • Immunology Journal Club Calendar
  • Featured Publication: "Role of type I interferon signaling in human metapneumovirus pathogenesis and control of viral replication." - Hastings et al., J Virol. 2015 Feb 4. pii: JVI.03275-14

    This month's featured publication comes from the laboratory of Dr. John Williams and it involves a collaboration with the Joyce lab.

    • Type I IFN receptor (IFNAR) signaling is important for early control human metapneumovirus (HMPV) as well as disease pathogenesis, but is dispensable for viral clearance.
    • IFNAR signaling is important for efficient development of virus-specific CD8+ T cells, and without it HMPV-specific CD8+ T cells are functionally impaired and express higher levels of the inhibitory receptor TIM-3 compared to WT mice.
    • This enhanced impairment occurs despite lower levels of the inhibitory ligand, PD-L1, on lung epithelium and antigen presenting cells (APC) in the lungs of IFNAR KO mice during HMPV infection.
    • The major APC population in the lungs, alveolar macrophages, constitutively express very high levels of PD-L1 and do not depend on IFNAR signaling for their expansion. In contrast, dendritic cells rely on IFNAR signaling for the regulation of PD-L1 on their surface as well as for expansion during HMPV infection.
    • These data suggest that viral antigen levels and the balance of APC subsets, both affected by IFNAR signaling, play an important role in the CD8+ T cell impairment observed during acute viral lower respiratory infection (LRI), while the overall expression level of inhibitory ligands is less important.

    HPI DIVISION ANNOUNCEMENTS
    • Date Change for HPI division meeting:  February 17th, room A-5305 MCN, 3:00pm.  This will be a business meeting.  

    • 2nd Friday Happy Hour: 2/13/2015 at MCN A5305, 4:00pm - Hosted by the Joyce and Van Kaer labs.
    • Publications: A total of 14 publications from HPI faculty have been posted on Pubmed in the month of January. The listings and links to all publications follow below.

    • As part of empowering our scientific community, we will be featuring one of our labs every other month. We are starting this tradition, featuring Dr. Sebastian Joyce, a dedicated scientist, educator and exceptional colleague. 
    Featured Laboratory: Joyce Lab
    https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/joyce-lab/
    • Originally from Bangalore, India, Sebastian Joyce earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the Medical College of Virginia of the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.  He completed his post-doctoral training under the mentorship of the late Professor Stanley G. Nathenson at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York.  It was under Dr. Nathenson’s tutelage that Sebastian’s fascination with the MHC and TCR was fostered and would determine the direction of his entire career, both as a scientist and poet (see below).  
    • Dr. Joyce established his own lab in 1993 as an Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Milton S. Hershey College of Medicine of The Pennsylvania State University.  He later moved his lab to Vanderbilt in 1999.  His laboratory is best recognized for its contributions to the cell biology and biochemistry of MHC and MHC-like CD1d molecules that play important roles in protein and lipid antigen presentation and thereby regulate the biology of T cells and natural killer T (NKT) cells, respectively. 
    • Over the past several years, his research focus has turned toward harnessing what they’ve learned in the above areas of basic immunology to augment immune reactions through vaccine and adjuvant design to prevent and treat infectious diseases.  Their most recent work has focused on the study of immune dominance in T cell responses to minor antigens and to SV40 and vaccinia virus infections.
    • To get into the mind that is Sebastian Joyce, you have to read his rendition of a classical poem at: https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/joyce-lab/getting-groove
    "Sebastian (Dr. J, who raps under the name of "SJ") is a guy who lives up to the genuine meaning of collegiality. Although it is fair to say that the "price of admission" is to have genuine interest in and passion for scientific discovery, time and again he is happy to have his team work to help colleagues (myself included) get key elements of papers completed. But more than that, all professions are tough and demanding, and what people may not realize is that SJ is an amazingly patient and supportive listener who does not seem to keep count of how many times I come to whinge and moan or talk excitedly about a latest idea. Better still, a sense of humor lurks alongside a love of reading about evolution and other such matters. So although he'd better look out for when I get my turn, few can imagine the blush on his face when I pointed the fingerbone of guilt at him as the anonymous spoofer of my florid prose!"
                                      ~Dr. Mark Boothby
    Our Publications - January
    What are your thoughts? Feel free to muse by sending us an email (maria.hadjifrangiskou@vanderbilt.edu, helen.chomicki@vanderbilt.edu)
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