2024
August 2024: The Brett lab wins a prestigious Alzheimer’s Association Zenith Fellows Award! Congrats Brett lab!
July 2024: Brett lab’s collaborative paper with Yuhua Song and Eric Roberson at UAB on computational studies of TREM2 oligomerization is published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia! Congrats to Hunter Dean and all involved!
July 2024: Yiming Lin joins the Brett and Alexander-Brett labs as a Tech II! Welcome Yiming!
June 2024: Mya Washington (SLU undergrad) joins the lab as an undergraduate researcher and RADIENCE Scholar.! Welcome Mya!
May 2024: Cynthia Zhi (Wash U undergrad) joins the lab as an undergraduate researcher and Vagellos Scholar.! Welcome Cynthia!
May 2024: Monica Sala-Rabanal’s paper identifying CLCA4 as a potentiator of the chloride channel TMEM16B is accepted for publication in JBC! Congratulations Monica!
May 2024: Jess Greven participates in Wash U Arts and Sciences commencement! Congratulations Jess!
April 2024: The Brett and JAB labs complete the Go! St. Louis Half-Marathon! Amazing lab participation! Congrats Brett and JAB labs!
April 2024: Jess Greven is awarded an honorable mention for the Spector Prize for the best Honors Thesis in Biology! Congratulations Jess!
April 2024: The Brett and Alexander-Brett labs are awarded a 4-year, $2.52 million, Co-PI R01 from the NIH/NHLBI for their project “TMEM16A in human airway disease”! Congratulations Brett and Alexander-Brett labs!
2023
December 2023: Jess Greven graduates with her B.S. (with Honors thesis) in Biology! Congratulations Jess!
December 2023: Jess Greven and the WashU Bears finish their soccer season as the NCAA Division III National Runner Up! Congratulations Jess and the WashU Bears!
October 2023: Jess Greven presents a poster on her TREM2 work at the Undergraduate Research Symposium! Congratulations Jess!
September 2023: Tom Brett is named Co-Director of the Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology PhD Program. Congratulations Tom!
September 2023: Christoper Camitta (PhD student, BBSB) starts his rotation in the Brett Lab. Welcome Chris!
August 2023: Daniel Paszkowski (PhD student, BBSB) joins the Brett and Amarasinghe Labs. Welcome Daniel!
August 2023: Brett Lab is awarded a one year NIH/NCATS R03 award for “Development of tools and knowledge to facilitate the investigation of chloride channel regulator CLCA2 in rare human diseases”. Congratulations Brett Lab!
June 2023: Brett Lab is awarded a five year NIH/NAI R01 subcontract in collaborative work with Yuhua Song and Erik Roberson at UAB for “Drugs repositioning to target TREM2 in Alzheimer disease”. Congratulations Brett Lab!
June 2023: Daniel Paszkowski (PhD student, BBSB) starts his rotation on a joint project between the Brett and Amarasinghe Labs. Welcome Daniel!
June 2023: Josh Wydra (undergrad, Truman State) starts his summer research in the Brett Lab as an Amgen Scholar. Welcome Josh!
June 2023: Jess Greven (undergrad) is awarded BioSURF funding to support her summer research in the Brett Lab. Congratulations Jess!
April 2023: Jess Greven presents a poster on her TREM2 work at the American Federation for Medical Research Midwest Meeting (AAIC) in Chicago! Congratulations Jess!
2022
September 2022: YongJoon Shin (PhD student, BBSB) starts his rotation in the Brett Lab. Welcome YongJoon!
August 2022: Jess Greven’s first first-author paper is published in Current Protocols! Congratulations Jess!
August 2022: Jess Greven presents a poster on her TREM2 work at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) in San Diego! Congratulations Jess!
July 2022: Brett Lab is awarded a three year grant from the BrightFocus Foundation, supporting their work on Amyloid-beta/TREM2 receptor interactions. Congratulations Brett Lab!
March 2022: Jess Greven presents a poster on her TREM2 work at the American Federation for Medical Research Midwest Meeting (AAIC) in Chicago! Congratulations Jess!
March 2022: Jess Greven is named an Amgen Summer Scholar. Congratulations Jess!
2021
September 2021: Brett Lab is awarded a five year NIH/NAI R01 subcontract in collaborative work with Yuhua Song and Erik Roberson at UAB for “TREM2-endogenous ligand interactions in Alzheimer disease”. Congratulations Brett Lab!
July 2021: Jess Greven (Wash U undergrad) joins the Brett lab as an undergraduate researcher. Welcome Jess!
