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          Labs @ NIAMS
          Lymphocyte Signaling Unit








Lymphocyte Signaling Unit


Tasha A. Morrison, Ph.D. FacebookEmailPrintFacebookEmail
        Image
              Lymphocyte Signaling Unit

      Overview

                                  Independent Research Scholar
      
  


Tasha A. Morrison, Ph.D.
      
  


            tasha.morrison@nih.gov
      
                                                                        

  
   Research Areas (IRP Lab Groups)
          Cell Biology,
          Chromosome Biology,
          Immunology,
          Molecular Biology and Biochemistry
                                
            The Lymphocyte Signaling Unit studies molecular processes that control immune cell development and function.

The goal of our research is to understand new aspects of lymphocyte biology. We use animal models, high-throughput sequencing, flow cytometry, and microscopy to uncover novel cellular and molecular characteristics that will give us more insight into what is critical for an immune cell to develop and respond to cancer and infection. Currently, our work focuses on how glycosphingolipid metabolism regulates how immune cells respond to signals from their environment that regulate homeostasis and activation.
      

                                            Related NIAMS Labs

Molecular Inflammation and Immunology Branch
	Lymphocyte Transcriptional Regulation Unit

                                                      Core Research Facilities

Labs at the NIAMS are supported by the following state-of-the-art facilities and services:

Biodata Mining and Discovery
	Flow Cytometry
	Genomic Technology
	Laboratory Animal Care and Use
	Light Imaging
	Translational Immunology

                                    Staff
                            Image
              Group photo showing five members of the lab, outside in front of trees
                            
            **Tasha A. Morrison, Ph.D.**Independent Research Scholartasha.morrison@nih.gov
    **S. Amara Ogbonnaya-Whittlesey, M.D.**Rheumatology Clinical Fellowogbonnayawhitsa@nih.gov
    **Taylor Talley, B.S.**Postbaccalaureate Fellowtaylor.talley@nih.gov
    **Kevin Tovar, B.A.**Postbaccalaureate Fellowkevin.tovar@nih.gov
            
                                                Image & Media Gallery
              
            The Kiss of Death (cells on glass, circa 2020)
The Kiss of Death (cells on glass, circa 2020)
        ×
      Micrograph image showing a cancel cell and a natural killer (NK) cell.
        The image depicts the contact between a natural killer (NK) cell (shown in green) and a large YAC-1 cancer cell (shown in brown), forming the so-called immune synapse. As a result of the encounter, the NK cell releases its ‘deathly hallows’, the lytic granules (shown in red) visible at the point of contact and inside the cytoplasm of the cancer cell, which will induce its death. This micrograph was acquired in the NIAMS Light Imaging Section employing the Leica TCS SP8 X confocal system and using a STED plan apochromatic CS2 100X/1.4NA oil lens. A stack of 69 consecutive focal planes along the Z axis was acquired to cover the full thickness of the NK-cancer cell conjugate. The stack was then converted into a 3D format using the Imaris 9.9 analysis software, where the image was post-processed using the ‘surfaces’ tool of the software to highlight the plasma membranes of the cells pseudo-colored with transparency, the lytic granules, and the nuclei (shown in blue). Cells were prepared and stained by Tasha Morrison and Hannah Dada (Molecular Immunology and Inflammation Branch). Imaging was performed by Davide Randazzo (Light Imaging Section).
            
                        
                        
                                    Scientific Publications
              Selected Recent Publications
                  
      Evolving Views of Long Noncoding RNAs and Epigenomic Control of Lymphocyte State and Memory.

    Morrison TA, Hudson WH, Chisolm DA, Kanno Y, Shih HY, Ahmed R, Henao-Mejia J, Hafner M, O'Shea JJ
        

                    Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol.
        
                    2022 Jan 4;
        
                    14(1).
        
                    doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a037952
                            PMID: 34001528



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        Last Updated: July 2023
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