GMS Faculty Spotlight: Dennis Jones, PhD

Graduate Medical Sciences faculty member Dennis Jones, PhD, is an assistant professor of pathology & laboratory medicine at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Research in Jones’ lab seeks to understand immune system suppression in breast cancers, with a focus on dysfunction of blood vessels in tumors. Jones recently received one of 11 National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Moonshot Scholar Awards, as well as a National Institutes of Health ReWARD R01 grant that will balance both research and outreach elements. We spoke to Jones about his two grant awards, his research and his mentorship of early-career students and scientists. Read more below!
Can you please tell me about your educational and professional background?
I’m a first-generation college student from Mississippi. I attended Morehouse College, which is a Historically Black, all male college in Atlanta. There, I earned my Bachelor of Science in Biology. Right after I graduated from Morehouse, I went to graduate school at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. I chose Yale because while I was at Morehouse, I did a summer research program there that sparked my interest in research. At Yale, I did my PhD in Immunology.
I came to Boston in 2012, and I started my postdoctoral fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, where I performed cancer biology research. In 2018, I started my faculty position here at BU in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. My roles here are mostly to conduct research, and I do some teaching for graduate and medical school courses. Most of my time is dedicated to writing and reviewing manuscripts or grants and mentoring trainees in my lab.
Could you please describe your research?
At Yale, I trained in a vascular biology lab, even though my coursework was focused on immunology. I mentioned that I focused primarily on cancer research as a postdoc. My lab now integrates immunology, vascular biology, and cancer biology to address complex scientific questions.

My research seeks to understand how the immune system is suppressed in breast cancers. We’ve been focused on the dysfunction of blood vessels in tumors. Blood vessels are important because they help recruit T cells to tumors, and these T cells can have anti-cancer activity. But the tumors often squeeze or compress the blood vessels, and a few years ago, we found that this limits the ability of the T cells to enter the tumors. So, we’re interested in finding approaches that will improve the function of blood vessels and allow more T cells to enter the tumors. In addition, we want the T cells to be active once they’re in the tumor so that they can do their job of eradicating cancer cells.
Can you tell me about the Cancer Moonshot Scholar Award you received?
I’m part of this year’s cohort of 11 Cancer Moonshot Scholars. The Cancer Moonshot Scholars program is part of a larger effort by President Biden to accelerate progress against fighting cancer. These scholars consist of early-career researchers from across the county who bring innovative approaches to cancer prevention treatment and diagnosis.
What kind of impact do you hope to achieve with this award opportunity?
Going back to the issue of blood vessels being collapsed or compressed in tumors, this award will allow us to test our hypothesis that we can use specific, existing FDA-approved drugs to decompress the blood vessels and get more T cells into breast tumors. We propose that when we combine these drugs with immunotherapies that are designed to enhance T cell activity, we will overcome the suppressive environment in breast tumors that T cells face. We think that this combination approach will lead to decreased tumor burden.
If this works as we expect in the preclinical setting, then it could inform the use of a similar approach to benefit cancer patients. As part of this award, we will evaluate samples from breast cancer patients that have been treated with these drugs to ask if there’s any association with changes in their tumors, such as an increase in T cell number and improved overall survival.
Could you please tell me about the ReWARD R01 grant you received and how the ReWARD grant balances research and mentorship?
The ReWARD program is an interesting grant mechanism that is part research and part outreach. The outreach component is targeted towards groups underrepresented in research as defined by the NIH and incudes mentorship. This includes individuals from racial and ethnic minority groups, people with disabilities, individuals from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds and those from institutions that serve underrepresented .
The budget encompasses the efforts related to both the research and the outreach efforts. As I mentioned, I trained as a vascular biologist. During my postdoc, I also had a project where I discovered that bacterial infections can impair the ability of lymphatic vessels to transport a fluid called lymph. That could potentially lead to a disease called lymphedema, which manifests as swollen tissue that results from the body not being able to clear excess fluid buildup.
