We are an internationally diverse group of scientists who share a common passion: scientific discovery. Here in the Immunology Center of Georgia, we blend our expertise and creativity to discover new ways to unlock the power of the immune system for healthier lives.
If you are interested in joining our team, please email us!
Catherine 'Lynn' Hedrick, PhD
Georgia Research Alliance Bradley Turner Eminent Scholar in Vascular and Cancer Immunology
Co-Director, Immunology Center of Georgia
Professor, Department of Medicine
Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
Jump to: What We Study Research Team Current Research Interests Publications
We explore how the immune system links heart disease and cancer, with the goal of turning discoveries into better prevention and new treatments.
Our work centers on innate immune cells—monocytes, dendritic cells, neutrophils, and macrophages—which act as the body’s first responders and shape both health and disease. We combine high-dimensional profiling with computational and experimental approaches to study the immune system. A key focus is understanding how these innate immune cells differ among people of diverse ethnic backgrounds, and how such differences influence disease susceptibility.
Irina Baranovskaya
Layne Benson
Onyekachi Nwogu
Ruibo Cai
Natalie Mseis-Jackson
Kaylee Erneston
Gabriel Valentin-Guillama
Rachel Watson
Sabrina Robichaud
Akash Shah
Aleksandr Taraskin
Natalia Jaeger
Ravi Komaravolu
How do monocytes recognize tumor cells that are undergoing metastasis?
Select subsets of monocytes are critical in orchestrating the killing of tumor cells as they are traveling through the vasculature to new seeding sites. Here we seek to understand how these cells selectively identify the metastatic tumor cell. Methods include working with human tissue samples, mouse tumor models, immunoprofiling, high parameter flow cytometry, scRNA sequencing, and intravital live cell imaging.
How does innate immunity impact the intersection of cardiovascular disease and cancer?
Some cancer patients receiving therapy develop cardiovascular complications, the understanding of which is the field of cardio-oncology. Here, we study monocyte subsets and functions in cancer patients who develop cardiovascular complications. Methods include working with human blood samples, immunoprofiling, high parameter flow cytometry, functional assays, and complex computational approaches.
Are there ethnic differences present in monocyte subsets that change how they function in disease?
Here, we study how ethnicity impacts innate immune functions in health and disease. High dimensional immunoprofiling, epidemiology, bioinformatics, and functional assays are utilized to answer these questions.
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Genomic Analysis Defines Increased Circulating, Leukemia-Induced Macrophages That Promote Immune Suppression in Mouse Models of FGFR1-Driven LeukemogenesisZhang, T., Matsunaga, A., Lu, X., Fang, H., Chatterjee, N., Alimadadi, A., Mori, S. F., Fang, X., Wang, G., Shi, H., Zhang, L., Hedrick, C. C., Cheng, B., Hu, T. & Cowell, J. K., Oct 2025, In: Cells. 14, 19, 1533.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
The protective role of γδ T cells in endometrial cancerMysona, D. P., Shah, A., Jaeger, N., Almadadi, A., Orr, B., McIndoe, R., Johnson, M., Higgins, R., Rungruang, B., Ghamande, S., Hedrick, C. & Ley, K., Oct 2025, In: Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy. 74, 10, 318.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
From complexity to consensus: A roadmap for neutrophil classificationNg, L. G., Ballesteros, I., Cassatella, M. A., Egeblad, M., Fridlender, Z. G., Gabrilovich, D., Gao, Q., Granot, Z., Grieshaber-Bouyer, R., Grimes, H. L., Hedrick, C. C., Hidalgo, A., Kaplan, M. J., Kubes, P., Ling, G. S., Lu, L., Luo, H. R., Mayadas, T. N., Moutsopoulos, N. M. & Ng, M. & 10 others, , Aug 12 2025, In: Immunity. 58, 8, p. 1890-1903 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review |
