Mary Jo Turk, PhD
Title(s)
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Additional Titles/Positions/Affiliations
O. Ross McIntyre, M.D. Endowed Professor
Co-Director, Immunology and Cancer Immunotherapy Program
Norris-Cotton Cancer Center
Department(s)
Microbiology and Immunology
Education
Dr. Turk received her B.S. from John Carroll University, and her Ph.D. from Purdue University. She conducted postdoctoral work at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Turk joined the faculty of Dartmouth in 2004.
Programs
Immunology Program
Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Programs
Dartmouth Cancer Center
Websites
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Contact Information
One Medical Center Drive
Rubin Building 732, HB 7937
Lebanon NH 03756
Office: Rubin 732
Phone: 603-653-3549
Email: mary.jo.turk@dartmouth.edu
Asst. Phone: 603-653-9952
Professional Interests
Tumor Immunology and T cell memory
Our laboratory's research focuses on generating durable memory T cell responses to cancer. What is known about generating immunological memory has historically derived from studies of infectious pathogens. Because tumors are an altered form of self-tissue, memory T cell responses to tumors have been characteristically difficult to generate, and mechanisms for their maintenance have not been well understood.
Our laboratory has established that autoimmune disease is a critical determinant for the maintenance of T cell memory to tumor antigens. We have also shown that the most functional tumor-specific memory T cells reside in peripheral tissues. Our research has established that tissue-resident memory T cells are a critical component of long-lived immunity to cancer.
Courses Taught
Bio 42
Micro/Immuno 136
Heterogeneity and plasticity of the naive CD4(+) T cell compartment. The immunology of vitiligo. Anti-PD-L2 immunotherapy is efficacious against melanoma in aged hosts through IL-17 and IFNγ signalling. Intratumoral expression of IL-12 and CD40 ligand (CD154) from plasmids generates antitumor responses that eliminate tumoral T regs. CD4 T cell depletion increases memory differentiation of endogenous and CAR T cells and enhances the efficacy of Super2 and IL-33-armored CAR T cells against solid tumors. Heterogeneity and plasticity of the naive CD4(+) T cell compartment. Depletion of conventional CD4(+) T cells is required for robust priming and dissemination of tumor antigen-specific CD8(+) T cells in the setting of anti-CD4 therapy. Immune checkpoint blockade: timing is everything. CD39 Is Expressed on Functional Effector and Tissue-resident Memory CD8+ T Cells. TimiGP: Inferring cell-cell interactions and prognostic associations in the tumor immune microenvironment through gene pairs. |
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