Affiliations

• Bioscience
• Bioengineering

Education Profile

• Ph.D., Experimental Medicine, University of British Columbia, Canada, 2005
• B.S., Biochemistry, University of British Columbia, Canada, 2000

Research Interests

Professor Merzaban's research interests focus on understanding and optimizing the mechanism by which immune and stem cells exit the blood circulation to "home" to specific sites within the body. This process is mediated by sophisticated and coordinated steps controlled by multiple signaling and adhesion molecules, with key players being the selectins. Using a multidisciplinary approach that combines biochemical, biophysical and imaging techniques with in vivo mouse models, she is investigating some of the glycosyltransferases involved in controlling the biosynthesis of selectin ligands and how this contributes to the interplay of events necessary to allow cells to home to the affected site(s). Such studies are vital to understanding how the body responds to inflammation, to stem cell-based tissue engineering and other adoptive cell therapies.

Selected Publications

• JS Merzaban, MM Burdick, SZ Gadhoum, NM Dagia, JT Chu, RC Fuhlbrigge, and R.Sackstein. Analysis of Glycoprotein E-selectin Ligands Expressed on Human and Mouse Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells. Blood. 2011, 118(7): 1774-1783.
• R. Sackstein, JS Merzaban, DW Cain, NM Dagia, JA Spencer, CP Lin, and R. Wohlgemuth. Ex vivo Glycan Engineering of CD44 Programs Human Multipotent Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Trafficking to Bone. Nature Medicine. 2008, 14(2): 181-187.
• E. Drew, JS Merzaban, W. Seo, HJ Ziltener, and KM McNagny KM. CD34 and CD43 inhibit mast cell adhesion and are required for optimal mast cell reconstitution. Immunity. 2005, 22(1): 43-57.
• JS Merzaban, J. Zuccolo, SY Corbel, MJ Williams, and HJ Ziltener. An alternate core 2 beta1,6-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase selectively contributes to P-selectin ligand formation in activated CD8 T cells. Journal of Immunology. 2005, 174(7): 4051-5059.
• FM Rossi, SY Corbel, JS Merzaban, DA Carlow, K. Gossens, J. Duenas, L. So, L.Yi, and HJ Ziltener. Recruitment of adult thymic progenitors is regulated by P-selectin and its ligand PSGL-1. Nature Immunology. 2005, 6(6): 624-634.