Timothy Hand, PhD

Associate Professor, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Education

Graduate School: 2009 PhD, Immunology, Yale University, New Haven, CT

Post-doctoral Fellow: 2015 Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD

Research Interests

The research interests of Timothy W. Hand, PhD include: the development and regulation of T-cell responses against the commensal microbiota; in particular how gastrointestinal infection may “unleash” the immune response against commensal bacteria and how such responses are controlled to prevent overt pathology.

His research has many applications and may provide insight into a variety of diseases affecting children, including Crohn’s disease, environmental enteropathy and food allergies.

View Dr. Hand's full list of publications from PubMed.

View The Hand Lab for Immunity to Bacterial Colonization website.

Biography Summary

A scientist specializing in gastrointestinal immunology, Dr. Hand focuses on the development and regulation of immune responses against microbiota, how gastrointestinal infection may “unleash” responses against commensal bacteria, and how the immune system is controlled to prevent overt pathology. His research has many applications and may provide insight into a variety of diseases affecting children, including Crohn’s disease, environmental enteropathy, and food allergies.

Current Projects

1. Characterization of memory T-cell populations from the gastrointestinal tract
2. Regulation of microbiota-specific effector/memory T-cells
3. Role of environmental context, such as diet, infection, etc., in the development of T-cell responses against the microbiota
4. Role of microbiota-specific T-cells in the development of colon cancer
5. Investigation of the factors that determine immunogenicity in a common commensal organism

Location

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
Rangos Research Center, 8th Floor
One Children's Hospital Drive
4401 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224