Jana Badrani, a doctoral candidate in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), recently received a T32 Fellowship Program in Multifaceted Translational Approaches in Mental Illness grant from the National Institutes of Mental Health to study the effect of immune cells on neurons and behavior.
Badrani graduated from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in physiology and neuroscience with minors in humanities and cognitive science. She received her master’s degree in biological sciences from UCSD in 2017, after which she continued laboratory work as a research assistant. She joined the UAB MSTP in 2020 and is currently in her third year of the graduate phase of the program working in the lab of Shinichi Kano, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology.
Badrani discusses her research and research goals.
Give us a brief overview of your research, specifically as it pertains to the T32 grant.
Badrani: I am interested in how immune cells, especially non-microglial immune cells, impact neurons and behavior. It was believed that the brain was an immune-privileged organ with microglia as the tissue-resident immune cells. The presence of other immune cells in the brain was thought to occur only during disease states; however, recent studies have shown the presence of non-microglial immune cells within the CNS-compartment (skull, meninges, and brain) in homeostasis and during development. I am interested in studying the role of these non-microglial immune cells within the brain and how they communicate with neurons. For my T32, I am trying to address this question within the context of maternal immune activation (MIA), which is a useful model for exploring the impact of immune cell dysfunction on brain development. MIA is a pro-inflammatory response within the mother during pregnancy and can be caused by infectious and non-infectious triggers. It is also a risk factor for the development of neurodevelopmental disorders, like autism and schizophrenia, in offspring. I am exploring how non-microglial immune cells, particularly myeloid cells, change within the CNS-compartment in MIA offspring and how these immune cells interact with neurons.
What initially attracted you to this research?
Badrani: I was first drawn to neuroscience because of its complexity – I believed that the nervous system was the most complicated system and wanted to better understand how neurons function. My undergraduate coursework was in neuroscience and cognitive science and provided a basic understanding of the field. Yet, my undergraduate and master’s research was in an immunology lab studying the role of innate lymphoid cells in mouse models of asthma. After my first week in the lab, I realized that I might have to reevaluate my belief on what the most complicated system was. Throughout this research experience, I became more interested in immunology and how immune cells interact and communicate with one another, but I still wanted to study the brain and how neurons function. It was through these seemingly competing interests that I learned about the field of neuroimmunology. It was the perfect solution for me because it combined my initial fascination with neurons with my new appreciation of immune cells.
How will this grant propel your research goals going forward?
Badrani: The Mental Illness T32 Training Program will help me establish a strong foundation in interdisciplinary and translational research and will provide me with the skillset needed to utilize immune cells as part of the next generation of tools in addressing mental health.