Welcome to the Fowell Lab
at Cornell University
Understanding how tissue micro-environments shape immune function in infectious and inflammatory disease.
OUR RESEARCH
We are actively engaged in defining the signals that enable effector T cells to ‘find’ areas of infection and damage within inflamed tissues. We utilize intravital multiphoton microscopy and optogenetic tools to visualize and manipulate effector CD4+ T cells in situ.
These approaches have revealed extrinsic control of effector CD4+ T cell movement; with roles for chemokines in regulating accumulation and activation at inflamed sites, and roles for T cell integrins in promoting interactions with the extracellular matrix for guided movement. Intrinsic programming of effector CD4+ T cell subsets sets distinct thresholds for sensitivity to these extrinsic cues. By identifying key parameters for T cell effector activity in the inflamed dermis we aim to inform new inflammation-specific therapies.
LAB NEWS
April 2023
Dr. Fowell presented at the Cold Spring Harbor Systems Immunology meeting, which brought system biologists and immunologists together to share their diverse research on the organization, functions, and regulation of the immune system across experimental, computational, and mathematical disciplines.
March 2023
We held our (very belated) celebratory New Year's dinner at Coltivare in downtown Ithaca. The white elephant gift exchange was great fun, and it was wonderful to catch up with the partners and spouses who joined us.
February 2023
Congratulations to Anastasia Rup for her acceptance into the Biomedical & Biological Sciences PhD Program here at Cornell!
January 2023
We are actively seeking postdocs interested in studying the mechanisms of CD4 effector function, with open positions in Immunology, Bioinformatics, Computational biology, or In vivo imaging. See our Academic Jobs Online posting here.
December 2022
We had our first annual Cookie Exchange in lab to celebrate the past year of research. Happy Holidays!
November 2022
Congratulations to Marinel Ocasio-Rivera for completing her rotation project! This was her first rotation in BBS, and we wish her the best for her future placements.
October 2022
Welcome Daniel Netti, a new technician in the lab.
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Congratulations to Tiago Zilch for winning an AAI/NYIC Young Investigator Award! He received the award for his research presented at NYIC.
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The lab visited Cooperstown, New York for the 24th Annual Upstate New York Immunology Conference (NYIC). Tiago Zilch was selected for a poster talk, and Anastasia Rup and Evan Carter jointly presented a poster.
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Welcome Pamela Perez, our newest undergraduate student researcher.
September 2022
The lab attended the Cornell Immunogenomics Symposium hosted by the Center for Immunology, the Center for Vertebrate Genomics, and the Provost's Genome Biology Task Force. We enjoyed a number of talks from leading researchers in genomic immunology, gene editing, gut microbiome studies, and bioinformatics. Evan Carter and Anastasia Rup jointly presented a poster.
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Thanks to all the students, staff, and faculty who came to the lab's Sushi Social, our take on the biweekly TGIF event held in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology. It was a nice afternoon of socializing and rest to start the weekend.
August 2022
The lab attended the 21st Annual Biomedical & Biological Sciences (BBS) Symposium in the College of Veterinary Medicine, organized in part by our very own Tiago Zilch. Noor Bala, Alex McGurk, Anastasia Rup, Evan Carter, and Tiago exhibited posters at the end of the day, where first-year PhD students had the chance to sample research done in the BBS program.
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We had a celebratory lunch outing in Collegetown for Lwiza AitDowd and Nuzat Zaman, our undergraduate researchers. Congratulations and thank you for your hard work this summer!
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The lab attended the CCFI/CIHMID Research Symposium at Cornell University, where our undergraduates Lwiza AitDowd and Nuzat Zaman presented posters on their summer research projects. Anastasia Rup and Evan Carter also presented during the poster session.
July 2022
Congratulations to Tiago Zilch, now PhD Candidate, for passing your A-exam!
June 2022
Noor Bala and Dr. Fowell both gave talks at Chemotactic Cytokines, a Gordon Research Conference (GRC) held in Les Diablerets, Switzerland.
May 2022
The lab flew out to Portland, Oregon for IMMUNOLOGY2022, the annual meeting organized by AAI. Noor Bala and Tiago Zilch both presented posters. Noor also gave a podium presentation on her research during the Lymphocyte Homeostasis and Regulation symposium.
April 2022
Dr. Fowell gave the first talk of the 2nd Intercampus Immunology Symposium held at Cornell Tech in New York City, where Tiago Zilch, Anastasia Rup, and Evan Carter presented posters. The meeting brought together researchers from the Cornell Ithaca campus and Weill Cornell Medicine to establish collaborations and share their work on imaging, tissue immunity, immunogenomics, and the microbiome.
March 2022
The lab attended the 2022 CIHMID/CCFI Research Symposium on campus at Cornell University, where Alex McGurk and Tiago Zilch presented posters, and we heard a number of great talks from trainees and faculty.
February 2022
Congratulations to Lwiza AitDowd and Nuzat Zaman for their acceptance into the CIHMID Undergraduate Research Experience Program!
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Congratulations Noor Bala for winning an AAI Trainee Abstract Award! Her abstract has been selected for oral presentation in Block Symposia at IMMUNOLOGY2022, hosted by The American Association of Immunologists.
January 2022
Welcome Lwiza AitDowd, Shiveen Kumar, and Nuzat Zaman, our new undergraduate student researchers!
December 2021
We had a lovely holiday dinner out at The Heights to celebrate the end of the year. Thank you to the spouses and partners in attendance, it was wonderful to meet and catch up with you all.
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Check out the lab’s recent review on T cell activation niches for Immunological Reviews.
October 2021
Congrats Noor Bala for winning an AAI NYIC Young Investigator Award! She received the award after giving her poster talk at NYIC in Cooperstown, New York.
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Lab off to the 23rd Annual Upstate New York Immunology Conference (NYIC) – Cooperstown here we come.
September 2021
Welcome Anastasia Rup, Technician, to the lab!
August 2021
Hen Prizant’s perivascular activation niche paper is now out in Cell Reports. Congrats to all those who contributed. → https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109523
July 2021
Congrats Noor Bala on passing your A exam. Awesome job!
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Check out Dr. Fowell’s review on spatio-temporal control of effector T cell migration.
→ https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-021-00507-0
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Farewell Alex Iankoulska. Good luck in grad school!
May 2021
Welcome Tiago Zilch to the lab as a new grad student from the Biomedical & Biological Sciences PhD Program.
April 2021
Welcome Evan Moss Carter, our new Technician, to the lab!
March 2021
Congratulations Hen Prizant on your new Scientist position in the Oncology Biomarker Development, Cancer Immunotherapy group at Genentech. You’re going to do great things.
January 2021
The Fowell Lab arrives at Cornell. Thanks to the grad students who came with me on this journey, Noor Bala and Alex McGurk. Huge thanks to Scott Leddon, Senior Research Associate for making this move possible and for setting up the lab.
Selected Publications
CXCL10+ peripheral activation niches couple preferred sites of Th1 entry with optimal APC encounter
The spatiotemporal control of effector T cell migration
In situ neutrophil efferocytosis shapes T cell immunity to influenza infection
Programming of distinct chemokine-dependent and
-independent search strategies for Th1 and Th2 cells optimizes function at inflamed sites
Pivotal role for αV integrins in sustained Tfh support of the germinal center response for long-lived plasma cell generation
T cell activation niches—Optimizing T cell effector function in inflamed and infected tissues
CD4+ T cell interstitial migration controlled by fibronectin in the inflamed skin
CCL7 is a negative regulator of cutaneous inflammation following
Leishmania major infection
