{"id":32113,"date":"2024-08-09T17:44:03","date_gmt":"2024-08-09T21:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cancerresearch.org\/?post_type=cri_scientists&#038;p=32113"},"modified":"2024-08-09T17:44:04","modified_gmt":"2024-08-09T21:44:04","slug":"spencer-chen-phd","status":"publish","type":"cri_scientists","link":"https:\/\/www.cancerresearch.org\/es\/cri-funded-scientists\/spencer-chen-phd","title":{"rendered":"Spencer Chen, PhD"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The ever-shifting diversity of luminal antigens at the gastrointestinal interface necessitates a careful balance between immune activation and tolerance. Suppression and coordination of intestinal immune responses are controlled by a population of specialized regulatory T cells (Tregs), with pleiotropic functions in dampening immune responses and promoting tissue repair. However, an understudied player in mediating host-microbe segregation is the population of microfold (M) cells, a specialized intestinal epithelial cell type that samples and delivers antigens to immune cells in the underlying tissue. M cells are crucial to immune surveillance and have been implicated in intestinal inflammatory disorders. However, it is poorly understood how M cell sampling and maintenance are regulated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since chronic inflammation results from maladaptive immune responses to microbial and dietary antigens, Dr. Chen hypothesizes that dysregulation of M cell sampling and Treg immunosuppression may constitute a hitherto undescribed circuit that underlies the development of inflammation. He will test this hypothesis by using cutting-edge microscopy, spatial, and &#8216;omics&#8217; techniques to investigate how distinct Treg subsets and functionalities maintain M cells in homeostasis and inflammation (Aim 1). Dr. Chen will determine whether M cells act reciprocally to regulate the induction of Treg and T effector responses and functions in diverse settings through the development of a novel M-cell mouse model (Aim 2). Lastly, he will explore the therapeutic potential of modulating this Treg-M-cell circuit in a Crohn\u2019s disease model (Aim 3). The outcome of this work will be a mechanistic understanding of an unexplored lymphocyte-epithelial circuit, whose dysfunction potentially underlies the development of intestinal inflammatory disorders and cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Projects and Grants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Lymphocyte-epithelial interactions in intestinal health and disease<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center<\/strong> | All Cancers | 2024 | <strong>Alexander Rudensky, PhD<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The ever-shifting diversity of luminal antigens at the gastrointestinal interface necessitates a careful balance between immune activation and tolerance. Suppression and coordination of intestinal immune responses are controlled by a population of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":32114,"template":"","tax_cancer_type":[455],"tax_grant_type":[486],"tax_award_year":[741],"tax_institutions":[493],"tax_location_states":[494],"class_list":["post-32113","cri_scientists","type-cri_scientists","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"scientist_subhead":"Postdoctoral Fellow","quote":"","scientist_last_name":"Chen","show_on_landing":true,"scientist_publish_until":"20280831"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Spencer Chen, PhD - Cancer Research Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The outcome of Dr. Chen&#039;s work will be a mechanistic understanding of an unexplored lymphocyte-epithelial circuit, whose dysfunction potentially underlies the development of intestinal inflammatory disorders and cancer.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cancerresearch.org\/cri-funded-scientists\/spencer-chen-phd\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_ES\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spencer Chen, PhD - 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