Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
James Ross, PhD, is a post-doctoral fellow in the Rafi Ahmed lab at Emory University in the department of microbiology and immunology. His research focus includes neuroinflammation and high-grade brain tumors. The two main themes of his research include: 1) improving immunotherapeutic efficacy in the brain by targeting CD8 T cells, macrophages, and microglia, and 2) determining how genetic driver mutations in high-grade gliomas dictate the inflammatory tumor microenvironment. To accomplish these goals, he utilizes immune-competent mouse models of disease including lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus to study chronic inflammation in the brain and RCAS-Tva to study brain tumors. His work has uncovered how CD8 T cells and myeloid cells respond to anti-PD1 therapy in the brain in viral infection. He has also contributed to a deeper understanding of myeloid cell composition in pediatric high-grade gliomas and the mechanisms governing their infiltration and phenotypes. He hopes to continue his research by starting his own lab studying neuro-immune interactions in brain tumors and viral infection, with an emphasis on microglia and CD8 T cells.
