Brian W. Wong, PhD

Postdoctoral fellowship: Laboratory of Angiogenesis & Vascular Metabolism, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Cancer Biology, Department of Oncology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, 2011-2017

The overarching goal of our research is to understand the role of cellular metabolic pathways in the context of epigenetic modifications in lymphatic endothelial cells and immune cells. Our laboratory uses a combination of metabolic profiling and genome-wide methods to uncover key pathways and alterations that regulate cell differentiation, phenotype and function in development, health and disease. We combine in vitro genetic and pharmacological modulation of metabolic and epigenetic pathways with functional phenotyping of cellular functions such as maintenance of barrier function, migration and cell proliferation to determine the contribution of these pathways in physiological and pathological conditions. Our close collaborations with clinicians at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital facilitate the study of metabolic and epigenetic properties in diseased patient tissue samples. Together, we aim to gain novel mechanistic insights of the role of metabolism in lymphangiogenesis and the immune system. Our laboratory is fortunate to include a highly-skilled microsurgeon, who has expertise in mouse models of heterotopic cardiac transplantation, orthotopic lung transplantation and heterotopic kidney transplantation in mice and rats. We leverage this expertise to study the efficacy of “metabolic modulation” therapies in preventing acute and chronic allograft rejection. Of particular interest is our study of the role of lymphatics in the regulation of transplant immunobiology and tolerance. Further, we utilize transgenic models with lymphatic- or immune cell-specific deletion of key metabolic and epigenetic genes to demonstrate their roles in the context of solid organ allograft rejection. The overall goal is to better understand developmental and physiological processes to effectively translate these concepts into potential preventatives or therapeutics.