Tufts@Kendall

Advances in Immunology and Inflammation: The Intersection of Health and Disease

4:30 pm            Registration & Networking

5:00 pm           Welcome

Gauri Nair, PhD, Vice President, Innovation Services, MassBio

Ippolita Cantuti-Castelvetri, PhD, Senior Director, Corporate & Foundation Relations, Tufts University

5:15 pm          Keynote on topic of Immunology & Inflammation

Caroline Genco, PhD, Provost and Senior Vice President ad interim and Arthur E Spiller Professor of Immunology, Tufts University

5:40 pm           Opening of Networking Poster Session & Closing Remarks

William (Bill) Shaw, JD, Vice Provost of Research ad interim and Senior Director of Technology Transfer & Industry Collaboration, Tufts University

5:45 pm           Poster session, networking, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres (available throughout event)

Featuring presentations by Alexei Degterev, PhD, Xudong Li, PhD, Athena Papas DMD, PhD, Alexander (Sasha) Poltorak, PhD, Brian Timko, PhD, Christopher Wiley, PhD, Qiaobing Xu, PhD, Li Zeng, PhD, and many more cutting-edge researchers

Poster Session & Networking Reception Participants

Topic: Inflammation and cell death

Alexei Degterev, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Developmental, Molecular and Chemical Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine – Immunology/Inflammation focus: mechanisms and small molecule modulators of non-apoptotic cell death, inflammatory signaling downstream from RIPK kinases, autoimmunity, IBD, pulmonary diseases, multiple sclerosis, cancer

Andrew S. Greenberg, MD, Senior Scientist and Director, Obesity and Metabolism Team, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University; Dr. Robert and Veronica Atkins Professor in Metabolism and Nutrition, Tufts University School of Medicine; Associate Professor, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University; Physician, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Tufts Medical Center; Associate Director, Boston Nutrition Obesity Research Center.

Alexander (Sasha) Poltorak, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Immunology, Tufts University School of Medicine – Immunology/Inflammation focus: Acute inflammation, cytokine storm, septic shock, gram-negative sepsis, chronic inflammation.

Christopher Wiley, PhD, Scientist II, Basic Biology of Aging Team, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University – Immunology/Inflammation focus: Cellular senescence, senolysis, prostaglandins, oxylipins, lipids, aging, metabolism, SASP, inflammaging, ferroptosis

Tong Zheng, PhD, Scientist I, Neuroscience and Aging Team, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University – Immunology/Inflammation focus: Neuroinflammation, microglia, human neural progenitor cells, nutritional intervention

Topic: Chronic Inflammation and Inflammaging

Xudong Li, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology, Tufts University School of Medicine – Immunology/Inflammation focus:  Regulatory T cell (Treg) cell differentiation and reprogramming, autoimmune disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, IBD, cell therapy

Michael Lustgarten, PhD, Scientist II, Nutrition, Exercise Physiology, and Sarcopenia Team, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University – Immunology/Inflammation focus: Gut-Muscle axis; gut microbiome; gut bacteria; skeletal muscle; physical function; sarcopenia; short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs); gut bacterial metabolites

Athena S. Pappas, DMD PhD, Distinguished Professor of Diagnostic Sciences; Johansen Professor of Dental Research; Head of the Division of Oral Medicine, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine – Immunology/Inflammation focus: Sjogren's Disease, biomarkers (proteomic, exosomal, and microbiomic), clinical studies, disease treatment.

Evangelos Papathanasiou DDS, MS, DMD, PhD, MS, Associate Professor, Department of Periodontology, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine – Immunology/Inflammation focus: Inflammation, scar, wound healing, cleft lip, regeneration, bone, implants, periodontitis, peri-implantitis, biomarkers, animal models, clinical translational research

Marta Rodriguez-Garcia, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Immunology, Tufts University School of Medicine – Immunology/Inflammation focus: HIV infection, sexually transmitted infections, neutrophils, genital inflammation, innate immune protection, women’s reproductive health

Xiang-Dong Wang, MD, PhD, Senior Scientist, Nutrition and Cancer Biology Team, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University; Professor, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University

Li Zeng, PhD, Associate Professor Department of Immunology, Tufts University School of Medicine – Immunology/Inflammation focus: Osteoarthritis, chronic inflammation, cartilage, bone, animal model.

Topic: Inflammation and cardiovascular disease

Pilar Alcaide, PhD, Kenneth and JoAnn G. Wellner Professor, Department of Immunology, Tufts University School of Medicine – Immunology/Inflammation focus: Cardiac inflammation, cardiac fibrosis, heart failure, adaptive Immunity, T cells

Topic: Disease Models, Tissue Engineering and Delivery

David Kaplan, PhD, Stern Family Endowed Professor of Engineering; Distinguished University Professor; Professor and Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University School of Engineering – Immunology/Inflammation focus: Intestinal tissue engineering, organoids, inflammatory bowel disease, silk, biomaterials

Brian P. Timko, PhD, Assistant Professor Tufts University Department of Biomedical Engineering – Immunology/Inflammation focus: Bioelectronics, electrophysiology, biomaterials, tissue engineering, disease modeling, hybrid tissues

Qiaobing Xu, PhD,  Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Tufts University School of Engineering – Immunology/Inflammation focus: biomaterials, drug delivery, micro/nanofabrication, tissue engineering