Joaquin Madrenas, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Immunobiology; Head of Immunology, Robarts Research Institute; Director, FOCIS Centre for Clinical Immunology and Immunotherapeutics
Why I Became a Scientist
Science is a lifestyle that provides opportunities for challenge, discovery, excitement, and amazement. This is, in my opinion, the perfect complement to a medical career of service to mankind and the improvement human health.
Research Summary
The research focus in the Madrenas laboratory is the discovery of those mechanisms that modulate the activation of T lymphocytes. These cells act as the “brain” of the immune response. As such, activation of T lymphocytes is a key step in the development of adaptive immunity. Knowing how T lymphocytes are turned on and off is essential to understand infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, allergies, and cancer, as well as transplant rejection. More importantly, our discoveries identify novel ways to develop treatments for these conditions.
Research Questions and Disease Implications
How are T cells turned on and off?
Implications in infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases (diabetes, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.), allergy, cancer and transplantation.
What determines the balance between microbial colonization and microbial infection?
Implications in infectious diseases, vaccine development, epidemics and pandemics.
How is the function of mitochondria regulated during cell activation?
Implications in inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases (diabetes, MS, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.), allergy, transplantation, neurodegeneration (Parkinson’s, Alzheimer), and aging.
Education
• ’82 MD (Barcelona)
• ’86 Nephrologist (Autonoma of Barcelona)
• ’88 MSc (Alberta)
• ’92 PhD (Alberta)
Training
• ’88 University of Alberta, Edmonton AB;
• ’92 NIH, Bethesda MD
Awards
• 1986 Royal Canadian Legion Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Canada
• 1987 National Kidney Foundation of Canada Post-Doctoral Fellowship
• 1988 Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Canada
• 1990 International Society of Nephrology Travel Grant
• 1991 Medical Research Council of Canada Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Canada
• 1991 Trainee Award of The Canadian Society for Clinical Investigation
• 1996 Kidney Foundation of Canada Scholarship Award
• 1998 Canada Foundation for Innovation Researcher Award
• 1999 Premier’s Research Excellence Award
• 2001 Tier II Canada Research Chair in Transplantation and Immunobiology
• 2001 Ontario Distinguished Researcher Award, Ontario Innovation Trust
• 2003 UWO Hippocratic Council Basic Science Teaching Award
• 2004 UWO Hippocratic Council Basic Science Teaching Award
• 2005 Who’s Who in Medical Sciences Education
• 2005 UWO Hippocratic Council Basic Science Teaching Award
• 2005 Dean’s Award of Excellence in Research
• 2006 Allison Knudsen Research Award, The Kidney Foundation of Canada.
• 2007 Tier I Canada Research Chair in Immunobiology
• 2007 Award of Appreciation, Sanofi-Aventis Biotech Challenge
• 2008 Canadian Who’s Who
• 2008 The Kidney Foundation of Canada John B. Dossetor Mission Award – Research.
• 2009 Professor Pro Tempore, Department of Medicine, The University of Mississippi Medical Center
• 2009 Schulich Leader Award of Excellence in Education
Publications
• Darlington PJ, Baroja ML, Chau TA, Siu E, Ling V, Carreno BM, Madrenas J. Surface CTLA-4 Partitions Within Lipid Rafts and Relocates to the Immunological Synapse in Conditions of T Cell Inactivation. J Exp Med 2002; 195: 1337.
• Madrenas J. A SLAT in the Th2 signalosome. Immunity 2003; 18: 459.
• Arp J, Kirchhof MG, Baroja ML, Nazarian SH, Chau TA, Strathdee CA, Ball EH, Madrenas J. Regulation of T cell activation by phosphodiesterase 4B2 requires its dynamic redistribution during synapse formation. Mol Cell Biol 2003; 23: 8042.
• Bueno C, Lemke CD, Criado G, Baroja ML, Ferguson SSG, Rahman AKMN, Tsoukas CD, McCormick JK, Madrenas J. Bacterial Superantigens Bypass Lck-Dependent TCR Signalling by Activating a Ga11-dependent, PLC--mediated Pathway. Immunity 2006; 25: 67. (Twice highlighted in Faculty of 1000 Biology: http://www.f1000biology.com/article/id/1033930/evaluation; editorial in Science STKE).
• Teft WA, Kirchhof MG, Madrenas J. A molecular perspective of CTLA-4 function. Annu Rev Immunol 2006; 24: 65.
• Chau TA, McCully ML, Brintnell W, An G, Kasper KJ, Vinés ED, Kubes P, Haeryfar SMM, McCormick JK, Cairns E, Heinrichs DE, Madrenas J. TLR2 Ligands on the Staphylococcal Cell Wall Down-regulate Superantigen-Induced T Cell Activation and Prevent Toxic Shock Syndrome. Nature Medicine 2009; in press.
Contact Information
Robarts Research Institute
Room 2.05, P.O. Box 5015, 100 Perth Drive
London, Ontario
Canada N6A 5K8
Telephone: (519) 663-5777, ext.: 24242
FAX: (519) 931-5268
http://www.robarts.ca/madrenas
Administrative assistant: Ms. Suzanne Campbell, scampbell@robarts.ca,
Telephone: (519) 663-5777, ext.: 24024