The Harrison Lab

Research Overview

Glioblastomas are a highly malignant type of brain tumor with very few treatment options. Efforts in Dr. Harrison’s laboratory are aimed toward understanding mechanisms by which immune cells contribute to tumor progression and resistance to immunotherapies. We focus on myeloid cell populations that gain access to the glioma microenvironment, studying the mechanisms by which they traffic to the tumor and exert their immune-suppressive functions. The development and application of chemokine receptor antagonists to treat these human high-grade gliomas is also a primary goal of the laboratory.

My laboratory has a long history of characterizing roles of chemokines in various physiological and pathological states of the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. Of particular emphasis has been the study of the chemokine fractalkine (CX3CL1) and its receptor, CX3CR1, as well as more recent efforts to target the CCL2/CCL7/CCR2 axis. Historically, the scope of the research program has included in vitro and in vivo approaches that include 1) structure-function analysis of chemokines and chemokine receptors, 2) studies on the regulation of expression of chemokines and chemokine receptors, 3) understanding signaling mechanisms associated with chemokine receptor activation, 4) use of chemokine receptor-deficient mice, to address the role of various chemokine systems in disease, with recent focus on using these mice to understand the roles of chemokine in malignant glioma, and 5) use of chemokine receptor antagonists in animal models of glioblastoma.

CURRENT & UP TO DATE PUBLICATIONS

Recent Publications

Check out the recent publications from the Primary Investigator (PI), Dr. Jefferey Harrison.