- Postdoc, University of California at San Francisco
- Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley
- B.S., Carnegie Mellon University
Education & Training
Verma AH, Richardson JP, Zhou C, Coleman BM, Moyes DL, Ho J, Huppler AR, Ramani K, McGeachy MJ, Mufazalov MA, Waisman A, Kane LP, Biswas PS, Hube B, Naglik JR, Gaffen SL. Oral epithelial cells orchestrate innate Type 17 responses to Candida albicans through the virulence factor candidalysin. Science Immunol, 2017; 2:eaam8834.
Li X*, Bechara R, Zhao J, McGeachy MJ, Gaffen SL. IL-17 receptor based signaling and implications for diseases. Nature Immunol, 2019; 20:1594-1602.
Aggor FEY, Break TJ, Trevejo-Nunez G, Whibley N, Bailey R, Kaplan DH, Naglik JR, Shan W, Shettey AC, McCracken C, Durum SK, Biswas PS, Bruno VM, Kolls JK, Lionakis MS, Gaffen SL. Oral epithelial IL-22/STAT3 signaling licenses IL-17-mediated immunity to oral mucosal candidiasis. Science Immunol, 2020; 5:eaba0570
Bechara R, Amatya N, Bailey RD, Li Y, Aggor FEY, Li D, Jawale CV, Coleman BM, Dai N, Gokhale NS, Taylor TC, Horner SM, Poholek AC, Bansal A, Biswas PS, Gaffen SL. RNA m6A methylation guides IL-17-driven autoimmunity through IMP2-dependent regulation of C/EBP transcription factors. Science Immunology, 2021; 6:eabd1287
Bechara R, Amatya N, Majumder S, Zhou, C, Li Y, Liu Q, McGeachy MJ, Gaffen SL*. The RNA binding protein IMP2 drives a stromal-Th17 cell circuit in autoimmune neuroinflammation. JCI Insight, 2022; 7:e152766
Aggor FEY, Bertolini M, Zhou C, Taylor TC, Abbott DA, Musgrove J, Bruno VM, Hand TW, Gaffen SL. A gut-oral microbiome axis controls oral candidiasis through retinoic acid. JCI Insight, 2022; 7:e160348
Gaffen SL, Biswas PS. Fungi Make Fun Guys. Cell Host Microbe, 2022; 30:277-78.
Taylor TC, Coleman BM, Arunkumar SP, Dey I, Dillon JT, Ponde NO, Poholek AC, Schwartz DM, McGeachy MJ, Conti HR, Gaffen SL. IkBz is an essential mediator of immunity to oropharyngeal candidiasis. Cell Host Microbe, 2023; 31: 1700-1713.e4
Iliev ID*, Brown GD, Bacher P, Gaffen SL, Heitman J, Klein BS, Lionakis M. Focus on Fungi. Cell, 2024; 187:5121-27
Li Y, Vyas SP, Mehta I, Asada N, Dey I, Taylor TC, Bechara R, Amatya N, Aggor FEY, Coleman BM, Li D, Yamamoto K, Ezenwa O, Sun Y, Sterneck E, McManus CJ, Panzer U, Biswas PS, Savan R, Das J, Gaffen SL. The RNA binding protein Arid5a drives IL-17-dependent autoantibody-induced glomerulonephritis. J Exp. Med, 2024; 221:e20240656.
Aggor FEY, Bertolinna M, Coleman BM, Ponde NO, Filler SG, Gaffen SL. Combinatorial actions of IL-22 and IL-17 drive optimal immunity to oral candidiasis through SPRRs. PLoS Pathogens, 2024; 20:e1012302.
T cell derived cytokines are critical for mediating host defense against infectious disease, but they also mediate disease pathology in autoimmunity. A subset of CD4+ T cells, known as "Th17 cells" based on production of the cytokine IL-17, plays a key role in driving autoimmunity. Conversely, IL-17 and Th17 cells play important roles in fungal immunity, particularly in protection against opportunistic mucosal infections caused by the commensal yeast Candida albicans, first shown by Dr. Gaffen's group. IL-17 and its receptor are unique in structure and sequence from other known cytokines, and the Gaffen lab has been a leader in studying signaling pathways mediated by this this novel family of cytokines. In addition, antibodies against IL-17 and its receptor were recently approved by the FDA to treat autoimmune conditions, particularly psoriasis
The Gaffen lab studies three aspects of IL-17/Th17 cell biology: (1) mechanisms of molecular signal transduction mediated by IL-17 and its receptor (2) means by which IL-17 mediates host defense against mucosal Candida albicans fungal infections, and (3) mechanisms by which dysregulated IL-17/Th17 cells drive pathogenesis of autoimmunity.