Bio: Dr. Norbert Kaminski is a professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology and is the director for the Center for Research on Ingredient Safety and director of the Institute for Integrative Toxicology, at Michigan State University. Dr. Kaminski is also the Food and Consumer Product Ingredient Safety Endowed Chair. He holds joint appointments in the College of Human Medicine and College of Veterinary Medicine. He has served on various scientific advisory panels for National Academy of Science and the US Environmental Protection Agency and has served as the member of the NIEHS National Advisory Environmental Health Sciences Council. Dr. Kaminski served as the President for the Society of Toxicology from 2014-2015. His research is in the areas of immunotoxicology and immunopharmacology.

Abstract: The array of different cell types that comprise the immune system arise from CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Cell fate decisions involved in the development of these various immune cell lineages is facilitated by transition of HSCs to multipotent progenitors, followed by appearance of common myeloid or common lymphoid progenitors ultimately resulting in cell lineage specification. Historically, developmental immunotoxicants have been identified using rodent models, primarily mice. However, although there are many similarities between the mouse and human immune system, critical differences also exist. The objective of this presentation is to discuss a novel in vitro model system using human cord blood derived CD34+ HSCs that recapitulates critical events allowing for the cellular development and lineage commitment for most of the major immune cell types, as confirmed by scRNAseq and flow cytometry. An aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligand will be used as a case study to demonstrate how perturbations of the events involved in lineage commitment can selectively skew cell type specification. With the current emphasis on new approach methodologies for toxicity evaluations, this developmental immunotoxicology model system provides advantages over murine based models, the most significant being the utilization of human HSCs, which eliminates extrapolation across animal species.