Brett Thomas Lund, PhD

Dr. Lund is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neurology in Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. He received his Bachelor of Science, honors degree, in Biochemistry from the University of Dundee, Scotland and a Ph.D. in Veterinary Immunology and Pathology from the Royal “Dick” Veterinary College at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. He trained with world-renowned immunologists during his post-doctoral fellowship in viral immunology at the BBSRC Pirbright Laboratory in Woking, England. Dr. Lund was recruited to the USC Department of Neurology to the study efficacy of a novel vaccine for the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis and has run an independent, continuously funded, research laboratory for over 25 years.

In his research, Dr. Lund focuses on the role of the immune system, not only in the pathogenesis and accrual of pathology in the central nervous system, but also in tissue repair and neuroplasticity. His work is conducted both in animal models of disease and with MS patients. Currently funded research is assessing the efficacy of therapeutic intervention of the protective arm of the renin-angiotensin system on disease progression in MS and animal models, and assessing the effect of exercise intervention in disease modification and recovery. Dr. Lund is also actively involved in numerous clinical trials and studies with colleagues within the Department of Neurology assessing possible modes of action of new and approved MS therapies, and studying the effects of MS drugs on the immune system in MS patients. His laboratory has served as the blood processing and immunology core for the Alliance for Research in Hispanic MS (ARHMS) since its inception and plays an important role in the continued recruitment for this study.

The US Department of Defense, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, USC-CTSI, Race to Erase MS along with numerous pharmaceutical companies and private foundations have supported Dr. Lund’s research. He was a long-standing member of the British Society for Immunology, the Society for General Microbiology and the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies and served as a member of the University of Southern California, Radiation Safety Committee and the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

• Understanding humoral immunity and multiple sclerosis severity in Black, and Latinx patients Front Immunol. 2023; 14:1172993. . View in PubMed
• Prenatal disruption of blood-brain barrier formation via cyclooxygenase activation leads to lifelong brain inflammation Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 04 12; 119(15):e2113310119. . View in PubMed
• Ancestral risk modification for multiple sclerosis susceptibility detected across the Major Histocompatibility Complex in a multi-ethnic population PLoS One. 2022; 17(12):e0279132. . View in PubMed
• Immune Regulatory Cell Bias Following Alemtuzumab Treatment in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis Front Immunol. 2021; 12:706278. . View in PubMed
• Repopulation of T, B, and NK cells following alemtuzumab treatment in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis J Neuroinflammation. 2020 Jun 15; 17(1):189. . View in PubMed
• The genetic diversity of multiple sclerosis risk among Hispanic and African American populations living in the United States Mult Scler. 2020 10; 26(11):1329-1339. . View in PubMed
• Activation of the Protective Arm of the Renin Angiotensin System in Demyelinating Disease J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2020 06; 15(2):249-263. . View in PubMed
• Reduced disease severity following therapeutic treatment with angiotensin 1-7 in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis Neurobiol Dis. 2019 07; 127:87-100. . View in PubMed
• Native ancestry is associated with optic neuritis and age of onset in hispanics with multiple sclerosis Ann Clin Transl Neurol. 2018 Nov; 5(11):1362-1371. . View in PubMed
• The influence of retinoic acid on the human oligodendrocyte precursor cells by RNA-sequencing Biochem Biophys Rep. 2017 Mar; 9:166-172. . View in PubMed
• Maternal Inflammation Disrupts Fetal Neurodevelopment via Increased Placental Output of Serotonin to the Fetal Brain J Neurosci. 2016 06 01; 36(22):6041-9. . View in PubMed
• In vitro assessment of the direct effect of laquinimod on basic functions of human neural stem cells and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells J Neurol Sci. 2014 Nov 15; 346(1-2):66-74. . View in PubMed
• Assessment of changes in immune measures of multiple sclerosis patients treated with laquinimod J Neuroimmunol. 2013 Oct 15; 263(1-2):108-15. . View in PubMed
• Therapeutic decisions in multiple sclerosis: moving beyond efficacy JAMA Neurol. 2013 Oct; 70(10):1315-24. . View in PubMed
• The dual role of CXCL8 in human CNS stem cell function: multipotent neural stem cell death and oligodendrocyte progenitor cell chemotaxis Glia. 2011 Dec; 59(12):1864-78. . View in PubMed
• Multiple sclerosis in Hispanics: a study of clinical disease expression Mult Scler. 2011 Aug; 17(8):1010-6. . View in PubMed
• The role of exercise in facilitating basal ganglia function in Parkinson’s disease Neurodegener Dis Manag. 2011 Apr 01; 1(2):157-170. . View in PubMed
• Role of IL-23 in mobilization of immunoregulatory nitric oxide- or superoxide-producing Gr-1+ cells from bone marrow Free Radic Biol Med. 2009 Aug 15; 47(4):357-63. . View in PubMed
• Measuring apoptosis in neural stem cells Methods Mol Biol. 2008; 438:227-41. . View in PubMed
• Mycobacteria-induced Gr-1+ subsets from distinct myeloid lineages have opposite effects on T cell expansion J Leukoc Biol. 2007 May; 81(5):1205-12. . View in PubMed
• Gene regulation networks related to neural differentiation of hESC Gene Expr. 2007; 14(1):23-34. . View in PubMed
• Association of MBP peptides with Hsp70 in normal appearing human white matter J Neurol Sci. 2006 Nov 15; 249(2):122-34. . View in PubMed
• Increased CXCL8 (IL-8) expression in Multiple Sclerosis J Neuroimmunol. 2004 Oct; 155(1-2):161-71. . View in PubMed
• Immunological aspects of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis Mult Scler. 2002 Feb; 8(1):83-4. . View in PubMed
• Resistance to glucocorticoid-induced apoptosis in PLP peptide-specific T cell clones from patients with progressive MS J Neuroimmunol. 2000 Sep 22; 109(2):197-210. . View in PubMed
• Vaccination of cattle with attenuated rinderpest virus stimulates CD4(+) T cell responses with broad viral antigen specificity J Gen Virol. 2000 Sep; 81(Pt 9):2137-2146. . View in PubMed
• T cell vaccination in secondary progressive multiple sclerosis J Neuroimmunol. 2000 Jul 24; 107(2):130-9. . View in PubMed
• Multiple sclerosis flares associated with recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor Neurology. 2000 Jun 13; 54(11):2147-50. . View in PubMed
• Peripheral blood stem cell transplantation in multiple sclerosis with busulfan and cyclophosphamide conditioning: report of toxicity and immunological monitoring Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2000; 6(5A):563-75. . View in PubMed
• Rinderpest virus infection in primary bovine skin fibroblasts Arch Virol. 2000; 145(6):1231-7. . View in PubMed
• Morbillivirus downregulation of CD46 J Virol. 1998 Dec; 72(12):10292-7. . View in PubMed

• Pelletier, Daniel
• Zlokovic, Berislav
• Amezcua, Lilyana