May 2021: Kayla Berry graduates with her MD/PhD and matches at Boston Children’s Hospital in Child Neurology. Congratulations Dr. Berry!
May 2021: Brett Lab is awarded a one year NIH/NCATS R03 award for “Illuminating the role of chloride channel regulator CLCA4 in TMEM16 family potentiation and disease”. Congratulations Brett Lab!
January 2021: Brett Lab is awarded a two year collaborative pilot with the Amarasinghe Lab from the Hope Center for Neurological Disorders for “Defining the molecular basis for inhibiting LRP1-mediated cellular propagation of pathogenic tau”. Congratulations Brett and Amarasinghe Labs!
2020
October 2020: Dan Kober’s paper in Alzheimer’s and Dementia reporting biophysical studies mapping interactions of TREM2 with apoE proteins and amyloid beta is published! Congratulations Dan!
January 2020: Kayla Berry’s two-author paper in Cell Reports reporting the first structure of a CLCA protein is published! Congratulations Kayla!
2019
November 2019: Kayla Berry successfully defends her thesis to become the 1st Brett lab MD/PhD! Kayla will be soon be moving on to finish the medical school portion of her double degree! Congratulations Kayla!
July 2019: Our collaboration paper with Carlos Cruchaga, Laura Piccio, Celeste Karch, and Bruno Benitez reporting MS4A4A as a regulator of sTREM2 production is published in the Science Translational Medicine! Congratulations Brett, Benitez, Piccio, Karch, and Cruchaga Labs!
June 2019: Amber Williams joins the lab as a summer undergraduate student! Welcome, Amber!
2018
November 2018: Brett Lab research is featured on the Biophysical Society blog for COPD Awareness Month (November)! Congratulations Brett Lab!
October 2018: Our collaboration paper with Jeff Henderson’s Lab on UTI E coli YbtT structure and function is published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry! Congratulations Dan, Shannon, and Jeff!
June 2018: Colin Kluender (PhD student, BBSB) starts his rotation in the Brett Lab. Pranusha Atuluru joins the lab as an Amgen Summer Scholar. Ian Henderson joins the lab as a summer high school student. Welcome Colin, Pranusha, and Ian!
May 2018: Kayla Berry (MD/PhD student, Immunology) recieves a 3 year NIH/NHLBI F30 Predoc Fellowship for her project investigating structural and mechanistic basis for CLCA1 potentiation of TMEM16A. Congratulations Kayla!
April 21, 2018: Kayla Berry (MD/PhD student, Immunology) is one of two students chosen to present a research talk at the AAP/ASCI/APSA National Joint Meeting in Chicago, IL for her project investigating CLCA1 potentiation of TMEM16A in CF airway cells! Congratulations Kayla!
April 2018 Brett lab receieves a 2 year Cystic Fibrosis Foundation grant for their investgations of TMEM16A potentiation in CF airway cells! Congratulations Brett Lab!
March 2018 Brett lab receieves a 1 year Institute for Clinical and Translational Studies grant for their CLCA1 translational project! Congratulations Brett Lab!
January 2018 Tom is promoted to Associate Professor (with tenure)! Congratulations Tom!
2017
May 2017: The Lab recieves recognition from the Journal of Molecular Biology! Congratulations Brett Lab! JMB Career Advancement Initiative
April 2017: Monica, Zeynep, and Kayla’s paper on the mechanism of how the CLCA1 VWA domain activates the TMEM16A channel is published in Journal of Biological Chemistry! Congratulations Monica, Zeynep, and Kayla!
April 2017: Dan Kober’s comprehensive review on TREM2-ligand interactions in health and disease is published in Journal of Molecular Biology! Congratulations Dan!
April 2017: Daniel Kober successfully defends his thesis to become the 2nd Brett lab PhD! Dan will be soon be moving on to his postdoctoral studies in the lab of Dan Rosenbaum (UT Southwestern)! Congratulations Dr. Kober!
January 2017: Dan Kober (PhD student, Microbiology) presents a poster on his TREM2 work at the Gordon Research Conference on Neuroimmune Communication in Health and Disease in Ventura, CA. Congratulations Dan!
January 2017: Dan Kober (PhD student, Microbiology) receives another 2 year American Heart Association Predoc Fellowship for his project “Structural, biophysical, and functional investigation of TREM-2 interaction with ligands.” Congratulations Dan!
2016
December 2016: Dan Kober’s (PhD student, Microbiology) eLife paper is featured on WUSTL_newsroom! Congratulations Dan!
October 2016: Brett lab receieves a 3 year Alzheimer’s Association International Research Grant for their TREM2 project! Congratulations Brett Lab!
