About

Constance Hoffman is an Arts Professor at New York University, serving as the head of Costume Design at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her costume designs have been seen on Broadway in productions such as The Green Bird, directed by Julie Taymor, for which she received a Tony nomination and Outer Critics Award, as well as M. Butterfly at the Cort Theatre, Old Times starring Clive Owen at the Roundabout, and other notable New York theatre credits including Pericles, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mr. Marmalade, Henry VI, Tiny Alice, Titus Andronicus, Macbeth, Richard II, Richard III, and Henry VI at various prominent theatres. Her regional theatre work includes productions at Hartford Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, Goodspeed Opera House, Center Stage, The Alley Theatre, Yale Rep, and Guthrie. Hoffman’s entertainment credits extend to concert performances such as The Showgirl Must Go On with Bette Midler and Kiss My Brass, Bette Midler’s international tour. Her opera work encompasses a wide range of productions including Dvorak’s Dimitrij, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sadko, Khovanschina, The Huguenots, Turandot, Andrea Chenier, Billy Budd, Deidamia, Ercole Amante, Grendel, L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Orfee et Eurydice, La Fanciulla del West, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Carmen, and others at prestigious venues worldwide, including the Glimmerglass Opera, Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, and the Bavarian State Opera. She has collaborated with renowned directors such as Julie Taymor, Anne Bogart, Robert Carsen, and others. In addition to her professional work, Hoffman is a full-time faculty member at NYU and the head of Costume Design, with teaching credits including The Kennedy Center Master Class. She is a recipient of the Irene Sharaff Young Master Award.

Research topics

• Immunology
• Biology
• Microbiology
• Medicine
• Virology
• Cell biology
• Endocrinology

Selected publications

• Vaccination with a commensal from honey bees confers protection against vaginal Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Ng) challenge 3080

  The Journal of Immunology · 2025-11-01

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Description Ng is acquiring increased resistance to antibiotics that is outpacing new antibiotic development. Treatment of gonorrhea remains problematic given that new annual cases approximate 82 million worldwide and 1.6 million in the US. Natural immunity to gonorrhea is ineffective. Thus, an efficacious gonococcal vaccine is much needed. The vaccine against Group B Neisseria meningitidis, 4CMenB, can confer partial cross-protection against gonorrhea, suggesting that a gonococcal vaccine is feasible. In light of this finding, we hypothesize that Snodgrassella alvi, which branches within the family Neisseriaceae, can be deployed as a naturally attenuated, nonpathogenic live vector vaccine for Ng. S. alvi is not expected to colonize humans due to its niche-restriction to bees. In silico analysis found that S. alvi lacks virtually all major virulence factors associated with pathogenic Neisseriaceae, including a dedicated machinery to retrieve iron from the host. To test our hypothesis, groups of mice were vaccinated by the intraperitoneal (IP) route three times, and elicited high serum and vaginal IgG antibody (Ab) titers that cross-react to Ng. Serum IgG Abs were robustly bactericidal. When groups of IP-vaccinated BALB/c females were subjected to vaginal Ng challenge, only 13% of S. alvi-vaccinated mice showed Ng colonization post-1 wk challenge compared to 76% unvaccinated controls. Thus, S. alvi confers exquisite protection against vaginal Ng challenge. Funding Sources Work supported by NIH AI151424. Topic Categories Mucosal and Regional Immunology (MUC)

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• Intervention with oral lactococcus lactis expressing CfaE (LL-CfaE) prevents or treats Sjogren’s Syndrome (SjS)-like disease in mice 3025

