Jacob Bedia

Program: Immunology

Current advisor: Jonathan R. Brestoff, MD, PhD, MPH

Undergraduate university: Stanford University, 2021

Enrollment year: 2022

Research summary
Mechanisms of Extracellular Mitochondria Uptake and Processing by Macrophages

In vivo, cells release a portion of their mitochondria into the extracellular (EC) space, generating a pool of EC-mitochondria in tissues and circulation. Macrophages regulate EC-mitochondria levels by capturing and processing them in a heparan sulfate-dependent manner. Previous work in the Brestoff Lab has demonstrated that this mitochondria transfer to macrophages is key to adipose tissue homeostasis and improves outcomes in primary mitochondrial diseases such as Leigh Syndrome. My project in the Brestoff Lab aims to characterize the uptake and processing pathways utilized by macrophages and identify the genes required for this process.

Graduate publications