Research Categories - Immunology

HMS has a core expertise in immunobiology, with investigators in several departments studying regulation of immune cell function, trafficking, and signaling. Recent findings include the paradigm-shifting demonstration by Ulrich Von Andrian’s laboratory that circulating hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells infiltrate peripheral organs and provide a localized response to infection and inflammation. In the area of T cell biology, Arlene Sharpe’s studies on co-stimulatory molecules such as PD-1 have shed new light on the intricacies of the immune response in responding to persistent viral infections.

Related Investigators

  1. Ronald Desrosiers, PhD

    HIV and AIDS: vaccine; persistent immune response

    Develop new strategies for blunting viral replication and bolstering the immune system’s ability to eradicate viral-infected T-cell reservoirs. 

  2. Martin Dorf, PhD

    Molecular signaling in inflammation: TNF; cytokine; autoimmune disease; T-cell

    Investigate the biochemical signaling perturbations elicited by the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF that serve to modulate the activation of NF-кB, with a focus on TNF receptor-associated factor ...

  3. David Evans, PhD

    HIV infection and AIDS vaccine development

    Investigate new approaches for AIDS vaccine development using SIV infection of non-human primates as a model system.  

  4. Robert Paul Johnson, MD

    HIV mechanism of action and new AIDS therapies

    Gene therapy; vaccines

  5. Amitinder Kaur, MD

    AIDS pathogenesis and CMV opportunistic infection: SIV; vaccine; AIDS resistance

    AIDS modeling in non-human primates; reactivation of latent CMV in HIV-infected individuals; innate resistance to SIV-related disease progression.  

  6. Xuebin Qin, MD, PhD

    Immune modulation to treat cancer and viral infections

    CD59, the complement cascade, and disease    

  7. Michael Starnbach, PhD

    Bacterial infection and acquired immunity

    T-cell response to bacterial infection, including sexually transmitted chlamydia disease

  8. Susan Westmoreland, VMD

    Neuropathology of HIV and SIV infections and AIDS

    Explore the molecular and cellular bases of neuropathologies associated with HIV and SIV infections, including encephalitis and dementia.  

  9. Priscilla Yang, PhD

    Host response to viral infection and drug discovery: dengue virus, hepatitis B and C viruses

    Investigate molecular mechanisms of dengue and hepatitis virus infection and replication; perform HTS for viral antagonists to identify host factors and pathways required for dengue virus infection ...

  10. Ulrich von Andrian, MD, PhD

    Adaptive immunity and leukocyte trafficking: lymphocyte activation; lymphatic system; intravital microscopy

    Study how immunological memory is produced through the orchestration of the adaptive immune response, including initiation, regulatory mechanisms, and immune cell homing to organs; harnessing of this ...