Timothy Wesley Hand

Associate Professor | University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
March of Dimes
Timothy Welsey Hand

Timothy Wesley Hand, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Immunology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Timothy Hand directs the Immunity to Bacterial Colonization Lab at the UPMC Children’s Hospital. His research focuses upon the interaction between the host immune system and the intestinal microbiota, with a particular focus on the moments when microorganisms first colonize the host. His research has provided new knowledge on how immune cells are shaped by the microbiome and in turn how colonizing bacteria are shaped by intestinal immunity. Regulating microbial colonization is especially critical in infants where our lab studies how antibodies provided in breast milk shape the development of the infant microbiota and intestinal immune response. Beyond informing his understanding of bacterial colonization at the basic level, his work also has the potential to change how we prevent and treat neonatal diseases, such as Necrotizing Enterocolitis. Currently, they're developing comprehensive approaches that will allow for concurrent analysis of the host immune response and microbiome. Other lab focuses include studies of how the microbiota affects health issues relevant to children, such as vaccination, cancer, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Education

BSc (Hon.) Immunology, University of Toronto (2002)

PhD Immunology, Yale University (2009)

Post – Doctoral Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (2015)

Honors and recognition

Councilor, Americas, Society for Mucosal Immunology (2023)

March of Dimes Basil O'Connor Starter Scholar Research Award (2019)

Emerging Leader, Society for Mucosal Immunology (2022)

Burroughs Welcome Foundation Investigator (2021-2026)

Office of Dietary Supplements Transitional Scholar (2014-2015)

Fellows Award for Research Excellence (2012)

Doctoral Research Award, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (2005-2008)

PGS Master’s Award, National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (2004-2005)

Provost’s Scholar, Trinity College, University of Toronto (2003)

Chancellor’s Award, Trinity College, University of Toronto (2000-2001)

H.C. Parson Award, Trinity College, University of Toronto (1999)

Selected publications

  1. Johnson-Hence C.B., Gopalakrishna K.P., Bodkin D., Coffey K.E., Burr A.H.P., Rahman S., Rai A.T., Abbott D.A., Sosa Y.A., Tometich J.T., Das J., Hand T.W. (2023) Stability and heterogeneity in the antimicrobiota reactivity of human milk-derived immunoglobulin A. Journal of Experimental Medicine. Aug 7;220(8): e20220839. doi: 10.1084/jem.20220839
  2. Gopalakrishna K.P., Macadangdang B.R., Rogers M.B., Tometich J.T., Firek B.A., Baker R., Ji J., Burr A.H.P., Ma C., Good M., Morowitz M.J. and T.W. Hand. (2019) Maternal IgA protects against the development of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants. Nature Medicine. 25(7):1110-1115. Dec 14;54(12):2812-2824.e4. PMID:31209335 PMCID: PMC7424541
  3. Bhattacharjee A., Burr A.H.P., Overacre-Delgoffe A.E., Tometich J.T., Yang D., Huckestein B.R., Linehan J.L., Spencer S.P., Hall J.A., Harrison O.J., Fonseca D.M., Norton, E.B., Belkaid Y. and T.W. Hand. Enteropathy-induced regulatory T cells inhibit intestinal CD4+ T cell responses against oral vaccines. Immunity. (2021) Aug 10;54(8):1745-1757 PMID: 34348118
  4. Burr A.H.P., Ji J., Ozler K., Mentrup H.L., Eskiocak O., Yueh B., Cumberland R., Menk A.V., Rittenhouse N., Marshall C.W., Chiaranunt P., Zhang X., Mullinax L., Overacre-Delgoffe A., Cooper V.S., Poholek A.C., Delgoffe G.M., Mollen K.P., Beyaz S. and T.W. Hand. (2023). Excess dietary sugar alters colonocyte metabolism and impairs the proliferative response to damage. Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Online: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352345X23000632
  5. Overacre-Delgoffe A.E, Cillo A.R., Bumgarner H.J., Burr A.H.P., Tometich J.T., Bhattacharjee A., Bruno T.C., Vignali D.A.A. and T.W. Hand. (2021) Microbiota-specific T follicular helper cells drive tertiary lymphoid structures and anti-tumor immunity against colorectal cancer. Immunity. Dec 14;54(12):2812-2824.e4. PMID: 34861182

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