Adam G. Schrum, PhD

Associate Professor

Bioengineering

Associate Professor of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology and Surgery

School of Medicine

Adjunct Associate Professor

Animal Sciences Research Center

Contact Information

Email schruma@health.missouri.edu
Phone 573-771-7411
Address M627 Medical Sciences Building
Contact

Research Interests

Network protein complexes in signal transduction. T cell development, immunity and tolerance.

Areas of Expertise

  • Biochemistry
  • Bioengineering
  • Network biology
  • Immunology
  • Autoimmunity and tolerance
  • Cancer biology
  • Cell biology
  • Developmental biology
  • Immune response to pathogens
  • Signal transduction

Research Profile

The laboratory of Adam G. Schrum, PhD, is focused on physiologic signaling networks and how they function in molecular and cellular immunity. A main goal is to increase understanding of how T cells of the immune system decide whether to destroy or tolerate healthy, infected or cancerous tissue, with an eye toward applying lessons learned to design immunotherapies. Current projects focus on the T cell antigen receptor (TCR) and how its structure, multi-subunit composition and biochemical functions operate throughout the course of immune responses. Downstream of TCR triggering, many other proteins and pathways involved in T cell signaling cooperate to compose a network with emergent properties to determine immune fate. Using cellular, molecular, biochemical and proteomic techniques, the lab examines these processes in the context of T cell responses during development, infection, autoimmunity and cancer. The team recently published a multiplex microsphere-based approach to generate a new type of combinatorial network signature of signaling proteins, termed PiSCES. Using this system, signaling protein network profiles were generated from small skin biopsy samples donated by autoimmune or control patients. A unique signature of T cell biochemical activity was identified to be associated with autoimmune lesions, an observation that may lead to identification of new molecular targets for therapy. A podcast explaining the significance of the work was commissioned and produced by the publisher (AAAS) and is freely available.

Credentials

Graduate

2002, PhD, University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine

Fellowship

2007, University of Basel, University – Hospital, Switzerland

Publications

Selected recent publications

  1. Smith SE, Neier SC, Reed BK, Davis TR, Sinnwell JP, Eckel-Passow JE, Sciallis GF, Wieland CN, Torgerson RR, Gil D, Neuhauser C, Schrum AG. 2016. Multiplex matrix network analysis of protein complexes in the human TCR signalosome. Sci Signal. 2016 Aug 2;9(439):rs7. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.aad7279. PMID: 27485017
  2. Schrum AG, Neier SC, VanHook AM. 2016. Science Signaling Podcast for 2 August 2016: Patient specific protein complexes. Sci Signal. 2016 Aug 2;9(439):pc17. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.aah5912. PMID: 27485014
  3. Gilhar A, Schrum AG, Etzioni A, Waldmann H, Paus R. 2016. Alopecia areata: Animal models illuminate autoimmune pathogenesis and novel immunotherapeutic strategies. Autoimmun Rev. 2016 Jul;15(7):726-35. doi: 10.1016/j.autrev.2016.03.008. Epub 2016 Mar 10. Review. PMID: 26971464
  4. Hoffmann MM, Molina-Mendiola C, Nelson AD, Parks CA, Reyes EE, Hansen MJ, Rajagopalan G, Pease LR, Schrum AG, Gil D. 2015. Co-potentiation of antigen recognition: A mechanism to boost weak T cell responses and provide immunotherapy in vivo. Sci Adv. 2015 Oct 2;1(9):e1500415. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1500415. eCollection 2015 Oct. PMID: 26601285

Complete list of PubMed publications: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/adam.schrum.1/bibliography/44958421/public/?sort=date&direction=ascending