Benjamin A. Fensterheim, MD, PhD

MD - Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN
Pediatrics - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Neonatology - Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
PhD in Microbiology and Immunology - Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN
Fellow
Sucre J.M.S., Vickers K.C., Jetter C.S., Cutrone A., Ransom M., Anderson Z., Sheng Q., Plosa E.J., Benjamin J.T., Fensterheim B.A., Ambalavanan N., Millis B., Lee E., Zijlstra A., Blackwell T.S., Guttentag S.H.. Activated Wnt signaling after hyperoxia injury to the developing lung is mediated by mesenchymal expression of Wnt5A. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 2020, May; 201(10): 1249 - 1262. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 32023086.
Hernandez A., Luan L., Stothers C.L., Patil N.K., Fults J.B., Fensterheim B.A., Guo Y., Wang J., Sherwood E.R., Bohannon J.K.. Phosphorylated Hexa-Acyl Dissaccharides Augment Host Resistance Against Common Nosocomial Pathogens. Critical Care Medicine. 2019, Nov; 47(11): e930-e938. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 31567352.
Fensterheim B.A., Young J.D., Luan L., Kleinbard R.R., Stothers C.L., Patil N.K., McAtee-Pereira A.G., Guo Y., Trenary I., Fults J.B., Hernandez A., Williams D.L., Sherwood E.R., Bohannon J.K. The TLR4 agonist Monophosphoryl Lipid A Drives Broad Resistance to Infection via Dynamic Reprogramming of Macrophage Metabolism. The Journal of Immunology. 2018, Jun; 200(11): 3777-3789. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 29686054.
Stothers C.L., Luan L., Fensterheim B.A., Bohannon J.K.. Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1alpha Regulation of Myeloid Cells. Journal of Molecular Medicine. 2018, Dec; 96(12): 1293-1306. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 30386909.
Fensterheim B.A., Guo Y., Sherwood E.R., Bohannon J.K. The Cytokine Response to Lipopolysaccharide Does NotPredict the Host Response to Infection. The Journal of Immunology. 2017, Mar; 198(8): 3264-3273. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 28275139.
Guo Y., Luan L., Patil N.K., Wang J., Bohannon J.K., Rabacal W., Fensterheim B.A., Hernandez A., Sherwood E.R. IL-15 Enables Septic Shock by Maintaining NK Cell Integrity and Function. The Journal of Immunology. 2017, Feb; 198(3): 1320-1333. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 28031340.
Luan L., Patil N.K., Guo Y., Hernandez A., Bohannon J.K., Fensterheim B.A., Wang J., Xu Y., Enkhbaatar P., Stark R., Sherwood E.R. Comparative Transcriptome Profiles of Human Blood in Response to the Toll-like Receptor 4 Ligands Lipopolysaccharide and Monophosphoryl Lipid A. Scientific Reports. 2017, Jan; 7(0): 40050. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 28053314.
Hernandez A., Bohannon J.K., Luan L., Fensterheim B.A., Guo Y., Patil N.K., McAdams C., Wang J., Sherwood E.R. The role of MyD88- and TRIF-dependent signaling in monophosphoryl lipid A-induced expansion and recruitment of innate immunocytes. Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 2016, Dec; 100(6): 1311-1322. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 27354411.
Nyhoff L.E., Barron B., Johnson E.M., Bonami R.H., Maseda D., Fensterheim B.A., Han W., Blackwell T.S., Crofford L., Kendall P.L. Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase Deficiency Inhibits Autoimmune Arthritis in Mice but Fails to Block Immune Complex-Mediated Inflammatory Arthritis. Arthritis & Rheumatology. 2016, Aug; 68(8): 1856-1868. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 26945549.
Patil N.K., Luan L., Bohannon J.K., Guo Y., Hernandez A., Fensterheim B.A., Sherwood E.R. IL-15 Superagonist Expands mCD8+ T, NK and NKT Cells after Burn Injury but Fails to Improve Outcome during Burn Wound Infection. PLoS One. 2016, Feb; 11(2): e0148452. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 26859674.
