Taylor, Justin J
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor of Medicine, Medicine: Infectious Diseases and International Health, Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology
Education
- PhD, Immunology, University of Pennsylvania
Contact Information
Email: crf2rg@virginia.edu
Research Disciplines
Biotechnology, Cancer Biology, Immunology, Infectious Diseases/Biodefense
Research Interests
B cell Analysis and Engineering
Research Description
The Taylor lab is focused on unlocking the potential of B cells to protect against infection, cancer, and other diseases where these cells could benefit human health. B cells are best known for their ability to produce protective antibodies in response to infection or vaccination. Unfortunately, there are many deadly infections where researchers have not been able to make a vaccine able to induce B cells to produce protective antibodies. The Taylor lab aims to help the development of protective vaccines by using powerful techniques to analyze B cells with the potential to antibodies that would protect against infectious diseases such as AIDS, Malaria and Syphilis.
Over the past few years strong evidence has indicated that B cells may play a role in killing tumor cells. While this vibrant area of research is still in the early stages, the Taylor lab has begun using their powerful approaches to study B cells targeting tumor cells in a rare but deadly skin cancer called Merkel Cell Carcinoma. As Merkel Cell Carcinoma cases continue to rise worldwide, the Taylor lab aims to understand the protective response of B cells targeting this cancer so therapies can be developed to stop this cancer.
In parallel, the Taylor lab has also developed a genetic engineering approach to make B cells produce protective or therapeutic antibodies. This approach aims to provide an alternative to vaccination for situations where ideal antibodies have been difficult to stimulate, or situations where individuals do not have an immune system able to produce protective antibodies on their own. Ongoing work is focused upon bringing engineered B cells to the clinic to treat or prevent infections, cancer, and other diseases.