Rate My Professor Allison Norlander

Allison E. Norlander, PhD, serves as Assistant Professor in the Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology, and Physiology at Indiana University School of Medicine, holding a joint appointment in the Krannert Cardiovascular Research Center. She obtained her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh, her PhD from Vanderbilt University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Prior to her current position, Dr. Norlander conducted doctoral and postdoctoral research at Vanderbilt, focusing on adaptive immune responses in hypertension. She now leads the Norlander Lab, which examines immune-mediated mechanisms underlying inflammatory diseases, particularly hypertension and allergic airway inflammation such as asthma. The lab investigates how T cells, including T regulatory cells and T follicular helper cells, contribute to disease pathogenesis, with emphasis on mediators like Prostaglandin I2 (PGI2) that augment suppressive T cell function. Studies utilize human cells from patients and mouse models to assess cell functionality, metabolic pathways, and therapeutic potentials, including immunometabolism in hypertension and immune interplay in comorbid conditions.

Dr. Norlander has published extensively on T cell immunology in cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Key works include "The Immunology of Hypertension" (Journal of Experimental Medicine, 2018), a review garnering over 500 citations; "Interleukin-17A Regulates Renal Sodium Transporters and Renal Injury in Angiotensin II-Induced Hypertension" (Hypertension, 2016); "A Salt-Sensing Kinase in T Lymphocytes, SGK1, Drives Hypertension and Hypertensive End-Organ Damage" (JCI Insight, 2017); and more recent papers such as "Prostaglandin I2 Signaling Licenses Treg Suppressive Function and Prevents Pathogenic Reprogramming" (Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2021) and "Prostaglandin I2 Therapy Promotes Treg Generation in Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension" (American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2023). Her research has been supported by the American Heart Association predoctoral fellowship during graduate training and the National Institutes of Health K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award (HL159594, PI, 2021-2025), funding investigations into PGI2 effects on T cells and dendritic cells in hypertension. These contributions have advanced understanding of immune-driven inflammation in hypertension and allergy.