John Hansen, Ph.D.
(He/him/his)Dr. Hansen is a Research Immunologist at the Western Fisheries Research Center. His laboratory utilizes a basic research, comparative approach to understand host-pathogen interactions in fish and the impact of environmental stressors on fish and wildlife health.
Research Interests:
Our research team at the WFRC focuses on mediators of inflammation, host-pathogen interactions, and the impact of environmental stressors on fish health. We are particularly interested in how early life and sub-lethal exposure to environmental contaminants affect disease resistance. We focus on Pacific salmon and employ current molecular and biochemical approaches. In addition, we have developed specific research projects that utilize zebrafish. Zebrafish represent an attractive model organism for studies involving fish and vertebrate health owing to the availability and utility of their genomic and genetic resources as well as an abundance of established pathogen challenge protocols for zebrafish.
Current projects include assessing virulence factors for Francisella noatunensis (a fish-specific pathogen) and projects designed to address the effect of specific environmental contaminants including mercury, PFAS, PCBs, and algal toxins on metabolism, disease resistance, and the host microbiome. We are committed to addressing the effects of stormwater runoff (e.g., 6PPDQ) on salmon health. These research efforts have translational value for fish, wildlife, and human health around the world. Our goal is to better understand how the compound effects of pathogens, stressors, and the host immune response contribute to fish health and how this information can be applied to protect vertebrate health everywhere.
Current Laboratory Members:
- Ellie Dalsky, Biological Science Technician
- Justin Greer, Ph.D. Computational Biologist
- Kincer Crovetti, UW Student Contractor
- Prarthana Shakar, Ph.D. Biologist
- Yo Okumura, Ph.D. Postdoctoral fellow co-mentored with Ram Savan, UW Immunology
Professional Experience
2004 to Present - Research Immunologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Fisheries Research Center, Seattle, WA
2004 to Present – Affiliate Associate Professor, Pathobiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
2001 to 2004 – Assistant Professor, Immunology, University of MD Biotechnology Institute
1995 to 2001 – Member, Basel Institute for Immunology, Basel Switzerland
Education and Certifications
Postdoc. Basel Institute for Immunology, Basel, Switzerland
Ph.D. Genetics/Immunology, Department of Microbiology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
B.S. Zoology and Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI
Science and Products
Sensing disease and danger: A survey of vertebrate PRRs and their origins
Description of an elasmobranch TCR coreceptor: CD8α from Rhinobatos productus
Fish T cells: recent advances through genomics
Transcriptome analysis of rainbow trout infected with high and low virulence strains of Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus
The B7 family of immunoregulatory receptors: A comparative and evolutionary perspective
Characterization of the interferon genes in homozygous rainbow trout reveals two novel genes, alternate splicing and differential regulation of duplicated genes
Host immune response and acute disease in a zebrafish model of francisella pathogenesis
Transcriptional profiling of MHC class I genes in rainbow trout infected with infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus
A genomic view of the NOD-like receptor family in teleost fish: Identification of a novel NLR subfamily in zebrafish
Costimulatory receptors in jawed vertebrates: Conserved CD28, odd CTLA4 and multiple BTLAs
Molecular and biochemical analysis of rainbow trout LCK suggests a conserved mechanism for T-cell signaling in gnathostomes
Evolutionary history of the ABCB2 genomic region in teleosts
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 44
Sensing disease and danger: A survey of vertebrate PRRs and their origins
A key facet of the innate immune response lays in its ability to recognize and respond to invading microorganisms and cellular disturbances. Through the use of germ-line encoded PRRs, the innate immune system is capable of detecting invariant pathogen motifs termed pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPS) that are distinct from host encoded proteins or products released from dying cells, whiAuthorsJohn D. Hansen, Lucia N. Vojtech, Kerry J. LaingDescription of an elasmobranch TCR coreceptor: CD8α from Rhinobatos productus
Cell-mediated immunity plays an essential role for the control and eradication of intracellular pathogens. To learn more about the evolutionary origins of the first signal (Signal 1) for T-cell activation, we cloned CD8α from an elasmobranch, Rhinobatos productus. Similar to full-length CD8α cDNAs from other vertebrates, Rhpr-CD8α (1800 bp) encodes a 219 amino acid open reading frame composed of aAuthorsJ.D. Hansen, T.J. Farrugia, J. Woodson, K.J. LaingFish T cells: recent advances through genomics
This brief review is intended to provide a concise overview of the current literature concerning T cells, advances in identifying distinct T cell functional subsets, and in distinguishing effector cells from memory cells. We compare and contrast a wealth of recent progress made in T cell immunology of teleost, elasmobranch, and agnathan fish, to knowledge derived from mammalian T cell studies. FroAuthorsKerry J. Laing, John D. HansenTranscriptome analysis of rainbow trout infected with high and low virulence strains of Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus
