Dr. Edelblum began her training in the Department of Cell & Developmental Biology at Vanderbilt University.
During her graduate training, Dr. Edelblum focused on the role of Raf-1 kinase in intestinal epithelial cell survival downstream of pro-inflammatory cytokine signaling and in response to acute colitis. Fascinated by the synergy between immunological, epithelial and microbial factors during the pathogenesis of colitis, she continued her training at The University of Chicago where she developed novel advanced live imaging approaches to visualize immune/epithelial interactions in the intestinal mucosa during exposure to enteric pathogens. Combining traditional cell biology and mucosal immunology techniques has allowed Dr. Edelblum to investigate gamma delta T cell migration and how direct contact between gamma delta T cells and enterocytes confer protection against enteric pathogen invasion. Dr. Edelblum's long-term research interests are to identify how gamma delta T cell/epithelial interactions shape innate immune responses to pathogenic and commensal bacteria as a means to treat inflammatory bowel disease.
Read more about her story as an IBD patient/scientist.
Read more about why scientists need to help educate IBD patients about basic immunology.
Education
B.S., Biology - Emory University
Ph.D., Cell & Developmental Biology - Vanderbilt University
Post-doc, Mucosal Immunology - The University of Chicago
Memberships
American Physiological Society GI & Liver Section
- Chair, Programming Committee, GI & Liver Section
American Gastroenterological Association
- IMIBD Section Councilor
Society of Mucosal Immunology
- Membership Committee
American Association of Immunologists
Crohn's and Colitis Foundation
- NSAC, Litwin Awards Reviewer
National Institutes of Health
- Standing member, DHMI
Funding Support
NIH NIDDK, NIAID, Crohn's and Colitis Foundation