Terrence Town, PhD
Research Scientist, Neurosurgery
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Institute Affiliation
| Regenerative Medicine Institute |
Academic Appointments
| Professor, Biomedical Sciences |
Awards and Activities
| Awarded Ellison Medical Foundation/AFAR Julie Martin Mid-Career Award in Aging Research | 2011 |
| Awarded Zenith Fellows Award by the Alzheimer's Association | 2010 |
| Keystone Symposium "Alzheimer's disease beyond Abeta" Plenary Speaker | 2010 |
| Listed in Marquis Whos Who in America 2010 | 2010 |
| Ben Winters Endowed Chair in Regenerative Medicine | 2008 |
| Marquis Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare | 2003 |
| Travel Fellowship for 8th International Alzheimer's conference | 2002 |
| Outstanding mentor for Siemens Westinghouse Science and Technology Competition finalist | 2002 |
| Society for Neuroscience Eli Lily Travel Fellowship | 2001 |
| Reviewer: Future Neurology | Current |
| Reviewer: Thomson Reuters Key Opinions | Current |
| Reviewer: Glia | Current |
| Reviewer: Journal of Immunology | Current |
| Reviewer: Neurodegenerative Diseases | Current |
| Alzheimers Association | Current |
| Reviewer: Journal of Clinical Investigation | Current |
| Reviewer: Trends in Pharmacological Sciences | Current |
| Reviewer: Journal of Neuroscience | Current |
| Reviewer: Neurobiology of Aging | Current |
| American Association for the Advancement of Science | 1999 |
| Society for Neuroscience | 1999 |
| New York Academy of Science | 2003 |
| Chair, NIH Study Section | 2011 |
| Member of ASBMB | 2012 |
| NIH Study Section Membership | 2012 |
Research Focus
It has become increasingly clear that immune cells frequently enter and survey the brain, giving rise to the field of neuroimmunology. This lab and others have shown that key immune molecules such as CD40, CD40 ligand, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and transforming growth factor-beta play central roles in the pathoetiology of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, encephalitis, multiple sclerosis, and stroke. Genetically modified mice are programmed to develop these diseases as pre-clinical models to conduct laboratory studies aimed at targeting such neuroimmune molecules for eventual therapeutic intervention. The laboratory relys heavily on cutting edge visual analyses of brain pathology and cellular/molecular biological techniques to accomplish this goal.
Research Contributions
Demonstrated that immunobiology plays a key role in the pathoetiology of Alzheimer's disease, and may be a viable therapeutic approach. Uncovered key roles of immune responses in viral encephalitis, stroke, and multiple sclerosis.
Current investigations include:
Developing genetically engineered pre-clinical mouse models for neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory diseases. Investigating the function of the "stumpy" gene in mammalian ciliogenesis, postnatal neurogenesis, and tumorigenesis.
Selected Publications
- Town T, Laouar Y, Pittenger C, Mori T, Szekely CA, Tan J, Duman RS, Flavell RA: Blocking TGF-beta-Smad2/3 innate immune signaling mitigates Alzheimer-like pathology. Nat. Med., 14(6): 681-7, 2008
- Mori T, Tan J, Arendash GW, Koyama N, Nojima Y, Town T: Overexpression of human S100B exacerbates brain damage and periinfarct gliosis after permanent focal ischemia. Stroke, 39(7): 2114-21, 2008
- Town T, Breunig JJ, Sarkisian MR, Spilianakis C, Ayoub AE, Liu X, Ferrandino AF, Gallagher AR, Li MO, Rakic P, Flavell RA: The stumpy gene is required for mammalian ciliogenesis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 105(8): 2853-8, 2008
- Town T, Jeng D, Alexopoulou L, Tan J, Flavell RA: Microglia recognize double-stranded RNA via TLR3. J. Immunol., 176(6): 3804-12, 2006
- Wang T, Town T, Alexopoulou L, Anderson JF, Fikrig E, Flavell RA: Toll-like receptor 3 mediates West Nile virus entry into the brain causing lethal encephalitis. Nat. Med., 10(12): 1366-73, 2004
- Tan J, Town T, Crawford F, Mori T, DelleDonne A, Crescentini R, Obregon D, Flavell RA, Mullan MJ: Role of CD40 ligand in amyloidosis in transgenic Alzheimer's mice. Nat. Neurosci., 5(12): 1288-93, 2002