  The Journal of Immunology · 2025-11-01

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Description SjS is a chronic, progressive autoimmune disease, occurring primarily in postmenopausal women, marked by inflammatory cell infiltration of the salivary and lacrimal glands. To date, no vaccine or therapeutic exists to cure SjS, and patients must rely on lifelong therapies to treat symptoms. Past studies have shown that oral treatment with the adhesin from E. coli CFA/I fimbriae confers protection against SjS using a L. lactis strain expressing CFA/I fimbriae (LL-CFA/I). We hypothesized that the regulatory activity imparted by CFA/I fimbriae is contained within CfaE. Thus, L. lactis was adapted to express the tip protein from CFA/I fimbriae (LL-CfaE). To test this hypothesis, bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) infected with LL-CfaE or LL-CFA/I showed increased IL-10 and TGF-ß production. Groups of C57BL/6.NOD-Aec1Aec2 mice, which spontaneously develop SjS and gradually lose saliva secretion, were treated at 3-wk intervals beginning at 6 wks of age. Reductions in saliva flow rates were attenuated in LL-CfaE-treated mice relative to PBS- or LL vector-treated mice. To test its therapeutic potential, LL-CfaE treatments beginning at 21 wks of age also significantly attenuated loss of saliva flow rates. Such treatments reduced salivary gland pathology and enhanced regulatory T cells to limit salivary gland inflammation. These data show that orally dosing with LL-CfaE limits SjS progression via activation of Tregs, and provide the basis for future testing in SjS patients. Funding Sources Work supported by NIH DE026450. Topic Categories Mucosal and Regional Immunology (MUC)

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• Variants of Unknown Significance in Maturity-Onset Diabetes of the Young: High Rate of Conundrum Resolution via Variants of Unknown Significance Reanalysis

  Hormone Research in Paediatrics · 2024-05-28

  article

  INTRODUCTION: In the era of next-generation sequencing, clinicians frequently encounter variants of unknown significance (VUS) in genetic testing. VUS may be reclassified over time as genetic knowledge grows. We know little about how best to approach VUS in the maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY). Therefore, our study aimed to determine the utility of reanalysis of previous VUS results in genetic confirmation of MODY. METHODS: A single-center retrospective chart review identified 85 subjects with a MODY clinical diagnosis. We reanalyzed genetic testing in 10 subjects with 14 unique VUS on MODY genes that was performed >3 years before the study. Demographic, clinical, and biochemical data was collected for those individuals. RESULTS: After reanalysis, 43% (6/14) of the gene variants were reclassified to a different category: 7% (1/14) were "likely pathogenic" and 36% (5/14) were "benign" or "likely benign." The reclassified pathogenic variant was in HNF1A and all reclassified benign variants were in HNF1A, HNF1B and PDX1. The median time between MODY testing and reclassification was 8 years (range: 4-10 years). CONCLUSION: In sum, iterative reanalyzing the genetic data from VUS found during MODY testing may provide high-yield diagnostic information. Further studies are warranted to identify the optimal time and frequency for such analyses.

  PublisherDOI

• Parenteral Vaccination with a Live Brucella melitensis Mutant Protects against Wild-Type B. melitensis 16M Challenge

  Microorganisms · 2024-01-15 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Susceptibility to brucellosis remains prevalent, even in herds vaccinated with conventional vaccines. Efforts are underway to develop an improved brucellosis vaccine, and possibly a universal vaccine, given that Brucella species are highly homologous. To this end, two B. melitensis mutants were developed, znBM-lacZ (znBMZ) and znBM-mCherry (znBM-mC), and were tested for their ability to confer systemic immunity against virulent B. melitensis challenge. To assess the extent of their attenuation, bone-marrow-derived macrophages and human TF-1 myeloid cells were infected with both mutants, and the inability to replicate within these cells was noted. Mice infected with varying doses of znBM-mC cleared the brucellae within 6–10 weeks. To test for efficacy against systemic disease, groups of mice were vaccinated once by the intraperitoneal route with either znBMZ or B. abortus S19 vaccine. Relative to the PBS-dosed mice, znBMZ vaccination greatly reduced splenic brucellae colonization by ~25,000-fold compared to 700-fold for S19-vaccinated mice. Not surprisingly, both znBMZ and S19 strains induced IFN-γ+ CD4+ T cells, yet only znBMZ induced IFN-γ+ CD8+ T cells. While both strains induced CD4+ effector memory T cells (Tems), only znBMZ induced CD8+ Tems. Thus, these results show that the described znBM mutants are safe, able to elicit CD4+ and CD8+ T cell immunity without a boost, and highly effective, rendering them promising vaccine candidates for livestock.

