Anna Huttenlocher
University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI·Microbiology & Immunology
Neutrophils are the most common white blood cells and are among the first to rush to infections and wounds. They are essential for fighting microbes, but they can also fuel chronic inflammation and even help tumors grow.
- Fields
Microbiology & Immunology
Biology
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
neutrophils
innate immunity
cell migration
- Grants
- 3 known grants, through Feb 2031
What they work on
- Map the transcriptional, epigenetic and metabolic differences among subtypes of human iPSC-derived neutrophils using single-cell multi-omics and optical metabolic imaging.
- Test how LPS treatment of progenitor cells 'trains' iNeutrophils for stronger responses, and screen their antimicrobial function in zebrafish larvae infected with bacteria or fungi.
- Identify new signals controlling neutrophil reverse migration and inflammation resolution during wound repair, building on the MYDGF pathway, using single-cell RNA-seq, genome editing and live imaging in zebrafish.
- Determine how neutrophils contribute to inflammation and progression in zebrafish melanoma and fibrolamellar carcinoma models, using real-time imaging of neutrophils, macrophages and cancer cells.
- Test roles of neutrophil genes p47phox and ptprja in neutrophil polarization and tumor progression, and examine neutrophil–macrophage cross-talk, guided by TRAPseq data.
More about the research
The central question across these projects is how neutrophils and other cells move through tissues, communicate and change their behavior during infection, wound healing and cancer. Much of the work uses zebrafish, whose transparent larvae allow living immune cells to be watched in real time.
Why it matters
Understanding how inflammation resolves and how neutrophils behave in tumors could inform new treatments for chronic and diabetic wounds, autoimmune disease, immune deficiencies and cancers such as melanoma and fibrolamellar liver cancer. Neutrophil-based approaches could also improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. Stem cell–derived neutrophils trained for stronger antimicrobial activity could provide a path toward engineered neutrophils for treating infections.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Nancy Speck
University of Pennsylvania, PA·Biology
Determine which components of the TGFβ/BMP signaling pathways must be inhibited, and at what time, to improve maturation of SMAD7-deficient pre-HSCs into HSCs, using a quantitative ex vivo culture system with mouse embryo cells.
Tara Deans
Georgia Institute of Technology, GA·Biomedical Engineering
Engineer synthetic gene networks that reprogram pluripotent stem cells to produce platelets with designed therapeutic functions.
Yuxuan Miao
University of Chicago, IL·Microbiology & Immunology
Use in vivo CRISPR screens and stem cell interactome sensors in mouse skin to find how epithelial stem cells remodel nearby immune cells into a temporary protective niche after wounding.
The school
University of Wisconsin-Madison: 91 labs on PI Pages, $1.9B a year on research, 854 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
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