Event
Bioengineering Distinguished Seminar: Jeffrey Hubbell
Friday, April 1, 2016
9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.
Pepco Room (1105), Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building
Dr. Christopher Jewell
cmjewell@umd.edu
Dr. Jeffrey Hubbell
Barry L. MacLean Professor of Molecular Engineering Innovation and Enterprise
Institute for Molecular Engineering
University of Chicago
Materials and Protein Engineering for Modulating Immunity and Tolerance
Adaptive immune responses are triggered particularly powerfully in the lymph nodes and in the lymphoid tissues associated with mucosae. We are developing nanomaterials to exploit interstitial flow from the site of administration to the lymph nodes, using the nanomaterials to carry both antigen and adjuvant biomolecules. We are particularly interested in therapeutic vaccination in cancer, and we have determined that the tumor-draining lymph node is a particularly opportune lymphoid target for cancer vaccination.
In addition to inducing adaptive immune responses, so-called inverse vaccination to induce antigen-specific tolerance is of high interest. We are exploring biological approaches to deliver protein antigens in a tolerogenic manner, including targeting antigen to the surfaces of erythrocytes after injection, based on the premise that aged erythrocytes are cleared tolerogenically, along with exogenous antigen cargo they may carry. We have shown the ability to induce antigen-specific anergy as well as T regulatory responses, working in models of autoimmunity and of immune response to protein drugs. In this work, the liver appears to be a particularly interesting target for antigen delivery, and we are accordingly exploring glycopolymers to target particular receptors in liver cells.