There are three main genetic lineages or genogroups of Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) in N. America. Strains representing the M genogroup are more virulent in rainbow trout relative to the U genogroup. In this study, we used microarray analysis to evaluate potential mechanisms responsible for host-specific virulence in rainbow trout that were given intraperitoneal injections of bufAuthorsMaureen K. Purcell, Inderjit Singh Marjara, William Batts, Gael Kurath, John D. HansenThe B7 family of immunoregulatory receptors: A comparative and evolutionary perspective
In mammals, T cell activation requires specific recognition of the peptide-MHC complex by the TcR and co-stimulatory signals. Important co-stimulatory receptors expressed by T cells are the molecules of the CD28 family, that regulate T cell activation, proliferation and tolerance. These receptors recognize B7s and B7-homologous (B7H) molecules that are typically expressed by the antigen presentingAuthorsJ.D. Hansen, L.D. Pasquier, M.-P. Lefranc, V. Lopez, A. Benmansour, P. BoudinotCharacterization of the interferon genes in homozygous rainbow trout reveals two novel genes, alternate splicing and differential regulation of duplicated genes
The genes encoding the type I and type II interferons (IFNs) have previously been identified in rainbow trout and their proteins partially characterized. These previous studies reported a single type II IFN (rtIFN-??) and three rainbow trout type I IFN genes that are classified into either group I (rtIFN1, rtIFN2) or group II (rtIFN3). In this present study, we report the identification of a novelAuthorsM. K. Purcell, K.J. Laing, J.C. Woodson, G.H. Thorgaard, J.D. HansenHost immune response and acute disease in a zebrafish model of francisella pathogenesis
Members of the bacterial genus Francisella are highly virulent and infectious pathogens. New models to study Francisella pathogenesis in evolutionarily distinct species are needed to provide comparative insight, as the mechanisms of host resistance and pathogen virulence are not well understood. We took advantage of the recent discovery of a novel species of Francisella to establish a zebrafish/FrAuthorsL.N. Vojtech, G.E. Sanders, C. Conway, V. Ostland, J.D. HansenTranscriptional profiling of MHC class I genes in rainbow trout infected with infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus
Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules are important mediators of cell-mediated immunity in vertebrates. MHC class IA molecules are important for host anti-viral immunity as they present intracellular antigens and regulate natural killer cell (NK) activity. MHC class Ib molecules on the other hand are less understood and have demonstrated diverse immune and non-immune functions in mammalAuthorsEric D. Landis, Maureen K. Purcell, Gary H. Thorgaard, Paul A. Wheeler, John D. HansenA genomic view of the NOD-like receptor family in teleost fish: Identification of a novel NLR subfamily in zebrafish
Background. A large multigene family of NOD-like receptor (NLR) molecules have been described in mammals and implicated in immunity and apoptosis. Little information, however, exists concerning this gene family in non-mammalian taxa. This current study, therefore, provides an in-depth investigation of this gene family in lower vertebrates including extensive phylogenetic comparison of zebrafish NLAuthorsK.J. Laing, M. K. Purcell, J. R. Winton, J.D. HansenCostimulatory receptors in jawed vertebrates: Conserved CD28, odd CTLA4 and multiple BTLAs
CD28 family of costimulatory receptors is comprised of molecules with a single V-type extracellular Ig domain, a transmembrane and an intracytoplasmic region with signaling motifs. CD28 and cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA4) homologs have been recently identified in rainbow trout. Other sequences similar to mammalian CD28 family members have now been identified using teleost, Xenopus and chiAuthorsD. Bernard, J.D. Hansen, Pasquier L. Du, M.-P. Lefranc, A. Benmansour, P. BoudinotMolecular and biochemical analysis of rainbow trout LCK suggests a conserved mechanism for T-cell signaling in gnathostomes
Two genes were identified in rainbow trout that display high sequence identity to vertebrate Lck. Both of the trout Lck transcripts are associated with lymphoid tissues and were found to be highly expressed in IgM-negative lymphocytes. In vitro analysis of trout lymphocytes indicates that trout Lck mRNA is up-regulated by T-cell mitogens, supporting an evolutionarily conserved function for Lck inAuthorsK.J. Laing, S. Dutton, J.D. HansenEvolutionary history of the ABCB2 genomic region in teleosts
Gene duplication, silencing and translocation have all been implicated in shaping the unique genomic architecture of the teleost MH regions. Previously, we demonstrated that trout possess five unlinked regions encoding MH genes. One of these regions harbors ABCB2 which in all other vertebrate classes is found in the MHC class II region. In this study, we sequenced a BAC contig for the trout ABCB2AuthorsY. Palti, M.F. Rodriguez, S.A. Gahr, J.D. Hansen - Science
- Data
- Multimedia
- News