Lighting up inflammation outside the body using chemistry and microfluidics

Life is sustained through a delicate balancing act of the immune system, a complex network of molecular and cellular interactions from which health or disease can emerge.  Despite a long catalogue of the cells and signaling proteins in this system, traditional experimental approaches have struggled to explain how they are organized in organs such as the lymph node to dynamically protect against infection, cancer, and autoimmunity.  The overarching goal of my laboratory is to develop bioanalytical methods to visualize where, when, and how cells interact during immunity and inflammation, to inform the development of immunotherapies. In this talk, I will describe the development of (1) hybrids of microfluidics with live immune tissues, to study local dynamics in the lymph node and multi-organ immunity, and (2) novel, spatially resolved analyses of the activity of cells and proteins in living tissue.  I also will give a preview of the future, with our work towards better understanding the organization of the lymph node by building one from cells, matrix elements, and proteins.  

3:30 PM | MEC 205
2020
Friday, August 28, 2020
Dr. Rebecca Pompano
Assistant Professor, University of Virginia, Department of Chemistry
Professor Jill Venton