Biography:Yasmine Belkaid

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Yasmine Belkaid
2017-03-31 - Yasmine-Belkaid - 1340.jpg
Born1968
Algiers, Algeria
Alma materUniversity of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene
University of Paris-Sud
Pasteur Institute
Known forMicrobiome
AwardsSanofi-Pasteur Award
Scientific career
FieldsImmunology, Microbiology
InstitutionsNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
University of Pennsylvania
WebsiteResearch website

Yasmine Belkaid (born 1968) is an Algerian immunologist and senior investigator at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania.[1] She is best known for her work studying host-microbe interactions in tissues and immune regulation to microbes. Belkaid currently serves as the director of the NIAID Microbiome program.[2]

Early life and education

Belkaid was born and raised in Algiers, Algeria. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees in biochemistry from the University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene as well as a Master of Advanced Studies from University of Paris-Sud. She earned her doctorate in immunology from the Pasteur Institute in 1996, where she studied innate immune responses to Leishmania infection.

Career

Academia

Following graduate school, she moved to the United States for a postdoctoral fellowship at NIAID's Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases. In 2002, she joined the faculty of the Division of Molecular Immunology in Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center before returning to NIAID in 2005 as a tenure-track investigator in the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases. In 2008, she became adjunct Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.[3]

Research

Belkaid's research focuses on untangling the mechanisms underlying host-microbe interactions in the gastrointestinal tract and on the skin, which are natural barrier sites between the host's inner workings and their external environment.[4] This also includes the role microbiota play in promoting immunity against infection against other harmful pathogens.[5][4] Her group has contributed to the scientific understanding of how the host immune system can distinguish good microbes from the bad.[6][7]

Belkaid's research also led to the discovery of certain skin microbes that play an important role in immune defense.[8] They carried out this experiment using mice that had no naturally-occurring microbes in their skin or gut so they could colonize those mice with only one strain of "good" bacteria. They then infected the colonized and bacteria-free mice with a parasite and found that those without the "good" bacteria were unable to fight back against the parasite, while those with the bacteria mounted an effective immune response.[8] Her team has also found that beneficial bacteria living on the surface of the skin can also accelerate wound healing in mice.[9] Belkaid's group also studies what happens when there are imbalances in our microbiome. Belkaid's research has advanced scientific understanding of how shifts in microbiota can contribute to disease, particularly chronic inflammatory diseases like Crohn's disease and Psoriasis.[10][11][12][13][14]

