Harvard Catalyst Profiles

One project of the Lencer lab aims to understand how the epithelial-specific endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress sensor IRE1beta (ERN2) and its ubiquitously expressed paralogue IRE1alpha (ERN1) contribute to intestinal homeostasis and host defense. ER stress is implicated in the chronic inflammatory and other intestinal diseases. The outcomes of these studies will be informative of the host-microbiota interactions that regulate epithelial development and host defense. These projects offer excellent teaching platforms for students to learn research skills related to molecular biology; protein expression and purification; protein characterization, protein-protein interactions, and enzyme kinetics; mammalian cell culture (in particular with intestinal epithelial cells); in vivo models of microbial colonization and intestinal injury; and molecular and histologic analysis of inflammation. Students do not need to have prior research experience in these areas, but they must have a working understanding of biochemistry, cell biology, and general chemistry concepts from undergraduate and medical school coursework. Students will be supervised by both HMS faculty members Drs. Michael Grey PhD and Wayne Lencer MD and work closely with other members of our research team to learn new techniques, conduct experiments, and record and present their results. They will participate in weekly lab meetings and present results from their project at the end of the appointment. In addition, students will have access to seminars and enrichment opportunities offered through the Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, the Harvard Digestive Disease Center, and the entire Boston Children?s Hospital and Longwood Medical Area community.