Dr. Sudheer Kumar PabbisettyResearch Instructor, Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
Biography
Dr. Sudheer presently working as a Research Instructor in Department of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA. His research involves how lymphocyte migration affects immune system homeostasis. This work has broad implications towards autoimmunity, cancer and host-pathogen interactions. He has done Ph.D. in Biotechnology (2002-07) from National Centre for Cell Science, Pune University, Maharashtra, India. He has completed M. Sc. in Biochemistry (1997-99) from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India and B. Sc. (1994-1997 from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Research Interest
The Immune system is a host defense system comprising many biological structures and processes within the organism that protects against disease. In many species Immune system classified into subtypes, innate immune system, and adaptive immune system. The adaptive immune system (i.e., T cells, B cells, and NK cells) eliminates cancer-forming cells and invading pathogens. If this system is too aggressive (i.e., responds to ?self? in addition to ?foreign?), a variety of autoimmune disorders can occur, including diabetes, multiple sclerosis, colitis and Crohn?s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus. On the other hand, acquired or genetic defects that impinge on immunity can be devastating, as evidenced by AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) and SCID (severe combined immune deficiency) patients. Therefore, a balance must be achieved to allow for pathogen and tumor clearance while remaining tolerant towards self. The primary focus of my research is discovering new ways to manipulate adaptive immune responses to improve disease outcome in humans. To do this, we have utilized a variety of murine models to identify ?bottlenecks? in the immune system that can be targeted with drugs to augment (pathogen and tumor clearance) or diminish (autoimmunity) adaptive immune responses. Importantly, we have verified that these systems are shared by humans and thus are a valid therapeutic target. We are excited to report that we have discovered novel signaling pathways that can be targeted with drugs to block cancer development and autoimmunity in mice. We are currently expanding on this work by applying these therapies to new disease models as well as establishing collaborations for human trials.