Transcriptional programs underlying human monocyte differentiation and diversityKomaravolu, R. K., Araujo, D. J., Hedrick, C. C. & Alimadadi, A., Jul 1 2025, In: Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 117, 7, qiaf058.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
From killers to hoplites: neutrophils in skin barrier defenseLowery, A., Zhu, Y. P. & Hedrick, C. C., Jun 1 2025, In: Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 117, 6, qiaf074.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review |
Sex differences in adenosine deaminase activity associate with disparities in SARS-CoV-2 innate immunitySaminathan, P., Mathews, I. T., Alimadadi, A., Fung, K., Kakugawa, K., Joosten, L. A. B., Netea, M. G., Jain, M., Cheng, S., Hedrick, C. C. & Sharma, S., May 16 2025, In: iScience. 28, 5, 112418.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Blocking Feedback Immunosuppression of Antigen Presentation in Brain Tumor During Oncolytic Virotherapy with oHSV-mshPKRTsuboi, N., Rivera-Caraballo, K. A., Sahu, U., Pacholczyk, R., Douglass, E., Johnson, T. S., Wang, Q., Kolhe, R., Hedrick, C. C., Munn, D. H. & Hong, B., Mar 1 2025, In: Molecular cancer therapeutics. 24, 3, p. 444-452 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Defining myeloid-derived suppressor cellsAkkari, L., Amit, I., Bronte, V., Fridlender, Z. G., Gabrilovich, D. I., Ginhoux, F., Hedrick, C. C. & Ostrand-Rosenberg, S., Dec 2024, In: Nature Reviews Immunology. 24, 12, p. 850-857 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Reducing racial and ethnic disparities in cardiovascular outcomes among cancer survivorsTan, M. C., Stabellini, N., Tan, J. Y., Thong, J. Y., Hedrick, C., Moore, J. X., Cullen, J., Hines, A., Sutton, A., Sheppard, V., Agarwal, N. & Guha, A., Oct 2024, In: Current Oncology Reports. 26, 10, p. 1205-1212 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review |
Olfr2-positive macrophages originate from monocytes proliferate in situ and present a pro-inflammatory foamy-like phenotypeSuthahar, S. S. A., Nettersheim, F. S., Alimadadi, A., Wang, E., Billitti, M., Resto-Trujillo, N., Roy, P., Hedrick, C. C., Ley, K. & Orecchioni, M., Sep 1 2024, In: Cardiovascular Research. 120, 13, p. 1577-1589 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Single-Cell Sleuthing: Cracking the Monocyte Code for Cardiovascular CluesHedrick, C. C., Aug 30 2024, In: Circulation research. 135, 6, p. 701-703 3 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review |
Defective endomembrane dynamics in Rab27a deficiency impairs nucleic acid sensing and cytokine secretion in immune cellsYu, J., Meneses-Salas, E., Johnson, J. L., Manenti, S., Kbaich, M. A., Chen, D., Askari, K., He, J., Shukla, A., Shaji, B., Gonzalez-Quintial, R., Croker, B. A., Zhang, J., Hoffman, H., Kiosses, W. B., Hedrick, C., Pestonjamasp, K., Wineinger, N., Baccala, R. & Catz, S. D., Aug 27 2024, In: Cell Reports. 43, 8, 114598.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Cardiovascular Diseases Increase Cancer Mortality in Adults: NHANES-Continuous StudyMakram, O. M., Okwuosa, T., Addison, D., Cortes, J., Dent, S., Bevel, M., Ganatra, S., Al-Kindi, S., Hedrick, C. C., Weintraub, N. L., Wang, X. & Guha, A., Aug 6 2024, In: Journal of the American Heart Association. 13, 15, e035500.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Examining the interplay between cardiovascular disease and cancer incidence: Data from NHANES III and continuousMakram, O. M., Kunhiraman, H. H., Harris, R. A., Hedrick, C. C., Nasir, K., Weintraub, N. L., Wang, X. & Guha, A., Apr 2024, In: American Heart Journal Plus: Cardiology Research and Practice. 