Detail

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  • Brian Daniels
  • Assistant Professor
  • bd406@rutgers.edu
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  • Phone: (848) 445-2709
  • Office: Nelson Labs B314
  • Click for Research Website
  • Biography:

    Biography:

    B.A., B.S., Southern Wesleyan University, Central, SC
    Ph.D., Washington University, Saint Louis, MO
    Postdoctoral training: Andrew Oberst, advisor, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

    Awards

    2017    Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral National Research Service Award/F32 (2017-2018)       
    2015    David M. Kipnis Award for Human Disease Pathogenesis Research                      
    2014    Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral National Research Service Award/F31 (2014-2015)
    2011    NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (2011-2014)
  • Research Group: Neuroscience
  • Research Interests:

    Infection and inflammation in the central nervous system
  • News Articles:
  • Dr. Brian Daniels Receives American Parkinson's Disease Association Grant
  • Welcome Dr. Brian Daniels to Rutgers!
  • Current Research:

    Immunogenic cell death signaling at the blood-brain barrier

                Infection and injury of the central nervous system (CNS) induce programmed cell death responses in a variety of neural cell types. In particular, the canonical form of programmed cell death, apoptosis, has been extensively studied as a source of tissue pathology and immunoregulation during CNS disease states. However, roles for nonapoptotic cell death programs, such as necroptosis, during neuroinflammatory disease remain poorly understood. Using mouse and cell culture models of neuroinvasive viral infection and traumatic injury, we are examining roles for the necroptotic kinases RIPK1 and RIPK3 at the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a multicellular interface that tightly regulates the trafficking of immune cells into the CNS. Ongoing questions include: 1) Are cells of the BBB susceptible to necroptosis during infection and injury? 2) Does RIPK signaling at the BBB exhibit distinct cell death-dependent and -independent outcomes that vary by stimulus and cell type? and 3) How does BBB RIPK signaling shape protective vs. pathologic immune responses across the CNS?

    Immunologic heterogeneity of the CNS

                The CNS is comprised of a number of highly specialized cell types, including neurons, glia, vascular endothelia, and others. Moreover, each of these individual cell types are further specialized across the various anatomical regions of the CNS. The extensive cell-type and regional heterogeneity of the CNS underlies this organ system’s incedibely complex functional capacity. In addition, our work and others’ have shown that the CNS also displays considerable heterogeneity in its immune responses across cell types and regions, though the determinants of immunologic heterogeneity in the CNS are mysterious. Our lab seeks to understand how unique functional, developmental, morphological, and evolutionary features of CNS cell types and antomical regions shape inflammatory responses to infection and traumatic injury.
  • PubMed Publications:

     

    For CBN's main publication search, click here.
  • Research Summary:

    Infection and inflammation in the central nervous system
  • Recruiting New Research Assistants: 2021-2022
  • Research Summary:

    Infection and inflammation in the central nervous system
  • How to Apply:

    Interested undergraduate students should apply at danielslab.net/people
  • Semesters Accepting Students:

    Fall: Maybe
    Spring: Maybe
    Summer: Maybe
  • Research Preferences:

    Strong preference given to students planning on PhD or MD/PhD study. Usually take new students as sophomores.