Irta Fellow
Under the mentorship of Drs. Paul Love and Liqi Li, I investigated the epigenetic role that the histone demethylase Kdm1a (Lsd1) plays in T cell development. Studied how Ldb1 induces thymocyte self-renewal in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Elucidated how THEMIS modulates T cell signaling. I also gained a deep understanding of leukemia, hematopoiesis, next generation sequencing, T cell signaling, and epigenetics as well as the lab techniques required to study them.• Research resulted in four journal articles in Science Signaling, Journal of Experimental Medicine, and Blood in which I am an author.• Presented findings at the 2019 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Systems Immunology meeting in Cold Spring Harbor, New York and the 2018 American Association of Immunologists meeting in Austin, Texas.• NIH Intramural Research Training Award. Received continuous funding from 2016-2019 to conduct biomedical research at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).• Participated in teaching rounds at the NIH Clinical Center hematology/oncology ward to nurture my interests in immunotherapies such as the CAR T cell, gene therapy, the tumor microenvironment, and bone marrow transplantation.
