Jessica A. Hamerman, PhD
Background Information
Jessica Hamerman received her BS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University and her PhD in Immunology from the University of Washington. She then pursued postdoctoral studies at the University of California San Francisco before joining the Benaroya Research Institute Immunology Program in 2006. Dr. Hamerman is also an Affiliate Associate Professor in the Department of Immunology at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Area of Research
Projects in Dr. Hamerman’s laboratory are focused on understanding the regulation of the inflammatory response of monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells, types of immune cells involved in the early defense against infection. Although this inflammatory response is beneficial for pathogen clearance, it can be detrimental if unchecked, leading to autoimmune or inflammatory diseases. Dr. Hamerman’s laboratory examines both how this inflammatory response is regulated in healthy individuals and how it is dysregulated in disease settings, with a focus on rheumatic diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Her group uses model systems as well as patient samples available from the BRI Immune Mediated Disease Biorepository to ask these questions. These studies will not only help elucidate how the inflammatory response is regulated during infection, but will potentially give insights in how to manipulate the innate immune system to achieve more efficient elimination of pathogens and to dampen pathogenic inflammatory responses during disease.
Featured Publications
Carpentier SJ, Ni M, Duggan JM, James RG, Cookson BT, Hamerman JA. The signaling adaptor BCAP inhibits NLRP3 and NLRC4 inflammasome activation in macrophages through interactions with Flightless-1. Science Signaling. 2019 May 14;12(581). pii:eaaau0615. PMID: 31088976
Chu T, Ni M, Chen C, Akilesh R, Hamerman JA. Cutting Edge: BCAP Promotes Lupus-like Disease and TLR-Mediated Type I IFN Induction in Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells. J Immunol. 2019 May 1;202(9):2529-2534. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1801267. PMID: 30936294
Akilesh HM, Buechler MB, Duggan JM, Hahn WO, Matta B, Sun X, Gessay G, Whalen E, Mason M, Presnell SR, Keith B. Elkon, Lacy-Hulbert A, Barnes BJ, Pepper M, Hamerman JA. Chronic TLR7 and TLR9 signaling drives anemia via differentiation of specialized hemophagocytes. Science. 2019 Jan 11;363(6423). pii: eaao5213. doi: 10.1126/science.aao5213. PMID: 30630901 | PMC6413693
Singh MD, Ni M, Sullivan JM, Hamerman JA, Campbell DJ. B cell adaptor for PI3-kinase (BCAP) modulates CD8+ effector and memory T cell differentiation. J Exp Med. 2018 Sep 3;215(9):2429-2443. doi: 10.1084/jem.20171820. PMID: 30093532 | PMC6122975
Duggan JM, Buechler MB, Olson RM, Hohl TM, Hamerman JA. BCAP inhibits proliferation and differentiation of myeloid progenitors in the steady state and during demand situations. Blood. 2017 Mar 16;129(11):1503-1513. doi: 10.1182/blood-2016-06-719823. PMID: 28087538 | PMC5356451
Buechler MB, Akilesh HM, Hamerman JA. Cutting Edge: Direct Sensing of TLR7 Ligands and Type I IFN by the Common Myeloid Progenitor Promotes mTOR/PI3K-Dependent Emergency Myelopoiesis. J Immunol. 2016 Oct 1;197(7):2577-82. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1600813. PMID: 27566824 | PMC5026975
Hamerman JA, Pottle J, Ni M, He Y, Zhang ZY, Buckner JH. Negative regulation of TLR signaling in myeloid cells--implications for autoimmune diseases. Immunol Rev. 2016 Jan;269(1):212-27. doi: 10.1111/imr.12381. PMID: 26683155 | PMC4703580
Buechler MB, Gessay GM, Srivastava S, Campbell DJ, Hamerman JA. Hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic cells promote Type I interferon- and TLR7-dependent monocytosis during low-dose LCMV infection. Eur J Immunol. 2015 Nov;45(11):3064-72. doi: 10.1002/eji.201445331. PMID: 26289159 | PMC4675142
Buechler MB, Teal TH, Elkon KB, Hamerman JA. Cutting edge: Type I IFN drives emergency myelopoiesis and peripheral myeloid expansion during chronic TLR7 signaling. J Immunol. 2013 Feb 1;190(3):886-91. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1202739. PMID: 23303674 | PMC3552021
Ni M, MacFarlane AW, Toft M, Lowell CA, Campbell KS, Hamerman JA. B-cell adaptor for PI3K (BCAP) negatively regulates Toll-like receptor signaling through activation of PI3K. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Jan 3;109(1):267-72. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1111957108. PMID: 22187458 | PMC3252908