Dr. Obondo James Sande
Lecturer of Immunology and Microbiology
Email: ojsande@gmail.com, obondo.sande@mak.ac.ug
Phone: +256772747940
School: Biomedical Sciences
Department: Immunology and Molecular Biology
Dr. Obondo James Sande is a physician scientist and Lecturer in the Department of Immunology and Molecular Biology at Makerere University. He joined the faculty in 2018, bringing with him a wealth of experience in immunology, microbiology and proteomics. Dr. Sande earned his medical degree from Makerere University, and Ph.D. in Immunology from Case Western Reserve University, Ohio, USA, where he conducted innovative research on the immune evasion mechanisms Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), the cause of tuberculosis, uses to evade host immune response. His PhD work was the first to establish: 1. MTB glyolipid, lipoarabinomannan (LAM) directly inhibits proximal TCR-CD3 signaling by inhibiting phosphorylation of Lck, CD3ζ, ZAP70 and LAT; 2. Using a novel antigen-specific system he developed, he showed that LAM upregulates Genes Related to Anergy in Lymphocytes (GRAIL) resulting in anergy of naïve and inhibition of effector CD4+ T cells. His doctoral work was published in prestigious journals, including Journal of immunology and Cellular Immunology Following his Ph.D., Dr. Sande completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Case Western Reserve University, where the focus was to determine the translational relevance of T cell anergy induction by MTB. He demonstrated acquisition of MTB LAM by T cells in vivo after aerosol infection of mice with MTB, and showed that MTB membrane vesicles carry LAM and other MTB lipoglycans including PIM6, inhibit CD4+ T cells and induce anergy, thus providing a mechanism for transfer of LAM and other lipoglycans to T cells. In addition, using a systems proteomics approach, he determined that MTB lipoglycans interfere with Akt and mTOR signaling, another essential pathway important for productive T cell activation. The significance of his research work was highlighted as having Implications for TB vaccine design by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases report. At Makerere University, Dr. Sande's research focuses on four areas: 1. Exploring the impact of immune evasion mechanisms on the development of vaccine adjuvants and adjuvant therapeutics for TB, HIV, and visceral leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease (NTD); 2. Impact of HIV-TB coinfection on HIV-1 reservoirs, an area of critical importance in the development of HIV cure strategies; this research extends to studying the role of CCR5 in HIV control; 3. Capacity building on detection and investigations of primary Immunodeficiency disorders and their role in infections and cancers; 4. His team is currently using multiplex immune proteomics to investigate: I. Immune status in patients with visceral leishmaniasis during therapy; II. Effect of polysubstance use on immune response in HIV-TB coinfection; III. Liquid biomarkers (proteins) to predict stillbirth in pregnant women. Dr. Sande is passionate about teaching and mentoring the next generation of scientists. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in immunology and microbiology. He is a mentor for several student research projects and is involved in clinical care in the local community. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Association of Immunologists, African Research Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, VALIDATE network, Centre for Aids Research.
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