Faculty & Scientific Staff
Karen Cerosaletti, PhD
Background Information
Dr. Cerosaletti received a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. She worked in infectious disease research before obtaining her PhD in Immunology from the University of Rochester in 1990. After post-doctoral work in somatic cell genetics in the Molecular Medicine Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, she joined Benaroya Research Institute (BRI) in 1995. She is currently Director of the Center for Translational Immunology, Manager of the Genotyping Core, and an Associate Member at BRI.
Area of Research
Dr. Cerosaletti’s research is focused on the role of the adaptive immune system in the development and progression of immune mediated diseases and the response to treatment. Current research is examing the role of T cells in the development and progression of autoimmune type 1 diabetes (T1D) and the response to immunotherapy in T1D. The lab is identifying transcriptional and T cell receptor signatures of islet autoreactive CD4 T effector cells and regulatory T cells that are linked to disease course. Her lab is also examining the expansion of stem-like CD4 memory T cells in T1D which may serve as a reservoir of autoreactive T cells in T1D. Additionally, Dr. Cerosaletti has a longstanding research interest in the molecular genetics of immune disorders to establish functional links between genetic variants and alterations in the immune response leading to loss of tolerance, viral response, and response to therapy. Current work is focused on the impact of genetic variants in the response to peanut allergy immunotherapy.
Featured Publications
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Nov 2021
Autoreactive T cell receptors with shared germline-like α chains in type 1 diabetes.
JCI InsightLinsley PS, Barahmand-Pour-Whitman F, Balmas E, DeBerg HA, Flynn KJ, Hu AK, Rosasco MG, Chen J, O'Rourke C, Serti E, Gersuk VH, Motwani K, Seay HR, Brusko TM, Kwok WW, Speake C, Greenbaum CJ, Nepom GT, Cerosaletti K -
Jul 2017
Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Expanded Clones of Islet Antigen-Reactive CD4+ T Cells in Peripheral Blood of Subjects with Type 1 Diabetes.
J ImmunolCerosaletti K, Barahmand-Pour-Whitman F, Yang J, DeBerg HA, Dufort MJ, Murray SA, Israelsson E, Speake C, Gersuk VH, Eddy JA, Reijonen H, Greenbaum CJ, Kwok WW, Wambre E, Prlic M, Gottardo R, Nepom GT, Linsley PS -
Feb 2018
Islet-reactive CD8+ T cell frequencies in the pancreas, but not in blood, distinguish type 1 diabetic patients from healthy donors.
Sci ImmunolCulina S, Lalanne AI, Afonso G, Cerosaletti K, Pinto S, Sebastiani G, Kuranda K, Nigi L, Eugster A, Østerbye T, Maugein A, McLaren JE, Ladell K, Larger E, Beressi JP, Lissina A, Appay V, Davidson HW, Buus S, Price DA, Kuhn M, Bonifacio E, Battaglia M, Caillat-Zucman S, Dotta F, Scharfmann R, Kyewski B, Mallone R, ImMaDiab Study Group. -
Jan 2022
HLA alleles and sustained peanut consumption promote IgG4 responses in subjects protected from peanut allergy.
J Clin InvestKanchan K, Grinek S, Bahnson HT, Ruczinski I, Shankar G, Larson D, Du Toit G, Barnes KC, Sampson HA, Suarez-Farinas M, Lack G, Nepom GT, Cerosaletti K, Mathias RA -
Aug 2021
Endomembrane targeting of human OAS1 p46 augments antiviral activity.
ElifeSoveg FW, Schwerk J, Gokhale NS, Cerosaletti K, Smith JR, Pairo-Castineira E, Kell AM, Forero A, Zaver SA, Esser-Nobis K, Roby JA, Hsiang TY, Ozarkar S, Clingan JM, McAnarney ET, Stone AE, Malhotra U, Speake C, Perez J, Balu C, Allenspach EJ, Hyde JL, Menachery VD, Sarkar SN, Woodward JJ, Stetson DB, Baillie JK, Buckner JH, Gale M Jr, Savan R