Sherry L. Thornton, PhD

Field Service Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

sherry.thornton@cchmc.org

About

Biography

I am a developmental and cell biologist who has spent over 20 years involved in research to determine the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of arthritis. My colleagues and I seek to determine the cells types that are associated with this condition.

I acquired a keen interest in the mechanisms of disease development when I was in graduate school, and I applied these mechanisms to gene therapy for arthritis as a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Raphael Hirsch in the Division of Rheumatology at Cincinnati Children’s.

I joined the faculty in the Division of Rheumatology in 2002. In 2008, I became the director of the Research Flow Cytometry Core, a shared resource laboratory that provides the Cincinnati research community with a central location for flow cytometry instrumentation, training and education.

My research specifically involves the analysis of mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of arthritis and specifically the determination of cell types important in subtypes of juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

I have a passion for mentoring and career development. As director of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program at Cincinnati Children’s, I mentor undergraduate students to provide them with a foundation for making career choices in the biomedical sciences.

Interests

Evaluating targets for the treatment of rheumatic disease; angiogenesis; animal models of arthritis

Research Areas

Rheumatology

Publications

S100 proteins as potential predictive biomarkers of abatacept response in polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Brunner, HI; Schulert, GS; Sproles, A; Thornton, S; Cornejo, GV; Antón, J; Cuttica, R; Henrickson, M; Foeldvari, I; Kingsbury, DJ; Lovell, DJ; Martini, A; Ruperto, N; Grom, AA. Arthritis Research and Therapy. 2024; 26:125.

Biomarker Changes in Response to Tofacitinib Treatment in Patients With Polyarticular-Course Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. Ogbu, EA; Brunner, HI; Eloseily, E; Aviel, YB; Nanda, K; Schmeling, H; Tory, H; Uziel, Y; Viola, DO; Wahezi, DM; Ruperto, N; Huang, B; Grom, A; Thornton, S. Arthritis Care and Research. 2024; 76:1723-1732.

Diagnostic Accuracy Study of the Pediatric-Specific Ultrasound Scoring System for the Knee Joint in Children With Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. Vega-Fernandez, P; Rogers, K; Sproles, A; Thornton, S; Huggins, J; Lovell, DJ; Cassedy, A; Meyers, AB; Ting, TV. Arthritis Care and Research. 2024; 76:251-258.

Implementing Research Shared (Core) Facility Billing Systems. Chimote, AA; Mayhew, C; Thornton, S; Wetzel, C; White, AN. Journal of biomolecular techniques : JBT. 2022; 33:3fc1f5fe.1a877626.

Establishing a biosafety plan for a flow cytometry shared resource laboratory. Back, JB; Martinez, L; Nettenstrom, L; Sheerar, D; Thornton, S. Cytometry. Part A : the journal of the International Society for Analytical Cytology. 2022; 101:380-386.

S100 proteins, cytokines, and chemokines as tear biomarkers in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis-associated uveitis. Angeles-Han, ST; Miraldi Utz, V; Thornton, S; Schulert, G; Rodriguez-Smith, J; Kauffman, A; Sproles, A; Mwase, N; Hennard, T; Grom, A; Altaye, M; Holland, GN. Ocular Immunology and Inflammation (Informa). 2021; 29:1616-1620.

IFN-γ is essential for alveolar macrophage-driven pulmonary inflammation in macrophage activation syndrome. Gao, DK; Salomonis, N; Henderlight, M; Woods, C; Thakkar, K; Grom, AA; Thornton, S; Jordan, MB; Wikenheiser-Brokamp, KA; Schulert, GS. JCI insight. 2021; 6:e147593.

Remote Training of SRL Users and Staff in a Global Pandemic. Daniels, K; Conway, A; Gardner, R; Martinez, L; Price, KM; Schneider, S; Sheridan, R; Srivastava, J; Thornton, S. Cytometry. Part A : the journal of the International Society for Analytical Cytology. 2021; 99:42-50.

Biosafety during a pandemic: shared resource laboratories rise to the challenge. Aspland, AM; Douagi, I; Filby, A; Jellison, ER; Martinez, L; Shinko, D; Smith, AL; Tang, VA; Thornton, S. Cytometry. Part A : the journal of the International Society for Analytical Cytology. 2021; 99:68-80.

Evaluating the Effects of Cell Sorting on Gene Expression. Box, A; Delay, M; Tighe, S; Chittur, SV; Bergeron, A; Cochran, M; Lopez, P; Meyer, EM; Saluk, A; Thornton, S; Brundage, K. Journal of biomolecular techniques : JBT. 2020; 31:jbt.20-3103-004.