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    John C. Kostyak, PhD

    Assistant professor
    THOMAS JEFFERSON UNIVERSITY
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

    John C Kostyak, PhD Assistant Professor, Thomas Jefferson University
    I received my BS and MS from the Pennsylvania State University where I investigated the function of protein kinase C, specifically PKCdelta and PKCepsilon, in ischemia/reperfusion injury in the aged rat heart. For my doctoral work at the University of Delaware with Dr. Ulhas Naik, I focused on the role of CIB1 in megakaryocyte differentiation. I was then quite fortunate to find a postdoctoral fellowship in a laboratory that allowed me to combine my previous two experiences in the laboratory of Dr. Satya Kunapuli, while also allowing me to expand my research interests into platelet biology. I then accepted a faculty position at Temple University where I studied signaling downstream of ITAM and hem-ITAM bearing receptors such as GPVI and CLEC-2. I accepted an Assistant Professor position at Thomas Jefferson University in January of 2021. Since then, we have been working on an exciting project that involves a cell cycle regulatory protein called polo-like kinase 3 (Plk3) and its effects on inflammation. We found that mice deficient in Plk3 survive LPS injection, cecal ligation and puncture, and cecal slurry injection; 3 models of systemic inflammation. We have very interesting preliminary data that suggests platelets may be the driving force behind systemic inflammation.

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