Research Group
- Dr. Olivia Martinez, Principal Investigator
- Dr. Stacie Lambert, Postdoctoral Fellow
- Mrs. Karine Ruster-Piard, Research Associate
Location
- Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, USA
Title
- B Cell Lymphomas in Transplantation
When patients have organ transplants they must take very potent medication to prevent their immune system from attacking and destroying the graft. A side effect of the medication is that it makes the person more vulnerable to infection and cancer. Epstein Barr virus (EBV) is a virus that has infected most of us (>90% of the population). In healthy people EBV poses no problems, however, EBV infections in transplant recipients can lead to a type of cancer, termed B cell lymphoma, that is usually fatal.
In this study we seek to understand how EBV alters the growth control of the B cell that it infects. We think that the virus can interfere with the normal molecules in the cell that help it control its growth. By understanding how the virus can do this we hope to be able to develop new drugs to treat these cancers. Ultimately, these studies will help us prevent the development of EBV tumors in transplant recipients.