Case Western Reserve University
Primary Mentor: Stan Gerson, MD (Case Western Reserve University)
Secondary Mentor: Horst von Recum, PhD (Case Western Reserve University)
Research Project: Pre-clinical therapeutic development of therapies for hematological disease, and elucidation of the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which 15-PGDH regulates hematopoiesis.
Profile: Dr. Julie Smith received her PhD in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine from the University of Rochester. Working in the laboratory of Dr. Laura Calvi, her dissertation focused on the role of the bone marrow microenvironment in hematopoietic stem cell regulation. One particular project revealed that combined administration of anti-angiogenic and bone anabolic therapies increased hematopoietic stem cells and increased expression of stemness-related genes. Dr. Smith gained expertise in pathologic stem cell regulation and disease modeling by completing an initial postdoctoral fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. Kate MacNamara at Albany Medical College. Here Dr. Smith led studies identifying the molecular mechanism underlying type I interferon-mediated stem cell depletion during infection. In her current fellowship, under the combined mentorship of Dr. Gerson and Dr. Horst von Recum at CWRU, Julianne is working to identify the impact of inhibiting the prostaglandin E2-degrading enzyme 15-PGDH on hematopoietic regeneration in a variety of settings. Dr. Smith is particularly interested in identifying the role of specific hematopoietic tissues and cell types in regulating hematopoietic regeneration, for the ultimate goal of improving hematologic therapies.