The ability to fend off infectious diseases, which represent a mortal threat to millions, rests with the body’s immune system, which provides protection through various, layered and complex defenses.
If the immune system fails to function properly, if it becomes too weak, it can increase susceptibility to infectious disease. If it becomes too strong or dysfunctional, it can result in harmful inflammation and autoimmune diseases such as lupus and arthritis and even cancer.
By studying pathogen-host interactions, innate and humoral immunity, inflammation and T cell checkpoint regulation at even the smallest of interactions, we seek to better understand how the immune system works, why it sometimes doesn’t and find new treatments for endemic and pandemic infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders, cancer and inflammatory conditions.
Director’s Statement
“Cellular and humoral immunity provide protection against infection and disease. This adaptive arm of the immune system typically begins with activation of the innate arm that induces inflammation in response to injury and threat. When either arms of the immune system are impaired or dysfunctional, disease may develop and our health suffers.
“Inflammation and immunity are extraordinarily complex systems, and much about how they work and why they sometimes fail remain to be discovered. That is our mission, identifying the origins and causes of common disease linked to immune system dysfunction on the path needed to discover new approaches that can effectively target disease onset and provide preventative or curative treatments.”
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