Jenna Bartley
University of Connecticut, CT·Microbiology & Immunology
Flu shots work less well in older adults, and influenza remains a leading cause of death in this group. With age, T cells multiply less after vaccination, B cells respond poorly, and antibody levels stay lower.
- Fields
Microbiology & Immunology
Medicine & Clinical Research
Pharmacology
- Topics
immunosenescence
aging
geroscience
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Oct 2027
What they work on
- Test whether clearing senescent cells with senolytic drugs before vaccination improves cell-mediated and antibody responses to recombinant flu nucleoprotein and adjuvanted inactivated flu vaccines in aged mice.
- Determine whether senolytic pre-treatment improves protection when vaccinated young and aged mice are later infected with influenza, comparing T cell and B cell responses.
- Examine whether the inflammatory secretions of senescent cells (SASP) impair human CD4 T cell and B cell responses, by culturing human cells in media conditioned by senescent cells.
More about the research
Existing approaches each fix a single defect and do not fully restore protection. This project takes a different approach, one consistent with the geroscience hypothesis, the idea that targeting the biology of aging itself can address many age-related problems at once.
Why it matters
Older adults could benefit if clearing senescent cells makes flu vaccines more protective. The project tests whether senolytic drugs, already shown safe in some human pilot studies, could be given before vaccination to strengthen immune responses. This could reduce severe influenza and deaths in aging populations.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Toren Finkel
University of Pittsburgh, PA·Biology
Build a high-resolution map of senescent cells, cells that stop dividing permanently, in human lung and heart, using single-cell RNA and ATAC sequencing, proteomics and spatial transcriptomics.
Stephen C Jameson
University of Minnesota, MN·Microbiology & Immunology
Build mouse model systems to define the development, maintenance and antigen specificity of Helios+ CD8+ T cells, a memory-phenotype population proposed to restrain excessive and self-directed immune responses.
Yanjiao Zhou
University of Connecticut, CT·Microbiology & Immunology
Test whether senescent cells reshape the gut microbiome and its metabolites by transplanting or genetically clearing senescent cells in older male and female mice, using the p21-Cre mouse model.
The school
University of Connecticut: 31 labs on PI Pages, $434M a year on research, 360 research doctorates a year.
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