Immunity and Lymphocyte Biology
Immunoediting in Cutaneous Squamous Carcinogenesis
Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is the second most common cancer, with ~700,000 cases, ~3,000 deaths, and billions of dollars in annual treatment-associated costs in the U.S. Escape from immunosurveillance,…
Distinguishing the Mechanisms of Tumoral Immune Response and Cutaneous Adverse Events
Checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) therapy has revolutionized cancer treatment, but generates immune-related adverse events (irAEs) that commonly include cutaneous effects. I hypothesize that the tumor response is mechanistically distinct from associated…
Identification of Shared Genetic and Modifiable Risk Factors for Psoriasis and Multiple Sclerosis
More than 40,000 people suffer from both psoriasis and multiple sclerosis (MS), which share a number of known genetic loci. IL-17 is significant in both diseases, and I hypothesize that…
Elucidating the Role of Regulatory T Cells in Protecting Cutaneous Epithelial Stem Cell Niches
This research will investigate the mechanisms that regulatory T cells (Tregs) use to protect epithelial stem cells (ESCs) from autoimmunity in a novel experimental model of scarring alopecia. Additionally, we…
Biomarker Analysis of Transcriptome Signatures in Mycosis Fungoides Across Clinicopathologic Stages
Mycosis Fungoides (MF) is a rare disease that is difficult to diagnose and treat. Recent studies on the genomic signature of this disease have shown that MF is difficult to…
Identification of Disease-Driving T Cells and Antigens in Alopecia Areata
Alopecia areata (AA) is mediated by autoreactive T cells, but the antigen(s) targeted in this autoimmune response are unknown. This study seeks to identify disease-driving T cells in the skin…
Development of Targeted Immunotherapy for, and Transcriptional Profiling of, γδ T Cell Diseases
Gamma-delta (gd) T-cells are involved in infection, inflammation, and cancer. We propose novel methods to develop T-cell–based immunotherapies to combat gd T-cell cancers, which may lead to lasting remission. We…
Contributions of Early Life Bacterial-Barrier-Immune Interactions in the Path to Atopy
Pediatric atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, costly, and high-morbidity disease. The earliest events that precede disease onset and modulate severity in at-risk infants remain poorly defined. Using novel experimental…