Seminars offer broader views of immunology
Education is core to our mission, which is why IMMCG regularly offers seminars for those interested in deepening their understanding of immunology.
Organized by IMMCG faculty member Marco Orecchioni, PhD, these external seminars are open to any and all, whether you are part of Augusta University or from the community.
Unless otherwise noted, seminars are held at noon Thursdays in the Knox Foundation Community Room (CN1209) on the first-floor of the Georgia Cancer Center's M. Bert Storey Research Building.
Upcoming Seminars
Chrystal Paulos, PhD
David H. Lawson Professorship in Cancer Research
Professor, Department of Surgery, Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Emory University School of Medicine
Co-Leader, Cancer Immunology Research Program
Director, Translational Research for Cutaneous Malignancies
Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
April 2, 2026
Thursday, April 2, at 12:00 p.m., CN 1209
Title: “Next-Generation T Cell Therapy for Treatment-Resistant Cancers"
Past Seminars
2026
“LAG-3: The Third Checkpoint Inhibitor & its Synergistic Interactions with PD1" by Dario A. Vignali, PhD
- March 25, 2026
Dario A. Vignali, PhD
Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Immunology
Frank Dixon Chair in Cancer Immunology
Co-Leader of the Cancer Immunology & Immunotherapy Program
Co-Director of the Cancer Immunology Training Program
Scientific Director of Fondazione Ri.MED
Associate Director for Scientific Strategy, UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
University of Pittsburgh
“Heart-brain Communication in Cardiovascular Disease” by Filip Swirski, PhD
- March 5, 2026
Filip Swirski, PhD
Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)
Professor of Diagnostic, Molecular, and Interventional Radiology
Professor of Immunology and Immunotherapy
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
“New Insights into Platelet G Protein Signaliing and Integrin Affinity Regulation" by Wolfgang Bergmeier, PhD
- February 26, 2026
Wolfgang Bergmeier, PhD
Associate Chair of Education & Training
Director of Graduate Studies
Professor of Biochemistry & Biophysics
Sustainability Committee Faculty Sponsor
Community and Engagement Committee Member, Curriculum and Scholarship
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
“Tissue and Age Determinants of Human Adaptive Immunity” by Donna L. Farber, PhD
- February 5, 2026
Donna L. Farber, PhD
George H. Humphreys II Professor of Surgical Sciences
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Director, Human Tissue Immunity and Disease Initiative
Chief, Division of Surgical Sciences
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
“PROTACs, Molecular Glues, and Beyond: Mechanisms and Applications in Disease and Biology” by Dongwen Lyu, PhD
- January 29, 2026
Dongwen Lyu, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy
Medical College of Georgia
Georgia Cancer Center
Augusta University
“Interpretable Machine Learning and Protein Network-Based Approaches for Biological Discovery from Multi-Omnic Datasets” by Javad Rahimikollu, PhD
- January 15, 2026
Javad Rahimikollu, PhD
Research Data Scientist
Computational Biology
Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh
"Updates in Clinical Immunology: Bench to Bedside” by Brent Griffin, MD
- January 8, 2026
Brent Griffin, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatrics: Allergy-Immunology and Rheumatology
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
2025
Markus Sperandio, PhD
- December 11, 2025
Markus Sperandio, PhD
Professor
Institute of Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathophysiology
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
“Adjuvants: Harnessing Their Potential Beyond Vaccines” by Koji Kobiyama, PhD
- December 4, 2025
Koji Kobiyama, PhD
Associate Project Scientist, Medicine
University of California, San Diego
Virginia Shapiro, PhD
- October 23, 2025
Virginia Shapiro, PhD
Leader, David F. and Margaret T. Grohne Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapeutics Research
Program
Associate dean for Faculty Affairs
Assistant chair, Department of Immunology
Mayo Clinic
