Deanna Santer, PhD

Research summary

Interferons (IFNs) serve as the backbone of the innate antiviral immune response, directly inhibiting virus replication and spread. While type I IFNs were discovered over 60 years ago, type III IFNs and their unique heterodimeric receptor (IFN-LR1/IL-10RB) were identified in 2003, meaning there is much to discover about their biology and mechanisms of immunoregulation. Dr. Santer's research program focuses on IFN biology and how type I versus type III IFNs regulate human immune cell responses. Beyond direct antiviral activity, we are also exploring how type III IFNs can regulate intestinal homeostasis and inflammatory processes in inflammatory bowel diseases.

Research themes

• Chronic inflammation
• Infectious diseases
• Immune cell biology

Keywords

• Antiviral immunity
• Human immunology
• Immune regulation
• Interferons
• Ulcerative colitis

Research affiliations

• Research scientist, Children's Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM)
• Research scientist, University of Manitoba Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinical and Research Centre

Research groups

• Canadian Association of Gastroenterology
• Canadian Society of Immunology (CSI)
• Canadian Society of Virology
• International Cytokine & Interferon Society
• Prairie Infectious Immunology Network (PIIN)

Dr. Deanna Santer is an associate professor in immunology at the Max Rady College of Medicine at the University of Manitoba and GSK Research Chair in Immunobiology of Infectious Diseases.

Dr. Santer completed her B.Sc. (honours) in immunology and infection at the University of Alberta and her PhD in Immunology at the University of Washington under the supervision of Dr. Keith Elkon. For her postdoctoral work, she came back to Canada to work in the lab of Nobel laureate Dr. Michael Houghton at the University of Alberta, where her projects included working with various viruses, before developing her own research program she brought to the University of Manitoba in November 2020 studying the newest family of IFNs, IFN-lambdas.

Outside of the lab, Dr. Santer has been actively involved in promoting women in STEM since 2010. She is an Executive Team Member and mentor for Women In Science, Development, Outreach and Mentorship (WISDOM) at the University of Manitoba, and she also volunteers with the Society for Canadian Women in Science & Technology (SCWIST) in the mentorship of high school girls interested in health research as a future career.

Education

Postdoctoral Fellowship (CIHR-funded), University of Alberta (2017)

Doctor of Philosophy in Immunology, University of Washington (2010)

Bachelor of Science with Honors in Immunology and Infection, University of Alberta (2005)