40, 100380.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Single Cell High Dimensional Analysis of Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Reveals Unique Intermediate Monocyte Subsets Associated with Sex Differences in Coronary Artery DiseaseChatterjee, N., Komaravolu, R. K., Durant, C. P., Wu, R., McSkimming, C., Drago, F., Kumar, S., Valentin-Guillama, G., Miller, Y. I., McNamara, C. A., Ley, K., Taylor, A., Alimadadi, A. & Hedrick, C. C., Mar 2024, In: International journal of molecular sciences. 25, 5, 2894.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Immune determinants of CAR-T cell expansion in solid tumor patients receiving GD2 CAR-T cell therapyKaczanowska, S., Murty, T., Alimadadi, A., Contreras, C. F., Duault, C., Subrahmanyam, P. B., Reynolds, W., Gutierrez, N. A., Baskar, R., Wu, C. J., Michor, F., Altreuter, J., Liu, Y., Jhaveri, A., Duong, V., Anbunathan, H., Ong, C., Zhang, H., Moravec, R. & Yu, J. & 24 others, , Jan 8 2024, In: Cancer Cell. 42, 1, p. 35-51.e8Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Author Correction: Human circulating CD24hi marginal zone B cells produce IgM targeting atherogenic antigens and confer protection from vascular disease (Nature Cardiovascular Research, (2023), 2, 11, (1003-1014), 10.1038/s44161-023-00356-1)Pattarabanjird, T., Nguyen, A. T., McSkimming, C., Dinh, H. Q., Marshall, M. A., Ghosheh, Y., Gulati, R., Durant, C., Vallejo, J., Saigusa, R., Drago, F., Guy, T. V., Premo, K., Taylor, A. M., Paul, S., Kundu, B., Berr, S., Gonen, A., Tsimikas, S. & Miller, Y. & 4 others, , Dec 2023, In: Nature Cardiovascular Research. 2, 12, p. 1328 1 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review |
Human circulating CD24hi marginal zone B cells produce IgM targeting atherogenic antigens and confer protection from vascular diseasePattarabanjird, T., Nguyen, A. T., McSkimming, C., Dinh, H. Q., Marshall, M. A., Ghosheh, Y., Gulati, R., Durant, C., Vallejo, J., Saigusa, R., Drago, F., Guy, T. V., Premo, K., Taylor, A. M., Paul, S., Kundu, B., Berr, S., Gonen, A., Tsimikas, S. & Miller, Y. & 4 others, , Nov 2023, In: Nature Cardiovascular Research. 2, 11, p. 1003-1014 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Single-cell profiling reveals distinct subsets of CD14+ monocytes drive blood immune signatures of active tuberculosisHillman, H., Khan, N., Singhania, A., Dubelko, P., Soldevila, F., Tippalagama, R., DeSilva, A. D., Gunasena, B., Perera, J., Scriba, T. J., Ontong, C., Fisher, M., Luabeya, A., Taplitz, R., Seumois, G., Vijayanand, P., Hedrick, C. C., Peters, B. & Burel, J. G., Jan 11 2023, In: Frontiers in immunology. 13, 1087010.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Nonclassical monocytes potentiate anti-tumoral CD8+ T cell responses in the lungsPadgett, L. E., Marcovecchio, P. M., Olingy, C. E., Araujo, D. J., Steel, K., Dinh, H. Q., Alimadadi, A., Zhu, Y. P., Meyer, M. A., Kiosses, W. B., Thomas, G. D. & Hedrick, C. C., 2023, In: Frontiers in immunology. 14, 1101497.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Human CD79b+ neutrophils in the blood are associated with early-stage melanomaMeyer, M. A., Dinh, H. Q., Alimadadi, A., Araujo, D. J., Chatterjee, N., Gutierrez, N. A., Zhu, Y. P., Hunter, E. L., Liang, S., Seumois, G., Kiosses, W. B., Catz, S. D., Vijayanand, P., Ottensmeier, C. & Hedrick, C. C., 2023, In: Frontiers in immunology. 14, 1224045.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Single cell transcriptomics reveals recent CD8T cell receptor signaling in patients with coronary artery diseaseIqneibi, S., Saigusa, R., Khan, A., Oliaeimotlagh, M., Armstrong Suthahar, S. S., Kumar, S., Alimadadi, A., Durant, C. P., Ghosheh, Y., McNamara, C. A., Hedrick, C. C. & Ley, K., 2023, In: Frontiers in immunology. 14, 1239148.