Summer Learners !
The Messaoudi lab will host many summer learners to provide research opportunities and experiences.
Jude Koura will join us for his second year as a volunteer undergraduate researcher.
We will also host two high school students from the Future Deaf Scientist program.
Nick Keiran will join us as a volunteer undergraduate researcher.
June, 2025 New summer science program | ACTION program
Dr. Messaoudi Presents on Age-Mediated NTM Susceptibility at Ohio State
Dr. Ilhem Messaoudi visited the Ohio State University to present a talk titled “Age-mediated increased susceptibility to NTM pulmonary disease is driven by immune senescence and dysbiosis in the lung”.
June, 2025
New publication!
Our paper titled “Short-term heavy drinking in a non-human primate model skews monocytes toward a hypo-inflammatory phenotype” was published by Frontiers in Immunology. While we have previously profiled the effects of long term drinking, this is the first publication from the lab investigating short term drinking to help contextualize the dynamic longitudinal changes associated with alcohol consumption.
June, 2025 Access the paper
Nontuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) Conference
Ethan Napier gave a talk titled “M. avium pulmonary disease severity in macaques inversely correlates with Tropheryma Spp abundance in the lung” at the NTM Conference 2025 hosted by Colorado State University.
June, 2025
Dr. Ilhem Messaoudi Presents on Chronic Ethanol Consumption and Immune Cells
Dr. Ilhem Messaoudi gave a seminar titled “Rewiring of monocytes and tissue resident macrophages by chronic ethanol consumption” at Nebraska Medical College.
June, 2025
Dr. Messaoudi Explores Research and Education at UK’s Robinson Forest
Dr. Ilhem Messaoudi recently visited the Robinson Forest, a research and education site maintained by the University of Kentucky’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. During her visit, Dr. Messaoudi gained valuable insight into the diverse educational programs and research initiatives undertaken at this site.
June, 2025
New publication!
Our paper titled “Prenatal opioid exposure and maternal HCV infection impair microglia development and function: a patient-specific in vitro model.” was published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity. This publication is the lab’s first to investigate the impact of opioid use on fetal development. It also introduces a model using induced microglia-like cells (iMGLs) derived from umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells, providing a more accessible approach to studying human neurological development.
June, 2025 Access the paper
BioBonanza
Hami Hemati participated in the BioBonanza here at the University of Kentucky to show how cool science is to local kids.
May, 2025
American Society for Reproductive Immunology (ASRI) meeting
Heather True gave a talk at the American Society for Reproductive Immunology meeting in Saint-Paul, MN. Her talk was titled “Maternal opioid use with and without HCV infection disrupts placental structure and immunity”.
May, 2025
Global Lyme Alliance Research Symposium 2025
Dr. Ilhem Messaoudi was an invited speaker at the Global Lyme Alliance Research Symposium 2025 in Greenwich, CT. The title of her talk was “Borreliosis and doxycycline treatment disrupt gut microbiota and immune responses in nonhuman primates”.
May, 2025
Successful PhD Defense for Heather: Examining Maternal Environmental Exposures. Congratulations Dr. Heather True!
Heather gave her PhD defense seminar on April 18. It was titled “The Impact of Maternal Environmental Exposures on the Immune Landscape of the Maternal-Fetal Interface”.
April, 2025
Messaoudi Lab Researchers Highlight Work at 2025 ID Research Day
Ethan Napier: “M. avium pulmonary disease inversely correlates with macaque lung commensal Tropheryma”.
Heather True: “Perinatal opioid exposure and maternal HCV infection compromise microglia development and function.”
Madison Blanton: “6 months of heavy drinking in a non-human primate model skew monocytes towards a hypo-inflammatory phenotype.”
Brianna Doratt: “Transcriptional changes linked to rapid protection from SUDV infection by a single dose of a Vesicular Stomatitis Virus-based vaccine.”
Sheridan Wagner: “Glycoprotein specific transcriptional response prompts differential vaccine protection against fatal Ebola infection.”
April, 2025
Oral Presentations by Heather True: Placental Effects of Maternal Opioid and HCV Exposure
Heather True gave two oral presentations: “Maternal opioid use with and without HCV infection disrupts the structure and immune landscape of placenta” at the 2025 CCTS Spring Conference and “Placental implications of maternal opioid use with concurrent hepatitis C infection“ at the conference for the Association for clinical and translational science.
April, 2025
Gordon Research Conference
Hami Hemati and Madison Blanton presented at the Gordon Research Conference
Hami’s presentation: “Chronic heavy alcohol consumption improves the ability of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells to develop into osteoclast precursors”.
Madison’s presentation: “6mo of chronic alcohol consumption induces a hypo-inflammatory phenotype in monocytes”.
March, 2025
Ethan’s Research Presentation at 2025 Substance Use Research Event and MIMG Seminar Series
Ethan presented his work on “How chronic alcohol consumption affects the metabolic and microbial landscapes of the gut” at the 2025 Substance Use Research Event. He also presented his work on the immunological response to Mycobacterium avium at the MIMG seminar series.
February, 2025
Presentation on Alcohol Misuse Effects on Monocytes
Madison gave a seminar on her work titled “The effects of alcohol misuse on circulating monocytes”.
January, 2025
New lab member
Mahdi Eskandarian Boroujeni, PhD, joined the lab in Jan 2025 as a bioinformatic analyst. Welcome to the team Mahdi!
January, 2025