The J. Lord Lab studies how the immune system interacts with the intestinal environment and how disruptions in these interactions contribute to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Researchers investigate how the immune system normally coexists with harmless microbes and other gut contents and what happens when this tolerance breaks down.
The team also examines how therapies for IBD affect immune cells in the blood and intestinal tissue. By comparing immune responses before and during treatment and relating these changes to clinical outcomes, researchers seek to better understand the mechanisms that drive disease and determine why treatments work for some people but not others.
Through this work, the lab is identifying differences in immune responses that may serve as biomarkers of disease activity or treatment response. The long-term goal is to use these insights to help guide more personalized approaches to treating IBD.
James Lord, MD, PhD
Lab Members
Ben Krautwald
Donna Shows
Past Lab Members
Elisa Boden, MD
J. Lord Lab
Current Affiliation: Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine; Head of IBD Program, Oregon Health and Science University; Gastroenterologist, Oregon Health and Science University
Duncan Hindmarch
J. Lord Lab
Current Affiliation: Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine
Ramya Kongala
J. Lord Lab
Andrew Konecny, PhD
J. Lord Lab
Current Affiliation: Postdoctoral Researcher, Prlic Lab, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Amiko M. Uchida, MD
J. Lord Lab
Current Affiliation: Assistant Professor of Gastroenterology, The University of Utah
Elizabeth Reznikov, DO, PhD
Current Affiliation: Attending Physician, Mary Bridge Children's
Kyle Williams
Translational Research Program
Current Affiliation: Medical Student, University of Colorado School of Medicine
Research Projects
Understanding Immune Responses to Vedolizumab in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
The J. Lord Lab studies how vedolizumab, a therapy for inflammatory bowel disease, affects immune cells in the blood and intestinal tissue to better understand treatment response and identify potential biomarkers.
Understanding T Cell Responses in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
The J. Lord Lab studies how T cells in the blood and intestinal tissue respond to gut bacteria and how differences in these responses may contribute to inflammatory bowel disease.
Featured Publications
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MAdCAM-1 Costimulates T Cells through Integrin α(4)β(7) to Cause Gene Expression Events Resembling Costimulation through CD28.
ImmunohorizonsDeBerg HA, Konecny AJ, Shows DM, Lord JD -
Escherichiacoli-Specific CD4+ T Cells Have Public T-Cell Receptors and Low Interleukin 10 Production in Crohn's Disease.
Cell Mol Gastroenterol HepatolUchida AM, Boden EK, James EA, Shows DM, Konecny AJ, Lord JD -
High-dimensional immune phenotyping and transcriptional analyses reveal robust recovery of viable human immune and epithelial cells from frozen gastrointestinal tissue.
Mucosal ImmunolKonnikova L, Boschetti G, Rahman A, Mitsialis V, Lord J, Richmond C, Tomov VT, Gordon W, Jelinsky S, Canavan J, Liss A, Wall S, Field M, Zhou F, Goldsmith JD, Bewtra M, Breault DT, Merad M, Snapper SB, Lord JD -
Identification of Candidate Biomarkers Associated with Response to Vedolizumab in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
Dig Dis SciBoden EK, Shows DM, Chiorean MV, Lord JD -
Circulating integrin alpha4/beta7+ lymphocytes targeted by vedolizumab have a pro-inflammatory phenotype.
Clin ImmunolLord JD, Long SA, Shows DM, Thorpe J, Schwedhelm K, Chen J, Kita M, Buckner JH
Innovation Fund Spotlight: Exploring Immune System Cells and Gut Bacteria
Allyson Byrd, PhD, is an expert in the gut microbiome, the study of the tiny organisms that live inside our digestive system. James Lord, MD, PhD, is a gastroenterologist who has studied inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis for more than 20 years.
Ready for This Moment: Exploring Prevention of Ulcerative Colitis
Adam Lacy-Hulbert, PhD, was reading through the latest scientific papers when one finding stopped him in his tracks: Groups from Kyoto University and Mount Sinai described an autoantibody specific to people with ulcerative colitis (UC).
Clues into Crohn's: Exploring Why the Immune System Attacks Beneficial Bacteria
Your gut is home to a huge community of bacteria called the microbiome. Some bacteria are good, some are bad — and some might hold the key to understanding an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
News
Benaroya Research Institute Awarded $11 Million Across Eight Grants in Second Half of 2024 to Predict, Prevent, Reverse and Cure Immune System Diseases
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Benaroya Research Institute Awarded More Than $14 Million Across 11 Grants To Help Predict, Prevent, Reverse and Cure Immune System Diseases
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