Elena Tonc
Assistant Professor of Biology
Elena Tonc completed her Ph.D. in immunology at Washington University in St. Louis and her bachelor's degree in chemistry and biology at Macalester College. Her research interests span immune regulation, inflammation, chronic pain, and cancer. Tonc’s doctoral work uncovered mechanisms that protect proliferating lymphocytes from cancerous transformation, and she also studied T cell responses to infections and cancer. More recently, she has circled back to studying inflammation and pain. At Hamilton, Tonc will investigate how altered immune responses to environmental chemicals may contribute to chronic vulvar pain, a poorly understood condition affecting roughly 10% of cisgender women. She most recently taught immunology, cell biology, genetics, and cancer biology at Macalester College.
Recent Courses Taught
Genes, Molecules, and Cells
Senior Thesis I (Biology)
Senior Thesis II (Biology)
Senior Project in Neuroscience
Cell Biology
Selected Publications
- Tonc, E*^, Chatterjea D*^. A multi-pronged approach to addressing curricular challenges in undergraduate immunology education. Front. Educ. (2025) doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1640703 *co-corresponding authors; ^equal contribution
- Tonc E, Omwanda GK, Tovar KA, Golden XME and Chatterjea D. Immune mechanisms in vulvodynia: key roles for mast cells and fibroblasts. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. (2023) 13:1215380.
- Tonc E, Takeuchi Y, Chou C, Xia Y, Holmgren M, Fujii C, Raju S, Chang GS, Iwamoto M, Egawa T. Unexpected Suppression of Tumorigenesis by c-MYC via TFAP4-dependent Restriction of Stemness in B lymphocytes. Blood (2021) 138:2526-2538.
- Raju S, Xia Y, Bence D, Yost KE, Bradshaw E, Tonc E, Verbaro DJ, Kometani K, Yokoyama WM, Kurosaki T, Satpathy AT, Egawa T. Identification of a T-bethi Quiescent Exhausted CD8 T Cell Subpopulation That Can Differentiate into TIM3+CX3CR1+ Effectors and Memory-like Cells. J. Immunol. (2021) 206:2924-2936.
- Landry J, Martinov T, Mengistu H, Dhanwada J, Benck CJ, Kline J, Boo B, Swanson L, Tonc E, Daughters R, Fife BT, Chatterjea D. Repeated hapten exposure induces persistent tactile sensitivity in mice modeling localized provoked vulvodynia. PLoS One. (2017) 12:e0169672.
- Chou C, Verbaro DJ, Tonc E, Holmgren M, Cella M, Colonna M, Bhattacharya D, Egawa T. The Transcriptor Factor AP4 Mediates Resolution of Chronic Viral Infection through Amplification of Germinal Center B Cell Responses. Immunity. (2016) 45:570-82.
- Chang CH, Qiu J, O'Sullivan D, Buck MD, Noguchi T, Curtis JD, Chen Q, Gindin M, Gubin MM, van der Windt GJ, Tonc E, Schreiber RD, Pearce EJ, Pearce EL. Metabolic Competition in the Tumor Microenvironment is a Driver of Cancer Progression. Cell. (2015) 162:1229-41.
- Mack M^, Tonc E^, Ashbaugh A, Wetzel A, Sykes A, Engblom C, Shabani E, Mora-Solano C, Trier A, Swanson L, Ewan E, Martinov T, Chatterjea D. Clonal differences in lgE antibodies affect cutaneous anaphylaxis-associated thermal sensitivity in mice. Immunol. Lett. (2014) 162:149-58.
- Martinov T, Glenn-Finer R, Burley S, Tonc E, Balsells E, Ashbaugh A, Swanson L, Daughters RS, Chatterjea D. Contact hypersensitivity to oxazolone provokes vulvar mechanical hyperalgesia in mice. PLoS One. (2013) 8:e78673.
- Kuwata K, Kujala TBJ, Morrow ZW, Tonc E. Quantum Chemical and RRKM/Master Equation Studies of Cyclopropene Ozonolysis. Theor. Chem. (2011) 965: 305-312.
Appointed to the Faculty
2025Educational Background
Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis
B.A., Macalester College