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• Treatment with a Lactococcus lactis that chromosomally express E. coli cfaI mitigates salivary flow loss in a Sjögren’s syndrome-like disease

  Scientific Reports · 2023-11-09 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Sjögren’s Syndrome (SjS) results in loss of salivary and lacrimal gland excretion due to an autoimmune attack on these secretory glands. Conventional SjS treatments address the symptoms, but not the cause of disease. Recognizing this deficit of treatments to reverse SjS disease, studies were pursued using the fimbriae from enterotoxigenic E. coli , colonization factor antigen I (CFA/I), which has anti-inflammatory properties. To determine if CFA/I fimbriae could attenuate SjS-like disease in C57BL/6.NOD- Aec1Aec2 (SjS) females, the Lactococcus lactis (LL) 301 strain was developed to chromosomally express the cfaI operon. Western blot analysis confirmed CFA/I protein expression, and this was tested in SjS females at different stages of disease. Repeated dosing with LL 301 proved effective in mitigating salivary flow loss and in reducing anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) and inflammation in the submandibular glands (SMGs) in SjS females and in restoring salivary flow in diseased mice. LL 301 treatment reduced proinflammatory cytokine production with concomitant increases in TGF-β + CD25 + CD4 + T cells. Moreover, LL 301 treatment reduced draining lymph and SMG follicular T helper (Tfh) cell levels and proinflammatory cytokines, IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-17, and IL-21. Such evidence points to the therapeutic capacity of CFA/I protein to suppress SjS disease and to have restorative properties in combating autoimmune disease.

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• A Single Nasal Dose Vaccination with a <i>Brucella abortus</i> Mutant Potently Protects against Pulmonary Infection

  The Journal of Immunology · 2023-04-10 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  The Brucella abortus double-mutant (ΔznuA ΔnorD Brucella abortus-lacZ [znBAZ]) was assessed for its protective efficacy after vaccination with a single nasal dose. Superior protection was achieved in znBAZ-vaccinated mice against pulmonary, wild-type B. abortus 2308 challenge when compared with conventional livestock Brucella abortus vaccines, the smooth S19 (smooth B. abortus strain 19 vaccine) and rough RB51 (rough mutant vaccine strain of B. abortus) strains. Nasal znBAZ vaccination reduced splenic and lung colonization by wild-type brucellae by >3-4 logs. In contrast, S19 reduced lung colonization by only 32-fold, and RB51 failed to reduce colonization. One profound attribute of znBAZ vaccination was the >3-fold increase in pulmonary CD8+ T cells when compared with other vaccinated groups. S19 vaccination increased only CD4+ T cells. All vaccines induced IFN-γ and TNF-α production by CD4+ T cells, but only znBAZ vaccination enhanced the recruitment of polyfunctional CD8+ T cells, by >100-fold. IL-17 by both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was also induced by subsequent znBAZ vaccination. These results demonstrate that, in addition to achieving protective immunity by CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, specifically resident memory T cells, also confer protection against brucellosis. The protection obtained by znBAZ vaccination was attributed to IFN-γ-producing CD8+ T cells, because depletion of CD8+ T cells throughout vaccination and challenge phases abrogated protection. The stimulation of only CD4+ T cells by RB51- and S19-vaccinated mice proved insufficient in protecting against pulmonary B. abortus 2308 challenge. Thus, nasal znBAZ vaccination offers an alternative means to elicit protection against brucellosis.

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• Responding to Deaths of Faculty, Staff and Students at UC, Berkeley–An Integrated Approach

  2022-05-24

  book-chapter1st authorCorresponding

  This article describes an important initiative designed to address the deaths of faculty, staff, and students at the University of California at Berkeley. Work-life and EAP practitioners can play a significant role in reducing the distress and lost work time associated with workplace deaths by helping employers to plan a response to employee and client deaths, and by participating in implementing that response. A model framework is presented to demonstrate the vital need for coordination and integration among many of the employers’ programs, services, and activities in order to address deaths. doi:10.1300/J490v22n03_11 [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1-800-HAWORTH. E-mail address: &lt;docdelivery@haworthpress.com&gt; Website: &lt;https://www.HaworthPress.com&gt; © 2006/2007 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.]

