Dr Samir Kelada is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics and newly appointed member of the Curriculum in Toxicology. He just received an Outstanding New Environmental Scientists (ONES) Career Development Award from NIEHS. His proposed studies will utilize a new mouse genetics resource, the Collaborative Cross (CC), to examine gene-environment interactions (GxE) in the context of ozone-induced allergic airway disease. The CC consists of a panel of recombinant inbred lines derived from eight-way crosses using a diverse set of inbred strains and provides ideal features for studying GxE and identifying the underlying molecular processes. Based on prior studies showing that ozone primes the immune system towards an allergy-prone phenotype, Dr Kelada’s studies are designed to identify genes and pathways that mediate the effect of ozone on subsequent response to allergen using unique and novel mouse models. To find out more about Dr Kelada’s research interests visit http://www.med.unc.edu/genetics/faculty/samir-kelada