Dr. Brazil has a PhD in Medicine and Molecular Science, having completed a doctoral dissertation in the laboratory of Dr. Clare O’Connor in the Conway institute of bimolecular medicine in University College Dublin, studying the dynamic neutrophilic response to inflammatory stimuli. In 2008 she joined the lab of Dr. Nancy Louis as a postdoctoral fellow in the pathobiology group at the department of pediatrics at Emory University. During this initial postdoctoral period, Dr. Brazil characterized the GM35 antibody and its attenuation of neutrophil transepithelial migration through binding to epithelial CD44v6. These data have been published in the Journal of Immunology and a second manuscript characterizing the role of the carbohydrate structure sialyl Lewis A on epithelial CD44v6 in neutrophil-epithelial interactions has also recently been published in the Journal of Immunology. In 2012 Dr. Brazil was awarded a research fellowship award from the Crohn’s and colitis foundation of America (CCFA) and in 2014 she was successful in her application for a career development award from the same funding agency. In 2014 Dr. Brazil joined the Parkos lab in the department of Pathology, Emory University as a research investigator and subsequently accepted a position as a research investigator in the department of Pathology, University of Michigan. Recently, Dr. Brazil’s work has focused on characterizing the role of PMN expressed Lewis glycans (Lewis X and Lewis A) during neutrophil transepithelial migration and during neutrophil function in inflamed intestinal mucosa.

 Dysregulated migration of neutrophils across epithelial barriers is implicated in the pathology of numerous inflammatory disorders including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Therefore, I am interested in investigating mechanisms of glycosylation-dependent regulation of neutrophil transepithelial migration and clearance from the intestinal epithelium both in human and murine systems, as well as the consequences these interactions have for subsequent epithelial barrier function. Recent projects supported by a Career development award (CDA) from the Crohn’s and Colitis foundation of America (CCFA) focus more specifically on how neutrophil expressed Lewis glycan structures can be targeted to alter neutrophil transepithelial migration and neutrophil function including phagocytosis and degranulation.