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Catherine S. Branda, Ph.D. |
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I am a member of a multidisciplinary research team at SNL studying the innate immune response to pathogen infection. Innate immunity is our first line of response to microbial invasion, and subversion of innate immunity is a common strategy used by many pathogens, especially the emerging ones. The toll-like receptors (TLRs) are key sentries which recognize molecular signatures characteristic of pathogens; TLR3, for example, recognizes double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) indicative of viral infection, whereas TLR4 recognizes lipopolysaccharide (LPS) indicative of bacterial infection. Our current focus is on the activation and repression of TLR4 signaling in macrophages during infection by the bacterial pathogens Francisella tularensis and Yersinia pestis. Through development of a novel experimental device capable of high-throughput, high-resolution interrogation of single cells, we hope to greatly improve our molecular-level understanding of innate immunity and contribute to the effort to generate new diagnostics and therapeutics. | ||||||||||||
Recent Publications
Branda, C.S. and Dymecki, S.M. (2004)
"Talking about a revolution: The impact of site-specific recombinases on genetic analyses in mice."
Dev. Cell 6:7-28.
Goodman, S. J., Branda, C. S., Robinson, M. K., Burdine, R. D. and Stern, M. J. (2003)
"Alternative splicing affecting a novel domain in the C. elegans EGL-15 FGF receptor confers functional
specificity."
Development 130: 3757-3766.
Branda, C.S. and M.J. Stern (2000)
"Mechanisms controlling sex myoblast migration in Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodites."
Dev. Biol. 226: 137-151.
Branda, C.S. and M.J. Stern (1999)
"Cell migration and axon growth cone guidance in Caenorhabditis elegans."
Curr. Opin. Genet. Dev. 9: 479-484.
Burdine, R.D., Branda, C.S. and M.J. Stern (1998)
"EGL-17 (FGF) expression coordinates the attraction of the migrating sex myoblasts with vulval
induction in C. elegans."
Development 126: 1083-1093.
Harfe, B.D., Branda, C.S., Krause, M., Stern, M.J. and A. Fire (1998)
"MyoD and the specification of muscle and non-muscle fates during postembryonic development of
the C. elegans mesoderm."
Development 125: 2479-2488.
Chen, E.B., Branda, C.S. and M.J. Stern (1997)
"Genetic enhancers of sem-5 define components of the gonad-independent guidance mechanism
controlling sex myoblast migration in Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodites."
Dev. Biol. 182:88-100.
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Appointments
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Education
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Contact Information
Dr. Catherine S. Branda
cbranda@sandia.gov |