“A great sense of fascination and intellectual curiosity about the mysteries of living organisms was instilled in me early on by an outstanding and very enthusiastic high school biology teacher.  To a large extent, I attribute my career choice of basic scientific research to her.” – Amnon Altman, Ph.D.

Dr. Altman has been a Member and Head of the Division of Cell Biology at LIAI since 1990, and now serves as Director of Scientific Affairs. His work focuses on understanding biochemical changes that occur in T lymphocytes once they have been engaged by an antigen. Aberrations in T cell activation can lead to immunological diseases, so understanding how these cells are activated is a fundamental part of understanding how to alter T cell responses in favor of the host.

Dr. Altman received his B.Sc and M.Sc from the University of Tel Aviv, in Israel and his Ph.D. in 1975 from the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel. Between 1975-78, Dr. Altman received his postdoctoral training at the National Institutes of Health and later at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation (SCRF). By 1978, he had been appointed to an Assistant Member position in the Departments of Cellular and Developmental Immunology, Molecular Immunology and Immunology at SCRF. From 1984 to 1990, Dr. Altman served as an Associate Member in the Department of Immunology at SCRF.

Dr. Altman is a member of several editorial boards and research associations as well as the recipient of such awards as the Leukemia Society of America, Inc., Scholarship Award and the American Cancer Society's Junior Faculty Research Award in 1979.

Amnon Altman, Ph.D., and his team study T lymphocytes - white blood cells formed in the thymus that are essential in the body's fight against infection and disease. In particular, they study the biochemical changes that occur in T lymphocytes when an antigen (a substance that can cause an immune response) activates a binding site on the surface of the T cell, called the T Cell Antigen Receptor (TCR).

T cells mediate important functions in the immune system and are responsible for major types of immune defense responses against bacteria and viruses and against cancer. Because of the central importance to immunity that T cells play, aberrations in their activation process can prevent the immune system from being effective, or can lead to immunological diseases.

Dr. Altman and his laboratory have already identified several proteins critical to the proper activation of T cells. Notable among these is an enzyme called protein kinase C theta (PKCθ), which is essential for T cell activation and survival. Understanding this protein, and others like it, will help in the development of immune therapies, new treatments for autoimmune diseases, and increase the chances for long-term survival of organ transplants.

Tyrosine-phosphorylation-dependent translocation of the SLAT protein to the immunological synapse is required for NFAT transcription factor activation. Immunity. 2008

PKCdelta acts upstream of SPAK in the activation of NKCC1 by hyperosmotic stress in human airway epithelial cells. J Biol Chem. 2008

PSGL-1 engagement by E-selectin signals through Src kinase Fgr and ITAM adapters DAP12 and FcR gamma to induce slow leukocyte rolling. J Exp Med. 2008

Protein kinase C theta: A key player in T cell life and death. Pharmacol. Res. 2007

SLAT regulates Th1 and Th2 inflammatory responses by controlling Ca/NFAT signaling. J. Clin. Invest.  2007

Impaired activation and localization of LAT in anergic T cells as a consequence of a selective palmitoylation defect. Immunity. 2006

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