Eric Brown

Vice President, Immunology and Infectious Diseases

POSTDOC MENTOR

"There has been an explosion in understanding of the biology of human pathogens and my aim is to use that knowledge to make a difference in patients' lives."

• 7
  years at Genentech
• 16
  publications (2010-12)
• 8
  awards & honors

I joined Genentech at the end of 2006 to start a group focused on microbial pathogenesis. Previously, I had been involved in starting interdisciplinary programs directed toward understanding the molecular basis of infectious diseases at two academic institutions, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of California, San Francisco. Genentech offered the opportunity to perform outstanding basic research and also to translate these findings rapidly to improvements in patient care, a promise much harder to achieve in an academic setting.

An explosion in information about pathogens, from genomic, proteomic, metabolomic and other investigations has made this a particularly opportune time for this effort. Like all areas of biology, progress in understanding microbial pathogenesis requires interactions among scientists with diverse expertise, perspectives, and approaches. The incredibly collaborative and interactive atmosphere at Genentech attracted me immediately and is a huge benefit in our progress toward new ways of treating infectious diseases.

• My Focus

  We already have a variety of projects in our new department aimed at understanding the molecular interactions involved in initiating, propagating, and resolving infection. We actively and continuously try to understand the interface between host and pathogen, where perturbations of homeostasis lead to disease, often through excessive growth of the pathogen, but sometimes through dysregulated host responses. Some projects focus on a detailed analysis of microbial molecules that make an organism pathogenic; other projects focus on seeing infection from the perspective of the host.

  As a new department, we have a unique opportunity to investigate novel hypotheses and methods of approach to determine which aspects of the host-pathogen interface are most amenable to therapeutic intervention.

• Publications

  • Ubiquilin4 is an adaptor protein that recruits Ubiquilin1 to the autophagy machinery

    EMBO Reports, 2013, ISSN: 1469-221X

    Lee, Dong Yun; Arnott, David; Brown, Eric J.

     View on PubMed

  • Mycobacterium marinum SecA2 promotes stable granulomas and induces TNF-α in vivo

    Infection and Immunity, 2012, ISSN: 0019-9567

    Watkins, Brigitte Y; Joshi, Shilpa A; Ball, David A; Leggett, Hadley; Park, Summer; Kim, Janice; Austin, Cary D; Paler-Martinez, Andres; Xu, Min; Downing, Kenneth H; Brown, Eric J

     View on PubMed

  • Ubiquilins in the crosstalk among proteolytic pathways

    Biological Chemistry, 2012, ISSN: 1431-6730

    Lee, Dong Yun; Brown, Eric J.

     View on PubMed

  • EccA1, a Component of the Mycobacterium marinum ESX-1 Protein Virulence Factor Secretion Pathway, Regulates Mycolic Acid Lipid Synthesis

    Chemistry and Biology, 2012, ISSN: 1074-5521

    Joshi, Shilpa A; Ball, David A; Sun, Mei G; Carlsson, Fredric; Watkins, Brigitte Y; Aggarwal, Nina; McCracken, Jenna M; Huynh, Kassidy K; Brown, Eric J;

     View on PubMed

  • A delicate dance: host response to mycobacteria.

    Current opinion in immunology, {Curr-Opin-Immunol}, 2 Jul 2011 (epub: 2 7 2011), ISSN: 1879-0372.

    Huynh, Kassidy K; Joshi, Shilpa A; Brown, Eric J

     View on PubMed

  • Actin-Bundling Protein L-Plastin Regulates T Cell Activation.

    Journal of Immunology, 2010, ISSN: 0022-1767

    Wang, C.; Morley, S.C.; Donermeyer, D.; Peng, I.; Lee, W.P.; Devoss, J.; Danilenko, D.M.; Lin, Z.; Zhang, J.; Zhou, J.; Allen, P.M.; Brown, E.J.

  • Protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP-1 positively regulates TLR-induced IL-12p40 production in macrophages through inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase.

    Journal of Leukocyte Biology, 2010, ISSN: 0741-5400

    Zhou, D.; Collins, C.; Wu, P.; Brown, E.

  • Host-detrimental role of Esx-1-mediated inflammasome activation in mycobacterial infection.

    PLoS Pathogens, 2010, ISSN: 1553-7374

    Carlsson, F.; Kim, J.; Dumitru, C.; Barck, K.; Carano, R.; Sun, M.; Diehl, L.; Brown, E.

  • Cytosol as battleground: ubiquitin as a weapon for both host and pathogen.

    Trends in Cell Biology, 2010, ISSN: 0962-8924

    Collins, C.; Brown, E.

  • The Actin-Bundling Protein L-Plastin Dissociates CCR7 Proximal Signaling from CCR7-Induced Motility.

    Journal of Immunology, 2010, ISSN: 0022-1767

    Morley, S.C.; Wang, C.; Lo, W.L.; Lio, C.W.J.; Zinselmeyer, B.H.; Miller, M.J.; Brown, E.J.; Allen, P.M.

  • Systematic genetic nomenclature for type VII secretion systems.

    PLoS Pathogens, 2009, ISSN: 1553-7366

    Bitter, W.; Houben, E.N.G.; Bottai, D.; Brodin, P.; Brown, E..J.; Cox, J.S.; Derbyshire, K.; Fortune, S.M.; Gao, L.-Y.; Liu, J.; Van Pittius, N.C.G.; Pym, A.S.; Rubin, E.J.; Sherman, D.R.; Cole, S.T.; Brosch, R.

  • Integrins on phagocytes.

    , 2009, ISSN:

    Hazenbos, W. L. W. ; Brown, E. J.

  • Ubiquilins accelerate autophagosome maturation and promote cell survival during nutrient starvation.

    Autophagy, 2009, ISSN: 1554-8627

    N'Diaye, E.-N. ; Debnath, J.; Brown, Eric J.

  • Atg5-independent sequestration of ubiquitinated mycobacteria.

    PLoS Pathogens, 2009, ISSN: 1553-7374

    Collins, C.A.; De Maziere, A.; van Dijk, S.; Carlsson, F.; Klumperman, J.; Brown, E.J.

  • The art of making an exit.

    Science, 2009, ISSN: 1095-9203

    Carlsson, F.; Brown, E.J.

  • Polar localization of virulence-related Esx-1 secretion in mycobacteria.

    PLoS Pathogens, 2009, ISSN: 1553-7374

    Carlsson, F.; Joshi, S.A.; Rangell, L.; Brown, E.J.

• Education
  • LCI/NIAID/NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, Postdoctoral Fellow – 1979
  • Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, House Staff Training – 1975-1977
  • Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, M.D. – 1975
  • Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, B.A. – 1971
• Awards & Honors
  • Lynch Professor, Department of Biology, University of Notre Dame – 2007
  • MERIT Award NIAID – 2004
  • Burroughs-Wellcome Visiting Prof. – 2000
  • James R. Klinenberg Science Award, Arthritis Foundation – 1995
  • Kroc Professor of Rheumatology (Visiting Professor) – 1995
  • American Association of Physicians – 1989
  • American Society for Clinical Investigation – 1987
  • Fellow – 1986