Seminar Series

2023 - 2024 Seminars 

October

Speaker: Lukas Jeker, MD, PhD
Title: Professor, Experimental Transplantation Immunology & Nephrology
Institution: University of Basel
Date: Tuesday, Oct 3, 2023
Location: In-person CHS 53-105

Talk Title: "Molecular Cell Shielding - A Therapeutic Platform Approach for Hematologic Diseases"

Speaker: Chintan Parekh, MD, MBBS
Title: Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Institution: CHLA, USC
Date: Tuesday, Oct 10, 2023
Location: In-person CHS 23-105

Talk Title: "BCL11B, a master regulator of human T-cell development"

Speaker: Sujan Shresta, PhD
Title: Professor, Center for Vaccine Innovation
Institution: La Jolla Institute for Immunology
Date: Tuesday, Oct 24, 2023
Location: In-person CHS 23-105

Talk Title: "Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Flavivirus-Dendritic Cell Interactions"

Speaker: Ana Fernandez-Sesma, PhD
Title: Professor of Microbiology
Institution: Mount Sinai
Organizing in partnership with: CTSI
Date: Wednesday, Oct 25, 2023
Location: In-person NRB Auditorium 132

Talk Title: "Modulation of innate immunity by dengue viruses"

November

Speaker: Josh Beck, PhD
Title: Assistant Professor, Biomedical Sciences
Institution: Iowa State University
Date: Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023
Location: In-person CHS 23-105

Talk Title: "Mechanism of malaria parasite effector protein export to hijack the vertebrate host cell"

Speaker: Tom Taghon, PhD
Title: Professor, Medicine and Health Sciences
Institution: Ghent University
Date: Tuesday, Nov 14, 2023
Location: In-person CHS 23-105

Talk Title: "Unravelling human T cell development"

December

Speaker: Kartik Chandran, PhD
Title: Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Institution: Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Date: Tuesday, Dec 5, 2023
Location: In-person CHS 23-105

Talk Title: "Dissecting and disabling the spike proteins of emerging enveloped viruses”

Speakers: Johnny Ji (O'Sullivan Lab) & Pablo Alvarez (Li Lab)
Institution: UCLA 
Date: Tuesday, Dec 12, 2023
Location: In-person CHS 23-105
Additional Information: Research In Progress

Talk Titles: "Examining the role of ER stress response gene Hspa5 as a key regulator of NK cell persistence during viral infection" & "Unraveling alphavirus neuroinvasion: Molecular insights from a stem cell based blood-brain barrier model"

January

Speaker: Sai Li, PhD
Title: Associate Professor, Life Sciences
Institution: Tsinghua University
Date: Tuesday, Jan 16, 2024
Location: In-person CHS 23-105

Talk Title: "Cryo-ET of SARS-CoV-2 provided insights into its assembly, fusion and neutralization"

Speaker: Troy Torgerson, MD, PhD
Title: Director, Experimental Immunology
Institution: Allen Institute for Immunology
Date: Tuesday, Jan 23, 2024
Location: In-person CHS 23-105

Talk Title: "Systems approaches to understand human immune disorders"

Speaker: Jonathan Kipnis, PhD
Title: Professor of Pathology & Immunology
Institution: Washington University
Organizing in partnership with: CTSI
Date: Wednesday, Jan 31, 2024
Location: In-person NRB Auditorium 132

Talk Title: "The many mechanistic layers of CNS immune uniqueness"

February

Speakers: Tam To (Agak Lab) & Rajesh Parmar (Reed Lab)
Institution: UCLA 
Date: Tuesday, Feb 13, 2024
Location: In-person CHS 23-105
Additional Information: Research In Progress

Talk Titles: "Skin Symphony: The Dynamic Dance of NET-TET Antimicrobial Host Responses Conducted by the Microbiota" & "Insights into SARS-CoV-2 Antigen-Specific T Cell Responses in SARS-CoV-2 Viral Infection"

