on We’re elated to share that the first paper from our lab has recently been accepted into iScience (Danielson et al., 2024). We’ve discovered mechanisms by which bacteria activate innate immunity in tumors, and are leveraging this knowledge to use small molecule STING+TLR agonists for synergistic anti-tumor responses. Be on the lookout for it coming in print form!
on Thank you to the University of California CRCC for supporting our working on innate immune agonists for cancer! This work, spearheaded by graduate student Meggie Danielson, and our collaborators in Chemistry Vy Dong (UCI), we are developing novel innate immune agonists that target multiple arms of innate immunity. Looking forward to the exciting work and interdisciplinary collaborations to come.
on The lab’s first training grant recipient! Congratulations Meggie, get out there and teach us something about T cells 🙂
on We are shocked and deeply saddened by the recent untimely passing of our MMG departmental friend and colleague, Dr. Gina Lee. Gina warmed everyone around her with her joyfulness, laugh, and smile. She was a gentle soul who always had a funny story to make everyone around her smile. She was taken from us far too soon. Gina was an expert in RNA metabolism in the context of kidney cancer and her research legacy will endure forever. We will miss her deeply and will always remember the light that she brought to our department and everyone at UCI.
on Meggie presented her work at the T32 cancer retreat at Lake Arrowhead, while her apprentice Michael presented at the “Excellence in Research” undergrad symposium on campus. Great job representing the lab #teamcancer!
on Jessie did an excellent job last week presenting at our Departmental seminar series. She is seeking to identify the molecular explanation for human rickettsiosis by identifying antimicrobials that restrict Rickettsia in animal reservoirs but not in human cells. She’s established a number of collaborations on campus including with Nir Drayman and is bringing a number of new techniques to the lab, including a CRISPR-based screen. Keep it up Jessie!
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With their March Madness brackets completed, the lab takes a trip to BWWs to eat some spicy Blazin’ wings. Some handled it well (Jessie, Meggie), while others might have struggled (Thomas, Ben, Alejandro). Good luck with your picks!
on Happy Holidays from the lab! We had a delicious panoply of food from around the globe, perhaps a new lab tradition. Congrats Jessie on winning the cookie decorating competition, and to everyone else, all of whom did a much better job than me. Also congrats to whoever ended up with the raw potato in the Yankee swap – don’t let that go to waste!
on The 2023 MMG holiday party was a hit this year, it felt exciting with lots of new folks in the department and with Dr. Hertel being appointed our Department Chair during the party! There was a baking competition (somehow all the cheesecakes won top spots) and a lab ornament decoration. Our Rickettsia-themed ornament got an…unexpected prize (see last pic)!
on Congratulations Michelle and all the co-authors! We celebrated with specialty donuts – yum. Now comes the task of publishing, Thomas will try to keep his blood pressure low. Check out the preprint here, coming to a journal near you (hopefully) soon: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.10.02.56
The lab celebrated Michael’s birthday, and we all reminisce about the times when we were young. Good times.
Meggie and Jessie continue troubleshooting finicky assays – thus is the life of a graduate student. #ThatsScience