- Postdoc, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- Ph.D., University of Illinois
- B.S., Murray State University
Education & Training
Andrews LP, Butler SC, Cui J, Cillo AR, Cardello C, Liu C, Brunazzi EA, Baessler A, Xie B, Kunning SR, Ngiow SF, Huang YJ, Manne S, Sharpe AH, Delgoffe GM, Wherry EJ, Kirkwood JM, Bruno TC, Workman CJ, Vignali DAA. (2024) LAG-3 and PD-1 synergize on CD8+ T cells to drive T cell exhaustion and hinder autocrine IFN-γ-dependent anti-tumor immunity. Cell, 187: 4355-4372 [PMID: 39121848].
Adam K, Lipatova Z, Abdul Ghafoor Raja M, Mishra AK, Mariuzza RA, *Workman CJ, *Vignali DAA. (2024) Cutting Edge: LAG3 Dimerization Is Required for TCR/CD3 Interaction and Inhibition of Antitumor Immunity. J Immunol, 213:7-13 [PMID: 38775415].
*Shared Senior Authorship
Aggarwal V, Workman CJ, Vignali DAA. (2024) LAG-3 as the third checkpoint inhibitor. Nat Immunol. 9:1415-1422 [ PMID: 37488429].
Gocher-Demske AM, Cui J, Szymczak-Workman AL, Vignali KM, Latini JN, Pieklo GP, Kimball JC, Avery L, Cipolla EM, Huckestein BR, Hedden L, Meisel M, Alcorn JF, Kane LP, Workman CJ, Vignali DAA. (2023) IFNg-induction of TH1-like regulatory T cells controls antiviral responses. Nat Immunol. 24:841-854 [ PMID: 36928412].
Grebinoski S, Zhang Q, Cillo AR, Manne S, Xiao H, Brunazzi EA, Tabib T, Cardello C, Lian CG, Murphy GF, Lafyatis R, Wherry EJ, Das J, Workman CJ, Vignali DAA. (2022) Autoreactive CD8+ T cells are restrained by a divergent exhaustion program. Nat Immunol. 23:868-877 [PMCID: 9179227].
Guy C, Mitrea DM, Chou PC, Temirov J, Vignali KM, Liu X, Zhang H, Kriwacki R, Bruchez MP, Watkins SC, Workman CJ*, Vignali DAA*. (2022) LAG3 associates with TCR-CD3 complexes and suppresses signaling by driving co-receptor-Lck dissociation. Nat Immunol. 23:757-767 [PMCID: 9106921].
*Shared Senior Authorship
Andrews LP, Vignali KM, Szymczak-Workman AL, Burton AR, Brunazzi EA, Ngiow SF, Harusato A, Sharpe AH, Wherry EJ, Taniuchi I, Workman CJ, Vignali DAA. (2021) A Cre-driven allele-conditioning line to interrogate CD4+ conventional T cells. Immunity.54:2209-2217 [PMCID: 34551314].
My research interests focus on the inhibitory receptor LAG3 and defining the mechanisms required for its optimal function to improve antagonist and agonist therapies. In particular, we assess (1) the role and hierarchy of LAG3 signaling motifs, (2) the functional impact of the various ligands of LAG3, and (3) the therapeutic efficacy of modulating the structure of LAG3.
Additionally, as part of Dr. Dario Vignali’ s research group, we are interested in the mechanisms that regulate T cell function, focusing on inhibitory receptors and regulatory T cells that suppress anti-tumor immunity in cancer. Our team studies pathways involving LAG3, PD1, PD1–LAG3 synergy, T cell exhaustion and IFNγ while engineering antibody-based therapeutics. We also examine Treg molecules, function, and stability. Recently, we have started to investigate the role of inhibitory receptors in CART exhaustion. Using systems immunology tools, including single-cell transcriptomics and epigenomics, multispectral imaging, and CRISPR screens our research primarily targets solid tumors, aiming to advance therapeutic translation and biomarker discovery.