Elizabeth Blankenhorn

Elizabeth Blankenhorn, PhD

Professor Emeritus


Department: Microbiology & Immunology

Education

  • AB in Biological Sciences - Cornell University (1969)
  • PhD - California Institute of Technology (1979)
  • Postdoctoral Fellowship with Sir Peter Medawarn - Clinical Research Centre, Harrow, England

Elizabeth Blankenhorn, PhD, is professor emeritus in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at Drexel University College of Medicine.

Research Overview

Research staff:
Laura Cort, instructor
Frank Bearoff, PhD, postdoctoral fellow

Graduate students:
Andrew Heinemann, MLAS candidate
Marcus Willis, MLAS candidate

Research Interests

Genetic foundations for inherited susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, including diabetes, scleroderma and multiple sclerosis; impact of genetics on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Research

The goal of the research in our laboratory is to understand the genetic basis for inherited susceptibility to viral infections and to autoimmune diseases, including diabetes, scleroderma and multiple sclerosis. We also have a long-standing interest in the genetic architecture of ALS. In our work, backcross and F2 progeny are screened for alleles at many genetic loci. The inheritance of these alleles is compared to the inheritance of the phenotype (“linked”) and a preliminary assignment of the location of incidence and quantitative trait loci (QTL) is made. The QTL are confirmed in subsequent crosses, or are fixed in the genome by selective breeding, for positional cloning and identification of the disease gene itself.

Dr. Blankenhorn’s laboratory group usually consists of one to two research assistants and one to three graduate students. She maintains grant funding for several projects. Current grants include: two grants on the genetics of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in a mouse model, one with Dr. Terry Heiman-Paterson, now of Temple University, as PI and one with Dr. Heiman-Patterson as co-I, from the ALS Association. Dr. Blankenhorn is PI on a CURE grant with Dr. Hao Cheng of the College of Engineering on the topic of “Tolerance-Inducing Scaffolds for Treatment of a Multiple Sclerosis Model,” and has several grant applications in with him on this topic. She and Dr. Cheng were awarded an NIH R21 grant on similar research. She is PI of an NIH R21 grant on finding the gene on chromosome 10 that controls susceptibility to the mouse model of multiple sclerosis. She is also the PI on the Drexel subcontract from University of Massachusetts for an American Diabetes Association award (2016-2018) entitled “Preventing type 1 diabetes by targeting the causative T cell subset.”

We currently have several projects underway, including studies to examine the genetic control and the sexual dimorphism of susceptibility to mouse experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis. As noted above, we are also leading a project on the influence of non-coding genetic loci called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) on the inherited component of human type I diabetes.

Proportion of Class II expression compared to that in individuals with homozygous protective alleles

Publications

Selected Publications
(See all Elizabeth Blankenhorn's publications in PubMed.)

Natural genetic variation profoundly regulates gene expression in immune cells and dictates susceptibility to CNS autoimmunity
Bearoff F, Del Rio R, Case LK, Dragon JA, Nguyen-Vu T, Lin CY, Blankenhorn EP, Teuscher C, Krementsov DN
Genes Immun.;17(7):386-395. doi: 10.1038/gene.2016.37, Dec 2016

Identification of Optimal Mouse Models of Systemic Sclerosis by Interspecies Comparative Genomics
Sargent JL, Li Z, Aliprantis AO, Greenblatt M, Lemaire R, Wu MH, Wei J, Taroni J, Harris A, Long KB, Burgwin C, Artlett CM, Blankenhorn EP, Lafyatis R, Varga J, Clark SH, Whitfield ML
Arthritis Rheumatol.;68(8):2003-15. doi: 10.1002/art.39658, August 2016

Copy number variation in Y chromosome multicopy genes is linked to a paternal parent-of-origin effect on CNS autoimmune disease in female offspring
Case LK, Wall EH, Osmanski EE, Dragon JA, Saligrama N, Zachary JF, Lemos B, Blankenhorn EP, Teuscher C
Genome Biol.;16:28. doi: 10.1186/s13059-015-0591-7, Feb 10, 2015

Genetic background effects on disease onset and lifespan of the mutant dynactin p150Glued mouse model of motor neuron disease
Heiman-Patterson TD, Blankenhorn EP, Sher RB, Jiang J, Welsh P, Dixon MC, Jeffrey JI, Wong P, Cox GA, Alexander GM
PLoS One;10(3):e0117848. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117848, Mar 12, 2015

Identification of genetic determinants of the sexual dimorphism in CNS autoimmunity
Bearoff F, Case LK, Krementsov DN, Wall EH, Saligrama N, Blankenhorn EP, Teuscher C
PLoS One;10(2):e0117993. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117993, Feb 11, 2015

Additional publications...


Contact Information


Department of Microbiology & Immunology
2900 W. Queen Lane
Philadelphia, PA 19129
Phone: 215.991.8392
Fax: 215.848.2271