Bohannon J.K., Luan L., Hernandez A., Afzal A., Guo Y., Patil N.K., Fensterheim B.A., Sherwood E.R. Role of G-CSF in monophosphoryl lipid A-mediated augmentation of neutrophil functions after burn injury. Journal of Leukocyte Biology. 2015, Nov; 99(4): 629-640. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 26538529.
Guo Y., Luan L., Rabacal W., Bohannon J.K., Fensterheim B.A., Hernandez A., Sherwood E.R. IL-15 Superagonist-mediated Immunotoxicity: Role of NK Cells and Interferon-gamma. The Journal of Immunology. 2015, Sep; 195(5): 2353-2364. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 26216888.
Stark R., Koch S.R., Hyehun C., Fensterheim B.A., Lamb F.S., Sherwood E.R. Endothelial cell tolerance to lipopolysaccharide challenge is induced by Monophosphoryl lipid A. Clinical Science. 2015, Dec; 130(6): 451-461. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 26669797.
Gittis A.H., Leventhal D.K., Fensterheim B.A., Pettibone J.R., Berke J.D., Kreitzer A.C. Selective inhibition of striatal fast-spiking interneurons causes dyskinesias. The Journal of Neuroscience. 2011, Nov; 31(44): 15727-15731. Cited in PubMed; PMID: 22049415.
Bohannon J.K., Fensterheim B.A., Luan L., Hernandez A., Patil N.K., Fults J.B., Stothers C.L., Sherwood E.R.. (2019). MyD88-dependent signaling is essential for TLR agonist-mediated protection against severe nosocomial infections. Poster presented at: 42nd Annual Conference on Shock; Coronado, CA.
Bohannon J.K., Luan L., Hernandez A., Fensterheim B.A., Patil N.K., Stothers C.L., Fults J.B., Sherwood E.R.. (2019). Treatment with TLR agonists protect against severe nosocomial infections via activation of MyD88 signaling. Poster presented at: 52nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Leukocyte Biology; Boston, MA.
Hernandez A., Luan L., Stothers C.L., Patil N.K., Fults J.B., Fensterheim B.A., Wang J., Sherwood E.R., Bohannon J.K.. (2019). Phosphorylated hexaacyldisaccharides induce trained innate immunity and resistance to infection with nosocomial pathogens. Poster presented at: 4th International Conference on Innate Immune Memory; Nijmegen, NLD.
Hernandez A., Luan L., Stothers C.L., Patil N.K., Fults J.B., Fensterheim B.A., Wang J., Sherwood E.R., Bohannon J.K.. (2019). Novel synthetic toll-like receptor 4 agonists enhance survival and augment resistance against Gram-negative and Gram-positive infection. Poster presented at: 52nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Leukocyte Biology; Boston, MA.
Patil N.K., Fensterheim B.A., Luan L., Bohannon J.K., Hernandez A., Sherwood E.R.. (2019). Mitochondrial biogenesis plays an important role in monophosphoryl lipid A-mediated reprogramming of macrophage metabolism and function. Poster presented at: 42nd Annual Conference on Shock; Coronado, CA.
Patil N.K., Luan L., Bohannon J.K., Stothers C.L., Hernandez A., Fensterheim B.A., Sherwood E.R.. (2019). Toll-like receptor 4 agonist-induced mitochondrial biogenesis, Irg1 expression and itaconate production protect against infection with common nosocomial pathogens. Poster presented at: 4th International Conference on Innate Immune Memory; Nijmegen, NLD.
Stothers C.L., Luan L., Bohannon J.K., Burelback K., Kinnare N., Williams D.L., Sherwood E.R.. (2019). Beta-glucan protects mice from lethal Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection: insights into the signaling mechanisms supporting trained immunity. Poster presented at: 42nd Annual Conference on Shock; Coronado, CA.
