Kristin Patrick, PhD

My lab works to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of innate immune regulation in macrophages. While a rapid and robust innate immune response is needed to limit infection, a response that is too strong carries risks like cytokine storm. Therefore, macrophage gene expression needs to be tightly regulated. My lab works to implicate post-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms (e.g., pre-mRNA splicing, mRNA export, RNA decay/turnover, RNA localization etc.) in shaping inflammatory gene expression. We employ a multidisciplinary toolbox of protein and RNA biochemistry, transcriptomics, and microscopy-based approaches to tease apart pathways of interest in mechanistic detail. By highlighting new and unexpected ways that RBPs balance innate immune responses, our work furthers our understanding of how inflammation can be dysregulated during infection and in a variety of human diseases.

Keywords: Innate immunity, macrophage, gene expression, splicing, chromatin, transcription, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, intracellular bacterial pathogens.