Chris Pennell, Ph.D.

Associate Professor
612-625-7138
penne001@umn.edu

Educational Background

• Clarkson University, New York (1979), B.S. (Biology)
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina (1984), Ph.D. (Genetics)

Professional Background

• Lab Technician, Swiss Federal Institute for Reactor Research, Würenlingen, Switzerland, 1979
• Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Rochester Cancer Center, New York, 1984 - 1986
• Visiting Scientist, Fox Chase Institute for Cancer Research, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1985
• Postdoctoral Fellow, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1986 - 2001
• Assistant Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1991 - 1997
• Associate Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1997 – present
• Director of Graduate Studies, Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer Biology Graduate Program, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2001 - 2004
• Faculty Outreach Coordinator, University of Minnesota Cancer Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2005 - present

Professional Memberships

• American Association of Immunologists
• American Society for Investigative Pathology
• Cell Stress Society International

Professional Honors

• Fellowship, Leukemia Society of America, 1984-1986
• Special Fellowship, Leukemia Society of America, 1987-1990
• Primary Reviewer, American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grants Review Committee, University of Minnesota Cancer Center, 1993-2002
• Ad hoc reviewer, Experimental Immunology Study Section, NIH, 1997
• Primary reviewer, Journal of Immunology, 1997-1999
• Associate Editor, Journal of Immunology, 1999-2003
• Ad hoc reviewer, National Space Biomedical Research Institute, Peer Review Panel Immunology, Infection and Hematology, 2000
• Primary reviewer, Biomedical Research Advisory Council, Grants-in-Aid of Research, Graduate School, University of Minnesota, 2000-present
• Member, NIH/NCI Manpower F Study Section, 2004-present
• Ad hoc reviewer, American Journal of Physiology, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, Blood, British Journal of Cancer, Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy, Cancer Research, Cell Stress & Chaperones, Journal of Immunology, Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

Research Interests

Dr. Pennell’s main goal is to devise novel vaccines for cancer therapy. These vaccines contain small tumor-associated peptides that can be recognized by the immune system, along with other proteins that help initiate a potent anti-tumor immune response. The vaccines have a one-two punch: they both efficiently deliver tumor-associated peptides to the immune system and activate tumor-specific immune effector cells. Dr. Pennell is using mouse models to understand how these vaccines work at the molecular and cellular levels, and human systems to identify potent vaccines for the treatment of diseases such as breast cancer.

