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Leon Coleman, M.D., Ph.D.

 

Assistant Professor

Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies

Department of Pharmacology

Office: 1007C Thurston Bowles Bldg CB#7178

Email: leon_coleman@med.unc.edu

Biographical Sketch: Coleman Biosketch

 

Research Interests

The overriding goal of Dr. Coleman’s work is to identify novel treatments for immune related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, addiction, cancer and trauma.  Studies in addiction focus on alcohol use disorder and cocaine use disorder. Further description of these projects include:

Prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD): The majority of AD cases are sporadic (i.e., no clear etiology); however several modifiable risk factors have been identified. The goal of this project is to identify cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the increased risk for AD caused by modifiable risk factors such as heavy alcohol use and obesity.

Treatment of symptomatology of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and Cocaine Use Disorder (CUD): Proinflammatory signaling is induced in the pathology of several addictions such as AUD and CUD. This project examines the overall hypothesis that innate immune signaling contributes to key features of AUD and CUD such as stress, neuronal damage, and substance use.  Specific immune pathways are investigated in models of addiction.

Improving efficacy of cancer immunotherapy: Response to anti-PD1 immunotherapy is low for most cancers. However, determinants of response of often unknown. This project studies the impact that common exposures have on anti-PD1 efficacy such as alcohol use and stress.

Identifying novel immune regulators in settings of severe trauma: Poor outcomes in settings of severe trauma such as large burn injury and radiation injury are often related to immune dysfunction. However, therapeutic targets to normalize immune dysfunction after trauma are lacking. This project studies the impact of novel immune regulators such as extracellular vesicles in the pathology of trauma.

Selected Recent Publications

Click here for a full list of publications from PubMed

  1. Barnett A, David E, Rohlman A, Nikolova VD, Moy SS, Vetreno RP, Coleman LG Jr. Adolescent Binge Alcohol Enhances Early Alzheimer’s Disease Pathology in Adulthood Through Proinflammatory Neuroimmune Activation. Front Pharmacol. 2022;13:884170. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.884170. eCollection 2022. PubMed PMID: 35559229; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9086457.
  2. Zou J, Walter TJ, Barnett A, Rohlman A, Crews FT, Coleman LG Jr. Ethanol Induces Secretion of Proinflammatory Extracellular Vesicles That Inhibit Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis Through G9a/GLP-Epigenetic Signaling. Front Immunol. 2022;13:866073. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.866073. eCollection 2022. PubMed PMID: 35634322; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC9136051.
  3. Qin L, Zou J, Barnett A, Vetreno RP, Crews FT, Coleman LG Jr. TRAIL Mediates Neuronal Death in AUD: A Link between Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration. Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Mar 4;22(5). doi: 10.3390/ijms22052547. PubMed PMID: 33806288; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7961445.
  4. Willis ML, Mahung C, Wallet SM, Barnett A, Cairns BA, Coleman LG Jr, Maile R. Plasma extracellular vesicles released after severe burn injury modulate macrophage phenotype and function. J Leukoc Biol. 2022 Jan;111(1):33-49. doi: 10.1002/JLB.3MIA0321-150RR. Epub 2021 Aug 3. PubMed PMID: 34342045; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8716518.