Shelly Leung
e-mail address: sheleung@umich.edu

Mentor: James Baker, Jr., MD

Research Description

A new form of adjuvant, nanoemulsion (NE), is an oil-in-water emulsion prepared by high-speed homogenization of surfactants and solvents with an average droplet size of 200-600nm in diameter. In various animal models of disease, including hepatitis B, influenza, and RSV), it has been observed that intranasal administration of NE with antigen augmented humoral and cellular immune responses, conferring protection and attenuating disease. This makes NE a novel vaccine adjuvant that could potentiate adaptive immune responses for human vaccines. Broadly speaking, we hypothesize that NE induces cellular immunity by promoting cytokine expression, antigen presentation, and migration of APCs to draining lymph nodes to induce T cell proliferation and differentiation. However, the molecular and cellular targets of NE have yet to be fully understood. My studies aim to identify the innate pathways through which NE acts and compare these activities with those from other defined adjuvants to develop an understanding for how these adjuvants differ.

Publications

Chang DE, Leung S, Atkinson MR, Reifler A, Forger D, Ninfa AJ. (2010). Building biological memory by linking positive feedback loops. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 107(1): 175-180.

Abstracts

Leung S, Smith D, Myc A, Bielinska A, Baker JR. “Nanoemulsion and the Transcriptional Regulation of Th17 Cell Differentiation and Immunity.” Poster presented as part of the Herbert D. Doan Symposium on Nanomaterials and Nanotechniques for Biology, Ann Arbor, MI, April 18th, 2011; 18th Annual Spring Symposium of the Cellular Biotechnology Training Program, Ann Arbor, MI, April 27th, 2011; Department of Internal Medicine 19th Annual Research Day Symposium, Ann Arbor, MI, May 20th, 2011; 10th Annual Immunology Retreat, University of Michigan Program in Immunology, Ann Arbor, MI, May 26th, 2011.

Leung S, Smith D, Myc A, Morry J, Baker JR. "Towards elucidating the role of antigen-specific memory B cells in the anti-tumor response." Poster presented as part of the Herbert D. Doan Symposium on Nanomaterials and Nanotechniques for Biology, Ann Arbor, MI, 21st Sep. 2009.

Awards