About Troy Randall, Ph.D.

Troy Randall, Ph.D.

Developing a better response against flu is one of the topics under scrutiny in Randall’s laboratory. He’s looking at processes that could address a major pain in the arm for millions of people each year. Currently the flu vaccine targets two proteins that change continually; that’s why, every year, people line up for a new flu shot. Randall is looking at targeting proteins in the flu virus that stay steady year to year, opening up the door to a single flu shot that would offer protection for several types of influenza virus. Randall has some promising results showing that while such an approach doesn’t stop the flu completely, it weakens its impact dramatically. He’s also exploring options for completely making the flu “shot” a thing of the past, by looking at the immune reactions that are unique to a flu vaccine given as a nasal spray. The work is part of broad research by Randall on respiratory pathogens and infections.

“A lot of people think of lymph nodes simply as bags of B-cells and T-cells,” said Randall, “but really, these are very sophisticated, highly organized structures. And surprisingly, we’ve found them in several types of tissue. The questions now are, what are they doing there, and can we take advantage of them to improve human health?”

Randall is also widely known for his research on structures that are very much like lymph nodes and spring up in the lungs, liver, brains, and other organs of some ill people. These are all very surprising places to find structures like lymph nodes.

“A lot of people think of lymph nodes simply as bags of B-cells and T-cells,” said Randall, “but really, these are very sophisticated, highly organized structures. And surprisingly, we’ve found them in several types of tissue. The questions now are, what are they doing there, and can we take advantage of them to improve human health?”

Physicians have been aware for years that such structures are visible on images of lungs of ill patients. But it was Randall who first realized that the structures are very much like lymph nodes, even though they’re directly in organ tissue and not where lymph nodes typically are found. Randall named the structures in the lungs inducible Bronchus-Associated Lymphoid Tissue or iBALT.

In one experiment, Randall’s team made knockout mice that had no conventional lymph nodes, but did have iBALT structures in the lungs. The mice not only fended off the flu, they did so with particular vigor, fighting off levels of the virus that are normally lethal. The work shows the power and potential of the iBALT structures in fighting disease, said Randall, whose team has noted such structures in the pancreas affected by diabetes, the brain affected by multiple sclerosis, and in other organs. Doctors have long noted such structures in the lungs of patients who get severe rheumatoid arthritis.

Like lymph nodes, the structures are likely vital in establishing the body’s ability to recognize friend from foe, playing the role of host for a molecular mixer of sort, where cells exchange vital information about other cells and about foreign invaders.

“These structures are extremely well organized, like lymph nodes,” said Randall. “It’s important to learn about them so we can try to enhance their activity when desired, such as when a patient is fighting an infection, or inhibit their activity, such as in someone who has a chronic disease like asthma.”

Randall, along with his wife, Frances Lund, Ph.D., and about one dozen scientists, are joining the Medical Center from the Trudeau Institute in Saranac Lake, where he has been since 1997. He received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Denver, and a doctorate in microbiology and immunology from Duke University. While at Duke, he also completed pre-doctoral and post-doctoral training in the labs of Dr. Ronald Corley. He also finished a post-doctoral fellowship with Dr. Irving Weissman at Stanford University. In addition to his work at Trudeau, Randall also served as an adjunct associate professor of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics at the Albany Medical College, and as an adjunct associate professor of Medicine at the University of Vermont.

He is a member of the American Society of Hematology, American Association of Immunologists and American Association for the Advancement of Science. A widely sought lecturer nationally and internationally, Randall has published more than 60 articles and studies. Click here to review complete CV.