Teaching Awards

Past and Present Trainees

Brief Biosketches of Selected Trainees

Teaching and Teaching Activities:

Brief Biosketches of Selected Trainees

Pascale Alard, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
University of Louisville
319 Abraham Flexner Way
Louisville KY 40202
Phone: 502/852-5364
Fax: 502/852-7531
E-mail: p0alar01@gwise.louisville.edu
http://www.louisville.edu/medschool/microbiology/alard.html

We are interested in understanding the events that lead to autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice. Our work focuses on a population of CD25+ regulatory T cells, which appears to be crucial in the control of autoimmune diseases. Dysregulation of the immune response, including aberrant T cell and antigen presenting cell (APC) function, plays a major role in the induction of diabetes in NOD mice. More importantly, NOD mice exhibit quantitative and functional deficiencies in CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells. We hypothesize that an alteration of this regulatory T cell population could lead to diabetes. Our preliminary studies indicate that inappropriate activation by NOD APC could be in part responsible for the dysfunction of CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in NOD mice. Our objective is to characterize the potential defect leading to non-functional CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells in NOD mice, and to restore a functional regulation.

July 1, 2002

Sally Atherton
Professor and Chair, Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy and Professor Department of Ophthalmology, Medical College of Georgia
Web address: http://www.mcg.edu/SOM/cba/ssatherton.html

My pre-doctoral training in virology was followed by two postdoctoral training experiences. My first postdoctoral fellowship was in the laboratory of Dennis J. O’ Callaghan, Ph.D. on a project to study the molecular biology of equine herpes viruses. My second postdoctoral fellowship was in the laboratory of J. Wayne Streilein, M.D. on a project that evolved to a study of the pathogenesis of herpes virus infection of the retina following inoculation of virus into the anterior chamber of the eye. After faculty positions first at the University of Miami School of Medicine and then at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, I relocated to the Medical College of Georgia in May 2000 to become the Chair of the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy. My research interests are in the pathogenesis of herpes virus infections of the eye and brain and in the use of animal models to study the pathogenesis of human ocular diseases.

Stefano Bacci, Ph.D.
Research Assistant
School of Medicine
Department of Anatomy, Histology and Forensic Medicine,
Section of Forensic Medicine
University of Florence, Italy.
Via F. Baracca 132
50127 Florence, Italy
Telephone – 011-39-55-4220327
e-mail – Stefano.bacci8@tin.it

EDUCATION:

1983 Graduate: Technical institute for Agriculture, Florence, Italy
1990 D. Sc.: Natural Sciences, University of Florence
1997 Ph.D., School of Medicine, University of Florence (Tutor, P. Romagnoli, M.D.)
1994-96 Research fellow at The Schepens Eye Research Institute, Boston, MA (Tutor, J. W. Streilein, M.D.).
1997-199 Post-Doctoral Fellow, School of Medicine, University of Florence (Tutor, P. Romagnoli, M.D.)
2000 Fellow, S. Luci Hospital, Rome, Italy (Tutor, M. Molinari, M.D.)

ESSENTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Bechi P, Romagnoli P, Bacci S, Dei R, Amorosi A, Cianchi F, Masini E. Helicobacter pylori and duodenal ulcer: evidence for a histamine pathways-involving link. Am J Gastroent 1996; 91: 2338 – 2343.

Bacci S, Nakamura T, Streilein JW. Failed antigen presentation after UVB radiation correlates with modifications of Langerhans cells cytoskeleton. J Invest Dermatol 1996; 107: 838-843.

Bacci S, Alard P, Dai R, Nakamura T, Streilein JW. High and low doses of haptens dictate whether epidermal or dermal antigen presenting cells promote contact hypersensitivity. Eur J Immunol 1997; 27: 442 – 448.

Bacci S, Romagnoli P, Streilein JW. Reduction in number and morphologic alterations of Langerhans cells after UVB radiation in vivo are accompanied by an influx of monocytoid cells into the epidermis. J Invest Dermatol 1998; 111: 1134 – 1139.