August 2016: Melissa Cook (PhD student, Immunology) starts her rotation in the Brett Lab. Welcome Melissa!
July 2016: Zeynep Yurtsever’s paper on the first comprehensive structural and biophysical analysis of MAPK13 inhibitors is published in Biochimica et Biophysica Acta- General Subjects! Congratulations Zeynep!
June 2016: Cyrianne Keutcha (undergraduate) joins the lab as an AMGEN Scholar. Welcome and Congratulations Cyrianne!
May 2016: Brett lab receives a 1 year Knight Center Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Pilot Grant for the project “Identification of cell surface TREM2 ligands involved in Alzheimer’s Disease pathogenesis!” Congratulations Brett Lab!
April 2016: Zeynep Yurtsever successfully defends her thesis to become the first Brett lab PhD! Zeynep will be soon be moving on to her postdoctoral studies in the lab of Mike Eck (Harvard)! Congratulations Dr. Yurtsever!
2015
December 2015: Dan Kober and Zeynep Yurtsever’s video protocol on expression of glycoproteins for biophysical studies in mammalian cells is published online in the Journal of Visualized Experiments! Congratulations Dan and Zeynep!
November 2015: Monica Sala-Rabanal (Instructor, Cell Biology and Physiology) wins a competitve Biophysical Society Travel Award to attend the annual meeting in Los Angeles! Congratulations Monica!
November 2015: Our collaborative work with Mike Holtzman’s lab (headed by Yong Zhang) is published as the cover article in the November issue of Nature Immunology! Congratulations Mike and Yong!
October 2015: Zeynep Yurtsever (PhD student, Biochemistry) wins a Best Poster Prize at the Biochemistry and Biophysics Program Retreat (Washington University) for her poster “Novel regulation of TMEM16A by secreted CLCA1 in human cells.” Congratulations Zeynep!
July 2015: Kayla Berry (MSTP student, Immunology) starts her rotation in the Brett Lab. Welcome Kayla!
June 2015: Abner Gonzalez (undergraduate) joins the lab as an AMGEN Scholar. Welcome and Congratulations Abner!
June 2015: Zeynep Yurtsever (PhD student, Biochemistry) wins (for the 2nd consecutive year!) the Best Poster Prize at CIMED Research Day (Washington University) for her poster “Novel regulation of TMEM16A by secreted CLCA1 in human cells.” Congratulations Zeynep!
May 2015: Our collaborative work with Mike Holtzman’s lab (headed by Kangyun Wu) is published in the May issue of Journal of Experimental Medicine! Congratulations Mike, Kangyun, and Dan!
March 2015: Araminta and Cressida Brett join the lab as the first lab twins! Welcome Ara and Cressi!
March 2015: Zeynep Yurtsever’s (PhD student, Biochemistry) eLife paper is featured on SciGuru! Congratulations Zeynep!
March 2015: Zeynep Yurtsever’s (PhD student, Biochemistry) eLife paper is featured on WUSTL_newsroom! Congratulations Zeynep!
January 2015: Nicole Fazio (PhD student, Biochemistry) starts her rotation in the Brett Lab. Welcome Nicole!
January 2015: Dan Kober (PhD student, Microbiology) receives a 2 year American Heart Association Predoc Fellowship for his project “Structural and Functional Consequences of TREM-2 Mutants Linked to Neuroinflammation.” Congratulations Dan!
2014
September 2014: Dan Kober (PhD student, Microbiology) wins the Best Poster Prize at the Center for Neuroimmunology and Neuroinfectious Diseases Symposium (Washington University) for his poster “Structural Studies of TREM-2 Mutants Linked to Neurodegenerative Diseases.” Congratulations Dan!
September 2014: Dan Kober (PhD student, Microbiology) successfully proposes his PhD thesis. Congratulations Dan!
August 2014: Dan Kober (PhD student, Microbiology) presents his poster at the 2014 International Union on Crystallography meeting in Montreal entitled “Structural Studies of TREM-2 Mutants Linked to Neurodegenerative Diseases.” Congratulations Dan!
July 2014: Zeynep Yurtsever (PhD student, Biochemistry) receieves a 2 year American Heart Association Predoc Fellowship for her project “Mechanism of CLCA-mediated regulation of Ca-Activated CL Channels.” Congratulations Zeynep!
June 2014: Zeynep Yurtsever (PhD student, Biochemistry) wins the Best Poster Prize at CIMED Research Day (Washington University) for her poster “Structural and Biochemical Studies of CLCA1: A Novel Mechanism of CaCC Activation by a Secreted Protein.” Congratulations Zeynep!
