Researcher | Research Overview
Dr. Kagan's research focuses on understanding the organization of signal transduction pathways within cells of the mammalian immune system. As a model, he focuses his attention on members of the Toll-like Receptor family (TLR) family of proteins. TLRs play a critical role in the detection and elimination of infectious microorganisms that enter the human body. Signaling events that occur downstream from TLR-mediated microbial detection are the primary source of interest to the Kagan lab. Understanding the assembly and regulation of these signaling complexes is directly relevant to the study of human infections, autoimmunity and cancer.
The goals of Dr. Kagan's research include: Understanding the organization and recruitment of signaling proteins to active Toll-like Receptors in professional antigen presenting cells Understanding the molecular mechanisms governing crosstalk between functionally related signaling pathways in the human immune system Understanding how microbial pathogens can manipulate TLR signaling to promote their colonization and dissemination.
Researcher | Research Background
Jonathan Kagan trained with Craig Roy, receiving his Ph.D. in Microbial Pathogenesis from Yale University. He then performed postdoctoral training with Ruslan Medzhitov in the Immunobiology Department at the Yale University School of Medicine.