Immunology
Team CHM
Complex Human Ex Vivo Models of Tissue Inflammation
Arteries play a crucial role in maintaining health and are compromised in various diseases, from diabetes to hypertension. Yet, in vitro, arterial models represent an unmet need to understand disease progression and develop therapeutics. Our group is bridging this gap by generating a 3D in vitro system with sufficient complexity to recapitulate key characteristics of disease onset, progression, and resolution. We will deploy this organotypic human arterial model to identify key markers of disease progression and test promising therapeutics with the long-term goal of advancing patient treatment. Our model can be applied to many forms of vasculitis, including giant cell arteritis, an aging-associated inflammatory disease that can cause stenosis or aneurysm of the affected arteries and lead to sudden blindness.
Mentors
- Dr. Sarah Wilson (Industry Mentor)
Principal Research Scientist I, Pharmacology and Pathology, AbbVie - Prof. Dr. Carla Rothlin (Academic Mentor)
Dorys McConnell Duberg Professor of Immunobiology and Professor of Pharmacology; Co-Leader, Cancer Immunology, Yale Cancer Center, Yale University
Team Location BioMed X Institute New Haven
The research of this team is kindly sponsored by AbbVie.
Our Team Members
Dr. Alicia Cutler
Group Leader
Short Bio
- 2022 – 2023: Research Associate, Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology Department, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- 2017 – 2022: Postdoc in stem cell biology with Prof. Brad Olwin, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
- 2012 – 2017: PhD in Biochemistry with Prof. Grace Pavlath and Prof. Anita Corbet, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Dr. Shyama Sasikumar
Postdoctoral Researcher
Short Bio
- 2023 – 2024: Postdoctoral researcher, Matrix-Heal Pvt Ltd, Center for Healthcare Entrepreneurship, Hyderabad, India
- 2022 – 2023: Research Associate, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, India
- 2017 – 2022: Doctorate in Biomedical Engineering with Dr. Falguni Pati and Prof. Peter Kingshott, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, India, and Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia
Dr. Zhouquan (Harry) Fu
Postdoctoral Researcher
Short Bio
- 2018 – 2023: PhD in Mechanical Engineering with Dr. Wei Sun, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- 2017 – 2018: Research Assistant, Biofabrication Laboratory, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- 2012 – 2016: Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
Jack Parker
Research Assistant
Sarah Majin
Research Assistant
Short Bio
- 2022 – 2023: Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering at The University of New Haven, West Haven, Connecticut
- 2018 – 2019: Internship at Federal Medical Center (National Youth Service), Benue State, Nigeria
- 2012 – 2017: Bachelor of Engineering at Bells University of Technology, Ota, Ogun state, Nigeria