The immune system is a complex network of cellular processes working in harmony to guard us against pathogenic attack. Of utmost importance is the ability of the immune system to discriminate between “self” and “non-self” and diseased versus healthy. Recognition of antigens complexed to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules is...
While the role of ubiquitin in protein degradation is well established, the role of other ubiquitin-like proteins (UBLs) in protein degradation is less clear. Neural precursor cell expressed developmentally down-regulated protein 8 (NEDD8) is the UBL with the highest level of amino acid identity when compared to ubiquitin. Here we...
In the midst of the sixth mass extinction, understanding wildlife disease spillover is critical to maintaining protected wildlife areas. Studying ecoimmunology and wildlife disease ecology helps to understand immune and disease traits in an ecological context, which is invaluable in preventing pathogen spillover between livestock and wildlife. To investigate this...
Antigen presentation is a mechanism used by cells to present peptides on the cell surface. Peptides, derived from both viral or self-proteins are presented on the cell surface by MHC Class I molecules to be recognized and detected by cytotoxic T cells. T cells comprise the defense system to protect...
Research in Dolan lab focuses primarily on the adaptive immune system and ways it can be better utilized to eliminate infected or transformed cells. Research focuses on the major histocompatibility (MHC) class I antigen presentation pathway, which plays an important role in alerting the immune system of the presence of...
Utilizing Danio rerio (zebrafish) as a model organism has gained popularity recently, however a lack of research into their immune response pathways had led to the discovery of subclinical infections, and has potentially confounded results. We conducted a study to determine the cytokine expression from TLR activation in order to...
Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family, is frequently dysregulated in a variety of cancers. Overexpression of the receptor leads to increased cell proliferation and resistance to cell death due to downstream signaling effects. Proteasomal degradation of HER2 results in the...