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Tech Valley News
Trudeau Scientist Awarded $2M from NIH
Dr. Markus Mohrs, a member of the scientific faculty at the Trudeau Institute, has been awarded a research grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in excess of $2 million.
Dr. Mohrs’ laboratory is researching the relationship between two major players in our immune system, T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes. These white blood cells help to prevent and/or cure us from most fatal infections when we are exposed to harmful pathogens.
Because these T and B lymphocytes are endowed with distinct and unique functions, they must work together in order to mount an effective immune response. It has long been recognized that a specialized subset, named T “helper” lymphocytes, trigger the B lymphocytes to produce antibodies. Past research, however, suggested that this relationship was largely regarded as a one sided affair.
Dr. Mohrs’ laboratory discovered recently that this interaction is more complex than previously assumed. The reason is because B lymphocytes, in fact, do provide the critical signals needed to establish a full-fledged T helper lymphocytes response. It appears that B lymphocytes and T lymphocytes signal one another in order to establish effective immune responses. Importantly, this mutual partnership is also needed for efficient protection upon re-exposure to the pathogen.
“My laboratory will use these NIH funds to dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying this interdependence”, said Mohrs. “Not only will our studies contribute to the general understanding how the immune system operates, they might provide important clues for the development of more effective vaccines”.
Dr. Mohrs received his Ph.D. in 1998 from the University of Freiburg, Germany for studies carried out in the laboratory of the Nobel laureate Georges Koehler at the Max-Planck-Institute for Immunobiology, Freiburg, Germany. He joined Trudeau Institute in 2002 as an Assistant Member, becoming an Associate Member in 2007. The grant will provide research and laboratory support funding over a five year period.
The Trudeau Institute is an independent, not-for-profit biomedical research organization with a scientific mission to make breakthrough discoveries leading to improved human health. Trudeau researchers are identifying the basic mechanisms used by the immune system to combat cancer and infectious diseases, such as influenza and tuberculosis, so that better vaccines and therapies can be developed. The research is supported by government grants and philanthropic contributions.
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