Research
At the Neuroinflammation and Immunomodulation Lab, our mission is to advance fundamental neuroinflammation knowledge, innovate translational therapeutics, and educate future scientific leaders.
- Advance Knowledge: Deepen our understanding of neuroinflammation and the role of immune cells in brain injury and recovery.
- Innovate Therapeutics: Develop next-generation, cutting-edge therapies that harness the immune system to support brain health and recovery.
- Educate: Foster collaboration with other research groups and the public to educate the next generation of scientists, share our findings with the community, and drive forward the field of neuroimmunology.
About Our Research
The Neuroinflammation and Immunomodulation Lab is dedicated to exploring the intricate relationship between the immune system and the brain, particularly following injury. Our research is driven by a profound curiosity about the immune responses that occur in the brain and how these responses can be modulated to support recovery and regeneration.
Research Areas
The immune system plays a vital role in protecting the body from infection and disease and it also is a key orchestrator of healthy healing. When cells are sick or damaged, the immune system can either eliminate damaged cells or the immune system can protect and support damaged cells. The first goal of our lab is to understand immune cell interactions in the brain. We seek to understand (1) how the immune system eliminates or saves cells, (2) what signals initiate these distinct processes, and (3) the consequences of these immune actions on brain health.
Understanding interactions of immune cells is especially important following brain injury. When we experience a brain injury (or concussion), neurons are damaged. However, the damage to the brain can spread or it can resolve, depending on how immune cells behave. Understanding the cues, actions, and consequences of immune cells on the damaged brain is critical for our understanding of brain injury and could also pave the way to developing biologically inspired therapeutics.
Building on this understanding, our lab seeks to interpret changes to the immune system. One major challenge in brain injury is that we have weak tests to diagnose brain injury and to predict patient outcomes. After most clinical brain injuries, doctors cannot see the damage, even with advanced imaging. Furthermore, we cannot predict which patients will fully recover and which patients will have lifelong neurological deficits.
Thus, the second goal of our lab is to interpret immune behaviors after brain injury. The immune system is exquisitely sensitive to all the changes in our body. New technology allows us to deeply explore immune system dynamics. We strive to “read” the immune system’s signals as a way to understand what is happening in the brain over time and develop clinically relevant diagnostics.
Finally, the third goal of our lab is to harness the regenerative potential of immune cells and develop translational therapeutics. We will develop strategies to modulate and control immune cells to promote brain health. Using next-generation engineering techniques and knowledge from other studies in the lab, we aim to control immune cells so that they support damaged neurons and promote healthy brain function. We strive to design and test novel therapies that leverage the immune system for brain repair and regeneration.