Awards and honors

References

  1. "Body fat can help your body fight infection, a study claims" (in en). 2018-01-04. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/body-fat-infection-prevent-nih-study-colds-cells-research-a8141906.html. 
  2. hermes (2018-09-04). "Keep your gut healthy - and your skin may follow" (in en). https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/keep-your-gut-healthy-and-your-skin-may-follow. 
  3. "UPENN Biomedical Graduate Studies | Yasmine Belkaid". http://www.med.upenn.edu/apps/faculty/index.php/g20000220/p8159659. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "The Microbiome: When Good Bugs Go Bad" (in en). NIH Intramural Research Program. 2014-05-20. https://irp.nih.gov/our-research/research-in-action/the-microbiome-when-good-bugs-go-bad. 
  5. Belkaid, Yasmine; Hand, Timothy W. (March 2014). "Role of the Microbiota in Immunity and Inflammation". Cell 157 (1): 121–141. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2014.03.011. ISSN 0092-8674. PMID 24679531. 
  6. Grainger, John R.; Wohlfert, Elizabeth A.; Fuss, Ivan J.; Bouladoux, Nicolas; Askenase, Michael H.; Legrand, Fanny; Koo, Lily Y.; Brenchley, Jason M. et al. (June 2013). "Inflammatory monocytes regulate pathologic responses to commensals during acute gastrointestinal infection". Nature Medicine 19 (6): 713–721. doi:10.1038/nm.3189. ISSN 1078-8956. PMID 23708291. 
  7. Naik, Shruti; Bouladoux, Nicolas; Wilhelm, Christoph; Molloy, Michael J.; Salcedo, Rosalba; Kastenmuller, Wolfgang; Deming, Clayton; Quinones, Mariam et al. (2012-08-31). "Compartmentalized control of skin immunity by resident commensals". Science 337 (6098): 1115–1119. doi:10.1126/science.1225152. ISSN 1095-9203. PMID 22837383. 
  8. 8.0 8.1 Naik, Shruti; Bouladoux, Nicolas; Wilhelm, Christoph; Molloy, Michael J.; Salcedo, Rosalba; Kastenmuller, Wolfgang; Deming, Clayton; Quinones, Mariam et al. (2012-08-31). "Compartmentalized Control of Skin Immunity by Resident Commensals" (in en). Science 337 (6098): 1115–1119. doi:10.1126/science.1225152. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 22837383. 
  9. Linehan, Jonathan L.; Harrison, Oliver J.; Han, Seong-Ji; Byrd, Allyson L.; Vujkovic-Cvijin, Ivan; Villarino, Alejandro V.; Sen, Shurjo K.; Shaik, Jahangheer et al. (February 2018). "Non-classical Immunity Controls Microbiota Impact on Skin Immunity and Tissue Repair". Cell 172 (4): 784–796.e18. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2017.12.033. ISSN 0092-8674. PMID 29358051. 
  10. Hand, Timothy W.; Vujkovic-Cvijin, Ivan; Ridaura, Vanessa K.; Belkaid, Yasmine (December 2016). "Linking the Microbiota, Chronic Disease, and the Immune System". Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism 27 (12): 831–843. doi:10.1016/j.tem.2016.08.003. ISSN 1879-3061. PMID 27623245. 
  11. Man, Si Ming; Kaakoush, Nadeem O.; Mitchell, Hazel M. (March 2011). "The role of bacteria and pattern-recognition receptors in Crohn's disease". Nature Reviews. Gastroenterology & Hepatology 8 (3): 152–168. doi:10.1038/nrgastro.2011.3. ISSN 1759-5053. PMID 21304476. 
  12. Fonseca, Denise Morais da; Hand, Timothy W.; Han, Seong-Ji; Gerner, Michael Y.; Glatman Zaretsky, Arielle; Byrd, Allyson L.; Harrison, Oliver J.; Ortiz, Alexandra M. et al. (2015-10-08). "Microbiota-Dependent Sequelae of Acute Infection Compromise Tissue-Specific Immunity". Cell 163 (2): 354–366. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2015.08.030. ISSN 1097-4172. PMID 26451485. 
  13. Belkaid, Yasmine; Hand, Timothy W (2014-03-27). "Role of the Microbiota in Immunity and Inflammation" (in en). Cell 157 (1): 121–141. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2014.03.011. ISSN 0092-8674. PMID 24679531. 
  14. "2019 FNIH Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences Winner Uncovered the Microbiome's Critical Role in Immune Regulation" (in en-US). https://www.biospace.com/article/2019-fnih-lurie-prize-in-biomedical-sciences-winner-uncovered-the-microbiome-s-critical-role-in-immune-regulation/. 
  15. "The Award Winners 2016" (in fr). Institut Pasteur. 2017-02-03. https://www.pasteur.fr/fr/nous-soutenir/comment-nous-soutenir/entreprises-fondations/ils-nous-soutiennent/sanofi-institut-pasteur-awards/award-winners-2016. 
  16. "Yasmine Belkaid" (in en-gb). https://www.asm.org/index.php/aam-fellows/aam-fellows/fellows-elected-in-2016/item/4603-yasmine-belkaid. 
  17. "Yasmine Belkaid erhält den Emil von Behring-Preis 2017 - Philipps-Universität Marburg - Pressemitteilung" (in de). https://www.lifepr.de/inaktiv/philipps-universitaet-marburg/Yasmine-Belkaid-erhaelt-den-Emil-von-Behring-Preis-2017/boxid/638649. 
  18. "Yasmine Belkaid". http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/20041786.html. 
  19. "About the NAM". https://nam.edu/about-the-nam/#ert_pane1-1. Retrieved 2 May 2019. 
  20. "2019 FNIH Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences Winner Uncovered the Microbiome's Critical Role in Immune Regulation". https://fnih.org/news/press-releases/2019-lurie-prize.