Department of Pathology

Dr. Alexander Boyden received a five-year NIH R01 award entitled “Pathogenic B cell:CD4 T Cell Interactions in a Novel B Cell-dependent EAE Mouse Model of Multiple Sclerosis” from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID).

Dr. Ashutosh Mangalam was interviewed on the significance of the microbiome in health and disease for “Health You” a quarterly health publication of the Cedar Rapids Gazette newspaper. In particular, Dr. Mangalam emphasized the critical role our diet plays in shaping our microbiome, which in turn helps to keep us healthy. Additionally, he underscored the need to better understand dysregulation of the microbiome in diseases such as multiple sclerosis, that can help us develop microbiome-based therapies.

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office of the Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Clinical Services recently announced the appointment of Dr. James “Stacey” Klutts as the Deputy National Director of VHA Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Program.

Connor Wilhelm completed the Pathology M.S. program by successfully defending his thesis on June 30th, 2023. He performed his thesis work in the laboratory of Dr. Nitin Karandikar, with additional mentorship from Dr. Alexander Boyden in the Karandikar group. Drs. Ashutosh Mangalam and Scott Lieberman also served on his thesis committee.

Peter Lehman successfully defended his M.S. thesis this past June and completed the Pathology M.S. program. Peter’s thesis is entitled Effect of Gut Microbiota Modulation During Early-life and Adulthood on Host Immunity. He performed his thesis work in the laboratory of Dr. Ashutosh Mangalam where he examined the effects of gut microbiome disruption on immune function.

Pathology Welcomes New Faculty: Drs. Bullock, Gosse, Kanangat, and Parsons

Mohammad Heidarian successfully defended his M.S. thesis this past March and completed the Pathology M.S. program. Mohammad’s thesis is entitled Sublethal Whole-body Irradiation Induces Permanent Loss and Dysfunction in Pathogen-specific Circulating Memory CD8 T Cell Populations. He performed his thesis work in the laboratory of Dr. Vladimir Badovinac where he examined the effects of irradiation on the memory CD8 T cell compartment.

Dr. John Harty was awarded a two-year R21 research grant entitled “Regulating Pathogen-induced Protective and Pathogenic CD8 T cells in the CNS” from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Autoimmune diseases affect millions of people in the United States. According to estimates from the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, there are over 50 million Americans living with autoimmune diseases, which translates to 1 in 5 people. Over the past few decades, there has been a significant increase in the incidence of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, arthritis, lupus, and inflammatory bowel disease in Western countries. A number of factors have been linked to the increased incidence of autoimmune diseases, including diet, microbiota and environmental toxins. Over the past twenty years, Ms. Margaret (Peggy) Heppelmann has actively pursued a personal course of study regarding factors contributing to the rise of chronic inflammatory diseases in Western countries, especially among young females. A key aspect revealed by her review is the dearth of scientific inquiry into this area due to a lack of funding. Peggy hopes that by establishing this fund, Dr. Mangalam’s research will provide a new perspective on underlying factors contributing to the increased incidence of these chronic diseases.

Dr. Shailesh K. Shahi (Faculty Associate) received an American Association of Immunology (AAI) Early Career Faculty Travel Grant to attend the upcoming annual AAI meeting in Washington D.C. In addition, Stephanie Peterson received an AAI Trainee Abstract Award and Ti-Ara Turner received an AAI Trainee Poster Award to attend the same meeting. Stephanie and Ti-Ara are graduate students in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Immunology. All three are working in the laboratory of Dr. Ashutosh Mangalam.