Bechi , Bacci S, Cianchi F, Amorosi A, Nesi G, Dei R, Romagnoli P. Impairment of gastric secretion modulation in duodenal ulcer and in long-term PPI treatment: quantitative morphologic findings and pathophysiologic implications. Dig Dis Sci 2001; 46: 1952 – 1959.

Bacci S, Alard P, Streilein JW. Evidence that ultraviolet B radiation transiently inhibits emigration of Langerhans cells from exposed epidermis, thwarting contact hypersensitivity induction. Eur J Immunol 2001; 31: 3588 – 3594.

July 1, 2002

Reza Dana, MD, MPH
20 Staniford St.
Boston MA 02114
W. Clement Stone Scholar and Associate Scientist
Laboratory of Immunology, Schepens Eye Research Institute
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School
Cornea Service, Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary
Director, Cornea/External Disease & Ocular Immunology,
Brigham & Women's Hospital
RESEARCH:(617) 912-7401 (Office)
912-7404 (Direct/Voicemail)
912-0117 (Fax)
CLINICAL:(617) 732-6812 (Patient Appointments)
277-2085 (Fax)
e-mail – dana@vision.eri.harvard.edu
Web: http://www.eri.harvard.edu

Reza Dana is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Dana, who is both an ophthalmologist and an immunologist, has a particular interest in the molecular and cellular mechanisms of inflammation and immunity in the eye. In addition to his position as W. Clement Stone Scholar in the basic science faculty of The Schepens Eye Research Institute, Dr. Dana also serves as Director of Cornea/External Disease and Ocular Immunology at The Brigham and Women’s Hospital, as a member of the Cornea Service faculty at The Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and the Committee on Immunology (Graduate Program) at Harvard Medical School. In addition to his basic science research, Dr. Dana is also active in the design and conduct of ophthalmological clinical trials.

After graduating Summa Cum Laude from St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH, Dr. Dana received his bachelor’s (Phi Beta Kappa), graduate, and medical education at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD. After an internship in Internal Medicine, he performed his residency in Ophthalmology at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary in Chicago. This was followed by a clinical fellowship in Cornea and External Diseases at The Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. Subsequently, Dr. Dana came to Boston for additional fellowship training in Immunology and Uveitis at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and in Ocular and Transplantation Immunology at the Schepens Eye Research Institute and Harvard Medical School, where he was supported by both a Heed Fellowship and an Individual NIH-National Research Service Award grant.

Dr. Dana’s research is supported by RO1 funding from the NIH in addition to grants from private research foundations, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, the US Department of Defense, and the Harvard Department of Ophthalmology Joint Clinical Research Center. Dr. Dana is a member of numerous national and international professional and research organizations, including The Transplantation Society, The American Association of Immunologists, The Castroviejo Cornea Society, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and the American Uveitis Society. In addition, he serves on the Medical & Scientific Advisory Boards of the Sjogren’s Syndrome Foundation, the Wadsworth Foundation for MS research, and the National Sjogren’s Syndrome Association. He is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Research to Prevent Blindness William and Mary Greve Special Scholar Award. Dr. Dana has authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and book chapters. In addition, he served as editor of the Eye and Systemic Disease volume of The Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology and serves as member of the faculty of the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Basic Clinical and Science Course’s Cornea and External Disease section. Dr. Dana is additionally on the editorial board of the journals Cornea and The Ocular Surface and is a recipient of the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Achievement Award, and the Cogan Award of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology for his contributions to ophthalmic science.

July 1, 2002

Junko Hori, M.D., Ph.D,
Assistant Professor
Department of Ophthalmology,
Nippon Medical School,
1-1-5, Sendagi, Bunkyo,
Tokyo, Japan 113-8602
Tel +81-3-5814-6214
Fax +81-3-5685-0988
jhori-tky@umin.ac.jp
http://www.nms.ac.jp

Corneal transplantation immunology is my major research interest. I have reported suppression of orthotopic corneal allo-rejection by blocking LFA-1/ICAM-1, VLA-4/VCAM-1, or B7/CD28 adhesion, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Ph.D degree. As Dr. Streilein’s postdoctoral fellow, I have worked on heterotopic corneal transplantation beneath the kidney capsule to show that corneal epithelium displays potent immunogenicity, whereas, corneal endothelium confers immune privilege on the epithelium-deprived corneal to establish composite corneal allografts composed of syngeneic epithelium and allogeneic stroma plus endothelium in vitro, which fail to induce allo-sensitization after orthotopic grafting - even in high-risk recipients. Evaluation of persistence and replacement of donor and recipient cells after orthotopic corneal transplantation using “green mouse”, and determination of immune privilege of neural progenitor cells have also been done during my fellowship period. In my current appointment, immunological analyses of both corneal transplantation and amniotic membrane transplantation to the ocular surface have been underway.

