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

Office: 237 Stratton Hall
Lab: 210 Stratton Hall

Phone: (215) 895-2789 (Office)
            
Email: eg25@drexel.edu

Ph.D. Nutritional Biochemistry, Medical College of PA

Courses Taught

BIO214: Cell Biology
BIO221: Microbiology
BIO426: Immunology
BIO680: Advanced Immunology

Immunity decreases in aging, most well documented as an impaired cell-mediated response to antigen, i.e., reduced T cell proliferation and altered cytokine production. Aged mice also exhibit altered innate immunity, including a decrease in inducible natural killer (NK) cell activity, although such changes have not been consistent in humans. Influenza is perhaps the best characterized model for studying the immune response to virus, and influenza and its secondary pneumonias represent a major public health concern in the U.S., particularly among the elderly. We and others have shown that the immune response to influenza vaccine is reduced in the elderly as evidenced by lower antibody titers, decreased T cell proliferative responses, reducted cytotoxic T cell activity, and altered cytokine production compared to young controls. However, the study of immunity, particularly in the elderly, can no longer be limited to efficacy of vaccination, given the emergence of new viral strains of common viruses, such as avian influenza, and the threat of using viruses to which there are no current vaccines as agents of bioterrorism. Therefore, a major emphasis of our lab is the response of young and aged mice to primary influenza infection at the site of infection, i.e., the lung, with a particular interest in innate (NK cell function) and cell-mediated immunity. We also study the effects of nutritional interventions, including antioxidants and nutraceuticals, on outcome to primary influenza infection or as adjuvants to vaccination. Caloric restriction (CR) without malnutrition decreases oxidative stress and extends mean and maximal lifespan in mice. While elderly CR mice have been reported to have an increased response to influenza vaccination, the response to CR mice to primary infection is not known. Our data suggest that a defect in NK cell function decreases survival of CR mice in response to primary influenza infection

To view some of Dr. Gardner's published work [...click here...]

Post-Docs and Graduate Students

Barry W. Ritz: The influence of nutrition on immunity in modeled microgravity, primary influenza
                      infection, and caloric restriction.
Donald M. Simons: Lymphocyte signaling and activation cascades under modeled microgravity.
Shoko Nogusa: The age-related decrease in immune response to influenza immunization and 
                        is evaluating multiple assays for the detection of influenza virus in mouse lung. 

Personal/Laboratory Website(s)