Research Program: Immunology
Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Department of Microbiology, and Center for Immunology

jenki002@umn.edu
612-626-2715 — office
612-626-1188 — lab
Preferred contact method: e-mail

Dr. Jenkins received his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology in 1985 from Northwestern University. He conducted postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Dr. Ronald Schwartz in the Laboratory of Immunology at the National Institutes of Health. He joined the Microbiology Department at the University of Minnesota in 1988, where he conducts research on the biology of CD4+ helper T cells. In 2002 he received the American Association of Immunologists-Huang Foundation Meritorious Career Award and in 2004 was elected to the Academy for Excellence in Health Research.

Research Interests

Jenkins and his colleagues investigate CD4+ helper T and B cell activation in vivo at a level that can only be achieved by directly tracking antigen-specific cells. Using gene-targeted recipients or antibody blocking approaches, they identify molecules that are critical for in vivo T and B cell signal transduction proliferation, lymphokine production, survival, and differentiation. The goal is to achieve a basic understanding of these process so that they can be manipulated to improve vaccines and prevent autoimmunity.

Selected Publications

Kearney ER, Pape KA, Loh DY, Jenkins MK. Visualization of peptide-specific T-cell immunity and peripheral tolerance induction in vivo. Immunity. 1994;1:327.

Garside P, Ingulli E, Merica RR, Johnson JG, Noelle RJ, Jenkins MK. Visualization of specific B and T lymphocyte interactions in the lymph node. Science 1998;281:96.

Reinhardt R L, Khoruts A, Merica R, Zell T, Jenkins MK. Visualizing the generation of memory CD4 T cells in the whole body. Nature 2001;410:101.

McSorley S J, Asch S, Costalonga M, Reinhardt RL, Jenkins MK. Tracking Salmonella-specific CD4 T cells in vivo reveals a local mucosal response to a disseminated infection. Immunity 2002;16:365.

Catron DM, Itano AA, Pape KA, Mueller DL, Jenkins MK. Visualizing the first 50 hours of the primary immune response to a soluble antigen. Immunity 2004;21:341.

Hataye H Moon JJ, Khoruts A, Reilly C, Jenkins MK. Naïve and memory CD4+ T cell survival controlled by clonal abundance. Science 2006;312:114-116.

Pape KA, Catron DM, Itano AA, Jenkins MK. The humoral immune response is initiated in lymph nodes by B cells that acquire soluble antigen directly in the follicles. Immunity 2007;26:491-502.

Moon JJ, Chu HH, Pepper M, McSorley SJ, Jameson SC, Kedl RM, Jenkins MK. Naive CD4(+) T cell frequency varies for different epitopes and predicts repertoire diversity and response magnitude. Immunity 2007:27:203-213.

McLachlan JB, Catron DM, Moon JJ, Jenkins MK. Dendritic cell antigen presentation drives simultaneous cytokine production by effector and regulatory T cells in inflamed skin. Immunity 2009, 30:277-288.