Margaret Bynoe, PhD, assistant professor of immunology at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, has been named as the 2009 recipient of the Pfizer Animal Health Award for Research Excellence, which recognizes the outstanding research efforts and productivity of faculty members in the early stages of their careers. An award ceremony has been scheduled for Sept. 22, 2009, at which time Bynoe will also present a seminar on her research findings.

An immunologist, Bynoe’s research focuses on auto-immune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel diseases. Bynoe’s goal is to understand how the immune system works.

“The immune system is comprised of a mosaic of cells equipped with specialized functions that act in concert to protect the host from foreign invaders, such as viruses and bacteria, that can cause irreparable harm and even death. In some cases, the immune system malfunctions and mistakes host tissue as foreign, acting against it to cause damage in what is commonly referred to as autoimmune disease,” said Bynoe. “Understanding how the immune system operates normally will enable us to identify problems, such as those resulting in autoimmune diseases, and devise ways to fix them.”

A major part of Bynoe’s studies centers around the molecule adenosine, a purine nucleoside that is involved in regulating immune system responses. At the Experimental Biology 2008 meeting in April 2008, Bynoe’s team presented the novel finding that, in addition to its role in immune regulation, adenosine controls the entry of immune cells through the blood brain barrier into the central nervous system. The blood brain barrier is comprised of specialized endothelial cells that selectively permit the entry of specific molecules that the brain needs to function normally, while excluding all else