Publications

• Arnold, L.W., LoCascio, N.J., Lutz, P.M., Pennell , C.A. , Klapper, D., and Haughton, G. 1983. Antigen-induced lymphomagenesis: Identification of a murine B cell lymphoma with known antigen specificity. J. Immunol. 131:2064-8.
• Pennell, C.A., Arnold, L.W. LoCascio, N. J., Lutz, P.M. Willoughby, P.B., and Haughton, G. 1984. The CH series of murine B cell lymphomas: Identification of cross-reactive idiotypes and restricted antigen specificities. Current Topics Microbiol. Immunol. 113:251-7.
• Pennell , C.A., Arnold, L.W., Lutz, P.M., LoCasio, N.J., Willoughby, P.B., and Haughton, G. 1985. Cross-reactive idiotypes and common antigen binding specificities expressed by a series of murine B cell lymphomas:Etiological implications. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 82:3799-803
• Scott, D.W., Livnat, D., Pennell , C.A. , and King, P. 1986. Lymphomas models for B cell activation and tolerance. III. Cell cycle dependence for negative signalling of WEHI-231 B lymphoma cells by anti-u. J. Exp. Med. 164:156-64.
• Pennell , C.A. , and Scott, D.W. 1986. Lymphoma models for B cell activation and tolerance. IV. Growth inhibition by anti-Ig of CH31 and CH33 B lymphoma cells. Eur. J. Immunol. 16:1577-81.
• Scott, D.W., Livnat, D., Whitin, J., Dillon, S.B., Synderman, R., and Pennell , C.A. 1987. Lymphoma models for B cell activation and tolerance. V. Anti-Ig mediated growth inhibition is reversed by phorbol myristate actetate but does not involve changes in cytosolic free calcium. J. Mol. Cell. Immunol. 3:109-20.
• Pennell , C.A., Arnold, L.W., Haughton, G., and Clarke. S.H. 1988. Restricted immunoglobulin variable region gene expression among Ly-1+ B cell lymphomas. J. Immunol. 141:2788-96.
• Pennell , C.A., Mercolino, T.J., Grdina, T.A., Arnold, L.W., Haughton, G., and Clarke, S.H. 1989. Biased immunoglobulin variable region gene expression by Ly-1 B cells due to clonal selection. Eur. J. Immunol. 19:1289-95.
• Pennell , C.A. , Sheehan, K.M., Brodeur, P.H., and Clarke, S.H. 1989. Organization and expression of VH gene families preferentially expressed by Ly-1 B cells. Eur. J. Immunol. 19:2115-21.
• Bishop, G.A. Pennell , C.A. , Travis, W., Haughton, G., and Frelinger, J.A. 1990. Antibodies specific for Ig idiotype, but not isotype, can substitute for antigen to induce IgM secretion by a B cell clone. Int. Immunol. 2:285-90.
• Pennell , C.A. , Maynard, G., Haughton, G., and Clarke, S.H. 1990. High frequency expression of S107 VH genes by peritoneal B cells of B10.H-2aH-4bp/Wts mice. J. Immunol. 145:1592-7.
• Pennell , C.A. , McCray, S., and Clarke, S.H. 1992. VH12 rearrangements in adult peritoneal B cells. Annals NY Acad. Sci.  651:311-16.
• Arnold, L.W., Pennell , C.A. , McCray, S.K., and Clarke, S.H. 1994. Development of B-1 Cells: Correlation of the phosphatidyl choline specificity and the B-1 phenotype in VH12/V?4 transgenic mice.  J. Exp. Med.  179:1585-95
• Bejcek, B.E., Wang, D., Berven, E., Pennell , C.A. , Uckun, F.M., Peiper, S.C., Poppema, and Kersey, J.H. 1995. Development and characterization of three single chain antibody fragments (scFvs) directed against the CD19 antigen. Cancer Res. 55:2346-51.
• Pennell , C.A. 1995. Selection for VHS107-V11 gene expression by peritoneal B cells in adult mice. J. Immunol. 155:1264-1275
• Fang, W., Mueller, D.L., Pennell , C.A. , Rivard, J.J., Schlissel, M.S., and Behrens. T.W. 1996. The imprecise nature of immunoglobulin rearrangement revealed by a Bcl-xL transgene. Immunity. 4:291-9.
• Pennell, C., Rasmussen, S., and Pennell, S. 1996. Three applications of combinatorics to problems in immunology. UMAP J.  17:15-24.
• Vallera, D.A., Burns, L.J., Frankel, A.E., Sicheneder, A.R., Gunther, R., Gajl-Peczalska, K., Pennell , C.A. , and Kersey, J.H. 1996. Laboratory preparation of a deglycosylated ricin toxin A chain containing immunotoxin directed against a CD7 T lineage differentiation antigen for phase I human clinical studies involving T cell malignancies. J. Immunol. Methods 197:69-83.
• Vallera, D.A., Panoskaltsis-Mortari, A., Yost, C., Ramakrishnan, S., Eide, C.R., Kreitman, R, Nicholls, P.J., Pennell , C.A. , and Blazar, B.R. 1996. Anti-graft-versus-host-disease effect of DT390-anti-CD3sFv, a single chain Fv immunotoxin specifically targeting the CD3 epsilon moeity of the T cell receptor. Blood. 88:2342-53.
• Eldin, P., Pauza, M.E., Heida, Y., Lin, G., Murtaugh, M.P., Pentel, P., and Pennell , C.A. 1997. High level secretion of two antibody single chain Fv fragments by Pichia pastoris. J. Immunol. Methods  201:67-75.
• Pauza, M., Doumbia,S., and Pennell , C.A. 1997. Construction and characterization of human CD7-specific single chain Fv-immunotoxins. J. Immunol. 158:3529-39.
• Lin, G., Pentel, P.R., Shelver, W.L., Keyler, D.E., Ross, C.A., Heida, Y., Flickinger, M.C., Pennell, C.A., and Murtaugh, M.P. 1997. Bacterial expression and characterization of an anti-desipramine single-chain antibody fragment. Int. J. Immunopharmacol.18:729-38.
• Lindstrom, A.L., Erlandsen, S.L., Kersey, J.H., and Pennell , C.A. 1997. A novel in vitro model for toxin-mediated vascular leak syndrome: ricin toxin A chain directly increases the permeability of human endothelial cell monolayers. Blood. 90:2323-34.
• Dudek, A.Z., Pennell , C.A. , Decker, T.D., Young, T.A., Key, N.S., and Slungaard, A. 1997. Platelet factor 4 binds to glycanated forms of thrombomodulin and to protein C: potential anticoagulant role in coagulation. J. Biol. Chem. 272(50): 31785-92.
• Goldfarb, A.N., Lewandowska, K., and Pennell , C.A. 1998. Identification of a highly conserved module in E proteins required for in vivo helix-loop-helix dimerization. J. Biol. Chem. 273(5):2866-73.
• Erickson, H.A., Reinhardt, R.L, Hermanson, J.B., Panoskaltsis-Mortari, A., and Pennell , C.A. 2001. Visualization of immunotoxin-mediated tumor cell killing in vivo. Clin. Canc. Res. 7(3 Suppl S):890S-4S.
• Harmala, L.A.E., Ingulli, E.G., Curtsinger, J.M., Lucido, M.M, Schmidt, C.S. Weigel, B.J., Blazar, B.R., Mescher, M.F. and Pennell , C.A. 2002. The adjuvant effects of Mycobacterium tuberculosis heat shock protein 70 result from the rapid and prolonged activation of antigen-specific CD8⁺ T cells in vivo. J. Immunol. 169:5622-9.
• Foss, D.L., Bennaars, A., Pennell , C.A. , Moody, M.D., and Murtaugh, M.P. 2003. Differentiation of porcine dendritic cells by granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor expressed in Pichia pastoris. Vet. Immunol. Immunopathol. 91:205-15.
• Erickson, H.A., Jund, M.D. and Pennell , C.A. 2006. Ribonuclease-based immunotoxins specific for human CD7: potential therapeutics for T cell leukemia. Prot. Eng. Design Sel. 19(1):37-45.