Eva Kaufmann appointed the Canada Research Chair in Immunology and Inflammation

News & Announcements | 18 Mar 2024

Queen’s researcher Eva Kaufmann (Biomedical and Molecular Sciences) has been named a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Immunology and Inflammation. Additionally, she has secured $517,084 in funding from the John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), granted by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

Canada Research Chairs are a national program which aims to attract and retain some of the world’s most accomplished and promising minds.

Having joined the university in 2022, Dr. Kaufmann is an expert in the biology of respiratory diseases and will advance studies on the development of asthma. Her research program looks at how allergen and pathogen exposure in early childhood can trigger changes in hematopoietic stem cells (which originate the different types of blood cells) and result in respiratory complications in individuals with asthma.

"To date, it is well established that childhood respiratory infections, especially in conjunction with repeated wheezing, are linked to increased risks of subsequent asthma development. However, we still don't know why," says Dr. Kaufmann. Her hypothesis is that innate immune memory – also known as trained immunity – can be the causal link between childhood infections and asthma. In other words, in asthma, the way the body reacts to allergens might be influenced by its response to prior pathogen exposure.

This research falls under the umbrella of epigenetic studies, which investigate how factors that an individual experiences (e.g., infections) change the gene transcription. Particularly, Dr. Kaufmann is interested in long-lasting epigenetic changes in hematopoietic stem cells that produce all our circulating innate immune cells.

Dr. Kaufmann will use mouse models to study how early exposure to allergens and pathogens induce epigenetic adaptations in innate immune cells. The results can lead to important developments in respiratory care. "This fundamental research will help us to better understand asthma pathogenesis and can ultimately pave the way for development of targeted drugs for asthma treatment or prevention," says Kaufmann, adding that the results can also have potential applications for the treatment of other respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

This story originally appeared in The Gazette.

Eva Kaufmann appointed the Canada Research Chair in Immunology and Inflammation

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