Advances in Immunology and Microbiology Seminar Series: Kelly Deobald
- Optional after-seminar social: Please feel welcome to join us for an informal social gathering following each seminar at Trailside Taproom, 505 SE Riverview, Pullman.
About the event
The Advances in Immunology & Microbiology seminar series is a weekly forum that brings together scientists from diverse fields and disciplines across the College of Veterinary Medicine to discuss research advances in the broad areas of immunology, microbiology, infectious diseases, and global health. Seminars feature student speakers from the Immunology & Infectious Disease (IID) doctoral program, IID-affiliated postdoctoral researchers and faculty, intramural speakers from across the university, and extramural speakers.
PRESENTER: Kelly Deobald, PhD Candidate, Kawula Lab, Paul G. Allen School for Global Health
TITLE: Investigating the role of merocytophagy in the immune response to Francisella tularensis infection
ABSTRACT: Our lab focuses on host-pathogen interactions during infection with Francisella tularensis, a bacterial pathogen which replicates primarily within macrophages. While known primarily for their phagocytic behavior, macrophages also participate in a poorly understood immune surveillance mechanism termed merocytophagy. This specialized phagocytic process, identified by our lab, is characterized by the transfer of cytosolic content between donor and recipient macrophage populations. Our data suggest that this host-mediated phenomenon is part of the response to F. tularensis infection, and my project currently focuses on a possible role for merocytophagy in bridging the innate and adaptive immune systems. In studying merocytophagy, we aim to better understand how the mammalian immune system functions, which could have implications for not only bacterial diseases, but viral diseases and cancers as well.