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MENTORS:
Medical Students, |
Tissue immunity is orchestrated through a coordinated interaction between hematopoietic and structural cells. While the immune cells are central to and are at the frontline of an inflammatory response, other cells including neuronal cells are active collaborators and modulators of this response. The gut mucosa is the site where majority of immune cells reside, and their activation is tightly controlled to mount an inflammatory response to pathogenic insults but maintain tolerance to innocuous dietary, and commensal-derived antigens. The lab pursues projects to understand the identity and function of neuro-immune interactions that modulate these immunological processes, and how they can be modulated for favorable outcomes.
We use multidisciplinary tools from Immunology and Neurobiology to address basic questions focusing on sympathetic neurons (i) How do sympathetic neurons alter physiological response to these inflammatory challenges? (ii) How does it alter the immune response? (iii) who is responding to these sympathetic cues (identification of responder cell? (iv) How do sympathetic cues alter the effector function of the responding cell? My research strategy is to connect knowledge from basic research and mechanistic studies to translational outcomes in human patients.
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UNC AFFILIATIONS:
Center for GI Biology and Disease (CGIBD), Lineberger Cancer Center, Microbiology & Immunology |
CLINICAL/RESEARCH INTERESTS: |