Qiuming Zeng, a Visiting Scholar in the laboratory of Dr. Jian Zhang, was recognized for his research at the recent Autumn Immunology Conference held in Chicago, IL. Qiuming’s abstract entitled Cbl-b deficiency in the myeloid cell lineages but not T cells is responsible heightened Th17 response was selected as the top presentation in his workshop. As a result, Mr. Zeng was a recipient of one of this year’s American Association of Immunologists Young Investigator Awards.

Qiuming’s work in Dr. Zhang’s laboratory is focused on the E3 ubiquitin ligase Cbl-b and its role in regulating T lymphocyte activity. He found that the absence of this enzyme in myeloid cells leads to dysregulation in the T cell compartment, with a marked increase in Th17 activity. When studying this in the context of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a mouse model of multiple sclerosis, the increase of Th17 activity resulted in exacerbated disease. These findings not only help in understanding the pathogenesis of T cell driven-autoimmunity, but provide new targets for possible therapies.