Examining T-cell dynamics in the human brain and its borders using cell sorting, genomics and inter-cell communication mapping tools
The Elyaman lab at Columbia University studies the recruitment and role of adaptive T cells in neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Capitalizing on advancements in microfluidics chip-based cell sorting capabilities of the MA900 Multi-Application Cell Sorter and single cell sequencing technologies, this lab has delineated a first-in-human comprehensive view of the immunological landscape in the brain and its borders. The ultimate goal of these studies is to better understand how the brain-border immunity is altered in human neurodegeneration and its effects on CNS inflammation.
In line with previous mouse work, the lab has found that resident T cells in the choroid plexus likely play an immunoregulatory role that controls migration of immune cells across the blood/CSF barrier.
Join this webinar to:
- Learn about the approaches used for processing fresh postmortem leptomeninges, choroid plexus, and brain from patients across multiple neurodegenerative diseases and for isolating highly pure and viable immune cells using the MA900 Cell Sorter from Sony Biotechnology.
- Understand how computational tools like CellChat can be used to explore the information about shared TCRs and paired RNA between the meninges and brain to infer intercellular interactions controlling T-cell activity, recruitment, and activation.
- Learn how T cells undergo clonal expansion at the brain’s borders and form separate reservoirs in the meninges, brain, and the choroid plexus.
Who should attend
This webinar will provide insights to researchers who want to learn about the strategies for developing a robust and gentle immune cell enrichment pipeline and learn about the involvement of adaptive immunity in neurodegenerative diseases.
Speakers
Ryan Hobson, MA, MPhil
Doctoral Fellow
Columbia University, NY
Ryan Hobson is a Doctoral Fellow in the Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine program at Columbia University, working under the mentorship of Dr. Wassim Elyaman. His current research in neuroimmunology focuses on investigating the regulatory mechanisms of T-cell activation, infiltration, and the role of T cells in neurodegenerative diseases. He holds Masters of Arts and Masters of Philosophy degrees from Columbia University and has previously worked in the areas of receptor signaling in aging and cardiac pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Mike Kissner, BS
Director of Operations
Columbia Stem Cell Initiative
Mike Kissner is currently the Director of Operations of Columbia Stem Cell Initiative (CSCI) where he manages the Flow Cytometry Core Facility to provide cutting-edge services and comprehensive user training program to the CSCI investigators. He has previously held applications support role at Bio-Rad and as Flow Cytometry Core Manager at the University of California, San Francisco.