Building Bridges in Leukocyte Biology Webinar Series

Through volunteer efforts, SLB will be offering a monthly series of innovative talks spanning a width breadth of interests related to the field. Registration is free for society members.

Our next speaker is Savini Thrikawala from Clemson University who will present "Glucocorticoids suppress neutrophil control of Aspergillus hyphal growth in zebrafish larvae". Aspergillus fumigatus is one of the main fungal pathogens infecting patients undergoing prolonged glucocorticoid therapy. Anti-fungal therapeutics are often ineffective causing mortality in >50% of the infected immunosuppressed patients. In healthy individuals, the innate immune system can effectively clear this pathogen. However, the innate immune mechanisms that glucocorticoids suppress to increase host susceptibility to invasive aspergillosis are not fully known. Using a zebrafish larva-Aspergillus infection model, we find that exposure to dexamethasone—a commonly used glucocorticoid—significantly decreases host survival, predominantly by suppressing neutrophil-mediated control of tissue-destructive A. fumigatus hyphae. Through CRISPR/Cas9, I find that dexamethasone effect is mediated via the endogenous glucocorticoid receptor suppressing NF-κB activation. Current work is focused on the neutrophil extracellular killing mechanisms suppressed by dexamethasone and the NF-κB-regulated molecular targets. Collectively, we find that dexamethasone acts through the glucocorticoid receptor to suppress NF-κB-mediated neutrophil control of Aspergillus hyphae in zebrafish larvae.

This webinar will be held on Wednesday, May 22nd, 2024 from 12-1pm eastern.

Register for May 22nd, 2024

Savini U. Thrikawala is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Emily Rosowski’s lab at Clemson University, SC. Her research focuses on uncovering the innate immune mechanisms suppressed by immunosuppressive drugs making the host susceptible to opportunistic infections. Savini uses high-resolution microscopy of zebrafish larvae to address these questions. Her research interests stem from her baccalaureate work majoring in Parasitology and Immunology at the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. During her Ph.D. at the University of Houston, TX, she started working with the larval zebrafish model. Savini envisions pursuing an independent research career to elucidate how man-made chemicals affect innate immunity and inflammation.

Look for these talks lined up for the future...

• Melissa Ng, Singapore Immunology Network - June 26th, 2024
• Irene Salinas, The University of New Mexico - July 24th, 2024
• Hawa Racine Thiamm, Standford University - September 18th, 2024
  
• Collins Osei-Sarpong, Institute of Experimental Pathology - November 20th, 2024

If you would like to present at a future SLB Building Bridges webinar series, please contact Sofia De Oliveira  at [email protected]. See below for the full Building Bridges Webinar Series Mission.

Past Building Bridges Webinars available on-demand for SLB Members (login required):

• Prashanth Thevkar Nagesh from BIDMC/Harvard Medical School who will speak on "In vivo Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibition attenuates alcohol-associated liver disease by regulating granulopoiesis."
• Elsa Bou Ghanem, University at Buffalo, "Changes in Neutrophil-pneumococcal Interactions During Aging"
• Juan de Dios Ruiz Rosado, Nationwide Children’s Hospital “Phagocyte NADPH Oxidase: Fine-Tuning Neutrophil's Antimicrobial and Inflammatory Arsenal Against Uropathogenic E. coli”.
• Aminata Coulibaly, West Virginia University "Using Neutrophils to Modulate Brain Output"
• Elizabeth Wohlfert, University at Buffalo "Muscling through Chronic Infection"

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  Building Bridges in Leukocyte Biology Webinar

Mission
To provide a safe platform to highlight the research done by 1) trainees, 2) scientists from underrepresented groups in the field (please check footnote *) and 3) scientists with major caregiver roles at home that restrict their travel to conferences limiting their careers (young children, dependent person, etc). We also seek to keep the leukocyte community engaged in active and fruitful scientific discussions between conferences.
Vision
Conferences have a limited number of slots for presentations which drastically limits the amount of good science that can be shown and discussed in these venues. Trainees and young faculty from underrepresented groups in the field have less chances to be invited or selected to present their work at conferences and therefore their science has less visibility. We want to provide a way to give visibility to those that usually do not have it and promote a more diverse and inclusive environment in the leukocyte field.In addition, we want to help build a dynamic and engaged leukocyte community to advance the field, this webinar series will also promote networking, collaborations and sharing of resources amongst the labs working with different leukocytes on different fields.
Webinar format
• Monthly meeting on ZOOM - 4th Wednesday of the month (tentative: 12:00 pm EST/9:00 am PST)
• 1h (5 min introduction, 45 minutes presentation ,10 minutes discussion)
Please note that presentations WILL BE RECORDED (with speaker permission), placed at SLB archive and available for all members to view at any time. Webinars will be promoted on the SLB website, email list and social media.

If you are a SLB member that fits the eligibility criteria and are interested in presenting at BBinLB webinar series, please submit the following materials to [email protected]:
• Abstract
• CV or Biosketch
• Provide specific information about eligibility (trainees, scientist from underrepresented groups in the field, and/or scientist with major caregiver roles).