CYTO Virtual Interactive 2021 Plenary - Cytometry and Immunology

Overview

Leukocyte migration is essential to develop effective immunity at diverse sites in the body. To detect pathogens and cancer, immune cells must surveil the entire body; detection is followed by maturation and expansion of antigen-specific cells in lymph nodes. To control the pathogen or cancer, these effector cells must return to the site of the initial attack. The regulation of trafficking is very poorly understood, and virtually nothing about the mechanisms of homeostasis. Certainly, dysregulation of the homeostatic equilibrium often accompanies or even causes disease.  

 We developed a method to track blood cells in vivo with minimal perturbation, to investigate trafficking in nonhuman primates under homeostasis or following immune perturbation.  With this technique, termed Serial Intravascular Staining (SIVS), we can fluorescently label blood cells (but, importantly, not tissue cells) at multiple time points, with each time point associated with a unique color. Then, using multicolor cytometry, we can quantify the rate at which cells of all different types enter tissues, and eventually recirculate to the blood stream. To date, we used this system in nonhuman primate models of mycobacterium tuberculosis, HIV, SARS-CoV-2, stem cell reconstitution, and cancer treatment. These experiments are aimed to help us better understand the rules and regulations of leukocyte trafficking in large mammals, and how we might take advantage of these in treatment regimens.

Speakers

Mario Roederer, PhD
Chief, ImmunoTechnology Section
National Institutes of Health

Mario Roederer, Ph.D., is a Senior Investigator at the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institutes of Health.  He leads the ImmunoTechnology Section, and directs the Flow Cytometry Core and the Nonhuman Primate Immunogenicity Core.  In addition, Dr. Roederer supervises the Translational Research Program handling all animal models at the VRC, and serves as Chair of the VRC Animal Care and Use Program.  Dr. Roederer has a BS in Chemistry from Harvey Mudd College, a PhD in Cell Biology from Carnegie Mellon, and postdoctoral training with Dr. Leonard Herzenberg at Stanford University.  At the VRC, he has mentored three dozen students and postdoctoral fellows, multiple congressional representatives, a Vice President, and two US Presidents.  Dr. Roederer’s publications number more than 370, garnering over 53,000 citations with an “h-index” of 118.  He co-authored eight patents ranging from chemistry to immunology to software solutions, yielding over $10M in royalties for Stanford and NIH, and was inducted into the Stanford Inventors Hall of Fame.  His research combines advanced technology development in the setting of single cell analysis (integrating both flow cytometry and transcriptomics), with basic T and B cell immunology. Over the past 25 years, he led the effort to the develop the state-of-the-art 30+ color fluorescence flow cytometry. Basic research projects include understanding the complete repertoire of functions needed to protect against pathogens or cancers, how these functions can be elicited by vaccines, and modulated by host genetics and microbiomes.  His laboratory works on nonhuman primate models of HIV and TB, aiming to find novel interventions or vaccine modalities.

Sonia Mayra Pérez Tapia, PhD
Executive Director
UDIMEB

Dr. Mayra Pérez-Tapia is Executive Director at UDIMEB/UDIBI acronym in Spanish for: Medical and Biotechnological Innovation Development Unit) Head Research Professor at the Department of Immunology of the National School of Biological Sciences (NSBS) at the IPN (acronym in Spanish for the National Polytechnic Institute. She is a Biology Pharmaceutical Chemist majored by the Faculty of Chemistry of the National Autonomous University of Mexico and holds a Masters and PhD on Sciences Specialized on Immunology, granted by the ENCB (acronym in Spanish for: National School of Biological Sciences of the IPN)

Dr. Mayra Pérez has published 75 articles in international journals and 4 books’ chapters; she has supervised more than forty Undergraduate, Master’s and Ph.D. theses. She also owns a patent granted and exploited in the national territory of Mexico, as well as a patent granted by USA, the European Community, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Canada.

She is Director of the IPN´s ENCB´s Transfer Factor Project since 2010 and is responsible for its growth and transformation to the UDIMEB (acronym in Spanish for: Innovation Medical and Biotechnological Development Unit), which is a new unit within the ENCB responsible for manufacturing the Transferon® services to the biotechnology industry and clinical services to the general public.

She was Permanent Member of the Evaluation Sub-Committee of Biotech Products of the New Molecules Committee of the Federal Commission to COFEPRIS and technical expert for the CCAyAC (acronym in Spanish for the Analytical Control and Extension of Coverage Commission) until 2019 and currently serves as technical manager of the National Laboratory of Services Specialized in Research, Development and Innovation (R+D+I) for pharma-chemicals and biotechnological  since 2010, and she also is a member of the national system of researchers Level II and EDI level 9.

CMLE Credit: 1.0