The Herbert Lab
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Commitment to Diversity in Teaching and Mentoring

My experiences gained from 5 institutions across 2 continents has brought a unique perspective and outlook in working with a wide variety of people and personalities. During the completion of my PhD thesis between the years of 1995-2000, I was the only African-American male among all the different graduate programs and only one of two students of color. The array of challenges that I faced during this period (both personal and professional) left indelible marks on my identity and a fierce resolve to overcome the odds. As tenured faculty at UPenn/PennVet, it is my greatest aspiration to create a rich diversity of outstanding individuals to work with, and to serve as a key resource for students from historically underrepresented groups looking for mentoring and support during their formative years of scientific training. Currently, I serve informal advisory roles for 15 students who are either Latinx or Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) enrolled in veterinary, graduate, and medical school programs here at UPenn and across the country. It is striking just how many trainees have approached me for insight, support, and guidance over the years, particularly following the murder of George Floyd. In a formal capacity, I have served as the Immunology Graduate Group diversity chair (2017-2020) and the Diversity Initiative Leader for Keystone Symposia, and I am currently the lead PI for our NIH funded Parasitology T32. I believe that diversity of thought, background, and perspective is vital for innovation in STEM. Recently, I have become Director of Education and International Affairs in the newly formed UPenn Institute for Innovation in Infectious Disease, where my role is to build fellowship and mentoring programs for URM students at multiple levels of training (i.e., high school, graduate and post-graduate level), with the goal of increasing representation of Latinx and BIPOC students in biomedical research and veterinary medicine. I am building partnerships between UPenn and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (e.g., Xavier University of Louisiana) through a joint venture with the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT). Also, I am building an international network of graduate student mentees located in low-and-middle income countries (LMIC) paired with U.S.-based scientists, with the intent of increasing the pool of graduate and post-doctoral candidates from South American and African countries. Current partnerships include students from Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon.

References

  1. Herbert, D. R. et al. Alternative macrophage activation is essential for survival during schistosomiasis and downmodulates T helper 1 responses and immunopathology. Immunity 20, 623-635, doi:10.1016/s1074-7613(04)00107-4 (2004).

  2. Rani, R., Jordan, M. B., Divanovic, S. & Herbert, D. R. IFN-gamma-driven IDO production from macrophages protects IL-4Ralpha-deficient mice against lethality during Schistosoma mansoni infection. Am J Pathol 180, 2001-2008, doi:10.1016/j.ajpath.2012.01.013 (2012).

  3. Fontana, M. F. et al. Myeloid expression of the AP-1 transcription factor JUNB modulates outcomes of type 1 and type 2 parasitic infections. Parasite Immunol 37, 470-478, doi:10.1111/pim.12215 (2015).

  4. Fontana, M. F. et al. JUNB is a key transcriptional modulator of macrophage activation. J Immunol 194, 177-186, doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1401595 (2015).

  5. Herbert, D. R. et al. Arginase I suppresses IL-12/IL-23p40-driven intestinal inflammation during acute schistosomiasis. J Immunol 184, 6438-6446, doi:10.4049/jimmunol.0902009 (2010).

  6. Herbert, D. R., Orekov, T., Perkins, C. & Finkelman, F. D. IL-10 and TGF-beta redundantly protect against severe liver injury and mortality during acute schistosomiasis. J Immunol 181, 7214-7220, doi:10.4049/jimmunol.181.10.7214 (2008).

  7. Rani, R., Smulian, A. G., Greaves, D. R., Hogan, S. P. & Herbert, D. R. TGF-beta limits IL-33 production and promotes the resolution of colitis through regulation of macrophage function. Eur J Immunol 41, 2000-2009, doi:10.1002/eji.201041135 (2011).

  8. Taupin, D. & Podolsky, D. K. Trefoil factors: initiators of mucosal healing. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 4, 721-732, doi:10.1038/nrm1203 (2003).

  9. Kinoshita, K., Taupin, D. R., Itoh, H. & Podolsky, D. K. Distinct pathways of cell migration and antiapoptotic response to epithelial injury: structure-function analysis of human intestinal trefoil factor. Mol Cell Biol 20, 4680-4690, doi:10.1128/MCB.20.13.4680-4690.2000 (2000).

  10. Taupin, D. R., Kinoshita, K. & Podolsky, D. K. Intestinal trefoil factor confers colonic epithelial resistance to apoptosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 97, 799-804, doi:10.1073/pnas.97.2.799 (2000).

  11. Wills-Karp, M. et al. Trefoil factor 2 rapidly induces interleukin 33 to promote type 2 immunity during allergic asthma and hookworm infection. J Exp Med 209, 607-622, doi:10.1084/jem.20110079 (2012).

