Julie Ledford, PhD
Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Professor, Immunobiology
Professor, BIO5 Institute
Professor, Medicine
Professor, Clinical Translational Sciences
Professor, Applied BioSciences
Associate Director
Co-Director, Clinical Translational Sciences Graduate Program
PO Box 245044
Building: AHSC (#05044)
Room #: 4205
Selected Publications
Hsia, B.1, † Ledford, J.G.1, Potts, E., Nikam, V., Lugogo, N., Foster, W. M., Kraft, M., Abraham, S., Wright, J.R.; Mast cell TNF-receptors regulate responses to Mycoplasma pneumoniae in SP-A-/- mice; Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology; 2012:130(1):205-214; PMID:22502799 (correction, JACI 2015 PMID: 26611673). 1Authors Contributed Equally.
† Ledford, J.G., Mukherjee, S., Kislan, M.M., Nugent, J.L., Hollingsworth, J.W., Wright, J.R.; Surfactant Protein-A suppresses eosinophil-mediated killing of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in allergic lungs; Plos One. Jan. 2012: 7(2); PMID:22384248.
† Ledford, J. G., Voelker, D., Addison, K. J., Fischer, B. M., Kraft, M., Hollingsworth, J. W.; Genetic variation in SP-A2 leads to differential binding of Mycoplasma membranes and regulation of host response; The Journal of Immunology; June, 2015; 194(12):6123-32; PMID:25957169 (Featured “In this Issue” section).
† Ledford, J. G., Addison, K. J., Fransicso, D., Foster, M. W., Voelker, D., Que, LG, Kraft, M.; Genetic Variation in Surfactant Protein-A2 Results in Altered Regulation of Eosinophil Activities and Enhanced Eosinophilia in Patients with Asthma; Annals of the American Thoracic Society; March, 2016: Suppl 1:S101; PMID: 27027938
Addison, K.J., Morse, J., Robichaud, A., Daines, M.O., †Ledford, J.G.; A novel method to test bronchodilators in vivo; Journal of Infectious Pulmonary Diseases; Feb, 2017; 3(1): 1-5; PMID: 28367537.
N. Lugogo, D.C. Francisco, K. J. Addison, A. Manne, W. Pederson, J.L. Ingram, B. Suratt, M.E. Sunday, 1M. Kraft, †Ledford, J.G.; Obese asthmatics have decreased Surfactant Protein-A levels: mechanisms and implications; Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology; June, 2017. PMID: 28624607
Noutsios, G., Jenkins, A., Ledford, J.G., Chang, E.; Novel Role of Surfactant Protein A in Bacterial Sinusitis; International Forum of Allergy and Rhinology; Accepted, June 2017.
† Indicates corresponding author is Julie Ledford
Student Opportunities Through Research
There are several research opportunities available in the lab: 1) How does genetic variation in SP-A alter it’s activity against pathogens or in the immune response to allergen challenge? 2) Which specific parts of SP-A are active in certain processes? 3) How are SP-A (and other surfactant components) levels regulated in the context of obesity? 4) How does CC16 function mechanistically to protect from lung function decline? 5) Is CC16 directly or indirectly antimicrobial?
Sponsored Research Through MSRP
Arif Muhammad, (MSRP 2017): "Defining the Dual Roles of Surfactant Protein-A in Eosinophil Recruitment and Apoptosis in Search of a Novel Therapeutic Approach to Asthma"
Tiffany Shamas, (MSRP 2021): "Peptidomimetics of the Integrin Binding Motif (LVD) within Club Cell Secretory Protein (CC16) to Decrease Leukocyte Adhesion."
Degrees
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2006
- Duke University, 2007-2011 (Postdoctoral fellow)
Awards
- Jo Rae Wright Award for Outstanding Science from the American Thoracic Society
Research Interests
Innate and adaptive immunity in the lung with emphasis on pulmonary secreted proteins, Surfactant protein-A and Club cell secretory protein, and how they mediate host responses to pathogens and their roles in asthma.