Position(s):
Assistant Research Professor
Dept. of Bioscience & Biotechnology

Office: 238 Stratton Hall
Lab: 210 Stratton Hall

Phone: (215) 895-1435 (Office)
            (215) 895-1932 (Lab)

Email: Ritz@drexel.edu

B.S. - Pennsylvania State University
Ph.D. - Drexel University

Courses Taught

BIO 426  Introduction to Immunology
BIO 480/675  Advanced Immunology
NFS 215  Nutritional (Bio)Chemistry
NFS 217/404  Nutritional (Bio)Chemistry Lab

My research focuses on the age-associated changes in the immune system that may explain, at least in part, the increased incidence in infectious disease in the elderly, and how alterations in nutritional status might influence immune outcomes.  Although aging is an inevitable part of life, we do not all age in the same way.  Some elderly men and women over the age of 65-70 maintain immune systems that resemble those of thirty-somethings, while others maintain little immune activity at all.  Nutrition is a key factor influencing immune status in the young and the old.  I study the role of nutrition on immune outcomes by altering nutritional status, such as by restricting calories or supplementing with nutraceutical compounds, and evaluating the immune response to influenza, a relevant virus infection.  Thus, this work has clear and practical public health implications.  I am particularly interested in innate immunity, which involves the action of specialized immune cells called natural killer cells, or NK cells.  NK cells are among the first responders of the immune system, and they are referred to as killers, because they rid the body of virus-infected or cancerous cells.  As the body’s first line of defense against a virus infection, NK cells set the stage for an effective immune response.  Our group has demonstrated the essential role of NK cells in controlling virus titers early in the immune response to influenza infection.  We have recently shown that nutraceuticals that target NK cell activity may serve as potential agents to boost immunity.  For example, we have demonstrated that a fermented mushroom extract commercially available as Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC®, Amino Up Chemical Company, Sapporo, Japan) boosts NK cell activity in response to the flu, associated with a less severe infection and increased survival in mice.  These results could have a profound influence on how we, and especially the elderly, prepare for and cope with flu season.

Research topics:

Immunomodulatory nutraceuticals
Nutritional influence on innate and cell-mediated immunity
Natural killer cells and the immune response to primary virus infection
Caloric restriction and susceptibility to primary influenza infection
Aging and the immune response to influenza virus and immunization
T cell function in models of space flight

Selected publications:

Ritz BW, Nogusa S, Kassim SH, Jennings SR, Gardner EM. Characterization of age-related changes in natural killer cells during primary influenza infection in mice. Mech Age Devel. 2007, submitted.

Kassim SH, Rajasagi NK, Ritz BW, Pruett S, Gardner EM, Chervenak R, Jennings SR. Dendritic cells are required for optimal activation of natural killer functions following primary infection with herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1). J Immunol. 2007, submitted.

Ritz BW, Nogusa S, Ackerman EA, Gardner EM. Supplementation with Active Hexose Correlated Compound increases the innate immune response of young mice to primary Influenza Infection. J Nutr. 2006;136:2868-73.

Ritz BW and Gardner EM. Malnutrition and energy restriction differentially affect viral immunity. J Nutr. 2006;136(5):1141-4.

Ritz BW, Lelkes PI, Gardner EM. Functional recovery of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in modeled microgravity. FASEB J. 2006;20:303-7.

Duarte J, Vinderola CG, Ritz B, Perdigon G, Matar C. Immunomodulating capacity of commercial fish protein hydrolysate for diet supplementation. Immunobiology. 2006;211(4).

Organizations:

Federation of the American Society for Experimental Biology- Nutritional Immunology Research Interest Section

American Society for Nutrition