Jonathan Choy

Organ transplantation is a life-saving procedure for many people but the long-term success of this treatment is hindered by rejection of transplanted organs by the immune system. Dr. Jonathan Choy’s research program is focused on understanding how T cells, which are specialized cells of the immune system, cause organ transplant rejection. Within this research framework, Choy’s team is specifically interested in how protein regulators of inflammation and cell death control the outcome of T cell responses and how T cell responses alter the biology of blood vessel cells to affect chronic organ transplant failure.

Choy obtained his BSc from Simon Fraser University (SFU) and PhD from the University of British Columbia. He subsequently completed post-doctoral fellowship training at the Yale University School of Medicine before coming back to SFU. Choy is a grateful recipient of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research New Investigator Awards and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar Awards.

Affiliation

University: Simon Fraser University
Faculty: Science
Department: Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
Position: Assistant Professor

Recent Publications

Choy JC, Wang Y, Tellides G, Pober JS. Induction of inducible NO synthase in bystander human T cells increases allogeneic responses in the vasculature. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Jan 23;104(4):1313-8. Epub 2007 Jan 16. (PubMed abstract)

Choy JC. Granzymes and perforin in solid organ transplant rejection. Cell Death Differ. 2010 Apr;17(4):567-76. doi: 10.1038/cdd.2009.161. Epub 2009 Oct 30. (PubMed abstract)

Escalante NK, von Rossum A, Lee M, Choy JC. CD155 on human vascular endothelial cells attenuates the acquisition of effector functions in CD8 T cells. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2011 May;31(5):1177-84. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.111.224162. Epub 2011 Feb 17. (PubMed abstract)

von Rossum A, Krall R, Escalante NK, Choy JC. Inflammatory cytokines determine the susceptibility of human CD8 T cells to Fas-mediated activation-induced cell death through modulation of FasL and c-FLIP(S) expression. J Biol Chem. 2011 Jun 17;286(24):21137-44. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M110.197657. Epub 2011 Apr 25. (PubMed abstract)

Liu AC, Lee M, McManus BM, Choy JC. Induction of endothelial nitric oxide synthase expression by IL-17 in human vascular endothelial cells: implications for vascular remodeling in transplant vasculopathy. J Immunol. 2012 Feb 1;188(3):1544-50. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1102527. Epub 2012 Jan 4. (PubMed abstract)