July 1, 2002

Dr. Martine J. Jager
Section Head, Department of Ophthalmology
Leiden University medical Center
PO Box 9600
2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands
tel. 31-71-5263097
fax 31-71-5248222
e-mail m.j.jager@lumc.nl

Dr. Martine J. Jager combines a clinical practice as ophthalmologist with basic eye research. After studying Medicine at Leiden University, The Netherlands, Dr. Jager worked for several years at the Department of Immunohaematology and Bloodbank under the supervision of Prof. Jon van Rood. She received her PhD for the identification of two new polymorphic antigens present on monocytes, and developed a keen interest in the biological role of MHC antigens. After a residency in Ophthalmology at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, she spent time in the laboratory of Prof. Wayne Streilein in Miami, and did a fellowship in Corneal diseases at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami. After her return to the Netherlands on a Fellowship of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, she had the opportunity to develop a laboratory for immunological-ophthalmological research. Students and medical doctors are trained in ocular immunology and publications concern a wide range of ocular research areas. Specific topics are mechanisms of rejection of intraocular tumors (together with Dr. R.E.M. Toes and Prof. C.J.M. Melief), HLA expression, angiogenesis and other prognostic factors in uveal melanoma, and gene-expression profiling in melanoma (together with Dr. N.A. Gruis). Clinically, the focus is on ocular surface diseases. International collaboration is considered of great importance, and students are stimulated to go abroad. Collaboration with Prof. Streilein was strenghtenen by a visiting Associate Professorship as few years ago, and by a continuous contribution of Dutch students to the Schepens Eye Research Institute.

Takeshi Kezuka, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Ophthalmology
Hachioji Medical Center
Tokyo Medical University
1163, Tate-Machi, Hachioji-shi
Tokyo, 193-8639 JAPAN
Tel: 81-3-3342-6111, Ext 5879/5880
Fax: 81-3-3346-9170
e-mail – tkezuka@Tokyo-med.ac.jp

Dr. Kezuka’s major interests are in ocular immunology, research of immune privilege in the anterior chamber, termed anterior chamber associated immune deviation. While a post-doctoral fellow in the Schepens Eye Research Institute, he analyzed the functional properties of CD4+ and CD8+, OVA-specific T cells stimulated in vitro with OVA-pulsed, TGFb2-treated antigen presenting cells.

Since returning to Japan, he has probed the possible relationships between reactivated varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection, delayed hypersensitivity to VZV antigens, and the presence of VZV-related eye diseases. His future research plans are to analyze the suppression of experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis using the neuropeptides CGRP and VIP.

July 1, 2002

Toshiki Kitazawa, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Ako Research Institute, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.
1122-73 Nishihamakita-cho
Ako, Hyogo 678-0174
Japan
Tel. 81-791-43-4333
Fax 81-791-43-4678
e-mail - t_kitazawa@research.otsuka.co.jp

From 1981 to 1982 involved as research fellow in the immunochemical studies of epidermal growth factor (EGF) at University of Shizuoka School of Pharmaceutical Sciences.

From 1985 to 1986 pursued studies on the purification and characterization of hepatocyte growth factor and TGF-beta binding protein at the Institute for Enzyme Research, University of Tokushima.

From 1988 to 1994 pursued at Otsuka studies on the effect of EGF on corneal epithelial wound healing and its mechanism of action.

From 1995 onward conducting basic research and studies associated with the development of therapeutics in cutaneous immunity and inflammation including atopic dermatitis. During the period 1998 to 1999 I conducted a study on the mechanism of delayed systemic effect of UVB and UVB-induced tolerance under the direction of Dr. Streilein at the Schepens.