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Single-cell immune profiling reveals long-term changes in myeloid cells and identifies a novel subset of CD9+ monocytes associated with COVID-19 hospitalizationPandori, W. J., Padgett, L. E., Alimadadi, A., Gutierrez, N. A., Araujo, D. J., Huh, C. J., Olingy, C. E., Dinh, H. Q., Wu, R., Vijayanand, P., Chee, S. J., Ottensmeier, C. H. & Hedrick, C. C., Nov 2022, In: Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 112, 5, p. 1053-1063 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Single cell transcriptomics and TCR reconstruction reveal CD4 T cell response to MHC-II-restricted APOB epitope in human cardiovascular diseaseSaigusa, R., Roy, P., Freuchet, A., Gulati, R., Ghosheh, Y., Armstrong Suthahar, S. S., Durant, C. P., Hanna, D. B., Kiosses, W. B., Orecchioni, M., Wen, L., Wu, R., Kuniholm, M. H., Landay, A. L., Anastos, K., Tien, P. C., Gange, S. J., Kassaye, S., Vallejo, J. & Hedrick, C. C. & 5 others, , May 2022, In: Nature Cardiovascular Research. 1, 5, p. 462-475 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Bone Marrow Transplantation Rescues Monocyte Recruitment Defect and Improves Cystic Fibrosis in MiceFan, Z., Pitmon, E., Wen, L., Miller, J., Ehinger, E., Herro, R., Liu, W., Chen, J., Mikulski, Z., Conrad, D. J., Marki, A., Orecchioni, M., Kumari, P., Zhu, Y. P., Marcovecchio, P. M., Hedrick, C. C., Hodges, C. A., Rathinam, V. A., Wang, K. & Ley, K., Feb 1 2022, In: Journal of Immunology. 208, 3, p. 745-752 8 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
The atypical small GTPase GEM/Kir is a negative regulator of the NADPH oxidase and NETs production through macroautophagyJohnson, J. L., Ramadass, M., Rahman, F., Meneses-Salas, E., Zgajnar, N. R., Carvalho Gontijo, R., Zhang, J., Kiosses, W. B., Zhu, Y. P., Hedrick, C. C., Perego, M., Gunton, J. E., Pestonjamasp, K., Napolitano, G. & Catz, S. D., Oct 2021, In: Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 110, 4, p. 629-649 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Pathogenic Autoimmunity in Atherosclerosis Evolves From Initially Protective Apolipoprotein B100-Reactive CD4+T-Regulatory CellsWolf, D., Gerhardt, T., Winkels, H., Michel, N. A., Pramod, A. B., Ghosheh, Y., Brunel, S., Buscher, K., Miller, J., McArdle, S., Baas, L., Kobiyama, K., Vassallo, M., Ehinger, E., Dileepan, T., Ali, A., Schell, M., Mikulski, Z., Sidler, D. & Kimura, T. & 13 others, , Sep 29 2020, In: Circulation. 142, 13, p. 1279-1293 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Cellular sensing of extracellular purine nucleosides triggers an innate IFN-β responseDhanwani, R., Takahashi, M., Mathews, I. T., Lenzi, C., Romanov, A., Watrous, J. D., Pieters, B., Hedrick, C. C., Benedict, C. A., Linden, J., Nilsson, R., Jain, M. & Sharma, S., Jul 2020, In: Science Advances. 6, 30, aba3688.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Macrophage Syk–PI3Kg inhibits antitumor immunity: SRX3207, a novel dual Syk–PI3K inhibitory chemotype relieves tumor immunosuppressionJoshi, S., Liu, K. X., Zulcic, M., Singh, A. R., Skola, D., Glass, C. K., Dominick Sanders, P., Sharabi, A. B., Pham, T. V., Tamayo, P., Shiang, D., Dinh, H. Q., Hedrick, C. C., Morales, G. A., Garlich, J. R. & Durden, D. L., Mar 2020, In: Molecular cancer therapeutics. 19, 3, p. 755-764 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Patrolling monocytes control NK cell expression of activating and stimulatory receptors to curtail lung metastasesNarasimhan, P. B., Eggert, T., Zhu, Y. P., Marcovecchio, P., Meyer, M. A., Wu, R. & Hedrick, C. C., 2020, In: Journal of Immunology. 204, 1, p. 192-198 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Erratum to: Oxidized phospholipids are proinflammatory and proatherogenic in hypercholesterolaemic mice (Nature, (2018), 558, 7709, (301-306), 10.1038/s41586-018-0198-8)Que, X., Hung, M. Y., Yeang, C., Gonen, A., Prohaska, T. A., Sun, X., Diehl, C., Määttä, A., Gaddis, D. E., Bowden, K., Pattison, J., MacDonald, J. G., Ylä-Herttuala, S., Mellon, P. L., Hedrick, C. C., Ley, K., Miller, Y. I., Glass, C. K., Peterson, K. L. & Binder, C. J. & 2 others, , Sep 27 2018, In: Nature. 561, 7724, p. E43Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review |
