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Sabrin Albeituni, PhD

Sabrin Albeituni, PhD

  • Scientist

Departments

Divisions

Education

BS - Birzeit University, West Bank, Palestine
MS - University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky
PhD - University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky

Honors & Awards

  • 2019 Milstein Travel Award-International Cytokine and Interferon Society
  • 2018 Milstein Travel Award-International Cytokine and Interferon Society
  • 2018 Stemcell Technologies’AAI 2018 Travel Award
  • 2018 American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Trainee Abstract Award
  • 2017 American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Trainee Abstract Award
  • 2015 American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Trainee Abstract Award
  • 2015 John Richard Binford Memorial Award
  • 2015 Graduate Dean’s Citation, Commencement Award- Fall 2015
  • 2014 Condict Moore Graduate Student Research Award -First Place - James Graham Brown Cancer Center Annual Research Retreat
  • 2013 Michael K. Tanner Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Sciences - University of Louisville
  • 2010-2012 Fulbright Scholarship

Research Interests

I am a scientist with a strong interest in understanding the regulation of T cell responses by myeloid cells during normal immune homeostasis and in disorders associated with hyperinflammation. My main research focus in the Nichols’ laboratory is to investigate the cellular mechanisms governing the pathogenesis of a fatal hyperinflammaltory cytokine syndrome called hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). In addition, I am interested in investigating the mechanisms of JAK1/2 inhibition in pre-clinical models as a potential salvage treatment for HLH.

Selected Publications

Bloom M, Oak N, Baskin-Doerfler R, Feng R, Iacobucci I, Baviskar P, Zhao X, Stroh AN, Li C, Ozark P, Tillman H, Li Y, Verbist KC, Albeituni S, Scott DC, King MT, McKinney Freeman SL, Weiss MJ, Yang JJ, Nichols KE. ETV6 Represses Inflammatory Response Genes and Regulates HSPC Function During Stress Hematopoiesis in Mice. Blood Adv. 2023 Jul 31:bloodadvances.2022009313. doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2022009313. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37522715

Albeituni S, Oak N, Tillman HS, Stroh A, Keenan C, Bloom M, Nichols KE. Cellular and transcriptional impacts of Janus kinase and/or IFN-gamma inhibition in a mouse model of primary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Front Immunol. 2023 Apr 27;14:1137037. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1137037. PMID: 37228616; PMCID: PMC10204641.

Huarte E, Peel MT, Verbist K, Fay BL, Bassett R, Albeituni S, Nichols KE, Smith PA. Ruxolitinib, a JAK1/2 Inhibitor, Ameliorates Cytokine Storm in Experimental Models of Hyperinflammation Syndrome. Front Pharmacol 12:650295, 2021. PMID: 33981229; PMCID: PMC8107823

Keenan C, Nichols KE, Albeituni S. Use of the JAK inhibitor ruxolitinib in the treatment of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Frontiers Immunology 2021. DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2021.614704 PMID:33664745 PMCID: PMC7923355 

Meyer LK*, Verbist KC*, Albeituni S, Scull B, Bassett RC, Stroh AN, Tillman H, Allen CE, Hermiston ML, Nichols KE. JAK/STAT pathway inhibition sensitizes CD8 T cells to dexamethasone-induced apoptosis in hyperinflammation. Blood 2020. PMID:32530039. 

Thomas A, Samykutty A, Gomez-Gutierrez JG, Yin W, Egger ME, McNally M, Chuong P, MacCuaig WM, Albeituni S, Zeiderman M, Li M, Edil BH, Grizzle WE, McMasters KM, McNally LR. Actively Targeted Nanodelivery of Echinomycin Induces Autophagy-Mediated Death in Chemoresistant Pancreatic Cancer In Vivo. Cancers (Basel) 2020. PMID:32823919.  

Liu M, Tong Z, Ding C, Luo F, Wu S, Wu C, Albeituni S, He L, Hu X, Tieri D, Rouchka EC, Hamada M, Takahashi S, Gibb AA, Kloecker G, Zhang H, Bousamra M, Hill BG, Zhang X, Yan J. Transcription factor c-Maf is a checkpoint that programs macrophages in lung cancer. J Clin Invest 2020. PMID: 31945018. 

Albeituni S, Verbist KC, Tedrick PE, Tillman H, Picarsic J, Bassett R, Nichols KE. Mechanisms of action of ruxolitinib in murine models of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Blood 134(2):147-159, 2019. PMID: 31015190.

Crayne CB, Albeituni S, Nichols KE, Cron RQ. The Immunology of Macrophage Activation Syndrome. Front Immunol 10:119, 2019. PMID: 30774631.

Weaver LK, Minichino D, Biswas C, Chu N, Lee JJ, Bittinger K, Albeituni S, Nichols KE, Behrens EM. Micriobiota-dependent signals are required to sustain TLR-mediated immune responses. JCI Insight 2019. PMID: 30626747.

Verweyen E, Holzinger D, Weinhage T, Hinze C, Wittkowski H, Pickkers P, Albeituni S, Verbist K, Nichols KE, Schulert G, Grom A, Foell D, Kessel C. Synergistic TLR/IFNa/b-signaling facilitates escape of IL-18 exprsssion from endotoxin tolerance. American J Respir and Crit Care Med 2019. In press.

Albeituni SH, Ding C, Liu M, Hu X, Luo F, Kloecker G, Bousamra M 2nd, Zhang HG, Yan J. Yeast-Derived Particulate b-Glucan Treatment Subverts the Suppression of Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells (MDSC) by Inducing Polymorphonuclear MDSC apoptosis and Monocytic MDSC Differentiation to APC in Cancer. J Immunol 196(5):2167-80, 2016. PMID:26810222.

Yaddanapudi K, Rendon B, Lamont G, Kim EJ, Al Rayyan N, Richie J, Albeituni S, Waigel S, Wise A, Mitchell R. MIF is necessary for late-stage melanoma patient MDSC immune suppression and differentiation. Cancer Immunol Res 4(2):101-12, 2016. PMID: 26603621.

Liu M, Luo F, Ding C, Albeituni S, Hu X, Ma Y, Cai Y, McNally L, Sanders MA, JainD, Kloecker G, Bousamra M 2nd, Zhang H, Higashi RM, Lane A, Fan TM, Yan J. Dectin-1 Activation by a Natural Product β-Glucan Converts Immunosuppressive Macrophages into an M1-like Phenotype with Tumoricidal Activity. J Immunol 195(10):5055-65, 2015. PMID:26453753.

Hudson SV, Huang JS, Yin W, Albeituni S, Rush J, Khanal A, Yan J, Ceresa BP, Frieboes HB, McNally LR. Targeted noninvasive imaging of EGFR-expressing orthotopic pancreatic cancer using multispectral optoacoustic tomography. Cancer Res 74:6271-9, 2014. PMID:25217521.

Albeituni SH, Yan J. The effects of beta-glucans on dendritic cells and implications for cancer therapy. Anti-cancer Agents Med Chem 13:689-98, 2013. PMID:23092290.

Albeituni SH, Ding C, Yan J. Hampering immune suppressors: therapeutic targeting of myeloid-derived suppressor cells in cancer. Cancer J 19:490-501, 2013. PMID:24270348.

Last update: August 2023

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