Currently in charge of the documentary and experimental evaluation of therapeutics offered for license in ophthalmologic and dermatological fields.
July 1, 2002

Masaru Takeuchi, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Assistant Professor
Department of Ophthalmology
Tokyo Medical University
6-7-1 Nishishinjuku Shinjuku-ku
Tokyo, 160-0023 Japan
Tel: 81-3-3342-6111 (ex. 5880)
Fax: 81-3-3346-9170
takeuchi@tokyo-med.ac.jp

I have characterized at molecular and cellular levels TGFb-2 treated antigen presenting cells (APCs) with ACAID-inducing properties. It has been found that TGFb-2-treated APCs possess the capacity to create a microenvironment that is rich in TGFb yet deficient in IL-12. In this microenvironment, TGFb-2-treated APCs fail to up-regulate expression of CD40. While these antigen-pulsed APCs are readily able to activate specific T cells in vitro (to proliferate and secrete IL-2), the responding T cells secrete IL-4 and TGFb, but not IFN-g. My current efforts have centered on the study of altered immune responses and immune privilege in the eye of patients suffering from Behcet’s disease. The analysis is being undertaken by molecular biological techniques.

July 1, 2002

Mitchell J. Nelles, Ph.D.
Vice-President, Product Development
TriPath Oncology
4025 Stirrup Creek Drive
Suite 400
Durham, NC 27703
(919) 201-7100
(866) -TRIPATH
Email: mnelles@tripathimaging.com
Company website: http://www.tripathimaging.com

Mitch Nelles is a healthcare executive with 20 years experience in the biotechnology and “in vitro” diagnostics arenas. He is currently Vice-President, Product Development at TriPath Oncology, a wholly owned subsidiary of TriPath Imaging, Inc. established to translate discoveries in genomics and proteomics into molecular-based Oncology diagnostic and prognostic products.

As Ortho Clinical Diagnostic’s (Johnson and Johnson) Vice-President of Transfusion Medicine and Immunodiagnostic Assay R&D, Mitch was responsible for product development in the Blood Screening, Blood Typing, RhoGAM, and Immunodiagnostic franchises. While at Ortho, Mitch received numerous awards for his roles in multiple major product launches, an intellectual property patent defense before the UK Court of Appeals, and J&J’s acquisition of Kodak’s Medical Products Division. Mitch sat on the Board of the Sacramento Medical Foundation as an outside industry representative and was a member of J&J’s Corporate Johnson Medal Selection Committee.

Mitch has a BA in Biological Sciences from Rutgers College, a Ph.D. in BioMedical Sciences (Immunology) from the University of Texas, Health Sciences Center at Dallas (J. W. Streilein, thesis advisor), and completed postdoctoral work at Brandeis University. He has taken executive business courses at Harvard, MIT, and Wharton Business Schools.

July 1, 2002

Kouichi Ohta, MD. PhD.
Assistant Professor
Department of Ophthalmology
Shinshu University School of Medicine
3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto
Nagano 390-8621
JAPAN
TEL +81-263-37-2664
FAX +81-263-32-9448
kohta@hsp.md.shinshu-u.ac.jp

Dr. Kouichi Ohta is an ophthalmologist particularly interested in ocular immunity and inflammation. He is a chief of cornea and uveitis service. He also works as a surgeon of corneal transplantation, cataract and vitreo-retinal disorders at Shinshu University Hospital.

Dr. Ohta received his M.D. and Ph.D. degree from Shinshu University School of Medicine. His initial research work was characterization of infiltrating lymphocytes in anterior chamber of patients with uveitis. He pursued post-doctoral training in immunology at the Schepens Eye Research Institute. The effects of experimental ocular inflammation on ocular immune privilege were studied at Wayne’s laboratory. He also found IL-6 antagonizes TGF-beta and abolishes immune privilege. The mechanism and new therapy for ocular inflammation using endotoxin-induced uveitis and ischemia-reperfusion retinal injury model are now investigated at Shinshu University.

July 1, 2002