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Dr. George Vlad is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology at Columbia University Medical Center. His research lab focuses on inducing antigen-specific immunological tolerance by leveraging the immune system's self-restricting mechanisms. Utilizing advanced molecular and cellular immunology techniques, he has established the crucial roles of inhibitory receptors ILT3 and ILT4 in acquiring a tolerogenic phenotype in professional and non-professional antigen presenting cells. His work shows that the expression of ILT3 in antigen presenting cells induces differentiation into antigen-specific CD8 T suppressor cells, facilitating a bi-directional interaction that triggers a cascade of events leading to graft adaptation and T cell unresponsiveness to alloantigens. Additionally, he has engineered a recombinant ILT3-Fc protein that demonstrates significant immunosuppressive properties, inhibiting xenospecific graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and inducing allogeneic tolerance in human pancreatic islet models. Currently, his studies are centered around the potential of ILT3-Fc as an immunosuppressive agent for transplantation and autoimmune diseases.
Department of Anthropology (GSAS)