Programs

Program affiliation
Neurosciences

Research summary
Characterizing functional brain network development in children with and without anxiety disorders, with the long-term goal of using this information to devise novel, mechanism-based treatments for pediatric anxiety disorders.

Key words

Program affiliation
Immunology
Molecular Cell Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Research summary
We investigate how the immune system maintains balance during healthy homeostasis, and when this balance is thrown off, how the dysregulated activities of the same immune cells cause immune diseases such as asthma, allergy and autoimmunity. We focus on type 2 lymphocytes, namely ILC2s and Th2 cells, and apply high-throughput CRISPR screens to identify novel regulators of type 2 immune responses. We are a multidisciplinary laboratory combining molecular, in vitro and in vivo approaches to understand the underlying mechanisms of immune cell function in homeostasis and allergic diseases. By advancing our basic understanding of how immune cells develop and function, we aim to develop novel approaches to restoring immune balance and promoting tissue and organismal health.

Key words
type 2 immunity, innate lymphoid cells, ILC2, Th2, allergy, asthma, CRISPR screen, computational, transcriptomic, epigenetic, tissue immunity, mucosal immunity, neuroimmune

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Circadian physiology and behavior

Key words
circadian rhythm, neuropeptide, GPCR, 2nd messengers, Drosophila

Program affiliation
Immunology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Biomedical Informatics and Data Science

Research summary
Our research focuses on employing multi-omics strategies to elucidate mechanisms of immune tolerance, identify novel targets for immunosuppression and develop precision approaches to immunosuppression management in advanced lung disease and lung transplantation.

Key words
immunology, genetics, T cell, neutrophil, transplant, pharmacogenetics, pharmacogenomics, immunogenetics, immunogenomics, clonal hematopoiesis, senescence, immune aging

Program affiliation
Cancer Biology
Molecular Genetics and Genomics
Immunology
Molecular Cell Biology
Neurosciences

Research summary
Cancer-Stroma interactions in metastasis

Key words
cancer metastasis; tumor microenvironment, cancer immunology, CRISPR screen, quantitative biology

Program affiliation
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology

Research summary
The biological regulation of skeletal matrix quality

Key words

Program affiliation
Computational and Systems Biology
Plant and Microbial Biosciences
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis

Research summary
Metabolism analysis and metabolic engineering of environmental microorganisms for biofuel/chemical production

Key words
Metabolic flux analysis, bioenergy, metabolic engineering, algal bioprocess, bioremediation, kinetic modeling

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Pathogenic interactions between microbes and the gut

Key words
bacteriology, evolution, genome analysis, inflammation, microbial pathogenesis

Program affiliation
Neurosciences
Computational and Systems Biology
Biochemistry Biophysics and Structural Biology
Biomedical Informatics and Data Science

Research summary
Applying concepts and methods from statistical physics and mathematics to the study of the brain

Key words
theoretical and computational neuroscience, statistical physics

Program affiliation
General

Research summary
Structure-activity relationships in UV mutagenesis; nucleic acid-based chemotherapeutic and imaging agents

Key words
cancer, drug delivery, imaging, mutagenesis, nanotechnology, telomere