Efficient Engineering and Discovery of Adaptive Immune Receptors

Research Overview

Research in the DeKosky lab focuses on developing and applying new techniques to understand the B and T cell responses that make up our adaptive immune memory. These efforts have been applied to better understand immune responses in the context of viral infections, autoimmunity, and cancer. The group’s research efforts have established new high-throughput single-cell platforms to interrogate adaptive immunity and discover precise and targeted protein drugs. We seek to reveal the quantitative principles of adaptive immune protection and advance new immune-based interventions against human diseases.

Recognition and Media

Dr. DeKosky was awarded both an NIH Early Independence Award and a K99 Pathway to Independence Award (declined) in 2016 to begin his independent research laboratory. He has also received the Department of Defense Career Development Award, the Biomedical Engineering Society Rising Star Award, the AIChE Young Faculty Futures award, the Amgen Young Investigator Award, and the James S. Huston Antibody Science Talent Award. Dr. DeKosky also serves as a rotating host for the science podcast, “The Chain,” which interviews leading scientists about their careers and to discuss the latest developments in biotech and drug discovery.

About

Dr. DeKosky received a B.S. in chemical engineering from University of Kansas, and his Ph.D. in biochemical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. His Ph.D. studies were supported by a Hertz Foundation Graduate Fellowship, an NSF Graduate Fellowship, and a Donald. D. Harrington Graduate Fellowship. Dr. DeKosky was also a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center near Washington, D.C., where he worked on new ways to analyze vaccine responses with a focus on major public disease health threats including HIV-1, Zika, and Ebola virus. Brandon launched his independent academic career in 2017 at the University of Kansas before joining The Ragon Institute and MIT Chemical Engineering 2021. Dr. DeKosky now works closely with researchers at The Ragon Institute, Mass General Hospital, and MIT, and he advises trainees from several affiliated academic centers including MIT Chemical Engineering, MIT Bioengineering, Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard Immunology, and Harvard Virology training programs.