Description of Research Expertise

Throughout my scientific career, I have been dedicated to understanding immune cells in relation to autoimmunity and utilizing them for precision cellular immunotherapies. My recently founded lab focuses on exploring how and when specialized human immune cells, used for treating patients or residing in specific organs, commit to long-lasting or short-term cell fates. I am especially intrigued by T lymphocytes and their memory abilities, which allow them to respond faster and more effectively when re-exposed to a pathogen.

While immune memory is an abstract concept, its cellular basis lies in the formation of specialized memory T lymphocytes. The processes by which human T cells become memory T cells at the cellular and molecular levels are not yet understood. However, in mice, memory T cells are generated through asymmetric partitioning after T cell activation. During this process, the T cell closer to the antigen-presenting cell becomes a short-lived effector cell, while the T cell further away becomes a long-lived memory T cell. These events, occurring within a limited time window between T cell activation and first cell division, present a fascinating area of study and manipulation. This proposal's main scientific goal is to shed light on this process in specialized human T cells used to treat cancer (CAR) or autoimmune disease (CAAR).

As a research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, I studied the antibody response and analyzed the connections between antibody isotypes and subclasses in the autoimmune skin disorder pemphigus vulgaris. Moreover, I investigated broadly neutralizing antibodies to HIV in the context of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells. I also developed chimeric autoantibody receptors (CAARs), inspired by the successful CAR T cell approach, which enables specific targeting of autoreactive B cells based on their B cell receptor autoreactivity. Currently being tested in first-in-human clinical trials, CAAR therapy represents the first precision cellular immunotherapy for human autoimmune disease.
Consequently, my comprehensive experience in human T cell engineering and translational studies of human autoimmunity is well-aligned with the research goals and methodologies of my laboratory, showcasing my expertise as a translational immunologist.

Selected Publications

Christoph Ellebrecht, Aimee Payne: Pemphigus Fitzpatrick's Dermatology 10th edition : 2025.

Lee CS, Chen S, Berry CT, Kelly AR, Herman PJ, Oh S, O'Connor RS, Payne AS, Ellebrecht CT: Fate induction in CD8 CAR T cells through asymmetric cell division Nature 633 (8030): 670-677,2024.

Chat, Vipawee S., Ellebrecht, Christoph T., Kingston, Paige, Gondo, George, Bell, Stacie, Cordoro, Kelly M., Desai, Seemal R., Duffin, Kristina C., Feldman, Steven R., Garg, Amit, Gelfand, Joel M., Gladman, Dafna, Green, Lawrence J., Gudjonsson, Johann, Han, George, Hawkes, Jason E., Kircik, Leon, Koo, John, Langley, Richard, Lebwohl, Mark, Michael Lewitt, G., Liao, Wilson, Martin, George, Orbai, Ana-Maria, Reddy, Soumya M., Richardson, Veronica, Ritchlin, Christopher T., Schwartzman, Sergio, Siegel, Evan L., Van Voorhees, Abby S., Wallace, Elizabeth B., Weinberg, Jeffrey M., Winthrop, Kevin L., Yamauchi, Paul, Armstrong, April W.: Vaccination recommendations for adults receiving biologics and oral therapies for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: Delphi consensus from the medical board of the National Psoriasis Foundation Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology : 2024.

Corbett Berry, Casey Lee, Sisi Chen, Caitlin Frazee, Patrick Herman, Anna Chen, Andre Kelly, Roderick O'Connor, Christoph Ellebrecht: Asymmetric epigenetic and metabolic remodeling of engineered CD4 T cells drives divergent cell fate Society of Investigative Dermatology : 2024.

Oh S, Mao X, Manfredo-Vieira S, Lee J, Patel D, Choi EJ, Alvarado A, Cottman-Thomas E, Maseda D, Tsao PY, Ellebrecht CT, Khella SL, Richman DP, O'Connor KC, Herzberg U, Binder GK, Milone MC, Basu S, Payne AS.: Precision targeting of autoantigen-specific B cells in muscle-specific tyrosine kinase myasthenia gravis with chimeric autoantibody receptor T cells. Nat Biotechnol. : 2023.

Christoph T. Ellebrecht, Aimee S. Payne: Fitzpatrick's Therapeutics: A Clinician's Guide to Dermatologic Treatment Fitzpatrick's Therapeutics: A Clinician's Guide to Dermatologic Treatment, 1st Edition, McGraw Hill : 2023.

Wat M, Mollanazar NK, Ellebrecht CT, Forrestel A, Elenitsas R, Chu EY.: Lichen-planus-pemphigoides-like reaction to PD-1 checkpoint blockade. J Cutan Pathol. : 2022.

Christoph T. Ellebrecht, Casey Lee, Roderick O'Connor, Aimee S. Payne: Asymmetric cell division for fate induction of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells Journal of Investigative Dermatology, Volume 142, Issue 8, Supplement, 2022. : 2022.

Christoph T Ellebrecht, Casey Lee, Roderick O'Connor, Aimee S. Payne: Asymmetric cell division for fate induction of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells Annual Conference of the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy : 2022.

Ellebrecht CT, Maseda D, Payne AS.: Pemphigus and Pemphigoid: From Disease Mechanisms to Druggable Pathways. J Invest Dermatol. : 2022.

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Academic Contact Information

Department of Dermatology
1005 BRB II/III
421 Curie Boulevard

Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: 215-898-2633
Patient appointments: 800-789-7366