Antonio Pagán

E-mail: pagan017@umn.edu

Thesis advisor: Marc Jenkins

Year entered: 2006

Degree received:
B.S., Molecular/Cell Biology, Haverford College, Haverford, PA 2004

Honors and awards:

• Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) Travel Award 2009
• John H. Wallace Diversity Scholarship 2008
• American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Minority Scientist Travel Award 2008
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pre-doctoral Immunology Training Grant, 2008-2010

Thesis research:
I am investigating the mechanisms by which the molecule CD28 enhances helper T cell memory formation. I am using peptide:Major Histocompatibility Class II (pMHCII) tetramers and a magnetic bead-based enrichment method developed in our lab to directly monitor by flow cytometry helper T cells specific for a bacteria-derived peptide:MHCII complex throughout the course of a bacterial infection. This approach enables the sensitive detection of low frequency, epitope-specific T cells in the context of a diverse and highly physiological immune response. I am using gene-targeted mice with mutations in CD28 or signaling molecules that associate with CD28 to identify molecular interactions involved in CD28-dependent memory generation in mice. This work should provide a clearer picture of the key mechanisms by which CD28 promotes helper T cell memory formation in the body.

Publications:

• Moon JJ, Chu HH, Hataye J, Pagán AJ, Pepper M, McLachlan JB, Zell T, and Jenkins MK. 2009. Tracking epitope-specific T cells. Nature Protocols. 4. 565-581.

• Pepper M, Linehan J, Pagán AJ, Zell T, Thamotharampillai D, Cleary PP, and Jenkins MK. Th1 memory decline is associated with insufficient IL-15-dependent proliferation and a short-lived CD27- subset. (Submitted)

• DeNucci CD, Pagán AJ, Mitchell JS, and Shimizu Y. Beta1 integrin controls alpha4 beta7 expression by counter-regulation. (Submitted)