Justin E. Wilson, PhD

Assistant Professor, Immunobiology
Assistant Professor, Cancer Biology-GIDP
Assistant Professor, BIO5 Institute

Justin Wilson obtained his PhD from Albany Medical College studying the impact of Francisella tularensis infection on macrophage antigen presentation and T cell responses in the laboratory of Jim R. Drake. He then joined the laboratory of Jenny P-Y Ting at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where his research focused on the role of the innate immune genes AIM2 and NLRP12 during the regulation of inflammatory bowel disease and colon cancer development. Dr. Wilson joined the department of Immunobiology as an Assistant Professor in June of 2018.

Research Interests: 

The innate immune system has a large repertoire of receptors/sensors that respond to microbial components and host “danger signals” in order to regulate inflammation and immune responses. The dysregulation of many of these sensors has been linked to chronic inflammatory disorders (e.g., inflammatory bowel diseases) and multiple types of cancer. My group’s research focuses on how the dynamic relationship between the intestinal microbiota and these innate immune sensors regulate the cell signaling events driving chronic inflammation and cancer development. We seek to treat these diseases through the manipulation of intestinal microbial ecology and redirection of immune activation.

Degrees
  • BA: Castleton University
  • PhD: Albany Medical College
Fellowship
  • Post-doctoral Fellow: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Recent Publications

2024

Kumar, S. Senthil, V. Gunda, D. M. Reinartz, K. W. Pond, C. A. Thorne, P. Victor San Raj, M. D. L. Johnson, and J. E. Wilson, "Oral streptococci and induce distinct morphological, inflammatory, and metabolic signatures in macrophages.", Infect Immun, vol. 92, issue 3, pp. e0053623, 2024 Mar 12. PMCID: PMC10929413  PMID: 38289109
Kumar, S. Senthil, M. D. L. Johnson, and J. E. Wilson, "Insights into the enigma of oral streptococci in carcinogenesis.", Microbiol Mol Biol Rev, pp. e0009523, 2024 Mar 20. PMID: 38506551

2023

Au, K. Man, J. E. Wilson, J. P. - Y. Ting, and A. Z. Wang, "An injectable subcutaneous colon-specific immune niche for the treatment of ulcerative colitis.", Nat Biomed Eng, 2023 Dec 04. PMCID: 6553548  PMID: 38049469

2022

Powell, D. A., A. P. Hsu, L. F. Shubitz, C. D. Butkiewicz, H. Moale, H. T. Trinh, T. Doetschman, T. G. Georgieva, D. M. Reinartz, J. E. Wilson, et al., "Mouse Model of a Human STAT4 Point Mutation That Predisposes to Disseminated Coccidiomycosis.", Immunohorizons, vol. 6, issue 2, pp. 130-143, 2022 Feb 11. PMCID: PMC9235507  PMID: 35149520

2018

Truax, A. D., L. Chen, J. W. Tam, N. Cheng, H. Guo, A. A Koblansky, W-C. Chou, J. E. Wilson, J. W Brickey, A. Petrucelli, et al., "The Inhibitory Innate Immune Sensor NLRP12 Maintains a Threshold against Obesity by Regulating Gut Microbiota Homeostasis.", Cell Host Microbe, vol. 24, issue 3, pp. 364-378.e6, 2018 09 12. PMCID: PMC6161752  PMID: 30212649

2017

Bruce, D. W., H. E. Stefanski, B. G. Vincent, T. A. Dant, S. Reisdorf, H. Bommiasamy, D. A. Serody, J. E. Wilson, K. P. McKinnon, W. D. Shlomchik, et al., "Type 2 innate lymphoid cells treat and prevent acute gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease.", J Clin Invest, vol. 127, issue 5, pp. 1813-1825, 2017 May 01. PMCID: PMC5409787  PMID: 28375154

2016

Hirai-Yuki, A., L. Hensley, D. R. McGivern, O. González-López, A. Das, H. Feng, L. Sun, J. E. Wilson, F. Hu, Z. Feng, et al., "MAVS-dependent host species range and pathogenicity of human hepatitis A virus.", Science, vol. 353, issue 6307, pp. 1541-1545, 2016 09 30. PMCID: PMC5068972  PMID: 27633528
A Koblansky, A., A. D. Truax, R. Liu, S. A. Montgomery, S. Ding, J. E. Wilson, J. W Brickey, M. Mühlbauer, R-M. T. McFadden, P. Hu, et al., "The Innate Immune Receptor NLRX1 Functions as a Tumor Suppressor by Reducing Colon Tumorigenesis and Key Tumor-Promoting Signals.", Cell Rep, vol. 14, issue 11, pp. 2562-75, 2016 Mar 22. PMCID: PMC4853907  PMID: 26971998

2015

Wilson, J. E., A. S. Petrucelli, L. Chen, A. A Koblansky, A. D. Truax, Y. Oyama, A. B. Rogers, J. W Brickey, Y. Wang, M. Schneider, et al., "Inflammasome-independent role of AIM2 in suppressing colon tumorigenesis via DNA-PK and Akt.", Nat Med, vol. 21, issue 8, pp. 906-13, 2015 Aug. PMCID: PMC4529369  PMID: 26107252

2009

Wilson, J. E., B. Katkere, and J. R. Drake, "Francisella tularensis induces ubiquitin-dependent major histocompatibility complex class II degradation in activated macrophages.", Infect Immun, vol. 77, issue 11, pp. 4953-65, 2009 Nov. PMCID: PMC2772548  PMID: 19703975