Integrative
Immunology
Laboratory

If the immune system was an unknown language to decode, then we likely know most letters (genes) and words (cell types), but it remains difficult to make sentences (cell-cell communications), let alone write coherent paragraphs (tissue- and organism-level processes). This illiteracy is perhaps best exemplified by our inability to manipulate the immune system against many deadly diseases and highlights the need to develop new ways to observe, quantify and ultimately decode immunity.

Our research aims to uncover the grammar – or general rules – governing how successful immune responses work to stop an infection or remove diseased cells while keeping the host healthy at the end of the process. We emphasize a multiscale approach that parallels the organization of the immune system across the body from molecules and cells to tissues to the whole organism. By creating new tools and approaches, we study how interactions occur between immunological components across these scales to uncover fundamental concepts in immunology and beyond. We pursue this goal in the hope that it will contribute knowledge to the longstanding question of how to manipulate the immune system at will.