"Inflammation Memory and Immune Therapeutics for Cardiovascular Disease” by Liwu Li, PhD
- October 2, 2025
Liwu Li, PhD
Fellow, American Heart Association,
Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Director, Program in Genetics, Bioinformatics & Computational Biology
Professor of Inflammation Biology and Immunology, Department of Biological Sciences
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Carilion School of Medicine
Virginia Tech
“Barrier Tissue Immunity Against Pathogenic and Commensal Fungi” by Eric Dang, PhD
- September 4, 2025
Eric Dang, PhD
Tenure-Track Investigator
Laboratory of Host Immunity and Microbiome
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
"Regulation of Cellular Immunity by Microvascular Endothelial Cells" by Ulrich H. von Andrian, PhD
- June 12, 2025
Ulrich H. von Andrian, PhD
Mallinckrodt Professor of Immunopathology
Program leader of Basic Immunology
Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard Medical School
“Mechanisms of HIV-Associated Endothelial Dysfunction and Hypertension" by Eric J. Belin de Chantemèle, DSc
- May 20, 2025
Eric J. Belin de Chantemèle, DSc
Leon Henri Charbonnier Endowed Chair
Regents' Professor
Associate Director
Vascular Biology Center
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
“Cancer and cardiovascular disease: Defining how the world’s two leading killers interact and how they can be simultaneously targeted” by Nicholas J. Leeper, MD
- April 15, 2025
Nicholas J. Leeper, MD
Professor of Surgery
Chief of Vascular Medicine/Vascular Surgery
Director of Vascular Surgery Research
Stanford University School of Medicine
“Targeting Trem2 on Foam Cells in Atherosclerosis” by Jesse Williams, PhD, FAHA
- March 25, 2025
Jesse Williams, PhD, FAHA
Assistant Professor, Department of Integrative Biology & Physiology
Center for Immunology
University of Minnesota Medical School
“Monocytes/MacRophages in Atherosclerosis” by Alma Zernecke-Madsen, MD
- March 18, 2025
Alma Zernecke-Madsen, MD
Professor
Head of the Institute of Experimental Biomedicine II
University Hospital (Wurzburg, Germany)
“Molecular and cellular regulation of inflammation” by Ivan Zanoni, PhD
- March 11, 2025
Ivan Zanoni, PhD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Boston Children’s Hospital Chair, Immunology
Director of Basic Research in Immunology
Boston Children’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School
“Translating Mechanisms of T Cell Exhaustion into Durable Tumor Immunotherapy” by Benjamin Youngblood, PhD
- March 4, 2025
Benjamin Youngblood, PhD
Faculty Member
Department of Immunology
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
“Lipids and Vascular Inflamation: From Obvious to Obscure" by Katey Rayner, PhD, FAHA
- February 25, 2025
Katey Rayner, PhD, FAHA
Chief Scientific Officer
VP of Research
Professor
Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, & Immunology
Faculty of Medicine
University of Ottawa Heart Institute
“Effects of Lithium on Calcium Signaling and Immune Landscape in the Kidney" by Mykola Mamenko, PhD, FAHA
- February 11, 2025
Mykola Mamenko, PhD, FAHA
Assistant Professor
Department of Physiology
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
"Mapping Neutrophils" by Andres Hidalgo, PhD
- February 4, 2025
Andres Hidalgo, PhD
Professor
Department of Immunobiology
Yale School of Medicine
2024
“Immune Mechanisms as Amplifiers of Salt-Sensitive Hypertension & Kidney Damage” by David Mattson, PhD
- December 3, 2024
David Mattson, PhD
Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar in
Hypertension
Department Chair
Professor
Department of Physiology
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
“Expanding Medicinal Chemistry Tools to Drug 'Undruggable' Targets" by Matteo Borgini, PhD
- November 19, 2024
Matteo Borgini, PhD
Assistant Professor
Deptartment of Chemistry & Biochemistry
College of Science and Mathematics
Augusta University
“Immunology in Context: Mechanisms Supporting Tissue-Resident Immunity" by Nicholas Jarjour, PhD
- August 22, 2024
Nicholas Jarjour, PhD
Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
Center for Immunology
University of Minnesota
