Dr. James Lord, M.D., Ph.D., is a motivated senior gastroenterology fellow with a strong background in basic immunology research. His immediate career plans involve understanding how regulatory T cells (Tregs) fail to prevent inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease. He proposes to study dendritic cells (DC) in the surgically resected bowels of patients with IBD, to determine if and how certain subtypes of DC prevent Tregs from inhibiting other T cells. He plans to identify the surface receptors and soluble cytokines produced by these DC, and determine if these may impair Treg function. He also will determine if DC indirectly impair Treg function by altering the differentiation of other T cells to become less responsive to Treg-mediated inhibition. This research will be performed under the mentorship of Steven Ziegler, a well-established Treg biologist. The Ziegler lab is well equipped for molecular and cellular immunology research, and exists within the Benaroya Research Institute (BRI). The BRI is an academic research facility dedicated to the study of autoimmune and chronic inflammatory conditions, and as such contains many material and human resources vital to the study of human immunology. The BRI is itself affiliated with the University of Washington, which represents a large, prestigious and vibrant reseach [sic] community. The BRI is also affiliated with, and recruits study subjects from, the Virginia Mason Medical Center, which is one of the busiest tertiary referral centers for IBD in the Pacific Northwest. Dr. Lord's long-term career plans involve building upon his dual backgrounds in clinical gastroenterology and basic immunology to forge a link between the large clinical gastroenterology community and the strong basic immunology research community currently present in Seattle. His career development plan outlines a curriculum of research, didactic coursework, and local and national conference attendance, designed to foster his maturation into a successful translational researcher. Relevance to Public Health: Despite significant advances in our understanding of the immune system, IBD remains incurable, poorly understood, and both challenging and expensive to treat. If the proposed experiments reveal a fundamental mechanism by which IBD occurs, they may not only reveal new potential treatment strategies for tomorrow, but also allow physicians to better target the treatments they have today.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Clinical Investigator Award (CIA) (K08)
Project #
3K08DK081659-01S1
Application #
7808332
Study Section
Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases B Subcommittee (DDK)
Program Officer
Podskalny, Judith M,
Project Start
2008-08-25
Project End
2013-06-30
Budget Start
2008-08-25
Budget End
2009-06-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2009
Total Cost
$1,080
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Washington
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
605799469
City
Seattle
State
WA
Country
United States
Zip Code
98195
Lord, James; Chen, Janice; Thirlby, Richard C et al. (2015) T-cell receptor sequencing reveals the clonal diversity and overlap of colonic effector and FOXP3+ T cells in ulcerative colitis. Inflamm Bowel Dis 21:19-30
Lord, James D; Shows, Donna M; Chen, Janice et al. (2015) Human Blood and Mucosal Regulatory T Cells Express Activation Markers and Inhibitory Receptors in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. PLoS One 10:e0136485
Kurmaeva, E; Lord, J D; Zhang, S et al. (2014) T cell-associated ?4?7 but not ?4?1 integrin is required for the induction and perpetuation of chronic colitis. Mucosal Immunol 7:1354-65
Lord, James D; Chen, Janice; Kozarek, Richard A (2013) A case of fatal idiopathic enteritis and multiple opportunistic infections associated with dendritic cell deficiencies. J Gastrointestin Liver Dis 22:87-91
Lord, James D; Valliant-Saunders, Karine; Hahn, Hejin et al. (2012) Paradoxically increased FOXP3+ T cells in IBD do not preferentially express the isoform of FOXP3 lacking exon 2. Dig Dis Sci 57:2846-55
Lord, James D; Hackman, Robert C; Gooley, Ted A et al. (2011) Blood and gastric FOXP3+ T cells are not decreased in human gastric graft-versus-host disease. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 17:486-96
Lord, James D; Upton, Melissa P; Hwang, Joo Ha (2011) Confocal endomicroscopic evaluation of colorectal squamous metaplasia and dysplasia in ulcerative colitis. Gastrointest Endosc 73:1064-6
Bollyky, Paul L; Wu, Rebecca P; Falk, Ben A et al. (2011) ECM components guide IL-10 producing regulatory T-cell (TR1) induction from effector memory T-cell precursors. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108:7938-43