Elaine Guo L&S Biological Sciences
Investigating Non-Canonical Effector Triggered Cell Death Pathways
Host organisms are besieged by pathogens, which cause infectious disease if they are not rapidly eliminated by the immune system. To launch an effective immune response, the host must first detect the invading pathogen and assess its risk. When the risk is especially severe–and when infected cells are unable to control pathogen replication–infected cells will altruistically undergo cell death to remove the pathogen’s replicative niche and prevent pathogens from spreading to neighboring cells. Aside from pattern recognition receptors, it is not clear how immune cells sense specific pathogens, nor is it known how pathogen detection triggers cell death. Using herpesvirus proteins as immune stimuli, my project will identify pathogen-specific signals that drive a cell death fate in host immune cells. I will uncover the host receptors that detect these signals and trace new pathways that link immune pathogen sensing with programmed death. The discovery of these pathways will help us better understand how immune mechanisms restrict pathogens and how pathogens can escape those defenses. We can then harness these discoveries to develop new therapeutics against infectious disease.
Message To Sponsor
Thank you for your interest and support in this research project! Your contributions to this project make it possible for important advances in the field of immunology as it pertains to effector-triggered immunity, which is a very new and novel development in the field. I am so excited for what the summer will bring with your support of this research project, and I am excited for what new scientific discoveries we will uncover together!