Sarah Coffey

Program: Immunology

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

Undergraduate university: Princeton University, 2020

Enrollment year: 2022

Research summary
I am conducting research on mitochondria in immune cells in diseases including type II diabetes, obesity, and genetic mitochondrial diseases.

My current project focuses on understanding how mitochondria transplantation could be used as a therapy for genetic mitochondrial diseases. Our lab recently published a paper showing that transplantation of mitochondria isolated from healthy mice to mice with a monogenic form of Leigh syndrome, a severe neurodegenerative disease in which mitochondrial respiration is significantly impaired due to a mutation in electron transport chain complex I, significantly extends lifespan and improves neurologic function. My work aims to determine the mechanism for this effect and the impact of mitochondria transplantation on the immune system.

Graduate publications