Ronald Germain, MD, PhD

Chief, Laboratory of Immune System Biology 
Chief, Lymphocyte Biology Section

My laboratory adds the power of intravital and advanced multiplex, quantitative imaging to the usual panoply of techniques involved in probing the immune system at the cell, tissue, and whole organism level. We are currently focused on applying our technologies to analysis of the tumor micro-environment under different conditions and perturbations, with emerging evidence that the local spatial organization of cells plays a major role in the outcome of immunotherapy. We also have a robust program investigating details of immune cell infiltration and function in the lungs of animals infected with lethal influenza virus or SARS-Cov2, with exciting findings related to (i) the timing and nature of interferon signaling in terms of disease outcome and (ii) the control pneumocyte repair. Finally, we have several ongoing basic projects that probe how the spatial organization withing lymph nodes contributes to effective adaptive immunity, how adjuvants modify these interactions to promote effective vaccine responses, and how changes in the balance of positive and negative control elements such as CD80/86 and PD-1 on interacting cells regulate immune memory and germinal center function. Beyond the advanced imaging component of our studies, we also bring into play the development and use of new computational tools for image analysis or for creation of quantitative, predictive models of complex biology.

Suggested Penn mentors: Susan Weiss, John Wherry, Andy Minn, Jenny Jiang