Sam Murphy

Program: Immunology

Current advisor: Naresha Saligrama, PhD

Undergraduate university: Harvard University, 2017

Enrollment year: 2019

Research summary
Evaluating the role of CD8 T cells in EAE

This past summer I worked in the lab of Dr. Naresha Saligrama. My project seeks to contribute to our understanding of the role of CD8 T cells in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis called experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). As a first step, I am working to identify the critical antigen presenting cells (APCs) that activate CD8 T cells during the course of EAE. I am using beta-2-microglobulin floxed mice along with Cre-recombinase-expressing mice (RosaCre-ER, CD19 Cre-ERT2, TMEM119 Cre-ER, CD11c Cre, LysM Cre) to knockout MHC class I in specific cell populations. The resulting mice are immunized for MOG35-55-induced EAE, and the severity of disease is assessed, thereby determining the importance of MHC class I antigen presentation on specific APCs for EAE pathogenesis. Long term objectives for the project will focus on characterizing the T cell responses in mice with MHC class I absent on specific APCs. Using flow cytometry of surface phenotypic markers, intracellular cytokine staining, and ultimately single cell RNA and TCR sequencing, the effect of cell type-specific loss of MHC class I expression on CD4 and CD8 T cell responses during EAE will be defined in detail. and to enable further characterization of their specificity.

Graduate publications