Bohannon J.K., Fensterheim B.A., Hernandez A., Luan L., Patil N.K., Fults J.B., Stothers C.L., Sherwood E.R.. (2019). TLR agonists mediate protection against severe nosocomial infections via activation of MYD88. Oral Presentation presented at: 4th International Conference on Innate Immune Memory; Nijmegen, NLD.
Hernandez A, Luan L, Stothers CL, Fults JB, Fensterheim BA, Patil NK, Guo Y, Wang J, Sherwood ER, Bohannon JK.. (2019). Novel synthetic toll-like receptor 4 agonists enhance resistance to infection with common bacterial pathogens. Oral Presentation presented at: 42nd Annual Conference on Shock; Coronado, CA.
Patil N.K., Luan L., Bohannon J.K., Hernandez A., Fensterheim B.A., Sherwood E.R.. (2019). Immunoresponsive gene 1 and itaconate: key mediators of TLR4 agonist-induced protection against infection. Oral Presentation presented at: 42nd Annual Conference on Shock; Coronado, CA.
Bohannon J.K., Fensterheim B.A., Luan L., Fults J.B., Hernandez A., Patil N.K., Sherwood E.R. (2018). Treatment with TLR agonists protect against severe nosocomial infections. Poster presented at: 14th Annual Anesthesiology Research Symposium; Nashville, TN.
Bohannon J.K., Fensterheim B.A., Luan L., Fults J.B., Hernandez A., Patil N.K., Sherwood E.R. (2018). Treatment with TLR agonists protect against severe nosocomial infections. Poster presented at: 41st Annual Conference on Shock; Scottsdale, AZ.
Bohannon J.K., Fensterheim B.A., Young J.D., Trenary I., Luan L., Sherwood E.R. (2018). The TLR4 agonist monophosphoryl lipid A induces dynamic reprogramming of macrophage metabolism for enhancement of antimicrobial functions and infection resistance. Poster presented at: 41st Annual Conference on Shock; Scottsdale, AZ.
Hernandez A., Bohannon J.K., Luan L., Fensterheim B.A., Fults J., Patil N.K., Sherwood E.R. (2018). Novel synthetic toll-like receptor 4 agonists enhance resistance to infection with common bacterial pathogens. Poster presented at: Military Health System Research Symposium; Kissimmee, FL.
Stothers C.L., Luan L., Bohannon J.K., Hernandez A., Fensterheim B.A., Williams D.L., Sherwood E.R. (2018). Dectin-1 and toll-like receptor-2 are not essential for beta-glucan-induced protection from Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. Poster presented at: 41st Annual Conference on Shock; Scottsdale, AZ.
Hernandez A., Bohannon J.K., Luan L., Fults J.B., Fensterheim B.A., Stothers C.L., Guo Y., Patil N.K., Wang J., Sherwood E.R. (2018). Synthetic phosphorylated hexaacyl disaccharides are potent TLR4 agonists and augment host resistance against common nosocomial pathogens. Oral Presentation presented at: 41st Annual Conference on Shock; Scottsdale, AZ.
Luan L., Fensterheim B.A., Stothers C.L., Fults J.B., Guo Y., Patil N.K., Sherwood E.R., Bohannon J.K. (2018). The TLR4 agonist monophosphoryl lipid A mediates broad protection against infection via augmentation of innate antimicrobial cell functions. Oral Presentation presented at: 41st Annual Conference on Shock; Scottsdale, AZ.
2018, Editor-in-Chief's Pick, The Journal of Immunology
2018, Manuscript featured on the cover of The Journal of Immunology
2018, Senior Talk, Vanderbilt MSTP Retreat
2015, 2017 - Travel Award, Annual Conference on Shock
2015, VICTR VR15742 Research Grant, Vanderbilt University
Alpha Omega Alpha (Member of AOA)
American Academy of Pediatrics
Shock Society
American Physician Scientists Association