  12. Savenije, O. E. et al. Association of IL33-IL-1 receptor-like 1 (IL1RL1) pathway polymorphisms with wheezing phenotypes and asthma in childhood. J Allergy Clin Immunol 134, 170-177, doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2013.12.1080 (2014).

  13. Bonnelykke, K. et al. A genome-wide association study identifies CDHR3 as a susceptibility locus for early childhood asthma with severe exacerbations. Nat Genet 46, 51-55, doi:10.1038/ng.2830 (2014).

  14. Ho, J. E. et al. Common genetic variation at the IL1RL1 locus regulates IL-33/ST2 signaling. J Clin Invest 123, 4208-4218, doi:10.1172/JCI67119 (2013).

  15. McBerry, C. et al. Trefoil factor 2 negatively regulates type 1 immunity against Toxoplasma gondii. J Immunol 189, 3078-3084, doi:10.4049/jimmunol.1103374 (2012).

  16. Hung, L. Y. et al. Trefoil Factor 2 Promotes Type 2 Immunity and Lung Repair through Intrinsic Roles in Hematopoietic and Nonhematopoietic Cells. Am J Pathol 188, 1161-1170, doi:10.1016/j.ajpath.2018.01.020 (2018).

  17. Belle, N. M. et al. TFF3 interacts with LINGO2 to regulate EGFR activation for protection against colitis and gastrointestinal helminths. Nat Commun 10, 4408, doi:10.1038/s41467-019-12315-1 (2019).

  18. Zullo, K. M. et al. LINGO3 regulates mucosal tissue regeneration and promotes TFF2 dependent recovery from colitis. Scand J Gastroenterol 56, 791-805, doi:10.1080/00365521.2021.1917650 (2021).

  19. Patel, N. N. et al. Sentinels at the wall: epithelial-derived cytokines serve as triggers of upper airway type 2 inflammation. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol 9, 93-99, doi:10.1002/alr.22206 (2019).

  20. Patel, N. N. et al. Fungal extracts stimulate solitary chemosensory cell expansion in noninvasive fungal rhinosinusitis. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol 9, 730-737, doi:10.1002/alr.22334 (2019).

  21. Rane, C. K. et al. Development of solitary chemosensory cells in the distal lung after severe influenza injury. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol 316, L1141-L1149, doi:10.1152/ajplung.00032.2019 (2019).

  22. Hung, L. Y., Pastore, C. F., Douglas, B. & Herbert, D. R. Myeloid-Derived IL-33 Limits the Severity of Dextran Sulfate Sodium-Induced Colitis. Am J Pathol 191, 266-273, doi:10.1016/j.ajpath.2020.11.004 (2021).

  23. Vainchtein, I. D. et al. Astrocyte-derived interleukin-33 promotes microglial synapse engulfment and neural circuit development. Science 359, 1269-1273, doi:10.1126/science.aal3589 (2018).

  24. Odegaard, J. I. et al. Perinatal Licensing of Thermogenesis by IL-33 and ST2. Cell 166, 841-854, doi:10.1016/j.cell.2016.06.040 (2016).

  25. Mahapatro, M. et al. Programming of Intestinal Epithelial Differentiation by IL-33 Derived from Pericryptal Fibroblasts in Response to Systemic Infection. Cell Rep 15, 1743-1756, doi:10.1016/j.celrep.2016.04.049 (2016).

  26. Cayrol, C. & Girard, J. P. Interleukin-33 (IL-33): A nuclear cytokine from the IL-1 family. Immunol Rev 281, 154-168, doi:10.1111/imr.12619 (2018).

  27. Hsu, C. L., Neilsen, C. V. & Bryce, P. J. IL-33 is produced by mast cells and regulates IgE-dependent inflammation. PLoS One 5, e11944, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0011944 (2010).

  28. Hung, L. Y. et al. Cellular context of IL-33 expression dictates impact on anti-helminth immunity. Sci Immunol 5, doi:10.1126/sciimmunol.abc6259 (2020).

  29. Lok, J. B. CRISPR/Cas9 Mutagenesis and Expression of Dominant Mutant Transgenes as Functional Genomic Approaches in Parasitic Nematodes. Front Genet 10, 656, doi:10.3389/fgene.2019.00656 (2019).

  30. Douglas, B. et al. Transgenic expression of a T cell epitope in Strongyloides ratti reveals that helminth-specific CD4+ T cells constitute both Th2 and Treg populations. PLoS Pathog 17, e1009709, doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1009709 (2021).

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