“The Lupus Experience: Bridging the Gap” by Jade Nealious
- August 9, 2024
Jade Nealious
Founder and Executive Director
Crowning Lupus
“It Takes Two to Tango: Crosstalk between Endothelium and Myeloid Cells in Development and Disease" by Luisa Iruela-Arispe, PhD
- August 6, 2024
Luisa Iruela-Arispe, PhD
Department Chair
Stephen Walter Ranson Professor
Department of Cell & Developmental Biology
Feinberg School of Medicine
Northwestern University
“Contribution of Diet and Sex to Gut-Immune-Kidney Crosstalk in Hypertension" by Justine Abais-Battad, PhD
- July 30, 2024
Justine Abais-Battad, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Physiology
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
“The Role of Macrophages in the Context of Aging and Myocardial Infraction" by Partha Dutta, DVM, PhD
- June 27, 2024
Partha Dutta, DVM, PhD
Associate Professor of Immunology
Department of Immunology
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
"From Lawful Good to Chaotic Eveil: Exploring Protective and Pathogenic Roles of Germinal Centers" by Phillip P. Domeier, PhD
- May 28, 2024
Phillip P. Domeier, PhD
Staff Scientist
Ziegler Laboratory
Benaroya Research Institute
“Neuroimmune Cardiovascular Interfaces in Atherosclerosis" by Sarajo Mohanta, PhD
- May 23, 2024
Sarajo Mohanta, PhD
Independent Cardiovascular Group Leader, Department of Medicine
Institute for Cardiovascular Prevention
Ludwig-Maximilians University
"Geographic Health Disparities and Global Health" by Neil J. MacKinnon, PhD
- May 21, 2024
Neil J. MacKinnon, PhD
Provost & Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Chief Academic Officer
Augusta University
“TLR4 Inflammarafts as a New Therapeutic Target in Vascular and Neuro Inflammation" by Yury Miller, MD, PhD
- May 14, 2024
Yury Miller, MD, PhD
Professor/Professor in Residence, Department of Medicine
University of California, San Diego
“Bio-Active Lipid Metabolites Modulate Clinical Cancer Immunotherapy Outcomes" by Sonia Sharma, PhD
- April 23, 2024
Sonia Sharma, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Immunology
Center for Cancer Immunotherapy
La Jolla Institute for Immunology
“T Follicular Helper (TFH) Cells, CD4+ T Cell Responses, and Beyond" by Hui Hu, PhD
- April 18, 2024
Hui Hu, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology
University of Alabama at Birmingham
“Host-Gut Microbiota Crosstalk in Cardiometabolic Disease: Multi-Omnics Data Integration in Human Population Studies" by Qibin Qi, PhD
- April 16, 2024
Qibin Qi, PhD
Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Population Health
Associate Director, Einstein Center for Population Cohorts
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
“Single-Cell Spatial Omics Journey to Signaling and Metabolism of Immunity, Cancer, and Aging" by Ahmet F. Coskun, PhD
- March 19, 2024
Ahmet F. Coskun, PhD
Assistant Professor, Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering
College of Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University
"Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid Cells 1 (TREM1): A New Target for Cancer Therapy" by Anatolij Horuzsko, MD, PhD
- March 12, 2024
Anatolij Horuzsko, MD, PhD
Professor or Medicine
Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Professor of Graduate Studies
Medical College of Georgia
Georgia Cancer Center
"Pro-Inflammatory Gene Expression Changes With Age in Men and Women With and Without Coronary Artery Disease" by Amir Khan, PhD
- February 22, 2024
Amir Khan, PhD
Post Doctoral Fellow
Immunology Center of Georgia
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
"Regulation of Systemic Inflatmmation Assocaited Organ Dysfunction by the WNT Pathway" by TianXiang Hu, PhD
- February 13, 2024
TianXiang Hu, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Medical College of Georgia
Georgia Cancer Center
The Graduate School
Augusta University
2023
"Regulation of Systemic Inflammation Associated Organ Dysfunction by the WNT Pathway" by Indumathi Manoharan, PhD
- Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023
Indumathi Manoharan, PhD
Assistant Research Scientist
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Georgia Cancer Center
Augusta University
