{"691086":{"#nid":"691086","#data":{"type":"event","title":"Immunoengineering Trainee Seminar","body":[{"value":"\u003Ch6\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFeatured Speakers:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h6\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201c\u003Cem\u003EEngineered Nanowires for miRNA-Mediated Control of T Cell Exhaustion\u003C\/em\u003E\u201d - Shaylyn Grier, Ph.D. student, Ankur Singh, Advisor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch6\u003EAbstract\u003C\/h6\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPersistent antigen exposure in cancer and chronic infection can drive T cell exhaustion, limiting the long-term effectiveness of adoptive cell therapies. A stem-like subset of exhausted T cells, known as progenitor exhausted T cells (Texprog), is associated with more durable immune responses and improved responses to immunotherapy, but is often present at low and variable levels. Here, we developed a silicon nanowire-based platform to deliver regulatory microRNAs directly into na\u00efve mouse and human T cells, enabling early cellular programming before differentiation. Across mouse and human tumor models, including a three-dimensional diffuse large B-cell lymphoma organoid system, microRNA delivery increased features associated with Texprog, reduced signs of terminal exhaustion, improved cell survival, and maintained T cell function. These findings suggest that nanowire-mediated microRNA delivery can guide T cells toward a more persistent and therapeutically beneficial state, providing a promising strategy to enhance the effectiveness of adoptive T cell therapies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022\u003Cem\u003ETranscriptional Drivers of Impaired B Cell Immunity in Lymphoma Survivors\u003C\/em\u003E\u0022 - Rachel Ringquist, Ph.D., Ankur Singh, Advisor.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch6\u003EAbstract\u003C\/h6\u003E\u003Cp\u003ER-CHOP, a combination of chemotherapy and the anti-CD20 antibody rituximab, is the standard first-line treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). While highly effective, recent studies have shown that patients treated with R-CHOP exhibit significantly diminished B cell responses even years after treatment concludes. Here, we aimed to identify transcriptional drivers of these diminished responses using an in vitro immune organoid platform that recapitulates B cell activation and maturation within the lymph node microenvironment. We profiled B cells from lymphoma survivors and found that our organoid system stratified donors into low, moderate, and high responders following influenza stimulation. Using single-cell RNA sequencing we identified unique transcriptional programs driving the observed functional differences between low and high responders. Furthermore, through single-cell BCR sequencing, we identified key differences in the clonal B cell responses between high and low responders. These results demonstrate that immune organoids can capture clinically meaningful heterogeneity in post-treatment B cell function, offering a platform for dissecting the mechanisms underlying impaired humoral immunity in lymphoma survivors.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe Immunoengineering Training Seminar Series is supported by the NIH T32 Research Training Program in Immunoengineering and housed within the\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/immunoengineering.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECenter for Immunoengineering at Georgia Tech\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERachel Ringquist, Ph.D. and Shaylyn Grier Ph.D. Student, Ankur Singh, Advisor\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Rachel Ringquist, Ph.D. and Shaylyn Grier Ph.D. Student, Ankur Singh, Advisor"}],"uid":"35486","created_gmt":"2026-07-10 18:24:11","changed_gmt":"2026-07-24 11:52:13","author":"Christina Wessels","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-07-31T13:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2026-07-31T14:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-07-31T14:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-07-31 17:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2026-07-31 18:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-07-31 18:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"Petit Biotech Building (IBB), Suddath Seminar Room 1128, 315 Ferst Drive","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"},{"id":"189814","name":"go-researchevents"},{"id":"126601","name":"go-ImmunoEngineering"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1795","name":"Seminar\/Lecture\/Colloquium"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78761","name":"Faculty\/Staff"},{"id":"177814","name":"Postdoc"},{"id":"174045","name":"Graduate students"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}