Funded by a generous endowment from an anonymous donor, the Philip Hanlon and Gail Gentes Cluster for Personalized Treatments for Cystic Fibrosis (CF Cluster) is one of 10 interdisciplinary academic groups formed as part of Dartmouth College President Phil Hanlon’s goal of strengthening academic excellence at Dartmouth. The cluster initiative is aimed at extending Dartmouth’s impact on the world through interdisciplinary faculty teams who collaborate at the leading edge of discovery. Through the initiative of Dr. Bruce Stanton and other Dartmouth faculty the CF Cluster was envisioned to comprise a group of three investigators that would strengthen and expand the excellent translational research and training in CF at the institution.
James Bliska, PhD joined the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth as a Distinguished Professor in Microbiology and Immunology and senior lead faculty member of the CF Cluster in 2018. His research is focused on understanding how bacterial effectors that are secreted into leukocytes trigger pathogenesis or host protection. In the CF Cluster Dr. Bliska is studying opportunistic bacterial pathogens (Burkholderia, Pseudomonas) that produce effectors and cause chronic infections in the airways of CF patients. He is also exploring the use of synthetic immunology to combat bacterial airway infections in CF patients. In 2024 Dr. Bliska was named the Philip J. Hanlon Third Century Distinguished Professor in Personalized Treatments for Cystic Fibrosis.
Benjamin Ross, PhD joined the CF Cluster faculty in 2019, as an Assistant Professor of Microbiology and Immunology in the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. His research is focused on understanding the factors that determine the makeup of the bacteria resident in the human gastrointestinal tract (the gut microbiota). These bacteria influence diverse aspects of human health, including immunity. In the CF Cluster, Dr. Ross is working to better understand the population dynamics of the gut microbiome in infants with CF, with a particular interest in why the abundance of certain healthy bacteria (like Bacteroides) is depleted in individuals with CF. He is also interested in understanding if particular Bacteroides species modulate CFTR function in the gut. Progress towards answering these questions is facilitated by new Dartmouth Gnotobiotic Mouse Core, established by Dr. Ross and his team to breed germfree CF mice for the study of microbe-microbe and host-microbe interactions in CF under highly controlled conditions. His ultimate goal is to improve health in CF through restoration of Bacteroidesor tailored probiotic bacteria.In 2024 Dr. Ross was named the Philip J. Hanlon First Century Assistant Professor in Personalized Treatments for Cystic Fibrosis.
Jennifer Bomberger, PhD joined the CF Cluster faculty in 2022, as a Professor of Microbiology and Immunology in the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Utilizing her training in epithelial cell biology and microbiology as a foundation, the Bomberger laboratory studies host-pathogen interactions in the lung, focusing on the modulation of airway epithelial cell biology by respiratory pathogens and the pathogen’s response to the host. Her research goals are to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms whereby CF pathogens and respiratory viruses synergize to impact lung disease. The Bomberger lab is additionally interested in understanding how the upper respiratory tract environment drives bacterial evolution and supports the development of chronic bacterial infections, examining the interaction between the upper and lower respiratory tract microbial communities and mucosal crosstalk. The long-term goal is to understand how microbial communities are established in the respiratory tract, through evolution to the host environment and competition with other microbes, and based on this newfound mechanistic understanding, develop new therapies to prevent these devastating infections. In 2024 Dr. Bomberger was named the Philip J. Hanlon Second Century Professor in Personalized Treatments for Cystic Fibrosis.
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The endowed CF Cluster is a major demonstration of institutional commitment to CF research at Dartmouth that aided in the renewals of the DartCF P30 and the CF Foundation Research Development Program awards. The hires of Dr. Bliska, Dr. Ross and Dr. Bomberger added important dimensions to the existing CF research at Dartmouth in areas of immunology, epithelial cell biology, respiratory viruses, Burkholderia and Pseudomonas pathogenesis, gastrointestinal microbiome, and bioinformatics. Total CF research funding at Dartmouth has increased substantially since the cluster was established.
For more information contact: James Bliska, Benjamin Ross or Jennifer Bomberger