Norihide Jo, MD, PhD, CRI-Irvington Postdoctoral Fellow Area of Research: All Cancers Dr. Norihide Jo is researching Follicular Dendritic Cell (FDC) development. FDC are vital for capturing and retaining antigens to organize immune B cell follicles and support extended immune surveillance. Despite their significance, FDC development remains poorly understood, and currently, there are no established methods for their in vitro production. Dr. Jo employs a unique scRNA-seq technique, using lymph node cells from newborn mice to study gene expression and cellular changes during FDC development. His research aims to understand how external elements and specific transcription factors influence FDC differentiation. Additionally, he is working on inducing FDCs from human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), mimicking early development phases. This involves exposing cells to specific cytokines and small molecules, co-culturing with specific cells, and utilizing retroviral transduction with transcription factors. Furthermore, Dr. Jo is examining the factors involved in transitioning one type of FDC to another, with a keen focus on Toll-like receptor signaling. This meticulous approach will not only contribute valuable knowledge to the field of FDC research but it is anticipated that it will facilitate the development of methods to improve anti-tumor immunity and response to checkpoint inhibitors. Projects and Grants Defining pathways of follicular dendritic cell development and generation from pluripotent stem cells