June 2014: Brandford Adobaw (undergraduate) joins the lab as an AMGEN Scholar. Welcome and Congratulations Brandford!
June 2014: Alvin Su (undergraduate) recieves a SURF Scholar Summer Research Fellowhship. Congratulations Alvin!
February 2014: Zeynep Yurtsever (PhD student, Biochemistry) presents her poster at the 2014 Biophysical Society meeting in San Francisco entitled “Mechanism of CLCA1-mediated CaCC activation in chronic lung diseases.” Congratulations Zeynep!
January 2014: Dan Kober (PhD student, Microbiology) publishes his first primary-author paper in Protein Expression and Purification!“Preparation, crystallization, and preliminary crystallographic analysis of wild-type and mutant human TREM-2 ectodomains linked to neurodegenerative and inflammatory diseases.” Congratulations Dan! PubMed
2013
November 2013: Melanie Sparks (PhD student, Biochemistry) starts her rotation in the Brett Lab. Welcome Melanie!
August 2013: Tom Brett receives a 5 year NIH R01 Grant from NHLBI (R01HL119813) for his project “Structural Regulation of CLCA1 Activity.” Congratulations Brett Lab!
August 2013: Tom Brett receives a 1 year American Lung Association Biomedical Research Grant for his project “Structural Regulation of Metalloproteases in Chronic Inflammatory Lung Diseases.” Congratulations Brett Lab!
June 2013: Kelsey Wanhainen (undergraduate) joins the lab as a Leadership Alliance Scholar. Welcome and Congratulations Kelsey!
May 2013: Zeynep Yurtsever (PhD student, Biochemistry) successfully proposes her PhD thesis. Congratulations Zeynep!
March 2013: Natalie Omattage (Rotation Student, Microbiology) receives a 3 year National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for her project “Structural and Functional Studies of DTX3L Antiviral Activities.” Congratulations Natalie!
March 2013: Britney Johnson (Rotation Student, Biochemistry) receives a 3 year National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for her project “Structural Studies of TREM-2 Interactions with Ligands and Signaling.” Congratulations Britney!
January 2013: Tom Brett receieves a 1 year CIMED Pilot Grant for his project “CLCA1 Regulation of Calcium-Activated Chloride Channels in Chronic Lung Diseases.” Congratulations Brett Lab!
January 2013: Dan Kober (PhD student, Microbiology) starts his rotation in the Brett Lab. Welcome Dan!
2012
December 2012: Zeynep Yurtsever (PhD student, Biochemistry) publishes her first primary-author paper in The Journal of Biological Chemistry as PAPER OF THE WEEK! “Self-cleavage of human CLCA1 by a novel internal metalloprotease domain controls calcium-activated chloride channel activation.” Congratulations Zeynep! PubMed
December 2012: Our initial paper describing our structure-based drug design of MAPK13 inhibitors as anti-mucus drugs is published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation in collaboration with Mike Holtzman. “IL-13-induced airway mucus production is attenuated by MAPK13 inhibition.” Congratulations Mike! PubMed
September 2012: Natalie Omattage (PhD student, Microbiology) starts her rotation in the Brett Lab. Welcome Natalie!
September 2012: Britney Johnson (PhD student, Biochemistry) starts her rotation in the Brett Lab. Welcome Britney!
July 2012: Philippa Brett joins the lab as the first lab baby! Welcome Pippa!
June 2012: Ryan Christman (undergraduate) joins the lab as an AMGEN Scholar. Welcome and Congratulations Ryan!
2011
June 2011: Chantel Miller (undergraduate) recieves a BioMEDRap Scholar Summer Research Fellowship. Congratulations Chantel!
September 2011: Zeynep Yurtsever (PhD student, Biochemistry) starts her rotation in the Brett Lab. Welcome Zeynep!
2010
December 2010: The Brett Lab publishes their first paper in The Journal of Biological Chemistry “Structural and biophysical analysis of BST-2/tetherin ectodomains reveals an evolutionary conserved design to inhibit virus release.” Congratulations Brett Lab! PubMed
2008
December 2008: Tom Brett receives a 1 year American Cancer Society Pilot Grant for his project “Structural and Biophysical Investigation of the hCLCA2/α6β4-integrin Interaction in Cancer Metastasis to the Lung.” Congratulations Brett Lab!
2007
July 2007: Brett Lab opens!
January 2007: Tom Brett receives a 4 year American Heart Association Scientist Development Grant for his project “Structural and Functional Investigation of HIP1 and HIP1R Involvement in LDL Receptor Trafficking.” Congratulations Brett Lab!