UChicago PME Immuno Seminar: Jacqueline Burke

The immune system’s capacity to distinguish self from non-self protects against infection but also drives rejection of transplanted organs and destruction of host tissues in autoimmune disease. Conventional immunosuppressive drugs blunt these responses broadly, leaving patients vulnerable to infection, malignancy, and drug-related toxicity. Our work applies principles of biomaterials engineering to create nanotherapeutics that teach the immune system antigen-specific tolerance while preserving normal defense mechanisms. Using biodegradable polymeric carriers, we target the delivery of immunomodulators to antigen-presenting cells, reprogramming them to induce regulatory T cells and suppress pathogenic effector responses. Preclinical studies demonstrate durable protection from allograft rejection and prevention of type 1 diabetes without global immunosuppression. This seminar will highlight the design principles, mechanistic insights, and translational strategies guiding these nanomaterial platforms toward clinical application in organ transplantation and autoimmune disease therapy.

Faculty host: Aaron Esser-Kahn