Jordan Pyron
Jordan Pyron
Genome Science and Technology (GST)
Pyron worked in the lab of Dr. Sarah Lebeis (now at Michigan State University) in the Microbiology department, studying plant and soil microbe interactions. After graduating, he spent two years as a research technician in the lab of Dr. Francisco Barrera in the BCMB department. At UTK, he studied lipid-protein interactions of receptor tyrosine kinases and the dynamic polymerization of candidalysin, a virulent membrane-active peptide secreted by Candida albicans, a commensal fungus in the human microbiome. He started his PhD in the GST program in Fall 2023 and joined the lab of Dr. Sarah Shelby for his dissertation research studying the membrane-based activation mechanisms of immune receptors. During his PhD, he has received various travel awards to attend several conferences, including the Biophysical Society Annual Meetings. He is supported by a NIH T32 fellowship administered by the Integrated Membranes Program at UTK.
Education
Pyron graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 2021 with a B.S. in Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology (BCMB).
Research
Pyron’s research uses super-resolution and conventional optical microscopy tools to study the activation mechanisms of CAR-T cells, a promising cancer immunotherapy. Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are synthetic protein constructs exogenously expressed in cytotoxic T cells. CARs seek to harness native T cell signaling machinery, but they often behave in unexpected ways, which requires a more in-depth look at the biophysical mechanisms underlying CAR activation. For his project, he uses super-resolution optical microscopy tools to study the spatial organization of CARs within the T cell membrane. Specifically, Pyron quantifies their clustering behavior, localization to membrane domains, and interactions with signaling proteins at nanoscale precision with the goal of correlating my observations with greater signaling responses.