Deepta Bhattacharya, PhD

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Professor, Immunobiology
Biography
Deepta Bhattacharya received his PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, studying the role of the NF-kB transcription factor in survival and B cell class switching. For his postdoctoral fellowship, he trained at Stanford University, studying the cell biology of hematopoietic stem cells and their differentiated progeny. In 2008, he began his own lab at Washington University in St. Louis, first as an Assistant Professor and then as a tenured Associate Professor. Dr. Bhattacharya returned in 2017 to his birthplace of Tucson to join the Department of Immunobiology, where his lab continues to study both stem cells and antibody responses to infections and vaccines.
Cancer Focus
Stem cells and lymphocytes of the immune lineage are both inherently programmable systems, designed to cope with a broad diversity of demands. Research in the Bhattacharya Lab merges the fields of stem cell biology and immunology to understand the basic biology of lymphocyte development, survival pathways that promote both plasma cell longevity and malignancies, and to develop creative translational strategies to combat cancer.
Selected Publications
Ripperger, T. J., J. L. Uhrlaub, M. Watanabe, R. Wong, Y. Castaneda, H. A. Pizzato, M. R. Thompson, C. Bradshaw, C. C. Weinkauf, C. Bime, et al., "Orthogonal SARS-CoV-2 Serological Assays Enable Surveillance of Low-Prevalence Communities and Reveal Durable Humoral Immunity.", Immunity, vol. 53, issue 5, pp. 925-933.e4, 2020 11 17. PMCID: PMC7554472 PMID: 33129373
Wong, R., J. A. Belk, J. Govero, J. L. Uhrlaub, D. Reinartz, H. Zhao, J. M. Errico, L. D'Souza, T. J. Ripperger, J. Nikolich-Žugich, et al., "Affinity-Restricted Memory B Cells Dominate Recall Responses to Heterologous Flaviviruses.", Immunity, vol. 53, issue 5, pp. 1078-1094.e7, 2020 Nov 17. PMCID: PMC7677180 PMID: 33010224
Lam, W. Y., A. Jash, C-H. Yao, L. D'Souza, R. Wong, R. M. Nunley, G. P. Meares, G. J. Patti, and D. Bhattacharya, "Metabolic and Transcriptional Modules Independently Diversify Plasma Cell Lifespan and Function.", Cell Rep, vol. 24, issue 9, pp. 2479-2492.e6, 2018 08 28. PMCID: PMC6172041 PMID: 30157439
Jash, A., Y. Wang, F. J. Weisel, C. D. Scharer, J. M. Boss, M. J. Shlomchik, and D. Bhattacharya, "ZBTB32 Restricts the Duration of Memory B Cell Recall Responses.", J Immunol, vol. 197, issue 4, pp. 1159-68, 2016 08 15. PMCID: PMC4975986 PMID: 27357154
Lam, W. Y., A. M. Becker, K. M. Kennerly, R. Wong, J. D. Curtis, E. M. Llufrio, K. S. McCommis, J. Fahrmann, H. A. Pizzato, R. M. Nunley, et al., "Mitochondrial Pyruvate Import Promotes Long-Term Survival of Antibody-Secreting Plasma Cells.", Immunity, vol. 45, issue 1, pp. 60-73, 2016 07 19. PMCID: PMC4956536 PMID: 27396958