Lab @ Northwestern University
Joe Podojil
Bio: Joseph R. Podojil, Ph.D., got his B.S. in Molecular Biology from Benedictine University, and his Ph.D. in Cell Biology, Neurobiology, and Anatomy from Loyola University Chicago. He is currently a Postdoc at Northwesstern University. His research focus is studying the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the differential effect of structurally modified forms of anti-CD80 monoclonal antibody (mAb) in the CD4+ Th1 cell mediated disease model of PLP139-151-induced EAE. His findings suggest that stimulation of CD80 on a CD4+ T cell activated in Th1-promoting conditions induces an increase in the amount of IFN-gamma produced per cell and increases Th1 cell survival. These findings suggest a mechanism by which anti-CD80 mAb treatment of PLP139-151-primed mice exacerbates disease, while treatment with anti-CD80 Fab fragments decrease disease severity. These studies offer a unique opportunity to determine the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the potent therapeutic effects of short-term mAb treatments, which may induce long-term antigen-specific tolerance.