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Principal Investigator: Colleen M. Lau
Organization: CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Fiscal Year: 2023
Award: $108,000
Funding agency: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
PROJECT SUMMARY
The candidate, Dr. Colleen Lau seeks to achieve an academic career as an independent research
investigator at an institution where she can foster academic growth and immunology research that advances
treatment or prevention of human disease. She aims to do so through a union of laboratory experimentation
and bioinformatics methods, as reflected in her current proposal.
Her project aims to understand the underlying mechanisms that drive proper formation of immune
memory by studying it in two cytolytic lymphocytes in the context of viral infection, using mouse
cytomegalovirus (CMV) as a model. By studying the infection in mice, work performed previously in the lab has
demonstrated that natural killer (NK) cells, cytolytic lymphocytes traditionally classified as innate cells, are
capable of exhibiting attributes of adaptive immune memory. As a result, her previous work used these CMV-
specific NK cells and the more classic adaptive CD8+ T cell to further illustrate that these two lymphocytes
share a common transcriptional and epigenetic memory signature. Building from this signature, she will hone in
on two candidate transcription factors, ZEB2 and JunB, to test their requirement for optimal effector function,
memory formation, memory maintenance and recall in both cell types, using genetic mouse models that
temporally delete the gene. Using a combination of high-throughput sequencing technologies, she will
generate global transcriptomic, epigenomic, and transcription factor occupancy profiles in order to elucidate
any common mechanisms between memory NK and CD8+ T cells. This proposal improves our understanding
of antiviral processes and immune memory in order to ultimately harness it for vaccine therapy and disease
intervention.
Throughout the transition and award period, the candidate will focus on advancing her technical and
computational skills for generating and analyzing large and complex datasets, improving and exercising her
mentoring skills, broadening her scientific background through regular attendance of scientific seminars and
conferences, and developing her grant writing skills. She aspires to acquire a tenure-track faculty position, and,
with the informal guidance of her previous mentors, strives to carry out her long-term research program of
studying immunological memory.
Terms: <AP-1><AP-1 Enhancer-Binding Protein><AP1><AP1 protein><Ablation><Activator Protein-1><Antigens><Award><Basal Transcription Factor><Basal transcription factor genes><Bio-Informatics><Bioinformatics><CD8 Cell><CD8 T cells><CD8 lymphocyte><CD8+ T cell><CD8+ T-Lymphocyte><CD8-Positive Lymphocytes><CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes><CMV><CMV infection><Cell Body><Cell Therapy><Cell-Mediated Lympholytic Cells><Cells><Cellular immunotherapy><Chromatin><Classification><Clinical><Cre Lox technology><Cre LoxP system><Cre lox recombination><Cre lox recombination system><Cre lox system><Cre recombinase/LoxP technology><Cre system><Cytokine Receptors><Cytokine Signal Transduction><Cytokine Signaling><Cytolytic T-Cell><Cytomegalic Inclusion Disease><Cytomegalovirus><Cytomegalovirus Infections><Cytotoxic T Cell><Cytotoxic T-Lymphocytes><Cytotoxic cell><Data Set><Disease><Disorder><Enhancer-Binding Protein AP1><Epigenetic><Epigenetic Change><Epigenetic Mechanism><Epigenetic Process><Exercise><Exhibits><Faculty><Fostering><Gene Deletion><Gene Transcription><General Transcription Factor Gene><General Transcription Factors><Generalized Growth><Generations><Genetic><Genetic Transcription><Genome><Genomics><Grant><Growth><HCMV><Herpesvirus 1 (beta), Murid><High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing><High-Throughput Sequencing><Human><Immune><Immune memory><Immunes><Immunologic Memory><Immunological Memory><Immunology><Inclusion Disease><Infection><Inflammatory><Institution><Intervention><Intervention Strategies><Investigators><JUN B Proto-oncogene><JUNB><JUNB gene><K lymphocyte><Knowledge><Length of Life><Longevity><Lymphatic cell><Lymphocyte><Lymphocytic><Lytotoxicity><Maintenance><Memory><Mentors><Messenger RNA><Methods><Mice><Mice Mammals><Modeling><Modern Man><Molecular><Mouse Cytomegalovirus><Murid herpesvirus 1><Murine><Murine Cytomegalovirus><Mus><NGS Method><NGS system><NK Cells><Natural Killer Cells><Oncogenesis><Play><Position><Positioning Attribute><Prevention><Process><RNA Expression><RNA Seq><RNA sequencing><RNAseq><Regulation><Research><Research Personnel><Researchers><Role><Salivary Gland Virus Disease><Salivary Gland Viruses><Systematics><T memory cell><T-bet protein><T-bet transcription factor><T8 Cells><T8 Lymphocytes><Technology><Testing><Therapeutic><Therapeutic Uses><Time><Tissue Growth><Transcription><Transcription Factor AP-1><Transcription Factor Proto-Oncogene><Transcription Regulation><Transcription factor genes><Transcriptional Control><Transcriptional Regulation><Up-Regulation><Upregulation><VAC-TX><Vaccination><Vaccine Therapy><Viral><Viral Diseases><Virus Diseases><Work><Writing><anamnestic reaction><arm><career><cell mediated therapies><cell type><cell-based immunotherapy><cell-based therapeutic><cell-based therapy><cellular therapeutic><cellular therapy><complex data><conference><convention><cytokine><cytomegalovirus group><cytotoxicity><develop a vaccine><develop vaccines><development of a vaccine><epigenetic memory><epigenetically><epigenomics><gene deletion mutation><human disease><immune cell therapy><immunogen><improved><interventional strategy><killer T cell><lab assignment><lab experiment><laboratory activity><laboratory assignment><laboratory exercise><laboratory experiment><life span><lifespan><lymph cell><mRNA><memory T lymphocyte><mouse model><murine model><next gen sequencing><next generation sequencing><nextgen sequencing><novel><ontogeny><pathogen><posttranscriptional><programs><recruit><response><secondary immune response><skills><social role><summit><symposia><symposium><tenure process><tenure track><therapeutic vaccination><transcription factor><transcriptome sequencing><transcriptomic sequencing><transcriptomics><tumorigenesis><vaccine development><viral infection><virus infection><virus-induced disease>