In this Q&A, you’ll meet Izabella (Izzy) Bankowski, a research technician in the lab of Evan Bordt, MD, PhD, at the Lurie Center for Autism at Mass General for Children.
The Bordt Lab is studying sex differences in neurodevelopment with a focus on neuro-immune interactions and neuroimmunometabolism in autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
When not studying the (quite complex) secrets of the brain, Izzy is making progress on her latest crochet project (most recently a purple cardigan), working on her car (a Mustang) in preparation for Autocross Racing or preparing to begin medical school in July 2025!
Meet Mass General's POD People
This year’s Celebration of Science at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) started with a poster session that featured 250+ posters from research staff and trainees. From this impressive group, MGH judges selected 24 finalists to give a brief oral presentation on their paper. From those finalists, 12 Poster of Distinction winners were selected.
Each of the winners received $1,000 that they can use to support travel to a scientific conference or meeting. In this series, you’ll meet the 2025 Poster of Distinction winners (who we have affectionately nicknamed the POD People) and learn more about them and their research.
Can you give us a quick elevator pitch for your poster?
Maternal infections during the third trimester of pregnancy are known to be a factor in the development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), due to fetal exposure to inflammatory cytokines and autoimmunity factors during critical periods of neurodevelopment.
Our project looked at a mouse model of maternal immune activation through stimulation of Toll-Like Receptor 7 (TLR7) using an infectious agent. In humans, TLR7 is activated by infection with COVID, influenza and rubella.
Mouse models exposed to this infectious agent showed increased markers of autoimmunity and alterations in ASD-relevant communicative and perseverative behaviors that only occur in males born to TLR7-exposed mothers.
Interestingly, when we treated pregnant mice with an anti-inflammatory corticosteroid at time of exposure to the infectious agent, both maternal and male-offspring markers of autoimmunity were mitigated, indicating reversal of the effects of this maternal infection on both mom and offspring.
We're continuing to evaluate the effects of this corticosteroid treatment on offspring behavior.
What inspired this research?
With new infections such as COVID coming to light in the last few years, we are interested to see whether we can answer the question of how the immune system plays a role in the development of ASD.
Once we begin to understand the mechanisms that contribute to altered neurodevelopment, we can start to develop clinical markers for detrimental immune factors that could further increase risk of neurodevelopmental disorders.
More importantly, in collaboration with the clinicians at the Lurie Center for Autism, we hope to develop interventions to aid in prevention and treatment of ASD deficits.
If someone’s new to this topic, what’s one key takeaway they should walk away with?
There are so many factors that can contribute to autism development, but exposure to one of those factors does not guarantee their child will develop autism.
Autism is such a spectrum, and we are still in the early stages of discovery for how to navigate this world of ASD.
However, our team at the Lurie Center for Autism is working collaboratively to figure out both mechanisms behind why and how it occurs, in addition to treatments that can help reduce deficits and improve quality of life in our patients.
Was there a moment when things didn’t go as planned? How did you navigate it?
Surprisingly, this is one of the few projects on our current docket that didn’t have any large deviations!
That being said, science is all about adjusting to unexpected outcomes and being resilient no matter what is thrown in our direction, and that is one of the greatest lessons our research has taught us.
What’s a fun or surprising fact about your research not included in your poster?
Verbal communication in autistic individuals is often diminished or altered. In its more severe forms, communication can be increasingly fragmented, simplistic and occasionally non-existent altogether.
What is fascinating is that in mouse research, we are able to evaluate communication patterns through separation-induced ultrasonic vocalizations (i.e. mouse squeaks), and we have seen similar alterations in communication in many mouse models of ASD.
If you could invite one scientist—living or historical—to view your poster, who would it be and why?
Photo of Leo Kanner courtesy of Johns Hopkins University
Given the opportunity, I would invite Dr. Leo Kanner, who was the first physician to described classic autistic syndrome in 1943.
In doing so, I would first thank him for his remarkable discovery and identification of ASD symptoms, which haven given a voice and direction to so many lives impacted by autism.
More importantly, I would be excited to share with him the revolutionary breakthroughs we have made in the field of autism due to his initial observations.
What's your go-to order at a coffee shop?
Vanilla Iced Shaken Espresso with Lavender Cold Foam.
Be honest—how many computer tabs do you have open (on average) per day?
There are at least 20 tabs open on my computer at any given point (usually something I am working on in the background) but on a day to day at least 30 that end up open or closed as I work.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
I am a huge fan of Dancing Queen by ABBA!
What’s your most used emoji?
As of late, the celebration emoji (with the confetti). There have been many occasions to celebrate over the last few months, both within the lab and in my personal life, and it is important to have those moments of gratitude to look back on as we move through our journey of life.
Research at Mass General Brigham
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With a community of more than 3,700 Principal Investigators and 16,000 scientists, we are pioneering discoveries in fields ranging from AI and gene therapy to cancer, neuroscience, and global health.
Through collaboration, innovation, and a relentless pursuit of knowledge, we turn groundbreaking ideas into real-world impact. Follow us for the latest research insights, clinical advancements, and stories of discovery from across Mass General Brigham.
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