Executive Committee

David Allman, Ph.D.

David Allman, Ph.D.

Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Our main focus concerns the mechanisms underlying differentiation within the B cell lineage. We are currently focusing on two aspects of B cell development and differentiation. A central interest in my lab concerns the differentiation of antibody-secreting plasma cells from naïve and memory B cells. The second main focus in my laboratory concerns how specific transcription factors promote the earliest phases of B cell development from multipotent progenitors.

Igor Brodsky, Ph.D.

Igor Brodsky, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Pathobiology

The Brodsky lab focuses on the interplay of bacterial virulence mechanisms and host innate immune recognition strategies. We are interested in how bacterial pathogens are sensed by host cells, how this sensing contributes to antimicrobial immune defense, and how bacterial pathogens evade innate immune recognition.

Sara Cherry, Ph.D.

Sara Cherry, Ph.D.

Professor of Pathology of Laboratory Medicine, Microbiology and Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics

The laboratory is interested in emerging and globally important RNA viruses including arthropod-borne viruses and coronaviruses. The lab is interested in how these viruses are able to hijack cellular factors and evade immune recognition using only a small number of proteins. The Lab uses chemical and genetic screening technologies to perform a wide array of cell-based screens to identify antivirals and new therapeutic targets. 

Jason Christie, M.D.

Jason Christie, M.D.

Chief, Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Division and Robert M. Kotloff/Nancy Blumenthal Professor for Advanced Lung Disease

Dr. Christie's career is focused on translational research studies of the risks, pathogenesis, treatment, and outcomes of acute lung injury in the transplant and non-transplant human populations. His research integrates new knowledge generated from bench studies with epidemiology approaches in well-phenotyped, large human populations to generate new definitions of human syndromes, improved diagnostics and prognostics, and targeted therapy approaches in advanced lung diseases and critical illness.

Ronald Collman, M.D.

Ronald Collman, M.D.

Professor of Medicine

Project 1: HIV/SIV entry. Our lab studies HIV and SIV infection, focusing on the mechanisms of entry into different target cells and how viral target cell tropism influences disease. Project 2: Monocyte/macrophage activation in HIV infection: mechanisms, role in pathogenesis and modulation. Project 3: Human respiratory tract microbiome.

Allie Greenplate

Allie Greenplate

Director of Strategic Alliance and Operations

Allie graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University in St. David’s, PA. She spent 2 years working for Johnson & Johnson, studying antibody responses in cancer and infectious disease, before pursuing her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology at Vanderbilt University. Her thesis work focused on systems immune monitoring in patients receiving anti-cancer treatment, including immunotherapy and small molecule inhibitors. In 2019, Allie came to the University of Pennsylvania to complete a post doc with John Wherry. After helping mobilize COVID-19 research efforts on campus, she transitioned to her current position as the Director of Strategic Alliance and Operations. Immune Health acts as a central hub for curating clinical cohorts, performing immune assays, and integrating clinical and immunological data. Immune Health aims to drive new biological discoveries, develop routine clinical immune profiling, and shift paradigms of clinical care.

Malay Haldar, M.D., Ph.D.

Malay Haldar, M.D., Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Haldar lab is interested in the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS) with an emphasis on their role in the tumor microenvironment. The lab utilizes advanced genetically engineered mouse models, patient-derived samples, high-dimensional immune and genomic profiling, etc. to address key questions in MPS biology. A long-term goal of the lab is to target these cells for therapeutic purposes. 

James Hoxie, M.D.

James Hoxie, M.D.

Professor of Medicine

Research in Dr. Hoxie's lab is focused on identifying viral and cellular determinants that are relevant to the ability of HIV and SIV to infect cells and to evade host immune responses. Three specific areas of work include: 1. Producing modified HIV envelope glycoproteins for vaccine studies. 2. Studies of CD4-independent isolates of HIV. 3. The role of the HIV/SIV cytoplasmic tail in pathogenesis. 

Christopher Hunter, B.Sc., Ph.D.

Christopher Hunter, B.Sc., Ph.D.

Mindy Halikman Heyer Distinguished Professor of Pathobiology

The Hunter laboratory has several areas of research that center around understanding how the immune system deals with T. gondii. The first focuses on host pathogen interactions at the cellular level and how the parasite interacts with intracellular signaling pathways (NF-kB/JAK-STAT). These latter studies compliment the work in the laboratory that has helped to define the cytokine networks that regulate the balance between protective and pathological immune responses and current studies focus on the IL-6 family of cytokines in these events. Lastly the laboratory is interested in better understanding the pathogenesis of toxoplasmic encephalitis (TE) in the immunocompromised patients who develop this disease.

Carl H. June, M.D.

Carl H. June, M.D.

Richard W. Vague Professor in Immunotherapy and Director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies

The June Lab is primarily responsible for developing new CARs and new vectors for current and proposed indications. The June Laboratory provides researchers with the tools they need to translate laboratory insights into safe and effective cancer therapies. In addition, the June Laboratory has a cadre of faculty researchers focused on developing ways to enhance the ability of the natural immune system to recognize and eliminate tumor cells.

Taku Kambayashi, M.D., Ph.D.

Taku Kambayashi, M.D., Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

The Kambayashi laboratory focusses on three areas of research. 1) Regulation of T cell responses. 2) Regulatory T cell expansion and homeostasis. 4) NK cell education and signaling.

Kathleen E. Sullivan, M.D., Ph.D.

Kathleen E. Sullivan, M.D., Ph.D.

Professor of Pediatrics

We are interested in genes that control inflammation and specifically in the role of these genes in inflammatory disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Crohn's disease. A variety of techniques are used in the lab to understand the genetics of SLE.

Robert Vonderheide, M.D., D.Phil.

Robert Vonderheide, M.D., D.Phil.

John H. Glick, MD Abramson Cancer Center’s Director Professor

The Vonderheide laboratory combines efforts in both basic research and clinical investigation to advance the understanding of tumor immunology and to develop novel immunotherapies for cancer. Dr. Vonderheide’s basic research includes deciphering the immunobiology of novel genetically engineered mouse models of cancer, including the regulation of immune surveillance and the tumor microenvironment by CD40 and other pathways, and with a focus on pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, and melanoma.