These scientists recently received Investigator Awards from the Cancer Research Institute to support their research projects. Asterisks indicate awards made in fiscal year 2009.
Investigator Awards
Fiscal Year 2009 (July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009)
Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason, Seattle, WA
Jessica A. Hamerman, Ph.D.
ITAM-dependent inhibition of Toll-like receptor responses
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Alex Yee-Chen Huang, M.D., Ph.D.
Two-photon imaging of tumor milieu: High-definition in situ visualization of dynamic immune cell recruitment, priming, and tumor immune cell interaction
Centre de Lutte Contre le Cancer Nantes-Atlantique, Nantes, France
Danila Valmori, Ph.D.
Use of MHC class I/peptide multimers incorporating tumor-antigen-derived peptides for dissecting the interactions between MHC/tumor antigen complexes and specific T-cell receptors
Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH
Neetu Gupta, Ph.D.
Regulation of B-cell immune response by the ERM family protein Ezrin
Columbia University, New York, NY
Adolfo A. Ferrando, M.D., Ph.D.
The role of HES1 in T-cell development
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
Koichi S. Kobayashi, M.D., Ph.D.
Unveiling molecular components of the cytoplasmic innate immune system
Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Arash Grakoui, Ph.D.
Understanding mechanisms of HCV persistence
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA
Jennifer M. Lund-Friesen, Ph.D.*
Regulatory T-cell modulation of immunity to mucosal viral infections
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Crete, Greece
Charalampos G. Spilianakis, Ph.D.
Biochemical isolation and characterization of the protein complexes that regulate interchromosomal interactions
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, La Jolla, CA
Dirk M. Zajonc, Ph.D.
Structural immunology of lipid antigen recognition by NKT cells
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Jorge Rodrigo Mora, M.D., Ph.D.
Gut-homing lymphocytes: Linking intestinal inflammation and cancer
Shobha Vasudevan, Ph.D.*
Translation regulation of IL1 by AREs and microRNAs in leukemia
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Morgan Huse, Ph.D.
Quantitative image analysis of natural killer cell signaling dynamics
Mie University School of Medicine, Mie, Japan
Hiroyoshi Nishikawa, M.D., Ph.D.
Comparative analyses of antigen-specific CD4+ Th/Treg cells and Treg involvement in anti-tumor immune responses
National Center for Tumor Disease, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Dirk Jäger, M.D.
The novel breast cancer differentiation antigen NY-BR-1 is a promising candidate for cellular- as well as antibody-based immunotherapy approaches
New York University Medical Center, New York, NY
Michelle Krogsgaard, Ph.D.
Sensitivity of T-cell recognition of melanoma antigens
Susan R. Schwab, Ph.D.*
Sphingosine-1-phosphate distribution and immunity
E. Sergio S. Trombetta, Pharm.D., Ph.D.
Induction and modulation of antigen-specific immunity
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN
Hongbo Chi, Ph.D.
Molecular control of dendritic cell function and immune homeostasis
The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA
Changchun Xiao, Ph.D.*
The role of miR-17~92 in the immune system and during lymphomagenesis
Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Gabriel Adrián Rabinovich, Ph.D.
Elaine R. Shepard Memorial Investigator
Impact of protein-glycan interactions in tumor-immune escape and immunoediting
University Medical Center-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
Djordje Atanackovic, M.D.
Cancer-testis antigens as targets for graft-versus-myeloma effects and antigen-specific immunotherapy in patients with multiple myeloma
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
Randall Scott Davis, M.D.
Exploring the biological role of Fc receptor homologs
University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Russell E. Vance, Ph.D.
Analysis of inflammasome activation in Naip5-deficient mice
University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA
Ananda W. Goldrath, Ph.D.
T-cell homeostasis: T-cell receptor-mediated survival signals
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
Jody Lynn Baron, M.D., Ph.D.
The role of the innate and adaptive immune system in pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis B virus-induced liver injury and hepatocellular carcinoma: Studies in a novel transgenic mouse model of HBV infection
Jeoung-Sook Shin, Ph.D.*
Mechanism and function of ubiquitin-mediated membrane traffic in dendritic cells
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, East Orange, NJ
Estela P. Jacinto, Ph.D.*
mTOR targets in T-lymphocyte development
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN
Michael A. Farrar, Ph.D.
Regulation of lymphocyte development and homeostasis by STAT5
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Chen Dong, Ph.D.
Regulation of immune responses by novel costimulatory molecules
Xin Lin, Ph.D.
The role of novel adaptor molecules in T-cell receptor-induced NF-kB activation
University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA
Timothy N.J. Bullock, Ph.D.
Libby Bartnick Memorial Investigator
TNF-superfamily interplay with tumor vaccines
Venetian Institute of Molecular Medicine, Padova, Italy
Antonella Viola, Ph.D.
Boosting anti-tumor responses of T lymphocytes infiltrating human prostate cancer
Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
Susan M. Kaech, Ph.D.
Determining the role of IL-7 signaling in memory CD8 T-cell development during acute and chronic viral infection
John David MacMicking, Ph.D.
Novel IFN-inducible GTPases in antibacterial and anti-tumor immunity