Justin E Wilson, PhD
Cancer Biology Program
Biography
Justin E. Wilson received a B.A. in Biology from Castleton University. He then obtained his PhD from Albany Medical College studying the impact of Francisella tularensis infection on macrophage antigen presentation and T cell responses in the laboratory of Jim R. Drake. For his postdoctoral fellowship, he joined the laboratory of Jenny P-Y Ting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where his research focused on the role of the innate immune genes AIM2 and NLRP12 during the regulation of inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer development. Dr. Wilson joined the department of Immunobiology as an Assistant Professor in June of 2018.
Cancer Focus
The innate immune system has a large repertoire of receptors/sensors that respond to microbial components and host “danger signals” in order to regulate inflammation and immune responses. The dysregulation of many of these sensors has been linked to chronic inflammatory disorders (e.g., inflammatory bowel diseases) and multiple types of cancer, including colorectal cancer. My group’s research focuses on how the dynamic relationship between the intestinal microbiota and these innate immune sensors regulate the cell signaling events driving chronic inflammation and cancer development in the intestinal tract. We seek to treat these diseases through the manipulation of intestinal microbial ecology, targeting of cell signaling and redirection of immune activation.
Selected Publications
L. Chen, Wilson, J. E., Koenigsknecht, M. J., Chou, W. - C., Montgomery, S. A., Truax, A. D., W Brickey, J., Packey, C. D., Maharshak, N., Matsushima, G. K., Plevy, S. E., Young, V. B., R Sartor, B., and Ting, J. P. - Y., “NLRP12 attenuates colon inflammation by maintaining colonic microbial diversity and promoting protective commensal bacterial growth.”, Nat Immunol, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 541-551, 2017. PMCID: PMC5395345 PMID: 28288099
D. W. Bruce, Stefanski, H. E., Vincent, B. G., Dant, T. A., Reisdorf, S., Bommiasamy, H., Serody, D. A., Wilson, J. E., McKinnon, K. P., Shlomchik, W. D., Armistead, P. M., P Y Ting, J., Woosley, J. T., Blazar, B. R., Zaiss, D. M. W., McKenzie, A. N. J., Coghill, J. M., and Serody, J. S., “Type 2 innate lymphoid cells treat and prevent acute gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease.”, J Clin Invest, vol. 127, no. 5, pp. 1813-1825, 2017. PMCID: PMC5409787 PMID: 28375154
A. A Koblansky, Truax, A. D., Liu, R., Montgomery, S. A., Ding, S., Wilson, J. E., W Brickey, J., Mühlbauer, M., McFadden, R. - M. T., Hu, P., Li, Z., Jobin, C., Lund, P. Kay, and Ting, J. P. - Y., “The Innate Immune Receptor NLRX1 Functions as a Tumor Suppressor by Reducing Colon Tumorigenesis and Key Tumor-Promoting Signals.”, Cell Rep, vol. 14, no. 11, pp. 2562-75, 2016. PMCID: PMC4853907 PMID: 26971998
J. E. Wilson, Petrucelli, A. S., Chen, L., A Koblansky, A., Truax, A. D., Oyama, Y., Rogers, A. B., W Brickey, J., Wang, Y., Schneider, M., Mühlbauer, M., Chou, W. - C., Barker, B. R., Jobin, C., Allbritton, N. L., Ramsden, D. A., Davis, B. K., and P Y Ting, J., “Inflammasome-independent role of AIM2 in suppressing colon tumorigenesis via DNA-PK and Akt.”, Nat Med, vol. 21, no. 8, pp. 906-13, 2015. PMCID: PMC4529369 PMID: 26107252
I. C. Allen, Wilson, J. E., Schneider, M., Lich, J. D., Roberts, R. A., Arthur, J. C., Woodford, R. - M. T., Davis, B. K., Uronis, J. M., Herfarth, H. H., Jobin, C., Rogers, A. B., and Ting, J. P. - Y., “NLRP12 suppresses colon inflammation and tumorigenesis through the negative regulation of noncanonical NF-κB signaling.”, Immunity, vol. 36, no. 5, pp. 742-54, 2012. PMCID: PMC3658309 PMID: 22503542