My laboratory is interested in T cell responses in settings of transplantation, autoimmunity and cancer, with an emphasis on mouse models and emerging extensions onto clinical translation. A main focus of the laboratory is on T cell tolerance in transplantation and how infections and inflammatory events can affect induction or maintenance of tolerance. We have found that transplantation tolerance can exist at different levels of robustness based on the number of mechanisms of T cell tolerance that are engaged, and that infections or inflammation can erode such tolerance. The impact of bacterial infections on transplant outcomes has led us to discover that the microbiota also influences immune responses to transplanted organs and can be manipulated to prolong graft survival. Our clinical studies have focused on the immunology of transplant recipients and of patients infected with the bacteria that influence transplant outcomes and, collaboratively, we have explored the involvement of the microbiota in the responsiveness of melanoma patients to immunotherapy.
Universite Libre de Bruxelles
Brussels, Belgium
PhD - Medical Sciences
1994
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
PhD - Immunology
1993
Universite Libre de Bruxelles
Brussels, Belgium
MD - Medicine
1985
Heterogeneity in allospecific T cell function in transplant-tolerant hosts determines susceptibility to rejection following infection.
Heterogeneity in allospecific T cell function in transplant-tolerant hosts determines susceptibility to rejection following infection. J Clin Invest. 2023 Nov 01; 133(21).
PMID: 37676735
Biological Time Travel: Tracking the Journey of Alloreactive T Cells Through Longitudinal Biobanking.
Biological Time Travel: Tracking the Journey of Alloreactive T Cells Through Longitudinal Biobanking. Transplantation. 2023 09 01; 107(9):1862-1864.
PMID: 37606904
Microbiota-dependent and -independent effects of obesity on transplant rejection and hyperglycemia.
Microbiota-dependent and -independent effects of obesity on transplant rejection and hyperglycemia. Am J Transplant. 2023 10; 23(10):1526-1535.
PMID: 37356668
Sex, T Cells, and the Microbiome in Natural ABO Antibody Production in Mice.
Sex, T Cells, and the Microbiome in Natural ABO Antibody Production in Mice. Transplantation. 2023 11 01; 107(11):2353-2363.
PMID: 37871273
Sex, T Cells, and the Microbiome in Natural ABO Antibody Production in Mice.
Sex, T Cells, and the Microbiome in Natural ABO Antibody Production in Mice. Transplantation. 2023 Jun 08.
PMID: 37289044
Pregnancy programs epigenetic and transcriptional exhaustion in memory CD8+ T cells.
Pregnancy programs epigenetic and transcriptional exhaustion in memory CD8+ T cells. Res Sq. 2023 Apr 05.
PMID: 37066154
Oral administration of the commensal Alistipes onderdonkii prolongs allograft survival.
Oral administration of the commensal Alistipes onderdonkii prolongs allograft survival. Am J Transplant. 2023 02; 23(2):272-277.
PMID: 36804134
Methods to Study TLRs in Transplantation.
Methods to Study TLRs in Transplantation. Methods Mol Biol. 2023; 2700:139-149.
PMID: 37603178
Reduced Satb1 expression predisposes CD4+ T conventional cells to Treg suppression and promotes transplant survival.
Reduced Satb1 expression predisposes CD4+ T conventional cells to Treg suppression and promotes transplant survival. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 10 04; 119(40):e2205062119.
PMID: 36161903
Host-versus-commensal immune responses participate in the rejection of colonized solid organ transplants.
Host-versus-commensal immune responses participate in the rejection of colonized solid organ transplants. J Clin Invest. 2022 09 01; 132(17).
PMID: 35834335
Chair, Nominations Committee
American Association of Immunologists
2020 - 2021
Elected to AAP
Association of American Physicians (AAP)
2020
Elected Fellow
American Society of Transplantation
2020
Established Investigator Award
American Society of Transplantation
2019
Paul S. Russell Visiting Professor
Massachussetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School
2018
Chair, Community of Basic Scientists
American Society of Transplantation
2016 - 2018
Section Editor
American Journal of Transplantation
2014 - 2020
Chair
Autumn Immunology Conference
2013
Member, AITC study section
NIH
2012 - 2018
Basic Science Investigator Award
American Society of Transplantation
2011
Board of Directors
Autumn Immunology Conference
2009 - 2014
Board of Directors
American Society of Transplantation
2009 - 2012
Leif B. Sorenson Faculty Research Award
The University of Chicago
2008
Section Editor
The Journal of Immunology
2007 - 2011
Member, TTT study section
NIH
2006 - 2009
Elected
American Aociety for Clinical Investigation (ASCI)
2006
Basic Science Career Development Award
American Society of Transplantation
2005
Best PhD Dissertation
The University of Chicago
1994
Intensive Care Competence Summa Cum Laude
Universite Libre de Bruxelles
1994
MD Summa Cum Laude
Universite Libre de Bruxelles
1985