Microbiology and Immunology

Education

My research interests focus on the mechanism in which exercise and/or chronic depression changes the immune function in context of asthma and cancer immunity. I am pursuing projects that have branched from initial findings in my lab: exercise (physical stressor) communicates with immune cells by the activation of the sympathetic autonomic nervous system (SNS). All immune cells express adrenergic receptors and can, therefore, respond to sympathetic nervous system (SNS) stimulation. Further, chronic mild depression (psychological stressor) has the capacity to affect adrenergic signaling resulting in its dysfunction of immune cells. Both stressors (physical and psychological) have been shown to affect cancer risk and/or progression (positively and negatively, respectively) although mechanisms of action remain unclear. Further, it will be important to define how these lifestyle factors may impact the newer generations of cancer immunotherapies.

Our lab’s research interests center around injury and repair mechanisms critical to pulmonary endothelial cell function. Major areas of focus include pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), acute respiratory distress syndrome, and acute lung injury. Continuing my previous experience in graduate school with pulmonary endothelial cells and my focus on immune responses/inflammation, we have begun to study molecular mechanisms that contribute to PAH, such as the Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal transition (EndMT). In a second project, we are focusing on endothelial cell injury and disease propagation where we employ Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a leading cause of nosocomial pneumonia, to uncover cell damage and repair mechanisms in acute lung injury. In our lab, we routinely use mammalian and bacterial culture, microscopy, western blot, RT-PCR, ELISA, colony formation, migration, and invasion assays. We are actively looking to recruit students into the lab, and the majority of our work will be conducted in the University of Louisiana Monroe School of Pharmacy.