Marion Pepper Awarded the 2021 ICIS-LUMINEX John R. Kettman Award for Excellence in Interferon & Cytokine Research
Marion Pepper, PhD, Associate Professor. Department of Immunology, University of Washington, Seattle, USA
The 2021 ICIS-Luminex John R. Kettman Award for Excellence in Interferon & Cytokine Research Mid-career recognizes Marion Pepper, PhD as being in the very top tier of the current wave of mid-career immunologists who continue to make cytokine research exciting.
While a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, Marion pioneered the use of transgenic parasites that expressed model antigens in a series of studies to understand the events that lead to T cell production of IFN-gamma required for resistance to this pathogen. This was followed by studies that were the first to show that plasmacytoid DC (pDC) were activated during non-viral infections and acted as a source of early IL-12 required for resistance to this infection. At the time the predominant dogma was that pDC did not present antigen and her studies, were perhaps one of the first showing that pDC from sites of inflammation could present antigen. It was during this time that she developed an interest in the ability to manipulate pathogens but also to identify the relevant antigenic peptides recognized by T and B cells that mediate long-term adaptive resistance to infection, which remain the core principles of her scientific career.
As a postdoc in Marc Jenkins’ laboratory in the Center for Immunology at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Pepper focused on how CD4+ effector populations translate into memory cells. To determine if paradigms about T cell memory largely described for CD8+ T cells, applied to CD4+ T cells she generated reagents and techniques to investigate the longevity of antigen-specific CD4+ T cells initially in response to infection. Using MHC Class II tetramers to track bacterial-specific CD4+ T cells, she demonstrated that unlike CD8+ T cell memory, CD4+ memory slowly waned over time. Dr. Pepper’s finding that CD4+ memory T cells can decline because they compete poorly for IL-15 is one of the few insights in the field as to how vaccine immunity could fade over time. These studies also showed that the route of bacterial infection directs the acquisition of specific effector functions (Th1 and Th17 cells) and memory potential within a given epitope-specific population. These were the first studies of an endogenous antigen-specific CD4+ T cell response from the pre-immune repertoire through the memory phase and provided insights into the cytokine pathways critical for these events. This work was followed by studies that focused on elucidating the signals provided by IL-2 that drive the differentiation of two well-defined subsets of CD4+ memory cells, lymph-node homing central memory cells (Tcm) and tissue homing effector memory cells (Tem). Importantly, these studies also defined some of the early differentiaiton cues for Th1 effector and B cell helping T follicular helper (Tfh) cells that leads to the formation of Tem and Tcm, respectively.
Since establishing her own laboratory in the Department of Immunology at the University of Washington, Dr Pepper continued to address how early cytokine production influenced CD4+ T cell memory formation and showed that IL-2 signaling is required for both Th1 and Th2 tissue resident memory (Trm) formation in the lung.
Her lab has also focused on determining how malaria-associated inflammation influences CD4+ T cell and B cell memory formation and has developed novel tetramers to study human and mouse cells to the same malaria antigen. Understanding key interactions between B and CD4+ T cells, and how this influences the generation of both memory populations is an ongoing focus of her lab. Most recently, she defined the role of B cell priming in the generation of Th1 Tfh/Tcm responses during malaria. Her work on both T and B cell responses provided an important foundation that allowed her to pivot to study the development of long-lasting, functional antigen-specific T and B cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with mild infections. This independent body of work illustrates Dr. Pepper’s capacity to initiate meaningful projects and integrate newer technologies to perform impactful studies to understand how cytokines impact on the generation and maintenance of T (and B) cell responses in diverse biological settings.
Dr. Pepper will give a talk at Cytokines 2021 Virtual Meeting in the opening session on 10/17/2021, 16:20 – 16:45 BST: “It’s all about the cytokines”
This award generously supported by Luminex Corporation, recognizes a mid-career investigator who has made outstanding contributions to the field of interferon or cytokine biology. The awardee will receive a $5,000 cash prize to include meeting registration and travel support to the ICIS annual meeting for presentation of his or her research in an award lecture. The award is named after Dr. John R (Jack) Kettman, an immunologist who was instrumental in the development of Luminex’s technologies and the Luminex Corporation.
2020 Inaugural ICIS-LUMINEX Award Winner
A nominee must be an ICIS member in good standing* who is within 15 years from their terminal degree (Ph.D., M.D., or equivalent). A nominee must be an independent research scientist (PI); postdoctoral fellows are not eligible. Eligibility of the nominee will be checked at time of nomination and before presentation of award.
- Letters of nomination should be sent to the ICIS President via the Submission Form. The nomination package should include a full CV of the nominee and a letter of nomination detailing the accomplishments of the nominee and reasons for the nomination. A candidate may be nominated by more than one ICIS member.
It should be noted that the awardees will be judged based on the following criteria which should be included in the nomination letter:
- outstanding publications and ground-breaking discoveries in the field
- collective contributions to the field of cytokine biology
* Member dues paid through the end of 2021.
# This award is intended for a mid-career researcher with a maximum of 15 years post-degree. It is, however, recognized that there may have been family-related, personal, or other circumstances resulting in extended time out of the laboratory. Exceptions to the 15-year limit will be considered based on a description of any special circumstances. Please email with inquiries.