Nitin Karandikar, MD, PhD’s research laboratory focuses on the immune processes that underlie the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis, which is an immune-mediated demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS). His research group was the first to show the unexpected finding that CD8+ T cells targeted toward CNS antigens can suppress disease activity and could potentially be used as a therapeutic approach.

In a recent case report published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a 41-year-old male was referred to the University of Iowa with bronchiectasis, chronic sinusitis, and peculiar airway calcifications.

Vladimir Badovinac, PhD and his research laboratory were recently featured in the American Association of Immunologists for their article, titled The ability of memory CD8 T cell subsets to numerically and functionally recover following whole body irradiation is influenced by their history of cognate antigen exposures.

Banafshe Dolatyar, PhD, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Marco Hefti, MD’s research laboratory, received the Trainee Professional Development Award (TDPA) from the Society for Neuroscience.

Researchers in Zizhen Kang, PhD’s research laboratory, in collaboration with Ashutosh Mangalam, PhD’s research laboratory, have discovered that oligodendroglial lineage cells (OLCs)—traditionally known for producing myelin—actively contribute to neuroinflammation in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a widely used model for multiple sclerosis (MS).

Mallory Shin, a student in the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience and a member of Marco Hefti, MD’s research laboratory, received the Kwak-Ferguson Award in neuroscience.

We are pleased to share that Dr. Ashutosh Mangalam, Professor of Pathology, has been awarded an Honorary Professorship by the Old Herborn University Foundation in recognition of his contributions to microbiome research, particularly in the context of neurological diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS).

The Bosch Lab, led by Dustin Bosch, MD, PhD, is studying how the gut microbiome is related to CAC development. IBD patients have perturbed microbiomes (dysbiosis), and specific bacteria (pathobionts) may promote carcinogenesis in the inflamed intestine.

Dr. Shailesh Shahi has been awarded a three-year, $999,265 grant from the Department of Defense Multiple Sclerosis Research Program (DoD-MSRP) for his project titled “Impact of Obesity-Driven Gut Microbiota Alterations on Multiple Sclerosis.”

Researchers in Ashutosh Mangalam, PhD’s research laboratory, in collaboration with University of Iowa College of Nursing, University of Iowa College of Public Health, and University of Iowa Department of Neurology, have identified a microbial ratio in the gut microbiome associated with multiple sclerosis and disease severity.

Dr. Mariah Hassert, a Postdoctoral Scholar in the laboratory of Dr. John Harty, received a K99/00 Pathway to Independence award from the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for her proposal “Hemozoin and liver stage malaria vaccine efficacy”.

Congratulations to Prerna Rastogi, MD, PhD, who has been appointed as Medical Director of the University of Iowa Diagnostic Laboratories (UIDL).