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Catherine Brennan, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biological Science

Office: DBH-112A, Lab: DBH-112

Email: cbrennan@fullerton.edu

Catherine Brennan’s lab uses the power of genetics to analyse immune function, using Drosophila as a model system.  Students in the Brennan lab use a variety of techniques spanning tissue-specific gene manipulation, fluorescence microscopy, biochemical analyses, qPCR, molecular cloning and more to investigate how the metabolism of different tissues co-ordinate in vivo to mount robust immune responses to bacterial infection.

 

Katie Brennan photo

Research Interests

Questions of current interest focus on the role of metabolism in influencing immune functions, especially lipid and oxygen metabolism

 

Fun Fact

Dr. Brennan was a Philosophy major, and didn’t take a Biology class until she was 23, at which time she became hooked.

Publications

Rodman, N., Martinez, J., Fung, S., Nakanouchi, J., Myers, A.L., Harris, C.M., Dang, E., Fernandez, J.W., Liu, C., Mendoza, A.M., Jimenez, V., Nikolaidis, N., Brennan, C.A., Bonomo, R.A., Sieira, R., Ramírez, M.S.  (2019)  Human pleural fluid elicits pyruvate and phenylalanine metabolism in Acinetobacter baumannii to enhance cytotoxicity and immune evasion  Frontiers Microbiol.  10:1581.    doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01581 

Myers, A.L., Harris, C.M., Choe, K-M., and Brennan, C.A. (2018)  Inflammatory production of reactive oxygen species by Drosophila hemocytes activates cellular immune defenses.  Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm.  505:726-732.  doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2018.09.126. 

Park, S.H., Lee, C.W., Park, J.Y., Roshandell, M., Brennan, C.A., and Choe, K-M. (2018)  Requirement for and polarized localization of integrin proteins during Drosophila wound closure.  Mol Biol Cell.  29:2137-47.  doi: 10.1091/mbc.E17-11-0635 

Brennan, C.A., Ibarrondo, F.J., Shih, R., Sugar, C.A., Detels, R., Rinaldo, C.R., Margolick, J.B., Phair, J., Jacobson, L., Yang, O.O., and Jamieson, B.D. (2012)  Early HLA-B*57-restricted CD8+ T lymphocyte responses predict subsequent HIV-1 disease progression.  J. Virol. 86:10505-16. cover article     

Brennan, C. A., Delaney, J.R., Schneider, D.S., and Anderson, K.V. (2007) Psidin is required in Drosophila blood cells for both phagocytic degradation and immune activation of the fat body. Curr. Biol. 17:67-72.      

Brennan, C.A., Anderson, K. V. (2004) Drosophila: the genetics of innate immune recognition and response. Annu. Rev. Immunol. 22: 457-83.  (invited review)