Expertise
Regulation of Innate Immunity after CNS Trauma.
Innate immunity is the first line of defense against pathogens and host-derived signals of cellular stress. My research focuses on investigating mechanisms that direct normal innate immunity and its dysregulation in central nervous system injury and disease, including (1) agonists and activation mechanisms of inflammasomes, (2) regulatory mechanisms that potentiate or limit inflammasome activation after injury, and (3) emerging links between innate immunity and Alzheimer’s disease.
My research focuses on the activation of innate immune signaling after CNS injury. We discovered that CNS cells harbor inflammasomes that contribute to inflammatory pathomechanisms. Our current work seeks to understand the physiological functions of these signaling pathways that may provide promising and unique therapeutic strategies to treat CNS injury and disease.