Hannah Dorando
Program: Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Current advisor: Jacqueline Elise Payton, MD, PhD
Undergraduate university: University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Research summary
I work in the lab of Dr. Jackie Payton, broadly studying gene regulation in lymphoma. The Payton lab previously identified genes upregulated in Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma (CTCL) patients that were resistant to histone deacetylase inhibitor therapy, including leukocyte autoimmune inhibitory receptor 2 (LAIR2). LAIR2 and its homolog, LAIR1, are specifically expressed in immune cells and their expression is elevated in autoimmune disease and infection. LAIR1 binds collagen and proteins with collagen-like domains and transmits inhibitory signals in immune cells. LAIR2 is a secreted protein that competes for the same substrates as LAIR1, thereby preventing inhibitory signaling in immune cells. The role of LAIR1&2 in aberrant immune cell trafficking in CTCL is unknown, and while infection and other inflammatory stimuli increase the expression of LAIR1&2, the transcriptional regulation of these genes is unknown. We aim to characterize a mechanism for dysregulation of the LAIR1&2 pathway in CTCL.
Graduate publications
Pyfrom SC, Quinn CC, Dorando HK, Luo H, Payton JE. 2020 BCALM (AC099524.1) Is a Human B Lymphocyte-Specific Long Noncoding RNA That Modulates B Cell Receptor-Mediated Calcium Signaling. J Immunol, 205(3):595-607.