Andre Ballesteros-Tato, PhD

Chief, Adaptive Immunity and Immunoregulation Section

Laboratory of Allergic Diseases

The immune system must tolerate harmless elements, such as food, respiratory allergens, and commensal bacteria, while mounting effective responses against pathogens and vaccines. From birth, we are constantly exposed to new pathogens while simultaneously encountering food, respiratory allergens, and commensal bacteria. As a result, the immune system must strike a fine balance—generating protective responses to pathogens while maintaining tolerance to non-threatening elements.

In my group, we use in vivo models of influenza virus infection and food and respiratory allergy to study how this balance is maintained. Our research focuses on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate the differentiation of memory T and B cells and T follicular helper cells to pathogens and allergens.

Our goal is to uncover the mechanisms that balance protective and pathogenic immune responses to pathogens and allergens and ultimately:

1. Develop new immunotherapies to treat and prevent food and respiratory allergies without inducing profound immunosuppression
2. Generate the necessary knowledge to develop new vaccination strategies that elicit better protective immunity to pathogens and vaccines.