For research with the ReWARD grant, we’re studying how cells called lymphatic muscle cells, which help lymphatic vessels transport lymph, are affected by bacterial infections. Under this project, we’re going to use different techniques like single-cell RNA sequencing, calcium imaging and lineage tracing to investigate how bacterial infections impair the function of lymphatic muscle cells. We’re exploring potential drugs that we can use to preserve lymphatic function in an active infection. We hope that blocking the virulence of these bacteria can protect lymphatic function and boost the immune responses to prevent future infections.
For the outreach part of the grant, we’re going to continue a partnership with the O’Bryant School of Math and Science, a Boston Public School. We will host an average of six students in the summer for a six-week research program. The students will experience interactive learning with hands-on lab work to train them how to answer research questions. This is a program that was piloted by Dr. Hee-Young Park a couple of years ago with a different source of external funding, and I’m happy that the ReWARD grant is going to help us restart these efforts.
What impact do you hope to achieve with the ReWARD program grant?
For the research component, I hope to be able to better understand the adaptive immune responses to bacterial infections and test whether limiting lymphatic vessel damage could reduce recurrent bacterial infections by strengthening the immune response. This would reduce the overreliance on drugs like antibiotics, which bacteria can develop resistance to. It also may reduce the chances of people developing lymphedema from recurring bacterial infections.
Through our outreach efforts, I’m excited to have the opportunity to positively impact the retention and graduation rates of diverse, talented students in STEM fields. By exposing them to science and the career opportunities available with a STEM degree, I hope to inspire them to pursue and succeed in these paths. Studies show that historically underrepresented students often choose their career paths before they finish high school. So, these early interventions could increase their chances of having a career in STEM. I think this is a critical issue, but there are only a few programs that support integrating high school students into laboratory research environments to provide this early exposure. Whatever career paths the students choose, I hope this program will strengthen their critical thinking and communication skills, which are valuable tools for their future success.
What are you most excited about during your work associated with these two grant opportunities?
I’m excited about the interactions with collaborators and the team approach to science. For the Moonshot award, the team features a lot of different people including a biomedical engineer, breast oncologist, epidemiologist, computational biologist, and basic science researchers. For the ReWARD grant, I’ll be working with educators and with the Medical Education Department here at BU. Both teams, I think, will bring fresh perspectives to problem solving, whether that’s through curriculum development or experimental design. With this team approach, I’m hoping that together we can foster innovative and impactful outcomes.
What is your favorite part about mentoring student scientists in your role?
My favorite part is that many of the students consistently ask thought-provoking questions, and approach problems from unique perspectives. Their fresh approaches often inspire new ways of thinking and challenge me to see things differently, broadening my own understanding. I find their enthusiasm and creativity contagious. It energizes me and fuels fresh ideas and approaches. Watching students develop their skills, grow as scientists, and achieve their goals is very rewarding.
What advice would you give to early-career researchers hoping to secure grants in the future?
I would say to embrace rejection and use it as an opportunity for growth and as motivation to improve and succeed in the future. For example, when receiving feedback from a grant reviewer or someone who’s reviewing a paper, I try not to take things personally but I use the comments as an opportunity to improve.
In science, we’re often told “no,” and a lot of things don’t work out, at least on the first try, as we want it to. I’ve learned to celebrate the small wins, like submitting a grant or just getting the grant scored. My Moonshot grant was funded on the fourth overall submission (after almost four years) to the NIH. It didn’t get discussed the first two submissions. It was scored on the third submission. That was a huge achievement, and with each iteration, I could sense that the grant was stronger. So, celebrate those successes, like getting the grant scored. That means you’re on the right track. Don’t give up if you believe that the science is impactful.
For more of a practical suggestion, in terms of writing, it’s better to always have others give you feedback before a reviewer does. Great scientists are not inherently great communicators and grantsmanship is a skill that is developed, usually at the faculty level.