Tasleem Samji, PhDTasleem (Taz) graduated from Peterhouse College, University of Cambridge UK in 2007 with a Masters of Science in Biochemistry and an BA in Natural Sciences. She spent one year of her undergraduate studies participating in the Cambridge – MIT exchange, where she worked in Tyler Jacks’ laboratory studying pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. She also participated in the Cold Spring Harbor Summer Research Program in 2005, in Dr. Senthil Muthuswamy’s laboratory working on breast cancer. She completed her Master’s in Dr. Andrew Lever’s laboratory studying the interaction between matrix, a protein made by Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1), and a cellular protein eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5b (eIF5b) and the role this plays in the translation of the HIV-1 viral genome. She completed her PhD in Microbiology in Dr Robert Means’ laboratory at Yale University in 2013, where she studied the role of K5, a protein expressed by Kaposi’s sarcoma associated herpesvirus (KSHV, also known as human Herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8)), and its interaction with the Notch signaling pathway in modulating viral latency. At UConn Health, her studies focus on identifying and understanding the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the development of memory CD8+ T cells. She focuses on studying the development of CD8+ T cells in the context of Listeria monocytogenes and Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection utilizing RNA-Sequencing to identify lncRNAs.
Ph.D., Yale University Postdoc, Khanna Lab (UConn and NYU Langone) Currently at Regeneron |
Publications |
Perez OA, Yeung ST, Vera-Licona P, Romagnoli PA, Samji T, Ural BB, Maher L, Tanaka M, Khanna KM. CD169+ macrophages orchestrate innate immune responses by regulating bacterial localization in the spleen. Sci Immunol. 2017 Oct 6;2(16). pii: eaah5520. doi: 10.1126/sciimmunol.aah5520. PMID: 28986418
Samji T, Khanna KM. Understanding memory CD8+ T cells. Immunol Lett. 2017 May;185:32-39. doi: 10.1016/j.imlet.2017.02.012. Epub 2017 Mar 6. Review. PMID: 28274794 Benechet AP, Menon M, Xu D, Samji T, Maher L, Murooka TT, Mempel TR, Sheridan BS, Lemoine FM, Khanna KM. T cell-intrinsic S1PR1 regulates endogenous effector T-cell egress dynamics from lymph nodes during infection. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2016;113(8):2182-7. Samji T, Hong S, Means RE. The Membrane Associated RING-CH Proteins: A Family of E3 Ligases with Diverse Roles through the Cell. International Scholarly Research Notices. 2014;637295. Review. Zhao P, Samji T, Carleton HA. Focus: Immunology and immunotherapeutics. Introduction. Yale J Biol Med. 2011;84(4):331-2. Kunjappu MJ, Samji T. Introduction: educational topics important to medical and graduate students. Yale J Biol Med. 2011;84(4)177-9. Samji T. Combating evolving pathogens. Introduction. Yale J Biol Med. 2010;83(4)169-70. Steitz J, Borah S, Cazalla D, Fok V, Lytle R, Mitton-Fry R, Riley K, Samji T. Noncoding RNPs of viral origin. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol. 2011;3(3) Reivew. Samji T. Influenza A: understanding the viral life cycle. Yale J Biol Med. 2009;82(4):153-9. Review. Samji T. PIWI, piRNAs, and germline stem cells: what's the link?. Yale J Biol Med. 2009;82(3):121-4. |