Sarah Wedemeyer
M.D./Ph.D. Student
Sarah Wedemeyer is a third-year medical student in the South Texas Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD Program). She completed her dissertation research under the mentorship of Dr. Ann Griffith in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, & Molecular Genetics (MIMG) focusing on the impact of thymic stromal FGF21 signaling on age-associated T cell dysfunction. Her research, recently published in Nature Aging, demonstrated that constitutive thymic FGF21 signaling improved thymic T cell export during aging which mitigated declines in CD8 T cell immunity after influenza infection and reduced the incidence of peripheral autoimmunity in aged mice. Her work also revealed that FGF21 promotes dynamic regulation of mTORC1 and mTORC2 signaling in cortical thymic epithelial cells (cTECs) during aging to promote cTEC growth and maintenance. Her previous research experience is in the field of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling, where she studied the heterologous regulation of CXCR4 and CXCR5, two chemokine receptors implicated in many cancers. She is planning to apply to pediatrics residency programs with the goal of pursuing allergy/immunology fellowship training.
Hobbies/Interests
Classic sitcoms, jazz music, baking, pilates
Research Topic
Changes in immune function during aging
Why I chose MD/PhD
I chose MD/PhD training because I want to become a leader in both medicine and science to advance the field of immunology. I want to not only care for patients with chronic disease, but also bring new therapies forward to improve their quality of life.
Post-bac work or other affiliations
Research Technologist at the Medical College of Wisconsin (2017-2019)
Education
B.S., Chemistry, Mount Mary University, 2017
Awards
2016 - Anthony S. Wu Outstanding Chemistry Student Award, Mount Mary University
2022-2023 - T32 Graduate Research in Immunology Program (GRIP) Scholar - T32 AI138944
2023 - Trainee Abstract Award, American Association of Immunology, Immunology2023, Washington, D.C.
2025 - GSBS Spring 2025 Travel Award Recipient - $1500 award to present at the 2025 AAI Conference in Honolulu, HI.
Publications
Semwal, M. K., Hester, A. K., Xiao, Y., Udeaja, C., Cepeda, S., Verschelde, J. S., II, Jones, N., Wedemeyer, S. A., Emtage, S., Wimberly, K., & Griffith, A. V. (2022). Redox status regulates autophagy in thymic stromal cells and promotes T cell tolerance. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Vol. 119, Issue 40). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2204296119
Wedemeyer, M., Mahn, S., Getschman, A., Crawford, K., Peterson, F., Marchese, A., McCorvy, J., & Volkman, B. (2020). The chemokine X-factor: Structure-function analysis of the CXC motif at CXCR4 and ACKR3. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 295(40), 13927-13939. https://doi.10.1074/jbc.RA120.014244
Caballero, A., Mahn, S., Ali, M., Rogers, M., Marchese, A. (2019). Heterologous regulation of CXCR4 lysosomal trafficking. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 294(20), 8023-8036. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.RA118.005991
English, E., Mahn, S., Marchese, A. (2018). Endocytosis is required for CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4)-mediated Akt activation and antiapoptotic signaling. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 293(29), 11470-11480. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.RA118.001872