Photo: Hallie Leo
Jesse Lehman, a PhD candidate in the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Interdisciplinary Graduate Program at UMass Chan Medical School, has received a Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to further his research on immune responses.
Lehman describes the innate immune response, which he studies in the lab of Athma A. Pai, PhD, as a “scorched earth policy,” in which immune cells rapidly create an inhospitable environment for infection-causing pathogens.
“Whenever I discuss my work with immunologists, they’re always excited,” said Lehman, who grew up in Maine and studied biology and biotechnology at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, researching bumblebees to investigate chronic exposure to pesticides used in agriculture.
“One of the ways cells respond to immune stimuli is by changing which genes they express, which happens rapidly after a stimulus is encountered. I’m looking at how cells change their gene expression programs so fast, and how this can fine-tune the timing of cellular immune responses.”
“Jesse is incredibly smart, generous with his time and he’s a leader,” said Dr. Pai, associate professor of RNA therapeutics. “He joined my lab to marry our expertise in RNA and functional genomics with his background in innate immunology. Jesse’s work is fundamental for understanding how cells respond to stimuli and changing environments in a timely fashion, aiming to use functional genomics tools to model the rate-limiting steps that determine gene expression profiles across the earliest stages of this response.”
Lehman said he became interested in science after his grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer and his grandfather, a traveling musical instrument salesman, started reading up on the disease.
“He dug into the literature and tried to understand not only the drugs my grandmother was taking, but the biology of the disease, which got me curious about biology,” Lehman recalled. “I wanted to learn how to explain research to my grandpa and other non-scientists and stay simple no matter how complex or convoluted the science is.”
In addition to piquing his interest in science, Lehman’s grandfather, who sold synthesizers, guitars, mandolins and more, also influenced his grandson’s love of music. A lifelong violinist, Lehman recently formed the folk bluegrass band The Outliers with other graduate students and postdocs at UMass Chan.
Prior to enrolling in the PhD program, Lehman worked as a research technician at UMass Chan, a senior research associate at Neon Therapeutics and an associate scientist at Repertoire Immune Medicines in Boston.
“I’ve fallen in love with academia all over again during my PhD because you can really ask the questions that you’re passionate about,” said Lehman, who aspires to run his own lab in the future.
