Mason Science Series Upcoming Events
Treating the Next Pandemic Using our Own Immune Systems Toolkit
Join us for a conversation with Dr. Ramin Hakami on his promising research surrounding improved infectious disease treatments if faced with another pandemic.
Dr. Hakami’s research could improve treatment options if faced with another pandemic.
Using innate mechanisms of our own bodies to boost the immune response to infection, Dr. Hakami takes a bench-to-bedside approach to investigating the natural mechanisms of protection against infectious diseases at a molecular level. The various efforts center around the formation of nanovesicles that act as carrier pigeons for the delivery of bioactive cargo in the body to boost the immune response to infection.
Dr. Hakami conducts his research with a team from SaluGenics led by Dr. Wayne Jonas, with support by grants from the Samueli Foundation and the Klopp Trust. The work centers around the characterization and development of a technology platform named NESTED that generates nanoparticles with bioactive components derived from patient samples. The approach showed strong efficacy against COVID-19 in a 2,388-person human trial against SARS-CoV-2 infection that was conducted in 2021-22. Another part of the effort by Dr. Hakami’s group is focuses on naturally derived nanovesicles (called extracellular vesicles) that mediate the exchange of potent bio-cargo between cells. Dr. Hakami’s laboratory was among the very first to study the molecular mechanisms by which these host-derived vesicles regulate immune response to infection with highly pathogenic agents, demonstrating their ability to activate the immune system against infection and blunt infectious spread.
Check out "Ex" Marks the Spot: Exosomes with Ramin Hakami a podcast by the American Society for Microbiology
This event is free, but registration is required.
- 3:30 p.m. Doors open with light reception
- 4:00 p.m. Discussion with Q&A
- 5:00 p.m. Reception and conversation
For questions on this event, please email Lesley Irminger (lirminge@gmu.edu).
About the Speakers
Ramin HakamiProfessor, School of Systems Biology
Ramin Hakami obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry in the laboratory of the Nobel Laureate Professor Har Gobind Khorana at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and was subsequently awarded a NRSA fellowship from NIH to complete postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School. He is currently an associate professor of microbiology and infectious diseases at George Mason University. The main focus of research in Hakami’s laboratory is to understand the fundamental mechanisms by which vesicular trafficking within the host regulates innate immune responses during infection with pathogenic agents. In particular, a major focus is the molecular mechanisms by which extracellular vesicles (EVs) regulate innate immunity. The broad goal of these studies is identifying new strategies for the development of highly effective host-based countermeasures.
Fernando Miralles-WilhelmDean, College of Science
Fernando R. Miralles-Wilhelm is the Dean of the College of Science at George Mason University. He is a hydrologist and water resources engineer with research interests in modeling of surface and groundwater systems, climate-hydrology-vegetation interactions, remote sensing applied to hydrologic cycle processes and water quality, and modeling of the water-energy-food nexus. He has been a Principal Investigator in over $300M research sponsored by NASA, NOAA, NSF, USDA, USAID, the World Bank, and other agencies, and has worked as a research and consultant in water resources projects in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Europe for over 25 years. Before coming to Mason, he served on the faculty at Northeastern University, the University of Miami, Florida International University, and the University of Maryland. He also spent 5 years as a civil servant at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington DC.
Dr. Miralles-Wilhelm is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and a Diplomate of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and the American Academy of Water Resources Engineers. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the states of Massachusetts and Florida.