  PublisherDOI

• Live mucosal vaccination stimulates potent protection via varied CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subsets against wild-type Brucella melitensis 16M challenge

  Frontiers in Immunology · 2022-10-03 · 8 citations

  articleOpen access

  Re-emerging zoonotic pathogen Brucella spp. continues to impact developing countries and persists in expanding populations of wildlife species in the US, constantly threatening infection of our domestic herds. The development of improved animal and human vaccines remains a priority. In this study, immunity to a novel live attenuated B. melitensis strain, termed znBM-mC, was characterized. An oral prime, intranasal (IN) boost strategy conferred exquisite protection against pulmonary challenge, with wild-type (wt) B. melitensis providing nearly complete protection in the lungs and spleens from brucellae colonization. Vaccination with znBM-mC showed an IFN-γ + CD8 + T-cell bias in the lungs as opposed to Rev 1-vaccinated mice showing IFN-γ + CD4 + T-cell inclination. Lung CD4 + and CD8 + effector memory T cells (TEMs) increased over 200-fold; and lung CD4 + and CD8 + resident memory T cells (TRMs) increased more than 250- and 150-fold, respectively. These T cells served as the primary producers of IFN-γ in the lungs, which was essential for vaccine clearance and the predominant cytokine generated pre-and post-challenge with wt B. melitensis 16M; znBM-mC growth could not be arrested in IFN-γ −/− mice. Increases in lung TNF-α and IL-17 were also induced, with IL-17 being mostly derived from CD4 + T cells. Vaccination of CD4 −/− , CD8 −/− , and B6 mice with znBM-mC conferred full protection in the lungs and spleens post-pulmonary challenge with virulent B. melitensis; vaccination of IL-17 −/− mice resulted in the protection of the lungs, but not the spleen. These data demonstrate the efficacy of mucosal vaccine administration for the generation of protective memory T cells against wt B. melitensis .

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Extracellular vesicles elicit protective immune responses against <i>Salmonella</i> infection

  Journal of Extracellular Vesicles · 2022 · 15 citations

  • Biology
  • Microbiology
  • Immunology

  Small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) produced by antigen-presenting cells represent a novel mechanism of cell-to-cell communication. The sEVs have been shown to drive Th1-type adaptive immune responses against intracellular infections such as Salmonella. In this study, we have demonstrated that an administration of sEVs produced by Salmonella-infected macrophages to BALB/c mice that were then challenged with Salmonella infection decreased bacterial load in infected animals and led to protection against a lethal dose of Salmonella. Second, the same sEVs induced a robust production of IgA anti-Salmonella antibodies (Abs) in BALB/c mice, including IgA anti-OmpD Abs. These results show that the nanoscale sEVs stimulate adaptive immune responses against intracellular pathogens and that these sEVs can be used to provide animals with complete protection against lethal infection, such as the systemic bacterial infection in immunodeficient BALB/c mice.

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• Activation of mucosal immunity as a novel therapeutic strategy for combating brucellosis

  Frontiers in Microbiology · 2022-12-22 · 15 citations

  reviewOpen access

  Brucellosis is a disease of livestock that is commonly asymptomatic until an abortion occurs. Disease in humans results from contact of infected livestock or consumption of contaminated milk or meat. Brucella zoonosis is primarily caused by one of three species that infect livestock, Bacillus abortus in cattle, B. melitensis in goats and sheep, and B. suis in pigs. To aid in disease prophylaxis, livestock vaccines are available, but are only 70% effective; hence, improved vaccines are needed to mitigate disease, particularly in countries where disease remains pervasive. The absence of knowing which proteins confer complete protection limits development of subunit vaccines. Instead, efforts are focused on developing new and improved live, attenuated Brucella vaccines, since these mimic attributes of wild-type Brucella , and stimulate host immune, particularly T helper 1-type responses, required for protection. In considering their development, the new mutants must address Brucella ’s defense mechanisms normally active to circumvent host immune detection. Vaccination approaches should also consider mode and route of delivery since disease transmission among livestock and humans is believed to occur via the naso-oropharyngeal tissues. By arming the host’s mucosal immune defenses with resident memory T cells (TRMs) and by expanding the sources of IFN-γ, brucellae dissemination from the site of infection to systemic tissues can be prevented. In this review, points of discussion focus on understanding the various immune mechanisms involved in disease progression and which immune players are important in fighting disease.

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Frequent coauthors

• David W. Pascual

  University of Florida

  35 shared

• Xinghong Yang

  Shandong Agricultural University

  12 shared

• Gabriele Grünig

  New York University

  10 shared

• Beata Clapp

  University of Florida

  10 shared

• Zakia I. Goodwin

  University of Florida

  10 shared

• Massimo Maddaloni

  University of Florida

  10 shared

• Khalida Liaquat

  Blueprint Genetics (Finland)

  8 shared

• C. Ronald Carroll

  Singapore Institute of Technology

  8 shared

Awards & honors

• Irene Sharaff Young Master Award