Understanding the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) for effective therapyBinnewies, M., Roberts, E. W., Kersten, K., Chan, V., Fearon, D. F., Merad, M., Coussens, L. M., Gabrilovich, D. I., Ostrand-Rosenberg, S., Hedrick, C. C., Vonderheide, R. H., Pittet, M. J., Jain, R. K., Zou, W., Howcroft, T. K., Woodhouse, E. C., Weinberg, R. A. & Krummel, M. F., May 1 2018, In: Nature Medicine. 24, 5, p. 541-550 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Scavenger receptor CD36 directs nonclassical monocyte patrolling along the endothelium during early atherogenesisMarcovecchio, P. M., Thomas, G. D., Mikulski, Z., Ehinger, E., Mueller, K. A. L., Blatchley, A., Wu, R., Miller, Y. I., Nguyen, A. T., Taylor, A. M., McNamara, C. A., Ley, K. & Hedrick, C. C., 2017, In: Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology. 37, 11, p. 2043-2052 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Deleting an Nr4a1 Super-Enhancer Subdomain Ablates Ly6Clow Monocytes while Preserving Macrophage Gene FunctionThomas, G. D., Hanna, R. N., Vasudevan, N. T., Hamers, A. A., Romanoski, C. E., McArdle, S., Ross, K. D., Blatchley, A., Yoakum, D., Hamilton, B. A., Mikulski, Z., Jain, M. K., Glass, C. K. & Hedrick, C. C., Nov 15 2016, In: Immunity. 45, 5, p. 975-987 13 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
2014 Jeffrey M. Hoeg award lecture: Transcriptional control of monocyte developmentZhu, Y. P., Thomas, G. D. & Hedrick, C. C., Sep 1 2016, In: Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology. 36, 9, p. 1722-1733 12 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review |
Patrolling monocytes control tumor metastasis to the lungHanna, R. N., Cekic, C., Sag, D., Tacke, R., Thomas, G. D., Nowyhed, H., Herrley, E., Rasquinha, N., McArdle, S., Wu, R., Peluso, E., Metzger, D., Ichinose, H., Shaked, I., Chodaczek, G., Biswas, S. K. & Hedrick, C. C., Nov 20 2015, In: Science. 350, 6263, p. 985-990 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Stressing out stem cells: Linking stress and hematopoiesis in cardiovascular diseaseHanna, R. N. & Hedrick, C. C., Jul 2014, In: Nature Medicine. 20, 7, p. 707-708 2 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review |
Molecular imaging of the paracrine proangiogenic effects of progenitor cell therapy in limb ischemiaRyu, J. C., Davidson, B. P., Xie, A., Qi, Y., Zha, D., Belcik, J. T., Caplan, E. S., Woda, J. M., Hedrick, C. C., Hanna, R. N., Lehman, N., Zhao, Y., Ting, A. & Lindner, J. R., Feb 12 2013, In: Circulation. 127, 6, p. 710-719 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
Accelerated atherosclerosis in apoe -/- mice heterozygous for the insulin receptor and the insulin receptor substrate-1Galkina, E. V., Butcher, M., Keller, S. R., Goff, M., Bruce, A., Pei, H., Sarembock, I. J., Sanders, J. M., Nagelin, M. H., Srinivasan, S., Kulkarni, R. N., Hedrick, C. C., Lattanzio, F. A., Dobrian, A. D., Nadler, J. L. & Ley, K., Feb 2012, In: Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology. 32, 2, p. 247-256 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |
An intracellular role for ABCG1-mediated cholesterol transport in the regulated secretory pathway of mouse pancreatic β cellsSturek, J. M., Castle, J. D., Trace, A. P., Page, L. C., Castle, A. M., Evans-Molina, C., Parks, J. S., Mirmira, R. G. & Hedrick, C. C., Jul 1 2010, In: Journal of Clinical Investigation. 120, 7, p. 2575-2589 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review |