Speaker: De'Broski Herbert, PhD
Title: Professor of Pathobiology and Immunology
Institution: University of Pennsylvania
Organizing in partnership with: MPTG
Date: Tuesday, Feb 20, 2024
Location: In-person CHS 23-105

Talk Title: "Hookworms adapt to host Type 2 immunity"

Speakers: Kavit Raval (Tudzarova Lab) & Julia Gensheimer (Crooks Lab)
Institution: UCLA 
Date: Tuesday, Feb 27, 2024
Location: In-person CHS 23-105
Additional Information: Research In Progress

Talk Titles: “Transcriptional Profiling of “Loser” ß-Cell Trajectory in Diabetes” & “Effects of hematopoietic stem cell aging on T cell development”

March

Speaker: Xunrong Luo, MD, PhD
Title: Professor of Medicine, Integrative Immunology, Pathology, & Surgery
Institution: Duke University
Date: Tuesday, Mar 5, 2024
Location: In-person CHS 23-105

Talk Title: "Monocyte and Macrophage Functional Evolution in Kidney Transplantation"

Speaker: George O'Toole, PhD
Title: Professor of Microbiology & Immunology
Institution: Dartmouth College
Organizing in partnership with: MPTG
Date: Tuesday, Mar 12, 2024
Location: In-person CHS 23-105

Talk Title: "To Build A Biofilm"

Speakers: Hailey Lee (Radu Lab) & Patricia Mendez (Hallem Lab)
Institution: UCLA 
Date: Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024
Location: In-person CHS 23-105
Additional Information: Research In Progress

Talk Titles: "Signaling requirements for optimized CD8 T cell responses in mRNA cancer vaccine immunotherapy" & "The Neural and Molecular Underpinnings of Salt Chemosensation in the Human Parasite Strongyloides stercoralis." 

April

Speaker: Reuben Harris, PhD
Title: Professor, Biochemistry & Structural Biology
Institution: University of Texas Health, San Antonio
Date: Tuesday, Apr 2, 2024
Location: In-person CHS 23-105

Talk Title: "A Life and Death Battle – Molecular Arms Race Between Herpesviruses and the Cellular Antiviral Enzyme APOBEC3B"

Speaker: Catherine Blish, MD, PhD
Title: Professor of Medicine, Infectious Diseases
Institution: Stanford University
Organizing in partnership with: MPTG
Date: Tuesday, Apr 9, 2024
Location: In-person CHS 23-105

Talk Title: "Mapping communication networks to understand host-pathogen interactions"

Speakers: Karly Nisson (Fregoso Lab) & Angela Sun (Reed Lab)
Institution: UCLA 
Date: Tuesday, Apr 16, 2024
Location: In-person CHS 23-105
Additional Information: Research In Progress

Talk Titles: “Uncovering a novel role for the lentiviral accessory gene Vpr in nucleolar stress” & “Single-cell transcriptomes reveal unique CD8 T cell atlas induced by Cytomegalovirus viremia in kidney transplant recipients”

Speaker: Heth Turnquist, PhD
Title: Associate Professor, Surgery & Immunology
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Date: Tuesday, Apr 23, 2024
Location: In-person CHS 23-105

Talk Title: "Targetable Repair Mechanisms in Transplantation"

May

Speakers: Alex Yoo (Crooks Lab) & Zhenlan Yao (Li Lab) 
Institution: UCLA 
Date: Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Location: In-person CHS 23-105
Additional Information: Research In Progress

Talk Titles: "Engineering Developmental Cues to Generate iPSC-derived, TCR-null CAR T cells for Immunotherapy" & "Evolutionary arms race between chikungunya virus glycoprotein and host factors drive efficient virion production in macrophages."

JUNE

Speaker: Janet Markle, PhD
Title: Assistant Professor of Pathology, Microbiology, & Immunology
Institution: Vanderbilt University
Date: Tuesday, June 11, 2024
Location: In-person CHS 23-105

Talk Title: "Learning about mechanisms of immunity and inflammation through the study of patients with rare monogenic diseases"