Appointments:
Canada Research Chair in Human Immunology and Inflammation; Assistant Professor
Affiliations:
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Dalhousie University; Department of Pediatrics, IWK Health Centre
Research Interests:
Human immunology and inflammation, Cancer, Autoimmunity, Antitumor immunity, T cell- and B cell-mediated adaptive immunity, Precision medicine, Cancer immunotherapy, Nanotechnology-based photoimmuno therapy, Cellular immunotherapy.
Research Summary: Chronic diseases such as cancer are the leading causes of death across the globe. My research program studies immunoregulation in chronic diseases, including cancer. We employ cutting-edge systems and methods, including genetically modified murine systems, ‘omics’ and synthetic biology approaches, highly-parametric flow cytometry, and imaging, to understand the origins of the diseases and develop immunotherapies. We involve a leading-edge interdisciplinary team of established scientists, clinicians, and trainees to translate research findings into effective therapies.
What brought you to your current institution? 1) Research – Dalhousie is one of the top 15 research-intensive institutes in Canada and the leading institute in Atlantic Canada, and my Department (Microbiology and Immunology) has a long-standing reputation for quality academics and research in Canada, and 2) The city – Natural landscapes, moist weather, and diverse community of Halifax.
Hometown: Southern part of India
Why are you interested in your area of research? During my veterinary medicine, one lecture about the eradication of a deadly human disease, Smallpox, inspired me to become an Immunologist and focus my research on immunoregulation of chronic diseases.
Learn More about my research: https://medicine.dal.ca/departments/department-sites/microbiology/people/our-faculty/Umeshappa.html
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Yx1gxWUAAAAJ&hl=en
Twitter Account: Follow me on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/UmeshappaLab
Involvement with BHCRI to date:
Associate Member of BHCRI and supervisor of CRTP trainees. I hope to be able to support the cancer research community through my involvement with the Institute.
Email:
Recent News:
Recently, Dr. Umeshappa has been awarded Canada’s prestigious Canada Research Chair award in Human Immunology and inflammation. Through this global leadership position at Dalhousie, Dr. Umeshappa hopes to develop novel immunotherapies for chronic inflammatory diseases.
https://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/chairholders-titulaires/profile-eng.aspx?profileId=5604