Research
We are interested to understand the development and biology of innate and adaptive immune cells. Innate immune cells are critical first responders to pathogens and cancerous cells, and also enhance the local antigen-specific immune reaction by engaging in intimate cross talk with adaptive immune cells. Conversely, innate cells can also mediate collateral tissue damage at sites of infection and inflammation, as well as promote immunosuppressive mechanisms, obstructing effective anti-tumor immunity. The functional complexity of innate cells stems from (i) their developmental diversification into distinct subsets, each with discrete functions, and (ii) their ability to undergo alternate functional polarization in the periphery depending on microenvironmental stimuli. How environmental signal and transcriptional regulatory networks (TRNs) govern immune cell development and functional specialization under homeostasis, inflammation, infection and cancer serves as our primary area of research.
We use genetically engineered mouse models, functional genetics/genomics and single cell technologies in the context of pathophysiological models to answer these fundamental questions.
Biography
Dr. Basu earned both her Master’s degree and PhD from Jadavpur University, a university ranked 5th among 2,000 universities in India. She completed her Master’s degree in 2001 in Biotechnology and her PhD in 2007 in Immunology of Infectious Disease.
Education & Professional Highlights
Education & Training
University of Calcutta, India
BSc (Honors), Physiology
08/1994-06/1997
University of Calcutta, India
MSc, Physiology
08/1997-06/1999
Jadavpur University, India
MTech, Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering
07/1999-06/2001
Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB) and Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India
PhD, Immunology and Infectious Diseases
07/2001-04/2007
PhD Thesis
Understanding Drug Resistance in Leishmaniasis.
Thesis Committee Members — Syamal Roy, PhD, Sanghamitra Raha, PhD, Subrata Pal, PhD.
Post-Graduate Training
INSERM U563, UMR 1043, Toulouse, France
Postdoctoral fellow
04/2007-04/2009
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Postdoctoral Associate
06/2009-12/2009
Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA
Postdoctoral fellow
02/2012-07/2015
Professional Appointments
Assistant Staff
Cleveland Clinic, Lerner Research Institute
Inflammation and Immunity
Cleveland, OH
02/2022-present
Assistant Research Professor
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Blood Cell Development and Function
Philadelphia, PA
08/2020-02/2022
Research Associate
Fox Chase Cancer Cente
Department Blood Cell Development and Function
Philadelphia, PA
08/2015-08/2020
Senior Scientific Officer/ Assistant Professor
Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI)
(Ministry for Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India)
Calcutta, India
2/2009-01/2012
Academic Appointments
Temporary Adjunct Assistant Professor of Molecular Medicine
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
Molecular Medicine
Cleveland, OH
06/06/2023-present
Membership in Professional Societies
American Association of Immunology
Member, 2022-present
Committee Service
Cleveland Clinic
Immunology Faculty Search Committee (LRI), Member
2022-Present
Honors & Awards
National Scholarship, Department of Education, Government of India, 1997-1999.
Human Resource Development Group (HRDG) Fellowship, Government of India, 1999-2001.
Junior Research Fellowship, CSIR, HRDG, Government of India, 2001-2003.
Senior Research Fellowship, CSIR, HRDG, Government of India, 2003-2006.
Research Fellowship, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, 2006-2007
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship: Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM) & Association pour la recherche sur le cancer (ARC) Government of France, 2007-2009
Marie Currie Fellowship and Mobility Award, European School of Molecular Medicine. European Union (EU), 2010.
William J. Avery Fellowship, W. J. Avery foundation, 2012-2015.
Best poster Award, Fox Chase Cancer center Annual research Day Symposium, 2017
Research
Overview
We are interested to understand the development and biology of innate and adaptive immune cells.
Our Team
Selected Publications
1. Zhou B*, Basu J*, Kazmi HR, Chitrala KN, Mo X, Preston-Alp S, Cai KQ, Kappes D, Zaidi MR. Interferon-gamma signaling promotes melanoma progression and metastasis. Oncogene. 42(5):351-363. 2023 (*(Equal contribution)
2. Basu J, Zha J, Nicolas E, Coulton M, Czyzewicz P, Hua X, Ge L, Kappes DJ. An autonomous TCR signal-sensing switch influences CD4/CD8 lineage choice in mice. Nature Commun Biol. 5(1):84. 2022.
