Michael Y Gerner

Michael completed his undergraduate studies at University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he obtained a B.S. in Biochemistry in 2002. After graduation, Michael worked for one year as a Laboratory Technician in the laboratory of Dr. Vitaly A. Polunovski and Peter B. Bitterman at the University of Minnesota. He then joined the Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology graduate program at the University of Minnesota in 2003. There, Michael studies under the guidance of Dr. Matthew F. Mescher and investigates the regulation of cellular immune responses to cancer development and progression.

Specifically, his research focuses on the cancer-mediated inhibition of antigen presentation function in the disease-associated dendritic cells and the resulting ignorance of tumor progression by tumor-specific CD4 T cells and immunologic tolerance of tumor-specific CD8 T cells.

Awards and Honors:

• NIH sponsored MICaB Travel Grant (2008)
• NIH sponsored Cancer Biology Training Grant (2005-2007)
• The Edward and Anna Birge Research Scholarship (2001)

Thesis Publications:

Gerner, M.Y., Mescher M.F. 2009. Antigen processing and MHC-II presentation by dermal and tumor-infiltrating dendritic cells. J Immunol 182:2726-37 

Gerner, M.Y., Casey K.A., Mescher M.F. 2008. Defective MHC-II presentation by DC limits CD4 T cell help for anti-tumor CD8 T cell responses. J Immunol 181:155-64.

Curtsinger, J. M., M. Y. Gerner, D. C. Lins, and M. F. Mescher. 2007. Signal 3 availability limits the CD8 T cell response to a solid tumor. J Immunol 178:6752-6760.

Mescher, M. F., F. E. Popescu, M. Gerner, C. D. Hammerbeck, and J. M. Curtsinger. 2007. Activation-induced non-responsiveness (anergy) limits CD8 T cell responses to tumors. Semin Cancer Biol 17:299-308.

Mescher, M. F., J. M. Curtsinger, P. Agarwal, K. A. Casey, M. Gerner, C. D. Hammerbeck, F. Popescu, and Z. Xiao. 2006. Signals required for programming effector and memory development by CD8+ T cells. Immunol Rev 211:81-92.