Meet the Immunometabolism Symposium 2024 Speakers

After last year's successful inaugural symposium and with the help of the Program in Molecular Medicine, Program of Innate Immunity & Department of Dermatology, MetNet is pleased to host these wonderful speakers featuring exciting immunometabolism research.

This year's event will include four short talks from scientists at UMass Chan Medical School, a Keynote lecture by Dr. Jeff Rathmell from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, immediately followed by a reception for trainees to interact with the speakers.

Olink Proteomics and Agilent will present their technology during the break and the reception.  

Keynote Speaker   

Jeff Rathmell, PhD

Dr. Rathmell is the Associate Director of the Molecular Pathology & Immunology PhD Program, the Associate Director of the Institute for Infection, Immunology and Inflammation, a Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Immunobiology, a Professor of Pathology, Microbiology, and Immunology, a Professor of Cancer Biology, and the Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Immunobiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

He studies mechanisms by which extracellular cues influence lymphocyte death and differentiation in efforts to control inflammatory diseases and leukemia.   

Short Talks 

Meng-Ju Wu, PhD

Assistant Professor, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine 

Dr. Wu’s lab focuses on understanding how changes in metabolism and epigenetics contribute to cancer development and immune system evasion. Using techniques such as mouse models, cellular immunology, functional genomics, and single-cell profiling, they aim to uncover mechanisms that allow cancers to escape immune detection and develop new therapeutic strategies. Their goal is to translate these insights into novel, more effective, and personalized cancer therapies. Dr. Wu recently joined UMass Chan and is looking for talented students, postdocs, and research technicians.

Calvin Johnson

Graduate Student, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine

Calvin studies the immunosuppressive role of various cell types that aid the tumor cells in pancreatic cancer. He has discovered that PTHrP is a mediator of this immunosuppression and is currently developing anti-PTHrP therapies in mouse models to allow the immune cells to target the tumor cells.

Lorissa Smulan, PhD

Assistant Professor, Pulmonary Division, Department of Medicine

Dr. Smulan studies the interaction between infectious diseases and cell metabolism, and how M. tuberculosis-infected cells can change the metabolism of neighboring cells, thus altering their function and response. In the future, she will further explore the interactions between M. tuberculosis-infected macrophages and other immune cells and will explore host- and pathogen-dependent mechanisms of mitochondrial dysfunction in macrophages infected with M. tuberculosis to identify potential targets for host-directed therapy for tuberculosis.

Natalia Keterut-Carneirol, PhD

Post Doctoral Fellow, Division of Innate Immunity, Department of Medicine

Dr. Keterut-Carneirol’s current work is focused on elucidating the mechanism of action of a novel inflammasome inhibitor and its therapeutic potential. She is also interested in understanding mitochondria as a target to treat inflammasome-mediated inflammation.