"Manipulation of Antigen Specific Immunity with LEAPS Vaccines for Anti-Viral, Anti-Cancer, and Also Anti-Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapy" by Kenneth S. Rosenthal, PhD
- Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023
Kenneth S. Rosenthal, PhD
Professor of Immunology
Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership
"Immune Dysfunction Underlying Aging and Alzheimer's Disease" by Anshu Agrawal, PhD
- Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023
Anshu Agrawal, PhD
Professor in Residence
School of Medicine
University of California, Irvine
"Thresholdr: An Automated Method For Thresholding Cite-SEQ-Based Antibody Expression Date For Immune Cell Type Identification" by Mohammad Oliaeimotlagh, MD
- Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023
Mohammad Oliaeimotlagh, MD
Postdoctoral Fellow,
Immunology Center of Georgia
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
“Using Distinct CAR and TCR Signaling Cascades to Enhance Cellular Immunotherapy” by Nicholas R.J. Gascoigne, PhD, FRSB
- Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023
Nicholas R.J. Gascoigne, PhD, FRSB
Professor, Immunology Translational Research Programme, Cancer Translational Research
Programme, and Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
National University of Singapore
“Subsets of Pathogenic T cells in Ulcerative Colitis” by Mitchell Kronenberg, PhD
- Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023
Mitchell Kronenberg, PhD
Thursday, October 12 at 12:00 p.m., CN 1209
Chief Scientific Officer
Autoimmunity & Inflammation Center
Infectious Disease & Vaccine Research Center
La Jolla Institute for Immunology
“T1D from GWAS to Treg Therapy” by Jane Buckner, MD
- Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023
Jane Buckner, MD
President
Director, Translational Sample Core
Benaroya Research Institute
“Monocyte Heterogeneity and Origins” by Helen Goodridge, PhD
- Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023
Helen Goodridge, PhD
Professor of Biomedical Sciences
Associate Director of Discovery
Board of Governors
Regenerative Medicine Institute
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
“Leukemia-induced Macrophage in Stem Cells Leukemia/Lymphoma” by Ting Zhang, MD, PhD
- Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023
Ting Zhang, MD, PhD
Tianjin Medical University
Peking University
“Roles of mitofusin-2 in Neutrophil Adhesion and Development” by Zhichao Fan, PhD
- September 26, 2023
Zhichao Fan, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Immunology
UConn Health
“The Immunological Basis of the Antitumor Effect of a Novel RAS/b-catenin Dual Inhibitor” by Mohammad Yeashin Gazi, PhD
- August 31, 2023
Mohammad Yeashin Gazi, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Georgia Cancer Center
Augusta University
“New regulators of inflammation in the disordered vessel wall” by Wei Zhang, PhD
- August 17, 2023
Wei Zhang, PhD
Assistant Professor
Vascular Biology Center
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
“CXCR3 Expression in Myeloid Cells as a Predictive Biomarker for Immunotherapies" by Gabriel Valentin, PhD
- August 10, 2023
Gabriel Valentin, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Immunology Center of Georgia
Augusta University
“Systems Immunology: Doubling the Power of Single Cell Data in Unraveling the Complex Immune System” by Wan-Tien (Austin) Chiang, PhD
- July 20, 2023
Wan-Tien (Austin) Chiang, PhD
Assistant Project Scientist
University of California San Diego
"Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Flavivirus-Dendritic Cell Interactions” by Sujan Shresta, PhD
- June 13, 2023
Sujan Shresta, PhD
Professor
Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research
La Jolla Institute for Immunology
"Identification of master transcription factors for smooth muscle development and homeostasis” by Jiliang Zhou, MD, PhD
- June 8, 2023
Jiliang Zhou, MD, PhD
Professor
Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
"FACS based-FRET monitor β2 integrin conformation spreading” by Yan Wang, PhD
- June 1, 2023
Yan Wang, PhD
Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 12:00 p.m.