3. Basu J, Reis BS, Peri S, Zha J, Hua X, Ge L, Ferchen K, Nicolas E, Czyzewicz P, Cai KQ, Tan Y, Fuxman Bass JI, Walhout AJM, Grimes HL, Grivennikov SI, Mucida D, Kappes DJ. Essential role of a ThPOK autoregulatory loop in the maintenance of mature CD4+ T cell identity and function. Nat Immunol. Aug;22(8):969-982. 2021.
4. Mookerjee-Basu J, Hooper R, Gross S, Schultz B, Go CK, Samakai E, Ladner J, Nicolas E, Tian Y, Zhou B, Zaidi MR, Tourtellotte W, He S, Zhang Y, Kappes DJ, Soboloff J. Suppression of Ca2+ signals by EGR4 controls Th1 differentiation and anti-cancer immunity in vivo. EMBO Rep. Mar 25:e48904, 2020.
5. Muench DE, Olsson A, Ferchen K, Pham G, Serafin RA, Chutipongtanate S, Dwivedi P, Baobao S, Hay S, Chetal K, Trump-Durbin LR, Mookerjee-Basu J, Z K,Zhang, Yu JC, Lutzko C, Myer KC, Nazor KL, Kappes DJ, Way SS, Salomonis N, Grimes HL. Nature. 2020. 582, 109–114 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2227-7. [Citations: 16]
6. Mookerjee-Basu J, Hua X, Ge L, Nicolas E, Li Q, Czyzewicz P, Zhongping D, Peri S, FuxmanBass JI, Walhout AJM, Kappes DJ. Functional Conservation of a Developmental Switch in Mammals since the Jurassic Age. Molecular Biology and Evolution 36(1):39-53, 2019
7. Mookerjee-Basu J, Kappes iNKT cells do a fat lot of good. Nat Immunol. 2016 Dec 16;18(1):10-12.
8. Lee HO*, He X*, Mookerjee-Basu J*, Zhongping D, Hua X, Nicolas E, Sulis ML, Ferrando AA, Testa JR, Kappes DJ. Disregulated expression of the transcription factor ThPOK during T-cell development leads to high incidence of T-cell lymphomas. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 112:7773-8, 2015. (Equal contribution).
9. Mookerjee-Basu J, Kappes D.J. New ingredients for brewing CD4(+)T (cells): TCF-1 and LEF-1. Nature Immunology 15(7):593-4, 2014.
10. Mookerjee-Basu, J.,* Vantourout, P.,* Martinez, L.O., Perret, B., Collet, X., Périgaud, C., Peyrottes, S., Champagne, E. F1-adenosine triphosphatase displays properties characteristic of an antigen presentation molecule for Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cells. J. Immunol. 184:6920-6928, 2010 (*Equal contribution)
11. Vantourout, P.,* Mookerjee-Basu, J.,* Rolland, C., Pont, F., Martin, H., Davrinche, C., Martinez, L.O., Perret, B., Collet, X., Périgaud, C., Peyrottes, S., Champagne, E. Specific requirements for Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cell stimulation by a natural adenylated phosphoantigen. J. Immunol. 183:3848-3857, 2009. (*Equal contribution)
Book & Book Chapters
1. Mookerjee Basu, J. and Kappes D.J. Encyclopedia of Immunobiology. (Editor: Ratcliffe M) Publisher: Elsevier. Oxford U.K. Chapter.CD4/CD8 Lineage commitment. 2016.
2. Mookerjee-Basu J, Chemmannur SV, Qin L, Kappes DJ. Chapter 5:ThPOK, a Key Regulator of T Cell Development and Function. In: Soboloff J, Kappes DJ, editors. Signaling Mechanisms Regulating T Cell Diversity and Function. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press/Taylor & Francis; 2018.
Patents
| US Patent | Patent Title | Issue Date | First-Named Inventor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08305187.0 | Nucleosidic phosphoantigens for use in Vgamma9Vdelta2 T cell-mediated therapy | 05/21/2008 | Jayati, Basu |
Careers
Research News
Neutrophils play an unexpected role as first-line defenders against infection, attacking bacteria and repairing damaged tissue.