Prior Degrees

BS Biology, University of Puerto Rico at Cayey, May 2010

Mentor(s)

Dr. Norbert E. Kaminski

Research Interests

Characterizing the function of endocannabinoids, specifically in immune response and modulation. They are endogenous lipids that bind cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2, the same receptors that mediate the psychoactive effects of cannabis). Anandamide (N-arachidonoylethanolamine, AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), collectively termed the "endocannabinoids". Bone marrow derived dendritic cells from CB1-/CB2- mice stimulated to differentiate to CD4/CD8 T cells will be treated with AEA or 2-AG and stained for several cytokines (i.e. Interferon-gamma, critical for innate and adaptive immunity against viral and intracellular bacterial infections) and surface markers to characterize their effects. We hypothesize that they
have an important role in attenuation of T cell response to foreign antigens.