Ryan Kelly

E-mail: kelly403@umn.edu

Thesis Advisor: Bruce Blazar

Year entered: 2004

Degrees received:
B.S., Biochemistry, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispio, CA 2000
Associates Degree of General Studies, Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, CA 1998

Honors and Awards:

• Graduate School Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, 2008-2009

• Best Graduate Student Presentation, Pediatric Research, Education and Scholarshiop symposium 2008

• MICaB Student Travel Award, Spring 2008
  

• National Institutes of Health (NIH) Immunology Predoctoral Training Grant, 2006-2008
  
  
• Children’s Cancer Research Fund (CCRF) Grant, 2005, 2006
  
  
• Bone Marrow Transplant Research Fund Grant, 2005, 2006

Committees:

• MICaB Career Development Committee, 2007-present

• MICaB Faculty Admission Committee, 2006-2007
  

Thesis research:
The immune deficiency following BMT is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among BMT recipients. My research aims to develop therapies to speed recovery of the thymus and peripheral T cell compartment following BMT using novel combination small molecule therapies. We utilize a clinically relevant murine BMT model system to investigate the therapeutic benefit of combinatorial administration of KGF, androgen regulators and general radioprotectants in restoring thymic function and T-cell reconstitution post-BMT. We have used several useful techniques to assess thymic function, output and T-cell-driven immune responses against a pathogen post-BMT. In addition, my research in investigates the importance of (1) miRNA in TEC development, (2) thymocyte-derived signals in driving TEC regeneration following TBI-induced injury and (3) the potential of adult-derived and/or embryonic stem cells to differentiate into thymic epithelial cells in vitro and/or in vivo.

Publications:

• RM Kelly, SL Highfill, A Panoskaltsis-Mortari, PA Taylor, RL Boyd, GA Holländer, and Bruce R. Blazar. 2008. “Keratinocyte Growth Factor and Androgen Blockade Work in Concert to Protect Against Conditioning Regimen-Induced Thymic Epithelial Damage and Enhance T-Cell Reconstitution Following Murine Bone Marrow Transplantation”, Blood, in press, advance online publication March 11. * Selected by editor-in-chief to be highlighted in"Inside Blood" commentary*

• JM Dan, RM Kelly, CK Lee, and Stuart M. Levitz. 2008. “The Role of the Mannose Receptor in a Murine Model of Cryptococcus neoformans infection”, Infect. Immun., in press, advance online publication April 7, 2008.

• RM Kelly, A Panoskaltsis-Mortari, PA Taylor, GA Holländer, and Bruce R. Blazar. 2008. “Combining Keratinocyte Growth Factor with Transient p53 Inhibition Protects Against Conditioning Regimen-Induced Thymic Epithelial Damage Following Murine Bone Marrow Transplantation”, manuscript in preparation for Blood.

• RM Kelly, J Chen, LE Yauch, and Stuart M. Levitz. 2005. “Opsonic Requirements for Dendritic Cell-Mediated Responses to Cryptococcus neoformans”, Infect. Immun. 73(1):592-598.