CN 1209
Postdoctoral Fellow
Ley Lab
Immunology Center of Georgia
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
"The effects of weight loss and regain on atherosclerosis” by Ada Weinstock, PhD
- May 23, 2023
Ada Weinstock, PhD
Assistant Professor
Biological Sciences Division
Section of Genetic Medicine
Department of Medicine
University of Chicago
"Single cell RNA sequencing reveals age effects on immune cell proportions and transcriptomes in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD)” by Amir Khan, PhD
- March 28, 2023
Amir Khan, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Ley Lab
Immunology Center of Georgia
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
"Exploring Neutrophil development and heterogeneity in homeostasis and infection through single cell transcriptomics” by Xuemei Xie, MD, PhD
- March 23, 2023
Xuemei "Fiona" Xie, MD, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Pathology
Boston Children’s Hospital
Harvard Medical School
"Heterogeneity of human small intestine T cells and their abnormal distribution in Crohn’s disease” by Natalia Jaeger, MSc
- March 21, 2023
Natalia Jaeger, MSc
PhD Candidate in Immunology
Department of Pathology & Immunology
Washington University
"Local complement-mediated signaling in response to a tumor antigen augments anti-tumor T cell responses” by Caryn L. Bird, PhD
- March 14, 2023
Caryn L. Bird, PhD
PhD Candidate
Johnson Lab
Cancer Immunology, Inflammation, and Tolerance Program
Georgia Cancer Center
Augusta University
"Nutrient Sensing of Apoptotic Cell-Derived Cargo Drives Inflammation Resolution” by Arif Yurdagul Jr., PhD
- March 7, 2023
Arif Yurdagul Jr., PhD
Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology
Cardiovascular Center for Diseases and Sciences
LSU Health Shreveport
"Single-cell RNA-sequencing Analysis of Transcriptional Regulatory Networks and Metabolic Pathways in Genetically Modified Tumor-specific CD4+ T cells” by Mercy Kihinde-Ige
- March 2, 2023
Mercy Kihinde-Ige
Graduate Research Assistant
Shi Lab
Georgia Cancer Center
Augusta University
"Novel strategies to enhance the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy – Sensitizing tumors and improving T cell function” by Ogacheko Okoko
- February 16, 2023
Ogacheko Okoko
Graduate Research Assistant
Zhou Lab
Immunology Center of Georgia
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
"Single cell transcriptomic changes of CD8T cells in male and female patients with coronary artery disease and diabetes" by Shahad Iqneibi, PhD
- February 2, 2023
Shahad Iqneibi, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Ley Lab
Immunology Center of Georgia
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
2022
“Single-Cell Transcriptomic Analysis of Retinal Microglia Heterogeneity: from Metabolic Profiles to Lineage Topology” by Huidong Shi, PhD
- December 6, 2022
Huidong Shi, PhD
Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar
Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Professor, Graduate Studies
Member, Molecular Oncology and Biomarkers Program
Georgia Cancer Center
Augusta University
“Tracking T cell reactivation during immunotherapy” by David Munn, MD
- November 29, 2022
David Munn, MD
Professor, Pediatric Oncology
Co-Director, Pediatric Immunotherapy Program
Medical College of Georgia
Georgia Cancer Center
Augusta University
"The affinity of antigen binding domain on CAR-T’s efficacy: Moderate may be better" by Yukai He, MD, PhD
- November 22, 2022
Yukai He, MD, PhD
Immunology Center of Georgia
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta Universitys
"Introduce an imaging modality new at AU, multiphoton and confocal intravital microscopy" by Heping Ma, MD
- November 15, 2022
Heping Ma, MD
Immunology Center of Georgia
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University
"The identity of the immunosuppressive myeloid cells emerging during chemotherapy-induced myelopoiesis" by Gang Zhou, PhD
- October 11, 2022
Gang Zhou, PhD
Zhou Lab
Immunology Center of Georgia
Medical College of Georgia
Georgia Cancer Center
Augusta University
"MLKL (Mixed Lineage Kinase Domain-Like Protein): An Immunometabolic Nexus of Cardiovascular Disease" by Adil Rasheed, PhD
- October 4, 2022
Adil Rasheed, PhD
Rasheed Lab
Immunology Center of Georgia
Medical College of Georgia
Augusta University