Adam Lacy-Hulbert, PhD
Background Information
Dr. Lacy-Hulbert received his BA degree in Natural Sciences (Biochemistry) and PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge. He trained as a postdoctoral fellow at University College London, and then moved to the University of Edinburgh, as a UK Research Council Fellow. Dr. Lacy-Hulbert spent 2003 to 2007 as a visiting scientist and then visiting professor at the Center for Cancer Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2007, Dr. Lacy-Hulbert joined the Department of Pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital, as Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Developmental Immunology Program. Dr. Lacy-Hulbert moved his laboratory to the Benaroya Research Institute in 2013.
Area of Research
The overall research objectives of the Lacy-Hulbert Laboratory are to understand the mechanisms by which innate immune cells, such as macrophages and dendritic cells, regulate immunity and tolerance. The laboratory team uses a range of molecular and cell biology approaches, in isolated cells and whole organisms, to approach these important problems. The group has a longstanding interest in how the recognition of dying cells promotes immune tolerance and tissue repair, and the role of a specific family of cell adhesion molecules, the alpha-v Integrins, in this process. A major focus of the laboratory is how breakdown of these mechanisms can lead to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and autoimmunity.
In a joint program with BRI Affiliate Investigator Lynda Stuart, MD, PhD, and her group, the laboratory team also works to discover new mechanisms by which cells recognize and resist infection.
Featured Publications
- Lacy-Hulbert, A., Smith, A.M., Tissire, H., Barry, M., Crowley, D., Bronson, R.T., Roes, J.T., Savill, J.S. and Hynes, R.O. (2007) “Ulcerative colitis and autoimmunity induced by loss of myeloid av integrins”, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 104:15823-15828
- Acharya, M., Mukhopadhyay, S., Paidassi, H., Jamil, T., Chow, C., Kissler, S., Stuart, L.M., Hynes, R.O. and Lacy-Hulbert, A. (2010) “Alpha(v) integrin expression by DCs is required for Th17 cell differentiation and development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice.” Journal of Clinical Investigation, 120: 4445-52
- Paidassi, H., Acharya, M., Zhang, A., Mukhopadhyay, S., Kwon, M., T., Chow, C., Stuart, L.M., Savill, J. and Lacy-Hulbert, A. (2011) “Preferential expression of integrin avb8 promotes generation of regulatory T cells by mouse CD103+ Dendritic Cells” Gastroenterology 141: 1813-20
- Perez, B., Paquette, N., Paidassi, H., Zhai, B., White, K., Svirsky, R., Lacy-Hulbert, A. and Stuart, L.M. (2012) “Apoptotic cells can deliver chemotherapeutics to engulfing macrophages and suppress inflammatory cytokine production.” Journal of Biological Chemistry, 287: 16029-36
- Chen, L., Stuart, L.M., Ohsumi, T.K., Burgess, S., Varshney, G.K., Dastur, A., Borowsky, M., Benes, C., Lacy-Hulbert, A.* and Schmidt, E.V.* (2013) “Transposon activation mutagenesis as a screening tool for identifying resistance to cancer therapeutics” BMC Cancer 13: 93.
- Sokolovska A, Becker CE, Ip WK, Rathinam VA, Brudner M, Paquette N, Tanne A, Vanaja SK, Moore KJ, Fitzgerald KA, Lacy-Hulbert A and Stuart LM. (2013) “Activation of caspase-1 by the NLRP3 inflammasome regulates the NADPH oxidase NOX2 to control phagosome function.” Nat. Immunol 14: 543-53.
