Pathology

Brian A. Cobb, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Mailing Address:
2103 Cornell Rd.
WRB 6532
Cleveland, OH 44106-7288

phone: (216) 368-1263
fax: (216) 368-0494
email: Brian.Cobb@Case.edu

Laboratory

Biography
Dr. Brian Cobb graduated with a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Oklahoma in 1995. The next five years were spent at Washington University, St. Louis, where he received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry. His Postdoctoral Fellow was spent as a dual appointment in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and the Department of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (2001-04). He continued at Harvard for another year as an Instructor. In 2005, Dr. Cobb came to the Case School of Medicine where he has an Assistant Professorship in the Department of Pathology.

Research
Overall, the Cobb lab focuses on a new immunologic paradigm: the antigen processing and presentation of carbohydrate antigens. Our work is highly multifaceted and affords opportunities for cellular immunology (antigen presenting cell and T cell biology), animal models, molecular biology, and biochemistry (structure/function and macromolecular interactions). We believe this work to be very exciting because of the very real potential of translational application in the form of new vaccine classes and/or drugable targets against pathogen bacteria.

Publications
Articles Submitted for Review or In Preparation
Cobb, B.A., Kasper, D.L. (2005). Alternating Charges are the Key for Carbohydrate Binding and Presentation by MHC Class II. revision in review.

Wang, Q., Cobb, B.A., Charrel-Dennis, M., Golenbock, D., Tzianabos, A.O., Kasper, D.L. (2005). A Bacterial Carbohydrate Links Innate and Adaptive Responses through Toll-Like Receptor 2. revision in review

Velez, C.D., Kasper, D.L., Cobb, B.A. (2005). Processing and Presentation of the Type 1 Streptococcus pneumoniae Capsular Polysaccharide by the MHCII Pathway. in preparation.

Cobb, B.A., Kasper, D.L. (2005). New Frontiers in T Cell-Dependent Immunity: Zwitterionic Carbohydrate Antigens. Current Protein and Peptide Science (invited review article). in preparation.

Published Articles Cobb, B.A., Kasper, D.L. (2005). Zwitterionic Capsular Polysaccharides: The New MHCII-Dependent Antigens. Cellular Microbiology 7(10), pp. 1398-1403.

Cobb, B.A., Kasper, D.L. (2005). Coming of Age: Carbohydrates and Immunity. European Journal of Immunology 35(2), pp. 352-356.

Cobb, B.A., Wang, Q., Tzianabos, A.O., Kasper, D.L. (2004). Polysaccharide Processing and Presentation by the MHCII Pathway. Cell 117(5), pp. 677-87.

Cobb, B.A., Petrash, J.M. (2002). Factors Influencing a -Crystallin Association with Phospholipid Vesicles. Molecular Vision 8, pp. 85-93.

Cobb, B.A., Petrash, J.M. (2001). a -Crystallin Chaperone-Like Activity and Membrane Binding in Age- Related Cataracts. Biochemistry 41, pp. 483-90.

Cobb, B.A., Petrash, J.M. (2000). Structural and Functional Changes in the a A-crystallin R116C Mutant in Hereditary Cataracts. Biochemistry 39, pp. 15791-8.

Cobb, B.A., Petrash, J.M. (2000). Characterization of a -Crystallin-Plasma Membrane Binding. Journal of Biological Chemistry 275(9), pp. 6664-72.

Stock, M.F., Guerrero, J., Cobb, B., Eggers, C.T., Huang, T-G, Li, X., Hackney, D.D. (1999). Formation of the Compact Confomer of Kinesin Requires a COOH-terminal Heavy Chain Domain and Inhibits Microtubule-Stimulated ATPase Activity. Journal of Biological Chemistry 274(21), pp. 14617-23.

Third-Party News and Views Watts , C. (2004). Class II MHC: Sweetening the Peptide-Only Diet? Cell 117(5), pp. 558-9.

Honey, K. (2004). Presenting a Newly Charged Antigen. Nature Reviews Immunology 4, pg. 489.

Hurtley, S.M. (2004). Immunology: Sweet Presentation. Science 304, pg. 1719.

Dempsey, L.A. (2004). Processed Sugar. Nature Immunology 5(7), pg. 693.